THE BRIDGE A P U B L I C AT I O N O F P H O E N I X C O U N T R Y DAY S C H O O L
Winter 2017/18
THE BRIDGE Phoenix Country Day School, Winter 2017/18
Andrew Rodin Head of School Gay Firestone Wray Chair for Leadership Roz Bolger Abero ’89 Assistant Head of School for External Affairs Katie Charles Director of Annual Giving & Stewardship Leslie Kornreich Feldman ’99 Director of Alumni Relations C. Ryan Joyce Director of Advancement Tina Pitts Advancement Coordinator Lydia Rodin Advancement Events Coordinator and The Bridge Editor Largo Photography Feature Photography Other photography and articles: Hinz Photo, PCDS students, faculty, and staff
For more timely coverage, The Bridge will now be published twice each calendar year—winter and summer. A separate Annual Report on Philanthropy will also be sent each fall. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please email The Bridge at communications@pcds.org. Correction: Our Summer 2017 issue missed five PCDS Lifers. See page 55. © 2018 Phoenix Country Day School. All rights reserved. This Page: Musicians at the MS Fall Concert. See more on music on page 16.
Contents ON THE COVER
2017 AIA Division 2A Boys’ Soccer State Champions led by Head Coach Andy Rodin and Assistant Coach Inaudi Abero. Right: Captains Brennan Freret ‘18, Ty Rodin ‘19, and Tommy Walton ‘18 of the 2017 Boys’ State Soccer Championship Team. Read more about athletics on page 19.
Inside this Issue: All the latest news from PCDS Upper School (US), Middle School (MS), and Lower School (LS), plus alumni features and philanthropy. 2
Message from the Head of School
25 Community Action
5
Special Announcement: The Louis Family Society for Planned Giving
30 Yellott Faculty Grants
6
THRIVE Success
12
Student Art
16 Music 18
US Play
19 Athletics
27 Faculty News and Notes 32 Annual Fund 33 Tax Credit 34 Message from the Alumni Board President 38 Alumni Educators and the Teachers Who Inspired Them
22 Merit Honors
42 Save the Date: Bridge-the-Gap and Alumni Spring Weekend
23 Speech & Debate
43 Alumni Parents
24 MS Robotics
44 Class Notes
PCDS MISSION PCDS prepares promising students to become responsible leaders and lifelong learners through an education that emphasizes intellectual engagement, independence, collaboration, creativity, and integrity.
WINTER 2017/18 | 1
MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
“ I hope as you read this issue of The Bridge, you recognize and applaud the myriad of accomplishments that we’ve seen over the last several months. But, more importantly, I hope you can feel the growth that we’ve experienced through working together.”
T
wenty-five years ago, I accepted my first independent school job. My contract, as I recall, listed me as Teacher, but what I was really looking forward to was coaching, which I did with great joy every afternoon. Much like the students, I would hustle down to the sports complex immediately after my last class, throw on my athletic gear, and take the field with my charges. It didn’t matter to me if it was hot or cold outside, if I was coaching Varsity or JV, or even if we were having a winning or losing season; I just wanted to be out there. Fast-forward to this fall, as I had the experience of returning to the world of coaching for the first time since those early years in teaching. The tale of the tape will confirm that it was, indeed, hot outside, that I was coaching Varsity soccer, and that we had a winning season. But, as it was back in my first year, what brought the smile to my face was purely the opportunity to compete with a team of committed individuals, through trials and tribulations, toward an ultimate goal, knowing that even if we fell short of our mark, we’d still be successful in many more important ways. This is where the real “stuff” of life is found, and I relished every single moment of it. As I’ve now had some time to process our recent journey, it amazes me how transferable this sentiment of the journey can be. Being a part of the soccer team—whether you’re the player, coach, or manager—is akin to being a member of a school community, where we’re all rowing together towards various targets. From the THRIVE campaign to the Annual Fund to our Speech & Debate competitions, Spelling Bees, college placements, and independent studies, we’re constantly joining together in support of a desired outcome, but always understanding and appreciating that it’s the voyage that enables us to gain strength along the way. So here’s to each and every one of you for playing your role in rowing the boat. It’s an honor to be a part of something so special.
Andrew M. Rodin P ’19, ’19, ’25 Head of School Gay Firestone Wray Chair for Leadership
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Meet the Trustees
Top row, left to right: David Lewis, Nick Firestone ‘84, Lou Werner ‘87, Andrew Rodin*, Tim Louis ‘81, Don Dady. Middle row: Michelle Hosmar, Margaux Rosen, Adam Goodman, Tracy Brennan, Tracy Schwimmer, Charlie Shields. Bottom row: Augustine Gomez ‘99*, Mercedes Liljegren, Charlene Whitfill, Donna Johnson, Jordan Rose, Kiran Singh. Not pictured: Taylor Burke, Paulette Dodson, Laurie Tutag-Wang* * ex officio
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Taylor Burke President
Michelle Hosmar Vice President Facilities Planning
Tracy Brennan Don Dady Nicholas S. Firestone ‘84 Adam Goodman Mercedes Liljegren Tim Louis ‘81 Jordan Rose Margaux Rosen Tracy Schwimmer Kiran Singh Lou Werner ‘87
Donna Johnson Vice President Advancement
Ex officio: Andrew Rodin Head of School
David Lewis Vice President Finance/Operations
Augustine Gomez ‘99 President, Alumni Association Board
Charles W. Shields Vice President Finance/Investments
Laurie Tutag-Wang President, Parents’ Association
Charlene Whitfill Executive Vice President Trusteeship Paulette Dodson Vice President Audit
Advisory Trustees: Beverly Bradway Ax Susan J. Bansak Daniel J. Donahoe III Bennett Dorrance Susan Garrity Samuel Garvin Donald R. Loback Nan P. Miller Jahm Najafi Ellie B. Nolan Frederick M. Pakis Nicholas J. Sakellariadis ‘69 Jonah Shacknai Shoshana B. Tancer Garth Wieger Gay F. Wray
Welcome, Mercedes Liljegren P’20, ’22
“Family and community play such an important role in formulating the kind of people our children will become. I want to be an active participant in that process.” Welcome, Kiran Singh P’24
“It is very exciting to be working with an outstanding group of individuals already serving on the board, and I hope to contribute to their continued effort in making PCDS the best possible environment for the growth and nurturing of all our children.” WINTER 2017/18 | 3
Looking Forward
Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) Final Report
On November 6, 2016, the Board of Directors of the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) approved the Standards Committee recommendation for re-accreditation of Phoenix Country Day School. ISAS accreditation is effective for a period of ten years contingent upon the School’s submission of required reports and continued adherence to ISAS Standards. ISAS promotes the highest professional and ethical standards of educational excellence for independent schools in the region and recognizes by formal ongoing accreditation those schools which demonstrate adherence to its standards. As a collective voice of the independent schools of the Southwest, ISAS fosters collegial relations among its member schools and represents their interests. In their efforts to fulfill this mission, the ISAS Visiting Committee and its Chairs provided the School with an important and valuable document in the Report of the Visiting Committee. The detailed commendations and recommendations provide a unique view of school programs
and operations as seen through the eyes of highly experienced peer professionals, each nominated as mission exemplary by their respective Heads of School. The ISAS accreditation process has further encouraged PCDS in its efforts to consistently strive for and achieve new levels of excellence. The ISAS Visiting Committee was extremely appreciative of the PCDS community for all that was done to welcome and assist them in their duties during their visit last fall. They enjoyed being able to witness and experience—and commended PCDS on—the high engagement of our community, including the far-reaching effects of community respect, creativity, and relaxed focus, alongside attention to depth and breadth in academics, athletics, and the arts. Congratulations to the entire PCDS community, including the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff, students, and parents, on this achievement that is the result of comprehensive, inclusive, and commendable collaborative work. n
National Association of Independent Schools PCDS is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), which sets forth guidelines for independent school governing boards. Principles of Good Practice for Boards The board is the guardian of the school’s mission. It is the board’s responsibility to ensure that the mission is relevant and vital to the community it serves and to monitor the success of the school in fulfilling its mission. The following Principles of Good Practice are set forth to provide a common perspective on the responsibilities of independent school boards. The board and the head work in partnership in fulfilling these principles. 1. The board adopts a clear statement of the school’s mission, vision, and strategic goals and establishes policies and plans consistent with this statement. 2. The board reviews and maintains appropriate bylaws that conform to legal requirements, including duties of loyalty, obedience, and care. 3. The board assures that the school and the board operate in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, minimizing exposure to legal action. The board
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creates a conflict of interest policy that is reviewed with, and signed by, individual trustees annually.
4. The board accepts accountability for both the financial stability and the financial future of the institution, engaging in strategic financial planning, assuming primary responsibility for the preservation of capital assets and endowments, overseeing operating budgets, and participating actively in fund raising. 5. The board selects, supports, nurtures, evaluates, and sets appropriate compensation for the head of school. 6. The board recognizes that its primary work and focus are long-range and strategic. 7. The board undertakes formal strategic planning on a periodic basis, sets annual goals related to the plan, and conducts annual written evaluations for the school, the head of school, and the board itself. 8. The board keeps full and accurate records of its meetings, committees, and policies and
communicates its decisions widely, while keeping its deliberations confidential. 9. Board composition reflects the strategic expertise, resources, and perspectives (past, present, future) needed to achieve the mission and strategic objectives of the school. 10. The board works to ensure all its members are actively involved in the work of the board and its committees. 11. As the leader of the school community, the board engages proactively with the head of school in cultivating and maintaining good relations with school constituents as well as the broader community and exhibits best practices relevant to equity and justice. 12. The board is committed to a program of professional development that includes annual new trustee orientation, ongoing trustee education and evaluation, and board leadership succession planning.
Louis Family Society P C D S P R O U D LY A N N O U N C E S T H E
FOR
PLANNED
GIVING
PCDS was founded with the mission of creating an educational beacon in the desert. More than a half-century later, that vision is thriving, thanks in large part to the Louis family. In 1969, Dr. Herbert J. “Tim” Louis seeded the Phoenix Country Day School endowment, just a few short years after the school was established. The Louis family has helped shape PCDS history since the School’s inception, and they now continue to shape its future by establishing the Louis Family Society for Planned Giving.
Now in our 56th year, the time is right for PCDS to establish a formal Planned Giving program. The Society recognizes members of the extended PCDS community who have included the School in their estate plans in one way or another — ranging from a bequest intention to a trust arrangement.
WAYS TO LEAVE A LEGACY • FUND A CHARITABLE ANNUITY OR LIFE INCOME GIFT • DESIGNATE PCDS AS A BENEFICIARY IN YOUR IRA OR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY • PERMANENTLY INVEST IN THE PCDS ENDOWMENT WITH A SCHOLARSHIP • INCLUDE PCDS IN YOUR WILL
For more information, please contact Roz Abero ‘89 at roz.abero@pcds.org or Ryan Joyce at ryan.joyce@pcds.org
THRIVE SUCCESS
Left to right: Dady Aquatic & Tennis Center; MS students running through the Garvin Family Walk of Champions; Breanna Price ‘18 and the US Cheer squad in the Najafi Gymnasium
Philanthropy + Community =
By Roz Bolger Abero ’89 and C. Ryan Joyce Every so often, schools go beyond raising money through the Annual Fund and conduct campaigns that push a school to the next level. That time came for PCDS a few short years ago, and we have now successfully closed the School’s largest comprehensive capital campaign. In the Beginning
Fiscal Health
When we sat among a small group of trustees and discussed the scope and goals of the THRIVE Campaign, some backof-the-envelope math led to an initial fundraising target of $15-20 million. The School’s largest previous campaign had been $10 million, several years hence. The trustees looked at each other, then at Head of School Andy Rodin and Director of Advancement Ryan Joyce, and asked, “Can we do this?” Andy and Ryan’s answer was definitive: “We can.”
Why not take out a loan to build a new pool and tennis center, and delay the campaign until we were convinced we could meet our ambitious goals? That’s never been the PCDS way— since our founding in 1961, PCDS stands out among our peers for not taking on debt to build buildings. At PCDS, new facilities come about one way: through the power of philanthropy. This conservative financial approach has allowed the School to weather economic downturns over the decades.
The pool was forcing the team’s hand; having opened not long after PCDS graduated its first senior class decades prior, the “trampoline pool” (a liner had been put in because of the cracks, making for a bouncy floor) was far past its prime and was hindering the growth of the swim program.
“The PCDS community has always stepped up in the past—from day one—and this time was no different… I just knew our community would not let this historic initiative fall flat.” Don Loback, former Board Chair
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Left to right: US students studying in the Shin Center for Art, Science & Innovation, a rendering of the Shepard Welcome Center scheduled to open in the spring of 2018. Below: Students and faculty in 2014 cross the Daley Bridge waving THRIVE flags
The Time is Now Given the urgency of a new pool, a campaign couldn’t wait any longer. Eschewing more traditional campaign names like “Striving for Excellence” or “A Vision for the Future”, Andy proposed the THRIVE Campaign, which encapsulates the positive energy that has typified PCDS since our founding. Flags went up across campus that read “THRIVE: Since 1961. Always Have. Always Will.” The scope of the campaign was mapped out. A second gym should come after the aquatic and tennis center, and likely could be placed where the old pool had been. The original gym functioned well, but was built for a school of 500 students with a smaller athletic program, not the 750 students and extensive program PCDS now enjoyed. Among the many issues with our limited court space: sports practices stacked up until late in the evening; MS teams had to experience cuts; LS PE was difficult to consistently run indoors, even in the heat; and no facility could seat our entire student and faculty body. Next on the wish list was updating and renovating the US art studios and science labs. Madden Hall, which housed science labs, and the Hormel Art Center, which housed the arts spaces, had served our community well for almost 20 years, but were outmoded in their design and functionality. The Campaign presented an opportunity to gain a modern, flexible academic space that inspired creativity and collaboration among students and faculty alike. A fourth project was identified as an overdue need, but one that may not make it into the scope of this campaign: a new administration building. There was no question about the need, but did our community have the bandwidth to raise money for the first three facilities and a new administrative building? Time would tell. WINTER 2017/18 | 7
THRIVE SUCCESS
MS students show off their THRIVE wear
The Launch Less than a year after those early-stage planning meetings charting a course for the Campaign, THRIVE launched to the public at the annual Blue & Gold community celebration in 2014. The goal was now set at $20 million to be raised over five years; at that point, $7 million had been raised from the Board of Trustees, Advisory Trustees, and a handful of other donors. It was time to bring all PCDS parents, alumni, past parents, and friends into the fold, trusting that our community was strong and supportive enough to make campaign dreams a reality.
Fast Forward Three Years… Despite our pride and faith in our incredible community, we couldn’t have predicted that we would be successfully closing the Campaign three years later—and two years ahead of schedule—at the 50th annual Blue & Gold. Now, thanks to over 200 donor families, and dozens of families who hosted events to educate and encourage their friends to become involved, we officially closed the Campaign at $24.6 million— making THRIVE the largest campaign in School history, both in dollars and donors. But this success in PCDS history wasn’t an anomaly. Were it not for the remarkable culture of philanthropy that has fueled PCDS since the first buildings were built on a dusty patch of Paradise Valley desert in 1960, THRIVE could have
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never been the success that it’s been. We are filled with pride and gratitude for every donor, at every level—many of whom made stretch gifts that were the largest charitable gift they had ever given to any non-profit organization.
What’s Next? Construction is well underway for the final building project, the Shepard Welcome Center. The building’s completion this spring will mark the very last piece of the THRIVE Campaign, as we say goodbye to cranes and earthmovers for a while. Though the Campaign has concluded, our culture of philanthropy remains as vibrant as ever. Fundraising is a constant at PCDS, just as it is for the nation’s best independent schools. In addition to continuing to grow the Annual Fund and increase participation in the Tax Credit program, we are always building upon the endowment. In addition, PCDS is launching a planned giving initiative (see page 5) and planning an Alumni campaign for the near future. And it won’t be long before those small huddles begin taking place for the next capital campaign, asking ourselves, “Can we do this?” Given the positive energy and strength of our broader community, we have a feeling we know the answer. n Roz Abero ’89 is Assistant Head of School, and Ryan Joyce is Director of Advancement. Both served as fundraisers for the THRIVE Campaign.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
“ T he four THRIVE capital projects not only modernized the academic and athletic facilities at PCDS, they also truly transformed the campus. The campus facilities now appropriately reflect the quality of the institution. The Burke family benefitted from the generosity of those who came before us; we felt compelled to pay it forward, not only for current PCDS families, but also for those who will call PCDS home in years to come. As proud as we are of the campus improvements themselves, what is even more satisfying is the record participation we had in the campaign from PCDS families, faculty, staff, and alumni.”
Julia and Taylor Burke (Board Chair) P ’22, ’23, ’25
“ Supporting the THRIVE campaign was paramount to us because of our strong commitment not only to our children’s education but also to all the students at PCDS. We are humbled by the dedication of the founders, parents, students, faculty, and staff that make PCDS a thriving conduit of interactive learning. We are proud to have facilitated education through discovery, curiosity, and discipline with our donation. We hope to give future generations a place to explore and grow as a thriving academic community.”
“ We believe that the best way to prepare our children for their future is to support their education. It’s our honor to stand among more than 200 other families who gave to this historic campaign in a meaningful way.”
Tracy and Jeff Katz (THRIVE Campaign donors) P ’22, ’24, ’28
Cheryl and Jahm Najafi (former Board Chair) P ’18, ’18, ’19
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THRIVE SUCCESS A Part of History Thank you to the 213 donors who participated at all levels to the historic THRIVE Campaign, from $25 to $3.2 million. We couldn’t have done it without each of you. Anonymous (3) Rosalind Bolger Abero ‘89 & Inaudi Abero ACAIR Foundation Valentina & Anand Acharya Jenifer & Ayad Agha Faryal Adil & Wahaj Ahmed Linda Alexander Arbone Equipment Corporation A Rite-Hite Company Cheri & Brett White Susan Sly & Chris Arkeveld Erin & Chris Ashby Stephanie & Jonathan Ashman Atlasta Catering & Event Concepts Kristine & Steve Short Kathy & Lawrence Bain Susan & Stephen Bansak Jo-Ann & Lowry Barfield Jessica & David Barranco Karen & Bernard Bendok Corinne & Darryl Berger Alice Cho & James Bergera Betty & Philip Bienert Polly & Scott Bindley The Brandi & Michael Minor Family Charitable Fund Doris Warriner & Bryan Brayboy Robyn & Steve Brenden Tracy & William Brennan Alex Brigham Ellen & Fowler Brown Ruth & Walt Brown Burke Family Foundation Susan & Richard Burnham Ketki & Nathan Cabbil Ann & Richard Carr Stacy & Timothy Casten Shari & Dan Charous Heather & Harry Clark Paige & Joshua Cohen Jennifer Mee Cole & Christopher H. Cole Judith Mitchell & Lance Coon Amanda & David Crisalli Sybil Francis & Michael Crow Polly & Glenn Culpepper Donna & Douglas Currault Dominique Dady Don Dady Katharine & John Dahl Molly & Nick DeFilippis The DeMark Family Desert Media Kris Pagano Shelly & Mark Detmer
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Paulette & James Dodson The Dorrance Family Foundation Erin & John Dover Humberto Duarte ‘03 Eli Lilly & Company Elizabeth Byrnes & Barton Faber Fisher Marketing Group Katherine & Allan Flader Marian & Deron Florey Marilyn & Robert Fransway Freeport-McMoRan Foundation Lisa & David Fujii Pam & Jordan Gagner Sandra & Guy Gamble III Susan & Thomas Garrity Rita & Samuel Garvin Alexis & Bonsal Glascock Sonia Abhyanker Godbole ‘90 & Narendra Godbole Judy & Herb Gold Augustine Gomez ‘99 & Family Stephanie & Adam Goodman Lisa Culbertson & Eric Grabski Susan & Mark Greenfield Theresa & Michael Gregory The Helen Clay Frick Foundation Rachel & Richard Herold Jamie Herzlinger, Sydney ‘14 & Alexa ‘17 Portigal Shannon & Chris Hinkson Melissa & Doug Horlick Stacey & John Horton Michelle & Michael Hosmar Tracey & Jonathan Hott Donna & Stephen Johnson C. Ryan Joyce Tracy & Jeffrey Katz Michelle Hill & Nick Klemp Jill & Burt Kohler Pinar Tashman Korzay ‘90 & Naci Korzay Kristin & James Lassetter Jenni & Rob Leinbach Robynn & Glen Lerner Brooke & James Levy Family Courtney Mason Lewis ‘00 Cristina & Shane Lewis Leslie & David Lewis Leslie & Robert Lewis Cathy Tancer Lewkowitz ‘79 & Herman Lewkowitz ‘79 Janelle Plaza Lika ‘98 & A.J. Lika Mercedes & Rick Liljegren Linda F. Noyes Charitable Lead Trust Julie & Gary Linhart ‘88 Toni & Don Loback The Louis Family
Bonnie & Terry Maffi Daniel Majeski Susan & Marcus Mamolen Rebecca & Daniel McDermott Elizabeth McGee ‘99 Jessica & Patrick McHonett Sally Ball & Mike McNally Claire & David Merkel Kate Groves & Warren Meyer Lori & Adam Miller Nan P. Miller Wanda Mills-Bocachica Jeanne & Chad Miraglia Keely E. Moran Gabriela & Jose Moreno Michelle & Kevin Moriarty Melissa & Dave Mullard Susan Biegner & Scott Murff Kelly Bishop Murphy & Alvin Murphy Swapna Reddy & Subhakar Mutyala Cheryl & Jahm Najafi Nicole & Peter Nakaji Newmont Mining Corporation Kendall & Louis Novoa-Takara Bridget O’Brien Elisabeth & Joseph Ori Pakis Family Foundation Indu Gupta & Maitray Patel Sheetal Chhaya & Sandeep Patel The Petrides Family Tam Le & Duc Pham Phoenix Swim Club Jennifer Chase & Laurent Poole Barbara & Zeb Portanova ‘97 Katherine Portanova ‘96 Sabrina & Reed Porter Dana & Peter Powell Wendy Selig-Prieb & Laurel Prieb Melisa & Troy Priem Mary Dell Pritzlaff Kristin Pruett Meena & Sameer Puri Jules & Andrew Rafal Amrita Dhanjal-Reddy & Praful Reddy Denise & Naveen Reddy Shirley Michels & Bernard Rethore Lisa Richardson Mirja & Timothy Riester Clarissa Simek Robinson ‘88 & Brian Robinson Lydia & Andrew Rodin Ellen & Richard Rodin Roger S. Firestone Foundation Leigh & Brent Roland
Vadi & Thiru Roopan Jordan & Jason Rose Margaux & Josh Rosen Cyndi & James Rosenthal Amy & Matt Ross Barbara Pockaj & Michael Rossides Nicole & Lawrence Russo Julie & Nick Sakellariadis ‘69 Aashay Sanghvi ‘14 Alpa & Ashesh Sanghvi Natalee & Dwayne Sansone Penny & Robert Sarver Michael Savit Elizabeth Meng-Schatz & Hans Schatz Anne Marie & Timothy Schaub Laura & Daniel Schwartz Tracy & Marc Schwimmer Peter Sczupak Jonah Shacknai Alex Shepard Susan & Charles Shields Annie & Paul Shoen Candice deSaint-Antoine & Brent Shuster Jennet Kirkpatrick & Daniel Silverman Jennifer & Jason Singer Nancy Singer Harpeet Kaur & Bhupinder Singh Kiran & Sandip Singh Connie & Rocky Sisson Mitzi Krockover & Jacque Sokolov Daisy & Bart Steiner Lucy Marshall & Robert Stern Karey & John Stevenson Susan C. Firestone Foundation Marci & Fife Symington Thuy Vo & Marvin Tam Shoshana & Robert Tancer The Tehranchi Family William Torrey Pritpal & Bobby Tuli Sarah & Ramsey Umar Stephanie & Edmond Vartughian Denise & Kent Voss Christopher Walker ‘65 Luca, Lisa, & Brian Walsh Laurie Tutag-Wang & Michael Wang The Werner Family ‘87, ‘88 Charlene & Jim Whitfill Ben Williams ‘02 Karen & Glenn Williamson Jennifer & Frederic Winssinger Kimberly & Michael Yue Sheila & Michael Zuieback
What’s in a Name? Sincere thanks to those donors who chose to affix their names to a THRIVE Campaign project.
DADY AQUATIC & TENNIS CENTER OPENED 2014
NAJAFI GYMNASIUM OPENED 2015
Phoenix Swim Club Competition Pool Louis Family Teaching Pool Riester Family Scoreboard Powell Family Student Locker Rooms Fletcher Family Bleachers Leslie & David Lewis & Family Diving Board Keely Rowan Moran (Halley ’22) Diving Board Rodin Family Diving Well
Garvin Family Walk of Champions Discount Tire Court Brown Family Bleachers – Cooper, Wally, Walt and Ruth Detmer Family Video Board DeFilippis Family Scoreboard Rose Family Scoreboard Sly-Arkeveld Athletic Director’s Office Vartughian Family Hospitality Room Werner Family Terrace Zuieback Family Eagles Locker Rooms Hinkson Family Trophy Case Whitfill Family Trophy Case
POOL LANES 50 Meter Lanes
25 Yard Lanes Lane 1: The Voss Family Lane 2: Alice Cho & Joe Bergera Lane 3: The Brennan Family
Lane 4: The Cathy & Herman Lewkowitz Family ’79, ’79, ’02, ’04, ‘07 Lane 6: The Charous Family Lane 7: Jennifer & Frederic Winssinger
Lane 8: The Bienert Family
Lane 1 The Shields Family
Lane 10: The Barfield Family Lane 19: The Abero Family Lane 20: C. Ryan Joyce
SHIN CENTER FOR ART, SCIENCE & INNOVATION – OPENED 2016 SHEPARD WELCOME CENTER – COMING 2018 Johnson Family Advancement Suite Sakellariadis Family Alumni Suite Rethore Courtyard Fransway Family Collaboration Room Hosmar Family Commons Gay Firestone Wray Chair for Leadership
INTERESTED IN HEARING AB OUT A D D I T I O NA L NA M I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S ? C O N TA C T RYA N. J O YC E @ P C D S .O R G
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STUDENT ART
Picturesque Scenes from Student Art around Campus
Lindsey Cherilla ‘18
Lindsey Cherilla ‘18
Lindsey Cherilla ‘18
Maddie Wilmink ‘19
Maddie Wilmink ‘19
Charlize Szeto ‘22
Mikayla Yue ‘24
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Sierra Goldstein ‘24
Audrey Schaub ‘24
Kati Dean ‘18 Mira Halker ‘24
Jahanvi Mittal ‘24
Kati Dean ‘18
Madalyn Paltzik ‘27
Camden Ortega ‘24
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STUDENT ART
Megan Eckerman ‘25
Danny Berger ‘29
Alex Andersen ‘27
Helen Afework ‘29
Connor Perry ‘28 and Riley Freed ‘29 Chloe Chodorow ‘19
Sam Novak ‘25
Andie Lou Hayden ‘18
Elle Lazarski ‘22
Keara Dean ‘22
Emma Sorensen ‘23
Kati Dean ‘18
Bowen Burke ‘23
Alexander Ashman ‘22
Parker Milliken ‘23
Lilly Robinson ‘22
Misha Ghafouri ‘23
Ryan Fujii ‘23
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STUDENT EVENTS
Music to Our Ears Highlights from PCDS Fall Concerts and Jazz Festival
Left to right: LS students singing; Tyler Tam ‘23; Siena Liljigren ‘22, Aaron Wang ‘23, Katie Eckerman ‘23, and Ava Shields ‘23 singing with the MS Choir. Below: Aiden Banks ‘28
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First-chair Flute in Florida This fall, Alicia Wu ‘19 represented PCDS and the state of Arizona in the All National Honor Ensembles Concert Band in Orlando, Florida. Alicia was the first-chair flute in the country. Alicia spent three days rehearsing and performing with over 150 other high school concert band musicians, as well as with nationally renowned Conductor and Director of Bands at Coastal Carolina University, Dr. T. Andre Feagin. At the festival, there were a total of 608 student musicians in four ensembles representing 49 states.
Ryan Goodman ‘18, Gonzo Alvarado ‘18, and Chris Montooth ‘18
Sebastian Brigham ‘23, Sedona Korzay ‘22, Ben Lewis ‘23, Elle Lazarski ‘22, Mirabel Bienert ‘22, and Clark Louis ‘22
Congratulations and Good Luck The Unaccompanied Minors, after submitting a video audition to the International Championship of High School A Cappella in October, were accepted into the Southwestern Regional Quarterfinal in Oro Valley in February. Nikasha Patel ‘18
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STUDENT EVENTS
Robin Hood: The US Fall Production by Sally Tepper ‘18
This year, the PCDS high school chose to do a rendition of Robin Hood for their fall play. Robin Hood by Larry Blamire is best described as a medieval “action comedy.” However, our production took the terms comedy and action to a whole new level. The beautifully choreographed stage combat fights, combined with the witty dialogue of all the characters, allowed the audience to be laughing one minute and gasping the next. The historically accurate costumes, created by student designer Bianca Partovi ’18, along with the phenomenal set (featuring a fulling functional rope swing and a life size tree) only heightened the already fantastic production.
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The cast and crew of Robin Hood had just as much fun with the show as the audience did. Hampton Kohler ’20 reflected on his acting experience in Robin Hood, “working one-onone with the professional choreographer—and learning how to fight and ultimately be killed by a sword—was a oncein-a-lifetime experience.” George Nassar ’21 and Hunter Freedman ’18 both experienced the struggles and joys of wearing fat suits for five hours straight. Sammy Dady ’18 had to learn a catchy medieval drinking song that she will probably never forget. All in all, we now have another highly successful PCDS fall play in our record books. Next up: spring musical Godspell. n
ATHLETICS
Fall Athletic Award Recipients
Swim and dive award recipients, left to right from top: Samantha Stein ‘20, Jem Stern ‘18, Tyler Barfield ‘19, Harrison Rooney ‘18, Quinn Murphy ‘21, Lucas Olschansky ‘21, Jake Rodin ‘19
Congratulations to the following students for athletic awards in fall school sports.
GIRLS’ SWIMMING
BOYS’ SWIMMING
Most Valuable: Quinn Murphy ‘21 Most Improved: Olivia Vu ‘21 Pursuing Victory with Honor: Cambrie Gines ‘18 Eagle 4-Year Award Winners: Alana Hoffer ‘18
Second in State AIA Division III State Champion Runner-Up
Internal School Awards:
Internal School Awards:
Most Valuable: Tyler Barfield ‘19, Jake Rodin ‘19 Most Improved: Eli Silverman ‘21 Pursuing Victory with Honor: Harrison Rooney ‘18 Eagle 4-Year Award Winners: Harrison Rooney ‘18, Ryan Wang ‘18, Dara Zayanderoudi ‘18
School Record:
School Records (set at State meet):
DIVING
Boys’ 200 Medley Relay: Tyler Barfield ‘19, Jake Rodin ‘19, Lucas Olschansky ‘21, Harrison Rooney ‘18 Boys’ 400 Free Relay: Tyler Barfield ‘19, Harrison Rooney ‘18, Lucas Olschansky ‘21, Jake Rodin’18 100 Back: Tyler Barfield ‘19 100 Fly: Jake Rodin ‘19
Division Recognition: AIA Division III 100 Butterfly State Champion: Jake Rodin ‘19 AIA Division III 200 Medley Relay State Champions: Tyler Barfield ‘19, Lucas Olshansky ‘21, Harrison Rooney ‘18, Jake Rodin ‘19
50 Free: Quinn Murphy ‘21
Division Recognition: AIA Division III 100 Freestyle Champion: Quinn Murphy ‘21 AIA Division III 100 Backstroke Champion: Quinn Murphy ‘21
Internal School Awards: Boys’ MVP: Jem Stern ‘18 Girls’ MVP: Samantha Stein ‘20 Most Improved: Max Goldstein ‘21 Pursuing Victory with Honor: Jordan Merkel ‘18 Eagle 4-Year Award Winners: Jem Stern ‘18, Jordan Merkel ‘18
Division Recognition: AIA Division III Boys’ State Champion: Jem Stern ‘18 AIA Division III Girls’ State Champion: Samantha Stein ‘20 AIA Division III Boys’ Diver of the Year: Jem Stern ‘18 AIA Division III Girls’ Diver of the Year: Samantha Stein ‘20 WINTER 2017/18 | 19
ATHLETICS BOYS’ SOCCER
Division Recognition:
State Champions
All State Coach of the Year: Andy Rodin P’19, ‘19, ‘25
Internal School Awards:
All State First Team: Michael Rosenthal ‘19, Tommy Walton ‘18
Most Valuable: Tommy Walton ‘18 Most Improved: Nirvaan Reddy ‘18 Pursuing Victory with Honor: Jake Sarver ‘18 Eagle 4-Year Award Winners: Decker Freret ‘18, Ryan Goodman ‘18, Cody Kiltz ‘18, Tommy Walton ‘18
All State Second Team: Zach Sarver ‘19 All State Honorable Mention: Griffin Freret ‘20, Ryan Horlick ‘20, Jared Novoa ‘20, Ty Rodin ‘19, Ethan Zimmerman ‘20 All Region Defensive Player of the Year: Tommy Walton ‘19 All Region First Team: Michael Rosenthal ‘19, Zach Sarver ‘19, Tommy Walton ‘18, Ethan Zimmerman ‘20 All Region Second Team: Griffin Freret ‘20, Ryan Horlick ‘20, Jared Novoa ‘20, Ty Rodin ‘19
Below: Michael Rosenthal ‘19, Coach Rodin P ‘19, ‘19, ‘25, and Tommy Walton ‘18
20 | PCDS THE BRIDGE
All Region Honorable Mention: Cody Kiltz ‘18, Nirvaan Reddy ‘18, Jake Sarver ‘18
MS Results Mountain Valley League 5/6 BOYS’ FLAG FOOTBALL Champions
5/6 GIRLS’ BLUE VOLLEYBALL GIRLS’ VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
Champions
Internal School Awards:
7/8 BOYS’ FOOTBALL
Most Valuable: Nikasha Patel ‘18, Payton Darago ‘19
Champions
Most Improved: Ellie Rink ‘20
7/8 GIRLS’ GOLD VOLLEYBALL
Pursuing Victory with Honor: Lindsey Cherilla ‘18 Coaches’ Award: Kylie Fisher ‘18 Eagle 4-Year Award Winners: Wynne Beyersdorfer ‘18, Kylie Fisher ‘18, Nikasha Patel ‘18
Division Recognition:
Semifinalists
Internal School Awards: Blue 5/6 Volleyball MVP: Gabi Hayden ‘25 Coaches’ Award: Chloe DeMark ‘24
All Region First Team: Payton Darago ‘19
Gold 5/6 Volleyball MVP: Isabelle Tilman ‘24
All Region Second Team: Kylie Fisher ‘18, Nikasha Patel ‘18, Alex Xanthos ‘21
Coaches’ Award: Anna Santos ‘24
All Region Honorable Mention: Azin Askari ‘19, Celia McNally ‘18
Blue 7/8 Volleyball MVP: Lilly Robinson ‘22
GIRLS’ JV VOLLEYBALL Most Valuable: Justine Money ‘21
Coaches’ Award: Alex Goldstein ‘22 Gold 7/8 Volleyball MVP: Sonya Barkdull ‘22 Coaches’ Award: Sabrina Bailey ‘22
BOYS’ CROSS COUNTRY
Golf MVP: Sebastian Reddy ‘23
Internal School Awards:
Coaches’ Award: Mia Valente ‘23
Most Valuable: Erik Dahl ‘19 Most Improved: Alain Kouchica ‘20
5/6 Flag Football MVP: Max McCavitt ‘24
Pursuing Victory with Honor: Michael Slate ‘19
Coaches’ Award: Asa Silverman ‘24
GIRLS’ CROSS COUNTRY
7/8 Flag Football MVP: Tanti Felli ‘22
Internal School Awards:
7/8 Flag Football Coaches’ Award: Ben Lewis ‘23
Most Valuable: Claire Linos ‘21 Most Improved: Jessie Dady ‘20 Pursuing Victory with Honor: Grace Saltonstall ‘19 WINTER 2017/18 | 21
STUDENT SECTION
National Merit Semi-Finalists and Commended Students 21 Seniors Recognized / 30% of the Senior Class
2017 National Merit Semi-finalists: Sally Tepper ‘18, Nikasha Patel ‘18, Dara Zayanderoudi ‘18, Anika Sanghvi, ‘18, Sophia Bailey ‘18
2018 Senior Class Nationally Commended Students, top row, left to right; Dara Zayanderoudi, Ryan Goodman, Christopher Montooth, Andrew Winssinger, Alex Roland. Middle row: Anika Sanghvi, Nikasha Patel, Jordan Merkel, Ryan Chung, Madison Stringer, Mehek Khandelwal. Bottom row: Sophia Bailey, Hunter Freedman, Julia Odden, Francesca de Marneffe, Ilana Hoffer, Angela Anaeme, Catie Meng, Sally Tepper. Not pictured: Mary Dover, Addison Wessel
22 | PCDS THE BRIDGE
Speech & Debate
Team results leading into the 2018 Speech & Debate season
MIDDLE SCHOOL
UPPER SCHOOL
Two tournaments between August-December 2017:
Tournament Results for US Speech & Debate between August-December 2017:
Scottsdale Prep (Congressional Debate only) First Place Team Champions
Scottsdale Prep (Congressional Debate only)
Congressional Debate Champion: Yash Wadwekar ‘22
Congressional Debate Champion: Ben Steiner ‘18
Toro Country Classic
Jim Fountain Classic
First Place Team Champions
Second Place Team
Champion in Dramatic Interpretation: Wade Hunter ‘22
Congressional Debate Champion: Darwin Harriss ‘21
Champion in Humorous Interpretation AND Storytelling: Abby Caplan ‘23
Prose Interpretation Champion: Bella de Roos ‘19
Champion in Poetry: Elliot Wessel ‘22 Champions in Duo Interpretation: Misha Ghafouri ‘23, Sai Vadnerkar ‘22 Champion in Congressional Debate: Niamh Campbell ‘23 Champion in Extemporaneous Speaking: Alexander Ashman ‘22 Champion in Declamation: Devan Amin ‘23 UP NEXT: PCDS was the only middle school team in the country invited to the prestigious Columbia University High School Tournament held in NYC in January 2018. Twenty-five students will be attending.
Duo Interpretation Champions: Sammy Dady ‘18, Olivia Najafi ‘18 Informative Speaking Champion: Ava Rossides ‘19 Original Oratory Champion: Anika Patel ‘21
Toro Country Classic Second Place Team Duo Interpretation Champions: Bella de Roos ‘19, Ryan Horlick ‘20
ASDCA Division I Winter Trophy Prose Interpretation Champion: Bennett Montrose ‘21
The Glenbrooks National Tournament in Chicago, IL Third Place in Duo Interpretation: Bella de Roos ‘19, Ryan Horlick ‘20
Arizona State Hugh Downs School of Human Communication Invitational Second Place Team Much more to come in January-June 2018.
WINTER 2017/18 | 23
STUDENT SECTION
Building a Better Tomorrow by Coaches Jesse Munch, Tech Support Specialist and Maki Fullerton, MS Science
PCDS MS LEGO © Robotics Teams compete in The FIRST LEGO League, a division of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization. Each year, teams are challenged to find a real-world issue such as food safety, technology, and environmental improvements, and to investigate and develop an innovative solution. In the annual tournament, each team competes in three categories: Robot Game, Research Project, and Core Values. For the Robot Game, teams design and build their own robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS© technology and program their robots to maneuver different challenges on a table-top playing field. For the Research Project, teams have to find a real-world problem that matches that year’s theme, and then come up with an innovative solution to the problem. Each team is expected to present their research in front of judges at the tournament. Each team also needs to demonstrate Core Values throughout the day at the tournament and to perform a team-building activity in front of the judges. At the end of each tournament, teams who excelled within each category are awarded. Teams who excelled in all three categories overall are recognized and invited to advance to the State Championship in January 2018. 24 | PCDS THE BRIDGE
2017 was an exciting year for MS Robotics Teams. Twice the number of teams (total of four teams) from PCDS participated at the regional tournament in November. This year’s theme— Hydro Dynamics—was about how we can improve the human water cycle and the ways we find, transport, use, and dispose of water. All four teams did well in all three categories of the competition: Robot Game, Research Project, and Core Values. The Lady Eagles, the very first all-girls LEGO Robotics team at PCDS, received the highest award in the Core Value category by demonstrating extraordinary teamwork, spirit, and gracious professionalism throughout the competition day. The Gold Eagles, the second year veteran team, excelled in all three categories and was awarded and invited to advance to the State Championship Tournament at ASU in January. When the LEGO Robotics tournaments are done, MS Robotics Club will continue to have fun focusing on other robotic systems, such as Sumo Robots, VEX IQ, and LEGO Drone for the remainder of the school year. n
COMMUNITY ACTION
Dedication to Community Students Find Multiple Ways to Spread Kindness
BEING BETTER HUMANS BY BEING KINDER HUMANS by Julie Larrea, MS English and Alli Booth, US History
Beyond all of the excitement of our October 2017 Blue & Gold celebration, the entire MS suspended classes for a day in order to take part in HumanKIND@PCDS—an event centered around identity, diversity, and kindness among our MS students. The day featured conversations led by students from the US, guest speakers, and lots of fun! The event was kicked off with a powerful presentation, “Kindness and Human Decency: Being Better Humans,” by Director of Advancement and Speech & Debate Coach Ryan Joyce. MS students then attended break-out discussion sessions which were hosted by several US students: Gonzalo Alvarado ‘18, Sophia Casten ‘18, Chloe Chodorow ‘19, Francesca De Marneffe ‘19, Arthi Macherla ‘20, Carolina Olea Lezama ‘18, Ashley Ong ‘19, Breanna Price ‘18, Michael Rosenthal ‘19, and Jem Stern ‘18, along with assistance from faculty members Ryan Joyce and Blake Howard, Assistant Director of Admissions. These break-out sessions were designed to stimulate conversations around the theme of kindness. As the afternoon drew to a close, MS advisor groups then met to wrap up the event with different team building activities around kindness.
Whenever US students take on leadership roles within the MS, amazing things happen—and this event was no exception. The open dialogue that took place during the workshops helped our MS students examine the powerful impact of kindness and the importance of community. This event is just one of several initiatives the diversity committee has scheduled throughout the school year to continue to promote a culture of kindness within our PCDS community.
TURKEY DRIVE The annual 2017 MS Turkey Drive, organized by MS Math Teacher Jim Waller with help from MS Spanish Teacher Rachel Scarpone, reached its goal of surpassing last year’s number. All turkeys were donated to St. Mary’s Food Bank for the Thanksgiving holiday. With a student MS population of 250, here are the donation numbers for the past four years: • 2017: 628 (10,578 pounds) • 2016: 626 • 2015: 553 • 2014: 430 “Our community is great at rallying around causes, and this is no different. Not only are we donating to help countless families around the valley, but we also get competitive with ourselves in our quest to donate more than the year before,” stated Mr. Waller. n
Left: Jem Stern ‘18 presenting a lesson to MS students on, “Being An Ally.” Right: MS students with Mr. Waller collecting turkeys at drop-off.
WINTER 2017/18 | 25
COMMUNITY ACTION
Donation Drive Provides Hurricane Relief to Schools by Sydney Hott ‘20 and Willo Wass ‘20
Throughout the summer and fall of 2017, numerous natural disasters affected our country and its neighbors. Hurricane Irma struck Florida in August and September. Before reaching Florida, it swept through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, destroying anything in its path. Similarly, at the end of August, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Texas. On September 19, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico, and three days before the devastations in Mexico, Hurricane Maria swept Puerto Rico. After these disasters, thousands of people were left struggling to meet even their most basic needs. Our PCDS community wanted to help those whose lives were greatly affected. To begin this process, students volunteered to work on a committee with Ms. Culbertson and Ms. Treadway, who provided oversight and reached out to recipient schools in the affected areas. Each grade on the committee was assigned to a specific region that was devastated by these disasters. Freshmen researched Puerto Rico, sophomores looked into the Florida Keys, juniors researched Houston, and the seniors looked into Mexico. After meeting as a committee, we conducted our individual research and crafted a short Powerpoint to present to the US and MS student bodies. During our Blue
& Gold week in October, we set up donation boxes around campus where each advisory could drop off the supplies that were assigned to them. Overall, the donation drive was extremely successful and each donation box was overflowing with goods and supplies. We received such overwhelming support that it was all hands on deck to package the boxes. Within each box was a personalized letter to let each recipient location know that we were thinking of them. Living in Arizona, where natural disasters rarely hit, we seldom think about what would happen if such devastation came and destroyed everything we have come to know. These disasters remind us of the importance of coming together when help is most needed. As we embark on a new year, we hope that everyone reflects on how one simple deed can have a huge impact on those who are in need of support around the world. n
Left: Semeon Afework ‘20. Right: US students come together to pack relief boxes
26 | PCDS THE BRIDGE
FACULTY NEWS AND NOTES
Outside the Classroom, the State and the Country Last summer, US Science Teacher Daniel McGill spent three weeks bike touring on Iceland’s Ring Road—an 850 mile circumnavigation of the island—with his siblings. Mr. McGill reports, “It is as stunning a landscape, with its big skies, fields of purple flowers, endless waterfalls, and narrow fjords, as it is harsh. The wind rarely let up and the rain came frequently and without notice; despite the perpetual daylight, we needed to bundle up to stay warm. What will stay with me most, however, is Iceland’s emptiness: for a good deal of the journey we were alone. No shelter, no sounds except the whistling wind and the whir of our bike chains. How refreshing to be so brutally reminded that there are still places we can go to get away from people and traffic and social media and world politics!
On June 17, Billing Coordinator Donna Corbett and Registrar and College Counselor Barb Bzdak ran the Bryce Canyon Ultra 50K—32 miles and 5,000+ feet of elevation gain on the trails along the western edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau—in near record breaking heat. This was reportedly the first ultra marathon for both, but it won’t be their last. In June 2017, US English teacher Andrea Avery gave a reading and signing from her debut book, Sonata: A Memoir of Pain and the Piano, at Barnes & Noble in Bethesda, Maryland. Much to Dr. Avery’s delight, in attendance were several PCDS alumni, who now make the Washington area their home. From left to right: Kate Gonzales, ‘12; Arianne Price, ‘11; Sophie Boyer, ‘10; Dr. Avery; and Leah Motzkin, ‘12. After the book’s publication in May 2017, Dr. Avery continued to share Sonata with readers throughout the year. She participated in San Francisco LitQuake and the CD Wright Women Writers Conference in the fall of this year and will appear at the Tucson Festival of Books and Arizona State University’s Desert Nights, Rising Stars writing conference in spring 2018. She would love to see the familiar faces of former students at these events!
US Drama and English Teacher Keith Burns is celebrating his third year as a founding member of improvMania, an improvisational comedy club in Downtown Chandler, which opened its doors September 12, 2014. He continues to perform in many of their weekend shows. Mr. Burns has been both an instructor and a student at the comedy club. “I am honored to be part of such a creative and successful small business. Without a doubt, my experience at improvMania feeds my capacity as the theater director at PCDS,” reports Mr. Burns. WINTER 2017/18 | 27
FACULTY NEWS AND NOTES US English teacher Courtney Rath presented at the Literary Research Association’s annual conference in November 2017. Dr. Rath was invited to present her research on racial literacy and teacher education, along with a colleague at University of Oregon, Asilia Franklin-Phipps. This past November, US Art Teacher Lisa Tolentino performed in the world premiere of “Rotary Clocks and the Illusion of Time,” a piece including three pianos, a percussion quartet, and an open ensemble by composer Jacob Adler. The piece was an hour long and wove special piano tunings with a broad variety of colors from marimbas, crotales, cymbals, stones, and woodblocks. This was the fourth concert in the 8th annual Prisms Contemporary Music Festival hosted by ASU’s Herberger Institute’s Music Department. MS Science Teacher Maki Fullerton climbed Mt. Fuji with her sister over a period of two days last summer. “Many people in Japan see Mt. Fuji as a sacred mountain. Seeing the sunrise from the top of Mt. Fuji—referred to as Goraikou, Buddha’s halo/light—is seen as a purification and sacred act. It was the clearest and most beautiful of sunrises,” reported Ms. Fullerton. Together, she and her sister walked around the volcano opening and visited a shrine where they gave thanks for their safe climb and prayed for a safe descent. After a short break, they were amazed at how fast they were able to descend the mountain. The tour bus was waiting to take them to the Onsen—hot springs—to shower and soak in hot baths. “I was very nervous about altitude sickness. Although I experienced a slight headache on the way up, I was able to complete the climb without any real issues. We were very thankful for our experienced tour guide who took the ascent slowly and constantly reminded us to drink water and to breathe. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I got to enjoy with my sister,” reported Ms. Fullerton.
28 | PCDS THE BRIDGE
When MS teacher Katie McKean’s father turned 70 in the summer of 2017, he learned he was adopted. Ms. McKean decided to do Ancestry.com and learned, much to her surprise, that she was 70% Eastern European, with a huge overlap in Romania. She spent three weeks last summer walking, hiking, exploring, eating, and meeting Romanians. Ms. McKean learned so much from Romanians who grew up under the communist regime and the revolution to overthrow the government. She visited castles, villages, cities, lakes, seasides, and towns. She traveled by train and foot and explored as much as possible. “After that uplifting experience,” stated Ms. McKean, “I am seriously considering venturing back to Romania this summer!” This past summer, US Art Teacher Hallie Mueller traveled to the Dolomites mountain range in Italy where she and her fiancé went rock climbing. Ms. Mueller also did alpine climbs in the Canadian Rockies—both in the Jasper Area and in Bugaboo Provincial Park. On both of these trips, Ms. Mueller took “a million photos,” which she uses as source material for her personal paintings. The painting to the right combines an abstract photo of a glacial lake with the suggestion of hay bails. “I was thinking that so many parts of mountain landscape look almost machine made, as if deliberately plowed out by the type of machine that would manufacture perfectly cylindrical hay bails, rather than made by ‘unthinking’ glaciers,” stated Ms. Mueller.
FACULTY NEWS AND NOTES Piggy-backing on the implementation of our four new Advanced Latin courses (Medical Latin, Roman Law and Politics, Roman Architecture and City Planning, and Ancient Spirituality: Religion or Cult), US Head Ms. Culbertson encouraged US Latin Teacher Robin Anderson to write a paper and present our new curriculum to the greater academic world. Ms. Anderson submitted this paper to CAMWS (The Classics Association of the Midwest and South), a professional organization for the promotion of Classical Studies, and was asked to present at their national conference in Albuquerque in April 2018. Among the hundreds of submissions, Ms. Anderson was the only high school teacher asked to present a workshop—everyone else was either a college professor or graduate student. The workshop she will be presenting is titled, “If not AP, then what?.” Ms. Anderson’s objective is to frame the need for Latin courses that are not based solely upon ancient poetry or political literature while sharing some of her “different” teaching methods and reading selections. As an AP reader/scorer for the College Board, Ms. Anderson will also be on a panel to discuss the current AP curriculum for today’s high school student.
In October, Controller Stephanie McLachlan (second from left) competed in the USTA National Championship over 40/level 3.5 in Ft Lauderdale, FL.
Keegan Mae Arguello was born on June 27, 2017 to former LS teacher Heather Arguello and her husband, DJ.
LS Art Teacher Michelle Gurnee created an art piece for Create-a-Thon held by Camelback Bible Church in Paradise Valley. Each contestant had 48 hours to do an onsite creation. The theme of the Create-a-thon was given on site at the beginning of the 48 hours, and each contestant needed to have their piece completed and their work space clean by the end of the competition. Ms. Gurnee’s piece was inspired by a verse from the Bible. Her sculpture earned Honorable Mention. To the left is the sculpture titled, The Journey of Flight from Ourselves.
In July 2017, US History Teacher Colin Reynolds (right) was a panelist on the transnational anti-Communist movements of the 1960s seminar at the TransAtlantic Studies Association Conference at University College in Cork, Ireland. WINTER 2017/18 | 29
FACULTY NEWS AND NOTES
Yellott Faculty Grants Faculty research aimed at further engaging students, 2017-18
The Yellott Faculty Grants Memorial Endowment, which honors the memory of former headmaster John I. Yellott, supports summer research to enhance teaching in the classroom, implementation during the school year, and dissemination to our faculty. Our current focus asks faculty to explicitly address how their efforts will translate into fostering student engagement, in alignment with the curricular goals articulated in the 2014 Strategic Plan. This year, three outstanding projects were funded, and awardees are currently implementing the research they completed this past summer. They will also give presentations to our full faculty in the winter of 2018, describing their research and progress in bringing that work to life in their classrooms. Here we share excerpts from awardee descriptions of their projects.
Lisa Tolentino: Game Design for Social Change. In the past, the US Game Design course has given students a broad overview of design strategies for creating ludic (fun) experiences across different game types (cards, board games, video games, embodied games). A branch of games known as “serious games,” “games for impact,” or games that are not purely for entertainment, has emerged as an important area for engaging players in critical thinking. For over a decade, academic learning communities and industry have begun exploring how serious games could be used for something other than entertainment, and instead to teach skills and concepts of real value in the real world. As such, the Game Design course is being refocused as a venue and lens for exploring how rules govern social dynamics in culture and society. Specifically, game design provides many roles and options for building camaraderie and trust between students, while developing their capacity to be collaborative, empathic, and critical thinkers. Crafting a curriculum around such experiences will position students to investigate larger socio-cultural issues (e.g., ability/disability, cultural code-switching, gender expectations) through the lens of systems thinking.
David Kaye, Michael Gordon-Smith: Implementing Standards-Based Grading in English III. This project incorporates standards-based grading in our junior year US English course to focus students on skill mastery and away from grade anxiety. The de-coupling of learning and grades rewards progress instead of punishing early deficiencies or gaps in core competencies, implementing a growth-based model of evaluation without the punitive effect of semester-averaged letter grades. By more explicitly designing instruction, assessments, and feedback that help students demonstrate their abilities in reading comprehension, literary analysis, and writing, we help students define more clearly where their abilities lie at any time. Ten standards have been developed for the course, addressing specific skills in reading comprehension, literary analysis, rhetorical argument, and oral/written communication. Each standard has been scaled to calibrated degrees of proficiency so that students will have well-defined strengths and areas for growth in the course. The overarching goal is to help students prioritize skill mastery, and see the clear connection between mastery and grades. This method will also strengthen teacher/student relationships and offer students opportunities to initiate conversations about their work and about the constructive feedback that accompany assessments.
30 | PCDS THE BRIDGE
Cindy Davis, Pam Gagner, Kelli Newsome, Tracy Sucato, Kim Wass: A Collaborative Professional Learning Community (PLC) Model. Over the last five years, the LS faculty has been involved in on-going professional development efforts that have focused on how to better engage children in mathematics, mindful awareness, and developing a growth mindset. After five years of developing these mindsets and curriculums, the next step is to actively reflect on the quality of our students’ levels of authentic engagement with these course materials and attitudes toward learning. To this end, the LS is moving towards a collaborative Professional Learning Community (PLC) model, with the first undertaking being an in-depth look at our students’ current levels of engagement, and then reflecting on where and how we can improve. Engaging in research and collaborative dialogue focusing on defining authentic student engagement—especially how it manifests in the classroom—provides the platform for developing a model to be applied to classrooms as a tool for reflection on teaching practices. The team will conduct peer observation sessions and, through these observations and on-going dialogues, they will build a safe, effective model for collaborative, reflective teaching that maximizes the benefits for our students as thinkers and learners. They will then have the opportunity to share their experiences and newly honed model for enriching student engagement with other LS faculty, helping them establish this new PLC model of professional development for our community. n
In Memoriam: Tom Sylvester III Ashley Sylvester ‘11 (Tom Sylvester’s daughter) so kindly sent this piece to us. Thomas Oliver Sylvester III passed away last fall at the age of 59 in Scottsdale. Many PCDS parents and students knew Mr. Sylvester from the various roles he held at PCDS, although he might be best known for his role as Director of Admissions. Mr. Sylvester was always so proud to be able to say that he remembered every student he admitted to PCDS. Over the years that he worked at PCDS (1995-2011), he was always quick to recite a student’s background and loved the challenge to do so. Besides filling the role as Director of Admissions, Mr. Sylvester held the titles of Director of Development/Advancement, Director of Financial Aid, PCDS Summer School Head, Economics and History teacher, as well as coach. Mr. Sylvester started
the PCDS Summer School program under the direction of former Head of School Galen Brewster. He was able to quickly turn PCDS summer camp into one of the most well attended summer programs in the Phoenix area. Mr. Sylvester was also passionate about providing the less fortunate with the opportunity of a PCDS education. While Mr. Sylvester had his hands in many of the transforming initiatives at PCDS, he truly enjoyed being a coach the most. His son, Alex ‘13 carries on Mr. Sylvester’s legacy as assistant coach of US and MS baseball at PCDS. Both Alex and Ashley were Lifers at PCDS—Mr. Sylvester was always so proud of both his son and daughter and grateful for the time he was able to spend with them while at School. Tom leaves behind his wife, Sue; daughter, Ashley ‘11; son, Alex ‘13; and sister, Gail.
WINTER 2017/18 | 31
PHILANTHROPY
Annual Fund
The Annual Fund provides vital resources that bridge the gap between tuition and the actual cost of a Phoenix Country Day School education. Tax-deductible gifts are put to immediate use for:
FACULTY ENRICHMENT
TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES
ARTS PROGRAMS
OFF-CAMPUS EXPERIENCES
NEED-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
ATHLETICS
CAMPUS SAFETY
Advancement Committee
A Gift, No Matter the Size, Makes an Impact
This committee meets monthly and is comprised of current parents, past parents, trustees, alumni volunteers, and staff. The group focuses on increasing philanthropic support for the School. Whether it’s for Annual Fund, Tax Credit, or Special Projects, these are the folks from whom you will be hearing.
The success of the Annual Fund has a direct impact on the quality of a PCDS education with contributions touching every aspect of the School. Each year, we ask families, grandparents, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of PCDS to make a meaningful, tax-deductible contribution to the Annual Fund.
You’ll be hearing from us!
Advancement Committee, back row, left to right: Patrick McHonett, Charlene Whitfill, Andy Rodin, Lydia Rodin, Natalee Sansone, Margaux Rosen, Tina Pitts. Middle row: Roz Abero ‘89, Ryan Joyce, Herman Lewkowitz, Tracy Schwimmer, Kathy Tehranchi, Mercedes Liljegren, Leslie Feldman ‘99, Lou Werner ‘87, Katie Charles. Seated: Stacey Horton, Donna Johnson, Nick Firestone ‘84, Tim Riester, Tracy Brennan
DEADLINE FOR ANNUAL FUND PARTICIPATION IS JUNE 30, 2018. 32 | PCDS THE BRIDGE
Tax Credit
MAKE A
170
25%
100%
NEED-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AWARDED TO PCDS STUDENTS EACH YEAR
OF PCDS STUDENTS RECEIVE A NEED-BASED SCHOLARSHIP
COMMITMENT BY PCDS TO SUPPORT A STRONG, DIVERSE COMMUNITY
STATE
MENT 2017 TAX CREDIT
VOICE WHERE YOUR STATE TAX DOLLARS GO! $ ARIZONA TAXPAYERS CAN DECIDE:
OR PCDS STUDENTS WITH FINANCIAL NEED
ARIZONA GENERAL FUND
1
MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION The maximum amount for 2017: $2,177 (married filer) and $1,089 (single filer).
2
CLAIM YOUR DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR CREDIT Visit www.PCDS.org/taxcredit for more information. CORPORATE TAX CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES ALSO AVAILABLE.
DEADLINE FOR TAX CREDIT PARTICIPATION IS APRIL 15, 2018. WINTER 2017/18 | 33
Alumni Board WELCOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS
Sasha Pasulka ‘00
“I took so much from my years at PCDS, and I’m thrilled to be supporting my fellow alums as a part of this community. Go Eagles!” Left to right: Clarissa Simek Robinson ‘88, Christopher Montooth ‘18, Tiffany Westlie Pondelik ‘00, Augustine Gomez ‘99, Gilbert Armenta ‘00, Elizabeth Reahard Oviedo ‘04, Sasha Pasulka ‘00, Angie Anaeme ‘18. Missing from photo: Sarah Vieh Dworkin ‘98, Sarah Nixon Wolfswinkel ‘00, Greg Haus ‘79, Caitlin Wilenchik ‘08, Eric Fram ‘09, Aylin Tashman Kim ‘99, Matthew Prusak ‘11, Ali Hicks LeClair ‘01, Ben McRae ‘07
MESSAGE FROM THE ALUMNI BOARD PRESIDENT Dear Fellow Eagles, We’ve been off and flying this 2017-2018 school year with: • Our first-ever Dallas Alumni Event • Fun annual gatherings in New York City and Los Angeles
Matthew Prusak ‘11
“I am excited to join the board and support its mission of helping PCDS achieve new standards of excellence in education.”
• A fantastic Alumni Holiday Party (we loved seeing so many new faces!) • The rollout of our new PCDS:Connect Networking platform through Alumnifire (make sure to register at pcds.alumnifire.com) We are looking forward to an exciting spring, which will include: • Our third annual Alumni Masters’ Lecture on Tuesday, February 13, this year featuring US History teacher Mr. Matt Guthrie • Our San Francisco Alumni Gathering on Thursday, February 22 • Alumni Spring Weekend April 27-28 Thank you all for your generosity to our alma mater and for your continued involvement in the variety of programs that the Alumni Association offers. I am so proud to be part of this wonderful community. Sincerely,
Augustine H. Gomez ‘99 34 | PCDS THE BRIDGE
Sarah Nixon Wolfswinkel ‘00
“I am thrilled to join the PCDS Alumni Board this year, alongside several of my classmates! As a parent of two daughters, I value the school’s mission to prepare students to be lifelong learners and independent thinkers. It’s a gift for me to be a piece of this community and to be back on campus again!”
The PCDS Alumni Association Invites You to the 2018 PCDS San Francisco Alumni Gathering Featuring: Lesley Silverthorn Marincola ’04 and Bryan Silverthorn ’01 who will discuss how Angaza’s pay-as-you-go technology is bringing energy to the off-grid world.
ALUMNI association
Thursday, February 22, 2018 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Angaza Office 66 Mint, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103 (Off of 5th Street & Mission Street) Heavy hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.
Please RSVP at www.pcds.org/SF2018
WINTER 2017/18 | 35
MIDDLE SCHOOL YEAR IN PHOTOS
Eagles Flocking Together
Alumni events are held throughout the year—on campus and off—not only in Arizona but across the country. From Dallas to New York City to Scottsdale, here are some of the familiar faces we saw this fall:
James Barranco ‘12, Nicole Burke ‘12, and Samantha Kaplan ‘12 in NYC
Jamie Bennett ‘99, Melissa Stewart ‘98, and Leslie Feldman ‘99 at the New York City Alumni Gathering
Ryan Gaines ‘10, Jaclyn Roberts ‘10, Breana Roberts ‘13, and guest Hunter Diamond catching up in New York
Fun was had by all at the Annual Alumni Holiday Party!
Mr. Coon reminiscing with former students at the Alumni Holiday Party
Philip Steiner ‘81 and Greg Haus ‘79 enjoying the annual Alumni Holiday Party
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Join PCDS:Connect The Network of PCDS Alumni Move your career forward with the help of PCDS alumni Find hundreds of jobs offered by Eagle employers Conduct and give informational interviews Connect with PCDS’s vast alumni network Submit and review resumes Get networking help Seek introductions
Eagles Helping Eagles
ALUMNI association
Join at pcds.alumnifire.com WINTER 2017/18 | 37
MIDDLE SCHOOL YEAR IN PHOTOS
Alumni Educators and the Teachers Who Inspired Them There are many alumni who, inspired by their PCDS teachers, became educators themselves. Here are reflections from several graduates who have dedicated their lives to teaching others, all the while keeping their own former teachers in their hearts as they shape young minds each and every day.
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Glen Goodman 00, Assistant Professor of Brazilian Studies Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign I received my BA at Georgetown University in Spanish and Comparative Literature with a minor in German. I then took an M.Sc. in Latin American Studies at Oxford. Thinking I didn’t want to continue in academia, I worked in Colombia as a journalist and attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris…but the siren song of academia called. I started my PhD Glen Goodman in Latin American History with a specialization in 19th and 20th century Brazil at Emory University in 2008. While at Emory, I was a Fulbright Scholar in Brazil and German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) fellow in Germany. My dissertation dealt with German migration and ethnic identity in Brazil. I completed my PhD in 2015. I am currently an Assistant Professor of Brazilian Studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This spring I’ll be a Fulbright Visiting Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) for seven months. For me, the most impactful faculty members during my PCDS years were certainly the fantastic language teachers I had, in particular Dr. Fabio Correa (Spanish), Lillian Howard (Latin), and Bridgett Longust (French). Without them I never would have been drawn to the study of world languages and cultures—something I’m humbled to be able to do professionally at the University of Illinois. The hardest part of teaching about world history, language, and culture is bringing a bit of that other context to life within the classroom. Students need to feel in touch with a reality they have likely never seen for themselves as well as be convinced of the value and urgency of such intercultural studies. From the Roman Republic to Gabriel García Marquez’s Macondo, the
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language teachers at PCDS set an example of enthusiasm and openness that inspires me in my own teaching today. Also, I have to mention Dr. Becky Allison for her “boot camp” Freshman English class. As someone who spends a lot of his professional life writing, she likely most influenced my trajectory by making my success in academic writing possible. More generally, I can still hear Dr. Allison’s voice when I split infinitives, confuse conjunctions and prepositions, or structure a paragraph poorly. She’s Becky Allison the good grammar angel perched on my shoulder as I’m hunched over my laptop struggling to express myself. She also taught me that students will respond positively to critique when they know just how much of your own time and effort goes into engaging with their writing—it works!
Dr. Glen Goodman ‘00 guest lecturing on U.S. Interventionism in Latin America in a PCDS 11th grade history class
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William Kerrigan 81, Cole Distinguished Professor of American History Muskingum University, New Concord, OH I am a Professor of History at a small liberal arts college in Ohio. Classmates who knew me back then may be surprised to learn that. I transferred to PCDS in my eighth grade year from a school that was much less rigorous in terms of academic expectations. Despite the kindness, patience, and individual attention I received from virtually all of my PCDS teachers, I really struggled to keep up. The summer between eighth grade and freshman year I spent in a summer enrichment program, where I first encountered English teacher Mr. Roof. He was a truly inspirational teacher, and he worked to make personal connections with each and every student. That personal connection motivated me to work harder, as I held him in such high regard. But my transformation from struggling, unfocused student to successful scholar was no magical overnight event. In my freshman year, I was in Ms. Christine English’s World History class. I enjoyed the class but my efforts were inconsistent nonetheless. In the latter half of the year, I surprised “Ms. E” and myself by doing better than I usually did on one of her challenging tests. When she returned it to me she told me she knew I was capable of doing quality work consistently, and offered William Kerrigan
me a challenge: if I could manage to Christine English pull my grade up to a “B” by the end of the year, she’d take me out for an ice cream sundae. In the Hollywood version of this story, I would of course pull that off and earn my reward. But the truth is, while I did a little better, I did not achieve that goal. But when it came time to sign up for classes for the next year, I deliberately signed up for another challenging “Ms. E” course, I applied myself and did much better. That second class with Ms. E was when my passion for history was sparked. Halfway through my junior year, my family moved to Texas, and I left PCDS behind. But those three and a half years set me on a new trajectory, and I learned how to be a better learner. I’ve mentioned two PCDS faculty that made a difference, but I could really list a whole lot more who were also so important to my intellectual development. What they all had in common is that they cared about every student’s success, and they let every student know that. I bring those lessons with me as a teacher at the college level now. Every semester I encounter students who are struggling and unfocused, just like I was. I try to give to them the kind of attention and inspiration that my PCDS teachers brought to me.
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Elizabeth Dashnaw O’Brien 81, Fifth Grade English and Social Studies Massachusetts Public School I am currently a fifth grade English and Social Studies teacher in Massachusetts public schools. When I reflect on my most impactful teachers at PCDS, they were my dad (Rod Dashnaw), Mrs. DeMarzo, Mr. Roof, Ms. English, and Mr. Hacking.
Elizabeth Dashnaw O’Brien
With regard to lessons or memories from PCDS faculty that I carry into my professional life, I never write “a lot” without feeling I will be zapped with lightning. That was from eighth grade with Mrs. DeMarzo. She taught me grammar and the importance of “voice” in writing, among many other things. Ms. English taught me how to use an outline to take notes. I teach note taking explicitly to my students. She also introduced the world of the ancient past to me, and I never quite recovered.
I can’t begin to share all that l learned from my father. I thought he was the coolest dad in the world anyway, but the fact that he had a briefcase (same one for about 30 years) and corrected homework made him a superhero. I feel a bit duped by that now, actually. Correcting papers is not at all cool. My father taught me by example the most important thing teachers need to know: you can share your attention and love with an infinite number of people and still survive.
Rod Dashnaw
WINTER 2017/18 | 39
MIDDLE SCHOOL YEAR IN PHOTOS
More from Alumni Educators ‘
Grant Mudge 88, Ryan Family Producing Artistic Director Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, University of Notre Dame, IN It is my privilege to serve as the Ryan Family Producing Artistic Director for the professional theatre of the University of Notre Dame (the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival), and to hold a concurrent position in the department of Film, Television, and Theatre. I also taught for just under five years at the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School in Richmond, Grant Mudge Virginia, frequently included in the US News & World Report as one of the top 25 high schools in the country. It’s my twenty-first year as an artistic director and twenty-second as an educator. It must be about three or four times each year that I tell the story of my first day in Dr. John Collins’ English class. The first day’s Shakespeare unit on A Midsummer Night’s Dream; it was also my first day at PCDS as a freshman. On the syllabus I had seen both the magical play title and the name “William Shakespeare,” and been excited. Taking a seat on the far side of the classroom by the wall (and desperate to fit in), it was with quite a thrill that I reached to my backpack for that slim Folger edition of the play when Dr. Collins called out “Let’s begin our unit on Shakespeare. Please take out your copies of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Why? Almost two years earlier, a previous school assignment had been to ask a parent her favorite author. “Oh, Shakespeare, I guess,” my mother replied. Though we never really discussed it further, this seemed odd: my mother read constantly but I
had never seen the heavy volume off the top shelf in her hands. But she knew those plays. I now finally was to learn why Shakespeare was foremost among all the reading she so loved. As I turned my eyes away from the class and down toward my backpack an enormous groan emerged from behind me. It was nothing less than a John Collins vocalization of some deep torture that had been inflicted upon the entire group—the nature of which I had not a clue. Not wanting to be left out, I too joined right in the chorus: agh, Shakespeare!? No! Ohhh!!! (These days I add a mock spit upon the ground for emphasis, telling the story. Ptooey!) As we started reading the play, I certainly did not understand every word: Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour Draws on apace; four happy days bring in Another moon: but, O, methinks, how slow This old moon wanes! she lingers my desires, Like to a step-dame or a dowager Long withering out a young man revenue. But I gradually realized that there was something special, magical, in the language. And so to Dr. Collins, to all the faculty who shepherded us through those awkward years, and to Mom: I thank you, and will endeavor to continue passing on a love for these plays and fond respect for their remarkable author.
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Shawn Dyer Ducusin 96, Fourth Grade Teacher Phoenix Country Day School Since receiving my BA in Multicultural Education and my MEd in Curriculum and Instruction, I have been teaching for 16 years as a fourth grade teacher, first in San Diego, and now I’ve come completely full-circle by teaching at PCDS!
Shawn Dyer Ducusin
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The most impactful teacher that I had at PCDS was Fran Vierck. She formed strong relationships with her students, showed enthusiasm, and stayed after school to offer additional support to her students.
Fran Vierck
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Jessie Weiser 03, Director of Student Activities Making Waves Academy, Richmond, CA After studying Psychology and Religious Studies at Pomona College, I worked for five years in Jewish social justice organizations. I was advocating for justice while also teaching young people how to put their values into action. I quickly realized how much I enjoyed teaching students how to identify and act on their values. So, I pursued a master’s in Education Jessie Weiser at Harvard to shift my career more directly into the education sector. After grad school, for two years, I worked in talent acquisition and development for City Year, an education non-profit that places AmeriCorps volunteers into high-need classrooms. I missed working directly with students, so when I moved to California, I sought a position where I would be able to serve young people more directly again. Now, I serve as the Director of Student Activities at Making Waves Academy (MWA) in Richmond, California. My role is to generate student engagement through extra-curricular activities including clubs, student government, field trips, assemblies, and special events. I can think of three teachers who had a profound impact on me: • The first is Dr. Allison. With her daily quizzes and compassionate rigor, she helped us master the English language so that we could clearly express our ideas or opinions. The grammatical precision that I learned from Dr. Allison has carried me through my academic and professional career. • The second is Mr. Hendrickson (“Hendi”). When I was interviewed for my current position, the panel asked me whether
I carry many lessons and memories from PCDS faculty into my professional life, the most important being to let your students see the passion you have for teaching. Go above and beyond for your students and have a willingness to reflect.
there were any educators in my life that I wanted to emulate, and my first thought was of Hendi. I remember Hendi as a mentor who would support us through whatever challenges we were facing, and Hendi’s office as a place where we could go to escape the stresses of school. I also remember Hendi Bob Hendrickson holding us accountable to various rules and expectations. As an educator, I try to find that difficult balance between compassion and accountability that Hendi so naturally embodied, and I try to create spaces like Hendi’s office, where students can feel safe and supported. • The third is Ms. Keller. Ms. Keller used her theatre classroom to show us how to break outside our comfort zones and shed our perpetual pursuit of perfection. She helped us to discover and embrace who we were and to laugh and enjoy ourselves while learning. I remember the much-needed respite that she gave us each day and try to give my students a chance to laugh while they are working and growing. Working at a high school, I feel like I’m constantly flashing back to my time at PCDS! I often think about how our principals were willing to jump off high dives, if we raised enough money for charity. I think about how our teachers left their families to take us on trips to places like Moab, Catalina Island, and L.A. And, I think about how they would take their free time to cheer us on at sports games, performances, or other activities. I took all of that for granted at the time, but I certainly look back with immense gratitude now as I better understand the joys and challenges of serving as an educator!
Shawn Ducusin in her PCDS classroom
“It’s an honor to work at the same place where my appreciation for education was initially instilled.” WINTER 2017/18 | 41
Save the Weekend to Celebrate! APRIL 27 & 28, 2018
Athletic Hall of Fame Induction honoring Michele Barnhill ’08, Chris Sandor ’98, Robert Casselman ’73, Coach Greg Hull Outstanding Alumnus/a Award Presentation Alumni Weekend 2018 Honoring the Reunion Classes of ’73, ’78, ’83, ’88, ’93, ’98, ’03, & ’08 The Sixth Annual Bridge-the-Gap THANK YOU Celebration
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Eagles: the Next Generation We are so proud that more than 30 alumni are also currently PCDS parents. Blue and gold spirit is certainly being passed on to the next generation of Eagles! Thinking of PCDS for your own kids? Schedule a visit with our Admissions Office to get started: www.pcds.org/admissions/visit-pcds.
From left: Hank Dryden ‘21, Helaine Rosenbaum Dryden ’85, Matthew Linhart ‘21, Gary Linhart ’88, Leslie Kornreich Feldman ’99, Tyler Feldman ’31, Roz Bolger Abero ’89, Edu Abero ’24, Rayne Douglas ’30, Beri Golding ’01, Ashley Humes McDonough ‘04, Lily McDonough ‘29, Tiffany Westlie Pondelik ’00, Cassie Pondelik ’00, Heidi Pondelik, Ellie Robinson ‘25, Clarissa Simek Robinson ‘88, Lilly Robinson ‘22, Josie Robinson ‘26, Carolina Lopez ‘82, Sophia Kirkland-Lopez ‘18, Charles de Trenck ’81, Arianne de Trenck ’23, Lou Werner ‘87, Addisen Werner ‘24, Louis Werner, IV ‘28, Stephanie Vithoulkas Hackett ‘91, Thea Hackett, Jason Hackett ’88, Rainey Hackett ‘26, Emme Kate Hackett ’22, Kather Hackett ‘24 Not Pictured: Eleanor Abraham ‘06, Mya Abraham ‘28, Gilbert Armenta ‘00, Nick Armenta ‘23, Ben Bachus ‘93, Kate Bachus ‘25, TJ DeMark ‘93, Morgan DeMark ‘27, Chloe DeMark ‘24, Hailey DeMark ‘22, James Gard ‘94, Jim Gard ‘30, Christine Grau ‘89, Tommy Walton ‘18, John Hayden ‘82, Andie Lou Hayden ‘18, Carrie Louis Hulburd ‘77, Louis Hulburd ‘20, Eric Jackson ‘86, Elsa Jackson ‘22, Ida Jackson ‘19, Pinar Tashman Korzay ‘90, Sedona Korzay ‘22, Alexandra Hicks LeClair ‘01, Audrey LeClair ‘19, Gregory Lehmann ‘91, Oliver Lehmann ‘24, John Levitz ‘79, Christian Levitz ‘21, Timothy Louis ‘81, Clark Louis ‘22, Roy Miele ‘99, Livy Miele ‘31, Lindsay Piccinati Murphy ‘93, Quinn Murphy ‘21, David Spetzler ‘94, Charlotte Spetzler ‘24, Jeffrey Stern ‘90, Raya Stern ‘28
WINTER 2017/18 | 43
Here’s what some of our alumni have been up to… 1989 Kerstan Ruffer writes, “At the Lake Oswego Junior High School Back-toSchool night in September 2016, my daughter’s teacher, Mrs. Gray, told all of us parents that she went to high school in Arizona and then to college in the opposite of Arizona (Chicago). After she spoke to the parents, I went up to her and asked her if there was any chance she went to PCDS and she said ‘YES’ and that she became a Social Studies teacher because she was so inspired by Mr. Martin! We had many teachers in common. Here I am with Emily Delgado Gray ‘98 and my 7th grader Gail!”
The past couple years have been busy ones for Amanda Mabbitt Westlake. “We moved from Tempe to Richmond, VA, in June of 2016. Our second son, Grayson, joined us just two months later in August. I had been working as a nurse practitioner in Arizona but have been at home with the boys since our move. We have been enjoying the parts of Richmond we can explore with a four- and one-year-old, and look forward to getting to know the city even more in the coming years. I start as adjunct nursing faculty this summer at VCU.”
1999
Amanda Westlake with her husband, Garret, and their sons Griffin and Grayson
Aylin Kim and Peter Chiarelli are shown below at Peter’s graduation from neurosurgery residency in Seattle, WA. Aylin writes, “We both feel lucky to be in Seattle to share important life events and have our kids grow up together.” The photo below also includes Carolina Chiarelli at four days old and Ziya Kim at six months old.
Margot LaNoue wrote, “I’m happy to share that I received a promotion: Events Manager for Garden Communities. I now run the events department, which has rapidly grown over the past year. We focus primarily on creating community-building opportunities and extraordinary living experiences for GC
properties’ residents, like Trivia Night, Whiskey Socials, trips to museums, and more. It’s an opportunity for residents to meet their neighbors, put names to faces, and transform (potentially impersonal) apartment complexes into tight-knit communities.” 2000 Zack Burstein shared, “I’m very excited to announce that on my birthday (9/6) my wife, Jenny, and I welcomed our first child, Bryce Burstein! It has been an amazing few months filled with smiles, coos, crying, and a few naps here and there. Let me know if you are in the D.C. area—we’d love to introduce you to the adorable little guy!”
2001 Brian Snyder and his wife, Amy, welcomed their second child, Noah, in May. In October, Brian (who is an attorney) won a $15 million verdict in a trial against Banner UMC Hospital; it is the largest verdict of any kind in Arizona in 2017.
Did you graduate in 2008, 2003, 1998, 1993, 1988, 1983, 1978, or 1973? Want to help plan your April 2018 reunion? If so, please email alumni@pcds.org to get started.
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2002 Michaela Skloven and her husband, Matt welcomed Finn David Oliver on October 17, 2017. He weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs 12 oz!
Our Alumni Networking platform has gotten an upgrade! Register to connect at pcds.alumnifire.com.
Sierra Seip tells us, “I enjoy my job as a Sr. Industrial Designer at SkipHop in NYC, and am so fortunate to see many fellow PCDS alumni on a regular basis, including Michelle Lisa Brown ‘04, Caitlin Lisa ‘06, Tony Lisa ‘02, my sister Saranden ‘02, Kylie Birnbaum ‘04, Kyle Wade ‘03, Lizzy Smith ‘04 and Lizzie Vieh ‘03! I recently went on a fun vacation to Newfoundland with my boyfriend and our two rescue dogs, Inky and the Dude, who have their own Instagram account @inkyandthedude.” Hermes Flores reports, “I have a cool job as a Network Engineer at Iridium Communications.” 2004 Kylie Birnbaum and her wife, Lin, welcomed their son, Makai Birnbaum, into the world in September 2017. They have lived in Brooklyn for five years now and love it. Kylie is finishing up her residency in Emergency Medicine this year at SUNY Downstate/ Kings County Hospital, after which she will start as a faculty attending physician in the NYU Emergency Department this July.
2006 John Schupbach received his MBA from Harvard Business School and will complete medical school at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine in 2019. He visited India and his Squalor to Scholar students in November, and he recently spoke to the PCDS MS and US about his organization’s important work bringing access to education to students in India.
Harry Zeitlin writes, “After attending MS at PCDS, I attended Brophy College Prep. In 2010, I graduated from Stanford University and went to work in Silicon Valley. I founded my own technology company in 2012 and sold it a year later. Afterwards, I joined Dropbox, Inc. in a business role and was part of a team that opened the Asia-Pacific office for Dropbox in Sydney, Australia. After Australia, I decided to leave the world of technology and I returned to Phoenix. I currently work in commercial real estate for my family’s business and plan on doing so for the long term. I work in an office building that overlooks PCDS. So, despite having worked and lived all over the world, I have somehow made it back to where I started, and it only took me twenty years to do so!” After high school, Lauren Weinberg stayed local and studied Supply Chain Management at the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU. She was recruited to participate in the Distribution Center Management Trainee Program with Dollar Tree in Southern California. After a few years in Operations Management and Inventory Control, Lauren transitioned to the Michael Kors Distribution Campus to supervise the U.S. Retail and Wholesale Shipping Operations. She recently moved back to Phoenix and started her own e-commerce business as a retailer on Amazon.com and is loving it! She currently resides in Ahwatukee with her dog, Carter. WINTER 2017/18 | 45
After high school, Cole Geringer attended Arizona State University, graduating with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. After a couple of stops in New York and Los Angeles, Cole has now settled down back in Nashville, where he is originally from. He and his wife, Miranda, have a full house with two children: Wolff, 7, and Mila, 4, as well as two Goldendoodles: Otis and Owen. Cole is currently the Director of Business Development at Envision Healthcare, one of the largest providers of healthcare in the country, where he is focused on the retention of hospital contracts. Amanda Frederick graduated with her undergraduate degree from SMU with an emphasis in psychology and journalism. She earned a master’s in counseling from SMU in 2014. While finishing her master’s, she completed her internship at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center specializing in Play Therapy and Activity Therapy. Amanda is currently working at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas with the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care as a researcher. Additionally, she sees clients at her private practice and specializes in working with anxiety, depression, mood disorders, chemical dependency and trauma. Emma Robbs tells us, “I attended Boston University where I majored in the dramatic arts. Originally, I had wanted to become an agent in the film and TV industry and even went to London to pursue that, until on a whim I went to Santiago, Chile, to visit a good friend. I absolutely loved Chile and booked myself a one way ticket back to Santiago.
I ended up staying there for almost six years where I worked at a corporate events company and then in finance. I currently live in Amsterdam and work in online media for an international Dutch company. Most of my free time is spent traveling when possible.” Steven Corey reports, “I finished my master’s in finance at Thunderbird (now formally owned by ASU) in 2017. Upon graduation I was recruited by Goldman Sachs to work in their Private Wealth Management Operations division. I moved to Salt Lake City, UT, for the position and have been working here for a couple of months now. I am loving the experience and I’m excited to buy a ski pass and get out in the snow!” Michael Peloquin attended PCDS from 4th to 8th grade and then graduated high school from Brophy College Preparatory. He then went to the University of Georgia, (Go Dawgs!), graduating in 2010 with a degree in business from Georgia’s Terry College of Business. He moved to the Washington D.C. area to join a marketing and film production company. In 2013, Michael co-founded Borderline Media Company. After graduating from PCDS, David Hunt went to NYU to study music business. Following college, he pivoted careers and ultimately ended up working in software. For the past six years, he has worked for the Cambridge-based marketing and sales software company, HubSpot. As the Director of Global Frontline Support, David runs teams in the U.S., Singapore, Ireland and Germany. He currently lives outside of Boston in Melrose, MA.
2007 Christiana Barkley graduated from the Columbia University School of Journalism. She worked for Turner Sports in New York and later taught in Tanzania. She is currently working for the Columbia University Review and job hunting. Erica Worthington reports, “I graduated from USC and got a job at Teach for America in Phoenix. I now teach science and math at a charter school in Boston.” After graduating from PCDS in 2007, Molly Kearns briefly attended the University of Colorado at Boulder for one semester, before returning home to go to Arizona State University. During her junior year at ASU, she studied abroad in Florence, Italy, where she met her future husband, Sean. They were married on Cape Cod, MA, in 2013, and they just recently purchased their first house together in Scottsdale. She currently works in the pre-press catalog business, and designs invitations and other paper goods on the side. They are focusing on pursuing their careers, and look forward to raising a family in Arizona in the future.
Members of the classes of 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1968: Please mark your calendars for June 7, 2018 for the next Golden Circle celebration.
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Jay Lundeen tells us, “I have a cool job as the VP of Account Management at Tempo Strategic. If I had a hashtag it would be #savetheporgs.” Jordan Kabbani moved to New Orleans in the summer of 2007 to attend Tulane University. He graduated with degrees in economics and political science. Having lived in the city after Hurricane Katrina, Jordan developed an interest in urban planning and real estate development. Jordan went to work as an analyst at a boutique consulting firm based out of San Francisco focused on real estate financing and development. During his time at The Concord Group, Jordan focused his efforts on urban mixed-use developments as well as managing the firm’s affordable housing business unit. Jordan left the firm after four years to pursue his MBA at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business where he is completing his final year. He interned at Citigroup’s Investment Banking Division in the Mergers and Acquisitions group in New York City where he will return after graduating this summer.
There are a lot of new buildings on the PCDS campus! Want a tour? Email alumni@pcds.org to make arrangements!
Elizabeth Jeans is attending residency at the Mayo Clinic in radiation oncology. She wrote and published her first book entitled: Radiation Therapy Treatment Effects: An Evidence-based Guide to Managing Toxicity.
Clare Burnham recently relocated to Seattle, WA, after completing her MBA at Georgetown University. She works as a Senior Product Manager on the Amazon Fashion technology team, working to disrupt the fashion industry one ‘prime’ item at a time. 2008 Manasi Soni tells us, “Last year, I graduated from the University of Virginia with a Master of Public Health with my fiancé, James Parrish. In the fall of 2016, we both began medical school at the University of Miami. As a second year medical student, I am a Teaching Assistant for clinical skills training and a student liaison on the admissions committee. With the intent to serve as an advocate for my future patients, I have also spent the last year researching HIV as it relates to mental health, systemic disease, and public health.”
Brittny Golding graduated from ASU with an education degree. She is currently running the Madison Improvement Club in Tempe. Carly Fusco reports, “I attended the University of Arizona, majoring in English literature and business. I currently live in sunny San Diego, where I work in sales for Humanscale. I help companies and architect and design firms to outfit new and existing office space with ergonomic office furniture and products that improve wellness in the workplace. I am actively involved in the Junior League of San Diego and sit on the board as the Community Affairs Chair for the International Interior Design Association.”
Jenny Papp reports, “I have been living in San Diego since graduating from the University of San Diego in 2012 with a BBA in finance. I work as the Logistics and Operations Manager for an engineering company where we design, develop, and manufacture wireless torque sensors for the Motorsport industry. We work with various automotive racing series, including the entire Formula 1 grid. My boyfriend and I just purchased a home near the beach last December and are looking forward to our many travel plans over the next few years.” WINTER 2017/18 | 47
Upon graduating from ASU in 2012 with a Bachelor of Accountancy, Hutch Balholm relocated to Los Angeles to intern with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. Hutch is now an active CPA and a Senior Associate in the firm’s assurance practice where he has served technology and entertainment clients in the L.A. market for the past four years. After attending the Taft School in Watertown, CT, Kelsey White was accepted to Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. She was in the Science in Society Program, which combines a natural science major with a humanities major; hers were biology and economics. She moved to Boulder, CO, in 2012 and worked as a counselor at Imagine! providing support services to adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities. She is now an intern at Boulder County Public Health where she is part of the team that gathers data for the newly passed Sugary Beverage Tax. She hopes to apply to graduate school soon, so she can continue to help people. Julia Ivanova received her BA and MA in medical anthropology and is currently doing research for her dissertation, “Parental Perceived Child Mental Health Stigma,” at ASU’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change. She has also been managing/teaching the Conditioned Food Preferences Lab in the Psychology Department under Drs. Wadhera and Capaldi-Phillips during this time. After initially going to Boston as an undergraduate, she moved backed to Phoenix and has remained here since.
Daniel Rollinger tells us, “I attended Barrett Honors College and the ASU W.P. Carey School of Business. While there, I studied at both Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and the London School of Economics. I graduated summa cum laude in December 2012 with a BS in finance and a minor in philosophy. In August of 2014, I enrolled at Boalt Hall at Berkeley Law, and pursued a JD. During that time, I started my own company in the real estate technology space called HomeSlice. I graduated from Boalt in 2017, sat for the Bar examination, and did some traveling. In September 2017, I started a job with a company called RealtyShares, which provides finance for real estate projects and securitizes its investments for a wider marketplace. I am working on their legal team and learning a ton about how much I still have to learn.” Ilian Valev writes, “I went to ASU for undergrad where I graduated with a degree in finance. Afterwards, I worked for three years as a financial analyst/corporate accountant for Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix, but I left that job to attend law school. I am currently finishing up my last year of law school at ASU. After I graduate, I will be clerking for one year with the Arizona Court of Appeals before I begin my career as a lawyer.” Michael-Anne Orenstein reports, “I currently live in Toronto, Ontario, with my chihuahua, Posh, and fish, Luciano. My final year of high school was spent living in Scotland, attending the Gordonstoun School. I then studied Business and Acting at PACE Univer-
Save the Date for Alumni Spring Weekend! April 27-28, 2018. Visit www.pcds.org/alumnievents for more details.
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sity in downtown Manhattan, while working at Cipriani Wall Street. After working on two national television shows in Vancouver, I made my way to Toronto, where I have worked my way up through the retail world. I am currently working as an Associate Account Executive for Randa Accessories—one of the largest men’s accessories companies in the world. In my spare time, you can find me journeying to all sorts of live music events with friends, and checking out varying activities in the greater Toronto area.” Alex Temen graduated from ASU studying finance and later moved to New York City to embark on a career in mergers & acquisitions on Wall Street. Though the work can be tough and the nights can be long, he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. His advice to the bright young minds at PCDS? “LOOK ABOUT YOU!” (quoting Mr. Dashnaw)
Warren Wagoner tells us, “After attending the University of Southern California and commissioning in the Army in 2012, I spent the next two years in helicopter flight school at Fort Rucker, AL. From there, I was stationed in Camp Humphreys, South Korea, for a two-year tour that I really enjoyed. In August 2016, I was transferred to Fort Riley, KS, and continue to serve as an Army captain flying UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.” After graduating from PCDS, Richard Wong received his Bachelor of Science degree in General Biology at UC San Diego. In between classes and doing bio-genetic research at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, he learned to surf. He is currently finishing his 4th year of medical school in Nevada and applying for a residency in pediatrics. In his spare time, he has been training and playing with his three-year-old rescue terrier, Baxter. Chris Gibbs reports, “I attended Arizona State University where I studied computer science: game engine development. From ASU, I gained employment with Nintendo USA in Redmond, Washington, where I spent the next three years. Upon the news that Nintendo was moving their developers, I decided to go back to school to follow my true passion of design. I moved back to Phoenix and graduated from The Art Institute of Phoenix with a Graphic & Web Design degree. Since then, I have built a client base and started a freelance design business. Within the last couple years, I have become an uncle to my brother’s beautiful little boy, Noah. My how time flies, I still have great memories and I am still in contact with life-long friends I have had since day one at PCDS.”
2009 Sophie Carter Kahn is living in Los Angeles with her boyfriend and pets and working as a freelance writer. Her podcast with her creative partner, She’s All Fat, is a half hour of body positivity, self-love, and chill vibes only, covering pop culture and personal experiences. Sophie is always looking for people to profile and interesting topics in women’s history to write about. Prateek Wakharkar tells us, “After graduating from PCDS, I went on to attend Northeastern University in Boston, MA, where I studied international business and east Asian studies. During my time at NU, I spent a year studying and working abroad in Shanghai, China and Hong Kong which was an amazing experience overall. After graduating, a job offer brought me out to the Bay Area where I have been for the past three or so years. Currently I live in the mission district of San Francisco and commute down to Silicon Valley where I work as a product manager at a software startup.” After graduating from Dartmouth College with a BA in economics and hispanic studies, Isabel Hines worked
in healthcare consulting for four years in Atlanta, GA. Isabel recently moved to Evanston, IL, to start her MBA at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She did a lot of traveling over the summer, including trips with some fellow PCDS alumni. She attended the wedding of Mark Corey ‘04 in Lebanon with her family and then traveled with Sara Paull ‘09 to Italy and the Czech Republic. Right before school, she went on a mystery trip with other incoming Kellogg students where unbeknownst to her, she ended up in Bali with another PCDS alumna starting at Kellogg, Maree Bandrowczak ‘09. After PCDS, Kendra Simon headed off to Princeton University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Studies. She then went on to receive her JD from Duke University School of Law. Kendra is currently wrapping up her first year as an associate in the Orange County office of Latham & Watkins LLP where she primarily works with the finance/real estate group. She and her husband, Peter (a fellow Tiger), were married in May of last year at a ceremony in Arizona and are enjoying life in Southern California.
Kendra Simon
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Since graduating high school, Taylor Leonesio has been passionately pursuing work in the entertainment industry. He attended USC as a business major with a cinematic arts minor. He has worked on the set of Arizona Highways Television (a multi-Emmy winning show), on the Warner Bros. production lot with Oscar winning writer/producer Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), and in the talent division of The Gersh Agency. For the past few years, Taylor has been an assistant at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the biggest talent agency in the world. He is still deciding which part of the industry he wants to be in for the long run, but his experiences in LA have been exciting and he looks forward to continuing down this path for years to come. Jessica Ornstein reports she was recently Executive Producer of the film Airplane Mode which will release in early 2018. After high school, Michael Misner attended ASU’s Barrett, the Honors College. He chose the supply chain major in the business school and got a great job offer from Amazon working as a manager in a fulfillment center shipping goods to customers. Right after graduation, he was placed in Reno, NV, and has lived and worked there for four years. Most recently, Michael accepted a transfer to launch a new and much bigger Amazon Fulfillment Center in Denver, CO. He is excited to explore everything Colorado has to offer.
John Greenberg reports, “After PCDS, I moved to Durham, NC, to attend Duke University. At Duke, I graduated with a BS degree in mechanical engineering, then chose to remain there for my MS degree, also in mechanical engineering. The focus of my graduate studies was aerospace engineering, specializing in aeroelasticity. After earning my master’s degree, I moved to Lancaster, CA, and started working at The Spaceship Company/Virgin Galactic in Mojave, CA, as a flutter engineer. I have my own console in our mission control center for flight testing of our vehicles, and I work with a great team of people every day.” Eric Fram is still wearing blue and gold, but now as both a UCLA Bruin and as a PCDS Eagle. He recently began his first year of the UCLA Anderson fulltime MBA program, and he is thrilled to be a part the only internationallyrenowned university in Los Angeles. 2010 After graduating from Emory University a few years ago, Madeleine Evans moved to New York City, where she works at the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). She promotes health and wellness in the built environment by providing support to projects around the world pursuing WELL Certification. She says, “It’s been wonderful to combine my passion for human health and sustainability in my career thus far all while living in such an exciting and vibrant city!”
Did you know that we’ve digitized all PCDS yearbooks? Check them out at http://www.pcds.org/alumni/all-pcds-yearbooks.
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After high school, Ryan Gaines attended New York University. Seven years later, he’s still living in NYC in the Murray Hill neighborhood and working in hotel management for Starwood Hotels. In his free time, Ryan tries to spend as much time as possible outdoors whether jogging through Central Park or discovering new food trucks in the city. “Any PCDS alumni passing through NY, feel free to reach out!” Mandy Bard reports, “I attended college at the University of Arizona. I majored in nursing and graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing in May 2014. I moved to Long Beach, CA, after graduation and passed my NCLEX board exam to become a registered nurse. I began working as an operating room RN in Long Beach (my dream job) and am still doing that to this day and LOVE IT!” Bryce Muzzy attended Arizona State University for both his undergrad and master’s. With his master’s, Bryce was commissioned into the US Air Force as an engineering officer. He is currently stationed at Andersen AFB in Guam working as a construction project manager and head of the Rapid Airfield Damage Repair team. Bryce says “It’s exciting seeing alumni all over the world serving and doing great things.” Daniel Bohnert reports, “After high school, I went to live in sunny San Jose and attended Santa Clara University where I played lacrosse all four years. Post-graduation, I moved to San Francisco (where I live now). I started my career in sales at Yelp, and moved in to a similar role at Mode Analytics in 2015, helping grow the team since then. In my spare time, I still play lacrosse, support Arizona sports teams, and explore San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area.”
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Are you in? pcds.alumnifire.com
Maude LaBelle tells us, “I recently relocated from Tempe to Los Angeles to pursue my master’s in social work at the University of Southern California. After working at the American Lung Association in Arizona for over two years, I decided this past spring to take the next step in my career advancement. I hope to one day consult for private and public sector organizations in an effort to help them improve community involvement, employee satisfaction, and maintain socially just policies. I will graduate in May 2019.” Since graduating from high school, Jonathan Osborn received a dual major in international relations and Spanish language from Stanford University. He now splits his time between Palo Alto and London, running a boutique design agency called Page Mill Design that primarily designs and codes bespoke ecommerce websites for clients. Madison Boyle tells us, “Following high school, I fulfilled my lifelong dream of attending the University of Notre Dame, graduating with a BA in finance. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Irish learning about the business world and managing the varsity Men’s Swimming and Diving team. After my time in South Bend, I moved to Milwaukee, WI, to take on a position within GE Healthcare’s Financial Management Program. This two-year program allowed me to explore and study four divisions of corporate finance around the state of Wisconsin and I graduated in July 2016. I have stayed on with GE Healthcare’s Global supply chain division, specializing in base cost and cash operations.”
After her time spent at PCDS, Lauren Sheffield moved to New York to attend Fordham University. Knowing that she wanted to work in the magazine industry, it was the ideal place for her to combine studies with all of the opportunities the city has to offer, such as access to internships year-round and an incredible network of people in journalism. She currently works on the digital side of Harper’s Bazaar, writing content for their website and handling the majority of their social media. Lauren tells us, “I love being able to work in an industry I’m passionate about, as well as to exist in a creative space that is constantly evolving and challenging me as the digital world continues to grow.” Matt Lillard reports, “I graduated from UT Austin in late 2015 and had the good fortune to travel in Southeast Asia before joining BMO Harris Bank’s credit training program. After a year between Chicago and Minneapolis, I moved to Dallas to support BMO’s expansion efforts.” Ian Neufer graduated from ASU with a Mathematics degree in 2015. He is now a web developer at Radial Spark, a small consulting firm in Chandler that helps other companies automate their business processes. He plays guitar in two bands: Buffalo Snow, a creative project; and Muno Barz 24K Dance Band, a Bruno Mars tribute act. He also recently began playing bass in another band called Foxadillo. When he wants to escape, he likes to hike and backpack. After graduating from Virginia Tech with honors in mechanical engineering, Stefan Topalov moved to McLean, Virginia, to start his career. Currently, he serves as a project manager for the commercial electrical contractor, Mona Electric. The past two years have
been dedicated to the construction of the new Capital One headquarters, a high profile project in Tyson’s Corner, VA. Stefan tells us “In the future, I hope to take the industry knowledge I have acquired and apply it to meaningful projects in sustainability and renewable energy.” Gordon Silverman graduated from Tufts University in 2015 and is currently pursuing a dual degree at Duke University (MPP/MBA). After graduation, he worked for the Obama/Biden White House and as a program manager for frog design, a design firm in NYC. “Thank you PCDS for encouraging the goofy and for knowing how to hire people that really care about their students.” Nader Salass tells us, “I spent 3rd-8th grade at PCDS and, despite moving to Washington D.C. for high school, I consider my PCDS education crucial in fostering my aptitude for literature and history. I studied English, history, and economics at Tufts University in Boston and, after graduating, I went on to work in private equity finance at BlackRock. After almost three years in the investment banking world, I’ve decided to apply to PhD programs in English with a focus on late 19th early 20th century American literature and history. I can honestly say that my interest in becoming a teacher and an academic began at PCDS. When I was nearly failing 6th grade history with Cort Alcott, I recall that he, Ken Burns, and John Crabb, made a special effort to emphasize the opportunity I had at PCDS to learn and grow as an individual. That year, I began to feel great personal satisfaction from my improvement in class. I believe that out of their encouragement and dedication as educators, they helped engender what has become my lifelong love of history, literature, teaching, and mentoring.” WINTER 2017/18 | 51
Taylor White is a third year JD/MBA student at ASU. He is currently interning with the Arizona Coyotes and plans to work as a real estate attorney when he graduates in May. Ale Canulla writes, “After leaving high school, I began studying at Scottsdale Community College and found that I was most passionate about the arts. From there, I moved to a school that focused on art and theatre where I study what I love.” Kirea Mazzolini is a third-year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She is currently planning to pursue general surgery, with the aim of eventually becoming a trauma surgeon. 2012 Robbe Simon reports, “After high school I went to Stanford University and received my BS and MS in management science & engineering in five years. My undergraduate concentration was organizations, technology, and entrepreneurship while my graduate concentration was operations and analytics. I worked part time during my master’s as a front-end web developer for a startup in Palo Alto. After graduation I joined a cyber-security firm in Santa Clara called Palo Alto Networks as a full-stack web and mobile application developer. Outside of work I still love to play tennis and have also taken up poetry and short story composition on the side.” After studying journalism and law at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Rachael Kelly spent a year working in the communications sector where she designed marketing mockups, published articles, and generated multimedia content for the 52 | PCDS THE BRIDGE
oldest law school in Canada. When she wasn’t doing freelance photography work, she was copyediting two novels and one nonfiction work that went to print this past summer. She is currently working towards a Master of Science in Publishing at Pace University in New York City. As a Graduate Assistant for the program, she acts as a liaison between students and faculty and is responsible for managing the department’s blog and social media accounts. After PCDS, Harrison Van Dolah attended St. Olaf College, a small liberal arts school in Northfield, Minnesota. He double-majored in chemistry and Asian studies, with a concentration on Chinese language/China studies, and studied abroad in Cuba and China. Harrison then spent a year after graduation working as a medical scribe at a trauma one emergency department in Minneapolis. He is currently a firstyear medical student at Creighton University in Omaha, NE, and is hoping to take advantage of Creighton’s partnership with St. Joe’s hospital in Phoenix to complete his third and fourth year rotations. JB Stockslager tells us, “Since graduating from SMU in 2016, I have been working for A.T. Kearney in management consulting. Within the past year my job has taken me from coast to coast working with public companies, private companies, and the government, all the while keeping Dallas as my home base. In Dallas, I’ve become an active member at Watermark Church serving within the local Dallas community, and remain both an avid SMU sports fan and mentor to some awesome SMU students. For any young alum looking to get involved in the Dallas community or any current
PCDS students looking at SMU, shoot me a message and let me know how I can help!” Alessandra Dagirmanjian graduated from Boston College in 2016 with a BA in English. She is currently a second-year law student at Fordham University School of Law, where she is a staff member of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media, and Entertainment Law Journal and a teaching assistant for a legal writing course. This past summer, she interned for The Honorable James Orenstein in the Eastern District of New York. Mary Margaret Kelly graduated from Vanderbilt University in May 2016 with a bachelor’s in music. She stayed in Nashville for one year after graduation, working for the cash and liquidities management team at UBS Financial Services. She recently moved back to New York to work at UBS in Stamford, CT. After graduating from Washington and Lee University, Brandon Mayhew became a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, D.C., advising defense and intelligence agencies. He is thoroughly enjoying the politics of and happenings in the country’s capital.“ Kyle Jackson reports, “After graduating from Columbia University in 2016 with a BS in computer science, I now work as a software development engineer for Amazon Fresh in Irvine, CA. I am also currently pursuing an MS in computer science with a specialization in machine learning at Georgia Tech. My brother Chris Jackson ‘10 is conducting research at Yale University as an HHMI Medical Fellow. He will soon be entering his fourth year at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons to finish his MD.”
Joe Schornak has moved around so much since graduating from PCDS that his official permanent address is still at his parents’ house in Phoenix. During his undergrad years he studied mechanical engineering at RoseHulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, IN. Currently (possibly at this very moment!) he’s working on his master’s thesis in robotics engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA. His research involves MRI-guided robotic biopsy needle insertion, which he describes as “very medically important but also great to bring up during dates and family dinners.” This past summer he worked at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX, on problems related to machine perception and 3D reconstruction. Outside of the lab Joe spends his time cooking and hanging out with former high school classmate Kevin Heath. He thinks it’s incredibly cool that the PCDS robotics team is still going strong even after nearly 10 years! After graduating from Bates College in 2016, Jessica Segal moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in Social Work at Columbia University. She is currently in her final year of the program. Through the program, she works part time in an elementary school providing therapy to families and students with behavioral, emotional, and academic difficulties. During high school Camren Kaminsky raced open wheel racecars on the west coast and did very well. For the next three years he lived in London and raced all throughout Europe and the Middle East. Due to injuries, he had to make the difficult choice of stopping his racing career. Camren moved back home to attend ASU where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business. During this time, he received treatment to completely heal from his
Interested in coordinating a PCDS alumni gathering in your city? If so, contact alumni@pcds.org to receive more information.
racing injuries and found his passion for medicine. He is now getting a master’s in the science of health care delivery at ASU. He will graduate with his master’s degree in spring of 2018, and will then start school at USC in fall of 2018. Camren feels extremely fortunate to have been accepted into USC’s Post-Bacc Pre-Med Program where he will take the necessary courses that will then allow him to apply to medical school. Aida Duarte tells us, “After graduating from PCDS in 2012, I went on to study American history at Barnard College in New York City. During my time in college I was very involved in Barnard/ Columbia’s multi-cultural groups on campus, including serving as Vice President of Columbia University’s Student Organization of Latinos. After graduating in 2016 I started working at Google in Mountain View, CA, in people operations. I support the hiring process for site reliability engineers by working with candidates, recruiters, and engineers. After spending an amazing year in San Francisco, I moved back to NYC were I continue to work at Google. Jann-Michael Greenburg graduated from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Law in 2016 before going to work for Deloitte UK in its private equity tax team. He recently returned to the United States to work in the music publishing and licensing business in Arizona. Jann-Michael remembers his time at PCDS very fondly and has many great memories of his friends and
teachers there. He would be happy for anyone interested to get in touch to catch up and reconnect. He wishes PCDS, his teachers, and his classmates continued success in all their endeavors. Brock Ghelfi reports, “I moved away from Arizona in 2012 to attend Bucknell University, a small liberal arts college in rural Pennsylvania. At Bucknell, I studied accounting and financial management and played for our Division I lacrosse team. Despite having thin Arizona blood, I weathered through the cold winters and graduated in 2016. I moved to New York City, where I work as an investment banking analyst for HSBC, a U.K.-based bank. In my current role, I help Latin American companies raise money in the U.S. with the Equity Capital Markets group. Living in New York City is a very cool experience highlighted by interesting people, constant energy, and the best food in the world.” Nicole Burke is living in New York City. She works in the financial sector, specializing in investment product sales. Angelica Riazzi attended PCDS through eighth grade. She attended Purdue University, in Indiana, for one semester studying Food Science and Technology, but had to return home for the next two years due to health issues. While home, she took classes at ASU until moving to Boston in 2016 to pursue a biomedical engineering degree. After a year in Boston, she moved to Raleigh, NC, to complete her bachelor’s degree. WINTER 2017/18 | 53
Frances Rucker reports, “I graduated from MIT in 2016 with a degree in mathematics and a minor in management science. I currently live in NYC and work at Spotify as a data scientist on content. My team works on finding insights and driving strategy for things like algorithmic playlists (e.g. Discover Weekly), licensing deals, editorial playlists, and more. It’s been an exciting job and it’s great living in NYC!” 2013 After graduating from the University of Arizona with a degree in geography and anthropology, Patrick Rody decided to attend the geography graduate program at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He intends to study the relationship between climate change and migration. On top of that, he is working as a research assistant for one of the university’s Grand Challenge programs: IRISS (Integrated Remote and In Situ Sensing). He says, “It’ll take some time to get used to the cold weather, but I couldn’t be happier to be here!” In the spring of 2017, Kassidy Tse graduated Summa Cum Laude from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in English literature, where she wrote her undergraduate thesis on “Commodifying Asian Aesthetics and Eliminating Asian Bodies: Misrepresentations of Asian-ness in Science Fiction Film and Television.” She is now living in Taipei, Taiwan, where she is teaching English and working towards her goal of becoming fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
Angelica Sisson tells us, “I graduated from the Catholic University of America in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Classics. I spent the summer as a staff member at a camp on the coast of the Peloponnese in southwestern Greece. Currently, I work for the international education provider College Year in Athens.” Andrew Bohannon attended SMU and ASU as a finance major. He is the founder of Hunter Partners, which provides capital to new restaurants and bars. Their most recent project, The Porch in Arcadia, opened in October 2017. Andrew is also the Director of Concept Development for a Dallasbased casual dining chain, with locations in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. When he is not on the road between restaurants, he can be found on the golf course or traveling for fun, as much as he can. Christy Doherty reports, “I moved to LA immediately after graduating high school to pursue a career in fashion. I started working for Alternative Apparel as their retail community coordinator, planing events, promotions, and merchandising for all three of their retail locations and for wholesale accounts in the Southern California area. After growing with Alternative Apparel over the course of the last four years, I recently made the move to Whistles, a women’s clothing line from the U.K. The success of the brand in the U.K. prompted their expansion into New York two years ago. After continued success in the new market, they hired
Special Thanks Special thanks to MS teacher Sheila Marks for getting in touch with so many of you to collect Class Notes for this issue!
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me on to oversee growth into the West Coast. I am very excited for what’s to come in the next few months as I open new locations.” Alex Sylvester graduated from ASU in August and began working at a major construction company in the valley as a marketing coordinator. He also continues to coach at PCDS during the winter and spring, helping both MS and US athletics. Nitya Agrawal reports, “I graduated from Tufts University last May with a bachelor’s degree in economics and international relations. Since August I have been working at a development policy consulting organization in New Delhi called IDinsight.” After graduating from high school, Amelia Drumm went on to attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. After taking various classes, her love for science became apparent and she pursued a degree in medicine, health, and society. A major unique to Vandy, it focuses on both the biological mechanisms and the distal social determinants that lead to varying health outcomes. Outside of school, she became involved in her sorority, studied abroad in Copenhagen, and worked as an undergraduate researcher in a medicinal chemistry lab. After graduating in May, she moved to Denver, CO, and is in the midst of applying to medical schools with aspirations to be an OBGYN. 2015 Anna Bodney is currently a junior at Arizona State University, studying industrial design. She recently accepted a six month co-op/internship position in packaging design at Unilever in Connecticut and will work there from July-December of 2018.
2016 Gwyneth Hutchinson tells us, “I’m still at Cal and loving every minute. I also started a consulting company called Nyxia and serve as the Board and Operations Manager of the Institute for Mental Health Research.” 2017 Gillian Barfield is playing basketball for Gonzaga University, and studying biology on the pre-med track.
Two weeks into beginning school at the University of Chicago, Parker Whitfill beat out nearly 250 other students to become selected as one of four to join Ekhardt Consulting through a competitive club that completes real management consulting projects with advisement from Bain and Cambridge Partners. Libby Williamson writes, “I am loving McGill. I have joined the McGill Cheer team and participated in Nationals over Thanksgiving weekend.”
Alexa Portigal has finished her first semester abroad in Sydney, Australia, studying at the University of Sydney. She returned to Northeastern and Boston in January to finish her freshman year. Kevin Kirsch reports, “I’m doing well and having fun. I love it here at Emory and I’m happy. I couldn’t ask for anything more, except for maybe better Mexican food.”
The Summer 2017 issue of The Bridge listed Class of 2017 PCDS Lifers—students who attended PCDS from pre-k or kindergarten through senior year. Five students were mistakenly left off of that list. Class of 2017 PCDS Lifers from left to right: Wally Brown, Madison Dever, Emma Sheridan, Amanda Slate, and Spencer Wand
Do you have news to share? We are always excited to hear from you. Use the enclosed postage-paid postcard to send details about a graduation, a new job, a birth, engagement or marriage announcement, a recent trip, a new hobby, or a visit with another alumnus/a. Email your photos to alumni@pcds.org. We look forward to learning what you have been up to!
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ALUMNI association PRESENTS
PCDS ALUMNI MASTERS’ LECTURE SERIES WITH UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER
MATT GUTHRIE Tuesday, February 13, 2018 “Brexit and Beyond: The rebirth of the right in Western Europe.” A spectre is haunting Europe—a reborn and revitalized right-wing nationalism. Focusing on Britain, France, and Germany, Mr. Guthrie will discuss the motivations and ideologies behind these political movements along with their relevance to politics in the United States today.
www.pcds.org/alumnilecture
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Alumni: “Like” the new Phoenix Country Day School Alumni Facebook page to stay up to date with your alma mater.
For more information regarding our alumni programs, please contact Leslie Kornreich Feldman ’99, Director of Alumni Relations, at 602.955.8200 or alumni@pcds.org
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PARENTS OF ALUMNI: If this magazine is addressed to your son or daughter who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the Alumni Office of his or her new mailing address at alumni@pcds.org. Thank you!
A trio of School spirit: Jasmyn Loelke ‘22, Kirtana Roopan ‘22, and Lauren Yeung ‘22 on Blue & Gold Day 2017