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ALUMNI VISITS Create Links as they Enhance the Student Experience
By Linda Maxwell Stefanelli ’62
miss fine’s School published its first
yearbook in 1921 and called it The Link in recognition of the graduating students’ bond to the School and each other. one hundred years later, The Link yearbook continues to chronicle the Princeton Day School experience and showcase the senior class as their relationships transition from student friendships to lifelong alumni connections. Whether they attended miss fine’s, Princeton country Day or Princeton Day School, alumni have helped define the School’s identity, its spirit and aspirations. They possess a wealth of experience and expertise that is an invaluable resource for PDS and its students and many have returned to campus to speak in assemblies, career seminars, lecture series, daily classes and special events.
“The School has always valued alumni as an important part of the community and recognized that we have thousands of them doing truly remarkable, impressive work,” says Kaylie Keesling, Director of alumni Programs and Giving. “When we think about what makes PDS special and makes it stand out, i think it’s having these alumni be part of PDS today.” alumni have welcomed the opportunity to interact with students through in-person visits but until recently that presented a challenge for many since the majority do not live locally and have commitments that preclude taking time for trips back to PDS. over the past 20 months, alumni participation in the life of the School has soared as video conferencing became the common denominator in global business, education and personal communications. The advancement office quickly realized the value of expanding alumni guest speaker connections with the students by bringing them into the classroom virtually. alumni have enthusiastically embraced the opportunities to reconnect with PDS through appearances during class periods “Last year alone, or community gathering sessions at least 50 alumni they are able to join directly from their workplace participated in virtual classroom or residence. as a result, alumni visits.” expertise and — Kaylie Keesling perspectives are presented from the field, the studio and other environments that heighten student interest and offer a stronger and broader community of alumni mentors. after increasing their outreach efforts to update alumni information to better connect with and identify the alumni community’s strengths and skills, the
advancement office has even more actively collaborated with faculty to help enhance programming and personalize the curriculum experience.
The Zoom Factor
“i wasn’t expecting to be able to find alumni whose interests matched so well with our students, but it all lined up,” says Upper School computer science teacher Theodor brasoveanu who last year helped organize Pantherhack, the first student-led coding hackathon at PDS, which was also completely virtual. “i think they were all excited to connect with each other.”
“The Zoom factor, being able to reach alumni all over the world, really helps bring new voices into the classroom,” adds toni Dunlap, middle and Upper School computer science teacher.
in march of 2020, when the pandemic closed down the country and people were forced to rely on technology to connect, PDS pivoted to remote learning for the rest of the school year and instituted a series of virtual classroom visits with experts across program areas to expand the curriculum experience. That summer, chief information officer Jon ostendorf and the information technology Department prepared for the 2020-2021 school year by investing in technology that brought virtual participants into the classroom in even more sophisticated and engaging ways, powered by 100 Dten D7 video whiteboard screens installed throughout the campus.
“We liked the Dten because it’s a user- friendly ‘plug and play’ approach that allows teachers to run everything directly off it,” says lauren ledley, the Director of academic technology. “it’s easy to use, with Zoom capability, and no need for a laptop to activate it. it also has an excellent camera with high-quality screen views, including options for wide view or fishbowl view. Plus, it has a very advanced microphone built in that can pick up small sounds or filter them out, which creates a much better participant experience whether in person or remote.” Those in the classroom can see remote participants on the Dten screen and virtual participants can see and hear the whole classroom via the Dten’s camera and microphone.
center for Disease control epidemiologist ashley Smoots ’09 spoke to juniors and seniors in the research experience Program (rex) and says, “Since i’m in atlanta, i likely would not have been able to participate without the technology. We’ve all gotten familiar with technology and i really think students were still able to connect and feel comfortable asking questions.”
“it’s one of my favorite things to do,” says alley Welsh olshansky ’01 of chelsea, ma, who traveled to PDS for four in-person guest speaker visits prior to the pandemic. She is a senior director at a company investigating blood-based technology for early cancer detection. after livestreaming last fall with rex students, she explains, “i was amazed at how the Zoom virtual visit was just as effective as in-person visits in so many ways. i use Zoom technology every day in my work so it didn’t feel that different. The teacher prepared the students beautifully and tried to make it as interactive as possible.”
led by ms. Dunlap, the Upper School virtually hosted over a dozen technology professionals for two sessions of “a Day in the life of a Person in tech.” bobby Wei ’10 participated from los angeles where he works at honeybee robotics as a mechanical engineer designing spacecraft mechanisms, including those for the mars
Allison Welsh Olshansky ’01
rover. “i had fun,” he says. “if you asked me as a high-schooler, i would’ve never imagined being in this position later in life where i have something interesting enough to talk to PDS students about! The mars rover is a big, shiny thing to talk about and pertinent, given how Bobby Wei ’10 recently (mid-february) we landed the rover on mars.” When eighth graders heard of his work, they were fascinated and eager to learn more, and mr. Wei was delighted to talk to them as well.
The Value of Virtual Mentors
ms. Smoots says, “i returned again to visit virtually with the PDS chapter of noW, the national organization for Women, and discussed my experience as a minority woman in the sciences. The noW group was really encouraged to hear that i didn’t know exactly what i wanted to do as a career when i was in high school, but that i was still able to figure it out and land in a career that i enjoy.”
That is perhaps one of the most valuable takeaways for older students. They are interested in the career path of alumni and relieved to discover that the choices they make in college are not binding and can lead to something quite different and fulfilling. They are also encouraged to hear that even successful careers are not without challenges and struggles. With over 30 years in the workforce, lynch hunt ’85 has a big-picture perspective and knows all about career change. he earned a degree in computer science and engineering and worked for 12 years in software development before shifting to a financial services career in banking and investments. as a virtual panelist at Pantherhack, he urged students to “take the pressure off yourself. What you did today may or may not be anything like what you’ll be doing 10 or 20 years from now. So lean into what you’re good at, be curious, find people who can help and you’ll find your thing. Prepare yourself and accept whatever opportunities come your way.”
Dan Shipper ’10, PDS outstanding young alumnus award recipient in 2015, spoke virtually at Pantherhack about entrepreneurship. he described his experience co-founding startups in both software and media since graduating from PDS. “i wanted to come back to talk to the students who are interested in the same things i was at that age. They are all extremely bright and they asked great questions. it was great to be able to have a small impact on them.”
Ashley Smoots ’09 Lynch Hunt ’85
— lynch hunt ’85
Dan Shipper ’10
— toni Dunlap
arshaan Sayed ’23, a student organizer of Pantherhack says, “The alumni were, in my opinion, the highlight of the Pantherhack. They offered a ton of insight at their workshops and panels. We learned a lot about the entrepreneur world from Dan Shipper ’10 and the workings of blockchain and cryptocurrency from nathan Windsor ’02.”
andrew Dai ’26 was a seventh grader last year when he attended the event and heard alumni speak as virtual guests about computer programming, a subject that has fascinated him since second grade. “i don’t really know any people who have a career in programming, so it was very interesting to me,” he says. “i finally got to see careers in robotics from a professional point of view from alumni who went on to pursue careers in programming. right now, i’m a little more interested in business, but i think coding will still be a really good skill to have.”
“The alumni discussions at the Pantherhack were incredible, even for someone like me who teaches computer science,” marvels ms. Dunlap. “having alumni there was exciting. you can talk about a subject theoretically, but the alumni experts made it so much more immediate. The students respected the alumni perspectives built on experiences in the field and also connected strongly with them as fellow PDS community members.”
howie Powers ’80 has a dual perspective as an alumnus and chair of the history Department. he understands that students instinctively respond to alumni speakers as someone who sat in their classroom not long ago and then succeeded professionally, blazing a trail they might follow. “These students are getting to be adults and they want to hear adults talking to them about adult issues,” mr. Powers says. alumni can do that while also referencing their teachers by name, commiserating about homework and sharing in the excitement of a PDS athletic victory.
mr. Powers cites the enormous impact ned foley ’79 had in his virtual talk last fall to the aP american Government and Politics class. he is an ohio State University moritz college of law professor and constitutional law expert who discussed presidential power and its limitations. “he was fantastic and so timely,” mr. Powers says, noting that Professor foley impressed students not only with his knowledge of the subject matter, but by sharing how PDS helped build a sense of self-esteem and belonging that changed the trajectory of his life.
alumni guest speakers have spoken to students in every division. marissa applegate ’12, a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience at columbia University, captivated fourth Grade science students discussing her study of chickadees. “i showed a video of a chickadee hiding food in the camera, which, though not what it was ‘supposed’ to do, provided a really clear example of a use of memory. The kids absolutely lost it laughing, which was exactly what i was hoping for! They asked really good questions that were incredibly broad. a big part of why i volunteered to talk to the students was that after seeing all
Ned Foley ’79
the science outreach events at columbia get canceled due to covid, i got sad thinking about the impact on the next generation of kids. all my memories of science in lower School involved physical things: grinding up cereal and extracting Marissa Applegate ’12 iron, making boats to race across the room, connecting light bulbs to batteries, etc. Science at that age always seemed so cool, and i was worried that without those personal connections, kids might not get that initial spark of interest that keeps them engaged.” The loyalty of PDS alumni is demonstrated in many ways, from the enthusiastic provision of alumni updates in the Journal magazine to strong attendance at reunions to their financial support of school initiatives. The rewards of interacting with current students add another meaningful layer to their PDS experience. “i like the School’s outreach program a lot,” mr. Wei says. “it warms my heart to know that there are still so many outgoing, caring and thoughtful faculty at PDS. after i graduated, a group of legendary faculty retired and i was worried that the culture of PDS might change. based on outreach from toni Dunlap and others, and my experience talking with the students, i can see that PDS seems to be thriving!”
— bobby Wei ’10
ALUMNI GUEST SPEAKERS 2020-2021
Maggie Amaral ’20 Marissa Applegate ’12 Tommy Bocian ’20 Sarah Bonakdar ’14 Adam Bromwich ’92 Cal Caputo ’20 Catherine Chomiak ’05 Shira Concool ’06 Marilena Cordon-Maryland ’19 Pat Courtney ’85 Sam Cutler-Kreutz ’08 Amon DeVane ’19 Ned Foley ’79 Sheridan Gates ’10 Chris Gibson ’10 Katie Gibson ’11 Lucas Green ’20 Nate Halpern ’02 Michael Highland ’03 Lynch Hunt ’85 Chris Jones ’91 Thomas Kilkenny ’13 Hei-Ock Kim ’85 Jeremy Kuris ’91 Wesley Leggett ’19 Maggie Madani ’20 Paris McLean ’00 Morgan McNulty ’19 Allison Welsh Olshansky ’01 Tulsi Pari ’20 Michael Reed ’03 Megan Reilly ’09 Susanne Salkind ’86 Tania Schoennagel ’86 Ellie Schofield ’20 Eric Sherman ’18 Sara Sherman ’09 Dan Shipper ’10 Jason Sigal ’03 Vibhu Singh ’19 Ashley Smoots ’09 Brooke Smukler ’19 Julie Taitsman ’90 Jessica Toltzis ’14 Michael Tucker ’14 Krithika Vasireddy ’20 Lisa Warren ’71 Bobby Wei ’10 Nathan Smith Windsor ’02 Cole Wolk ’18 If you are an alumnus/ae with expertise and perspectives you would like to share with PDS students, contact Director of Alumni Programs and Giving Kaylie Keesling at kkeesling@pds.org.
