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P ORT S M O U T H
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A BB E Y S C H O O L PORTSMOUTH ABBE Y SCHOOL SUMMER BULLETIN 2012 SUMMER BULLETIN 2012
MISSION STATEMENT The aim of Portsmouth Abbey School is to help young men and women grow in knowledge and grace. Grounded in the Catholic faith and 1500-year-old Benedictine intellectual tradition, the School fosters: Reverence for God and the human person Respect for learning and order Responsibility for the shared experience of community life
Portsmouth Abbey thanks the hundreds of alumni, parents, and friends whose philanthropic participation helped the School reach another Annual Fund benchmark. Your generosity is vital to every moment in the classroom, every lesson learned on the athletic field and stage, and every friendship built in our student houses.
BOARD OF REGENTS Right Rev. Dom Caedmon Holmes, O.S.B. Abbot and Chancellor Portsmouth, RI Mr. John M. Regan, III ’68 P ’07 Chairman Watch Hill, RI Sr. M. Therese Antone, RSM, Ed. D. Newport, RI Mr. W. Christopher Behnke ’72, P ’12, ’15 Chicago, IL Dom Joseph Byron, O.S.B. Portsmouth, RI Dom Francis Crowley, O.S.B. Portsmouth, RI Mr. Stephen M. Cunningham ’72 Greenwich, CT Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Cunningham ’74, P ’08, ’09, ’11, ’14 Co-Chairs, Parents’ Committee, Dedham, MA Mr. Peter Ferry ’75 P ’16 Fairfield, CT Dr. Timothy P. Flanigan ’75 P ’06, ’09, ’11 Tiverton, RI Mr. Peter S. Forker ’69 Chicago, IL Mr. Patrick Gallagher ’81 P ’15 Annual Fund Chair, Westwood, MA
Dr. Margaret S. Healey P ’91 New Vernon, NJ
Mr. Barnet Phillips, IV ’66 Greenwich, CT
Dr. Gregory Hornig ’68, P ’01 Prairie Village, KS
Mr. Robert A. Savoie P ’10, ’11, ’15 Jupiter, FL
Rev. F. Washington Jarvis Dorchester Center, MA
Right Rev. Dom Matthew Stark, O.S.B. Prior, Portsmouth, RI
Rev. Dom Damian Kearney, O.S.B. ’45 Portsmouth, RI
Mr. Rowan G.P. Taylor P ’13, ’16 New Canaan, CT
Mr. Peter Kennedy ’64, P ’07, ’08, ’15 Big Horn, WY
Mr. Samuel G. White ’64 New York, NY
Mr. William M. Keogh ’78 P ’13 Saddle River, NJ
Mr. William G. Winterer ’87 Boston, MA
Mr. Edward G. Kirby ’83 Jamestown, RI
Very Rev. Dom Ambrose Wolverton Portsmouth, RI
Ms. Devin McShane P ’09, ’11 Providence, RI
Ms. Yanling Xu P ’13 Yantai, China
Rev. Dom Gregory Mohrman, O.S.B. St. Louis, MO
Emeritus
Mr. Ward Mooney ’67 Boston, MA
Mr. Peter Flanigan ’41 P ’75, ’83, GP ’06, ’09, ’11 Purchase, NY
Mr. James S. Mulholland, III ’79 Sudbury, MA
Mr. Thomas Healey ’60, P ’91 New Vernon, NJ
Ms. Deborah Winslow Nutter Westwood, MA
Mr. William Howenstein ’52 P ’87, GP ’10 Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
Mr. John Perreira P ’05, ’13 Portsmouth, RI
Cover: Lucas Zipp graduated from Portsmouth Abbey School in 2007. He then earned a degree in physics with honors from the University of California-Berkeley and was awarded a full scholarship from Stanford to pursue a Ph.D. in physics. He is currently a graduate student at the Phil Bucksbaum Group Physics Laboratory where this photo was taken.
Each year, your generous participation ensures the continuation of Portsmouth Abbey's unique campus atmosphere and reaffirms your singular role in the Portsmouth Abbey community. On behalf of every student, teacher and monk, thank you! Special thanks to the class leaders, the reunion fundraisers, the parent volunteers, and the Alumni Leadership Council, whose dedication made this year such a tremendous success.
Announcing the Abbey App!
This fall, look for Portsmouth Abbey’s new Alumni App for iPhone or Android.
It’s easier than ever to stay connected to your fellow Abbey classmates and friends. Features will include: 4 Social Media – connects to Abbey’s Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin 4 Alumni Nearby – opt in or out to locate alumni on Google maps 4 Alumni Directory – stay connected to classmates 4 On The Fly – notes and candids 4 News & Events – stay current with all things Abbey 4 Pledge Online – we make it easy
Letter From Headmaster Jim DeVecchi As I tie up the loose ends on what has been a most successful year at Portsmouth and prepare for 2012-13 – Deb’s and my last at the Abbey – it is significant that our Summer 2012 Bulletin features our science faculty and programs. The heart of our 2004 Strategic Plan is people and programs, and there is no better example of excellence in these areas than our Abbey Science Department. By far Portsmouth’s most seasoned academic department, our science faculty includes three members who have been at the Abbey for more than 25 years, one for more than 20, and one for more than 10. This is most impressive by any standard, creating a culture within the department whose teaching professionals have adapted well to the changing world of science education. Maximizing the use of a facility that opened in 1965 for a student body considerably smaller than today’s Abbey, our science faculty oversees a program that is committed to the growth of each student – a program that gives our students a broad and solid foundation across all sciences. Indeed, as was observed by our outside evaluators in a recent Science Department selfstudy, “The Abbey’s science curriculum is strong, the physicsfirst sequence is going well, and the connections between physics, chemistry and biology are good.” This core curriculum serves as a firm underpinning for a full set of Advanced Placement courses and an elective system that features unique opportunities for students in marine science, advanced chemistry and physiology. The “physics-first” philosophy of secondary school science education is now the “industry” standard, and Portsmouth, under the leadership of then- and now-Department Chair Robert Sahms, is very proud to have been among the few pioneers back in 1993 employing this curricular approach. Our self-study visitors cited, in particular, the high quality of our science faculty as well as the School’s need to realize its goal of constructing a new science center – an objective that our Science Department has been patiently waiting to be fulfilled for some time now. Our
visitors’ general conclusion from their visit was that the Science Department at Portsmouth Abbey School is strong and has positioned itself well to move forward. Our 2011-12 year ended well for all – especially the 101 members of the Class of 2012. Abbot Caedmon, Board Chair Mac Regan ’68 and Commencement Speaker Lord Charles Guthrie were pleased and honored to congratulate our graduates at Commencement. From academic excellence to college placement (including four members of the class who will be attending service academies), and from on-campus, regional, national and international service and exemplary campus leadership to team and individual athletic success, the members of the Abbey’s Class of 2012 distinguished themselves and their school in many ways. And our graduating Sixth Form boys should be especially thanked for their understanding as they watched our magnificent new boys’ house, St. Martin’s, being completed just as they were about to graduate. Of particular note among the many other highlights of this year were our Dom Luke Child’s ’57, Saint Elizabeth Seton and Kearney lecture series. The Seton Lecture features a topic on American history or politics, and we were pleased that Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee (father of Caleb ’12) was this year’s speaker, highlighting some of the lessons he has learned in his long and diverse political career. Newport County Preservation Society Executive Director Trudy Coxe gave a wonderful Kearney Lecture, the focus for which is Newport-area history, art and/or architecture. Ms. Coxe talked about the colorful history of Newport’s magnificent mansions and the people who inhabited them, and discussed the important preservation work being done on these fine buildings and grounds to help protect Newport’s unique heritage. The Dom Luke Child’s line-up was spectacular this year, featuring Tim Gunn of “Project Runway” fame; Dr. Paul Farmer, founder of the global health and human rights orga-
SUMMER BULLETIN 2012
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HEADMASTER’S LETTER continued
nization, Partners in Health; former FBI special agents Terry Turchie and John Behnke ’76; and, to our students’ great joy, TV and movie actor Charlie Day ’94. Mr. Gunn delighted us all with his down-to-earth wit and wisdom, advising our students that the high road is usually the best one to take in life. Dr. Farmer gave a compelling talk about treating some of the world’s poorest populations, and he challenged the students to educate themselves and become involved in correcting the social inequities that plague our society. Mr. Turchie and Mr. Behnke captivated students and faculty alike with the story of their respective roles in leading the investigation and resolution of the infamous “Unabomber” case, and Charlie Day did not disappoint with a clever and entertaining series of anecdotes and stories from his days at the Abbey and from his burgeoning acting career. Questions from the students (and some faculty) could have gone on forever, and Charlie was very specific in telling our students to take advantage of the special opportunity they have been afforded at the Abbey, emphasizing that his and all success stories result from a lot of hard work and a willingness to step out of one’s comfort zone. All in all, 2011-12 was a great year of lectures at Portsmouth.
With 2011-12 behind us, Deb and I look forward with considerable anticipation and excitement to our last year at Portsmouth. On the “business” side of things, leading the School and wrapping up Growing in Knowledge and Grace, the Campaign for Portsmouth Abbey School will be my main focal points. On the personal side, Deb and I are very much looking forward to sharing our final year with as much of our Abbey constituency as time and logistics will allow, and to savoring every possible minute with our Abbey students and faculty – after all, it is Portsmouth’s Mission, and working with our wonderful students and dedicated faculty, that will have kept us at the Abbey for these 40 years since our arrival in August of 1973. The 2012-13 school year will be a good one for the DeVecchis and the Abbey! Finally, our search for a new Head, under the direction of Headmaster Search Committee chairs Abbot Caedmon and Board Chair Mac Regan ’68, is going very well. The fact is that our School is in a very good place right now. We are poised for a smooth and successful leadership transition and for the excitement and opportunities that new leadership surely will bring to our School.
Classes of: 1942 - 1947 - 1952 - 1957 - 1962 - 1967 - 1972 - 1977 - 1982 - 1987 - 1992 1997 - 2002 – 2007
Classes of: 1942 - 1947 - 1952 - 1957 - 1962 - 1967 - 1972 - 1977 - 1982 - 1987 - 1992 - 1997 - 2002 – 2007 This is your reunion year! Members of the Diman Club (alumni from all classes prior to 1962) Please join us for another memorable weekend! We have a fantastic line-up of events for the entire family! Login to the Alumni Community from the Abbey website for more information on the schedule of events, accommodations, golf outings, class dinners, babysitting and to see who is coming to Reunion ’12!
Reunite ~ Reminisce ~ Celebrate Questions? Contact Julia Driscoll at (401) 643-1276 or jdriscoll@portsmouthabbey.org
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P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
CONTENTS Stay Connected
Letter From the Headmaster
1
To keep up with general news and information about Portsmouth Abbey School, we encourage you to bookmark the www.portsmouthabbey.org website. If you are an alumnus/a, please visit and join our Alumni Community. Check our our listing of upcoming alumni events here on campus and around the country. And please remember to update your contact information on our Alumni Community pages where you can find out more about Reunion 2012, our Annual Golf Scholarship Tournament, and share news and search for fellow alumni around the world: www.portsmouthabbey.org/page/alumni.
Portsmouth Abbey and the Manquehue Apostolic Movement 4 by Abbot Caedmon Holmes, O.S.B., and Dr. Blake Billings, Director of Spiritual Life Faculty Notes
6
New Board of Regents
9
Commencement 2012
10
Trending in College Admissions by Mary McDonald, Director of College Counseling 17
If you would like to receive our e-newsletter, Monthly Musings, please make sure we have your email address (send to: info@portsmouthabbey.org). To submit class notes and photos (1-5 MB), please email: alumni@portsmouthabbey.org or mail to Portsmouth Abbey Office of Development and Alumni Affairs, 285 Cory’s Lane, Portsmouth, RI 02871.
Portsmouth Institute 2012: Modern Science/Ancient Faith
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Being in the Science: Science Department Overview by Robert Sahms, Department Head
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Monk, Teacher, Environmentalist, Scientist by Dom Francis Crowley, O.S.B.
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The Why and How of Physics First by Robert Rainwater
26
Green Chemistry by Janice Brady
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Biology by Suzi Duncan
28
Marine and Environmental Sciences by Shane McCarthy
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Dom Leo Van Winkle ‘39: Monk and Scientist by Dom Damian Kearney, O.S.B. ‘45
31
Alumni in Science Zachary Bazarsky ’07 l Rodney Willoughby ’73 l Jonathan Kurtis ’85 l Greg Hornig ’68 l Robinson “Wally” Fulweiler ’96 l Luke Fallon ’88 l Kristen Weida Smith ’99 l Neil Biddick ’03 l Rachel Wigton ’05 l Lucas Zipp ’07
36
Science Study in the Summer Program by Tim Seeley ’77, Director of Summer Programs
48
Calling All Alumni... an Invitation to Assist the Admission Effort by Meghan Fonts, Director of Admission
49
Regents Chart Course for School’s Capital Campaign by Patrick Burke ‘86, Assistant Headmaster for Development
50
The editors reserve the right to edit articles for content, length, grammar, magazine style, and suitabilty to the mission of Portsmouth Abbey School.
Winter/Spring Athletics
52
Headmaster: Dr. James DeVecchi
In Memoriam: Damien Bona ’73; Paul J. Dembinski ’79
62
Assistant Headmaster for Development: Patrick J. Burke ‘86
Class Notes
64
The Portsmouth Abbey Alumni Bulletin is published bi-annually for alumni, parents and friends by Portsmouth Abbey School, a Catholic Benedictine preparatory school for young men and women in Forms III-VI (grades 9-12) in Portsmouth, RI. If you have opinions or comments on the articles contained in our Bulletin, please email: communications@portsmouthabbey.org or write to the Office of Communications, Portsmouth Abbey School, 285 Cory’s Lane, Portsmouth, RI 02871 Please include your name and phone number.
Milestones 56
Editors: Kathy Heydt, Katherine Giblin Stark Art Director: Kathy Heydt Photography: Dom Joseph Byron, Jez Coulson, Steve Cho ’13,Nick DeLieto ‘13, Julia Driscoll ’06, Kim Fuller, Andrea Hansen, Blake Jackson, Kate Whitney Lucey, Bill Rakip, Louis Walker, Stephanie Waterman ’12 Individual photos found in alumni profiles have been supplied courtesy of the respective alumni.
Visit our website at: www.portsmouthabbey.org Join us on Facebook: Log in and search Portsmouth Abbey Shop online at the Portsmouth Abbey Bookstore: www.portsmouthabbey.org/page/school_life/bookstore
SUMMER BULLETIN 2012
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Portsmouth Abbey and the Manquehue Apostolic Movement The Manquehue delegation of (from left) Dolores Ugalde, José Antonio Navarro, Elisa Lira, Teresa Campino, and Cristián Destuet.
Portsmouth Abbey’s acquaintance with the Manquehue Apostolic Movement of Santiago, Chile, began in the Fall of 2005 at the conference of the International Commission on Benedictine Education (ICBE), which met at Delbarton School in New Jersey. People involved in teaching in Benedictine institutions were present from many parts of the world, among them several representatives of the Manquehue Movement. They spoke feelingly of Benedictine values, fostered in lectio divina, and put into practice in school teaching and relationships with the young. I was intrigued by their testimony and was delighted at the announcement that the next meeting of the ICBE would take place in Santiago, hosted by the Manquehue Movement, in the Fall of 2007. Mary Beth Klee, a member of Portsmouth’s Board of Regents and mother of Andres Valenzuela ’04, kindly accompanied me to the conference. (Being married to a Chilean, she is very much at home in Santiago.) We both were warmed by the hospitality and impressed and encouraged by the example of the Manquehue approach to elementary and secondary education. The seed had been planted, but did not yet begin to germinate. Portsmouth Abbey is a member of the English Benedictine Congregation (EBC). Every four years the abbots and abbesses, officials of the Congregation as well as delegates from each monastic community meet in a solemn formal gathering called General Chapter, which has the power to discuss and make decisions about the life of the monasteries of the Congregation. At its meeting in the summer of 2009 the General Chapter formally encouraged all EBC monasteries which engage in work with schools to exchange hospitable visits with the Manquehue Apostolic Movement, and to continue to collaborate in promoting the Benedictine charism in the schools. Accordingly in February of 2010, Jim DeVecchi, Dan McDonough, Blake Billings, and I traveled to St Louis Abbey, to observe up close what the Manquehue members actually do in a school which they visit. A couple of weeks later, with encouragement from headquarters in Santiago, the three Manquehinos who had spent the winter in the US stopped at Portsmouth for four days on their way home to Chile. The following November Dan and
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Blake and I spent a week in Santiago visiting the Movement, and as a result of that contact, three Manquehue men came to spend three weeks at our School in February 2011. Dan, Blake, and I returned to Santiago the following November, to meet and confer with the five Manquehue members who were slated to come to Portsmouth for January and February of 2012. – Abbot Caedmon Holmes, O.S.B.
Last winter term, the School enjoyed the friendly presence of five members of the Manquehue Apostolic Movement, from Santiago, Chile. Three women and two men comprised the Manquehue group, with the women lodged in an Abbey house on Cory’s Lane, and the men staying in the monastery. The primary hope of the visit was fundamentally the strengthening of Portsmouth Abbey’s friendship with this Chilean community of faith. José Antonio Navarro led the delegation, which included Dolores Ugalde, Elisa Lira, Teresa Campino, and Cristián Destuet. The Manquehue movement, which is made up entirely of lay Catholics, is grounded in the rule of Saint Benedict, and the group has a longstanding relationship with the English Benedictine Congregation. There are between forty and fifty permanent members who have promised a lifelong commitment to the group, some of them married, some single. Manquehue’s founder, José Manuel Eguiguren Guzman, was originally inspired to develop this religious movement through study with a Benedictine monk in Santiago. He later traveled to England and has developed strong relations with Ampleforth, Downside, and other monastic houses and schools. Portsmouth Abbey has been cultivating its relationship with the Movement through visits to Chile by Abbot Caedmon, Dan McDonough, and Blake Billings ’77, exploring how the practices and spirituality of the Manquehue schools and communities might be integrated into life here at the school. Last winter, the visitors dove right into life at the School, frequenting afternoon athletics practices and games, joining classes, participating in the divine office with the monastic community, and getting to know students and faculty alike. The presence of the five Chileans on campus last winter was a great inspiration
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
in many ways. They were so devoted to their life of prayer, to really getting to know who we are, as a school community but also as individuals. I think they impressed many people, students, faculty, and monks included. The visitors assisted in Confirmation preparation, joined the School’s trip to Washington for the March for Life, directed a Benedictine retreat for a small group of Sixth Form girls, and joined a number of faculty and students in “lectio divina,” a prayerful reading of scripture well-rooted in the western monastic tradition. The Confirmation program, directed by Dr. Billings, now includes elements of “lectio divina,” and the Spiritual Life and community service programs are exploring ways to cultivate more fully our sense of community, friendship, and faith, inspired by some of the success of the Manquehue practices of “tutoría” and evangelization.
WHERE ARE YOU NOW? WHERE ARE YOU GOING? HOW WILL YOU GET THERE?
While both Abbey hosts and visiting Chileans remarked on a sadness at the term-end parting of ways, each expressed a sense of being strengthened by the visit. Abbot Caedmon commented: “We monks are grateful to the five Manquehinos for their interest in us – even to the extent of giving up their summer vacation to spend it living and working with us in the wintry Northern Hemisphere – for the encouraging example of their faith, and for the warmth of their friendship in Christ.” The Spiritual Life team looks forward to future possibilities for continuing our friendship with Manquehue, including hopefully a visit from another delegation next winter, and possibly a trip down to Chile for faculty and students. –Dr. Blake Billings, Director of Spiritual Life
The monks of Portsmouth Abbey have found answers to these questions in the Rule of St. Benedict. . . Could this be the answer for you? We invite you to experience a week of prayer, work, rest, and recreation in our Monastic Life Experience Program for single, college - educated, Catholic men, 21- 45 years old, who wish to consider a call to monastic life. The “open-ended” program will be scheduled to suit you – you may spend a few days to a week or more at the abbey, experiencing the life of the monk – Ora et Labora – including daily mass, common prayer, lectio divina, manual labor, and conferences on monastic history or spirituality, with opportunity for exercise and rest on our 500 acres on Narragansett Bay. The program is an opportunity to familiarize yourself with monastic life and consider the possibility that This Call May Be For You.
Above: Abbot Caedmon and Dan McDonough with members of the Manquehue Apostolic Movement in Santiago, Chile.
www.portsmouthabbey.org Vocations inquiries: abbotcaedmon@portsmouthabbey.org
SUMMER BULLETIN 2012
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Faculty Notes
Nick Antol
It does not surprise me how many wonderful awards, honors and professional development activities the faculty members at Portsmouth Abbey School achieve and complete each year! This dedicated, lively, engaged group of men and women continue to pursue excellence, both inside and out of their respective classrooms. Perhaps it is the full schedule throughout the academic year that propels some to keep the same pace during less busy times of the year; perhaps it is the never-ending supply of exciting opportunities that are available that spur some to find the next challenge or mountain to climb. My hope is that you will find these pages interesting to browse. – Nancy Brzys, Dean of Faculty Faculty Honors, Achievements, Awards and Professional Development, 2012 Assistant Director of Admission, Director of Student-Athlete Recruitment and Coach Nick Antol has been accepted into the online ���������� master’s degree program in athletic administration at Ohio University. He will begin online classes starting in September 2012 and expects to graduate in August 2014 with a Master of Science degree in Recreation and Sport Sciences, with a concentration in Athletic Administration for grades K-12.
Lizzie Benestad
Aileen Baker (Dean of Residential Life / Math) attended “The Deans’ Roundtable” conference at Milton Academy in June. Deans from more than 20 schools in 15 states met to discuss “hot topics” that deans regularly tackle in the independent school world. English teacher Rick Barron started his M.A. in English this summer at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School, attending classes on the UNC-Asheville, NC, campus. For six weeks, Rick explored writing and the teaching of writing, with particular emphasis on English literature, African-American and Southern literatures.
Jay Bragan
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The Providence Marathon on May 6th marked Classics Department Head Lizzie Benestad’s 10th career marathon. Lizzie ran her first marathon in 1998 as a college sophomore in her hometown of Scranton, PA, and her finish time was 4:25. Since then, she has competed in
marathons in San Francisco (2004 Women’s Marathon) and on Cape Cod (2010 Cape Cod Marathon), run the famed Boston Marathon three times (in 2001, 2009 and 2011) and the 2011 New York Marathon, and competed in three R.I. marathons (2001 Ocean State Marathon, 2009 Newport Marathon, and 2012 Providence Marathon), all while shaving 36 minutes off her time and raising thousands of dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. “The New York Marathon will always be very special to me,” said Lizzie, “because I ran it for Fred’s Team, the racing team for Memorial SloanKettering, a cancer hospital in New York City where my mother was successfully treated in 2003. With the generous support of the Portsmouth Abbey community, I raised over $5,000 for Sloan-Kettering.” And 14 years after her first marathon, Lizzie finally broke four hours and ran her best time (3:54) in Providence! English Department Head Michael Bonin wrote a booklet that this past school year was distributed to the entire School, titled Grace Notes. It is being used by the offices of Admission and Development. As Michael explains it, “Good schools make their mission real by living it. Since Portsmouth Abbey’s Mission is to help our students ‘grow in knowledge and grace,’ the purpose of Grace Notes is to identify, celebrate, and encourage those small acts of grace which put the Mission into daily practice. Under the rubric of our Three R’s, Reverence, Respect, and Responsibility, the booklet presents Abbey customs and habits of the heart, such as standing when the teacher enters the classroom; the prayer which begins each Assembly; or walking around, not across, the Holy Lawn.” Michael was announced at this year’s Commencement as the first recipient of the Dom Damian Kearney Chair in English, becoming the second endowed chair holder at Portsmouth Abbey. The Kearney Chair, named in honor of Dom Damian’s 52 years as a member of the School’s English Department, recognizes Michael’s 10-year leadership of the English Department and his continued pursuit of excellence in teaching English.
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
Performing Arts Head Jay Bragan attended a workshop in Northern California in June at the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, a center for the exploration, development, training and performance of actors, with a strong emphasis on physical theater. For two weeks, Jay participated in mask-making and mask performance, which he’ll incorporate into his Drama Workshop class as well as into School productions. Nancy Brzys (Dean of Faculty/Modern Language) and Corie McDermott (English/College Counseling) both served on committees for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) this past year; Nancy was on the visiting committee at Milton Academy in October, and Corie served on the visiting committee at St. Mark’s School in January. Dom Christopher Davis ‘48 was an invited clergyperson in this year’s Fourth of July Patriotic Exercises and Parade in Bristol, RI. The Bristol Fourth of July Parade, which first took place in 1785, is the oldest continuous celebration of its kind in the USA. This will be Father Chris’s fourth consecutive year being in the parade. In the spring of 2011 Suzi Duncan (Science) was elected to the ranking committee for NESSA (New England Schools Sailing Association); as such, she voted on the final rankings in New England for team racing. In the fall of 2011 Suzi was elected vice president of NESSA, a two-year position that oversees scheduling, organizing championships and overall coordination of all NESSA events. The Portsmouth Abbey School sailing team was voted by all of the teams in NESSA as the winner of the Sportsmanship Award for the 2011 season in addition to placing third at the New Englands and first at the Atlantic Coast Challenge. Derek Gittus (History) and Allie Micheletti ’05 (History/Art) received the Sidler Awards for Excellence in Teaching at Prize Day, on May 26. These awards honor a full-time senior faculty member who has exhibited sustained excellence as a teacher at Portsmouth Abbey School (Derek) and a full-time junior faculty member who displays superior potential as a classroom teacher (Allie).
Derek and his family traveled to Washington, D.C., and many of the Civil War battlefields as part of his summer sabbatical. Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, Sharpsburg (Battle of Antietam), Manassas (Battle of Bull Run), Fredericksburg, Monticello, Washington D.C., and New York City were among their many stops. Roberto Guerenabarrena, head of the Modern Language Department, spent a week in early June for the ninth consecutive year as an AP Spanish Exam grader for the Educational Testing Service. For the past six years he has served as a Table Leader for the free-response section of the exam, which consists of eight readers grading the essays written by AP students. As a Table Leader, Roberto manages the readers and makes sure they grade tests fairly and according to an appropriate standard. Wallace Gundy, assistant director of admission and head houseparent in Manor House, presented at the December 2011 TABS Conference in Boston with her mother, Kim Gundy, a longtime faculty member and senior housemaster at Western Reserve Academy, about the generational differences in houseparenting. Wallace, of the millennial generation, and Kim, a baby boomer, presented a series of residential scenarios and how they have handled them given their differing ages and professional experiences. The presentation received many attendees, and Wallace called it “a great professional development opportunity.” Abbot Caedmon Holmes, Director of Spiritual Life Blake Billings ’77 and Associate Headmaster and math teacher Dan McDonough spent one week in Santiago, Chile, in November 2011 to visit with members of the Manquehue Apostolic Movement (MAM), a lay Benedictine group. This was the second year they had traveled to Chile, further strengthening the friendship between our School and the Chilean Manquehue movement, which includes several schools and apostolic programs. (See article on page four about our five Chilean Manquehue visitors, who visited Portsmouth for two months in early 2012.)
SUMMER BULLETIN 2012
Nancy Brzys
Derek Gittus
Abbot Caedmon Holmes
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FACULTY NOTES
Shane McCarthy (Science) and Kale Zelden (Academic Dean / English) attended an Educational Technology Workshop in classroom use of the iPad at the Bancroft School in April. The workshop talked specifically about how to use the iPad in class. Half the workshops were “unconference” sessions led by teachers who introduced a topic, followed by open discussions.
Emma Stenberg
Peter O’Connor
Mary McDonald is on the Current Trends Committee and the Government Relations Committee of the New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC). In May she attended NEACAC’s annual meeting and conference. This summer Mary attended the Advanced Secondary School Counselor Summer Institute at Yale, the Clam Conference (college counselors and college deans and directors of admission), and a workshop at Skidmore College. Associate Headmaster and math teacher Dan McDonough used part of his Jenks Chair in Mathematics funding over the past year to attend the national Texas Instruments Teaching with Technology conference in Chicago and the annual conference for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in Philadelphia. His goal was to assess the current use of technology in the math classroom. As a result, the Math Department has decided to move from the TI-89 CAS (Computer Algebra System) calculator to the newer TI-Nspire CX CAS calculator. Dan also used funding to purchase these for the teachers in his department as well as a classroom set of wireless calculator transmitters that allow the teacher both to see what students are doing on their calculators as well as to transmit activities/ answers to and from the teacher and students. Allie ‘05 and Nick ’04 Micheletti (Classics) began work this summer on their respective M.A. degrees in liberal arts at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. Their six-month-old daughter, Betty, joined them in Maryland along with their dog, Mincemeat.
Robert Sahms
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Elliott Moffie, math teacher, assistant houseparent and coach, received a prestigious Klingenstein Summer Institute Fellowship from the Teachers College at Columbia University. The program gathers 75 teachers in their first five years in the profession from around the world for two weeks in June to explore educational philos-
ophies, teaching styles, personal development, and other educational issues. The program is designed to make teachers more effective leaders in the classroom and throughout the school. Elliott was guided by prominent education experts, Teachers College professors, and master teachers on the Lawrenceville School campus. Humanities Department Head Peter O’Connor attended a four-day retreat and seminar in June for teachers at St. Thomas More College, in Merrimack, NH. The seminar topic was, “Blessed John Henry Newman and Task of the Teacher: A Retreat Summit for Educators.” Science Department Head Robert Sahms attended an AP Biology Workshop this summer to help him implement the new curriculum changes taking place in the Biology Exam. Robert, also the longtime head swim coach of the Ravens, was inducted into the Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame on Friday, April 27. He and his wife, Christine, have been involved with the Portsmouth Abbey School swim team since 1980, amassing an impressive 174-139-6 record during that time. Robert was a four-year All-American in high school and a two-year All-American at Elizabethtown College in PA. English teacher Emma Stenberg started her M.A. in English at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English this summer, attending classes on the Vermont campus. For six weeks, Emma took courses in creative writing, the teaching of writing, and theater arts, as well as in British, American and world literature. Fred Zilian (Christian Doctrine/History) is currently serving on the state’s Civil War Sesquicentennial Advisory Council. He has also been hired by the Newport Daily News to write a monthly column on the Civil War. Fred also served as a judge for the state’s 2012 National History Day competition, held in April at Providence College, during which, with two other judges, he evaluated senior-division research papers and interviewed the contestants. In addition, Fred’s article, entitled “Lodestar of the Faculty, The Increasingly Important Role of Dean of Faculty,” was published in NAIS’s Independent School magazine, Summer 2012 issue, discussing his views on the role of a dean of faculty in independent schools. Fred served as dean of faculty at Portsmouth from 2007-10.
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New Board of Regents William M. Keogh ’78, P ’13 Following his graduation from Portsmouth Abbey, Bill earned a B.A. in English Literature from Boston University in 1982. Bill was named president of EQECAT, Inc., in November 2010 after serving EQECAT as senior vice president of strategic initiatives. EQECAT, Inc., is a catastrophe risk modeling firm that provides state-of-the-art products and services to the global property and casualty insurance, reinsurance and financial markets. Bill has been serving the insurance and reinsurance industry since 1982 with a focus on the property and casualty market. Prior to working at EQECAT, Bill held positions at Risk Management Solutions, Swiss RE, NAC Reinsurance, and American International Group. In addition to his previous corporate roles, Bill was a founding board member of the International Society of Catastrophe Managers and is a frequent speaker at industry events and university programs. Bill and his wife, Andrea, reside in Saddle River, NJ, and are the parents of Isabel ‘13 and Corinne. The Keoghs also maintain a home in Litchfield, CT. Bill recently served as a member of the board of trustees at Saddle River Day School where he was treasurer and finance committee chair. Previously he served as a member of the Parish Council and secretary at St. Thomas More Parish in New York, NY. Bill is also a past director of the Scully Signal Company in Wilmington, MA. A dedicated Portsmouth Abbey Annual Fund supporter for more than two decades, Bill has also served as a class agent since 1990 and was an alumni board director from 1992-96. As a member of the New York Yacht Club, Bill has also hosted the yearly Abbot’s Reception in New York. His brother, Tom, is a member of the Class of 1976. William G. Winterer ’87 Bill Winterer is a partner at Parthenon Capital Partners (“Parthenon”), a private equity firm with approximately $2 billion under management and offices in Boston and San Francisco. Parthenon is a control investor in technologyenabled growth companies in the business
service, healthcare service and financial service industries. At Parthenon, Bill is responsible for the capital market and investment banking activities regarding its investments and portfolio companies. Prior to joining Parthenon in 2003, Bill was a senior member of FleetBoston’s (now Bank America Merrill Lynch Securities) leverage finance practice and involved in all aspects of the business, including sponsor coverage, private placements, mezzanine finance, high yield capital markets and loan syndications. Bill began his career at KPMG in New York City where he held multiple positions in KPMG’s assurance and consulting practices. Bill has a B.A. in Economics from Williams College (1991), an M.B.A. in Accounting and Finance from New York University (1995), and is a Certified Public Accountant. Bill’s volunteer and board service includes the Nichols House Museum (Boston, MA) finance committee and board of governors; Williams College class agent (since 1996); and trustee of the Uncle Larry Foundation. Until recently, Bill was on the University Club of Boston board of governors, of which he is a past president and treasurer. He is member of the Carnegie Abbey Club, the New York Yacht Club and is a council member and patron of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He and his wife, Emi, live in Boston.
William M. Keogh ’78, P ’13
William G. Winterer ’87
Yanling Xu P ’13 Yanling lives in Yantai, China, and is the mother of Diandian ‘13. She is the chairman of the board of Laizhou Xioahe Crafts Company, a family-owned manufacturer and exporter of hand-knotted carpets and old furniture from China to the USA and Europe. Yanling holds a bachelor’s degree from Xi’an Foreign Languages University. Yanling has been a devoted supporter of Portsmouth Abbey’s admission outreach efforts in China. She has also expressed a willingness to assist the School in broadening the understanding of Portsmouth Abbey School in Asia.
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Yanling Xu P ’13
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C om m ence me nt 2 012
A
f te r
being
encouraged
to “ g i ve t h a n k s to God for all that Portsmouth Abbey has done to prepare you for the future,” the 101 members of the graduating class of 2012 received their diplomas at the School’s 82nd Commencement exercises, held Sunday, May 27, on the School’s Holy Lawn.
Hearty congratulations were given to the graduates by Headmaster Dr. James DeVecchi, Abbot Caedmon Holmes, Chairman of the Board of Regents John “Mac” Regan ’68 and this year’s Commencement Speaker, General the Lord Charles Guthrie of Craigiebank, GCB, LVO, OBE, DL, before an audience of more than 1,200 parents, family members, friends, and Portsmouth Abbey faculty and students. The graduating students, representing 18 states and 10 countries, were commended by Dr. DeVecchi for their “goodwill and leadership in service, demonstrating an understanding of the importance of giving to others. You clearly took ‘responsibility for the shared experience of community life,’
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one of the key tenets of our School’s Mission Statement.” Dr. DeVecchi cited numerous Christian outreach and community service projects that had been spearheaded by the graduating class. He also applauded the graduates for their “spirit of respect, cooperation and understanding.” Lord Guthrie is one of the most influential and distinguished members of the United Kingdom’s armed forces in the latter part of the 20th century and the father of two graduates of Ampleforth College, a Catholic Benedictine school in England (both Ampleforth and Portsmouth Abbey are part of the English Benedictine congregation). He told the students they had been prepared well for the future, “a future that, whoever you are, will be at times challenging.” He spoke of the lessons he had learned as the leader of Britain’s military over his 44-year career. “All of you who graduate from Portsmouth Abbey are potential leaders in your chosen careers. Leadership in civilian life is not so very different from leadership in the military… but there is one thing quite clear to me. Leaders are all different and achieve results in differ-
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
ent ways.” Lord Guthrie challenged the graduates to learn from watching how others lead, and from the mistakes others make, but not to “slavishly copy others.” He also advised the graduates to find in success in their lives by “reaching your potential at work, play and with your families,” but to avoid equating success with the “… single-minded pursuit of money. Becoming enormously rich and powerful may bring unhappiness if the balance a Benedictine education seeks, and that Portsmouth Abbey encourages, is not achieved.” Lord Guthrie concluded with: “You are now graduating, and a chapter of your life closes, but the experiences you have had here will remain with you for life. You could not have been better prepared for the future and you’ve been fortunate in having made the friends you have, and I hope you will be able to keep them. I know you understand that the advantages you have had from being students here bring responsibilities. You will be able to make a difference.” In his remarks, Mac Regan ’68, P ’07 welcomed the graduates to Portsmouth’s alumni
Left: The Portsmouth Abbey School Class of 2012. Below: Commencement Speaker General the Lord Charles Guthrie of Craigiebank, GCB, LVO, OBE, DL
community and asked the class to give thanks “to your families, fellow students, and your teachers and coaches for their contributions to your success.” He reminded the students that although the challenges they face are not unlike those faced by all prior generations, this generation of students must confront a unique group of issues – “fading values, the inability to find rewarding careers, and global instability” – and he urged them to consider three things: “First, it’s about you. Happiness is not defined by your financial wealth but in the way you help others achieve.” Mr. Regan discussed the importance of self-awareness, self-exploration and self-understanding, of trying new ventures and “making yourself uncomfortable: “You must know yourself to be yourself. “Second, it’s about melding your passion with your career. It is your job in college to develop in-demand skills for which you have a passion. Use continuous learning and job experiences to explore that passion and develop the value you bring to a changing jobs environment.” Citing Steve Jobs, he added, “Don’t be afraid to fail. “Finally, it’s about your responsibility as global citizens. You, the Millennial, are the most globally connected, racially diverse, politically progressive and technology-enabled generation in history. These perspectives and skills will make you future leaders in determining how the world’s problems and opportunities are addressed. Understand and take responsibility for yourself, pursue your passions in a world of new opportunities, and act in the interests of your fellow global citizens. You will be successful! You are prepared!”
THE CLASS OF 2012 Matteo Agnoletto Daniel Ross Aker David Alberto Armenta Guajardo Sarah Mary Auer Carly Augustis-Kokoni Christian Dean Barcenas Robert Wallingford Bauer Mary Greta Behnke Molly Margaret Loughlin Bell Jesse Rose Bessinger Ceara Travers Bowman Matthew William Brigham Casey Curtiss Brown Christopher Joseph Brown Sean Timothy Buckley Manuela Casas Caleb Danforth Chafee Jamie Lynn Chapman Chen Chen Christopher K. Chen Michael Cheong Jin Young Choi Younghoon Brian Chung Darren Brooks Colbourne Yidan Cong Britt Williams Conklin Emmett Potter Conway Corinne Maria Cotta Marguerite Ellen Crandall Karyssa Andrea Edwards Cheyenne Madelena Fafard James H. Fallon Gabrielle Stevena Fontes Vittorio Frescobaldi Andrew Havemeyer Godfrey, Jr. Joanna Lynn Grabert Amelia Anne Gray Ye Gu Brianna Patricia Heaps Jeffrey Heath, Jr. Devon Leigh Hogan Cynthia Marguerite Holte Alexandra Louise Holway Lucas Vincent Indeglia Doel Jarosiewicz Matthew Jon Jewell-DeMieri Emily Nora Kaufman Michael Joseph Keane Connor Patrick Jim Kelley Kian M. Kenahan Sean P. Kenahan
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Trevor Hamilton Kenahan Casey Blanche Kendall Ji Na Kim Ji Soo Kim Nahyung Kim Alejandro José Knoepffler Drake William Kreinz Miranda Marina Larraz Dami Lee Sae Yong Lee Kevin Patrick Legein Carly Anne MacLean Courtney Marie Macomber David Maldonado James Malik Tyler McField Tess Miriam McMahon Alexander Meigs-Rives Taryn Erickson Murphy Anna Elizabeth Nooney Brian Gary O’Connor Liam Augustine O’Connor Fergus John O’Farrell Akunna Bianca Onyiuke Youngrok Park William Andrew Parsons Dylan Alfred David Pexton Kelly Anne Plageman Sean Patrick Quinn Toni Ann Ramos Philip Langan Rizzuto Stephanie Marie Rocha Katherine Anne Rodrock Jeffrey James Salvatore Jihyeon Seo Lucia Seoane-Pampin Sidharth Sharma Emma Louise Smith Peter James Tolles Daniel José Vela Reid Juan Enrique Vicini Bonetti Caitlin Ann Villareal Alex Viñas Sallés Jacqueline Mary Wagner Stephanie Joan Waterman Ryan James Whitney Jiayi Xu Wenting Xu John P. Young Zhaonan Zhang Broghan Anastasia Littleton Zwack de Wahl
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C O MMENCEMENT
Fergus O’Farrell, who was elected by his classmates to give the valedictory address, reflected on his time at school: “… the friendships I’ve made, the laughs I’ve shared… how much I treasure the memories I’ve had here and how significant these last four years have been.” Peppering his remarks with nuanced humor, Fergus spoke of how the lessons he learned extend far beyond the classroom: becoming friends with a wide variety of people from many countries and cultures; learning never to prejudge anyone; coming to appreciate the various qualities and abilities of many of his classmates; and coming to realize that “I still have so much to learn.” He closed by challenging his fellow graduates, “Wherever you end up in the next leg of your life, whether it is at college or elsewhere, never stop learning. We’ve been prepped and we have the tools. The world is waiting for us, so let’s go out there and take it.” In his remarks, Dr. DeVecchi gave special recognition to Dom Ambrose Wolverton, who retired this spring from teaching English and music after a noteworthy 53 years. “For more than 60 percent of Portsmouth Abbey School’s history,” said Dr. DeVecchi, “Dom Ambrose’s name has been synonymous with performing arts at Portsmouth, especially in our music programs. We are especially indebted to him for his many years of dedicated service, and we are grateful that we will continue to be graced by his presence here on campus.”
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Merchant Marine Academy), Cynthia Holte (ROTC/Villanova University) and Matthew Jewell-DeMieri (ROTC/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) – were also applauded by Lord Guthrie. “As a General and a big admirer of the United States military,” said Lord Guthrie, “I am especially pleased that several of you are going on to U.S. service academies, following a long line of Portsmouth graduates who have served this country. This great nation needs graduates such as you to keep it great.” Dr. Michael Bonin, head of the English Department, was announced as the inaugural recipient of the Kearney Chair in English. Named after Dom Damian Kearney ’45, longtime member of the School’s English Department and department chairman for 25 years, it is the second endowed faculty chair. Dr. Bonin, called “an intellectual leader on campus” by Dr. DeVecchi, has headed the English Department since joining the faculty in 2002. Dr. DeVecchi made note of the graduates who will begin serving our country at U.S. service academies and through ROTC programs in the fall: “It is especially fitting on this Memorial Day weekend that we acknowledge, congratulate and thank them for their service.” The students – Katherine Rodrock (U.S. Naval Academy), Brian O’Connor (U.S. Military Academy), Ryan Whitney (U.S. Military Academy), Peter Tolles (U.S.
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
Ten members of the graduating class were recognized by Dr. DeVecchi for being secondgeneration Portsmouth graduates: Greta Behnke (Chris ’81) Corinne Cotta (Steve ’83) Kian, Sean and Trevor Kenahan (Chuck ’77) Alex Knoepffler (Alex ’78) James McField (James ’89) Alec Meigs-Rives (Bill ’67) Juan Enrique Vicini (Felipe ’79) Andrew Godfrey ’12 was hailed as the one member of the Class of 2012 who was a thirdgeneration Portsmouth graduate, following in the footsteps of his father, Andrew ’84, and grandfather, John Schumacher ’55. Complete transcripts of all Commencement speeches as well as a list of Prize Day recipients, graduates, and college destinations can be found on our Web site at www.portsmouthabbey.org/page/8090.
C OM M EN C EM EN T
Top left: Headmaster Jim DeVecchi shares a moment with graduate Yidan Cong ’12 and her mother, Xiuzhi Chang, following Commencement exercises. Top right: Emmett Conway ’12 (far right) celebrates with family, from left, his sister, Fiona ’15, father Sean Conway, and mother Liz Kinnane. Middle left: The extended Villareal family with Caitlin ’12, including her sister, Madeline (sixth from left), who will join the Class of 2016 in the fall, and brother Ryan ’09 (second from right, in uniform) who attends the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Middle right: The Vicini family with graduate Juan (far right), from left: his brother, Felipe, Jr., ’09, his mother, Eliza Vicini Bonetti, his father, Felipe, Sr., ’79, and his sister, Lisa. Left: Graduate Alex Knoepffler displays his diploma for, from left, his father, Alejandro ’78, his mother, Eva, his grandmother, Marguina Knoepffler, and his brother, Thomas ’16.
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Below: Greta Behnke ’12 (far right) celebrates with her family following Commencement, from left, her sister, Meghan, mother Erin, grandmother Mary, father Chris ’81, member of the Board of Regents, and brother Will ’15. Greta will attend Carnegie Mellon University in the fall.
Top: Cici Chen ’12, Xijia Yuan ’13 and Shirley Gu ’12 at Commencement. Middle: Akunna Onyiuke ’12, Sean Buckley ’12, and Cynthia Holte ’12 following Commencement Mass. They will attend George Washington University, the University of Notre Dame and Villanova University, respectively. Bottom: Jesse Bessinger ’12 (center) with her family at Prize Day, including, from left, grandparents Frank and Pam Knapp, dad Jay, mom Jeannette, brother Julian and grandmother Judith Porter. Jesse was elected to the Cum Laude Society and won the Phillips Poetry Prize and the O’Rourke Prize for Excellence in English Composition. She will attend Cornell University in the fall.
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Gail and James ‘89 McField celebrate the graduation of their son, James ‘12 (back center), along with James’ younger brother, Jalen.
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
Top left: Dean of Residential Life Aileen Baker leads the graduating class into the tent for Commencement Exercises. Behind her are Dan Aker (left) and Matteo Agnoletto (right). Top right: Headmaster DeVecchi congratulates Dr. Michael Bonin, head of the English Department, as the first recipient of the newly endowed Kearney Chair in English. Middle left: Akunna Onyiuke ‘12, third from left, with her family at Prize Day. From left, sister Ify ’15; mother Chinwe; Akunna; father Charles; brother Chido ’10; and brother Kody. Akunna was the recipient of The Headmaster’s Award, awarded by Dr. DeVecchi as the Sixth Former who, through her goodwill, personal example, and effort been, has been a force for good in the School. Middle right: The Buckley and Murphy families with Sean Buckley ’12 on Prize Day. Left to Right: Jim and Corinne Murphy, Anna Buckley ’07, Nick Kendrick, Sheila and Jay ’73 Buckley P ’07, ’09, ’12, Sean’s grandfather James Buckley, Jimmy Buckley ’09 and Sean’s uncle, David Buckley. Right: Toni Ramos ’12 with her parents, Ann Marie and Tony, on Prize Day. Toni received the William Barry McCoy Memorial Award for her Christian attitude, constructive leadership, and positive influence on her fellow students.
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PRIZE DAY
Top left: Kevin Legein ’12 is congratulated by faculty member Allie Micheletti ’05 on his induction into the Cum Laude Society. Kevin also received the Excellence in Scholarship Award. He will attend Duke University. Top right: Dr. DeVecchi awards Sidharth Sharma ’12 the William Griffin Kelley Memorial Trophy for having made a most significant contribution to the life of the School. Sidharth will attend Georgetown University. Middle left: Dr. DeVecchi congratulates Doel Jarosiewicz ’12, as he received the Matthew Penney Perseverance Award for determined perseverance, along with excellent character and kindness, as seen in the late Matthew Penney ‘07. Middle right: Cynthia Holte ’12 receives the Dom Bede Gorman Prize for Excellence in Medical Physiology from Bowen Smith. She also received a Navy ROTC Scholarship and will attend Villanova University. Bottom: Dean of Faculty Nancy Brzys presents Allie Micheletti ’05 (left) and Derek Gittus (right) with the junior faculty and senior faculty Dom Peter Sidler Awards for Excellence in Teaching.
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P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
Trending in College Admissions “Trending” seems to be the latest buzzword, more or less literally. “To trend” is, according to our friend dictionary.com, “to emerge as a popular trend; be currently popular.” With the emergence of, or dare I say, the dominance of, social media, trends emerge and spread at the speed of light (or perhaps more accurately, the speed of your wireless connection): check with Twitter, Facebook, Google+; consult your favorite blog; tune in to MTV or HLN to find out what is trending today. But you’d better hurry; today’s trends will be long forgotten by tomorrow! That said, what is trending now in college admissions? Trends mentioned in an earlier article in the “Monthly Musings” included the increase in the number of students being accepted through an “early” plan (one school reported taking close to 90% of its class at early action); an increase in “deferred” acceptances (colleges accept a student to enroll in January rather than September); and significant enhancement in SAT/ ACT test security, resulting from cheating scandals at several schools on Long Island (the College Board now requires students to submit an photo ID, to be reproduced on the student’s admission ticket, when they register for the SAT). And of course, we already know about the crazy increases in applications to U.S. colleges and universities (which continue, albeit less frenetically). But by now, the fact that Princeton’s application numbers increased 98% (yes, that’s ninety-eight percent!) over the past seven years is so 37 seconds ago! Today’s trends (and I suspect they will “trend” for several years) include a significant increase in financial need, which has fueled the second trend, much larger “gaps” in financial aid packages, and a third trend, increases in applications at the public universities. These, in turn, lead to a growing tendency (primarily among larger public universities that are struggling to keep pace with the growing number of apps) to release decisions later than expected, and the diminishing number of “financial aid safeties.” Another trend that may be tangentially related to financial aid is the increasing importance of “demonstrated interest” in colleges’ decision-making process.
Financial Need: At this point (year-to-date) in the 2009 – 2010 cycle, 18,944,132 FAFSAs had been filed (the FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is required of all families seeking need-based financial aid). For the same period in 2010 – 2011, the number filed was 20,598,986, and for this cycle, the number increased to 21,441,411. It is true that the number of filers can include families with what colleges refer to as “financial want” as opposed to financial need; however, it would seem highly likely that the ratio of “wanters” to “needers” would remain constant, so there are likely significantly more families in need now than three years ago. The conundrum that colleges face, of course, is that to offer significant aid to families, they must have significant revenue. Two major revenue streams for colleges are tuition and endowment. If schools raised tuition, thus theoretically raising revenue, who would be able to afford it? Certainly not the more than 21 million families that need aid. Maybe schools could take a little from the Peters (we won’t call it robbing) to help pay for the Pauls, but this doesn’t seem to be the most sustainable model. So colleges must consider dipping into their evershrinking endowments to increase financial aid awards – again not sustainable. Many schools have increased their financial aid budgets, but not many can do so in a way that will serve all of their applicants. Currently schools seem to be trying to spread the money around to as many families as possible, but that leaves many families with insurmountable “gaps” in aid offers. And yes, we are seeing more colleges make more decisions based on financial need – or lack thereof. Financial Aid “Gap”: The difference between what the federal government (through the FAFSA) says a family can afford to pay and what is offered to that family in financial aid by a particular school. When the gap is combined with an aid offer that includes substantial loans, families can be left to find/borrow Photo: The College Counseling team (l-r) Kate Smith, Corie McDermott, Elizabeth Wall, and Director of College Counseling Mary McDonald.
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TRENDING in COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
Increase in applications to state universities: Quite simply, families are looking for affordability, and with the threat of accruing a six-figure debt in just four years lurking in the background, the public universities (including the military academies), with their lower costs, are looking more attractive. Thirteen percent of applications sent by the Abbey Class of 2008 went to state universities, with 21% of those students matriculating at public universities; in 2011 it was 23% of applications submitted, with 25% choosing to attend public universities.
well above the admitted average for that school. The expectation has been that the school will offer them merit money to attend. You can probably see where this is going. As more and more students need money, more and more students are applying to these schools, and the schools become more competitive and thus less likely to represent a “safety” of any sort. Thus is born a rather unhappy trend; the disappearing financial aid safety! If only there was a way for families to estimate how much aid they might receive from a particular school! Recognizing that not only is financial aid increasingly hard to come by, it is also hard to understand, the federal government has moved to improve transparency in the process. The first step was to make the FAFSA website, FAFSA.ed.gov, much more navigable and user-friendly. Among other improvements, this year marked the first year that families could chose to populate their income information on the FAFSA directly from their completed tax returns via the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. And this year marked the introduction of the Net Price Calculator.
The national winner for application increases this year (the BIG winner) was UCLA, which received 72,669 freshman applications (last year they received a paltry 61,566). The University of Virginia was a close second with a 17.64% increase. The University of California Berkeley received 61,661, up from 52,920 a year ago. The University of Michigan, which has experienced several years of significant growth, this year received 41,600 first-year applications, up from 39,570 a year ago; the 39,570 was a 25% increase over the previous year. The University of Delaware saw about a 10% increase this year, as did the University of Connecticut.
Net Price Calculators (NPC): Enter the Net Price Calculator, which, oddly, isn’t exactly trending, at least not yet. The government mandated that all colleges that dispense federal aid must have a Net Price Calculator online no later than the end of October 2011. The NPC is intended to assist families in estimating (within a range) what amount of financial aid students from families with similar economic situations and similar academic profiles might receive from that particular school. Colleges cannot see the data that a family enters (since this tool is just for calculating a “possible” package”), but they can see how many families have used the NPC.
These increases have resulted in the unintended side effect of decisions from some universities being released later than in the past. The University of Michigan seems to have adjusted this year, with most decisions released by mid-April; but in the two previous years, they were still making and releasing decisions in very late April, leaving students little time to make their deposit decisions by the May 1 deadline. The University of New Hampshire released their Early Action decisions more than a week later than advertised simply because they had so many applications that they couldn’t get through them all in time. Penn State saw a small increase (just under 4%) but also released some decisions very late in April. On the other hand, as state universities become more competitive, many students are looking at private colleges for “financial aid safeties.”
At the end of this first cycle, the tool has been quite underused; the assumption is that most families (and for that matter, many counselors) aren’t aware of the calculator or how to use it. Do colleges like the NPC? Harvard reports that it is a wonderful tool; on the other hand, schools without the financial wherewithal to fund huge percents of their needy students are a bit nervous that students/families might shy away from applying to a school if the NPC suggests that their need will not be met. These schools maintain that every case is different and that some of their awards are hard to quantify. One school quite popular with our students offers a scholarship that they (in-house) refer to as the “feel bad for you” scholarship; there is no set criteria, so it is hard to describe it in a way that fits into a formula.
tens of thousands of dollars a year. As the debate rages on doubling interest rates on college loans, it is worth noting that for students who graduated from college in 2011, the average college debt was, according to The New York Times, about $24,000 for four years. If the trend we have seen emerging over the past two years continues, students/families may be borrowing that much per year. Doubling the interest rates could be, to say the least, catastrophic. Enter the state university!
Financial Aid Safeties: Students who need financial aid have traditionally included on their application lists schools for which they would be a high level candidate, with GPAs and test scores
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Demonstrated Interest: The final, and we think disturbing, trend is the growing number of schools giving significant weight to a student’s “demonstrated interest” when making admission decisions. Based on what we have seen and what colleagues
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DESTINATIONS at other schools report, the number of schools basing decisions on interest is growing exponentially. What, you may ask, is “demonstrated interest”? A small but growing number of colleges track what they consider to be demonstrations of interest, such as campus visits, interviews (on or off campus), emails or phone calls to admission officers (from the student, not the counselor or parent), completion of any “optional” essay, contact at college fairs, and who knows what else.
Architectural Association School of Architecture (UK) 1 Auburn University 1 Beloit College 2
Universidad de Navarra 1 New Hampshire Institute of Art 1 New York University 2
Bentley University 2
University of North Carolina at Wilmington 1
Boston College 2
Northeastern University 3
Brandeis University 1
Northwestern University 1
There may be a tangential connection between demonstrated interest and the current financial aid situation. After all, why offer a student a lot of money if he has no intention of attending and only applied because his counselor told him he had to have a “safety”? But this seems to be in the minority of cases (though we certainly may see an increase in this area over the next few years). We are seeing significantly more schools use interest in cases where the student will not require aid. The driving factor seems to be the importance of yield (percent of accepted students who matriculate) in determining rank in the US News & World Report college issue. Many college counselors don’t like this trend for several reasons. First, not all schools let students or counselors know whether and how much they count interest. Second, it can be difficult to determine what any particular school considers to be a demonstration of interest. With all of the pressure students are under to research the requirements of the schools they are applying to; take, ace, and report scores from standardized tests; complete all forms; meet all deadlines; pen amazing essays; and wipe out yellow fever; should they also have to try to guess how much each school they are applying to counts interest?
Bristol Community College 2
University of Notre Dame 1
Brown University 3
Parsons The New School for Design 1
Bryant University 1 Carnegie Mellon University 3
Pennsylvania State University, University Park 2
The Catholic University of America 2
University of Pennsylvania 1
College of Charleston 4
Providence College 1
Columbia University 2
Purdue University 1
University of Connecticut 1
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1
Cornell University 1
Rhode Island School of Design 1
University of Delaware 1
Sacred Heart University 1
Drew University 1
Saint Anselm College 1
Duke University 1
San Diego State University 1
Elmira College 1
Santa Clara University 2
Endicott College 1
Sewanee: The University of the South 1
Trends: How do we stay on top of them? How do we control how much they affect us? While frequently checking in with Twitter or Facebook might keep you in the know about what is trending in the world of pop culture, politics, or your old friends from way back when, the best way to manage the impact of trends in the college admission world is good, old-fashioned research. With guidance and support from their college counselors, and with a willingness to do serious, timeconsuming research, students and families should be able to weather these trends.
Georgetown University 2
– Mary McDonald Director of College Counseling
Fairfield University 2 Florida State University 1 Fordham University 1 Franklin and Marshall College 1 The George Washington University 4
Hamilton College (NY) 1 University of Hartford 1
Skidmore College 1 Springfield College 2 Stony Brook University 1 Suffolk University 1 The University of Tampa 1 Trinity College 3 Tulane University 1
High Point University 2
United States Merchant Marine Academy 1
Hobart and William Smith Colleges 2
United States Military Academy 2
College of the Holy Cross 1
United States Naval Academy 1
Johns Hopkins University 1
Vassar College 1
Kenyon College 1
University of Vermont 1
Lasell College 1
Villanova University 1
Louisiana State University 1
Wheaton College (MA) 1
Loyola University Maryland 2
Wittenberg University 1
University of Mississippi 1
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P O R T S M O U T H I N S T I T U T E 2012
MODERN SCIENCE
Ancient Faith The 2012 Portsmouth Institute on Modern Science/Ancient Faith on June 22-24 drew 140 attendees to our campus in the early days of summer. Speakers included Abbot James Wiseman, O.S.B., of St. Anselm’s Abbey, Washington, D.C. Dr. Kenneth Miller of Brown University; Dr. William Dembski ’78 of the Discovery Institute; Rev. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P., of Providence College; Dr. John Haught of the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University; Dr. Michael Ruse of Florida State University; and Rev. Dom Paschal Scotti, O.S.B., of Portsmouth Abbey. Faculty members, including Abbot Caedmon, Jim DeVecchi, Cliff Hobbins, Blake Billings ‘77, Brother Francis, Tim Seeley ’77 and Bob Rainwater, introduced the speakers and helped guide the animated question-and-answer sessions after the talks. Father Paschal opened the conference with a talk entitled, “Galileo Revisited.” He was followed by Abbot James, whose talk, “A New Heavens and a New Earth,” gave an overview of the Faith/Science dialogue that included some fascinating new discoveries in astrophysics before going on to illumine several major questions in his own area of expertise – eschatology. That evening John Haught spoke on “Evolution and Faith: What is the Problem?” He adumbrated a theological position, drawing on Teilhard de Chardin, that in so far as the created world is still emerging it was impossible to draw any final conclusions on evolution or faith. The next morning brought fireworks as cell biologist and practicing Catholic Ken Miller used his well-illustrated talk, “To Find God in All Things:
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Exploring the Evolutionary Architecture of Life,” to uphold Darwinian thought and launched a direct attack on Intelligent Design theory and the speaker following, Bill Dembski ’78. Dembski’s talk lacked the razzle-dazzle media accoutrement and pugnacity of Miller’s presentation, but by its end he had more-than climbed back into the ring and issued a challenge to Miller that has electrified the cyberworld: http://www.evolutionnews.org/2012/06/science_and_rel061411.html On Saturday evening, agnostic Michael Ruse delivered a surprisingly conciliatory lecture entitled, “Making Room for Faith in an Age of Science.” The conference closed after Sunday morning’s beautifully sung Mass with a brilliant presentation, combining his mastery of genetics and near-photographic memory of Aquinas’ Summa, by Father Nic Austriaco entitled, “What can Genomic Science tell us about Adam and Eve?” The questions and conversation among the speaker and enthralled attendees went on for nearly two hours after Father Nic’s lecture. These talks can all be read and seen at www.portsmouthinstitute.org and will be published later in the Portsmouth Review.
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Visit: www.portsmouthinstitute.org
“In today’s increasingly secular society,” commented Portsmouth Institute Director James MacGuire ’70, “we saw a great opportunity to underline the importance of science at Portsmouth Abbey School and also to celebrate what Templeton Prize winner Rev. Dr. John Polkinghorne has called ‘the friendship of science and religion.’ This outstanding line-up of scientists, philosophers and theologians – lay and religious, believers and agnostics – helped us do just that.” In addition to scholarly presentations, the Institute also featured a lively dramatic production based on the life and work of scientist Dom Stanley Jaki, O.S.B., by Kevin O’Brien, founder of Theater of the Word. There was a Save the Bay marine science cruise on the Aletta Morris Saturday afternoon and, on Saturday evening, an outstanding concert conducted by former music director Troy Quinn, including “Appalachian Spring Suite” by Aaron Copland and works by Sibelius, Honegger and Samuel Barber. The Portsmouth Institute is a conference, study, recreation and retreat center for all those interested in Catholic life, leadership and service in the 21st Century and is intended to highlight academic and spiritual excellence at Portsmouth Abbey and School. An announcement regarding the 2013 Portsmouth Institute will be made in September.
Opposite: History and political science teacher Cliff Hobbins provided the introduction for Dom Paschal Scotti’s “Galileo Revisited.” Above: Portsmouth Institute Director Jamie MacGuire ‘70 opens the proceedings of Portsmouth Institute 2012 on Modern Science/Ancient Faith. Top right: Drinks and dinner in the Monastic Gardens on Friday evening Middle right: The cruise on Narragansett Bay aboard the Aletta Morris was one of Saturday’s highlights. Lower right: Saturday evening’s concert, conducted by Troy Quinn, music director of the Portsmouth Institute orchestra, included Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite and Andante Festivo by Jean Sibelius.
Note: Transcripts and videos of the conference events are available at www.portsmouthinstitute.org.
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Being in the Science “We help the students be in the science, not tell them about it.” These sentiments, stated by physics teacher Dom Francis Crowley, reflect the philosophy firmly held by the entire Science Department, one of the most seasoned – and popular among students – at the School. The eight science faculty members – Department Head Robert Sahms (Biology, Physics), Bob Rainwater (Conceptual Physics), John Perreira (Medical Physiology), Janice Brady (Chemistry, Green Chemistry), Brother Francis (Conceptual Physics), Shane McCarthy (Chemistry, Marine Science), Suzi Duncan (Biology), and Kent Rudasill ’86 (Conceptual Physics) – represent 146 years of teaching at Portsmouth Abbey. Four of the seven full-time members have each served on the faculty for more than 20 years. The close-knit group of colleagues is committed to “teaching science as a way of thinking about the world around us, through student-centered, hands-on learning. We are all people who love to teach and who love the students,” said Sahms, who has introduced legions of Abbey students to the wonders of natural sciences over the past 32 years. “This really is a calling for us, not a job.” The department’s approach to science education is based on the scientific method. Teachers use a variety of teaching techniques – lecture, discussion, demonstration, laboratory activities and inquiry-based activities – to engage and inform the students. Computer technology, including SmartBoards, laptop and desktop computers, digital resources and online homework assignments, is being incorporated evermore into the process. “Since students constantly use and are drawn to multimedia technology, we are using more and more technology in our classrooms, labs and in demonstrations,” said Brady. Hands-on laboratory experiments are an integral part of the Abbey science curricula, because “they enable students to solve problems, help students to learn experientially, show the unique working of science, and illustrate theoretical ideas,” explained Sahms. “Science is a unique way of thinking. It’s about the process and the investigation,” added Brother Francis. “The students are learning to make deductions and really explore. We are not just presenting them with a set of facts.”
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Recent graduate Darren Colbourne ’12, who will major in chemistry at Columbia, reiterated the value of extensive lab time. “One of the best things about all of my science teachers here has been their focus on having us spend as much time as possible in the laboratory. They understood that using our hands, seeing what we were learning, and really applying it in a specific way was far more valuable than sitting in a classroom and seeing it written on a blackboard.” Most Abbey students now take a minimum of three science offerings – in the physics/chemistry/biology sequence – and the department offers challenging college-level courses, including AP courses in biology, chemistry, and physics and electives in Medical Physiology and Marine Science. There are also advanced independent study opportunities in post-AP Physics and Green Chemistry. The teaching achievements and continued passion of the School’s science faculty are perhaps more noteworthy and laudable given that the science curricula is taught in a building constructed for science before man set foot on the moon. Plans are underway for a new science center, but such a building will likely not be a reality for several years. Meanwhile, the science faculty admirably integrates current technologies into the classroom and lab while waiting for the lecture-labs (classrooms with adjoining teaching laboratories) that are standard fare in many other high school science buildings, along with biological amenities such as a greenhouse and observatory. “We need living organisms to interest students in the study of life,” said Duncan. The absence of state-of-the-art facilities has clearly not deterred Portsmouth Abbey’s science faculty, however, from igniting a passion for science in many of their students. Former students speak enthusiastically about their science experiences at Portsmouth, and many attribute their chosen paths in science to the interest imbued in them through the School’s science teachers. “I will use a chemistry metaphor and say that Mrs. Brady has been the catalyst that pushed and motivated me to pursue my interest in chemistry,” said Yidan Cong ’12, who will attend Carnegie Mellon’s College of Science and is contemplating a double major in chemistry and engineering or applied mathematics. “She and the other science teachers here allowed me to apply the knowledge I learned and not just study the theory. I could actually solve a real-world problem in a very practical way. “My science teachers at Portsmouth Abbey inspired me with their passion, their generosity of time and their patience in bringing me along. Without them, I would not be so interested in science and planning to pursue it in college. My future science teachers have pretty big shoes to fill!”
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AP Physics
AP Chemistry
Green Chemistry
AP Biology Marine and Environmental Science
Astronomy
Independent Study
Medical Physiology
BIOLOGY
PHYSICS
CHEMISTRY
ROOTED IN SCIENCE As part of our self-study in April 2012, the visiting educators asked how our departmental philosophy of science education fit with how the administration viewed our role in the School. That question stimulated us to ask, “What IS the philosophy of the Portsmouth Abbey School science faculty with regard to science education at our school?” The answer to the question will not only unify our department, but it will also help in the hiring process as we anticipate a large turnover within the department within the next five to eight years due to retirement.
s We believe that science education involves hands-on experiments, demonstrations, and storytelling in a scientific way. The order of these educational tools is significant. Experiments are the most important. When a concept cannot be taught by conducting an experiment, then a demonstration should be used. If neither an experiment nor a demonstration is feasible, telling the story in a way that a scientist would approach the problem is the next best.
The department faculty, Bob Rainwater, John Perreira, Janice Brady, Brother Francis Crowley, Shane McCarty, Suzi Duncan, Kent Rudasill ’86, and Robert Sahms (Department Head) met twice in May 2012. Listed below are the key tenets of our philosophy and the basis for our decisions as science educators at Portsmouth Abbey School.
s We believe that science, and, therefore, science education, is constantly evolving as new data is discovered. Students should appreciate what science has done in the past and how it has progressed in the last 200 years. Students should also appreciate that scientists can, and do, legitimately disagree on how to interpret observations and how to select among observations which tend to support different conclusions.
s We believe that the sequence we follow (physics, chemistry, biology) is the best sequence. Our hope is that once our students are rooted in science, they will take at least one science elective at Portsmouth Abbey or in college s We believe that helping our students to think scientifically is the most important goal. This involves creating an atmosphere where curiosity blossoms, providing opportunities to make observations about the world around them, predicting outcomes based on those observations, and then testing the predictions. Inquiry-based experiments help engage the students in the creative side of science. Scientific thinking need not always include experiments and demonstrations, but it should always include interaction among ideas, evidence, and analysis. Good science constantly cycles back and forth between observation and analysis. s We believe that true science education is more than memorizing facts. Memorizing facts could simply be accomplished by reading a book.
s We believe that technology is vital to our classrooms, our demonstrations, and our labs. Students constantly use and are drawn to multimedia technology; therefore, we must stay abreast of the latest advancements in the technology that apply to our particular discipline. Sharing those with each other is an important part of our collegiality. s We believe that although most of our students will not become scientists, they should be scientifically literate citizens in a global world. s We believe our students should develop the confidence in the scientific process of obtaining knowledge or examining a situation so that they can apply this knowledge and skill in future decision-making situations. Those situations may not be pure science. Respectfully submitted, Robert Sahms, Science Department Head
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By Dom Francis Crowley, O.S.B. As I was walking the halls of Fordham, a Jesuit university, some years ago, I encountered a number of framed posters of its Jesuit professors with just such pithy resumés as in the title of this article, except they were all in reverse order, so that being a Jesuit became the surprise punch line! I am Brother Francis, Benedictine monk, teacher, environmentalist, scientist; this is my resumé. It explains who I am and what my background has been. I don’t know why, but some people think it is strange that someone with a science background could be a monk; I find both have fit very well together in my personal journey. I have always been curious. Like many people, I wondered: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? How shall I get there? The answer to these complex queries began to be resolved for me in the first grade by Sr. Mary Victoire, R.S.M. She explained that “God made me in His image and likeness, to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this life, and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven.” So much for the big issues! Now all I had to do was figure out, how was I going to serve Him? Actually, I got quite a nudge in the direction of science when I was in the ninth grade. In those years, studies in law, medicine, and seminary required four years of high school Latin, and often more Latin in college as well. I could almost hear God saying to me, “I am not calling you to be a lawyer, a doctor, or a priest; because if I was, I would have made Latin a lot more fun for you.” So, I took the path God had laid out for me; in high school I chose the science sequence and not the classical one. In college, the Chemistry Department was very strong and it seemed to offer the best potential for personal development. Chemistry is a very intuitive science, not just a mathematical exercise; chemistry fired my imagination, so it was an obvious choice. I taught public high school chemistry for three years after college, but these were the post-Sputnik years and government funding was readily available for graduate study in science. I was able to return to college with grants and fellowships that nearly equaled the salary I had been earning as a teacher. When I graduated, I knew that I loved teaching, but I was curious to find out what life as a scientist in industry would be like. That curiosity led me to a twenty-five year career in chemical/pharmaceutical development, manufacturing, and environmental protection.
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Scientists are people who are curious. Richard Feynman was the physicist who famously demonstrated to a Senate committee how the cold temperature of the liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuels caused the catastrophic failure in the shuttle Challenger. He dipped an “O” ring fuel seal in a glass of ice water to demonstrate how the cold deformed it and allowed it to leak fuel. Feynman once wrote a poem for his philosophy exam at MIT entitled, “I Wonder Why”:
“I Wonder Why. I Wonder Why. I Wonder Why I Wonder. I Wonder Why I Wonder Why I Wonder Why I Wonder!” This sense of wonder is the spark that ignites the scientific mind; it is the reason that so many fine minds have devoted their lives to the search for truth. What I find so saddening is that in this search some, but not all, scientists have focused exclusively on seeking scientific truth. Many scientists, and especially physicists, have been enthralled in recent years by the observation that there are a number of exact physical constants in the universe which, if they were not set within precisely defined limits, the universe and life itself would not be possible. Further, if earth was not located in the position it is in, as the third planet from the sun, there could be no human life. These scientists call this “The Anthropic Principle,” the concept that the universe appears to be expressly designed for man’s existence! Is this true? Is this a scientific truth? Actually, the term scientific truth is a misnomer; science is a way of examining physical reality and, as such, by definition, excludes everything else. Thus love, beauty, goodness, and, alas, even truth itself are outside the realm of science. So when speaking of a scientific truth, what is meant is that collection of thoroughly tested and closely observed phenomena that can be explained by a model called a scientific theory, or, if repeatedly tested and not contradicted, a scientific principle, or law. And yet, valid as a theory or law may seem to be, if it is disproven by a single example, it must be modified, or even discarded, for a newer theory that more nearly fits all observations, including the one that upset the original theory. As Albert Einstein pointedly said, “No number of experiments can prove me right; a
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imental verification and were metaphysical in nature, and were thus the proper subjects of philosophy, not science. Of course, as with love, beauty, goodness and truth, it does not mean that they are not real; it just means that science lacks a format in which to study or evaluate them. Or, as our Conceptual Physics textbook so eloquently phrases it, “Science is about Cosmic Order; Religion is about Cosmic Purpose.”
single experiment can prove me wrong.” So, if we truly seek to know the “why” for everything, we cannot limit our search for truth to those things that are physically measureable. This has not always been a problem. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) wrote that for all things, there were “Four Causes”:
“The Material Cause”– made of which substance? “The Proximate Cause”– made by which agent? “The Formal Cause”– made according to what form or design? “The Final Cause”– made for what purpose? Thus, the dining room table is: made of maple; by a cabinetmaker; with a standard 30”x 60” top, 30” high, with four turned corner legs, and seating for six; and for both formal and informal dining (but allowing for other non-designed uses such as homework). And, remembering our science courses and the lesson from Sr. Mary Victoire, we ourselves were created from human genes; by our parents and by means of a genetic DNA code, or, alternatively, in the image and likeness of God; “to know God, to love Him, and to serve Him in this life, and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven.” What happened, then, to this happy continuum in our seeking the “why” in our search for truth and meaning? In the seventeenth century, Francis Bacon asserted that only the “Material Cause” (made of which substance) and the “Proximate Cause” (made by which agent) were able to be examined by scientific means and were therefore the sole purview of science. The “Formal Cause” (made according to what design) and the “Final Cause” (made for what purpose) were beyond the scope of exper-
And yet love, beauty, goodness and truth are not only real, they are precisely what gives life its meaning! The ancient Greeks were very much attuned to beauty as an object of love and something that was to be imitated and reproduced in their lives, architecture, education and politics. The poet John Keats, in his “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” put it this way: Beauty is truth, truth beauty – that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. and Jacques Maritain wrote: But let one touch the good and Love, like the saints, the True, like an Aristotle, the Beautiful, like a Dante or a Bach or a Giotto, then contact is made, souls communicate. Each year, in the very beginning of our Conceptual Physics course, I explain my philosophy to the new physics students. I tell them that this is my retirement career and my plan is to have fun studying physics with them, and to love them. Once, a boy raised his hand and said, “Brother Francis, you don’t love me; you don’t even know me.” “Actually,” I said, “that makes it even easier.” Another student asked, “So, do you believe that we were created by God, or by evolution?” “That’s an easy one,” I replied; “I believe that God created evolution.” So, here am I, Brother Francis, O.S.B., by profession a religious and by profession a scientist and teacher; I have a foot in each camp, and I am not restricted by either in the search for truth and meaning.
d
Dom Francis Crowley, O.S.B., has a Ph.D.in Chemistry. He took early retirement in 1991 as corporate director of environmental technology from CIBA-Geigy Corporation, an international pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer; he entered the monastery, in his words, “forty-five minutes after leaving work on my last day.”
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Why How Physics First
THE OF When I meet a new person socially and the conversation turns to occupations, I always get a polite smile when I say I teach high school. I am next asked what subject I teach, and the reaction when I answer, “physics” tends to be more intense: “Oh, physics, that was a hard one!” or “Physics… I never did take that,” or, only occasionally, “I really enjoyed physics.” The comments are rarely neutral and it would be fun to have candid photos of people’s faces as they suddenly recall high school physics classes. Most adults encountered physics when it was the last science in the high school sequence, kept there because it was thought to be too math intensive for younger students, and it had a reputation as the killer course in which only the best could be successful. But physics is not really like that – it is a subject that first- and second-year high school students can and do enjoy learning. Abbey students take physics as their first science, and they will have much more positive reactions when they encounter physics again as adults. I was introduced to the idea of physicsfirst at a meeting almost 30 years ago of the New England section of the American Association of Physics Teachers, in Connecticut. The novel idea was presented in a talk by Uri Haber-Shaim, one of the principal authors of the PSSC Physics textbook. PSSC physics was one of the science curriculum projects developed as part of the post-Sputnik reforms in American education during the late 1950s and early 1960s. (It was the textbook that I used when I was in high school.) Haber-Shaim had taken three high school science textbooks, one biology, one chemistry, and one physics, and looked in the index of each book for terms that related to the other two sciences. Biology had the most references to other sciences, both chemistry and physics. Chemistry had many references to physics and a few to biology. But physics had few references to either biology or chemistry – physics stood on its own. Haber-Shaim
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AND
pointed out that the concepts of physics do not rely on either chemistry or biology so it would make sense to teach physics first. Physics does rely on mathematics, but at the high school level, that did not include calculus even in the old “killer course” days. Topics such as vectors, that traditionally required trigonometry can be taught in a more conceptual, graphical way, and the rest of physics can be taught using algebra, which would either be studied the year before a physics-first course or studied concurrently. With algebra fresh in their minds, students would gain from seeing the interdisciplinary connections between mathematics and the physical world. Thirty years ago, this was a revolutionary but interesting idea. Another physics teacher at that AAPT meeting, Fred Meyers, took that idea back to his school, Choate Rosemary Hall, and implemented the physics-chemistry-biology sequence there. In 1987, Fred gave a talk about their new sequence at a conference of the National Association of Biology Teachers. The talk was attended by the Abbey’s biology teacher, Robert Sahms. Robert came back from that conference inspired by the talk and delighted to find out that I already knew about the physicsfirst proposal. Robert’s enthusiasm for physics-first was contagious and together we worked to implement it ,at the Abbey. We visited Choate, talked to others who had also made the switch, and began a pilot program with just the Third Form honors science class in 1993. That worked so well that we adopted physics as the first science for all Abbey students in 1995, and we have never regretted the move. I taught physics as the third high school science for 10 years before making the switch to physics-first. One of my goals has always been to make our physicsfirst course for Third and Fourth Form students at the Abbey to be as much as
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possible like the “regular,” old-fashioned physics course for Fifth and Sixth Form students. We call the course “Conceptual Physics” mostly because that is the name of our textbook, but we still include plenty of algebra. Mathematics is a wonderful tool for keeping track of the patterns of nature. The majority of our students completed algebra in the 8th grade, but a significant number take algebra and physics at the same time. To test how realistic it is to have Third Form students solving equations in physics, I taught a class of Algebra 1 in the early years of our physics-first sequence. By October, the Algebra 1 students could solve pretty much any equation that comes up in Conceptual Physics. In order to make the mathematical part of the course a little easier, we borrowed an idea from the old PSSC course and begin the physics course by teaching about waves, sound, and light in the fall term. Those topics involve much simpler mathematics than kinematics, the motion of individual objects, which comes first in almost all modern textbooks. Kinematics, along with mechanics, the influence of forces on motion, requires attention to the subtle distinction between velocity and acceleration which can be mathematically challenging. They are more easily tackled in November than at the very start of the year. I often point out to my students that they have been teaching themselves parts of physics most of their lives. Watch a baby sit in a high chair at dinner time, dropping peas or crackers to the floor and laughing. He is teaching himself about gravity. A child in a bath noticing which objects float and which sink is learning about pressure and density. Preschool children learning to pump on swings in the playground are learning about harmonic motion and resonance. Elementary school children playing catch with a ball are teaching themselves basic facts about projectiles. So, even though it might be the first class
Green Chemistry they take called “physics,” it is not their first learning experience in that domain. All science works by making connections between physical reality and the descriptions that our human minds create to explain them. Physics deals with the most fundamental properties of space, time, matter, and motion. It takes the most basic pieces of the universe, sorts them out, and looks for patterns that link them together. Physics is a great place to start because it does not depend on a foreknowledge of any other science. Chemistry uses many ideas from physics in its examination of how materials interact with each other. Many concepts in chemistry depend on the very abstract behavior of electrons in atoms and molecules, whose presence must be inferred and can’t actually be seen. Biology, especially 21st -Century biology, relies on chemistry in countless ways. In addition, many concepts in biology are based on such abstractions as genes and DNA – powerful ideas, but not directly observable. The subtle insights of modern biology can be better appreciated by older students. Although physics has been accused of being too abstract for younger students, it actually is very concrete compared to chemistry and biology. Fundamental physics concepts can be seen and felt by students in the lab – waves in long springs and in ripple tanks, sound from tuning forks, light reflected by mirrors and focused by lenses, falling objects graphed instantaneously by digital motion detectors, work done by pulleys and other machines, flow of electric charge through circuits with batteries light bulbs, forces by magnets, and electromagnetic principles demonstrated with motors and generators. Our students always enjoy experimenting with these and other equipment. One more reason to teach physics first – students usually agree with my assertion: physics has the best toys. Physics-first starts them off with a very positive attitude toward science. – Robert Rainwater
The Green Chemistry course at Portsmouth Abbey was the idea of a small group of AP Chemistry students who wanted to continue studying chemistry in their Sixth Form year. It has become an independent study lab course that seeks to apply and integrate the principles of Green Chemistry – the use of chemical research to address the problems confronting society with minimal environmental impact and sustainability, while employing qualitative, quantitative and instrumental analysis. In the two years that this course has been offered, students have devised and implemented their own schemes of analysis to investigate specific lab problems. In our synthesis of biofuels from various natural oils, glycerol was a waste product. Darren Colbourne ‘12 sought to make this experiment more efficient by leaving no waste and converting the glycerol to soap. An oil spill in her country led Yidan Cong ‘12 to compare the effectiveness of physical, chemical and biological surfactants on cleaning up an oil spill. After winning the Ali Sacco Fellowship in the summer of 2011, Jina Kim ‘12 compared the effects of caffeine in energy drinks with pure caffeine on the heart rate of Daphnia (commonly referred to as “water fleas”) and determined the LD50 (lethal dose) in a Daphnia population exposed to serial dilutions of these beverages. Kevin Legein ’12 designed a procedure to monitor the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, using a natural enzyme rather than manganese dioxide. Upon completing an experiment, the students always proposed ideas to expand their investigations and improve their analysis. In an attempt to use “greener” experiments in first-year and AP Chemistry, the Green Chemistry class also developed a number of replacement labs for both courses. Some of these were: rate law determination using the enzyme lipase; the application of gas laws to determine the calcium content of antacids; the determination of the ionization constants for natural acid base indicators; the creation of solar cells using natural pigments; studying “greener” compounds for use in heat and cold packs; and the comparison of various brands of aspirin using colorimetric analysis. Perhaps the most important lesson learned in our Green Chemistry class is that research requires a great deal of trial and error. It is a dynamic process that fluctuates between interpreting data and refining and tweaking procedures. It is always fun to see how students adopt different methods to solve a particular lab problem. This was most evident in our synthesis of a “natural” deicer. Various methods were employed to compare it to traditional deicers in terms of its effectiveness and environmental impact. Despite the various approaches, the results were consistent. The most rewarding aspect of the class is that it is truly a collaborative exchange of ideas and an active, inquiry-based learning experience. The students constantly challenge and motivate each other. It is very gratifying, refreshing and a luxury to work with students who are genuinely excited about applying and broadening their knowledge of Chemistry.
– Janice Brady
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SUZI DUNCAN V BIOLOGY STUDENTS SOMETIMES ASK ME what I was like in high school. “Did you get all A’s?” “Were you always a science nerd?” “I bet you sat in the front row and answered every question.” “What’s the grossest thing you ever dissected?” While I enjoy answering these kinds of questions about myself and thinking about my days as high school student, I always wish that students would ask how I decided to become a science teacher. Over the years it has become more difficult to remember many of my teachers and classes, but the ones that remain clear in my mind are my science teachers. In the third grade we learned about weather and were given 10 minutes each day to go into the school courtyard to write in journals about what type of cloud cover was present, whether the barometric pressure was rising or falling, and what type of plants were growing or animals were active. We collected leaves and flowers to press and insects to display in our classroom. It was not until I graduated from college that I realized what a tremendous impact those 10 minutes a day had on my life and what value could be gained from such a simple activity. In my high school, freshmen took biology first. It pains me to think of how awkward I was then, experimenting with plucking my eyebrows and desperately trying to look cool within the confines of our dress code. But for 40 minutes a day I was able to forget all of that while I questioned how plants could grow from single seeds, how all of the instructions to create my strange, fourteen-year-old body could be found in molecules passed on to me from my parents, or how simple differences in those molecules made my sister and brother have totally different hair than I do. I remember my biology teacher so clearly. She was a tiny woman with a hyperactive thyroid. She was passionate about every living thing and about each of us. I know I did not give her the credit she deserved. When my friends made fun of her for being like Miss
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Frizzle from The Magic School Bus, I did not defend her. Yet she defended me when my friends thought I was gross for enjoying dissections. And she praised me when I was the only student able to open a quahog. She made me feel as though every question I had or answer I offered was valuable. I had no idea then that the most important lesson I ever learned from her was that my calling was to be passionate about science.
The classes I liked best were always the liveliest and the ones that pushed me to try something new. In college I gravitated toward the professors who had the same qualities as my high school biology teacher. The classes I liked best were always the liveliest and the ones that pushed me to try something new. It was during this time that I really pushed myself academically and finally began to think of myself as a serious student. I found that in addition to growing plants, I could design experiments to test how hormones affected their growth. I assisted my professors with research in the lab and in the field, and I began tutoring underclassmen. When I look back at the experiences that shaped my pathway to becoming a science teacher, it all seems so obvious. But I had no idea at the time that these things I enjoyed would someday become my career. I certainly do not expect that each of my students will have the same experience I had and become teachers. But I do hope all of my students will find at least one topic or idea that excites them, that pushes them to do more than they thought they could, and that allows them to consider the endless possibilities that await them in the future. I never thought I would enjoy being compared to Miss Frizzle. But these days I can ask for no better compliment.
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– Suzi Duncan
Marine and Environmental Science
To take full advantage of the Abbey’s proximity to such wonderful and unique natural resources, I am continually looking for new and exciting activities for the students in my Marine and Environmental Science class. Prior to teaching, I worked for 17 years in the environmental field for both the North Carolina Division of Environmental Management and as an environmental manager for a wood products firm. Now that I teach – and I don’t have to worry about the rules and mundane regulations that dictate how companies and government entities operate, or worry each day whether we are in compliance with all of our permits, record keeping and reporting requirements – I have a chance to step back and enjoy why I choose to work in the environmental field. With natural resources beginning to be stretched, and the looming global population increase, I am excited to be preparing my students for the real world. I tell them that you don’t have to be a science major to make good environmental decisions, to be active in your community or to be concerned about your surroundings; you just have to care. My class is the culmination of all the sciences the students have taken at Portsmouth, and I show them how they can use this knowledge to be informed citizens and good stewards of the environment. Naturally, I think the classroom experience is greatly enhanced by field work and hands-on activities, so each year I look for
new excursions or technologies that will broaden the student’s experience. I selfishly tell my students that information learned in my class will assist them out in the real world more than their other classes. While I know this isn’t totally accurate, I tell them I am preparing them for life and the decisions they will have to make, like: Should I live on the beach? Is climate change real? Is it important to have access to clean water? I draw on material gained from my graduate classes at Duke University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and, whenever possible, I provide real-world examples to make sense of, and bring more to life, what we have covered in class. While there are many real-world examples to share, I have found the highlight of the class each year to be our full-day field trip to Woods Hole, Mass. To gain time on the water – which is something we don’t do enough of – I schedule an annual trip to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI). There, we work with a group from the Zephyr Education Foundation, a non-profit organization created to support marine science awareness and education through hands-on field activities. Each year we arrange this day trip so the students will be able to carry out on-the-water marine biological and oceanographic activities. Upon arrival at WHOI, and after a quick safety session, we board the vessel, which takes us out to sea. We are able to
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view the bottom by towing a video camera sled over the sea floor, providing us with a live feed up on deck; this gives the students a unique opportunity to see different species living in a variety of habitats. The most exciting portion of the trip for the students is having them deploy, and then retrieve, a benthic dredge and plankton net, in which they discover the rich variety of marine animals living in the waters off of Woods Hole. This is always when the students perk up, since they have the opportunity to handle all sorts of marine creatures. Favorites include the lobster, spider crab, squid, skate and scallops. A naturalist assists in the identification of the organisms collected and provides an overview of the local natural history. Students also participate in making oceanographic measurements and observing tidal currents around Woods Hole. We have been fortunate so far, as we have enjoyed excellent weather on each trip and have always been able to get out on the water. After docking, we head to a local park on the water and eat our box lunches provided by the School. The food always seems to taste much better while sitting on a park bench with a great vista of the sea. Following lunch, we make our way to one of the more plain-looking buildings on the property, guarded by a chain-link fence but on a point almost completely surrounded by water. Here we get a glimpse at some of the research projects being conducted by WHOI. Specifically, we pass a large silver sphere constructed of titanium two inches thick. This is the old Alvin pressure hull/personnel sphere put on display while a new, larger personnel sphere is constructed in the room immediately adjacent to the old Alvin. We are able to witness the construction as we walk past open doors. For those who don’t recall,
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Alvin is a manned, deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and most famous for exploring the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, but it has also made over 4,000 dives to some of the deepest places in the oceans. We then make our way to another building that houses several tanks that hold an assortment of sea creatures. We focus in particular on several tanks maintained by the foundation that contain many different local species. The students are encouraged to pick up whatever they want but are reminded to be gentle and respectful. Our guide then hooks up a small hand-held microscope connected to a computer, where we can see in greater detail different aspects of these marine species. One student picks up a sea urchin, and within seconds we are watching the urchin’s five calcium carbonate teeth move in and out. We spend the remaining time we have picking up sand dollars, crabs, and scallops and putting them under the microscope. After our guide answers a few final questions, the students reluctantly pack up, and we head for the bus. I can honestly say that teaching marine and environmental science has been much more enjoyable than the career I left. I have found that my work experience has allowed me to make the classroom more than just a place to review facts; it can be a place to tell stories and to make those facts come alive. There is a real benefit to reaching out and working with those people and programs that can bridge the gap between the textbook and real-world, first-hand experiences. The missing piece is always the connection between the knowledge gained through one’s academics and the work being conducted by people at institutions like WHOI, Save the Bay, Marine Fisheries, or any group working with or protecting our natural resources. I am constantly reading articles in scientific journals that urge the idea of sustainability and planning for the future. It is my hope that I am doing my part to plant the seed of environmental awareness, and make that critical connection between academics and real-world application, with the students who take my class.
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
– Shane McCarthy
A LU MN I IN SCIEN CE
Dom Leo van Winkle ’39: Monk and Scientist
by Dom Damian Kearney, O.S.B. ’45
DOM LEO’S family roots extend back to the earliest Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam on his father’s side. For the van Winkles, New York State remained home until Cortlandt van Winkle, Dom Leo’s father, branched out after being educated in Hoosick, N.Y., obtaining his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Princeton. He became a professor, teaching first at the Newman School in New Jersey, where Dom Leonard Sargent served as chaplain while waiting to found Portsmouth Priory in 1919. He then taught at Yale, Albertus Magnus, and Smith College. The example of his father made a profound impression on his son, Thomas, who gained from him a love of learning and a desire to teach that shaped his whole life. From both his parents, converts to Catholicism, he obtained a knowledge and respect for religion that prepared him for his eventual entry into monastic life. While a student at Portsmouth, from 1933 until At top, Dom Leo working at his desk while Headmaster of Portsmouth in 1960.
his graduation in 1939, he was under the headmastership of Dom Hugh Diman, who remained a close friend until his death in 1949. At Portsmouth Thomas excelled in his studies, graduating cum laude and serving as editor of The Raven. It was here that his life-long interest in science developed, and, after winning a scholarship to Yale, he majored there in chemical engineering. At Yale he always made the Dean’s List and was the holder of two prestigious scholarships. He played intramural sports and, among other groups, was a member of Tau Beta Pi, the student branch of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. In his senior year he became president of the Thomas More Club, which had been founded by Father Lawrason Riggs, chaplain for Catholics at Yale, a close friend of Father Leonard and Father Hugh and a generous benefactor of Portsmouth. Thomas continued his studies after graduating with honors, and, because of his scientific background, he was deferred from active military service, obtaining his master’s degree in 1944 from Yale and spending a year at the University
Right: Tom Van Winkle’s student I.D. card while an undergraduate at Yale University PAGE 31
Letter in background was written in October of 1945 by Tom van Winkle to Dom Hugh Diman. In it, Tom describes the impact on him when he witnessed the explosion of the first atomic bomb.
of Pennsylvania to work on a Navy project for the government, developing “an air-scrubbing system which was to become operational on all nuclear submarines.” He was then assigned to an “important work in the Southwest,” which proved to be the most closely guarded secret in the war. In April of 1945 he was ordered to report to Los Alamos to work on the Manhattan Project, an operation involving thousands of people led by expert scientists on the weapon that was to end the war. This was the atomic bomb, the first experimental uranium version used in the New Mexico desert as a test, the later, more efficient type, with a plutonium base, of which two were being completed for use that August against Japan if the results of a July 16 detonation were
Above: Robert Oppenheimer inspecting his “gadget” prior to the Trinity test in New Mexico Below: Tom Van Winkle (second from left) with fellow Alamo scientists who worked on the development of the atomic bomb. Opposite top: Article about the Alamo scientists in Smithsonian magazine in 2005. Opposite middle: Dom Leo van Winkle, headmaster of Portsmouth, walks the campus with Assistant Head Peter Harris in 1970. Right bottom: The School’s announcement of the appointment of Dom Leo as headmaster
successful. In a letter to Dom Hugh dated October 9, 1945, and written from Los Alamos, Dom Leo described the impact on him when he witnessed the explosion of the first atomic bomb: “It all started when we learned the exact date set for the test shot. The night before, a bunch of us drove up to the top of a mountain about 100 miles away and waited. We had almost given up hope as it was 11/2 hours after the set time – maybe the bomb was a fizzle or maybe the shot had been postponed – when suddenly the sky and the mountains around were lit by a terrific flash of light followed quickly by the ball of fire moving rapidly into the sky. Then about ten minutes later we heard the rumble and felt a slight shock wave. We went back that morning confident that the war would be over very soon. The news of when the first bomb was to be dropped over Japan spread through this place several days ahead of time, so we waited for the news to break. But it still came with startling suddenness. And of course when V-J Day came along, this place went wild, realizing how much it was due to the people here.” Dom Leo then went on to give his view of the morality of using such a deadly weapon, a topic on which he was asked to comment repeatedly for the rest of his life. He never wavered in insisting that Truman had made the right decision to use the bomb in order to bring an end to
the most destructive war in history. “Several people left (Los Alamos) immediately when they realized what they had been working on and the terrific destruction it had wrought. But most of us felt that we had saved countless thousands of American lives and also wrought less destruction on Japan than would have occurred if an invasion had been undertaken. It is an awful and fantastic weapon that has been created, and I hope that the general public does not forget (this) too soon, and that the politicians have sense enough to follow the advice of those who know what they have done and can do, and that they do not try to stifle the whole business.” As reported in The New York Times on September 1, 1945, “The great cloud of fire and smoke that rose more than eight miles to the stratosphere over the New Mexico desert on the morning of July 16, 1945, when the first atomic bomb poured out its energy in an explosive burst greater than any ever produced on earth, symbolized a funeral pyre for the Japanese Empire.” In 1946, Thomas returned to Yale to complete his doctoral studies and thesis in chemical engineering.
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Then Thomas made the most important decision of his life and joined the Benedictine Order at Portsmouth. After completing his monastic and priestly studies, he, now known as Dom Leo, was chosen by the Prior, Dom Aelred Graham, to fill the office of headmaster because of the sudden resignation of Dom Aelred Wall, three days before the opening of school in September of 1957. Dom Leo was the most qualified monk for the appointment and, despite his reservations, willingly took on the responsibility. However, he remained chairman of the Science Department and continued to teach the most demanding courses in the curriculum, Physics II as well as a course in mathematics, for which he had revised a text, The Theory of Numbers. During Dom Leo’s long term as headmaster, from 1957 until 1973, the School witnessed many changes. He implemented the House System, first instituted under Dr. Bateman, the headmaster in the early years of the School. Instead of being grouped by Forms, boys stayed in the same house for their tenure at the School, in this way developing a loyalty to their dormitory that was strengthened by inter-house competition in sports and activities. Dom Leo also insisted that each of the housemasters be drawn from the monastery, assuring
the School of maintaining its Benedictine character. Academic standards were rigorously kept at a high level, assuring students of admission to the most competitive colleges. Two factors were responsible for this: a highly qualified and deeply committed faculty, and a student enrollment which was easily filled because of the demand for a Catholic education and the scarcity of good Catholic boarding schools. Because of his background in science, Dom Leo was instrumental in defending the School from repeated threats from commercial and state interests that directly affected the continuing existence of the School and Monastery. Two were from refinery companies that desired to make use of the favorable location adjacent to the property and accessible to the Narragansett Bay in the 1960s, and a similar threat occurred in 1970 from an LNG company. A most important initiative taken in 1969 by Dom Leo was the formation of the Board of Consultants, which evolved from the Parents Committee and has since developed into the Board of Regents. An enthusiastic skater, Dom Leo had been coach of the hockey team before becoming headmaster, so he gratefully appreciated the offer in 1972 of a generous parent to donate a hockey rink to the School that was completed the following year. Finally, a major need in the School suddenly arose when, as a result of a tragic Top: The invitation to the dedication of the new science building in 1965. Left: Dom Leo teaching chemistry to Portsmouth students in the 1980s. Right: Dom Leo van Winkle during his tenure as headmaster at Portsmouth Abbey. Opposite page top: From left, Henry M. Elliot ’41, president of the Alumni Association from 1963-67; Dom Stephen Collins (today Monsignor Timothy Collins), alumni secretary from 1967-69; Henry Elliot III ’67; and Bruce McShane ’68, son of Gordon McShane ’41 with Dom Leo. Opposite page right: After retirement, Dom Leo, worked at Yale University and at Catholic Univerity of America, before returning to the Abbey.
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fire at Providence College in the late 1960s, a strict national fire code took effect immediately, causing three wooden-frame buildings used as dormitories – the New, the Blue and the Red, built as temporary structures during the first decade of the School – to be condemned, thereby necessitating a plan for their swift replacement and raising the necessary funds. The new dormitories were completed in 1973, the culmination of Dom Leo’s leadership of the School and shortly before his retirement. The high point of his tenure as headmaster came in 1966 at the successful completion of the second phase of the Building Campaign to fund the construction of two crucial buildings in the Long-Range Plan, an auditorium to replace the carriage house of the Hall estate, and a science center to supersede the antiquated two-room structure built in the earliest days of the School, which still stands and now serves for additional classroom space. An impressive dedication ceremony, with distinguished speakers from Princeton, Harvard, Berkeley, and M.I.T., took place to feature the two newly completed buildings. It was at Los Alamos that Dom Leo had made the acquaintance of several important figures in atomic research. Among them was Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, who was credited by the War Department “with the achieving and implementation of atomic energy for military purposes,” the scientist for whom Father Leo had the highest regard and under whom he served. He was also acquainted with Professor Edward Teller, known as “the father of the Hydrogen Bomb,” who had come to celebrate the opening of the new science facility. Portsmouth could well be proud of the handsome new edifice, which was deliberately situated by Pietro Belluschi, the architect, on the main quadrangle opposite the church. There it took its place symbolically as a major academic discipline able to hold its own with its peer schools as well as demonstrating the harmonious relationship between religion and science.
In 1973 Dom Leo resigned as headmaster, having served 16 years in this post, even longer than Father Hugh Diman. During this period Portsmouth had undergone the most significant changes in its history to date: expanding to an enrollment of 225; a campus that had been transformed with many of the Belluschi buildings that dominated the main quadrangle and environs; and the addition of a hockey rink to accommodate the need for a winter athletics facility. The School continued to receive national recognition for its outstanding academic achievement. After enjoying a three-month trip around the world, the gift of a grateful group of alumni, Dom Leo returned to his alma mater, Yale, where, for two years, he was a visiting fellow and lecturer in the Department of Engineering and Applied Science, teaching undergraduates courses on air pollution and environmental problems. Following this, he went to Catholic University as associate professor of chemical engineering, and in his final year, he was appointed chairman of the department. After an absence of 10 years, Dom Leo returned to Portsmouth in 1983 and resumed his position on the faculty, teaching three courses in mathematics and an ethics seminar. As a final response to the call of duty, Dom Leo agreed to fill the need for an interim headmaster when the headmaster abruptly resigned after only three years of service. After serving for two years in an epilogue to a long and distinguished career, Dom Leo succumbed to a fatal bout with cancer, which had been latent for 40 years since his research work with plutonium at Los Alamos. His work as a consultant; his frequent contributions as an active member of numerous scientific societies and organizations; his articles and lectures; and his outstanding career as teacher and headmaster: all testify to a life of continuous and unstinting service to his country, to the educational institutions of which he was a member, and above all, to his loyal commitment to the monastery and school of Portsmouth to which he had devoted his life.
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“The Eyes of Lowell Astronomers are
Millions of Light Years Long.” by Zachary Bazarsky ’07
My trip to the Lowell Observatory has had a very deep impact on my higher educational studies. I learned from the astronomers that an understanding of physics was necessary in order to appreciate the wonders of the universe. That experience, perhaps more than any other, helped me decide to study physics at Johns Hopkins University. I will always be extremely grateful to Portsmouth Abbey, and in particular Dr. DeVecchi, for setting up this extraordinary opportunity for me. (The following is an article written by Zachary upon his return from the Lowell Observatory in 2007.)
I’VE
A LWAY S
HAD
AN
INTEREST
in astronomy, but lately that’s evolved into a true passion – and I’ll tell you when. Early last summer my father ate lunch with Dr. DeVecchi, and when my father mentioned my interest and that I was taking an astronomy course at Brown University over the summer, Dr. DeVecchi told the following story: “There is an alumnus of the Portsmouth Priory class of 1941 named William Lowell Putnam who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona – the sole trustee of the largest private astronomical research observatory in the world – with 20 fulltime astronomers and a staff of 40. This observatory is famous for several discoveries: the fact the universe is expanding (in 1912); the ninth planet Pluto (in 1930); the rings of Uranus (in 1977); and Pluto’s atmosphere (in 1988).” Mr. Putnam is a direct descendant of two of the families – Lowell and Putnam – who came to the United States ten years after the landing of the Mayflower. Mr. Putnam’s uncle, Percival Lowell, a direct descendent of these two families, was a brilliant Harvard mathematician who was convinced that life existed on Mars, and in 1894 he founded the Lowell Observatory to prove his theory. When he died in 1916, his will created
a trust to endow the Observatory and provided that a male blood descendant of his was to be the sole trustee running the Observatory. Over the years, that position fell to Mr. Putnam’s father, then his brother, and for the past 18 years, to him. In 1934, at age 10, Mr. Putnam became a first former (7th grade) boarding student at the then-Portsmouth Priory, and he graduated seven years later. During the intervening 65 years, he has returned to the Abbey several times, and he and his wife Kitty have become friends of Dr. and Mrs. DeVecchi. So after having lunch with my father, Dr. DeVecchi suggested that he call Mr. Putnam to see if he could arrange for me to spend a week at the Observatory. My parents and I arrived in Flagstaff on a Sunday afternoon in mid-August, and I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I had an interest in astronomy, for sure, but I certainly wasn’t going to be able to communicate intelligently with world-renowned astronomers. I became a little nervous when my parents said we were having dinner that night with Mr. and Mrs. Putnam at their home – which is located on a mountain within the onesquare-mile complex of the Observatory – called Mars Hill. What would I talk about? What if Mr. Putnam asked me an astronomical question? My fears quickly dissipated. As we entered their home, the first thing I noticed about Mr. Putnam, besides his tall stature, was that he wasn’t wearing shoes, but rather large black furry slippers with the faces of cats, complete with eyes, nose and long whiskers. They were probably five times the size of regular slippers, and I had never seen anything like them. They were very funny
Visitors to the observatory gazing through Percival Lowell’s original 1896 24-inch Clark Refractor Telescope.
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and they certainly put me at ease! Then Mr. Putnam’s 16-yearold grandson, Graham, a fifth former at St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire, who was spending the summer at the Observatory along with his 12-year-old sister Flynn, asked if I wanted to go to a party before dinner, for a volunteer and, later, employee of the Observatory who after four years had decided to return to college. We stayed at the party for an hour or so, along with astronomers and staff members, until Mr. Putnam rang an incredibly loud cowbell for us to return for dinner. It was a great evening! The following morning I met Outreach Manager Kevin Schindler, who had arranged the schedule of meetings for my stay. He began with a discussion of the current research taking place at the Observatory, from exploring stars and planets in our solar system’s Kuiper Belt (in the process of being discovered) to studying the mysterious hoop-like rings around Uranus. I was then given a tour of the Observatory’s facilities, including its three telescopes, followed by a walk along Pluto Walk – where the nine planets within our solar system are depicted along a 350foot walkway on which every inch of the path equals 4.2 billion miles. After that we watched the New Century of Discovery video at the Steele Visitors’ Center, which 70,000 people visit annually. This video explained, among many other things, how Pluto was discovered. Percival Lowell observed what he thought was a wobbling of Uranus and believed it was caused by the gravitational pull of a larger distant planet. Neptune had been discovered, but it was too small to cause the wobble effect, so Percival began taking thousands of photographs of the sky and compared each photograph to an identical (for location) one taken at a slightly different time. This was a long and arduous task. On March 13, 1930, (14 years after Percival’s death) Clyde Tombaugh, continuing Percival’s work, noticed the change in location of one object compared to the thousands of other stars in a single photograph. This led to the discovery of Pluto, an extremely small planet only 1,400 miles in diameter. As it turned out, scientists later determined that Uranus doesn’t ever wobble.
Later in the morning, Kevin introduced me to Bob Millis, Director of the Observatory. We discussed how, for a career in astronomy, it is more important to study mathematics and physics in college than astronomy, since much of astronomy today is based on the application of physics. Many astronomers today never even use a telescope. We also discussed the meeting then taking place in Prague, at which members of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) were deciding whether Pluto was really the ninth planet of our solar system or not. Mr. Millis’ opinion was that it was too premature to make this decision, as the stars and planets of the Kuiper Belt were just starting to be discovered. In a few years, he said, we would know much more about what exists beyond Pluto. He felt that since we have four solid inner planets called terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) and four gas giant outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune), that perhaps there should be a third classification of Pluto type planets. Mr. Putnam (in a later discussion) had a slightly different take on this. He felt that the IAU needed to define what a planet is or is not. For example, if a planet is defined as having a moon, then Pluto qualifies and Venus does not. If a planet is defined as having an atmosphere, then Pluto qualifies and Mercury does not. That afternoon I met individually with two astronomers and an engineer – a wonderfully enlightening and extremely unique opportunity. First I met with Kim Westcott, Administrative Manager of the Discovery Channel Telescope under construction at the Observatory. Not only is it enormously expensive to build this telescope, the observatory, and all the required computer and photographic equipment, but also it is a very lengthy process. For example, it is taking three years just to polish the reflecting mirror within the telescope. Second, I met with astronomer Dave Schleicher in the Planetary Research Center. We discussed his research on the composition of comets. Third, I met with astronomer Travis Barman, whose research focuses on the theoretical examination of extra solar planets – mainly making models to show where planets should be, and later seeing if those planets are actually there.
Photo above: The two books that William Lowell Putnam ’41 and his wife, Kitty, are handing to Zachary come from a multitude of books that Mr. Putnam has written about the Observatory, his family lineage, Percival’s red car, Pluto, etc.
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Zachary with Bill Putnam and Percival’s red car.
That night after having dinner again with the Putnams, Graham and I participated in a volleyball game with astronomers and staff. It was great to see them release so much tension after a long day (and – for many – night) of research. After it grew dark, Graham and I observed the stars with Percival’s original 1896 24-inch Clark Refractor Telescope. We studied two stars revolving around each other, approximately six million light-years from Earth. The next morning I met with astronomer Wes Lockwood and Public Program Assistant Sasha Karcz, who took me to the Observatory’s research facility at Anderson Mesa about ten miles from Mars Hill. There are three telescopes at this location. Mr. Lockwood explained that he has spent the past 21 years studying the behavior of the sun during its 11-year cycle as well as the effect of this behavior on climate. In one more year he will have observed two complete cycles and finished a paper documenting his findings. He has been very interested in the magnetic storms that cause sunspots, and we discussed, for example, the lack of these storms during the 70-year cold period that Europe experienced during the 17th century. He also explained how, during his (and other astronomers’) earlier days of using the telescope, they would sit in an observatory all night in 15-20 degree Fahrenheit temperatures observing the stars. It is critical that the interior temperature of an observatory equal exactly the exterior temperature, or the rising heat from the Observatory will distort the resolutions. Even a two-degree difference can have an enormous effect – so astronomers go to great lengths to maintain this equilibrium. Today, most astronomers sit in heated control rooms while computers record digital images of the sky. That evening I had planned to spend the night at Anderson Mesa sitting with Research Assistant Brian Skiff as he worked on the LONEOS project (Lowell Observatory Near Earth Object Search), which is a fancy way of saying he’s looking for asteroids. Because of an ominous rainstorm that night, the observation was canceled, and instead Brian spent three hours talking to me about his research and findings. He showed me astonishing photographs of galaxies that he and others had taken during his time at the Observatory. In 2004 he had discovered a new asteroid close to Earth, and since he had been the finder, he had been allowed to name it!
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The next morning I met with Bob Zavala at the U.S. Naval Observatory for a tour of its three telescopes (including a 61-inch refracting telescope) and a discussion on why the U.S. Navy has an observatory. Mr. Zavala explained the importance of the Department of Defense, NASA, and the military knowing the precise location of stars, as they are so heavily relied on by satellites, ships, missiles, etc., in determining exact locations. He explained that latitude is fairly easy to determine by measuring the distance of Polaris (North Star) above the horizon, but that longitude is more difficult; it is determined by knowing the exact location of a star as it crosses the Meridian Line. In addition, the U.S. Naval Observatory studies how quickly stars move as well as their distances from earth. The Observatory also studies such things as how to hide the infrared signal (as distinguished from optical signal) from a satellite in order to avoid detection. That afternoon I met with Facility Manager Adrienne Wasserman for a tour of the U.S. Geological Survey Science Center, also in Flagstaff, which creates detailed maps of planets. After President John F. Kennedy stated in 1961 that the U.S. would send a man to the moon before the end of the decade, NASA turned to the Center to create the maps of the moon which their engineers and astronauts would use. Also, because the lunar astronauts were pilots and not geologists, they were brought to this Center for a crash course in geology and to train in the lunar rover. Today, because of the possibility of a manned flight to Mars, the Center is spending about 70 percent of its time mapping that planet. I left Flagstaff with a much greater appreciation for the enormity and complexity of the research required of astronomers and astrophysicists. When scientists start talking about distances in billions of light years; about galaxies numbering hundreds of billions, with many times that number of stars, planets and moons; that only four percent of the matter in the Universe is actually known; that all matter in the Universe was once smaller than the head of a pin; that before the Big Bang, and beyond the space in which our universe exists today, there is “nothing;” my brain wants to explode. But at the same time – my mind wants to explore.
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Rodney E Willoughby, Jr., M.D., ’73 Of his science experience at Portsmouth, Rodney said, “My major inspirations were Father Leo (a two-year AP course in physics and chemistry) and Father Andrew (math and informal stargazing). I had a lot of good teachers. College was easier.” A pediatric infectious disease specialist with a practice at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, and a professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Rodney received his undergraduate degree from Princeton and earned his medical degree in 1982 from Johns Hopkins University. Rodney has been in practice for nearly 30 years, but he is perhaps best known in the medical world for being the lead physician on the 2004 “Milwaukee Protocol” case, in which a 15-year-old Wisconsin girl survived rabies, after being bitten by a bat, without receiving the rabies vaccine. Rodney led a medical team in an experimental course of treatment that saved the girl, putting her into a deep, chemically induced coma for several days while administering high doses of antiviral drugs. The girl suffered few long-term
side effects and recently graduated from college with a degree in biology. She became the first of only six patients known to have survived symptomatic rabies without receiving the rabies vaccine. Rodney is currently the principal investigator (PI) at the Medical College, one of four recipients of a shared $4.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a new rabies vaccine that will clear the rabies virus from a patient’s brain. He writes: “We are still supporting attempts to treat rabies around the world, largely by email. We now quote a 25% survival rate, which is far better than zero. Our lab efforts are focusing on the rabies vaccine and include (with collaborators) nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, and gene array methods to analyze the human response to rabies vaccine. My entire approach to infectious diseases has changed as a result of this work.”
Jonathan Kurtis, M.D., Ph.D., ’85 Jonathan, a native of Rhode Island, directs the Lifespan Center for International Health Research at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University School of Medicine. He graduated from Portsmouth Abbey in 1985, received his B.A. in geology/biology, his Ph.D. in molecular parasitology, and his M.D., all from Brown University. He is also a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and associate director of transfusion medicine and coagulation at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University School of Medicine. An internationally recognized medical researcher in the fields of malaria and schistosomiasis (a debilitating blood infection caused by a parasitic flatworm), Jonathan applies the techniques of molecular biology, immunology and population biology to identify vaccine candidates for
both malaria and schistosomiasis among populations in East Africa and the Philippines, where the two illnesses are commonly found. Jonathan has served on NIH study sections, chaired scientific symposia at international scientific meetings, and received numerous teaching awards. In addition, he has published over 60 scientific papers, delivered over 40 invited scientific presentations and received multiple NIH and foundation grant awards. He has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and excellence in international health research and transfusion medicine, and he is active in the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Jonathan and his team have recently received several new NIH grants, for which he is the PI, to further his work on the development of vaccines for schistosomiasis in the Philippines and China. “Far and away, my most memorable science teacher at the Abbey was Robert Sahms,” said Jonathan. “He was very inspirational.”
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Dr. Gregory Hornig ’68 (right) in Namche, Nepal, en route to Everest base camp with his friend, David Adelberg.
Dr. Gregory Hornig ’68, P ’01 My personal experiences with science education at Portsmouth Priory in the mid- ’60s were much like those of my classmates; I was destined for a career in business or law or architecture. I had no interest in medicine and considered “science” beyond my ken; I was, if anything, aversive to sciences. I had, I thought, linguistic intelligence that did not extend to aptitude in the sciences. The premier science course at the Priory in 1967 was given by the formidable Father Leo, an atomic physicist who had worked in Los Alamos alongside luminaries such as Edward Teller; he once explained to me (at High Table) that he was a conduit between the theoreticians (Teller, Oppenheimer, Fermi, Szilard) and the engineers making the bomb. Dom Leo offered his physics class to select Sixth Formers. But Physics 1 was definitely not a course for me; I wasted no time in declining the offer.
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Physics had little intellectual attractiveness, or had little more to offer than the chemistry course I had taken as a fifth former and deplored. And it made little sense to expose my innate scientific incompetence in the headmaster’s special class. Fr. Andrew provided the premier math course, also for sixth formers only. His calculus course was distinctly unorthodox, chaotic, fascinating and bewildering. It furthered my notion that science required intelligence distinctly different from my own, belonging exclusively to math geniuses like Mad Dan (Dom Andrew), Andy Keyes (’67), or Dick Dunne (’68). C.P. Snow wrote a book about two cultures that divided scientists and literary intellectuals in the modern world, permitting incomprehension and hostility from either side. At Portsmouth I
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would have accepted Snow’s view of the world. I would furthermore have agreed that the cognitive skills of either group were distinctly different and incompatible; one could not belong to both groups. I staunchly belonged in the literary group.
When the Higgs boson is announced as: “a new boson with mass of 125.3 GeV at 4.9 standard deviations,” one should have an understanding of the statistical power of this statement and stand in awe at the effort that led to its pronouncement.
I began to take real science courses only after deciding to go to medical school, after finishing college and working on Wall Street. I began taking the required pre-med courses that had not been done as an undergraduate: math, chemistry, physics, biology, and biochemistry. I loved them all, particularly physics and biology.
When you graduate from Portsmouth, you should have acquired some curiosity about the sciences and some quantitative skills. Not a lot, but enough to empower you in our data-driven world. You can inhabit the world of science and non-science, you are not limited. Your brain can make the necessary adjustment. C.P. Snow was wrong.
I would now argue that the intellectual skills required in science are different from literary skills; there is an inchoate but very real synaptic reassembly needed to master the quantitative sciences. Little by little I became proficient in the sciences. I could do accurate mental calculations that would have been impossible a year earlier. I discovered there is method to science which is predictable, powerful, satisfying. If you read Watson’s Molecular Biology of the Gene and consider it a favorite book, you are hooked. Science education has vastly improved at the Abbey, compared to what was offered during my time there. The sciences, particularly the medical sciences, are hospitable to the humanists who have been so richly cultivated at the Abbey. Mastery of some aspect of the sciences is important, particularly as many aspects of our work become more and more driven by empirical data.
The sciences, particularly the medical sciences, are hospitable to the humanists who have been so richly cultivated at the Abbey. My favorite mentor during neurosurgical residency was the head of craniofacial surgery at Children’s Hospital in Boston, Dr. Joseph Murray. He was a kind, thoughtful, soft-spoken individual – unusual qualities in a Harvard surgeon. His physiognomy was “perfect,” a perfect human being, based on outside appearance. As residents we would assist Dr. Murray in the re-shaping of infants’ skulls – a gentle and creative sculptural exercise, not rocket science. When Joe Murray won a Nobel Prize for his earlier work in kidney transplantation, some of his Harvard surgical colleagues, themselves
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candidates for the prize in other endeavors, were resentful. We residents were overjoyed at Dr. Murray’s success, unembarrassed at our schadenfreude regarding the losers. If “Joe” Murray, an Irish mensch of modest demeanor, a humanitarian surgeon, a quietly devout scientist (with omnivorous scientific curiosity), could win medicine’s highest prize, then there was some just reward in science. Perhaps Dr. Murray was nearly perfect on the inside as well. – Gregory Hornig ‘68
d Greg Hornig, M.D., ’68, P’01 is a pediatric neurosurgeon, neurosurgery section chief and clinical assistant professor of surgery at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. Greg earned a B.A. from Harvard in 1972 and a M.D. from the University of Cincinnati in 1980. He did his residency in neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. Greg is currently on the Board of Regents and the Alumni Leadership Council and is a Class Agent. Editor’s note: Greg’s ’01, was a classmate ray’s grandson, Ethan and two years behind granddaughter, Amara der ’99.
son, Chris of Dr. MurMurray ’01, Dr. Murray’s Murray Mul-
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the
Mighty Mucus
Rowley River of the
A STICKY POLYMER PRODUCED BY TINY ALGAE COULD BE CRUCIAL IN THE FIGHT TO PRESERVE THE NEW ENGLAND COASTLINE. By ANDREW THURSTON
NATURE’S GLUE • The term “mucus” perhaps doesn’t do the extra-polymer secretion justice. As sediment washes in and out of flats, says Fulweiler, the secretion—produced by microphytobenthos, algae and bacteria living on the surface of sediment—helps it stay in place. “We think there are major benefits of having tidal flats,” she adds. “They help salt marshes maintain themselves and salt marshes are really, really important for stopping erosion and storm surges, mitigating nutrient pollution, and serving as nursery habitats. Tidal flats also help process nutrients, so they’re like a filter—the estuaries’ first line of defense.” When people live near tidal flats, which they often do, a lot of defending is needed. Levels of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, by-products of lawn fertilizer and human waste, can reach excessive levels and be especially damaging to fragile marine areas. To test the potential human impact on the microphytobenthos, Fulweiler and a team of students increased the supply of nutrient-rich river water to six 1-meter-square sections of the Rowley River flat (six others were left as control plots). With core samples taken, Fulweiler is now back in the lab using a nutrient autoanalyzer and a mass spectrometer to assess the effect of additional nutrients on the extra-polymer secretion—the mucus: “It will tell us how sticky it was, about its ability to help grow and even maintain the tidal flat,” says Fulweiler, an associate director of the BU Marine Program. “One of my students, Amanda Vieillard (CAS’11, GRS’14), is going to be looking at how adding the nutrients changed that—and by how much.”
16 arts&sciences •
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Fulweiler frequently has students working with her in the lab and in the field. She estimates around eight undergraduates participate in her research each semester, while five graduate students are currently working with her for the duration of their degree programs. As well as looking at mucus stickiness, they’re also helping her test the latest samples to determine the tidal flat’s
spring 2012
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PHOTO BY MELODY KOMYEROV
come in closer. turn your eyes from the sweeping beauty of the New England tidal flat, from its rushing grasses, wading heron, and stooping clammers. We’re looking deep into the muddy silt for a sticky mucus of microscopic particles that researchers believe is binding this precariously beautiful vista together. The minute workings of nature on the tidal flat of the Rowley River, near upscale Newburyport on the northern Massachusetts coast, could hold the key to understanding how humans impact coastal environments—and the climate in general. In a two-year National Science Foundation-funded project, Robinson “Wally” Fulweiler, assistant professor of earth sciences and biology, is studying tiny algae—and the mucus they generate—on which so many tidal flats depend.
The recent recipient of a 2012 Sloan Research Fellowship for outstanding achievement in ocean sciences, earth scientist Robinson “Wally” Fulweiler studies the tidal flats on the northern Massachusetts coast.
denitrification capacity, an essential part of the planet’s nitrogen cycle. “Denitrification is a bacterial process that removes nitrogen from the system; essentially, it acts as a natural nitrogen filter,” explains Fulweiler. HUMAN IMPACT • Although the goal for this project is to find the best way to preserve delicate tidal flats, it fits into a
broader purpose: “We’re interested in how humans impact coastal systems,” says Fulweiler, whose upcoming research will take her to the continental shelf to study biogeochemical changes in the ocean. “There are two different scales at which humans can do that: there’s the local scale, where you come in and change the land use or dump pollutants, and then there’s the larger-scale impact of climate
change—warming temperatures, acidification, that sort of thing.” She expects to find that by reducing the number of nutrients that slip into the water table, we’ll help the magical mucus flourish, allowing us all plenty of time to take in the rest of the captivating view it supports. Reprinted with permission from Boston University arts&sciences. s p r i n g 2 0 1 2 • bu.edu/cas 17
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Photo: courtesy of Dr. Fallon
Luke Fallon ’88 : For fifth-generation horse doctor, an equine practice is in his blood By Tom Eblen – Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader columnist Dr. Luke Hagyard Fallon is a fifth-generation Lexington horse doctor. What led him to keep up the family tradition? “Lack of originality,” he joked. “We never learned any better,” added his father, Dr. Edward Hagyard Fallon. But his mother’s explanation seems more logical.
veterinary medicine in Scotland and Canada before being summoned to Kentucky from his Ontario home in 1875 to save a prize shorthorn bull in Winchester named the Eighth Duke of Geneva. Hagyard did such a good job treating the bull’s gastrointestinal distress that local cattle and horse breeders persuaded him to stay.
That’s the way it works with successful horses, so why not with the people who care for them? Luke Fallon, one of 17 partners in Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, has a pedigree that’s hard to beat.
Hagyard opened a veterinary practice in Lexington in 1876 that has been operated by his descendants and their partners ever since. The family’s patients have been a who’s who of Thoroughbred racing history: Man o’ War, Domino, Whirlaway, Citation, Affirmed, Secretariat, Storm Cat and many more.
The institute, which calls itself the world’s oldest and largest equine veterinary practice, was founded by Fallon’s great-great-grandfather, Dr. Edward Thomas Hagyard. E.T. Hagyard was a British-born doctor’s son who studied
But Luke Fallon’s pedigree doesn’t stop there. His parents grew up on legendary Lexington horse farms their fathers managed. Ed Fallon, 80, who retired from veterinary practice more than a decade ago after developing Hagyard
“It’s in our bloodline,” Priscilla Fallon said.
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Equine’s 108-acre campus, grew up on Beaumont Farm, a 2,400-acre spread owned by the founder of Keeneland. Priscilla Fallon’s father, Arthur Roberts, was a well-known American Saddlebred trainer. Her family also includes top Thoroughbred trainer John T. Ward Jr., a third-generation horseman and executive director of the state racing commission. “All of that comes together to create a nice tradition in Central Kentucky that I’m privileged to be a part of,” Luke Fallon said. Fallon, 42, joined the Hagyard practice in 1996 after graduating from Cornell University’s veterinary school exactly 40 years after his father. In the span of their two careers, equine medicine has changed dramatically. Hagyard treats all breeds of horses “and the occasional llama,” Luke Fallon said. But when Ed Fallon started out,
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he treated a lot of work horses and trotters, whose numbers have declined dramatically.
Kristen Weida Smith, Ph.D., MPH, ’99
Now, after decades with Thoroughbred breeding as the focus, the practice is working more with sport and pleasure horses, with five of the firm’s more than 60 veterinarians devoted to them. A big part of Hagyard’s business now is preparing more than 700 horses a year from Keeneland sales for international shipment– something all but unheard of a few decades ago. Equine medicine has seen big scientific advances, too. “When I got out of school, we did everything out of the back of our car,” Ed Fallon said. Surgeries were rare because almost all work was done in the field. Hagyard vets did some of the first equine surgeries, such as taking bone chips out of racehorses’ ankles, the Fallons said. Medical advances have enabled pregnancies to be diagnosed earlier and mares to be bred more often. Field work is still a backbone of the practice, with Hagyard’s 36 vehicles logging more than 1.6 million miles annually. But about 6,500 surgeries are performed each year at Hagyard’s high-tech clinic, which has MRI machines for spotting leg injuries and a hypobaric healing chamber big enough for a horse to stand in. The practice treats about 2,500 internal medicine cases and about 500 critical-care foals. “We now have a lot more tools at our disposal,” Luke Fallon said. “And we’ve been blessed with good owners who have been very trusting and let us try new techniques.”
Kristen, a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health, credits her mother and Robert Sahms for igniting her passion for science. “While a student at Portsmouth Abbey, I became especially interested in biological sciences,” said Kristen, “and decided to go into public health mainly because of positive exposure to the health field from my mother, Mrs. Nancy Weida (a nurse at the Abbey), and also the encouraging teaching of Robert Sahms.” Following graduation from the Abbey, Kristen attended Union College, where she was a magna cum laude graduate in the honors program and majored in Biology. She then earned a Master of Public Health and a Ph.D. in Environmental Health, both from the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH). Upon graduation in 2010, she began a research fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology, where she is studying human reproductive and environmental health effects associated with exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
“They all love horses already,” he said.
Kristen’s award-winning dissertation examined the deleterious neurological effects of repeated exposure in military personnel to jet fuel. She worked with the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine. She was recognized by the International Society of Exposure Analysis for outstanding research conducted in the area of human exposure science. She has also been a teaching associate and lecturer at Clark University, Brown University School of Medicine, BUSPH, and she taught in Portsmouth Abbey’s Fifth Form Health Lecture Series.
Reprinted with permission from the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader
Photo: Kristen with her husband, Erik Smith, at her Portsmouth Abbey Reunion, 2009
Although Central Kentucky’s horse industry faces many economic challenges, Fallon expects it to rebound and continue benefitting from advances in veterinary medicine. But will there continue to be a Hagyard descendant treating those horses? The odds might be good. Fallon has two sons and a daughter, ages 3, 5 and 8.
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Neal Biddick, M.D. ’03 Neal decided to pursue chemistry in college due, in large part, to his experiences in the chemistry lab with Janice Brady. “I will never forget Ms. Brady. She taught me both general chemistry and AP Chemistry. The AP Chemistry class was definitely one of the classes that got me interested in the sciences. I ended up being a chemistry major in college because of those experiences.” After graduating from the College of the Holy Cross with a degree in Chemistry, Neal attended medical school at Tufts University. He is currently a medical resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and “…loving my job (if not sleeping as much as I once did).” Neal participated in a unique, month-long outreach program in South Dakota during the summer between his first and second year at Tufts called Asniya, which means “to heal” or “to cure” in the language of the Dakota Sioux. There, he and four other volunteers taught
science and medicine to rising high school students on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe reservation. The students received academic credit for their participation. Moreover, Neal hoped the Native American students’ exposure to science and medicine would encourage them to explore various fields in medicine as career paths. The experience also provided him with clinical experience at local reservation health care facilities, providing valuable insight into complex Native American health issues. “It was a great experience and left me more culturally aware,” he said. The understanding and appreciation Neal gleaned from his time teaching in the Asniya program was a quality he said he found in Janice Brady, one that made her an exceptional teacher. “She was so patient with us and really encouraged us to think on our own and try to figure things out,” he recalled. “I have so many great memories from my time in lab. Ms. Brady was the perfect balance between letting us figure it out on our own and making sure we didn’t get hurt in the process!”
Rachel Wigton ‘05 Rachel received her undergraduate degree in marine biology from the University of Rhode Island. She decided to pursue a doctorate in that discipline after spending a month in the Gulf of Mexico aboard a research vessel, studying jumbo squid with 20 other scientists. She recently completed her third year as a doctoral student in the Ecological Sciences Program, Department of Biological Sciences, at Old Dominion University. Rachel writes, “Specifically, I am working on cephalopod biomechanics. My project is focused on squid and cuttlefish maneuverability and agility. We use a couple of cool techniques, with the most interesting being Defocused Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (using some high tech cameras, lasers and a swim tunnel). Of her science experience of Portsmouth Abbey, she said: “There were two teachers at the Abbey that I particularly enjoyed: Mrs. Brady and Mr. Sahms. Mrs. Brady was always very patient and really tried to make chemistry interesting and fun. I still remember mole day. And Mr. Sahms was always very energetic and excited about science; he would bring in articles for me and let me conduct smaller independent projects. I hope to teach one day, and I hope that I can display the same excitement to my students as he did for me.” In her limited spare time, Rachel is an accomplished triathlete and will compete in the prestigious Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii in October
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ALU MN I IN SCIEN CE
Lucas Zipp ‘07
After graduating at the top of his Portsmouth Abbey class, Lucas received a degree in physics with honors from the University of California-Berkeley and was awarded a full scholarship from Stanford to pursue a Ph.D. in physics. He is currently a graduate student at the Phil Bucksbaum Group Physics Laboratory there. Lucas writes, “My research group looks at quantum effects in atoms and molecules and their interaction with light on very short timescales. We do this by using very short, intense laser pulses to manipulate and probe the electrons orbiting nuclei. The pulses can be so short in duration (a few femtoseconds, or more than 100 times shorter than a trillionth of a second), that we can take snapshots of chemical processes as they occur, and make ‘movies’ of the quantum world. “I also participated in a week-long experiment in March that used one of the world’s first x-ray ‘free-electron’ lasers at SLAC, the national lab near Stanford,” he continued. “This laser, called the LCLS (Linac Coherent Light Source), uses the 2-mile-long particle accelerator at SLAC to create pulses of x-rays from electrons traveling close to the speed of light. “As an experimental physicist on a day-to-day basis, you have to be a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ – part engineer, electrician, programmer, writer, AND scientist. There’s a stigma that labs are boring places, but I
get to play around with very cool, cutting-edge equipment every day. Every day is an adventure for me. I’m still waiting to have a dull day at work.” Lucas echoes the sentiments of many fellow alumni regarding the quality of his Portsmouth Abbey science education: “I couldn’t have asked for better teachers than Mr. Rainwater and Ms. Brady. I’ve discovered this year as a TA for a physics class, that there are two things that make a good science teacher: 1) to know the subject you are teaching so well that you can explain it 5 or 6 different ways to the same student, and 2) to be so passionate about the material that the students in the class get tricked into thinking science is cool and fun. Mr. Rainwater and Ms. Brady did both these things for me, and I thank them for that. “I remember all the crazy demos that Mr. Rainwater set up, like ‘Shoot the Monkey,’ (don’t worry, it’s not a real monkey), and playing around with wave tanks and holograms. I also remember staying after class and talking with him about one thing or another that I had been thinking about during class. I don’t think I ever managed to stump him, though; he always had a good answer. It was also pretty inspiring when he brought in his father’s Nobel Prize in Physics one day. These things were definitely key in my decision to pursue physics.”
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Tell me, I forget; show me, I remember; involve me, I understand. SCIENCE STUDY IN THE SUMMER PROGRAM
John Dewey based his educational philosophy on the notion that we learn best by doing. He believed we learn through experience, not through words and study alone. It is an interesting notion, with a lot of truth to it. The same idea is captured in the Chinese saying that is the title of this article: “Tell me, I forget; show me, I remember; involve me, I understand.” In the Summer Program, our science courses are rooted in having students work with the ideas about which they are learning. Over the past four years, for one of the weeks of the Summer Program, all students have studied marine science for their afternoon activity. This year, we have added to our science offerings courses in robotics and forensic chemistry (read, building robots and crime-scene investigation stuff.) All three require students to use the knowledge they are acquiring: in short, to act and think like scientists and engineers, not just like people learning about science and engineering. The Marine Science class places students out in the field, observing, collecting specimens, sketching what they see, and bringing critters back to the lab to examine and classify. They have explored the shore and estuaries and creeks here on the Abbey property – in efforts to understand this place. They have also worked with Save the Bay, out on the water, absorbing a view of the larger aquatic ecosystem. On the boat the students had a chance to actually measure what they had been learning about: salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, weather, and plankton. From the data collected students then decided if the bay is healthy enough to support larger life forms; they then trawled a sample to confirm their hypothesis, gathering fish, squid, mussels, crabs and sometimes lobsters in the net. The kids were able to see creatures up close and even handle them before tossing them back into the bay.
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We are interested in their understanding of the lives and structures of the individual organisms that live here at Portsmouth and in the bay, and appreciation of how the coastal ecosystem works, how each part relates to each other part. Included in this study is the role the human members of the ecosystem play, how we contribute positively to the life of the system, and how we harm it by our presence and use. In the Robotics course, using the well-regarded Lego Mindstorms system, students designed, programmed, and built robots to complete specific tasks. They spent most of their time at tables building the robots, and on the floor getting them to do what they are supposed to do. The end result was a course for the robot to run by itself, doing different tasks along the way, all following a program written by the students. In Forensic Chemistry, students learned the techniques and methods used by real forensic investigators in the FBI and police departments around the world to examine evidence and determine “whodunit.” By observing crime scenes created by the teacher, recording the data they collected, then studying it to determine its significance, the students were enriched with a genuine experience of using the methods of science to draw conclusions about real facts. Topics such as blood splattering, bone decay, trace evidence (hair and fibers and shoe impressions), fingerprinting and DNA will give them a good sense of the what it is like to be forensic sleuth. You can hear the Forensic Chemistry teacher talk about the course on the Summer Program website by clicking on the “What our Students and Teachers have to say” button. This summer, our students who took a science course were involved, so they could understand.
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– Tim Seeley ’77, Director of Summer Programs
. . . i n m
u l A l l ing A
Call
O F F I C E OF A DM I S S I ON
an invitation to assist the admission effort
As we approach the beginning of a new admission recruitment season, one of my primary areas of focus is to find ways in which our alumni can enhance our efforts to attract families to Portsmouth Abbey School. This idea took shape this past April when I spoke to the Alumni Leadership Council (ALC) about the current secondary school admission landscape. The discussion centered on how competitive the independent school market has become. When I asked this group the number of schools to which they applied, the average number was one – only Portsmouth. Today, Portsmouth Abbey applicants apply to four or five schools. When asked if they could remember how they learned about the Abbey, most ALC members cited a friend or relative. Today, “word of mouth” remains the most frequently used source to gather information about a school. The admission office currently connects our students, faculty and parents with interested families through official programs and networks that have proven to be highly effective. What I believe we lack is the inclusion of our alumni who can speak to the value of a Portsmouth education. Up until now, you have not been formally asked to assist us. Students who are members of our Red Key Society not only act as tour guides to visiting families but also communicate and build relationships with prospective students, during the admission process and prior to enrollment, via personal follow-up emails, Facebook and accepted student phone calls. Throughout the year our faculty members assist in many and various ways. During campus visits, faculty members are often called upon to meet with students who have similar interests – academic, artistic, athletic or extra-curricular. This often proves to be a perfect opportunity for a student to connect with and better understand the School. Along with students and faculty, our current parents play a vital role in making a connection with the prospective family. An effort that began about 10 years ago started with a group of interested parents offering to call newly accepted families to congratulate them, offer support, and answer their questions. In 2008, the Parent-to-Parent
Network was officially launched to help connect each inquiring family with a current family. Today, that network has expanded from an original 13 parents from only three states to this year’s 55 parents from all over the country and the world. These parents are now calling inquiring families and continuing this contact throughout the admission process. It is this model that I hope to reproduce using our alumni – an Alumni Admission Network. I envision using the Alumni Admission Network in several ways. At various stages of the admission cycle, students and parents need to learn more about the School from the different voices of our alumni. A very recent alumnus/a can offer the best insight into how Portsmouth Abbey School prepared him or her for college, both academically and socially, while an already accomplished alumnus/a with significant life experiences could be very helpful when speaking to prospective parents. Some younger alumni might choose to act as ambassadors and represent the Abbey at our various school fairs throughout the country, while others will prefer to host receptions in their homes or to speak at events, on or off campus. Also very helpful to us is connecting us with your church parishes and the primary schools that your children attend or have attended. And ALL alumni can certainly help us by creating greater awareness of Portsmouth Abbey School and the importance it has played in your lives. Although many alumni have already contributed their time and efforts to these areas in the past, by (to name a few) opening their homes, attending admission events and making phone calls, at this critical time, a more formal approach appears to be necessary. I invite you all to join me for an Alumni Admission Network Information Session during Reunion Weekend this fall, and I look forward to your participation in this new endeavor. In the meantime, I welcome your ideas and recommendations. With gratitude, Meghan M. Fonts, Director of Admission
Plan to Attend one of our Open Houses: Oct 21 and Dec 9!
Portsmouth Abbey School – balancing tradition and innovation, intellect and athleticism, and spirit and conscience. Most high schools offer four years of learning. An Abbey education lasts a lifetime. Office of Admission: 401.643.1248 SUMMER BULLETIN 2012
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REGENTS CHART COURSE FOR SCHOOL’S CAPITAL CAMPAIGN by Patrick Burke ‘86, Assistant Headmaster for Development The recent close of the 2012 fiscal year and the January announcement of Headmaster Jim DeVecchi’s retirement following the conclusion of the 2012-13 academic year provided the School’s Board of Regents an opportune moment to consider the future of Growing in Knowledge and Grace: The Campaign for Portsmouth Abbey School during its June 1-2 meetings on campus. The campaign has been a tool for the Monastery and School to implement the major objectives of the 2003 Strategic Plan. Since July of 2004, the School has pursued an aggressive path in pursuit of these strategic and campaign goals. As of the end of June, the School has raised approximately $42,000,000 for capital, endowment, and operating needs through Growing in Knowledge & Grace: The Campaign for Portsmouth Abbey School. The list of completed significant capital projects includes: St. Brigid’s House construction; renovation of the Abbey Church; St. Martin’s House construction; and Blu Homes (faculty housing) installation. The major remaining capital building project, based upon the original 2004 campaign plan, is the construction of a new science center. The article on the opposite page provides a vision of that project. The campaign’s endowment goals have focused on scholarship and faculty support and each area has garnered solid backing: $5.0M for scholarships, and $2.1M for faculty. Due to the campaign’s protracted duration and, particularly, the significant leadership transition that will occur in 201213, the Board of Regents has advised the School to conclude the campaign on June 30, 2013, following an extremely vigorous final push. This approach allows for Jim DeVecchi to lead the final stage of the campaign and provides the new incoming Head of School an opportunity to build upon this success as he or she charts the next course for Portsmouth.
issue of Illumination, the Capital Campaign newsletter. The new athletic project will accompany the objective of securing the $250,000 necessary to advance science center planning through the selection of an architect and schematic design stage. The vision for Portsmouth Abbey School remains clear, the needs compelling, and the finish line evident. Of this endeavor Jim DeVecchi wrote in 2004, “Everything that is best about us comes from the Benedictine tradition: the first-class education, the structured environment, the authentic sense of community, the respect for the spiritual component of the human condition. Our goal now is to develop our unique culture and mission to their fullest. The mission handed down by our founders will never change. But we must build an environment that helps us achieve it in the modern world and attracts the students and faculty members who are eager to share in it.” Jim’s words provide a solid rationale for Growing in Knowledge & Grace: The Campaign for Portsmouth Abbey School; however, they are also an apt commentary on his life’s work. We shall use the final year of his tenure to celebrate that work and fulfill the aims of this significant philanthropic undertaking. Be sure to check the School’s Capital Campaign website at www.portsmouthabbey.org/page/campaign for the latest developments in campaign news.
Therefore, the campaign now begins a final wave of activity focused upon raising at least an additional $8,000,000 directed to Annual Fund, scholarships, faculty chairs, and capital projects. Within the capital category, the Board of Regents and School have augmented the original goals to include the construction of a turf athletic field complex. More news of this initiative will be included in the fall
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A Vision For Science “Science in the Modern World” – so reads the headline of an article devoted to articulating Portsmouth Priory’s science needs in a fundraising prospectus entitled “A Time For Advance” published in February 1964. Writing the brochure’s preface, the then-Prior, Very Reverend Dom Aelred Graham, stated, “To achieve some highly desirable physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual results, adequate material means are indispensable.” Dom Aelred’s words continue to ring true today. While the current science building for which Portsmouth was then seeking benefactors has now served the School well for nearly 50 years, the time has come for Portsmouth Abbey to chart a new course for the future of science.
Envisioned as the next home for science education is a new wing off the eastern end of the Burden School House (right side as you view the building from the Holy Lawn). Central to the building will be at least 6 lab/lecture classrooms that will provide Portsmouth’s science teachers with outstanding spaces in which to work with students and pursue the intellectual results that Dom Aelred foresaw. Science is inherently a multisensory discipline, in which knowledge is gained through an interaction between the human mind and the natural world. To learn science
properly, students must experiment to test theories and to see how the abstract concepts of science can be applied in practice. This hands-on learning requires space, especially given an enrollment of 360 students who are routinely taking 3 or 4 years of science classes during their time at Portsmouth. With a footprint of at least 16,000 square feet, the new wing will provide the requisite space and create the opportunity for the Science Department faculty to once again return to teaching under one roof. Under the guidance of architect and Vice -Chairman of the Board of Regents Sam White ’64, a plan has been developed to guide the development of the Science Center project through several important stages, including architect selection and schematic design. The School’s aim is to complete this work under Headmaster Jim DeVecchi’s leadership over the next year, and funding is presently being sought for this phase of work. Those interested in investing in Portsmouth’s vision for science are asked to contact Assistant Headmaster for Development Patrick Burke ’86, P’15 at 401-643-1291 or pburke@portsmouthabbey.org to discuss this exciting initiative. – Patrick J. Burke ’86
Pietro Belluschi’s proposed design for the science building, circa 1960
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Matthew Brigham ‘12
winter 2011-12 athletics Boys’ Basketball Dom Bede Gorman Memorial Basketball Award: Matthew Brigham ‘12 MIP: Sean Knowlan ‘13 Captains-Elect: Fletcher Bonin ‘13, Coleman Clark ‘13 Record: Overall 2-23 EIL: 1-13 Girls’ Basketball The Pfeffer Cup: Akunna Onyiuke ‘12 MIP: Kelley Oliveira ‘13 Captains-Elect: Ann Gallagher ‘13, Kelley Oliveira ‘13 Record: 3-18 EIL: 3-9 Boys’ Ice Hockey The Andrew M. Hunt and Carol Meehan Hunt Boys and Girls Hockey Award: Austin Kreinz ‘13 MIP: Brian Fredericks ‘14 Captains-Elect: Austin Kreinz ‘13, Chris Reynolds ‘13, Connor Rodericks ‘14 Record: 2-16-2 Girls’ Ice Hockey The Andrew M. Hunt and Carol Meehan Hunt Boys and Girls Hockey Award: Taryn Murphy ‘12 MIP: Amelia Gray ‘12 Captain-Elect: Ally Tessier ‘13 Assistant Captains: Sarah Sienkiewicz ‘13, Callie Taylor ‘13 Record: Overall: 7-11-1 EIL: 5-5-1 Swimming Coaches Award, Boys: Sean Buckley ‘12 MIP: Sean McDonough ‘14 Coaches Award, Girls: Jackie Wagner ‘12 MIP: Kelly Plageman ‘12 Captains-Elect: Dorothy Dickmann ’13, Chris Soriano ‘13 Record: Overall: Boys 3-4, Girls 2-7 EIL Boys: 1st Place out of 6 schools EIL Girls: Tied for 4th place out of 7 schools Boys’ Squash Carlos Xavier Araujo ’96 Memorial Squash Award: Jeff Heath ‘12 MIP: Toby Yun ‘13 Captains-Elect: Andrew Lowis ‘13, Toby Yun ‘13 Record: 3-12 Girls’ Squash Coaches Award: Karyssa Edwards ‘12 MIP: Hadley Matthews ‘13 Captains-Elect: Hadley Matthews ‘13, Hannah Niles ‘13 Record: Overall 6-9 EIL: 3-5
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Jeff Heath ‘12
Akunna Onyiuke ‘12
Winter 2012 All-League and Post-Season Selections Boys’ Basketball (EIL) Honorable Mention: Matt Brigham ‘12 Girls’ Basketball (EIL) Honorable Mention: Akunna Onyiuke ‘12 Girls’ Ice Hockey(EIL) Casey Brown ‘12, Ally Tessier ‘13 Honorable Mention: Taryn Murphy ’12, Sally Hoerr ‘15 Girls’ Squash Camila Fernandez ‘14 Boys’ Swimming Sean Buckley ‘12 *EIL MVP Nick DeLieto ‘13, Chris Soriano ‘13, Tim Tsung ‘15 Girls’ Swimming Ceara Bowman ‘12 SEAN BUCKLEY ‘12
Outstanding Individual and Team Accomplishments: The Boys’ Swim Team won the EIL championship. Sean Buckley ’12 set two new School records in the 200 IM and 100 Breaststroke and was selected as MVP of the EIL. Jackie Wagner ’12, Susana MarinoJohnson ‘14, Dorothy Dickmann ‘13 and Ceara Bowman ‘12 set a new School record in the 200 Medley. Casey Brown ‘12 scored 113 career points in Girls’ Ice Hockey, joining a select group of 100-point scorers in the School’s history.
Junior Varsity Awards Boys’ JVA Basketball: Gabe Miller ‘13 Boys’ JVB Basketball: Ben Vergara ‘15 Girls’ JV Basketball: Sophia Diodati ‘15
Girls’ Ice Hockey finished 5-5-1 in the EIL and qualified for the EIL post-season tournament.
Boys’ JV Squash: Chris Baughan ‘14 Girls’ JV Squash: Sarah Powers ‘13 GJVB Squash: Helen Nelson ‘15 BJVB Squash: Peter Vergara ‘14 Girls’ JV Ice Hockey: Vanessa Cushing ‘15 Boys’ JV Swim: Rasaanh Matra ‘13 Girls’ JV Swim: Matison Leand ‘15
Taryn Murphy ‘12
Visit our athletics photo gallery at www. http://portsmouthabbey.org/page/athletics/photo_gallery PHOTOS BY LOUIS WALKER AND BILL RAKIP
www.louiswalkerphotography.com/Sports, www.billrakipphoto.com
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spring 2012 athletics Baseball The Baseball Coach’s Trophy – Darren Colbourne ‘12 MIP: Tommy Biagetti ‘14 Captains-Elect: Michael Stark ‘13, Sean Knowlan ‘13 EIL Record: 5-2 Overall Record: 7-11 Girls’ Golf The Golf Coach’s Trophy – Amy Huang ‘15 MIP: Diandian Xu ‘13 Captains-Elect: Julia Noble ‘13, Yixian Chen ‘13 Overall Record: 5-2 Boys’ Lacrosse The Frost Family Trophy – Matthew Brigham ‘12 MIP: Connor Kelley ‘12 Captains-Elect: Zach Pray ‘13, Mitchell Kelln ‘14, Austin Kreinz ‘13 EIL Record: 6-0 Overall Record: 9-6 *EIL Champions Girls’ Lacrosse The Girls’ Lacrosse Trophy – Caitlin Villareal ‘12 MIP: Taylor Lough ‘15 Captains-Elect: Annie Kirscht ‘15, Kelley Oliveira ‘15 EIL Record: 6-2 Overall Record: 12-4 EIL Co-MVP: Caitlin Villareal ‘12 Sailing The Robert Price Sailing Trophy – Andrew Godfrey ‘12 MIP: Abigail Byrne ‘14 Captains-Elect: Peter Barlow ‘13, Hugh MacGillivray ‘14 Overall Record: 11-5 Qualified for NE Team Race Championship and finished 6th Place Softball The Softball Coach’s Trophy – Karyssa Edwards ‘12 MIP: Cecily “Claire” Ritch ‘14 Captains-Elect: Callie Hall ‘13, Katharine Haines ‘13, Hannah Niles ‘13 EIL Record: 4-4 Overall Record 7-6
Boys’ Track The Track Coach’s Trophy – Fletcher Bonin ‘13 MIP: Jason Mercier ‘14 Captains-Elect: Fletcher Bonin ‘13, Rasaanh Matra ‘13 Overall Record: 10-4 Odell Championship: placed 2nd out of 9 schools New Englands: tied for 19th place of 22 schools; Girls’ Track The Track Coach’s Trophy – Amelia Gray ‘13 MIP: Molly Wart ‘13 Captains-Elect: Shiloh Barry ‘13, Julia Thompson ‘13 Overall Record: 7-6 Odell Championship: placed 6th out of 9 schools New Englands: placed 17th of 22 Schools Outstanding Individual and Team Accomplishments: Sailing finished with an 11-5 record and placed sixth in team racing at the New Englands. Baseball showed great improvement throughout the season and finished in 3rd Place in the EIL. Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse finished 12-4. Caitlin Villareal ‘12 set a new scoring record in Girls’ Lacrosse with 279 career goals. Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse captured their 3rd consecutive EIL Championship. Matt Brigham ‘12 is now the second leading scorer in Boys’ Lacrosse history with 185 points (leading all-time scorer has 199 points). The Girls’ Golf team’s record of 5-2 was the best since the program started in 2004.
Girls’ Tennis The Girls’ Tennis Coach’s Trophy – Hannah Lynch ‘15 MIP: Casey Kendall ‘12 Captain-Elect: Frannie Kielb ‘13 EIL Record: 5-3 Overall Record: 8-5 Boys’ Tennis The Boys’ Tennis Coach’s Trophy – Sean Buckley ‘12 MIP: Andrew Lowis ‘13 Captains-Elect: Rhoads MacGuire ‘13, Andrew Lowis ‘13 EIL Record: 3-3 Overall Record: 5-8
Julia Noble ‘13 competed in the New England Girls’ Golf Tournament and tied for first. Boys’ Track finished 2nd out of 9 teams in the Odell Invitational. Girls’ Tennis had an 8-5 record, their best since the program started in 2008. Amelia Gray ‘12 tied for 3rd place in the pole vault in the New England Division 3 Championship.
Karyssa Edwards ‘12
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FLETCHER BONIN ‘13
DRAKE KREINZ ‘12
Spring 2012 All-League and Post-Season Selections Baseball (EIL) Chris Brown ‘12, Darren Colbourne ‘12, Sean Quinn ‘12 Honorable Mention: Rob Tuite ‘14, Sean Knowlan ‘13 Boys’ Lacrosse (EIL) Matt Brigham ’12 (US Lacrosse Bob Scott Award), Austin Kreinz ‘13 Drake Kreinz ’12 (EIL MVP and Boston Globe All-Scholastic), Kian Kenahan ‘12, Trevor Kenahan ‘12, Will Locke ‘14, Liam O’Connor ‘12 Honorable Mention: Zack Pray ‘13, Dylan Pexton ‘12 US Lacrosse All-American: Drake Kreinz ‘12 Girls’ Lacrosse (EIL) Casey Brown ‘12, Ann Gallagher ‘13, Devon Hogan ‘12, Annie Kirscht ‘13 Caitlin Villareal ’12 (EIL Co-MVP and Boston Globe All-Scholastic) Kelley Oliveira ‘13, Honorable Mention NEPSWLA All-Stars: Annie Kirscht ‘13, Caitlin Villareal ‘12 U.S. Lacrosse Academic All-American: Caitlin Villareal ’12
Junior Varsity Awards JV Baseball: Harrison Zambarano ‘15 Boys’ JV Lacrosse: Antonio Minondo ‘13 Girls’ JV Lacrosse: Isabella Welch ‘15 JV Sailing: Andrew Sheerin ‘15 Boys’ JV Tennis: Timothy Cunningham ‘14 Girls’ JV Tennis: Luisa Posada ‘13 Boys’ JV Track: Dylan Bedford ‘15 Girls’ JV Track: Annie Zhao ‘14 Softball: Lauren Rosenthal ‘14
Softball (EIL) Sarah Auer ‘12, Karyssa Edwards ‘12 Honorable Mention: Jamie Chapman ‘12 Boys’ Tennis (EIL) Sean Buckley ‘12 Girls’ Tennis (EIL) Hannah Lynch ‘15 Girls’ Track - Odell Invitational Amelia Gray ’13: 1st Place, Pole Vault
Julia Noble ‘13
Hannah Lynch ‘15
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MILESTONES
Elizabeth and Tom Schaeffer’s ‘83 newborn son enjoying some attention from his sisters
1985 A girl, Abigail Patricia, to Melanie and Thomas Sollas March 21, 2012 1990 A boy, John Robert, to Anne and Kevin MacMillan April 29, 2012 1991 A girl, Oona, to Kurt Edenbach and Meaghan O’Neill May 10, 2012 1992 A boy, Clarence Matthew, to Theresa and Patrick Leger May 25, 2012
BIRTHS 1976 A girl, Catherine Rose, to Mary Ellen and Tim McKenna April 27, 2012 Charles Allen Schaeffer, son of Elizabeth and Tom ’83
John Robert, son of Anne and Kevin MacMillan ’90
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1983 A boy, Charles Allen, to Elizabeth and Tom Schaefer January 29, 2012
Oona, daughter of Kurt Edenbach ’91 and Meaghan O’Neill
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A boy, Maddox, to Natalie and Victor Wu May 23, 2012 1994 A boy, Shane Oliver, to Carina (Nula) and Michael Cohen September 6, 2011 A girl, Molly Isabelle, to Jennifer and Ryan Kern May 2, 2012
Clarence Matthew, born to Theresa and Patrick Leger ’92 in May
MILESTONES
Molly Isabelle, daughter of Jennifer and Ryan Kern ’94 A boy, Charles Bernard, and a girl, Claire Audrey – with their happy big sister, Maeve – to Meghan and Ryan Grabert ‘97
1995 A boy, Charles, to Amy Clausen February 29, 2012 A girl, Elena Marie, to Jennifer and Andy Sacchetti March 4, 2011 A boy, Jonathan Edward, and girls, Caitlin Rose and Erin Collins, to Joseph and Kathleen (Boland) Stevens January 19, 2012
Maddox Wu, son of Natalie and Victor Wu ’92, born in May
Amy Clausen’s ’95 son, Charles
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MILESTONES
Morgan Elene, daughter of Ross and Meghan (Turnier) Patterson ’97
Finley Alexander, son of Ross and Patricia (ten Bosch) Pritchard ’98
1996 A girl, Lilah Christine, to Andrew Cappello and Andrea Davis January 31, 2012 A boy, Ryder Spink, to Joanna and Angus Davis April 15, 2012 A girl, Eloise Catherine, to Erin and Charlie Mannix April 5, 2012 1997 A girl, Morgan Elene, to Ross and Meghan (Turnier) Patterson A boy, Charles Bernard, and a girl, Claire Audrey, to Meghan and Ryan Grabert February 7, 2012 1998 A boy, Finley Alexander, to Ross and Patricia (ten Bosch) Pritchard May 7, 2012 A boy, Bowen Gardner, to Kyley and Jason Weida November 22, 2011
Bowen Gardner, son of Kyley and Jason Weida ’98
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Ella Lorna was born to Aaron and Maya (Craig)‘99 Fernandes in May of 2011
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MILESTONES
1999 A girl, Ella Lorna, to Aaron and Maya (Craig) Fernandes May 24, 2011
August Alexander, son of Shea and Amanda (Daunis) Kammer ‘99
Arthur Edmund was born to Maureen Mangan ’01 and Christopher Coelho
A boy, August Alexander, to Shea and Amanda (Daunis) Kammer May 26, 2012 2000 A boy, Amil Bailey, to Katie Bailey and Nicholas Kaelin July 2011 2001 A girl, Soleil Isabelle, to Beau and Brooke (Gilligan) Beecy June 17, 2012 A boy, Arthur Edmund, to Chris and Maureen (Mangan) Coelho June 20, 2012 2007 A girl, Makenley Kay, to Matthew and Leah (Quast) Cole March 28, 2012 FACULTY AND STAFF A girl, Delaney Harper, to Kyle and Jenna Flynn March 16, 2012 A girl, Luisa Benedicta, to Donny and Mariana Cowan June 22, 2012 Delaney Harper Flynn, daughter of Kyle and Jenna Flynn, was born March 16, 2012
Makenley Kay, daughter of Matthew and Leah (Quast) Cole ’07
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MILESTONES
Christian Bernard ‘93 wed Ashley Degeere in April 2012
2001 Maureen Mangan to Christopher Coelho January 14, 2012 2003 Brendan Hewett to Emily Shanes May 4, 2012 Andrew Martland to Amory Bliss August 20, 2011 2004 Aaron Byron to Lindsay Schindler February 25, 2012 Julia McGlynn to Jason Reinalda June 16, 2012 2005 Alexandra “Lexie” Gralton to Lorenzo Sargenti June 9, 2012
WEDDINGS 1986 John F. Sheehan III to Lilah Weiss July 21, 2012 Dennis Iglesias to Triin Umbleya January 2011 1993 Christian Bernard to Ashley Degeere April 14, 2012
2007 Alexander Panosian to Erin Hallo January 14, 2012
1997 Jonathan Gregorio to Katharine Uhre September 24, 2011 1998 Sobin Shin to Jongduk Kim January 14, 2012 2000 Justin LeComte to Colleen Cote June 8, 2012
Brendan Hewett ’03 and his bride, Emily Shanes
Andrew Martland ’03 and Amory Bliss were married in August 2011
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P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
NECROLOGY
NECROLOGY Michael J. Behan Grandfather of Michael ’08, KK ’08, Brigid ’11 and Garrett ’11 Behan and Tristan Howlett ’15 July 14, 2012 Priscilla Buckley Aunt of Chris ’70, Peter ’72, James ’73 and William ’76 Buckley Great-Aunt of Anna ’07, James ’08, and Sean ’12 Buckley March 25, 2012 William “Skip” Calhoun ‘58 Brother of Michael F. Calhoun ‘62 Nephew of Walter ’35 † and David ’39 † Fitch April 5, 2012 Scott A. Csanadi ‘90 Brother of Chris Csanadi ‘88 July 4, 2012 Thomas Dawkins Father-in-law of John Poreba ‘64 April 30, 2012 Paul Dembinski ‘79 Son of Jan Dembinski ’46 † Uncle of Leah Dembinski ‘05 April 7, 2012 James J. Dooley Father of Paul Dooley ‘97 March 4, 2012 Anne-Marie (Menkart) Gallagher Grandmother of William ’05, John ‘07, and Ann ’13 Gallagher April 14, 2012 Eugene J. Garvy Father of Joseph ’75 and Peter ’79 Garvy
Harold Hill ‘61 Father of Juan Marcos Hill ‘95 Brother of Jaime ’55 and Ricardo ’65 Hill Uncle of Eduardo ’91 and Jaime Hill ‘88 Cousin of Eduardo Llach ’77, and Eduardo Llach-Hill ‘56 Brother-in-Law of Roberto Mathies ‘54 August 26, 2011 Carlos Kellogg ‘60 Brother of Juan ’66 and Chris ’67 Kellogg July 18, 2012
Christopher A. Taylor Father of Kimberly Hirschfeld ’97 and Ryan Taylor ‘02 April 4, 2012 Lois Wagner Grandmother of James ’10, Jacqueline ’12, and Meredith ’15 Wagner March 13, 2012
Martin E. P. Lion ‘58 Nephew of Dom Hilary Martin, O.S.B x� July 13, 2012 Bradford Livingston Uncle of Benjamin Wilson ‘15 May 19, 2012 Peter L. MacLellan, Jr. Son of Peter MacLellan ‘42 Brother of Patrick MacLellan ‘72 Francis Macomber Grandfather of Courtney Macomber ‘12 January 27, 2012 Magdalene C. Thompson Mother of Susan McCarthy Grandmother of Meghan McCarthy ‘15 May 12, 2012 James J. Phelan Father of John ’80, Daniel ’82 and Michael ’87 Phelan April 12, 2012 Joan F. Rohn Mother of Robert Rohn ‘79 Sister of Peter Fagan ‘55 Aunt of Keith Fagan ‘85 May 31, 2012 Robert E. Sexton Father of Durr ’76, Daniel ’80 and Thomas ’84 Sexton June 24, 2012
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IN MEMORIAM
DAMIEN BONA ’73 by Tom Anderson ’73 and Ralph Pena We were saddened to learn of the untimely passing of our friend and classmate, Damien Bona ’73, on January 29, 2012, due to complications of cardiac arrest. Damien was an accomplished film historian, author, film critic and journalist. During his time at Portsmouth Abbey, Damien was known for his brilliant, encyclopedic knowledge of the Academy Awards, a passion he continued into adulthood. A graduate of Columbia University and New York University Law School, Damien spent a few years practicing law until 1982. He didn’t like lawyering, but he never lost his sense of humor. Bobby Montgomery, a classmate from Columbia, recalls giving Damien a rubber stamp for the word “fabulous.” Bobby says that shortly before leaving the law firm for good, Damien went through the files stamping everything “fabulous.” Soon after, he teamed up with another Columbia classmate, Mason Wiley, to research and develop the definitive history of the Academy Awards. They moved to Los Angeles and published the 1986 reference book, Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards. Vincent Canby wrote in The New York Times that Inside Oscar is “a giddy social history of our place and time, full of statistics and the kind of utterly trivial details that, taken together, somehow assume significance, like centuries-old graffiti scratched onto the base of the Sphinx.”
three more books: Opening Shots: The Unusual, Unexpected, Potentially Career Threatening First Roles That Launched the Careers of 70 Hollywood Stars (1994); Starring John Wayne as Genghis Kahn: Hollywood’s All-Time Worst Casting Blunders (1996); and a sequel to the initial Inside Oscar, Inside Oscar 2 (2002). He was a regular contributor to Variety, Entertainment Weekly, and Salon. Damien also worked as a proofreader at the law firm Skadden Arps, where he was widely adored by his colleagues for his biting humor and kind-heartedness. Many of them fondly remember how Damien left Post-It Notes on the coffee machine, letting people know what time the pot had been brewed, and what was happening, concurrently, in the Bush Administration. Damien was a full-blooded liberal, and he wasn’t shy about it. In a letter to the editor of the New York Daily News during the height of the controversy surrounding the building of a mosque near Ground Zero, Damien wrote: “To the Editor, I never voted for Mayor Bloomberg, but his eloquent defense of religious freedom, a bedrock of American values, in regards to the mosque at Park Place, is the latest reminder why I wake up every morning and thank God that Giuliani is no longer mayor.” Known for his wit, wisdom and compassion, Damien will be missed by a legion of friends in New York and Los Angeles, his mother, Alma, and sister, Amy, his cat, Holly, and particularly his longtime companion, Ralph Pena. His love of film and
After completing the research for Inside Oscar, Damien returned to New York City to continue writing and providing commentary on film. Known for having an “acerbic wit and affectionate approach” while taking on the pretentiousness of Hollywood, he was a highly sought-after authority for the seasonal arrival of the Oscars.
Over the past few years, many Portsmouth schoolmates and friends renewed their long-lost friendships with Damien only to have him taken away so soon. Damien’s genuine love and care for people and animals was his greatest legacy. Jay Buckley ’73 recalled his passing with this sentiment: “I sit here listening to Gordon Lightfoot, thinking of our years in high school, two boys from northwestern Connecticut. Our politics couldn’t have been further apart, but that became part of our bond. We both ended up in New York, me for a few years, Damien for life. His and Mason’s ‘Oscar Night Fever’ parties. I think we went to see the Smothers Brothers starring in ‘Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.’ Dinner at some low-key restaurant in the theater district (I forget the name) where we found ourselves seated next to Susan Sarandon. Great times, great memories. Thank you, Damien. God bless.” We will miss our classmate and friend. Awards Daily Founder and Editor Sasha Stone wrote of Damien’s untimely passing, “He died too young, with so much more left to say, so much more of this life left to live.” Classmates and friends who would like to leave a message for Damien’s family may do so at his memorial Web site: http://memorialwebsites.legacy.com/ DamienCBona/homepage.aspx. This well-known photograph from the 1973 Gregorian struck most of us as funny, given Damien’s rather progressive political point of view.
After the passing of his co-author Wiley in 1994, Damien went on to write
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Academy Awards was only matched by his passion for his beloved San Francisco Giants and their remarkable World Series title in 2010.
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IN MEMORIAM
PAUL J. DEMBINSKI ’79 by Chris Sullivan ’79
Paul J. Dembinski, of the Class of 1979, passed away this spring in Woodstock, VT. While at Portsmouth, “Dems,” as he was known by his classmates, played golf, ran cross-country, and was a student manager of WJHD where he discovered his passion for music. He studied Latin and Greek with the late Cecil J. (Jack) Acheson, whom Paul always credited with bringing ancient languages to life. He graduated in the top ten of his class – no small feat at the Abbey. Paul obtained his B.A. degree from the University of Vermont in 1983. He loved the classics, history and music, all of which he pursued both in his academic and professional life. Paul taught for a number of years in the 1980s at the Kent’s Hill School in Maine as well as at Boston College High School in Dorchester, MA. He was also a concert promoter in Woodbury, CT, in the 1990s, including organizing performances by nationally known musicians in New England such as Jimmy Cliff, Bonnie Raitt and Blues Traveler. Paul worked for a commercial
sprinkler designer, manufacturer and installer, M.J. Daly, Inc., and was the general manager of the Boston office before retiring from the business. More recently, he returned to his favorite area of study and performed regular music reviews for the Vermont publication, The Complete Hoot, while living in Woodstock. Always willing to lend an ear to a friend or share a good laugh, Paul will be missed by his classmates. Paul is survived by his mother, Sarah Dembinski, of Florida; brothers Thomas Dembinski, of CT, and Jas Dembinski, of VT; his wife, Sarah, and his son, Marcus.
Music, for the St. Thomas More Library at Portsmouth. Contributions can be sent to the attention of Patrick Burke, Portsmouth Abbey School, 285 Cory’s Lane, Portsmouth, RI, 02871. The Class of 1979 is invited to remember “Dems” at the upcoming Reunion Weekend this fall at Portsmouth.
The Paul J. Dembinski ‘79 Memorial Book Fund has been established in Paul’s memory by his classmates and friends. The Dembinski Book Fund remembers a person of genuine kindness, keen intellect and infectious wit. The Fund will support the purchase of books in Paul’s three favorite areas of study, including Classics, History, and
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CLASS NOTES
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Keith Botsford – The Toby Press
Peter MacLellan reports that he and wife Ann are well and enjoying having five great-grandchildren; the youngest two were born last September. Peter is planning to be back at Portsmouth for Reunion in the fall and hopes to see a good number of fellow classmates and Diman Club members in attendance.
Jim McCormick ‘48 with his sons on the 11th tee at The Misquamicut Club.
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Jim McCormick reports: “This is me with my two sons on the 11th tee at The Misquamicut Club. Dan ‘79 is currently the Tennis Pro at Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead and Pete ’81 (the taller one) is tutoring for Kaplan in Providence.”
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Martin Shea wrote to say, “after too many years at work, I retired at the end of April.”
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Basil Carmody has created a web site dedicated to the Class of 1954 (www. pps54.info).
the Olympics and Polly is a lawyer, while Thomas is now rising up the Starwood Hotels management ladder. So far this lot has produced sixteen grandchildren, including one at Downside.”
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Keith Botsford reports: “Though theoretically ‘retired’ from one of my professions – teaching – in which I’ve been jacked up to Professor Emeritus from Boston University, the fact is that I work harder than ever: in a better setting, too, on the northern coast of Costa Rica. There my house, designed by one of my many sons, the architect Gianni Botsford, has won so many international prizes that I have to ward off architectural tourists. I have brought out a few books recently: a novel, Collaboration; a memoir of the Polish painter Josef Czapski; and the first three volumes of my odd autobiography, Fragments I-III. I continue to edit the magazine, News from the Republic of Letters. Once a year I wander up to America or over to Europe to inspect my large family. My oldest son, Aubrey, a Director of the International Maritime Organization, will be retiring himself soon. In descending order, my daughter Clarissa has won a translation prize and teaches at university in Rome (her husband, Fabrizio Barca, is a minister in the Monti government); Gianni spends a lot of time in Taiwan on a commission to design a new town; Joshua is an executive chef in Boston; and Flora, a Buddhist psychotherapist in Oxford. Colonel Matthew (MBE) commands the regiment charged with security for
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Carroll Carter has been active in D.C., he reports: “I have our own Dom Julian Stead ’43 to thank for keeping me so busy these days. He asked me to help lead the reconstruction of a large city park in Washington, D.C., one named for his grandfather, Robert Stead. We formed Friends of Stead Park. The President is Chris Dorment ‘63, father of Camilla ‘06 from the Abbey. We are in plans and design now. Hope to be finished in two years. History has me by the neck trying to get some recognition for a family forebearer on whose land is the site of the United States Capitol here in Washington. He is Daniel Carroll of Duddington II (1764-1849). The extraordinary aspect of this project is that present accepted history nowhere recognizes Mr. Carroll as the owner, who deeded the property to the United States. It is kind of fun to help right history. It was so good to see so many Abbey Friends at the Washington Reception this year. A tradition we began 45 years ago and now being carried forward by son, Adam ‘83; cousin, Outerbridge Horsey ‘71; and great friend, Ande Grennan ’89.” Carroll Carter ‘46
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Jim Bell has moved to Osterville, MA, and is expecting his 17th and 18th grandchildren this fall. David McQueeny reports: “You get to that point in life that the very most important thing is to keep up with your grandkids. Katie and I have only nine, ranging in age from fifteen to four and in geography from Wilmington, NC, to the Chicago suburbs, but they, as nearly all kids, are super active. When we visit we are in constant motion at soccer games, baseball games, basketball games, tennis matches, swim meets, football games, first communions, orchestra recitals, dance recitals, piano recitals, school and church plays, grandparents’ day at school, etc. And we love it! Sounds
John Tepper Marlin ‘58 (left) at Harvard with Mrs. Robert Swezey (widow of Bob Swezey ‘58), and Jem Brady ‘58 at their 50th Reunion.
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like we don’t do anything else, but we do a lot of volunteering and other stuff to keep us very active. Sorry to say I have not seen any of my classmates since our 50th class reunion several years ago.”
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Gene Sullivan reports: “I have become the coordinator of a team of 70 lawyers from around the world advising states negotiating an arms trade treaty at the U.N. in July. The treaty is designed to prevent the illicit trade in arms which fuels terrorism and strife around the world.”
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John Tepper Marlin sent in a picture of a trio of Portsmouth Abbey friends at his 50th Reunion from Harvard. He shares: “Raul de Brigard ‘59 was there along with Mrs. Robert Swezey (widow of Bob Swezey), Jem Brady and myself. Other members of the class of 1962 at Harvard are Charles Donahue ‘59, John Charlot and Ed Impink. Charlot and Impink were not able to attend.”... Richard Phelps reports: “I continue actively serving as Chaplain at Indialantic Fire Rescue: enjoying the opportunity to come along side Fire and Rescue Workers. I am additionally investigating the possibility of initiating a web site that will bring my Chaplain ministry to Fire and Rescue Workers nationally.”
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Jaime del Amo shares: “Life in the beach bar, now in its 31st year, is evidently what I was meant to do as a base for my search for the truth and the practice of compassion. Digging into the old photos I came across this one of my dear friend Fr. Hilary and would like to share it with you all. I still expect to see more of you over here some time for a cool Spanish beer and tapas.”... John Congdon reports: “By the end of June I will have retired for the second (and final!) time, joining JoAnn in the pursuit of other interests, principally contemplative spirituality. Our children, Bob ‘91 and The-
Digging into old photos, Jamie del Amo ‘59 came across this one of his dear friend Fr. Hilary
resa, live with their spouses and children within six blocks of us in Denver, providing spontaneous grandson visits that make our neighborhood even more delightful. I have fond memories of the group that assembled at our reunion in 2009, and I think we should do it again in 2019.”... John Diskon reports: “Tina and I just returned from France where we did a cruise on the Seine from Paris to the Normandy beaches (Gold and Omaha), and back to Paris with stops along the way. Very nice. We were on Viking River Cruises. Highly recommended!”... Emmet Kennedy Jr. is an Emeritus Professor of European History at The George Washington University. He had an article published in Diplomatic History: The Journal of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations entitled “Ambassador Carlton J. H. Hayes’s Wartime Diplomacy.”
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John Diskon‘59 just returned from France where he and his wife cruised the Seine from Paris to the Normandy beaches (Gold and Omaha), and back to Paris with stops along the way.
Schuyler MacGuire ‘61 at his 50th reunion with classmates Larry Cavanagh, Pen Jones and Sam Kilbourn.
SUMMER BULLETIN 2012
Peter Dean has five grandchildren and an evergrowing family!... Tom Healey is currently a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. In January, Tom wrote an article for America: The National Catholic Weekly entitled, “Good Returns: Can you follow your conscience and still beat the S&P 500?” Additionally, the National Leadership Roundtable of Church Management (www.theleadershiproundtable.org), of which Tom is a Board member and Treasurer, recently held its annual conference in Washington, D.C., at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. The 2012 conference focused on “Managing for Mission: Building Strategic Collaborations to Strengthen the Church.” The mission of the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management is to promote excellence and best practices in the management, finances, and human resource development of the Catholic Church in the U.S. through the greater incorporation of the expertise of the laity.
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Geza Serenyi ‘62 with his family
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Schuyler MacGuire wrote in: “I had a very enjoyable time at our 50th reunion with classmates Larry Cavanagh, Pen Jones and Sam Kilbourn. Unfortunately, Bill Ewing was called away on a European tour and couldn’t join us. We dined with Jim and Deb DeVecchi and traded yarns about the old and new Portsmouth. On Saturday, Sam and I had the pleasure of breakfast with Dom Christopher Davis ‘48. It was great to be back and revisit former haunts, while marveling at the enhanced facilities. Having attained super senior status, we’re welcome back every year.”
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50 TH REUNION v SEPT 28-30
Peter Leonard is implementing permaculture principles in Taos, NM, while awaiting the 50th.... Christopher Ogden shares: “Linda and I are looking forward to being on campus in September to mark the Class of 1962’s 50th. Before then, we’re off for two weeks in Rome to celebrate Linda’s passage through the Welcome-to-Medicare gate. Hoping its coverage is good for any
John Lamenzo ‘63
likely over-indulgence of pasta and gelati. Our picture is from the Dordogne; hard to keep itchy feet geezers at home.”... Gene Renz reports: “The response to the 50th Reunion has been terrific. The entire Class of 1962 should plan on a September Portsmouth visit. The plans are coming together and we need all of you in attendance in order to make it a very special weekend. I personally guarantee you will be glad you came.”... Geza Serenyi shared: “I am looking forward to seeing many of the Class of ‘62 at our 50th Reunion in September. After many years of being in charge of a large computer center operation at Lockheed Martin, it is a blessing to be retired. I now have time to do volunteer work at our church, teach computer skills at a senior center, do serious babysitting for my six grandchildren, and, of course, spend lots of time on my sailboat.”
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John Lamenzo wants everyone to remember: “getting old is a myth...right mind, right body, right nutrition all equal healthy longevity and never-ending vitality and vigor.”... Robert Lewis shares: “I miss R.I. and all my fond memories of my time at Portsmouth Abbey. Still working hard running my business, Welded Tubes, Inc. With two kids and four grandkids, life is quite busy but my good health and strong faith makes me one lucky guy. I will make a renewed effort for a return trip to the Abbey in the near future.”... Curtiss Roach reports: “Leslie and I just celebrated our 40th anniversary and plan to spend a week with our four children and seven grandchildren in the Outer Banks in early June. We now have three married daughters and a 24-year-old son. We also have seven grandchildren, and we are lucky enough to have them all within 10 miles.
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Chris Ogden ‘62 and his wife, Linda, in the Dordogne
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Fal de Saint Phalle shares: “I am approaching my imminent retirement from the Dutch equipment leasing company where I have been working for the past 16 years. Starting September 9, I will embark on a challenging outdoor adventure,
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specifically kayaking all the way from near Philadelphia, where I work, to my home outside of Jacksonville, FL. This voyage of over 1,000 miles will allow me to spend time with nature, and to reflect upon my life and my relationship with the Lord, and is a perfect antidote for all that time in front of a computer!”... Regan Kerney shared a photo of himself with E. J. Dionne ’69 at the Lawrenceville School, where E.J. spoke to a group of 84 seniors about the coming presidential election, and where Regan teaches history and economics on the Norval Bacon Distinguished Teaching Chair. Over dinner before E.J.’s talk, they shared stories about how Father Damian made each of them a better writer – and a better person.... Tom Shevlin reports: “Four of our five children are married and we have 11 grandchildren; in October 2011, our son, Tom, married Michelle Palazzo, whose family has Portsmouth and Scotti family ties; our oldest daughter, Elisa, is Trust Counsel at Fiduciary Trust Company International where I am a managing director; Hilary Shevlin is a published author of children’s cookbooks {Chronical Books, another Portsmouth connection}; Kate Shevlin is a successful entrepreneur and former teacher at Sacred Heart (91st Street, NYC). Tom is co-owner and editor of Newport This Week, a weekly newspaper and website, and Maria works for a hedge fund in NYC. My wife, Paula Scotti, went to Fairfield University – after having raised our five children – and obtained a second degree; she is now a registered nurse at Greenwich (CT) hospital.”
Curtiss Roach’s ‘63 (here with his family in 1988) just celebrated his 40th anniversary.
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Matt Flynn has had his first novel, Pryme Knumber, published. The novel centers around Bernie Weber, an ordinary 15-year-old, who Washington, D.C., and the CIA think could be the world’s best codebreaker because of his math skills. His hometown of Milwaukee, WI, decides to protect Bernie from the government, and the novel centers around the struggle.... Cary Washburn reports: “The winds are coming as retirement rapidly approaches. Time to smell the roses, which will begin with a trip down the Danube in the fall. Saludos a todos.”
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From Jon Gilloon: “Call to all Class of ’66 to make plans for a remarkable new photo opportunity in 2016 for the 50th Reunion. Let’s fill the hall and make it memorable! We had at least one quarter of the class show up for #45, and I know it was a pleasure to see and mix with them all – so, make this effort one more time and come, one and all – you all have four years to think about the trip back to the old Pri...cheers!”
Regan Kerney ‘64 and E.J. Dionne ‘69 at the Lawrenceville School
the winter months is a great incentive for one’s children to visit often.”... J. Lee Johnson shared: “That photo is Ventimiglia Scottolino serving as a study in contrast of white on white, and has been the best of company during a Wyoming winter. He’s called Twenty-Mile Scout because he was able to navigate a strange area of the West Texas Plains. It was his perspicacity that prompted me to abandon a modern American social satire in the form of a novel that was proving to be too brutal to contemplate. Instead, I have refocused on a coming-of-age tale of a young boy, told anthropomorphically by a group of desert creatures. Maybe that’s progress.” The film A Dangerous Method, currently in national distribution, on the relationship
Jon Gilloon ‘66 with classmates at their 45th reunion
J. Lee Johnson’s ‘67 dog, Ventimiglia Scottolino
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Ted Donahue moved down to Palm Beach, FL, last year after many years in Litchfield, CT. “I just didn’t want to have to deal with snow any longer,” says Ted. “I am retired after a long career in advertising, marketing and film/television production here in the U.S. and overseas. Spending more time with my daughter, Lilli ‘09, who will be entering her senior year at St. Lawrence University this fall. Time flies by these days. The warm weather during
Cary Washburn ‘65 is planning a retirement trip down the Danube for the fall.
SUMMER BULLETIN 2012
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Thomas McGarry ‘72
J.J. Johnson ‘69, just back from Amsterdam
in the group, McEvoy will be the category leader in the paper goods market in the US and around the world.... Chris Walsh is running unopposed for his second term as a Massachusetts State Representative and as the only architect to serve in the Mass House; he has the weighty responsibility of keeping in check egregious proposals from lawyers/legislators.
Thacher School auction. I was with Robert Bloomingdale ‘72 in LA 10 days ago and we will be at the Bohemian Grove in July. I am planning on attending Jamie MacGuire’s ‘70 60th birthday in NYC in June. I talked to Bryan McShane in Aspen a few months ago, and Tom Fitzgerald and his son and I will be partridge shooting together in Spain in November. This does feel like the sweet spot of life.”
between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung in the early years of psychoanalysis, is based upon a book of the same name by John Kerr.... Bill Rives celebrated his son’s graduation from Portsmouth Abbey in May. Alec ’12 will be attending Springfield College in the fall.
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J. J. Johnson headed to Amsterdam the last two weeks in June to coach the French National Lacrosse Team at the 2012 European Championships. “ ...kind of a busman’s holiday from my regular work as a leadership coach. Great fun, great people. Allez la France!”
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Chris Buckley has published a new satiric novel entitled They Eat Puppies, Don’t They?, that was reviewed in The New York Times this spring.... Nion McEvoy’s publishing company, The McEvoy Group, acquired GMG Publishing Corp., a New York-based international publisher of fine art stationery and paper gifts. Nion is excited to have GMG as part of the McEvoy Group because he believes that, together with the other publishers
72 I Joe Tobin ‘71 in India
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David Black wrote in, “I’m pleased to shamelessly plug the publication of my sister’s first novel, The Drowning House (by Elizabeth Black), which is currently slated for publication in January of 2013 by Random House. Alumni from the Houston/Galveston area will be particularly interested. In other news, my youngest son, David Detweiler, was married last December and was recently accepted into dental school at the University of Louisville. Enjoyed meeting Tom Fitzgerald’s little brother (who remembers Dracula!) at the Washington reception in April.”...Following a distinguished career as a media executive at the PGA TOUR and the National Basketball Association, Gil Kerr has launched Kerr Media Ventures, a sports and entertainment media company with a strategic focus on multi-platform content development and distribution; media rights negotiation and activation; and management consulting and recruitment.... Joe Tobin reports in: “It has been a busy year; Edith and I were in India in February, doing an East Coast college tour in March with our daughter, and recently we chaired The
David Black ‘71
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40 TH REUNION v SEPT 28-30
Thomas McGarry is entering another new phase in life and, after seven years learning the insurance industry, he is starting a new LLC. “If you are ever in the Pittsburgh area, stop by and stay for a while. I still get to NY where my sister and mother are quite often. My oldest is in college and my son is a junior in high school.”
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Jay Buckley and his entire family came together at Portsmouth Abbey to celebrate the graduation of Jay’s youngest, Sean ’12. Sean graduated with many awards, including the Scholar-Athlete Award granted to a boy and a girl in the class who earn three varsity letters and demonstrate high academic achievement; a Saint Gregory Award for outstanding service to the community; and the Congressman David Cicilline Award for
Jose Delgado ‘73 on his Hard Enduro Motorcycle.
distinguishing himself through school and community involvement. Sean will be a freshman at the University of Notre Dame in the fall.... Jose Delgado notes: “Just me, my pit bull Maxi and my R75. I am still into Hard Enduro Motorcycling and I bring my daughter and nephews with me up in the mountains.”
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After returning from Afghanistan in late 2010, Jan Schwarzenberg moved to Washington, D.C., where he was recently promoted to Branch Chief for Combatant Command Integration with the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. Reporting to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Jan oversees world-wide Whole of Government efforts to counter use of IEDs by insurgent and extremist terrorist groups.... Ben Waring writes: “Life is good down here in New Orleans; my immediate extended families continue to thrive. Notwithstanding that, I still miss my classmates of yore and am sorry that I missed the last reunion; will pledge to attend the next. Our company continues to provide critical infrastructure information via www.ocsbbs.com to the offshore oil and gas industry operating in the Federal portion of the Gulf of Mexico (the Outer Continental Shelf). Though our business and nearly all other petroleum related concerns were adversely affected by Katrina and then the Macondo incident (oil spew), we are seeing the first signs that the industry may be starting to recover, despite the somewhat Draconian practices of the federal regulatory regime. My twin 20-year-old daughters, Ellie and Nina, are making their debuts this season (in New Orleans, the debutante season is quite involved, starting in the summer of 2012 and ending with Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, February 2013), and we are looking forward to presenting them to the society of the city. The Jazz Fest we just celebrated has become the preeminent music festival in the world! I welcome classmates to check in with me (504-9573865 or bwaring@ocsbbs.com) if they find themselves visitors to the area.”... Creighton Condon has been named the Senior Partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP in New York for a six-year term. Shear-
Jeff Calnan ‘76, Fr. Ambrose, and Shea Farrell ‘76
John Behnke ‘76 (far right) with his family on campus
man & Sterling is recognized as one of the United State’s twenty top law firms by The American Lawyer. Creighton is the 15th senior partner in the firm’s 139-year history, having been with Shearman & Sterling for thirty years. He was most recently the firm’s co-head of global mergers and acquisitions and has served as a member of the firm’s Policy Committee, Senior Leadership Team, and the European Managing Partner in London. Creighton is a leading mergers and acquisitions lawyer and represents multinational corporations in acquisitions and sales of public and private companies and in joint ventures and regularly provides advice regarding issues of corporate governance and control. He has represented many of the firm’s bank clients as well as Cadbury, Citigroup, Fenway Sports Group (the owners of the Boston Red Sox and the Liverpool Football Club), Georgia-Pacific, Royal Bank of Scotland, Synthes, Viacom and WebMD. Creighton said, “It is an honor to be elected by my fellow partners to lead Shearman & Sterling. This is a great global firm, with a historic past and a bright future, and I look forward to working with Rohan [the previous Senior Partner] on a smooth leadership transition. In addition, in close partnership with Dave [the newly named Global Managing Partner], I plan to ensure that the firm continues to provide the innovative thinking and excellent service that our clients all over the world have come to expect from us.”
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Ignatius MacLellan ‘77 in El Salvador
John Behnke and a former colleague from the FBI, Terry Turchie, came back to School in April to present a Dom Luke Childs Lecture for the entire School to bring students “Inside the Mind of a Lone Terrorist.” They Chuck Kenahan ’77 celebrated at Commencement this year as his triplets (from left) Trevor, Kian, and Sean, received their diplomas. Chuck’s dad, Bob, and youngest, Luke, joined in the festivities.
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Tim Walsh ‘79, on the road for Discover Newport
spoke about their time in the FBI as lead investigators in the capture of “The Unabomber,” Theodore Kaczynski, and the Olympic Park bomber, Eric Robert Randolph. After speaking they conducted interviews with students for the student newspaper, The Beacon, and the studentrun radio station, WJHD. John is a former special agent with the Secret Service, was the special assistant to former FBI Director Louis Freeh, and was the lead agent in the Olympic Park Bombing Investigations. He has twice been awarded the U.S. Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award – the only person to have been so honored. John and Mr. Turchie enthralled the entire student body for over an hour with in-depth descriptions and pictures of the Unabomber case and answered many questions about case specifics and their time in the FBI... Jeff Calnan and Shea Farrell came to wish Father Ambrose a happy retirement in June and had a wonderful time reminiscing with him... Chris Cooke has left Greenhill & Co., an investment bank, to work for HSBC to lead their new fundraising group in London. HSBC is setting up a new advisory arm to help leading buyout firms raise new money for deals and has hired Chris to lead this office. Chris had worked for Greenhill since 2008 and before that he was with CQS, a hedge fund, and Lehman Brothers.
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35 TH REUNION v SEPT 28-30
Jonathan Hunter-Kilmer reports: “Since I last wrote, I have two more grandchil-
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dren. I have touched base via email with several classmates, and kept in touch for the last 30 years with Blake Billings, godfather of my older daughter.” ... Bob Johnson reports: “It has been years since I have checked in. No great adventures or exciting business projects. I have been married to the love of my life for the past twenty-nine years, have three beautiful children, and try to uphold my Catholic ideals and oath I took as an attorney every day of my life. Would love to meet up with old classmates whom I have not seen for years.”... Chuck Kenahan celebrated at Commencement this year as his triplets Kian, Sean, and Trevor received their diplomas. The boys are splitting up across the country next year: Kian will be attending High Point University, Sean will attend Santa Clara University, and Trevor will attend Beloit College.... Ignatius MacLellan recently became the managing director of Homeownership at New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, running their singlefamily mortgage programs. He continues yearly group trips to San Jose Villanueva, El Salvador, working with the community on housing, education and medical issues. Tim Seeley has also been part of these trips. “Always have room for more folks to come and would love more contacts in El Salvador! Contact igpax@comcast.net. Looking forward to the Fall Reunion.”
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William Dembski spoke on campus in June at the 4th Annual Portsmouth Institute that focused on the relationship between science and faith. His speech was entitled “Information – Theoretic Proof of God’s Existence” and he participated in debate with other leaders in his field and interested attendees.... Alejandro Knoepffler celebrated his son’s graduation from Portsmouth Abbey in May. Alex ’12 will be attending Brown University in the fall.
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Ben Howe is riding in his sixth Pan-Mass Challenge, an annual bike-athon that draws more than 5,500 cyclists each year, to raise money for the Jimmy
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
Fund, part of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Ben is keeping busy with work as well as his company, AGC Partners, just opened a European office. Ben is the chief executive officer at AGC Partners, a boutique tech bank... Jamie Tovar shared the horribly sad news of the untimely death of classmate and dearest friend, Paul Dembinski, this past Easter week. In attendance at Paul’s funeral Mass in Woodstock, VT, were classmates Chris Sullivan, Jim Coyle, Joe Tucker, Nick Ferrone, Brian Finnerty and Court Mathers. It was comforting to be with such close Abbey friends at this difficult time. Jamie and the others ask that you please pray for Paul and his family. The Paul J. Dembinski ’79 Memorial Book Fund was established by Paul’s family and friends to remember him at Portsmouth. The Dembinski Book Fund remembers a person of genuine kindness, keen intellect and infectious wit. The Fund will support the purchase of books in Paul’s three favorite areas of study including Classics, History, and Music for the St. Thomas More Library.... Felipe Vicini celebrated his second son’s graduation from Portsmouth Abbey this spring. Felipe was joined by his family on campus to celebrate Juan’s graduation. Juan will be attending George Washington University in D.C. this fall.... In March, Tim Walsh was in D.C. conducting a sales mission for Discover Newport, where he is VP of Sales, and the Annapolis Visitors Bureau. Also participating in the mission was Chris Tietje ‘78, promoting his schooner, Liberté, which does sailing tours out of Annapolis and Cape Cod. Chris encourages everyone to experience a tour, and Tim says he can still be found enjoying his side job, bartending at The Black Pearl, if anyone is in Newport.
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Christopher Goldie shares: “I have been in Toronto for 25 years but return to Vancouver several times a year to visit family. We also get to Boston/New York occasionally, visits which prompt many good memories. Nada and I have two sons: Michael is 17 and Laith is 15,
ages and outlooks which occasionally present some challenges. The experience also serves to put my own life at that age in a new perspective, but as both my parents are gone now, I am unable to ask if they lost any sleep over my own passage through adolescence. My hunch is they did. Hope all is well with the Class of ‘80!“
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John Ruvane shares: “My wife, Sharon, and I are very proud to report that our son, Patrick, has been accepted to Portsmouth Abbey School and will be attending as a Fifth Former next year – Class of 2014!” Patrick joins the children of classmates Jay Lynch (Hannah ’15), Patrick Gallagher (Ryan ’15), Chris Behnke (Will ’15), and Tom Magauran (Anne ’14). Chris celebrated his daughter Greta’s graduation from Portsmouth Abbey this spring as she was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Leadership Award for her dedication to her studies and a commitment to school service. Greta ’12 will be starting her freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University in the fall.
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v
The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing by Michael Mauboussin ‘82
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Steve Cotta celebrated his daughter Corinne’s graduation from Portsmouth Abbey this spring as she received awards for excellence in French, music, and drama and was inducted into the Cum Laude Society. Corinne heads for Vassar in the fall, while younger daughter Lauren enters the Fourth Form at Portsmouth.
SEPT 28-30
Bill Gearty shares: “I am living in Little Silver, NJ, with my wife and two children. I am hoping to get back for the big reunion.”... Michael Mauboussin will be publishing a new book this fall called The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing. Michael has created a framework to understand how skill and luck work together to create successes.He has published books in the past while working as the chief investment strategist at Legg Mason Capital Management and teaching at Columbia Business School, the Heilbrunn Center for Graham, and Dodd Investing.... Greg Zancewicz reports: “The Israeli company that acquired the small semiconductor company I was working for itself was acquired by a British company that has decided to exit our business, so I will be starting a new job – probably a
small private company in Dallas – this summer. Did get a chance to go to Israel once, though. Managed to take a public bus from Haifa to Nazareth, crowded with gun-toting teenage Israeli soldiers. I decided to take a taxi back afterwards, but somewhere just before coming to Mt. Carmel his GPS went out and he got lost. It was very exciting. Also took a brief trip to Russia with my teenaged daughter this past February. We went to St. Petersburg and visited a couple of monasteries as well as the home of Anna Akhmatova. Not many tourists going to Russia in February, so it was fairly inexpensive. We are still living far north of Dallas, just out of the metro sprawl. Last month I had to call one of the town’s policemen (there are two) to come and get an errant longhorn steer out of our yard that had wandered in from someone’s ranch.”
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Corinne ‘12 and Steve ‘83 Cotta at Prize Day 2012
SUMMER BULLETIN 2012
Andy Godfrey celebrated his son’s graduation from Portsmouth Abbey this spring, with the Godfrey and Schuhmacher families welcoming another generation into the Portsmouth Abbey alumni community. Andrew ’12 is headed to Santa Clara University in the fall. This spring Andy wrote a moving cover article for the Aspen Times Weekly, called “Reconciling the Plane Crash,” about the plane crash that changed his life in 1974 when his family went on a ski vacation to Aspen. The crash left him and his siblings without their parents.... David Mazzella shares: “My wife, Kim, and I still live in Chicago with our four children, Dave, 16, Madeline, 12, Robbie, 11, and Sophia, 9. I spent a great weekend recently visiting Brendan Canning ‘85 in Park City, UT, and continued
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our tradition of spending Thanksgiving with Manny Rionda ‘85 and his family on the beach in Naples, FL. Hope to see more of my classmates soon!”
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After several years of broken promises and lame excuses, Michael Nannini, Adam Carter ‘83, and Casey Carter ‘84 finally managed to synchronize their schedules and play a round of golf in Washington, D.C. While the quality of play by all left something to be desired, it was nonetheless a spectacular day all around... Matthew Reyhan shares: “Raising two kids and a dog with my wife in Springfield, IL. Stopped by the Abbey last fall to walk campus with my family. The walk brought back some great memories.”
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Joe Bardenheier is part of a team that runs a two-week, free surgical camp each January in Khammam, India. He emails, “The medical mission serves the poor at St. Mary’s Hospital, built by the British in the late 1800s. I am assisting in an operation with my father, Dr. Joe Bardenheier III. The team of three U.S. doctors and other U.S. and India-based volunteers conducted more than 900 examinations and 230 operations in 11 days. Please find details at www.freesurgicalcamp.com.” Joe is senior vice president, corporate development at Endurance International Group in Burlington, Mass.... Conor Bohan sent an update on his work
with the Haitian Education & Leadership Program. He is doing well helping deserving students in Haiti find funds to support their college educations, including paying for tuition, books, and living expenses. You can check out Conor’s work at www. uhelp.net.... Deanna and Bob Castellini were hosts in February for “A Once in A Lifetime Event!” at Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley, AZ. “Escape for Good” was an invitation-only event in support of Athletes for Hope and UGIVE.ORG, two nonprofits dedicated to inspiring and enabling voluntary service nationwide. Deanna is a co-founder, along with former Cincinnati Bengal Cris Collinsworth, of UGIVE.ORG. Weekend hosts for this special gathering included André Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Alonzo Mourning, Anthony Munoz, Paul O’Neill, and Annika Sorenstam. Bob and family continue to reside in Cincinnati where he is a senior vice president with Morgan Stanley and president of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame... Hilary Childs was honored this spring for 15 years of service as a teacher at Greenwich Country Day School.... Ron Del Sesto made a visit to Portsmouth this spring to enjoy the links of Carnegie Abbey during the School’s 11th Scholarship Golf Tournament. Ron and family continue to reside in Washington, D.C. where he practices law as a Partner at Bingham McCutchen. Ron represents technology and communications clients on a wide range of issues, including telecommunications regulations, e-commerce, cyber security, privacy, surveillance obligations, the provision of emergency services and behavioral advertising.... Chris Furtado is enjoying living in Houston, TX, but visited Newport this summer to see his family... Ed Hemingway is a writer and illustrator
Joe Bardenheier ‘86 assisting in an operation with his father, Dr. Joe Bardenheier III (left) PAGE 72
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in Brooklyn, NY. His latest children’s book, Bad Apple, will be published by Penguin Putnam in August. His first children’s book, Bump In the Night, has received praise as a wonderful book to take away nighttime jitters and is available online.... Nick Kearney has also begun a new stage of professional life with the establishment of Nicholas Kearney Photography. Check out Nick’s work at www.nickkearney.com. ... Greg Lundberg recently met up with classmate Pat Burke. Greg is the assistant treasurer and VP, investor relations for Frontier Communications. He coaches the Larchmont-Mamaroneck sixth-grade girls’ travel lacrosse team, and often sees Chris Sheehan ’85 around town and out in the Larchmont harbor. Greg is a 10th great-grandson of Roger Williams, and had he known at the time, he would have skipped more assembly services on the grounds of religious freedom.... Bob Snape was named the president of BDO Capital Advisors, LLC, in Boston. Bob will assume primary responsibility for BDO Capital’s oversight and deal execution processes. Bob joined BDO Capital as managing director in 2010 with more than 23 years of investment banking experience.... Robert Rionda continues to enjoy south Florida where he leads Peeples Rionda Interiors. Peeples Rionda Interiors is a full-service design firm based in Miami and New York City catering to a diverse international clientele. Its focus is primarily on luxury lifestyle living, whether a main residence, a pied a terre, or a vacation home. The firm was originally established by Robert’s Mother, Cecile Peeples, and he has been with the design firm since 2005. His work was recently featured in the June issue of Florida Architecture magazine, and a beautiful portfolio of his work may be found at www.peeplesrionda.com. ... Mike Ryan is creating a new arts project in Providence called Rock & Reel, which will randomly match local filmmakers with work by local musicians, giving them a week to create a narrative music video. The resulting shorts will all be shown on the big screen, and selected winners will take part in a “best of” concert. The event will happen for the first time in October – you can learn more at www.rockandreel.
Jamal Titus ‘88 and Bill Heyer ‘88
Derek Minihane ‘87 (left) and Keith Minihane ‘89
spite tough conditions, the guys had fun and played solid golf.
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Bill Heyer and Jamal Titus got their families together for dinner in Columbus, OH, in March. It was the first time they had seen each other since their days at the Abbey!
89 I org. He is also teaching web development and video production at URI and various other places around Rhode Island.... Don Sorterup is living in Tiverton, RI, where has started a new venture as a life coach (www.donsorterup.com), and is an active open water swimmer.
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25 TH REUNION v SEPT 28-30
Bob Hoy is a member of the Board of Trustees at Berwick Academy, where he has been a parent since 2004 and where two of his children currently attend. He is living in York, ME, and working as a managing director in the Private Wealth Division of UBS in Boston.... Derek Minihane is enjoying life in Australia with his family and recently hosted Keith Minihane ’89 and his family and, separately, his mother Jeannine at his home. ... Chris Spahn continues to enjoy the boarding school life at The Kiski School in Saltsburg, PA, where he is in his eighth year. Chris is the athletic director and head lacrosse coach. His 2012 squad posted a 15-7 record.... Tim Muccia is a member of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund Board of Trustees. The Board is chaired by Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan. Founded in 1971, Inner-City Scholarship Fund (ICSF), a not-for-profit organization, seeks to provide tuition assistance to students from low-income families who wish to attend inner-city Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of New York, making values-based Catholic education a viable choice for children of all faiths.... Jimmy Knight, Bob Hoy, and Paul Baisley reconnected at Portsmouth in June as they carried the class flag and participated in Portsmouth’s 11th Scholarship Golf Tournament at the Carnegie Abbey Club. De-
Michael Foley is currently a writer and co-executive producer of the ABC drama “Revenge” and can’t believe his nephew Charlie Ramsden will be a senior at Portsmouth this year!... James McField celebrated his son’s graduation from Portsmouth Abbey this May. James ’12 will be attending The Catholic University of America this fall.
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With 13 years in the industry, Chris Hodgson earned his Certified Financial Planner certificate. He is also in the
The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers. The prize is awarded to the best work of book-length fiction by a Georgia author over the preceding two years and was started by Jim Townsend, founding editor of Atlanta magazine and associate editor of Atlanta Weekly magazine. Tom published his third book, The Revisionists, in the fall of 2011.
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Christian Bernard and Ashley Degeere were married on April 14, 2012, in Texas, on South Padre Island. Other alumni in attendance were Kyle Whitehead, Sara (Mcosker) Whitehead and Stephen Rafoul... Dennis Iglesias married Triin Umbleja at St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine, Boston, MA, in January 2011 and reside in the greater Boston area. When not remodeling their old home, they enjoy spending their free time hiking the White Mountains of New Hampshire and wandering the serene backcountry of the US National Parks.
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Paul Geib’s ‘92 son, PJ
Pete Lucas, Phil Lucas P’94, ‘96, and Bob O’Reilly got together recently for a round of golf at Carnegie Abbey. Pete is living with his wife and two sons in
middle of renovating a building, purchased in 2010, into which he will be moving his financial planning office by the end of the year.
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20 TH REUNION v SEPT 28-30
Paul Geib sent in a picture of his son, PJ, in Paul’s Abbey Alumni hockey jersey. PJ is playing goalie and wears his Abbey jersey with pride!... Tom Mullen was awarded the Townsend Prize for his second novel, Pete Lucas ‘94 Phil Lucas P’94, ‘96, and Bob O’Reilly ‘94 at Carnegie Abbey.
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Charlie Day ‘94 and Cliff Hobbins reunite at Portsmouth Abbey
Barrington. Bob is living in CT with his wife and three children and working in NYC.... Carina (Nuala) Cohen shares: “We welcomed our second baby boy into the world on September 6, 2011. We are currently living in Toronto and I am enjoying taking a break from my career to stay home and enjoy raising my boys.” ... Charlie Day closed out the Portsmouth Abbey 2011-12 lecture series this spring with a special yearend talk on May 18. His career advice for students was: “Take your work very seriously. Work harder than anyone else. Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Believe in yourself. Don’t wait around for someone to give you something; create opportunities for
Annie Sherman ‘95 after her surprise wedding in December to Derek Luke
yourself, take risks, and get outside of your comfort zone. And do your homework – dig deep and research your interests. But most of all, learn to love yourself as you are.”... Jeremy Kane had his condominium spotlighted in Newport Life Magazine’s Home & Lifestyles for the creative way he has shaped his home in the rehabilitated Lenthal School.... Seth Van Beever wrote in from Key West, FL: “I have been living here for two and a half years and absolutely love it. I will be running for king of Fantasy Fest in Sep./Oct. My goal is to raise $60,000 during the eight-week campaign. All the money benefits Aids Help, an organization that allows people living with HIV and AIDS to remain in Key West with dignity. A shared responsibility for communal living is something that you really do take with you as an Abbey grad!”
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Adam ‘95 and Jessy ‘96 Donaldson
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Adam Donaldson says he “wanted to send a pic of the crew and show Baltimore is not all concrete and form stone. Looking forward to our annual return to Bristol for July 4th. What else... Jessy ‘96 is leaving Baltimore City Schools to be the Chief of Staff to the Campaign for Grade Level Reading (www.gradelevelreading.net), a collaborative philanthropic effort to close the gap in reading achievement that separates many low-income students from their peers.” ... John Plummer and wife Marina celebrated their daughter Siena’s second birthday in June 2012! John
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is currently an associate at Roberts, Carroll, Feldstein & Peirce, Inc., in Providence, RI, and Marina is currently an associate at Shechtman Halperin Savage, LLP, in Pawtucket, RI.... Annie Sherman was married on December 9, 2011, at the Colony House in Newport, RI, to Derek Luke. They invited guests to an engagement party and surprised them with a wedding! Annie is the editor of Newport Life Magazine and Derek is the founder, co-owner and brewmaster of Coastal Extreme Brewing in Newport. They honeymooned in New Zealand in February and are back in Newport for another busy summer!
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Maya Bacardi will be graduating from the University of Toronto with a BScN in Nursing in June 2012.... Angus Davis’s startup, Swipely, branched out this spring with a new part of the company called Main Street Marketing Manager. For the last year Swipely has been helping businesses build their loyalty programs with customers by tracking the frequency of credit card purchases. Now the company will branch out into more detailed analytics and a way to launch campaigns that target lapsed customers with specific messages about discounts.
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15 TH REUNION v SEPT 28-30
Alexandra (Krol) Riordan and Ann Marie (Gagnon) ‘96 and Matt Forbes got their
Francis Riordan and William Forbes, sons of Alexandra (Krol) Riordan ‘97, and Ann Marie (Gagnon) ’06 and’Matt Forbes 97
Katie Bailey ‘00 and Nicholas Kaelin welcomed Amil Bailey Kaelin in July 2011
completed her Master of Arts in Interior Architecture and Design at the New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University. She and her husband, Will, are moving to Philadelphia this summer where Will is beginning his cardiology fellowship at Penn. After 9 years in Boston, they are sad to say goodbye to the city and their Boston friends but are excited to explore a new city and hopefully reconnect with old Abbey friends in Philly.
families together to celebrate new additions, Francis Riordan and William Forbes.... Lori Goodrich joined the festivities and snapped a picture of the new friends in matching Portsmouth Abbey gear!... Wally Fulweiler, an assistant professor of Earth Sciences at Boston University, was awarded a 2012 Sloan Research Fellowship; she was one of 126 recipients this year. It is a twoyear fellowship given to young academic scholars who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their respective fields of science, mathematics, economics, and computer science, and ocean sciences. Wally will receive $50,000 to continue her research in earth sciences.
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Captain Nicole Eldredge is a judge advocate in the U.S. Army. She is currently stationed at Joint Base LewisMcChord, WA, and working as the trial counsel for the 555th Engineer Brigade.... In May, Kathleen Mannix Grandin
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Abigail Heredia was nominated for the New England Music Awards as the best act in Rhode Island. Abigail is known as Miss Geo and plays with her band across New England; she is currently recording her second album.
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Katie Bailey and Nicholas Kaelin welcomed Amil Bailey Kaelin to their family in July 2011. Katie also began teaching economics at Oakland Technical High School, where she has been teaching English for three years. ...Aidan Melia and three fellow graduates of Willamette University College of Law opened their own law offices in Portland, OR, in late 2010. Immediately after passing the bar exam Aidan, opened McClendon Owens Melia McBreen, LLP, with her classmates, and they have been working diligently to create client bases and an office and fee structure that will help them create a sustaining practice while helping the community. Aidan is focusing on family and administrative law while her partners focus on many other aspects of the law.... Ann (Spears) Stephens is now living in Qatar, working for the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha.
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10 TH REUNION v SEPT 28-30
Tony DeSisto recently published his first book, Economics Island, described as “an easy-to-read guide to economic principles and theory that is perfect for the burgeoning academic and curious amateur alike.” The book is available on Amazon... Jonathan Pitts-Wiley shares: “Things have been pretty busy for me over the past few months. As of this writing, my wife, Kim, is in the last week of Military Police training for the Rhode Island Army National Guard. So, I’ve been on daddy duty big-time with our daughter, who will be two in June. Professionally, things have been busy at Mixed Magic Theatre and,
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Paul Yoon shares: “It has been an extremely challenging year at the High School of Commerce, but all is well with my wife, Jenny, and son, Noah, so I cannot complain. I brought Noah to the Abbey for the first time about a month ago and enjoyed catching up with Fr. Edmund, Dr. Billings, Mr. O’Connor, and others on a beautiful spring day.”
Kathleen Mannix Grandin ‘98 and her husband, Will
Paul Yoon ‘01 with his wife, Jenny, and son, Noah
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Jeff Willis ‘04 (second from left) met up with Lennard Leverkus (right) for a mini-reunion in Zurich, Switzerland, in April.
in exciting news, a show I wrote and directed, “When Mahalia Sings,” will be at Trinity Rep’s downstairs theater from June 20 - July 1. (For info/tickets, go to www. trinityrep.com) Otherwise, the family is looking forward to attending our 10-year in the fall. Hope to see you guys there! Has it really been ten years?!”
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Andrew Martland wrote in: “I hope all is well. I wanted to send an update. On August 20, 2011, I married Amory Bliss. Amory and I met at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. We are currently living in Boston, Mass. I work for a non-profit organization, Tenacity, Inc. I help the 8th graders in the program figure out which high school in Boston is going to be the best fit for each student, since
Jose Soriano ‘05 and Paul Willis ’05 at the White House
there are over 30 high schools in Boston. I am also in charge of overseeing the 100 9th and 10th graders to ensure academic success. I hope all is well at the Abbey. If anyone in the area likes to play tennis or read with young students and wants to volunteer, let me know!”... Evan Piekara reports: “I’m finishing up my first year at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business and will be spending the summer consulting in D.C. If you live in D.C. or are visiting and want to catch up, please look me up.”
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Gretchen McDonough is finishing up her fourth year teaching at a small preK-8 private school in Lewisburg, WV. She currently teaches Spanish, Algebra, Pre-Algebra, and Phys Ed. In her spare time, she trains for races. She placed 4th in the Thunder Road Marathon in November 2011, and 2nd in the Blue Ridge Half Marathon in April 2012.... Katie Morgera writes: “I am graduating from medical school this May and will be moving to Long Island, NY, to start my training in Pediatrics at Stony Brook Hospital.”... Jeff Willis met up with Lennard Leverkus for a mini-reunion in Zurich, Switzerland, in April... Elise Markell has moved to Nashville and still works in the music business. This past year, her tours included concerts in Miami with the Black Eyed Peas and a trip to Beijing with Will I Am.
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Liz Bergman graduated from Providence College with a master’s in Business Administration.... Willa McCafferty shared: “After several years of working
for the Park Service, I have changed my employer. The last year has been spent working for the computer giant, Apple, in their tech support department, and I can honestly say it’s one of the best jobs I’ve had. If all goes according to plan, instead of using the MLIS I’m getting next month, I’ll continue working for them. Other than that, have husband, house, and good weather in the Southwest.” .... Jose Soriano reports: “Just finished my first year at the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America. This summer, I’ll be working with the Took Crowell Institute for At-Risk Youth, assisting attorneys in litigating special education cases and in community organizing. Paul Willis came into town for a leadership summit with City Year-AmeriCorps. Here’s a picture of us at the White House!”... Rachel Wigton qualified for the Ironman World Championship in October 2012 with her 9:57:22 finish at the 2011 Florida Ironman. She came in first for her age division and took an hour off of the time she recorded on the same course a year earlier! She participated in an Ironman competition in June in Maryland and placed 9th in her division and 385th overall.
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Trevor Brice was named to the 2011 Fall Dean’s List at Suffolk University Law School where he is pursuing a joint degree (JD/MBA) in law and business.... Charlie Klemmer received a master’s degree in secondary education this spring from Providence College.... Perry Markell shared: “In April I completed the St. Anthony’s Triathlon with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training, where we trained for five months and raised over $800,000 dollars prior to the race. Our Rachel Wigton ‘05 completes an IronMan competition in Florida, finishing first in her division PAGE 76
Willa McCafferty’s ‘05 husband, Ryan, and dog, Roxy
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Naseemah Mohamed ‘08 (left) was the recipient of the Harvard Women’s Leadership Award
efforts and the support of those around us were to help accelerate finding a cure for blood cancers. Additionally, I am working in the field of health policy in Washington, D.C., and pursuing my master’s in Public Health at George Washington University: School of Health and Human Services.”... Zach McCune recently graduated from the University of Cambridge with a master’s degree in Sociology. His research was on consumer production in social media networks, mostly Instagram. He is now living in New York City and working as a community manager at an ad agency called R/ GA.... Having spent two years as a legal assistant in the Credit Practice Group at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Courtney Mitchell is looking forward to beginning her 1L year at Vanderbilt Law School in August.... Luis Soriano shared: “I just graduated from Georgia Tech with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. I’m currently looking for employment and also at grad school options, I’ll update if anything significant happens. Thanks, Go Jackets! (and Ravens!)”... Henry Hae Joon Jun checked in with, “Glad to connect with you all! I am currently working at Goldman Sachs Seoul as a summer analyst. Following my graduation in 2006, I served at the Republic of Korea Marine Corps from 2009-2011 and graduated from Columbia University on 2012. I am going back to New York this September to pursue a graduate degree in Operations Research at Columbia Univer-
sity. I am looking forward to seeing you all at the New York reunion.”
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5 TH REUNION v SEPT 28-30 Anna Buckley has finished her first year at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions where she is working towards her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. She will be working on Cape Cod this summer through an internship set up by her graduate program.... Juan Maegli finished fourth at the Laser World Championship in May and 14th at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy, the waters where the London Olympics will be held. In the end May Juan was ranked 21st in the world for Laser sailors and leading up to the London Olympics. After carrying the flag for Guatemala in the opening ceremony and nine amazing races he raced in the Men’s Laser Medal Race on August
Juan Maegli ‘07 carries the flag for Guatemala in the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympiad in London.
9th and finished out his second Olympics in 7th place out of a total field of 49 sailors. Juan will return to the College of Charleston in the fall for his senior year.... Lucas Zipp just finished his first year in graduate school pursuing a PhD in physics at Stanford University. The campus and weather are beautiful, and any Portsmouth Abbey people who find themselves in the Bay Area should visit!
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KK Behan graduated from Providence College in May with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish.... Naseemah Mohamed graduated from Harvard University this spring and won the Harvard Women’s Leadership Award. Naseemah also won a Rockefeller Traveling Grant for her first year after college; she will be traveling to Southeast Asia to study new cultures and plans to learn native Indian dance.... Mike Behan is completing his bachelor’s at Northeastern University, studying social entrepreneurship and finance. Mike will be returning to Kenya in the fall to implement a financial training and business development program through his nonprofit, Njabini Apparel. Check out the organization and see all of the products the women are crafting through the training programs that Njabini provides: http:// www.njabiniapparel.org/products-page/. ... Dan Bernard was inducted into Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society. Dan graduated this spring with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Vermont.... Elizabeth Dennis directed and choreographed The Music: A Musical Revue at Providence College, this winter while Danny Caplin ’10 operated the light board... David Ruhfel was named to the dean’s list at the University of Rhode Island, where he graduated in May with a major in Global Business and Spanish. “I will begin my master’s at the University of San Francisco in the fall. The degree is a joint Master of Global Entrepreneurship and Management (jMGEM), and it begins with four months in Barcelona followed by four months in Taiwan. It ends in San Francisco for the last four months and I’m very excited for it all to begin.”... Ray Klemmer was named to the Dean’s List for the fall semester at URI
Perry Markell ‘06 competing in the St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg in April
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Kristin Harper ‘09 holding a piece of terracotta from an Etruscan trench in Umbria
Liz Waring ‘09 and Alex Gallo ‘09 had butterbeers at Harry Potter World on Christmas break
Alex Gallo ‘09 in Rio
and graduated in May.... James Libutti, Andrew Post, and Jake Flynn ’11 played lacrosse together once again this year at Rollins College. James and Andrew, both seniors, showed Jake the ropes, as all three of them played in all 15 games this season. James and Andrew racked up 24 points together as midfielders and Jake shined on the defense. James played varsity for all four years and was awarded Most Outstanding Varsity Lacrosse Player, a coach’s award, for the 2012 season. James majored in international business and graduated this spring.... Caroline Mason graduated from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill this spring
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and sang both the National Anthem and “Hark the Sound” as the featured artist at Commencement. While at UNC, Caroline covered roles and performed recitals with the Asheville Lyric Opera and the North Carolina Opera. She studied at the prestigious Chautauqua Institution Voice Program, where she worked with singers from the Metropolitan and Seattle operas and coaches from The Julliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music. Caroline won the Frances Westbrook Shafter Vocal Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Southeast Regional Auditions, received first prize for Overall College Female for the MidAtlantic Region in the National Association of NATS competition (the highest level at which they allow her age group to compete), and won the 2010-11 UNC Concerto Competition. This summer she is studying at the German immersion program at Middlebury College specifically designed for classical singers. She will journey to the West Coast in the fall to perform with the UCLA Opera and to pursue a master’s of Music degree in their prestigious vocal performance program.... Maggie McCarthy graduated from The Catholic University of America and was named to the Dean’s List for the spring semester.... Madison Nunes was named to the 2011 fall Dean’s List at Catholic University. She graduated in May.... Emily Pederson shared: “I graduated from NYU in May with a degree in photography and human rights and am currently interning at Magnum Photo in New York. In September I will be moving to Chiapas, Mexico, to continue a longterm documentary project that I started there last summer.”... Brianne Rok was named to the 2011 fall semester Dean’s List at Villanova University.... Tyler Ross was awarded a degree in Estudios Hispanicos from St. Lawrence University this spring.... Tad Walgreen graduated from Rollins with a bachelor’s degree in international business after a great year. He was the Fraternity President of Phi Delta Theta and was awarded Fraternity President of the Year from Rollins. He is currently working as a senior associate
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for a retained executive search firm, Stanton Chase International – Chicago, where he had interned in the past through connections he forged within his fraternity alumni community. In May, Tad was interviewed by the Orlando Sentinel as part of an article on the increasing use of video interviews and résumés for large corporations, in lieu of personal interviews.
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Horace Allen was awarded the Michael Wagenheim Scholarship for Excellence in English Literature at the University of Virginia this spring.... Alex Gallo spent his spring semester participating in the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea program, simultaneously taking classes and circumnavigating the globe. Among the countries on his itinerary were China, South Africa, and Brazil.... Kristin Harper shares: “I am entering my senior year at Saint Anselm College this fall, studying Classics and Great Books. My academic achievements include achieving Dean’s List and receiving the Sr. Pauline Lucier Service Award, and I have served as the leader of Interval Retreat. Last summer I was lucky enough to travel to Orvieto, Italy. For six weeks I worked on the Coriglia Excavation in Castel Viscardo, Umbria. On the weekends I traveled to Rome, Florence, Perugia and Ostia. On the site,
Tessa ‘10 and Maeve ‘07 Condon in Jamaica working for the Mustard Seed organization
we uncovered evidence of Roman and Etruscan occupation dating from the 8th C. BCE to the 16th C. CE. This summer I am returning to the same dig as an assistant trench supervisor. I will also be researching there for my senior thesis, for which I am very excited! The photo shows me holding a terracotta piece from our trench.”.... Frank Holbrook was Wheaton College’s top starting pitcher this year and was named to the D3Baseball.com Team of the Week in early May as well as the All-New England Region Third Team at the end of the season – just four years after being told by his shoulder surgeon he might never pitch again. Frank led the team to its 12th New England (Women’s and Men’s) Athletic Conference Championship. He also helped take the Lyons to the College World Series National Championship game, where he was named to the Al-Tournament Team. Following his outstanding season at Wheaton, Frank is calling Cardines Field in Newport his home for the summer as he plays for the Newport Gulls of the New England College Baseball League.... Devin Laviano and Phil Youngberg ’11 spent an amazing year sailing for the Naval Academy. Devin was one of the Naval Academy’s main skippers... Josie O’Reilly is a business major at Salve Regina and is the goalie of the women’s lacrosse team. She helped lead the team to an 11 – 6 record overall for the year. She was named to the second team of the All-Commonwealth Coast Conference, and the Salve team was given the Team Sportsmanship Award.... Ryan Villareal finished his junior year at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy this year. He continues to play lacrosse as a long-stick midfielder and is enjoying school.... Liz Waring and Alex Gallo had butterbeers at Harry Potter World last Christmas break.... Kevin Wooters wrote in to share: “I was on a service trip to Costa Rica with Villanova University. During the actual trip we lived on a fully sustainable ranch. We built a greenhouse for a local school and developed trails for a national park. On my way home, I ran into Mike Behan ‘08 in the Costa Rica airport. It was a great surprise.”
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Lauren Brodeur is staying in Indianapolis this summer and still on track to graduate in four more years with a dual Doctor of Pharmacy and MBA from Butler University!... Tessa Condon shares: “I’m about halfway through my 2nd year at Boston College and it’s been an absolutely fantastic experience for me so far. I got involved in the radio show here, led two confirmation retreats at a local high school, and performed in a play on campus. I became a member of the student health council and also trained to become a health coach/peer counselor. The most meaningful opportunity I’ve had here so far has been my two trips to Jamaica through BC with my sister Maeve ‘07. I went for the first time during spring break of my freshman year and I was able to return this year during Christmas break. I worked for a wonderful organization called Mustard Seed, which has apostolates throughout the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. Founded by a diocesan priest named Father Gregory, it is a community that takes in abandoned, handicapped, and otherwise ostracized children and young adults. Mustard Seed never turns a child away, on the basis that they have been abandoned once, and must not be abandoned again. My hope is to lead the trip next March and to maintain a relationship with them for a lifetime.” ... Caroline D’Amario transferred to Mount Holyoke College in September and she loves it. She will be spending the
SUMMER BULLETIN 2012
fall semester in Montpellier, France.... Niamh Lehane was named to Salve Regina’s Dean’s List for the spring term.... Cat Malkemus is looking forward to her second year as a prefect for the Portsmouth Abbey Summer Program and especially student teaching for Mr. Gittus, which will be something new! Cat says, “It’s so nice to return to a place that feels like home,” and she is looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones! ... Kathleen Timmons is majoring in political science at Trinity College. Kathleen plays attack for the Trinity women’s lacrosse team; together they won the NCAA Division III Championship in May.... Grace Popham spent May in Nafplion, Greece! She received two class credits and enjoyed a month abroad before coming back to the Abbey to work in the Summer Program.... Mike Rhea is a member of the Lynchburg College men’s lacrosse team and took face-offs in eight games this season. The team ended up with a 17-2 overall season, winning all of their conference games.... Bobby Savoie is sailing for Eckerd College with the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association.... Ryan Silva will be back on Portsmouth’s campus this summer working in the Summer Program. Ryan returns to Amherst College in the fall as the leading returning rusher for the football team.... Catherine Stern is very happy at Holy Cross and is working for Wenner Media in New York City this summer.
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Jasmin Amaral had a great year as a guard on the basketball team at Lyndon State, including being named Rookie of the Week in early February.... Charlotte Anderson was named to the fall semester Dean’s List at URI.... Brigid Behan was named to the 2011 Fall Dean’s Commendation List for outstanding academic achievement at Gettysburg College. ... Justin Coleman had a fantastic first year on the Kenyon College men’s lacrosse team. He played in every game, which ended in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament.... Katia DaSilva had a successful year sailing
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Are you our friend on Facebook?
Join over 2,000 other alumni who are keeping track of the School on Facebook. Friend us today @ www.facebook. com/PortsmouthAbbey
Don’t Forget: Classes of: 1942 m 1947 m 1952 m 1957 m 1962 1967 m 1972 m 1977 m 1982 m 1987 1992 m 1997 m 2002 m 2007 This is your reunion year! Members of the Diman Club (alumni from all classes prior to 1962) Please join us for another memorable weekend! We have a fantastic line-up of events for the entire family! Login to the Alumni Community from the Abbey website for more information on the schedule of events, accommodations, golf outings, class dinners, babysitting and to see who is coming to Reunion 2012! Questions? Contact Julia Driscoll ’07 at (401) 643-1276 or jdriscoll@portsmouthabbey.org
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for the Georgetown Hoyas and finished the spring at the Inter Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) National Championships, where Georgetown finished fourth overall. Finishing just behind Katia were Liz Dubovick and Grace Medley, sailing for the Connecticut College Camels. Grace earned Second Team All-New England accolades for the Camels in April.... Ed Kielb was a member of the new club tennis team that started last fall at the University of Notre Dame. He played November through February and travelled across the Midwest to play in the United States Tennis Association Midwest section (and with College Tennis on Campus). He played both singles and doubles in tournaments and did very well for the team!... Riley Kinnane played lacrosse this year at Alfred University as a freshman while starting his college career in the Engineering Department. He played in 10 of the 11 games and had five goals and six assists.... Han Kyu Lee finished his first year at Emory and has gone home to South Korea to enter the military for two years. He does not know what he will be doing yet, but hopes to stay in touch through email with all of his friends.... Kara Lessels was named to the 2011 fall Dean’s List at Assumption College.... Tim McGuirk continues his studies in the College of General Studies at Boston University. In January, Tim debuted as a D-I college official in ECAC Hockey and continues to develop his officiating skills. This summer, he will teach sailing at Courageous Sailing, a non-profit organization committed to teaching Boston youth life skills through the sport of sailing.... Catherine Shanahan spent a great year at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and helped take the sailing team to the ICSA National Championships, finishing in second place.... Abby Shea finished her first year at Skidmore with a spring season on the softball team. Abby helped lead the team to 13 victories, playing second base and shortstop.... Abi Skinner shares: “Over my spring break I went on an Appalachian Service trip to McKee, Kentucky, with 26 other students at Saint Joe’s. We went for 7 days and helped many different people in the town and throughout the
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county. It was a great way to meet other students from school. I loved every minute of it, and cannot wait until next year’s trip down to the Appalachian region. At school (St. Joseph’s University) I was also recently elected to the University Student Senate as a class representative.”... Tara Tischio represented Colby College with a winning season on the women’s squash team during her freshman year. She was a strong member of the team, winning two of her three matches at the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Women’s Squash Championship in February....
Silvia Vasquez ‘11
Silvia Vasquez sent a quick update: “Everything is fine with me!!! I’m studying early childhood education, I love it!! My brother, David ’08, is graduating from College in May! Two cousins are getting married and another one is having his second baby!!! I have maintained contact with some of my classmates, but I have not seen anyone.”... Ligia Vela has enjoyed her first year at George Washington University and was welcomed into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. The Society is the only interdisciplinary honors organization for first- and second-year college students.
MISSION STATEMENT The aim of Portsmouth Abbey School is to help young men and women grow in knowledge and grace. Grounded in the Catholic faith and 1500-year-old Benedictine intellectual tradition, the School fosters: Reverence for God and the human person Respect for learning and order Responsibility for the shared experience of community life
Portsmouth Abbey thanks the hundreds of alumni, parents, and friends whose philanthropic participation helped the School reach another Annual Fund benchmark. Your generosity is vital to every moment in the classroom, every lesson learned on the athletic field and stage, and every friendship built in our student houses.
BOARD OF REGENTS Right Rev. Dom Caedmon Holmes, O.S.B. Abbot and Chancellor Portsmouth, RI Mr. John M. Regan, III ’68 P ’07 Chairman Watch Hill, RI Sr. M. Therese Antone, RSM, Ed. D. Newport, RI Mr. W. Christopher Behnke ’72, P ’12, ’15 Chicago, IL Dom Joseph Byron, O.S.B. Portsmouth, RI Dom Francis Crowley, O.S.B. Portsmouth, RI Mr. Stephen M. Cunningham ’72 Greenwich, CT Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Cunningham ’74, P ’08, ’09, ’11, ’14 Co-Chairs, Parents’ Committee, Dedham, MA Mr. Peter Ferry ’75 P ’16 Fairfield, CT Dr. Timothy P. Flanigan ’75 P ’06, ’09, ’11 Tiverton, RI Mr. Peter S. Forker ’69 Chicago, IL Mr. Patrick Gallagher ’81 P ’15 Annual Fund Chair, Westwood, MA
Dr. Margaret S. Healey P ’91 New Vernon, NJ
Mr. Barnet Phillips, IV ’66 Greenwich, CT
Dr. Gregory Hornig ’68, P ’01 Prairie Village, KS
Mr. Robert A. Savoie P ’10, ’11, ’15 Jupiter, FL
Rev. F. Washington Jarvis Dorchester Center, MA
Right Rev. Dom Matthew Stark, O.S.B. Prior, Portsmouth, RI
Rev. Dom Damian Kearney, O.S.B. ’45 Portsmouth, RI
Mr. Rowan G.P. Taylor P ’13, ’16 New Canaan, CT
Mr. Peter Kennedy ’64, P ’07, ’08, ’15 Big Horn, WY
Mr. Samuel G. White ’64 New York, NY
Mr. William M. Keogh ’78 P ’13 Saddle River, NJ
Mr. William G. Winterer ’87 Boston, MA
Mr. Edward G. Kirby ’83 Jamestown, RI
Very Rev. Dom Ambrose Wolverton Portsmouth, RI
Ms. Devin McShane P ’09, ’11 Providence, RI
Ms. Yanling Xu P ’13 Yantai, China
Rev. Dom Gregory Mohrman, O.S.B. St. Louis, MO
Emeritus
Mr. Ward Mooney ’67 Boston, MA
Mr. Peter Flanigan ’41 P ’75, ’83, GP ’06, ’09, ’11 Purchase, NY
Mr. James S. Mulholland, III ’79 Sudbury, MA
Mr. Thomas Healey ’60, P ’91 New Vernon, NJ
Ms. Deborah Winslow Nutter Westwood, MA
Mr. William Howenstein ’52 P ’87, GP ’10 Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
Mr. John Perreira P ’05, ’13 Portsmouth, RI
Cover: Lucas Zipp graduated from Portsmouth Abbey School in 2007. He then earned a degree in physics with honors from the University of California-Berkeley and was awarded a full scholarship from Stanford to pursue a Ph.D. in physics. He is currently a graduate student at the Phil Bucksbaum Group Physics Laboratory where this photo was taken.
Each year, your generous participation ensures the continuation of Portsmouth Abbey's unique campus atmosphere and reaffirms your singular role in the Portsmouth Abbey community. On behalf of every student, teacher and monk, thank you! Special thanks to the class leaders, the reunion fundraisers, the parent volunteers, and the Alumni Leadership Council, whose dedication made this year such a tremendous success.
Announcing the Abbey App!
This fall, look for Portsmouth Abbey’s new Alumni App for iPhone or Android.
It’s easier than ever to stay connected to your fellow Abbey classmates and friends. Features will include: 4 Social Media – connects to Abbey’s Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin 4 Alumni Nearby – opt in or out to locate alumni on Google maps 4 Alumni Directory – stay connected to classmates 4 On The Fly – notes and candids 4 News & Events – stay current with all things Abbey 4 Pledge Online – we make it easy