StC Magazine | Summer 2021

StC Magazine

The Magazine of St. Christopher’s

OUTDOOR EDUCATION Classrooms Without Walls - Page 12 SUMMER 2021

GRADUATION PAGE 36

The Magazine of St. Christopher’s

STC Magazine Staff HEADMASTER Mason Lecky DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Sharon Dion EDITOR Kathleen Thomas SPECIAL FEATURES EDITOR Gene Bruner ‘78 ALUMNI NEWS EDITOR Jen Scallon VISUAL CONTENT EDITORS Cappy Gilchrist and George Knowles PHOTOGRAPHERS Jay Paul and Jesse Peters GRAPHIC DESIGN Merry Alderman Design CONTRIBUTORS Hugo Abbot ‘21 Kim Hudson, director of The Center for the Study of Boys J.D. Jump ‘05, multimedia and technology specialist Rohan Simon ‘22 Mac Suskind ‘21 Hayden Vick, second grade teacher Spencer Villanueva ‘21 Davis Wrinkle ‘81, director of annual giving and alumni affairs

The Magazine of St. Christopher’s

St. Christopher’s School 711 St. Christopher’s Road Richmond, VA 23226 P. (804) 282-3185 F. (804) 285-3914 www.stchristophers.com

St. Christopher’s School welcomes qualified students to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation or national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies and athletic and other school-administered programs.

Member of VAIS, NAIS, NAES and IBSC

IN THIS ISSUE FEATURES 12

OUTDOOR EDUCATION Classrooms without walls

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GRADUATION A return to the Terraces and more normalcy

DEPARTMENTS 2

MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMASTER

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CHAPEL TALK J.D. Jump ‘05

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FACULTY & STUDENT VOICES Hayden Vick Mac Suskind ‘21 Spencer Villanueva ‘21 Rohan Simon ‘22

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AROUND CAMPUS

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THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF BOYS

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CLASS NOTES

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FACULTY/STAFF UPDATES

Thanks to all the parents, students, alumni and friends who provided content and pictures for this publication. Please send your alumni news and photographs to scallonj@stcva.org for use in an upcoming issue.

MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMASTER

This crisis brought out the best in St. Christopher’s WHEN I REFLECT UPON THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR, I AM, QUITE SIMPLY, ASTOUNDED. One year ago, the administrative team and I convened via Zoom, filled with equal parts optimism and concern. In the weeks leading up to the start of the school year, public schools in the Richmond area and throughout the Commonwealth declared they were not opening for in-person learning. Many of our independent-school peers were adjusting the nature of their in-person offerings or had not yet committed to being in person at all. There was no school-specific guidance from the CDC. There were more questions than answers as to what we might face in attempting to operate a school with more than 1,200 individuals on campus each day amidst a once-in-a-century pandemic.

How would school look and feel with onerous COVID restrictions?

Would parents choose to send their children in person? Would faculty and staff have the will to come to campus at all? Would our youngest Saints be able to wear masks all day long? How would COVID impact the quality of life, school spirit, and relational nature of our program? And, most importantly, would we be able to maintain in-person teaching and learning for the duration of the school year?

The boys and faculty and staff at St. Christopher’s have not simply survived a school year in a pandemic, they have thrived.

One year later, we now know the answers to these questions. Parents responded in an overwhelming fashion to send their boys to campus.

Teachers and staff faced uncertainty head-on and were resolute in their commitment to offer in-person experiences for our boys. The littlest Saints took mask-wearing in stride. And, yes, we fulfilled the entire school year in person. I write to you today, at the conclusion of the 2020–2021 school year, deeply proud of all that we have accomplished as a community. The boys and faculty and staff at St. Christopher’s have

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not simply survived a school year in a pandemic, they have thrived.

This crisis has brought out the best in St. Christopher’s. Two tangible points of evidence of this renewed strength are our current enrollment position for 2021– 2022, with waiting pools in nearly every grade level, and our recent historic Day of Giving, when we shattered records in the number of gifts and dollars raised, while receiving gifts from 89 first-time donors.

Perhaps less quantifiable — but no less significant — has been the resilience, grace, and flexibility of our Class of 2021. They will always be remembered, yes, as a “COVID class,” but more for what they have accomplished, against great obstacles, academically, artistically, athletically, and more.

Creativity and resourcefulness have been on high display this year, as you will see in the pages of this magazine. Our faculty and staff adapted and created new experiences that will last long after COVID is gone. I hope you are as proud as I am to be a part of this exceptional community.

Gratefully,

Mason Lecky

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CHAPEL TALK

StC Traditions: Long-standing and Newly Created in the Time of COVID A March 1 chapel talk delivered by J.D. Jump ’05 Like many other boys schools all over the country, tradition is something we hold dear. Many things that we do go directly back to our founder, Dr. Chamberlayne, such as the Honor System, Missionary Society, Society Meetings and prayer card. The danger with traditions is that they sometimes remain because that’s the way we’ve always done them, without questioning the reasoning. Fortunately for us, St. Christopher’s is pretty good at periodically reassessing to make sure our traditions still serve a useful purpose. What that means is that our traditions, new and old, are meaningful actions we perform with intention.

In my theological education, we studied liturgy, or the formula of our worship. Those of you who attend church regularly have probably noticed the repetitiveness. While certain parts change, the order is generally the same. You’ll probably get different hymns, scriptures and sermons, but those pieces are likely to be in the same place in the service, with other pieces that are exactly the same every week. Most worship services make use of the Lord’s Prayer, which means that if you attend worship on a weekly basis you say it roughly 50 times a year, which means in your lifetime you could say it upwards of 4,000 times. That’s one example of how worship asks us to repeat the same few words over and over again.

Why is that? The purpose behind the liturgy differs from the purpose behind our acquisition of knowledge. The liturgy’s purpose is not for us to learn or memorize the words, but to internalize them. Through repetition, the hope is that the words become a part of us.

In some ways, repeating liturgy is more akin to working out than to acquiring knowledge.

When you build a muscle, you must work that muscle over and over to build it up over time. The liturgy is the act of exercising our souls instead of our muscles.

As a junior at Randolph Macon College, I went on a trip during January term to a Brazilian United Methodist camp where we worked to improve facilities and provide activities for local children. While attending worship at a local church, one thing that stuck out was the part of service where we recited the Lord’s Prayer. The service was in Portuguese and we only spoke English, but we were all saying the Lord’s Prayer together at the same time, in our own tongue. This really opened my eyes to a universal truth, that pretty much every Christian who has ever lived has recited the Lord’s Prayer. In a way, every time we say it we are praying alongside every Christian who has ever lived and who will ever live.

You may have noticed that we have said the Lord’s Prayer for almost every chapel service we have had since I have been covering chapel. This is not an accident.

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On a smaller scale, we are lucky as members of the St. Christopher’s community to have our own personal liturgy, the prayer card written by Dr. Chamberlayne. Such shared traditions tie us together. They tie us to our classmates and teachers and to the greater Saints community with whom we may or may not have anything else in common. These traditions are the things that people who have graduated five, 10, 20 and 50 years ago still talk about.

COVID-19 has posed a particularly interesting challenge for us in that we can’t participate in most of our traditions, at least not in usual ways. We’ve worked hard from the beginning of the school year to try and do something with our traditions, even if we have to take a different approach. We’ve had chapel services, first outside, then in rooms by grade level. We did a prerecorded All Saints Service and a Lessons and Carols that was a mix of prerecorded music and live readers. We had choir and Jazz Band concerts live-streamed from the Recital Hall. We even had a version of the traditional Student Council Christmas. I think we would all concede these are compromises, and we wouldn’t have done them this way had we been given the choice, but this has also given us a chance to look in a really focused way at what makes each of our traditions special and how we could capture some of that magic, even with limitations posed by COVID. While things won’t be “normal” for a while yet, we will continue to try and celebrate these traditions in whatever way we can.

A couple of weeks ago, the life of the church presented us with yet another special tradition that was a little bit different

this year. As we do every year, we celebrated Ash Wednesday.

In previous years we all had the chance to get ashes imposed on our foreheads. This year we imposed our own. It would certainly be possible to view this as another thing that COVID made us compromise on, but I would encourage you to think of it differently. In a regular year, the act of imposition is limited by the number of people helping with the service. This year we actually got to all impose the ashes all together. What a truly communal act. ... Traditions are only truly valuable when they conform to our core values. In the case of Ash Wednesday, the “compromise” we made ended up being closer to the core value of that ritual than the tradition.

As we finish this year out, we will continue to celebrate our normal milestones in whatever way we can. I encourage you to take some time to reflect on these big traditions as they happen.

They will undoubtedly be different from the way we have done them in past years, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Try to keep an open mind and consider what might work better in the different way we do things. How might some of our changes be even better than the traditions they are replacing?

Amen After graduating from StC, J.D. Jump ’05 was accepted into the Bailey pre-Ministerial program at Randolph-Macon College, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in drama and music, and went on to earn a master’s from Duke University Divinity School. He serves as the School’s multimedia and technology specialist, Upper School Makerspace teacher, and helps with Ampersand, the joint theater group of St. Christopher’s and St. Catherine’s.

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FACULTY VOICE

“Empathy and Acts of Kindness Are Expected Each Day”

By Hayden Vick, second grade teacher Here’s perhaps a commonly held opinion: the 2020–2021 school year is simultaneously an interesting, challenging and inspiring time to begin one’s teaching career.

Teaching was not on the table whatsoever at the beginning of my college career. Law school was my long-term plan, and deviation from that path did not seem likely. I have vivid memories of assisting my mother in her kindergarten classroom as a child, and this may have laid the foundation for my interest in education. After spending a growing amount of my time throughout college working with children as a classroom volunteer, summer camp counselor and assistant cotillion instructor, I learned that few experiences provide more joy than watching someone achieve a goal you knew they could accomplish.

For my final education capstone project in college, I wrote and presented a thesis titled, “The Lack of Men in Early Childhood Education.” In this work, my goal was to highlight and celebrate all the women who impacted my educational journey, while also imparting the need for students to begin seeing both men and women in classrooms starting at an early age. I argued that men and women are equally qualified to teach all grade levels, and, therefore, the lack of men in lower grades is striking. This project definitely pushed me in the direction of K-2 teaching.

Whenever I’m asked to share what led me to teaching, two specific experiences come to mind.

The first occurred during a college summer in Tuxedo, North Carolina, when I served as the

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activity leader of the basketball program at Falling Creek Camp.

I was sitting and talking to a middle school-aged camper during a shootaround when one of the 9-year-olds ran up to us in tears and said that one of the basketballs had hit him in the face. As I probably do too often, I resorted to humor and made this camper laugh with some (probably cheesy) joke I don’t even recall. He eventually grabbed a new ball and ran off to join his friends. I turned to the older boy sitting next to me, and I will never forget the unbelieving look on his face before he said, “How did you do that?” He was talking about calming the younger boy down, which my StC Lower School colleagues successfully accomplish on a daily basis. However, in that moment, as a rising junior in college, I was left feeling as if I had stumbled on a skill that could lead to a career working with children.

The second moment actually occurred years later, during my two-year teaching residency in the New Teacher Institute at Town School for Boys in San Francisco. I was sitting in a meeting with my supervisor and mentor teacher to reflect on my “solo week,” a culminating time in the program when the resident teacher teaches alone for an entire week. During my two years at Town School, one of my major goals as a young teacher was to successfully strike the balance between being silly and engaging while also authoritative. While going over her notes from observing my teaching that week (and over almost two years in kindergarten and fourth grade), my supervisor looked at me and said, “You’ve made it.” I wrote down this quote word for word, left the meeting nearing tears and officially confirmed my decision to pursue education as a long-term career.

Moving from San Francisco to Richmond amidst COVID-19 has been such a unique experience. The challenges of teaching in person during this time are numerous, and among the largest of these is trying to meet my students’ emotional needs while behind masks. I have watched colleagues persevere in awe-inspiring ways.

I’ve been grateful to be welcomed to a school that is determined to keep students on campus despite the chaos of this pandemic. I know this is a popular opinion, but it can’t be said too many times: the resiliency of our students has shined forth above all.

I feel strongly that there is nothing more important in life than how you treat other people. Courtesy is a commonly used word in our class, and the boys know that empathy and acts of kindness are expected each day. We regularly discuss hospitality and the importance of standing when guests enter our classroom (or any space).

Molding young people into thoughtful, selfless and emotionally confident individuals is what I believe to be a teacher’s highest duty and priority. I feel so fortunate to bring my passion into my classroom as a second grade teacher at St. Christopher’s. I cannot wait to meet more students, colleagues, families and other members of this community!

Hayden Vick, a 2018 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, served as resident kindergarten and fourth grade teacher at the Town School for Boys in San Francisco for two years before joining StC last fall.

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STUDENT VOICES

Striking a Balance

By Mac Suskind ’21

In first grade there were only two times of the day: recess and time not in recess.

Obsessing over grades, I realized, was the fastest way to lose my balance, to miss out on everything else at St. Christopher’s.

It was during this time that my best friend Colter and I found ourselves in the big gym, standing beside the exercise mats. In search of entertainment, we realized that those mats could be transformed into walls. All we had to do was stand them upright and angle the panels. Impressed with our ingenuity, we quickly got to work building houses, then mazes, then forts.

The forts were for a special version of dodgeball where normal rules applied, but each team set up a homebase of mats to store ammunition and regroup when needed. Taller now and stronger, we learned to shimmy mats over walls to make roofs. With Nerf balls in hand we battled, trying to outsmart the other team in strategy and design.

During faculty camp, we grew bored of Nerf balls and resorted to using our bodies. We divvied up the mats, built the most stable fort possible and raided neighboring forts, in hopes of taking their mats and proving superior strength and craftsmanship. It didn’t take long for the teachers to shut us down, deeming it “too dangerous.” Not to worry, we were on to bigger and better things: Middle School.

Leaving behind four square, wall ball, Nintendo DS and forts, we enjoyed two recesses, and the Missionary Society offered snacks. We played World Cup more, this time on East Field.

When the fields were too wet, we walked to the basketball courts to play knockout or 2v2.

Then spikeball, and we gathered around arenas set up outside the storage shed, waiting 10 minutes for a five-minute game and watching rings of dead grass form around the nets. We were free from classes and without a worry. When the seasons changed and the best place to be was beside the heater near Mrs. Boykin’s room, we had nothing better to do than chat and joke and make the best of recess with friends. Before we knew it, things changed again.

Upper School presented a new set of challenges. Suddenly grades “mattered.” Or so we believed.

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From that moment on, my blinders went up. I began focusing a lot more on school and a lot less on recess.

I started borrowing time from other activities to study. When break came around each day, I ended up sitting at one of Mr. Cooper’s tables outside Mrs. Livick’s room or in the back left-hand corner of the library at one of those screened-in desks. Those places became my new forts, only a lot less fun and a lot less comfortable. That 20-minute break became more like a 20-minute study hall, and I was always behind. No matter what I did there was more to do. I struggled to keep pace.

I started waking up earlier to study before chapel. I started going to bed later to finish up assignments.

Time flew. Monday seemed to turn into Friday and ninth grade to tenth grade and so on. Don’t get me wrong: I was doing things other than classwork, but my mind was usually elsewhere, focusing on homework or upcoming tests. I didn’t feel I had the time to enjoy anything like recess. And when I did, I ended up feeling more behind than before.

Not an ideal situation, now that I’m looking back, but you might ask: What about the grades? They must have been better?

The short answer is no. Subconsciously measuring all my success on grades never quite felt right and was definitely not as rewarding as I felt it should be, given all the time and energy I put in.

Halfway through tenth grade, I decided to put the material first and let the grades follow. Instead of aiming for X number out of 100, I turned my attention to understanding the notes and the material. With this mindset, I immediately felt energized and more sure of what school is supposed to be about: learning, not the tests, quizzes or essays. Ironically, my grades improved. It turned out that focusing so much on grades was actually hurting, not helping, which brings me back to recess.

Chasing grades was a time suck that left little room in my schedule to play, and really, in a broader sense, time to relax and goof off, to join another club, go to Donuts and Discourse or play ping-pong.

These past few weeks I’ve been thinking more and more about St. Christopher’s and my journey from building forts in the big gym to where I stand now. It’s become more clear to me what recess, forts, World Cup games, knockout and wall ball were all about: balance. What I mean is the balance between work and play.

Obsessing over grades, I realized, was the fastest way to lose my balance, to miss out on everything else at St. Christopher’s. By my last count, that’s about 364 classmates and faculty in the Upper School alone.

Because Lower School recess was never really about forts, and Middle School was never really about free play. Even in Upper School, our time outside the classroom is not defined by what we do during it so much as by the people we spend it with. It’s about relationships. It’s about Spencer imitating the jingle of Mr. Smith’s keys before class, Nash and Evan playing catch with Mr. Thomas’ open dry erase marker, games of Psyche with the soccer team on the bus ride back, Morey decorating my car with snow, Nick and I snagging a cookie before the speaker event, and Gaines and Mike trapping me in the J-Lot. Some of the best lessons we’ve learned have been out of the classroom on the playground, where we met some of our best friends, too. Going forward, I don’t want to just check the boxes and just make the grades. I want to continue doing what I started in the Lower School big gym: make the best out of what I have with the people I admire and have a lot of fun at the same time.

Of course, this is not to say I’ve got things figured out. I still press the “see grade detail” icon plenty. I sweat grades sometimes, and I spend time in the wrong places, but I’m a lot closer to that balance point, and I know when I’m heading in the right direction.

With the end of the school year less than two months out, I hope we can find the time to pause, think back on our experiences here and give special focus to play. Even more so, I hope we will look ahead and aim toward as much fun and play as we can, because this community is what it’s all about.

Mac Suskind ’21 will attend the University of Virginia this fall.

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STUDENT VOICES

CHOOSING A COLLEGE IN 2021

A Senior Perspective on How Pandemic Restrictions Posed Challenges

By Spencer Villanueva ’21

Some of the college search challenges that the Class of 2021 faced this year included few college representatives visiting our school, online-only college fairs, canceled SATs and limited campus tours. My peers and I resorted to using online college resources to hear about various universities, but this was limited.

As it seems, the coronavirus pandemic has left no part of our lives untouched. The college process is one aspect of school life that changed drastically this year. My fellow seniors and I had to make many difficult decisions regarding schools that most of us haven’t even had the opportunity to visit in person.

Although I cannot personally compare this year’s college search process to a normal one, the popular sentiment amongst my peers is that finding colleges online was difficult. I found it particularly challenging to create an interest list because no one school really jumped out at me in this online setting. Facts on a webpage hardly gave me an idea of what the true experience of that college is like. Personally, I found that YouTube videos created by current students helped me see a more authentic side of the college than the brochures and websites provide. These videos gave open and honest reviews without all the “propaganda.”

Another great resource for getting an honest look at colleges that I took advantage of was talking with current students. Most students are happy to pass along info to a prospective student.

Many colleges post contact information of student advisers, so it’s easy to get in touch. This student interaction greatly influenced my college decision.

Along with the unprecedented circumstances of this year’s college process, my final college decision has also been unique. While most of my classmates are staying somewhat close to home, I will be moving 4,265 miles away to attend Franklin University 10 | StC Magazine

in Lugano, Switzerland. I know it sounds kind of crazy, and I am aware of that. However, let me explain how this pandemic drove me to this choice.

I found out about Franklin during a meeting with Mr. Scott Mayer, one of St. Christopher’s college counselors. He mentioned Franklin after I explained my interest in learning more about other cultures and traveling. At first, I dismissed the suggestion, but over time I realized that it was a true option for me.

Since I started searching for colleges a year ago, I have never actually visited any in person. I have been on campus at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia before, but not during the pandemic. When Franklin came onto my radar, I never felt like it was truly different from any of the others.

I couldn’t go on campus tours or have in-person interviews with even in-state schools, so an international school remained in the realm of possibility.

In truth, studying internationally will work well for what I want to pursue. One passion that I developed during the pandemic was connecting with people all over the world. While stuck at home, I spent my time chatting with and learning from people in places like Palestine, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden and countless others. I learned that I love seeing how different others’ life experiences are to mine. It drives me to pursue a degree in international relations, so hopefully one day I can make a career out of it.

I encourage everyone to expand their opportunities. This can apply to college, work or even your life here at St. Christopher’s.

We live in a time where anything is possible, and our opportunities are seemingly limitless. My advice to others: Don’t limit yourself to what you think is possible.

BACK IN COMMUNITY

Returning to the Classroom After Nine Months Online

By Rohan Simon ’22

Alone and comatose. Without any ability to break the confines of my mind, I have no one but myself. But I persevere, waking up from that bed into an unusual world, confronted with new rules and regulations. Assaulted with unfamiliarities left and right, I begin to feel uneasy, nervous.

Friends fill the previously empty space; I remember happier times from the past. The anxiety leaves, the pressure fades — I’m glad to be back, even if the world turned unfamiliar and strange while I was gone.

Eternally Zooming, I sat alone in my room, day in and day out for the first seven months of this school year. I always had my family, but as everyone knows, family gets old, quick. I felt increasingly isolated from St. Christopher’s with every passing day, missing out on each Ron Smith lecture, each bird passing by Mr. Van Arsdale’s room, each publications workday.

On Zoom, I was lonely, unable to participate in class discussions to the degree my classmates could, while their audio became too quiet to decipher on my end. Obviously, Zoom could not replicate the classroom experience, as I remained trapped inside a computer, unable to talk to anybody, only able to listen. I felt like I was trapped in a coma of isolation.

I can’t lie, though; I thoroughly enjoyed going to bed at midnight, waking up at 8 a.m., and still getting to class on time. And having two extra hours at the end of the day leaves me with a large amount of free time. I often found myself deep in the video game grind, for hours at a time, something much harder to do now. But, those are just guilty pleasures. Ultimately, I value my relationships with the people of this school and an in-school education above my simple pastimes.

So I decided that I absolutely had to return this year. And, with the vaccine rollout underway, my parents gave me the green light.

My surreal experience coming back to St. Christopher’s felt like a complete culture shock; I couldn’t drink any water the whole day because I needed a water bottle, Chamberlayne Hall’s floors became one-way streets, and lunch was a scavenger hunt, as I tried to find my assigned seat. But all my miscues faded away at the sight of my friends, welcoming me back with open arms. I remembered why I wanted so badly to come back — I sorely missed the St. Chris community that was and still is a significant part of my life.

All students engaged in online learning in spring 2020, and Rohan Simon ’22 opted to continue until March 24, 2021.

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OUTDOOR EDUCATION

Classrooms Without Walls New Possibilities for Fresh Air and Student Growth Emerge All Over Campus GREEN SPACE, BENCHES AND SHADE Succulents line the windowsill in Laura Dugan’s classroom, or at least they should.

Today, as with most days this spring, several seventh grade Spanish students snuck them outdoors during class. Angled squarely in the sun, the tiny cacti may as well have been sleeping pups. When caught red-handed, one of the usual suspects pleaded: “They need more light, Ms. Dugan!”

Ms. Dugan and many others have opted for outdoor instruction, perhaps one of the biggest silver linings of COVID-19. Last summer StC’s maintenance crew constructed 10 outdoor teaching spaces around campus, each a collection of simple wooden benches.

With enhanced Wi-Fi coverage reaching outdoor spaces, laptops and portable whiteboards, St. Christopher’s expanded its teaching and learning space by thousands of square feet. “It has been such a delight, this fall and spring, to walk around campus and to observe literally hundreds of students actively learning outdoors rather than indoors,” said Headmaster Mason Lecky. “I do believe this trend is here to stay and will only grow and become more integrated with daily instruction in the months and years to come.”

Teachers and students gather beneath the pine trees on the Terraces, benches strategically placed near the shady lee of decks and porches, in the Historic Corridor, in the gardens adjacent to Wilton Hall, in green spaces around campus, in the triangle park along Maple Avenue, and a new community teaching and learning deck around a stately oak tree near Pepper Avenue. In addition, folding chairs are stacked around campus for impromptu outdoor gatherings. “The boys love it,” said Jon Piper, Middle School history teacher.

“Outdoor learning takes limitations and makes them strengths. The boys can spread out and not worry about sitting too closely or having the mask exactly right.”

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Nolan Pride ‘34 examines a blade of grass.

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OUTDOOR EDUCATION

1 FIELD, CLOVER AND UKULELES STRUMMING Sweet clover glows green in the little field adjacent to the Middle School, waiting for whirring lawnmowers to release their sweet scent. The choir stands proudly in place as Mr. Brata runs them through a series of breathing exercises. For a couple of minutes, incoherent noises along the lines of “che-che-che-che” fill the air, followed by a “kuh-kuh-kuh-kuh-kuh,” echo drills that allow the singers to synchronize their breaths. According to Brata, “To sing and sing well, the boys need to get their abdominal muscles engaged.” Next, the boys make vowel sounds, “oooh, aahhh, eeeh,” then move to a “Hallelujah” chorus.

Outdoor choir rehearsals for each division were the only way the boys could perform, given COVID protocols.

In addition, chaplains held services outdoors, and Knowles Field became a gathering place for more than football practice and lacrosse games. The 106-year-old StC tradition of Lower School Literary Society poetry recitals also took place on the gridiron.

Lower School Music Teacher Mary Tryer may have found the most creative uses for outdoor learning, setting up bucket drumming classes in the fall and ukulele lessons in the spring.

1. Scenes from the fifth grade outdoor Greek festival 2. Boys play ukuleles in Mary Tryer’s outdoor music class.

3. A river guide holds a 30-pound catfish reeled in by Max Mumford ‘25 on an eighth grade river trip.

4. Seventh grade Spanish students gather in their shady fort to read and discuss current events in the Spanish-speaking world.

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2 BIKE HELMET, TROWEL AND TOGA The Lower School has long integrated outdoor activities into its curriculum.

Lower School PE Teacher Craig Foster routinely delivers an outdoor cycling classroom, often leading a platoon of helmeted young boys, single file and scrabbling through campus, the line expanding and contracting like an enormous inchworm. The peloton diligently repeats commands from the lead cyclist to last rider.

The terrain ranges from sidewalk pavement to rubberized track.

These excursions help riders of all ability levels develop and sharpen their skills and build confidence while having fun. Foster said, “If one of the boys starts to show off, the group doesn’t follow and gently corrals him back into the fold.”

For Lower School Science Teacher Bee Schnell, the place to begin is terra firma. Take a peek into her backpack and one will likely spot garden gloves and a trowel. Schnell views soil as something precious to be turned up and aerated, free of debris. Her students trek around campus to study signs of weathering and erosion, to observe plants growing under different conditions. They predict which plant will grow to be the healthiest, monitor progress against a control plant and draw scientific conclusions. Her students grasp that a few hours of care and attention can give shape to that which would otherwise grow wild. “They also figure out that no matter how much one waters a flower bed, there’s no substitute for rain, and with the right tools, any job becomes infinitely easier,” she said.

Adding to the outdoor fun, the fifth grade organized a Greek Festival. As part of their lessons about ancient Greece, they dressed in togas, celebrated their city-states, played games and sampled Greek food.

A RIVER MAP, SUNGLASSES AND POCKET KNIFE Mark Holloway takes a stick of driftwood and draws a circle in the sand, large enough for all of the participants to face each other, taking a compass direction in stationary orbit. Several go north, clicking the snaps to their life jackets. Another group sorts through a pile of paddles before heading east. A clump of four settles in the south to arrange gear. Meanwhile, Kyle Burnett faces west, with a paddle in hand, ready to conquer the day’s adventure: kayaking the James.

The current rumbles past, slightly chilled, humped in waves of silt. In May, the river is high and thick with sediment but no whitewater, only the monotonous rhythms of the current as it sluices over river rocks into eddies strewn with sunken branches. River time takes hold.

Standing in the warm, fine sand, the students look as if they are feeling their way around in the dark, trying to anticipate risks in trying something for the first time.

Holloway runs through a series of basic instructions, ground rules and helpful tips. Then he shouts: “Let’s go!”

Many are strong paddlers, as adept as many adults. The blades strike the surface together; kayaks dart through the water. For long periods, the boys say nothing and simply react to the river. “Each journey is an opportunity for boys to step out of the comfort zone and into the learning zone,” Holloway says.

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“With the benefits of fresh air, movement and environmental variety known to be beneficial to boys, I view this as a very welcomed and positive byproduct of our response to COVID.” — Headmaster Mason Lecky

So goes the annual river excursion for eighth graders. Students and their advisors spend the day bonding and learning about the river ecosystem. The brainchild of Middle School Science Teachers Mark Holloway and Kyle Burnette, the trek from Huguenot Flatwater includes a portage around Zee Dam, as well as a lesson or two on lugging, loading and securing gear.

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OUTDOOR EDUCATION

Team-building and instilling trust are recurring themes across the Middle School curriculum. Early in the school year, seventh graders hike to Challenge Discovery’s high ropes course, where they negotiate obstacles connected to classmates while suspended 30 feet in the air. In addition, science classes devote entire units to the James River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. “We feel very strongly about connecting the boys with the river that is in our own backyard,” said Middle School Science Teacher Mary Anderson. “We want them to feel a connection so that they will be good stewards of the river.”

In the spring, seventh graders typically travel to Virginia Commonwealth University Rice Rivers Center, a field station devoted to environmental research, for hands-on instruction.

Another spring activity is the Adventure Education Program, also led

by Holloway and Burnette, an after-school option for seventh and eighth graders that includes hiking, biking, climbing and fishing.

Confronting new challenges is the keystone. “We encourage them to explore their passions and understand that failure is the ultimate teacher,” said Holloway. “Finding out what you don’t like is equally as valuable as finding out what you do like.”

Do you want to catch fish or do you want to go fishing?” Burnette asks. With line, pole, hooks and bait, today’s activity includes an excursion to Bryan Park.

Burnette is the sort of man most at home on or near the water, an expert guide. He informs the troops that the lake is full of largemouth bass, bluegills and even catfish. The boys learn the basics of catching fish, including baiting the hook with a worm. A dozen or so boys drop lures into the water and wait. Suddenly something silver flashes, then jerks the line. Burnette gleefully shouts, “It’s a big fish! A huge fish! The most amazing fish ever!”

These trips serve as a point of personal pride for the boys. They are not just about climbing walls, keeping the kayak straight, belaying or reading a map. As Holloway likes to point out, “These trips have more to do with overcoming adversity, taking responsibility, doing one’s share and being a solid partner.”

HEADLAMP, DRY SOCKS AND LOTS OF TRAIL MIX John Page Williams Jr. ‘65 started the Halsey Waterman program in 1970, grounded in the Outward Bound principle “to strive and not yield.” This former Upper School science teacher focused on getting kids out on the water to teach them about the river. Page left an outdoor legacy at St. Christopher’s before leaving to work for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

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1. Andrew Palmer ‘06 instructed students on the finesse of the climb in 2015.

2. Stuart Ferguson imparts life lessons in the great outdoors.

3. Middle School students navigate the James.

4. David Shin and Middle School students enjoy time on the water.

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OUTDOOR EDUCATION

1 The view is vertiginous. The climbing wall in the Kemper Athletic Center, sheer-sided, 40 feet tall, contains small notches and handholds for ascent. After strapping into harnesses, the boys doublecheck knots, review verbal commands and partner up: one will climb while the other belays. Rappelling is the most counterintuitive aspect of climbing. Basically, it involves walking backward off a wall while completely trusting the welterweight on the other end of the rope.

feet from the top, where the only handhold is a sloping chin-level mantle of smooth granite, too low to pull on, too high to step on.

Another good hold above the mantle is still out of reach as his arms begin to quiver from the strain.

“I really don’t want to be dragged up like a sack of potatoes,” a nervous first timer calls out, “but I’d like to have that option.”

“No, you’re not.”

To considerable relief, the climber shows no signs of acrophobia and moves up the wall with surprising grace. He gingerly navigates up the face, feeling around for good edges to hold, then walking up his feet. Things go smoothly enough until he’s about 10

1. Nick Brata conducts an outdoor choir rehearsal.

2. Alexander Mayer ‘20 3. Christian Gray ‘26 and Hil Butler ‘26 bring Ms. Dugan’s classroom plants outside while collaborating on a project.

4. JK Teacher Debbie Brown engages students in an outdoor lesson.

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“Point your elbow up and push down with your palm,” a veteran climber instinctively calls out.

“I think I’m going to fall,” he says shakily.

“Take your time,” Ferguson calmly encourages. “Find a slow, steady rhythm. Use your eyes and your legs.”

Climbing is a winter sports option, and also a part of Watermen, led

by Science Teacher Billy McGuire ‘85 and History Teacher Stuart Ferguson, who is a certified NOLS instructor. Challenges serve as the primary instrument for personal growth. Participants encounter a wide range of risks from hiking and orienteering to canoeing/ paddling and climbing. Ferguson considers outdoor heights the biggest challenge. “It’s scary being up that high,” he said. “You have to really trust the person belaying you and the system of protection you have built with the crew.”

A MULTI-TOOL, FIRST AID KIT AND HAND PUMP In recent years, as the experiential education movement surged in popularity, faculty have volunteered their time and energies to outdoor programs aligned to their own passions.

Upper School Spanish Teacher Kimberly Mayer and Upper School History Teacher Billy Abbott came to mountain biking from two different directions. Abbott has been an avid cyclist for decades, possessing a strong working knowledge of “quick repairs.” The lure for Mayer was watching her oldest, Alexander ’20, nab hardware in regional races: “I thought, why not give it a try? Needless to say, I got hooked.”

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Together, Abbott and Mayer coach Saints MTB, a fall coed team that includes riders of all abilities. They frequent the undulating terrain behind Dogwood Dell, North Bank Trail, Buttermilk Trail, Belle Isle, Forest Hill Park and Larus Park. The riders see parts of Richmond that they would not otherwise experience, particularly the view of downtown Richmond from Hollywood Cemetery, the floodwall and Church Hill.

For both the novice and the experienced rider, there’s a learning curve. Roots and rocks are a lot different on the trail than in an alley. Mayer enjoys watching riders progress, “conquering climbs/ jumps/obstacles that have taunted them throughout the season, as well as overcoming that little voice which says, ‘You can’t do this.’” She notes the laughter and camaraderie of the squad: “It pleases me how they encourage each other. As everyone grows more resilient and confident, no one wants the ride to end.”

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“Each journey is an opportunity for boys to step out of the comfort zone and into the learning zone!”

— Mark Holloway START YOUNG

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Anyone who has spent time in the outdoors knows the benefits are far reaching. In a group setting, adventures can establish social networks, develop trust and a sense of well-being, and create an overall sense of belonging. Outdoor activities in a variety of venues demonstrate how Saints of all ages communicate and bond, in action and through example.

As Ferguson suggests, “Fostering a love of the outdoors is like anything else. Start young!”

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AROUND CAMPUS

DR. ANN VAN

TED-Ed

Director of Health Services Dr. Ann Vanichkachorn gave an Upper School chapel talk, drawing on personal experiences and encouraging the community to engage on sensitive issues of race and prejudice.

Interim Head of Lower School Sarah Mansfield and Reading Specialist Jen O’Ferrall introduced fifth grade boys to the concept of a TED-Ed club, charging them to prepare an “idea worth sharing.”

BATTLE OF THE BOOKS

NEW STUDENT PARADE

LITERARY SOCIETY

Battle of the Books T-shirt design contest winners were Charlie Johnson ‘29 [artwork pictured above] and Elliott Pellumbi ‘28.

Excitement ran high at a welcome parade for newly admitted Lower School Saints.

Boys recited society poems on Knowles Field for the first time in school history.

TAYLOR REVELEY: CONSTRUCTIVE CITIZENSHIP William & Mary President Emeritus Taylor Reveley spoke to Upper School students as part of the Williams-McElroy History Endowment speaker program about “constructive citizenship,” encouraging boys to get the facts before acting, listen earnestly and find common ground.

COMMUNITY AND INCLUSION The joint boards of governors at St. Christopher’s and St. Catherine’s spent a day working together to consider strategies to help achieve goals for diversity, community and inclusion.

Pictured Above: (seated) Macon Clarkson, St. Catherine’s Board of Governors chair; Mason Lecky, StC headmaster; Sue Baldwin, St. Catherine’s assistant head of school; (standing) Thomas Valentine ‘76, StC Board of Governors chair; Lila Lohr, St. Catherine’s interim head of school; Ed Cowell, StC director of community and inclusion

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QUILT Ninth graders in Rusty Wilson’s Creativity Through the Arts class created a quilt as an homage to Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 Broadway play, “Raisin in the Sun,” featuring images inspired by the play’s themes.

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ETHICS BOWL Led by Upper School Head Librarian Marsha Hawkins, StC’s Ethics and Debate Team secured first place in the Virginia High School Ethics Bowl, winning the final match against Collegiate. The victory was particularly sweet after entering the competition for the first time last year with no experience and finishing last.

DADS READ A series of Dads Read events gave boys and their male mentors the opportunity to read and discuss books together.

BATTLE OF THE BRAINS

HIBERNATION

Upper School students secured a solid victory in the annual Battle of the Brains contest against a faculty team, winning 270-145.

After weeks of learning about bears and hibernation, kindergarten boys wore pajamas to school while toting along a favorite stuffed animal and creating bear-themed art.

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AROUND CAMPUS

HELPING VIRGINIA SUPPORTIVE HOUSING Above: Middle School boys helped deliver food to Virginia Supportive Housing.

Below: Varsity soccer cleaned up the grounds at the Hull Street nonprofit.

SOCIAL DILEMMA Upper School boys and eighth graders watched segments of the documentary, “The Social Dilemma,” before discussing social media pitfalls and the importance of being aware of digital habits and behavior.

YANN MARTEL Bestselling author Yann Martel Zoomed with Upper School English students about his time in India and how it influenced his appreciation for world religions, expanded his empathy and inspired his work, including his bestselling novel, “Life of Pi.”

CURRICULUM AUDIT At a teacher work day, faculty and staff focused on an inclusive curriculum audit, a schoolwide effort to promote diversity and inclusion.

SCIENCE BOWL Mason Carter ‘22, Will Wise ‘22, Weston Williams ‘21, Kevin Omohundro ‘22 and Henry Weatherford ‘21 competed at the Virginia Regional Science Bowl.

LENDING A HELPING HAND Tenth graders assembled snack and activity bags for guests of the Ronald McDonald House and built a table to donate to CARITAS. Fifth graders delivered donations to CARITAS. 22 | StC Magazine

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INTERACTIVE TOUR Check out StC’s new interactive virtual campus tour at www.saintscampustour.com.

HONORING DR. CHAMBERLAYNE Saints gathered at the grave of our School’s founder, the Rev. Dr. Churchill Gibson Chamberlayne, on the anniversary of his death in April.

MEMORIAL SERVICE The annual Memorial Service honors Saints alumni who died for our country and included a visit from the Marine Corps Veterans Color Guard.

AP PSYCH AND JK Saints in AP Psychology worked on an interactive science project with junior kindergarten students.

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STUDENT NEWS Jayden Smith ’21 placed second at the Adidas Indoor Nationals in the 60-meter hurdles, tying for second best in the United States this season.

Nash Steed ‘21 and Weston Williams ‘21 founded a community service group, SaintsServeRVA, as part of their work in the 2020 StC’s Summer Institute on Leadership and Public Service.

The group participated in weekly community service projects across Richmond throughout the school year.

The StC Battle of the Brains team, including Mason Carter ’22, Kevin Omohundro ’22, Henry Weatherford ’21 and Weston Williams ’21, won the regional championship. Team captain Williams was selected to the Battle of the Brains All-Star Team.

Front row: Weston Williams ‘21, Henry Weatherford ‘21; Back row: Kevin Omohundro ‘22, Mason Carter ‘22

Seventy-nine fundraisers for the St. ChristoCURES team collected $15,805 for the VCU Massey Cancer Center in the June 1 on-campus 5K. The team, sponsored by Upper School faculty members Asha Bandal and Kim Hudson, came in third in the Massey Challenge with Parker Cullinan ’22 leading the pack, collecting $5,465 in donations.

THE CLASS OF 2021 INCLUDES 17 COLLEGE-BOUND ATHLETES Aubrey Bowles (Villanova University, swimming); Knight Bowles (Virginia Military Institute, track); Robbie Boykin (Francis Marion University, baseball); Harrison Coble (Pittsburgh University, baseball); Timmy Gordinier (College of William & Mary, soccer); Curtis Hale (Colorado College, soccer); Spalding Hall (High Point University, lacrosse), Jake Keeling (Virginia Tech, wrestling), Chase Mullins (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, lacrosse); Miles Mullins (Brown University, track); Griffin O’Ferrall (University of Virginia, baseball); Talman Ramsey (Sewanee: The University of the South, tennis); Erik Roggie (University of Virginia, wrestling); Kevin Schork (University of Maryland, wrestling); Jayden Smith (Davidson College, track and field); Gaines Weis (Hampden-Sydney College, lacrosse); Riley Wood (California Institute of Technology, basketball).

SUMMER EXPERIENCES Virginia Space Coast Scholars program and the James River Leadership Expedition: Rex Alphen ’23; Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars program: Nate Glerum ’22 and Joseph Long ’22; Cochrane Summer Economics Program: Mason Carter ’23, George Ladd ’23 and Mac Mueller ’23; Summer Institute on Leadership and Public Service: Jack Ireland ’22 and Griffin Moore ’22; Residential Governor’s School Programs: Will Wise ’22 (Spanish language); Ephraim Bullock ’22, Scott Neely ’22 and Killian Winn ’22 (visual and performing arts); Evan DiCosmo ’22 and Kevin Omohundro ’22 (math, science and technology)

UPPER SCHOOL AWARDS Front row: Nick Manetas ‘23, Macon Moring ‘23; Back row: Asha Bandal, Preston Herrington ‘22, Kim Hudson

Oliver Hale ’21 is working on a city task force to establish a civilian review board.

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THE 2021 SCHOLASTIC ART AND WRITING AWARDS Drew Brown ’21 (Silver Key) Peyton Carpenter ’23 (Gold Key) Christian Johnson ’21 (Gold Portfolio

Award, two Gold Keys, four Silver Keys and two honorable mentions) Henry Proctor ’24 (Gold Key and honorable mention) Nate Broughton ’22 (honorable mention) Jackson Hill ’22 (honorable mention) Carson Lamb ’23 (honorable mention) Kyan Patel ’23 (honorable mention) GEORGE SQUIRES LITERARY AWARDS (For contributions to the 2021 Hieroglyphic literary magazine)

Photography: Drew Brown ’21 and Jack Ireland ’22 (first prize); Harrison Schroeder ’21 (second prize); Peter Huff ’23 (third prize); Luke Pendlebury ’23 (honorable mention) Visual Art: Kyan Patel ’23 and Jayden Smith ’21 (first prize); Colter Lanois ’21 (second prize); Jamie Boyd ’22, Greyson DiCosmo ’24, Topher Durette ’22, Henry Edmunds ’21, Morey Levy ’21 (honorable mentions) Best Prose: Cleighton Hilbert ’21 (first prize, nonfiction); Emory Wise ’21 (honorable mention, nonfiction); Henry Weatherford ’21 (first prize, fiction); Nick Manetas ’23 (second prize, fiction) Best Poetry: Henry Weatherford ’21 and Mac Suskind ’21 (first prize); Drew Brown ’21 and Emory Wise ’21 (second prize); Jack Omohundro ’21 and Colter Lanois ’21 (third prize); Taylor Jefferson ’21, Colin Royal ’21, Chase Mullins ’21, Spencer Villaneuva ’21 (honorable mentions) HIEROGLYPHIC AWARD Jack Ireland ’22 and Henry Weatherford ’21 THE PINE NEEDLE AWARD Hugo Abbot ’21, Aubrey Bowles ’21, Oliver Hale ’21 and Henry Weatherford ’21 RAPS & TAPS AWARD Will Farrell ’21 POETRY SOCIETY OF VIRGINIA Mac Suskind ’21 (honorable mention) CHAMBER ORCHESTRA AWARD Cooper Stovall ’21 CONCERT BAND AWARD Drew Brown ’21

AROUND CAMPUS JAZZ BAND AWARD Drew Brown ’21 and Henry Edmunds ’21

RPI SCIENCE AWARD Joseph Long ’22

WILLIAMS COLLEGE BOOK AWARD Mason Stocks ’22

GLEE CLUB AWARD Teddy Bannister ’21

BAUSCH AND LOMB SCIENCE AWARD Nathan Aschheim ’22

DARTMOUTH BOOK AWARD Taylor McDermott ’22

BARBARA BARKER STOCKDELL MEMORIAL AWARD FOR DANCE AND CHOREOGRAPHY Ephraim Bullock ’22

ROBERT W. BUGG AWARD Cade Bridges ’22

JEFFERSON BOOK AWARD Kevin Omohundro ’22

HORACE A. GRAY FAMILY AWARD Kent Goode ’22

HARVARD CLUB OF VIRGINIA PRIZE Jack Ireland ’22

THESPIAN AWARD Drew Brown ’21

JOHN PEYTON MCGUIRE MEMORIAL AWARD Topher Durette ’22

HIGHEST GPA Captain Worrell ’24, Nick Manetas ’23, Kevin Omohundro ’22, Edward Pasco ’21, Coleman Wray ’21

CHINESE AWARDS Chinese 4: Henry Weatherford ‘21 Chinese 3: AJ Jones ‘22 and Cabell Pasco ‘23 Chinese 2 : Gerrett Broussard ‘23 LA SOCIEDAD HONORARIA HISPÁNICA Charlie Aghdami ’23, Nicholas Manetas ’23, Macon Moring ’23, Mason Stanley ’23 FRENCH AWARDS Level 4: Jack Ireland ‘22 Level 3: Oliver Gardner ‘23 Level 2: Stephen Proctor ‘23 NATIONAL LATIN EXAM Mike Hawkins ’21, Max Kobal ’23, Jack Nelson ’24 (cum laude); Peter Czaja ’23, Austin Levin ’23, Taylor McDermott ’22 (magna cum laude); Ewan Cross ’22 and Wyatt Townsend ’23 (silver maxima cum laude); Macon Moring ’23 (gold summa cum laude)

MCGUIRE-WILKINSON AWARD Jack Mitchell ’22 MCGUIRE-JACK GORDON AWARD Mac Grant ’22 JOHN NEASMITH DICKINSON ’73 MEMORIAL AWARD Mason Carter ’22 BRADFORD ALLEN PARRISH ’91 MEMORIAL AWARD George Thompson ’22 G. GILMER MINOR JR. ’30 AWARD Mason King ’22 ST. LAWRENCE BOOK AWARD Will Rees ’22 HAMPDEN-SYDNEY BOOK PRIZE Nikkos Kovanes ’22

WORLD HISTORY II RESEARCH PAPER AWARD Barner Konvicka ’23 and Charlie Aghdami ’23

RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE LEADERSHIP AWARD Ned Boehling ’22

WILLIS CLYDE LOCKER, JR. ’40 MEMORIAL PRIZE Joseph Long ’22 and Ned Mangum ’22

SEWANEE BOOK AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN WRITING Oliver Fitch ’22 and Luke Gresham ’22

BRITISH LITERATURE AWARD Barner Konvicka ’23

KENYON COLLEGE PRESIDENTIAL BOOK AWARD Griffin Moore ’22

WILBUR DAVIS BAILEY PRIZE Luke Gresham ’22

AP SCHOLARS Evan Carpenter ’21 Oliver Hale ’21 Robert Hancock ’21 Charlie Holdaway ’21 Henry Poarch ’21 Mac Suskind ’21 Evan Thompson ’21 AP SCHOLARS WITH HONOR Will Farrell ’21 Curtis Hale ’21 Cleighton Hilbert ’21 John Jordan ’21 Colin Royal ’21 Max Wallace ’21 Henry Weatherford ’21 Riley Wood ’21 AP SCHOLARS WITH DISTINCTION Hugo Abbot ’21 Mike Hawkins ’21 Morey Levy ’21 Miles Mullins ’21 Jack Omohundro ’21 Edward Pasco ’21 Nash Steed ’21 Will Stevens ’21 Weston Williams ’21 Emory Wise ’21 Coleman Wray ’21

BIOLOGY AWARD Mac Suskind ’21

WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY BOOK AWARD Will Wise ’22

CHEMISTRY AWARD Drew Brown ’21

WILLIAM & MARY LEADERSHIP AWARD Ephraim Bullock ’22

PHYSICS AWARD Morey Levy ’21

WEST POINT LEADERSHIP AWARD Willy Hall ’22

Drew Brown ’21 Henry Edmunds ’21 Jack Omohundro ’21 Nash Steed ’21 Coleman Wray ’21

ECONOMICS AWARD Coleman Wray ’21

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO AWARD Evan DiCosmo ’22

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP WINNER Weston Williams ’21

COMMENDED NATIONAL MERIT STUDENTS (Based on PSAT scores in the top 5% nationally)

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MOMENTUM 2025 A Retrospective 26 | StC Magazine

IN THE SUMMER OF 2019, A BROAD COALITION OF FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI, PARENTS AND FRIENDS CAME TOGETHER TO ESTABLISH A VISION FOR THE SCHOOL’S FUTURE. THAT VISION – MOMENTUM 2025 – TOOK SHAPE AFTER AN 18-MONTH PLANNING PROCESS.

By Sharon Dion, director of communications

STRATEGIC PRIORITY ONE

STRATEGIC PRIORITY TWO

Improving the Student Experience

Empowering Our People

STRATEGIC PRIORITY THREE

STRATEGIC PRIORITY FOUR

Strengthening Our Community

Stewarding Our Resources

All members of the Saints community were invited to share feedback, and more than 900 contributed thoughts and reflections via survey. A strategic planning committee, with seven task force groups, was formed to analyze and evaluate the survey feedback and propose new recommendations. Board of Governors member Karen Welch served as chair for the strategic planning committee and led the process. “I’m so proud of the work everyone did to create a vision that builds on St. Christopher’s strong past and positions the School and our boys to thrive in the future,” Welch said.

The process was interrupted when COVID-19 hit. Chairman of the Board Thomas Valentine ‘76 recalls: “In March 2020, as we met to finalize the plan, the world was in disarray. We were faced with an unforeseen pandemic, severe social unrest and economic uncertainty. Given this, we paused and reviewed the plan to ensure that we had covered all of these issues sufficiently. We were happy to conclude that every underpinning pillar of the plan acknowledged, addressed and was empathetic toward the severe headwinds that were before us.”

The result comes in the form of four main priorities for the next five years. These include improving the student experience, empowering our people, strengthening our community and stewarding our resources. “I am pleased that the primary drivers of this forward-looking plan contain all of the tenets that St. Christopher’s was founded on – empathy toward one another, stewardship of our School’s resources, the well-being of our boys, faculty and staff, and ensuring affordability for generations to come,” Valentine said.

The focus now turns toward implementation. Work is already underway on several key projects. The School kicked off a JK-12 curriculum inclusivity audit to ensure that Saints of the 2020s and beyond enter the world with a broad perspective of history, culture and literature. The inaugural director of the arts, Kerry Court, joins this summer to strengthen and expand existing arts programming and curricula. A recently assembled task force is starting to articulate the portrait of a graduate, so that every family and boy knows what they should expect from a St. Christopher’s education. Headmaster Mason Lecky said, “While many of these initiatives will be lengthy, some with a two-to-three year time horizon, I am thrilled that we have already made great progress on several key items. I am energized and enthusiastic about the future for St. Christopher’s!”

To explore the strategic plan in detail, please visit stchristophers.com/momentum-2025.

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THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF BOYS

VISION To be a global thought leader in best practices for educating boys, serving as a resource for educators and parents seeking expertise in raising boys

MISSION

CORE VALUES

Reflecting St. Christopher’s commitment to being a global leader in educating boys, The Center for the Study of Boys is dedicated to promoting best practices in engaging and teaching boys through research, professional development and programming.

• We respect, understand and value the complexity and uniqueness of boys.

• We provide opportunities for educators, parents and the boys themselves to understand and reflect on their own journeys to manhood and to learn from the journeys of others.

• We seek to understand the experiences of boys first and foremost through the boys’ voices, and we honor the boys’ contributions to the work of the center.

• We value partnerships with educators from around the world, knowing through this work we will address issues facing boys.

Photos (top left): A panel of Upper School faculty shares their perspective and experiences as part of The Center for the Study of Boys’ speaker series this spring. (above): A global collaboration of fifth grade boys conduct a mini-research project on technology and friendships.

Top: Derek Porter. Bottom: Kim Hudson and Laura Sabo

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Launching Now: A Revamped Website The Center for the Study of Boys website (educatingboys.com) has a new look and new content.

Check out the work of our Saints action researchers, peruse the abundance of resources on understanding, educating and raising boys, and read the latest blog post from Dr. David Shin, Middle School science teacher, about his research using virtual reality to promote teacher empathy.

New Responsibilities: Laura Sabo and Derek Porter A screenshot of the center’s new website.

St. Christopher’s Strategic Plan, Momentum 2025, calls for The Center for the Study of Boys’ role to further support the School’s aspiration to be a global leader in educating boys. An important step toward helping us achieve this goal is the appointment of Librarian Laura Sabo and History Teacher Derek Porter as research coordinators. They will maintain their important teaching roles in the Lower and Middle Schools, respectively, but will have dedicated time in our center. Both bring extensive experience and expertise in educational research to help guide our faculty in identifying and articulating what works best in reaching and teaching boys through our new program, Saints Research Fellows.

A New Research Initiative Since its inception in 2015, the Saints Action Research team has trained, guided and supported 30 faculty members in conducting research to further scholarship and pedagogy for best practices for boys. With a pause in intake due to the pandemic, team leaders took time to reflect on successes and challenges, review objectives and plan for the future. In March, we launched Saints Research Fellows. With a goal of growing a culture of teachers as researchers who are experts in the ways boys learn best, the program will promote best practices, curate resources, participate in scholarly discussions with educators around the world, and conduct and share research. Through a rigorous process, the following faculty members were selected to serve in the inaugural Saints Research Fellows cohort: Third Grade Teacher Cynthia Brown, Middle School Science Teacher Kyle Burnette, Extended Day and Upper School Spanish Teacher Gracie Cuevas, First Grade Teacher Paula Marks, Upper School English Teacher Emily Nason, Middle School Resource Teacher Claudia Segneri and Second Grade Teacher Hayden Vick.

Boys play games on the Terraces as part of the center’s Journeys to Manhood program this spring.

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AROUND CAMPUS

The Arts at StC 1. Middle School Strings Brian Evans directs a group of budding Middle School musicians in the Recital Hall.

2. Woodworking Hayes Brumley ‘26 shows off his finished wooden bowl.

3. Senior Art Project Christian Johnson ’21 stands in a gallery within the Arts Center, where 41 of his works were on display this spring in the exhibit “Richmond Captured,” which included photographs of the protests in Richmond last summer.

4. Jazz Band Upper School Jazz Band, led by John Winn, performs.

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5. Virtual Outré Outré, the Middle School theater company, presented “Dahl House,” a collection of monologues based on the works of Roald Dahl, in January, and “Frozen,” a virtual performance shared in April. Pictured here is Winston Morris ‘25 in “Frozen.”

6. Mosaics: Art and History combined As part of a yearly tradition, boys in Mrs. Kuhlen’s second grade class recognize Black historical and cultural figures, creating mosaic portraits of mathematician Katherine Johnson, who worked for NASA, and golf icon Tiger Woods.

7. Beaux Ties Teddy Bannister ‘21 performs “Live Like You Were Dying” with the Beaux Ties, StC’s Upper School a cappella group.

8. Lower School Strings Young musicians perform in the Lower School gym.

9. Digital Self Portraits Lower School Art Teacher Meg Foster helped boys combine creativity with tech and design skills to create digital self-portraits.

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10. Middle School Self Portraits Tate Wilson ‘25’s finished product, a self-portrait tradition in Middle School Art Teacher Marshall Ware’s class.

11. Oil Pastel

By Briggs Ireland ‘24

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The Arts at StC

Ampersand Moves to Radio Production of “A Christmas Carol”

By Killian Winn ’22 This year’s fall musical was a little different, to say the least.

With the coronavirus dismantling last year’s spring play, I don’t think many expected us to be able to do anything in the fall, as the number of new cases and deaths was only increasing. In true Ampersand fashion, however, we managed to find a way to get it done, even if it was a little rough around the edges and strange to us at times.

Since the circumstances demanded masks and social distancing, a performance on stage was out of the question, but Ms. Jan Guarino, Mr. Maury Hancock, Mr. Greg Vick and Mr. J.D. Jump all worked very hard to produce a radio play, “A Christmas Carol.”

Things were very difficult at first, because normally we would have facial expressions, movements, gestures and tone of voice to act out a character, but these four elements were reduced to one. It’s rather challenging for actors to convey emotion through just their voice. We practiced reading lines from various shows to experiment with how to make characters seem real using only our voices.

The parts were cast and we rehearsed three times a week, sitting socially distanced at tables in the LLC playhouse, reading through scenes and trying to extrapolate the best out of each. Not ideal circumstances, but we certainly made the best of what we had.

One upside to the whole thing was that we could read the scripts without having to memorize dozens of lines.

Killian Winn ‘22

When it came time to actually record the play, J.D. and the techies set up an elaborate mic system outside on the LLC patio, where there was enough room for everyone to be 10 feet apart so the actors could record with masks off. The recording process took about three days for lines and about two for recording the carols. Aside from the occasional car horn mid-recording, things went smoothly. After everything was mixed and the sound effects added, it was something that could make us all proud.

Killian Winn ‘22 has performed in many productions for Ampersand, the joint theater Upper School company of St. Christopher’s and St. Catherine’s. He played the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in this fall’s “A Christmas Carol.”

Check out the recording of the play here: http://www.ampersandstc.com/a-christmas-carol-2020.

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Ampersand Revamps Approach due to COVID

By Drew Brown ’21 As with everything else this past year, Ampersand completely revamped how it operated. Gone are the days of squeezing patrons into sold-out one-act performances and students crowded around a plastic table hoping for a slice of pizza at weekly fundraisers.

Drew Brown ‘21 in the wood and metal shop

Rather than giving up and dwelling on what we could not have, Ampersand forged ahead. The actors spent time that would normally be for rehearsals developing their skills with directors Rusty Wilson and Jan Guarino. On the technical side of things, we spent the first few weeks of school learning about the different parts of theater design and production. Then we began improving the wood and metal shop at St. Catherine’s. After cleaning it up, we set up tents in the shop yard to serve as extra work areas.

Ampersand Faculty Advisor J.D. Jump took the time to teach freshmen about electricity and how to wire circuits and plugs.

Director of Theater Maury Hancock taught everyone who was willing to learn how to weld. Personally, I had not touched a welder since my freshman year, so this was a great opportunity to relearn the skill. With multiple welders now up and running, students are working on a multitude of projects to benefit the shop, including constructing shelves, tables and wood carts.

Being a senior, it has been hard to watch as Ampersand productions have been stolen away from me. I have many great memories from productions of the past. From the late nights during tech week to stressful days at the shop, I have enjoyed every moment.

Peter Huff ‘23 in a one act performance

We found hope, however, with our spring production of several in person one-act performances. Actors performed on the Luck Leadership Center platform to a small, socially distant audience.

While there were not many technical aspects to these shows, everyone involved was still able to feel the buzz of live performance. For us seniors in Ampersand, these one acts gave us one last chance to work together and make something beautiful.

Drew Brown ’21 has participated in Ampersand’s tech crew since freshman year. He will attend New York University this fall to pursue a degree in interactive media arts.

Teddy Price ‘23 performs in a spring one act play outside the Luck Leadership Center.

SUMMER 2021 | 33

2020-2021 SPORTS

2020-21 Sports Round Up Perseverance in a Pandemic COVID-19 took a toll on the fall and winter sports seasons, but some teams were able to compete with modifications.

FALL SPORTS

WINTER SPORTS

Cross Country: The boys competed in several events and finished the season 8-0. No postseason competitions were held.

Basketball: The team held an intramural league in February before having three interscholastic games, finishing the season 2-1.

Football: Varsity football competed in 7-on-7 in the fall, then had an abbreviated three-game schedule in March, highlighted by a 39-0 victory over St. Anne’s-Belfield School under the lights in Charlottesville.

Indoor Track: Indoor track held three intramural meets, highlighted by Jayden Smith ’21’s recordsetting 55-meter hurdle performance in the third and final meet.

Soccer: Varsity soccer had four games in the fall, some with modifications, and three more traditional games in March, finishing 6-1, including Jay Wood’s 400th victory as head soccer coach.

Swimming: Swimming took part in two intrasquad meets and compared their times with other competitors in the Prep League and VISAA. Aubrey Bowles ’21 was Prep League and VISAA champ in the 500-yard freestyle. The 200-medley relay team of Bowles, Will Stevens ’21, Brandon Moore ’23 and Emory Wise ’21 was also tops in the Prep League.

Futsal, squash and wrestling did not compete with other schools.

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SPRING SPORTS Baseball: Varsity baseball compiled an impressive 22-1-1 overall record, going a perfect 10-0 and winning the Prep League championship, its fourth straight title. The team was ranked first in the state poll all year and finished as VISAA runner-up. Griffin O’Ferrall ‘21 was named Prep League player and VISAA co-player of the year, and Coach Tony Szymendera earned Prep League and VISAA coach of the year. Harrison Coble ‘21, Curtis Hale ‘21, Cam Nuckols ‘22 and Carter Schmitt ‘22 were also named All-Prep.

Golf: Varsity golf finished with a record of 8-4. The team finished fourth in the Prep League tournament, but responded the next week by finishing third in the VISAA tourney. JJ Powell ‘23 earned All-Prep and All-State status, and August Lange ‘24 was All-Prep.

Lacrosse: Varsity lacrosse posted an 11-2 record, including a 10-game win streak, and went undefeated in league play on its way to the Prep League championship, led by Prep League and VISAA player of the year Chase Mullins ’21. Kent Goode ‘22 and Spalding Hall ‘21 also were named All-Prep and All-State. Jack McCoy ‘22 and Gaines Weis ‘21 were named All-Prep. The team was ranked third in the state and lost a tough contest in the VISAA semifinals 10-7 to eventual champion Episcopal High School.

Outdoor Track: Coming off a 4-2 regular-season record, outdoor track finished as runner-up in the Prep League and VISAA meets. Ford Clark ’23 won the 3200-meter run at Preps. Jayden Smith ’21 was named MVP of the Prep League after winning the triple jump and 110- and 300-meter hurdles. Smith was named running MVP at VISAA, again taking the 110- and 300-meter hurdles and placing second in the triple jump. Mike Hawkins ‘21 was state runnerup in the pole vault.

Tennis: Throughout the past two years of competition, 2019 and 2021, the varsity tennis team has not lost a match. This year they went 13-0, winning the Prep League and VISAA titles. Saints No. 1 player Will Thompson ’22 was named Prep League and VISAA player of the year, and Coach Richard Peyton was named coach of the year in the Prep League and VISAA. Talman Ramsey ’21, Brendon Engel ’23 and Evan Fisher ’23 each earned All-Prep and All-State honors. Jake Kuhlen ’23 was All-Prep.

Compiled by Stephen Lewis, director of sports information

SUMMER 2021 | 35

Hugo Abbot

Wyatt Abell

Teddy Bannister

Pete Bell

Joe Blaszak

Sammy Boggs

Aubrey Bowles

Gibson Bowles

Knight Bowles

Robbie Boykin

Drew Brown

Foster Bundy

Jahlique Carlyle

Evan Carpenter

Class of 2021 Jack Cinella

Adam Clark

Harrison Coble

Brooks Council

Brandon Davis

Ryan Dugan

Henry Edmunds

Will Farrell

Luke Fergusson

Cabell Fleet

Timmy Gordinier

Curtis Hale

Oliver Hale

Spalding Hall

Robert Hancock

Mike Hawkins

William Hayes

Cleighton Hilbert

Charlie Holdaway

Taylor Jefferson

Christian Johnson

John Jordan

Jake Keeling

Case Kump

Connor Lamb

Colter Lanois

Morey Levy

Coley Lynch

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Christian Matthews

Cabell Meadows

Robert Mish

Chase Mullins

Miles Mullins

Griffin O’Ferrall

Jack Omohundro

Braxton Page

Edward Pasco

Ben Pawlik

Willem Peters

Henry Poarch

Charlie Polk

Jake Ramsey

Talman Ramsey

Erik Roggie

Colin Royal

Kevin Schork

Harrison Schroeder

Jayden Smith

Nash Steed

Forrester Sterling

Will Stevens

Cooper Stovall

Mason Street

Mac Suskind

Collin Taylor

Luke Thomas

Evan Thompson

Harrison Tompkins

Caleb Vath

Spencer Villanueva

Max Wallace

Robert Walmsley

Nick Washington

Henry Weatherford

Gaines Weis

Baird Weisleder

Weston Williams

Emory Wise

Riley Wood

Coleman Wray

SUMMER 2021 | 37

FINAL PROGRAM 2021 | LOWER SCHOOL

LOWER SCHOOL AWARDS DOROTHY M. BUGG MEMORIAL AWARD Miko Aboutanos ’30 ALBA WHITE MEMORIAL AWARD Alan Foster ’29 WILLIAM ADAMS PINDER AWARD Aksel Nordin ’29 WILLIAM S. GRIFFITH PRIZE FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE Landon Hottinger ’29 THOMAS NELSON PAGE PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION Will Baruch HELEN SHEPHERD MUSIC AWARD Brendan Cosby ANDREW BEIRNE BLAIR AWARD FOR LOYALTY AND BEST SPIRIT IN ATHLETICS Sidney Hetherington and Lawler Wherry DUFFEY AWARD FOR LEADERSHIP IN ATHLETICS Adam Bishara and EJ Johnson SCIENCE AWARD Lawson Knier SPANISH AWARD Arjun Anand GEORGE SQUIRES LITERARY AWARDS Writing | Zavier Lanneau ’29 (first prize); Jack Van der Waag ’29 and Emory Ruffner (second prize); Dylan Bartlow ’29 and Sam Keightley ’29 (third prize); Teddy Ryan ’31 and James Donaldson ’31 (fourth prize); Kirby Saunders ’32 (fifth prize); Will Beath ’32, Mrs. Mathews’ and Mrs. Partee’s first grade class; Lake Curry ’29 (honorable mentions) Visual Arts | Charlie Branch ’29 (first prize); Bennett Krusen (second prize); Eddie Sowers ’31 and Hunt Melton ’31 (third prize) HENRY J. TOBLER MEMORIAL AWARD FOR ART Liam Dunn OLIVIA HARDY BLACKWELL AWARD Tripp Schnell and Elliott Pellumbi BEATTIE MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR LEADERSHIP Tal Horton HIGHEST ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT Stanton Czajkowski and Stephens Rabb NORMA ALLEY FACULTY PRIZE Meg Foster, art teacher and Maggie Jones, fourth grade teacher HAWKINS HIDEAWAY FACULTY AWARD Jess Richards, Learning Commons instructional technologist ANDREW JACKSON BOLLING III FACULTY AWARD Ann Carlson, fourth grade teacher 38 | StC Magazine

All prize winners are members of the Class of 2028 unless otherwise noted.

“I love how you ask interesting questions such as: Have you ever tried something huge by yourself and failed? Have you ever imagined what the world would be like without currency? Did you know that playing video games with friends and understanding graphic design can make a person more socially confident? And have you ever thought about how parents feel when you say thank you? “... You have passions for music, art, history, space, protecting animals, sports, and you do not like it when people litter. You have shown me that even though you don’t like the feeling of disappointment and sorrow, you realize that if you don’t take risks you will not grow.

“I watched countless light bulbs go off and saw the looks on your faces when you proudly stood on the red dot in the Lower School auditorium. Thank you for your leadership and for reminding me that ‘sometimes it makes a difference to just take a breath.’”

— Dr. Sarah Mansfield, interim Head of Lower School

SUMMER 2021 | 39

FINAL PROGRAM 2021 | MIDDLE SCHOOL

“... I have been working hard to see if I could find a loophole in our advancement policy since you all had to spend seventh grade spring trimester in the virtual world. I was hoping to find a way to require you all to have to return to the Middle School for one more year or at least another trimester. Our Middle School faculty actually felt a bit cheated that our time with you was cut short last year. With that said, you all were the perfect class to take on the leadership of the Middle School in this difficult year. You all met every challenge, accepted every new protocol, and rolled with the new normal in an amazing way. You rarely complained, and set the tone for the building.”

— Warren Hunter, Head of Middle School

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MIDDLE SCHOOL AWARDS ROBERT W. BUGG AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CITIZENSHIP IN GRADE EIGHT Dougie Boardman MONICA FRISCHKORN WENZEL MEMORIAL SERVICE AWARD Colby Wallace ART AWARD Cade Collingwood ATHLETIC AWARD Alex Gertner DRAMA AWARD Nicholas Meyers T. FOSTER ‘46 AND ANN WITT ENGLISH PRIZE Wally Jones and Nicholas Meyers T. FOSTER ‘46 AND ANN WITT HISTORY PRIZE Jack Seel DULANEY WARD FRENCH PRIZE Harris Wolfe LATIN PRIZE Leo Morfopoulos FRANKLIN AND GRACE MULLINAX MATHEMATICS AWARD Sterling Burke and Alex Gertner MUSIC AWARD Ben Butterfield and Brad Wallace SARA WHALEY FORSYTHE MEMORIAL SCIENCE PRIZE Beauford Mathews and Noah Switzer BENJAMIN BRISCOE WHITE MEMORIAL SPANISH PRIZE Dougie Boardman WOODWORKING AWARD Liam Kurzawa CENTENNIAL CITIZENSHIP AWARDS Grade 6: O’Neal Avery, Loch Macfarlane, LT Nguyen, William Sterling Grade 7: Elisha Asare, Lukas Gordinier, Victor Olesen, Eric Pendlebury Grade 8: Patteson Branch, Wally Jones, Nicholas Meyers, Harris Wolfe, Kylen Zollinhofer ANDREW JACKSON BOLLING III FACULTY AWARD Derek Porter, history teacher All prize winners are members of the Class of 2025 unless otherwise noted.

SUMMER 2021 | 41

COMMENCEMENT 2021 | UPPER SCHOOL

COMMENCEMENT 2021 “So now, as members of the Class of 2021, you have come of age and become young men amidst a pandemic without precedent in over a century. You have endured hardship and loss, even if perhaps mild when compared to fighting in a world war or combatting communism. You have a shared experience with teenagers and young adults all over this world, one that will undoubtedly shape your worldview and perspective for decades to come.

“You have met that challenge head on and not only survived, but you have thrived.

I am confident that this challenge will only enable you to face the next challenge, whatever it may be, with confidence and conviction that you can adapt, endure, and overcome. Be grateful, gentlemen, for the deprivations of these past 15 months, for they have forged in you a strength that may not have otherwise emerged.

“And it has forged in all of us, the adults in this community, a gratitude and admiration for all of you that we will not soon forget.”

— Mason Lecky, Upper School Commencement opening remarks

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SUMMER 2021 | 43

COMMENCEMENT 2021 | UPPER SCHOOL

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UPPER SCHOOL AWARDS WILLIAM M. HILL JR. ’73 MEMORIAL AWARD Cleighton Hilbert RAY MERCER “BUCK” PAUL III ‘06 MEMORIAL AWARD Christian Johnson WILLIAM CARTER BOWLES JR. ’56 MEMORIAL MUSIC PRIZE Drew Brown DOUGLASS P. GRIFFITH PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN MATHEMATICS Edward Pasco SCHOOL PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN DRAMA Drew Brown SCHOOL PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN ART Christian Johnson SCHOOL PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN ENGLISH Edward Pasco SCHOOL PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN SPANISH LANGUAGE Weston Williams SCHOOL PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN SPANISH LITERATURE Morey Levy SCHOOL PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE Evan Carpenter SCHOOL PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE Hugo Abbot SCHOOL PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN HISTORY Drew Brown and Mike Hawkins MOORE PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN FRENCH Cooper Stovall E.W. BOSWORTH LATIN PRIZE Miles Mullins SCHOOL SPIRIT OF CHALLENGE PRIZE Jahlique Carlyle, Coley Lynch, Spencer Villanueva, Riley Wood

THE REV. MELISSA K. HOLLERITH PRIZE FOR SERVICE, COMMUNITY BUILDING AND INCLUSION Nash Steed CHARLES M. STILLWELL PRIZE FOR LEADERSHIP Drew Brown HEADMASTER’S PRIZE Curtis Hale, Morey Levy and Robert Mish ALEXANDER MCNEILL CARRINGTON ’41 MEMORIAL AWARD Colin Royal JOHN NEWTON GRAY ’35 MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR OUTSTANDING LOYALTY Jayden Smith DASHIELL MEMORIAL PRIZE Edward Pasco IRVING H. BLACKWELL MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR HIGH DEVOTION TO THE HONOR AND TRADITIONS OF ST. CHRISTOPHER’S SCHOOL Edward Pasco WILLIAM CABELL BROWN PRIZE FOR CHARACTER AND ABILITY Coleman Wray JOSEPH BRYAN MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR LEADERSHIP Mac Suskind ANDREW JACKSON BOLLING III FACULTY AWARD Dr. Ann Vanichkachorn, director of health services ARMSTRONG-JENNINGS AWARD The Rev. Durk Steed, Middle School chaplain CARL J. KOENIG PRIZE FOR FACULTY EXCELLENCE Mr. Greg Vick, director of Upper School choral music *All prize winners are members of the Class of 2021 unless otherwise noted.

SUMMER 2021 | 45

COMMENCEMENT 2021 | LEGACIES

LEGACIES

Front row: Cliff Fleet ’61, Cabell Fleet, Mason Street, Colin Royal, Harrison Schroeder, Gibson Bowles, Robert Hancock, Luke Fergusson, Mac Suskind, Weston Williams; Second row: Jack Street ’53, John Street ’88, Frank Royal ’86, Cliff Schroeder ’86, Churchill Bowles ’88, Billy Hancock ’68, John Fergusson ’81, Greg Suskind ’90, Jamie Williams ’81

Front row: Robert Walmsley, John Jordan, Foster Bundy, Luke Thomas, William Hayes, Sammy Boggs, Griffin O’Ferrall, Max Wallace, Harrison Tompkins, Spalding Hall, Knight Bowles, Aubrey Bowles; Second row: Pierce Walmsley ’58, Pierce Walmsley ’83, Charlie Caravati ’55, Walter Bundy ’86, John Thomas ’79, Jeff Hayes ’84, Chris Boggs ’89, Ren O’Ferrall ’85, Gordon Wallace ’55, Maxwell Wallace ’91, Taylor Tompkins ’86, Hoppy Ancarrow ’63, Russell Bowles ’77

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2020-2021 SPORTS

Athletic Awards

BUERLEIN DISTANCE RUNNING AWARD Knight Bowles

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING AWARD Braxton Page, Christian Johnson and Colin Royal

HUGH BRENAMAN FOOTBALL AWARD Teddy Bannister and John Jordan

VOICE OF THE SAINTS AWARD Aubrey Bowles

ANNA P. GOODALE SOCCER AWARD Curtis Hale

MONOGRAM AWARD Knight Bowles

JAMES W. PROFFITT ’48 BASKETBALL AWARD Riley Wood

ROBERT WILLIAMS HERZOG AWARD Edward Pasco

FUTSAL AWARD Curtis Hale

JAMES TURNER SLOAN II ’40 AWARD Talman Ramsey and Riley Wood

RANDOLPH BURWELL CARDOZO JR. ’74 TRACK AWARD Jayden Smith

BRADFORD ALLEN PARRISH ’91 AWARD Knight Bowles and Cleighton Hilbert

SQUASH AWARD Robert Mish SWIMMING & DIVING AWARD Aubrey Bowles

TALMADGE ABBITT DUPRIEST ’91 AWARD Aubrey Bowles NELSON HILL HOTCHKISS JR. ’70 AWARD John Jordan and Morey Levy

E. OTTO N. WILLIAMS ’27 WRESTLING TROPHY Kevin Schork

ATHLETIC DIRECTOR’S AWARD FOR COMPETITIVE EXCELLENCE Timmy Gordinier, Jake Keeling, Chase Mullins, Erik Roggie

JOHN R. BRINSER BASEBALL AWARD Griffin O’Ferrall and Harrison Coble

JOHN T. SIEGEL ’57 MEMORIAL PRIZE Jayden Smith

HARRY W. EASTERLY JR. ’40 GOLF AWARD Gibson Bowles and Taylor Jefferson

SLATER PRIZE Curtis Hale

C. BRAXTON VALENTINE ’41 LACROSSE AWARD Spalding Hall

DAVENPORT TROPHY Griffin O’Ferrall

OUTDOOR TRACK AWARD Jayden Smith

ALBERT LUCK “PETEY JACOBS” MEMORIAL AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED COACHING John Burke

BART JAN LAVERGE ’57 TENNIS AWARD Talman Ramsey

*All prize winners are members of the Class of 2021 unless otherwise noted.

SUMMER 2021 | 47

CLASS NOTES Are you interested in becoming a class scribe? We are recruiting alumni to help us gather news twice a year. If interested, or you have news to share, contact Jennifer Scallon: scallonj@stcva.org.

1930s 1938

home — no matter how foreign — and fighting for it with all you’ve got. Not only did Smith love the Spitfire aircraft, his true gift was how he lived his life: fiercely determined and passionate, a real spitfire.”

on the water, at the beach, and trying to catch a slow moving ‘Carolina Girl’ to enjoy beach music with!”

All profits for the book sales go to the Supermarine Spitfire Historical Society in London.

Knox Hubard caught up on the golf course with Chip Vaughan, Pat Branch and Tyler Harris and had a nice conversation with Kirk Materne, who still hangs out in sunny Florida.

1950s 1959 Jack Williams celebrated a milestone birthday this year, surrounded by loved ones, including son Lang ‘89, who graduated from St. Christopher’s 30 years to the day after his dad.

Parke Smith died in 2013 at age 93, but his remarkable story as a pilot in the British Royal Air Force during World War II is now finding a new audience. In his honor, his children have revived a memoir that he wrote in the 1990s, added stories that Smith had left out of the earlier version, as well as photos, and published it anew as “Spitfire: An American WWII Fighter Pilot in the RAF.” Jack Williams ’59 celebrates his 80th birthday with family.

1960s

1965

1967 Dick Carrington writes: “Back in the pre-COVID era, I entered a new age group for national squash competitions. Most of my body was over 70 years old, but I had a prosthetic hip replacement as well as an artificial knee which were relatively new. Returning to competition, I wasn’t sure what to expect from my opponents. I knew I had lost a step when I played with the young guys at my club, but playing people my own age could be a different story — and it was. I traveled to New York and won the Eastern States Squash Championships in the 70-75 division and defeated the current year’s national champion in the process. In conclusion, after a certain age, prosthetics work better than the natural joints of my opponents. The advances of medical science made me feel like the Bo Jackson of 70-year-olds.”

1964 Twins Jim and Preston Smith ’72 hold a painting featuring a Spitfire similar to the one their father flew.

Smith flew 129 missions in North Africa and Italy and over the North Sea. Amazon’s description of the book: “Amazingly, blessedly, he made it home, unlike so many of his friends and comrades. It is to them he dedicated his writing. Smith’s war stories are only the half of it. Smith is skilled at conveying the human connection and camaraderie that forms in war’s trenches and skies. He has a way of revealing enduring universal truths through anecdotes made even more humorous from his perspective as a total outsider.

Ultimately, Smith’s is a story about finding 48 | StC Magazine

CLASS SCRIBES Thomas “Bumby” Cary Gresham ‘64 fenwayfan1952@hotmail.com Harry “Le” Leland Frazier Jr. ‘64 lighthorsesh@verizon.net Coley Wortham was honored with the Enduring Philanthropic Partner Award at the virtual National Philanthropy Day 2020 event, which took place Nov. 19. He was recognized for his work with the Children’s Hospital Foundation.

George Scott just moved to Beaufort, North Carolina, which he describes as “the nicest seaside town on the whole East Coast.” He’s working in the boat business and emailed that he plans “to spend time

Dick Carrington ‘67 (right) celebrates a squash victory against his opponent Teft Smith.

Harry Harris was elected president of the Kiwanis Club of Richmond for 2020–2021.

The 145-member club, which is part of Kiwanis International, serves the metropolitan area by contributing the time and talents of the club membership and financial resources to improve the lives of children in Richmond.

1968 Ralph Caldroney spoke at the Roger Mudd Center for Ethics series in February about ethics in the context of COVID-19. After a long career in internal medicine and eight years in the Army Reserves, he currently works part-time with the Carilion Clinic in Buena Vista, Virginia.

After successfully completing a $10 million capital campaign for the Richmond Ballet, Billy Hancock reentered private business as a principal in several startups, including Seaspray LLC (Florida residential rental condos), Gayton Park LLC (Richmond office parks) and Sarasota Bay Delivery LLC, a FedEx franchise. Hancock has enjoyed competing in platform tennis with Rob Long ‘06 and Brad Sauer ‘99, sons of former schoolmates Bobby Long ‘68 and Brad Sauer ‘70. Hancock and his wife Austin are enjoying watching the evolution of their five children: Claiborne ‘92, a publisher in New York City; James ‘95, a film producer in NYC; Carter, a clothing designer in NYC and Richmond; Robert ‘21 and Charles ‘23. They have five grandchildren: Archer, Claiborne ‘33, Janie Johnston, William and David Hancock.

1970s 1972 Andrew Herzog was selected Super Lawyer and one of the National Top 100 Trial Lawyers. He retired from the military and earned a Master of Science in international relations in 1994, before going to law school on the GI Bill and graduating in 1997. He has been practicing law ever since, with a specialty in traumatic brain injury.

1973 Sam Bemiss is the new chief financial officer of Rampart Communications.

market, automation and its online presence, the company is growing an average of 10% every year. In 2020, it was up 70% year-to-date at the time of publication.

Stanley Tucker and his wife Cynthia welcomed their first grandchild, Charlotte Grace Wilkinson, July 14, 2020. He reports that Mom Campbell, Dad Tyler and Charlotte are all doing great!

Stanley Tucker ‘76 with his granddaughter

Tommy Thompson launched his first book, “Space to Breathe Again: Hope for the Overloaded and Overwhelmed,” last fall. It’s available on Amazon, e-book and audiobook, as well as his website www. tommythompson.org. Amazon describes the book as “filled with compelling true stories, practical lessons, and insightful applications,” saying the author shares tools to help us “move from continuous distraction to focused contentment.”

Sam Bemiss ‘73 Steps Down from Alumni Board Sam Bemiss ’73 relocated to his hometown in 1996 from Northern Virginia, soon becoming involved with his alma mater, joining the Alumni Board in 1998.

He stepped up as president in 2003, a position he left this summer.

In that role, he served as StC alumni’s lead representative, retaining a seat on the Board of Governors and Foundation Board.

Headmaster Mason Lecky appreciates his thoughtful and informed perspective as both an alumnus and parent, describing him as a principled man, “always focused on the long view and the best interests of the entire Saints community, not just one or two components.” Lecky remembers bus trips to Washington, D.C., for alumni events and listening intently to roaring discussions with teaching legend Ron Smith, where “Sam more than held his own, no simple feat.”

Alumni Director Davis Wrinkle ’81 describes him as arguably the most involved alumnus he’s worked with in terms of time and energy, “always rolling up his sleeves, always at the ready.”

Bemiss is known for his warm and welcoming spirit, humor, thoughtfulness and for being a good listener, defining strengths in the Alumni Board’s role as ambassador to the Saints community at large. He passed the baton to Tripp Taliaferro ‘97 July 1. Taliaferro, president and chief investment officer of Tower 3 Investments LLC, praises his predecessor’s passion for St. Christopher’s and willingness to embrace change.

Sam Bemiss’ four children are Saints: Charlotte ‘14 (St. Catherine’s) Jeb ’16, Willy ’17 and Eli ’20.

1976 Briscoe White and his online nursery The Growers Exchange were featured as the cover story in a 2020 issue of Greenhouse Management. By focusing on a niche Sam Bemiss ‘73

Tripp Taliaferro ‘97

SUMMER 2021 | 49

CLASS NOTES 1977 “You want the things that you did to benefit the people behind you.”

— Walter Lindsey ‘75

Remembering Walter Lindsey ’75 Walter Lindsey ’75, the first Black student to graduate from St. Christopher’s, died Feb. 9.

Richard Taylor moved to La Jolla, California, 20 years ago with his family.

He has visited more than 125 countries, much of the time off the grid. During the pandemic, his adventures continued with hiking in Dominica, Jamaica, Nuka Hiva in French Polynesia and the Ennedi Desert region of Chad, where he hung out with nomadic people. He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, visited Zanzibar, explored caves in Belize, toured the countryside in El Salvador, hiked hear volcanoes in Nicaragua and Guatemala, traveled on Lake Nicaragua and visited the jungles of Northern Paraguay. Taylor trekked to Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo in May, where he hiked with a pygmy tribe to a forbidden lake the pygmies hold sacred.

After graduating from St. Christopher’s, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and General Motors Institute in Detroit, before finishing at Liberty University. He worked at Bank of America, Capital One and the Virginia Retirement System.

His list of accomplishments is long: playing semi-pro football in Canada; participating in local and regional theater; writing numerous books and plays; appearing in more than 200 radio and television commercials; and advocating for Parkinson’s disease.

Upper School English Teacher Ron Smith got to know Lindsey when he took his Modern Drama trimester elective: “Big as he was, he was mild, truly humble and sort of relentlessly grateful for his teacher’s work with him.” Smith describes him as a good writer and listener, smart, verbally talented and thoughtful.

Mark Powell ’75 remembers his last meeting with Lindsey over lunch: “We had a good long conversation about the book he was writing and how he wanted very badly to see it finished. He spoke of his deep religious beliefs and unwavering commitment to his religion. Even though he was physically challenged by his 12-year bout with Parkinson’s disease, his attitude toward life and religion was still positive, as was his unwavering love and appreciation for his sisters who took such good care of him. He was very thankful for his time spent at StC so many years ago and the many experiences and relationships he was able to forge over three years. He was still the gentle giant.”

At Lindsey’s funeral, classmate Rusty Stark ’75 wrote a eulogy that Tom Baker ’75 delivered on his behalf: “Please understand, no one at our school was yelling epithets or making threats or causing overt problems. The real challenge was that everyone and everything was just so different for him. He was scrutinized to see how he would fit in. He was watched to see if he could handle the classwork. He was in rooms filled with fellow students who had been at St. Chris for 10 years and had every possible advantage in education and society going for them. And he did fit in. He did excel. He was simply one of us. He lived his truth.”

The Pine Needle wrote a feature story on Lindsey in 2008. His closing quote surely spoke to his legacy: “You want the things that you did to benefit the people behind you.”

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Richard Taylor ’77 near the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa

1978 Ware Palmer has been named managing director at JP Morgan in Arlington, Virginia.

1979 Mark Brickhouse did his very first writing in Ron Smith’s English classes and has continued noodling with science fiction short stories ever since. His first published story, “The Gray Horizon,” appeared in Aurora Wolf June 1, 2020, under his pen name Zachary Taylor Branch. He continues to write alternate history stories, working on a second sale.

CLASS NOTES

1980s 1980 Members of the Class of ‘80 gathered in May to welcome fellow classmate Glenn Oken back to town.

William Tyler ’80 and his daughter Frances Tyler ’16 (St. Catherine’s) Photo Credit: Joe Mahoney/Richmond Times-Dispatch

Jay Paul ’80, Glenn Oken ’80, Wic Ware ’80 and Bill Tyson ’80

1981 Ryland Gardner aims to perfect his new role of innkeeper in Nayarit, Mexico, at Casa Gaviota, a two-bedroom house just steps from the beach and a pretty fine surf break (Burros on Surfline). To help perfect his performance, he’s offering Saints a discount on lodging. He invites others to come on down and enjoy some waves and a bit o’ chillax time on the Pacific Coast.

William Tyler ’80 in the News The Washington Post and Richmond Times-Dispatch have featured stories on William Tyler ’80. The great-grandson of President John Tyler oversees the upkeep and property of the family’s ancestral plantation, Sherwood Forest, in Charles City County.

The death of his uncle, Lyon Gardiner Tyler Jr. ’41, last September precipitated the November Post article, “The 10th president’s last surviving grandson: A bridge to the nation’s complicated past.” The article detailed the research of William’s daughter Frances, a 2016 St. Catherine’s and 2020 Georgetown University graduate, about her family’s complicated history with slavery and her work developing a slavery-focused tour of the family home and revamping its website to include what she’s learned about the enslaved people who lived there. “Frances is looking at it differently,” Tyler said in the article. “She wants to know who the people are, were there any descendants.” He added that each generation has its work, that younger people have different priorities, and he fully supports her endeavors.

In December the Richmond Times-Dispatch ran another story exploring the family’s perspective on John Tyler Community College’s decision to change its name. While Frances Tyler applauds the decision, her father takes a more sympathetic view of the former president as a man of “values and morals, who stuck to his principles even when his own political party defied him.” Tyler said he doesn’t understand the need for changing the college’s name, but he believes his daughter’s opinion is more important than his own because her generation is the future.

Ryland Gardner ‘81 enjoys the waves.

Continued on page 54

SUMMER 2021 | 51

CLASS NOTES

National Security Lawyer Delves into Crossword Creation

By Kathleen Thomas

BRAD WIEGMANN ’84 WAS NEVER A CROSSWORD JUNKIE, BUT FOUND THEM A RELAXING DIVERSION FROM TIME TO TIME. HE TOOK IT A STEP FURTHER IN 2019 WHEN HE LEARNED TO BUILD HIS OWN. After about 20 publishing attempts, he hit a weekend double in late February when The Wall Street Journal and New York Times each picked up one of his games. The Journal published a second puzzle a few weeks later.

The challenge, Wiegmann said, is coming up with an original theme. He tries to make his puzzles funny, often composing clever and unexpected plays on words. His first two accepted puzzles revolved around themes of nudity (e.g. “When was the nudist club founded?”: MANYMOONSAGO) and cursing (“!@#$%, look what the rabbi reeled in!”: HOLY MACKEREL).

He describes his themes as acts of desperation, finding no luck with themes of photosynthesis or Amelia Earhart: “After a bazillion submissions, I thought to myself, ‘So many great artists throughout history have featured naked people in their work. If Michelangelo could get the Sistine Chapel gig by painting a lot of nudes, maybe I could do the same in The New York Times crossword.’ As for cursing, I guess I just figured, ‘!@#$%, why not?’”

Crossword puzzle creation is no simple feat. A New York Times Sunday crossword must fit on a 21X21 letter grid; feature 180-degree rotational symmetry for the black squares; have all-over interlock, no more than 140 words and a clever theme that includes, on average, seven or more symmetrical long answers (say, nine to 21 letters each). Duplicate words or forms of the same word are prohibited. Obscure or “unpleasant” words are frowned upon.

Colorful words or phrases are encouraged.

Crossword constructors are a diverse group that includes not just some pros, but teachers, stay-at-home parents, landscapers, musicians, high school students and the occasional celebrity guest. “It’s a great thing that anyone can try their hand at,” Wiegmann said. “Until I started this, I was unaware that there’s a whole community of people out there from all walks of life who do this as a hobby.”

He hopes to keep it going. The Times pays $1,500 for 21X21 puzzles and $500 for daily 15X15 puzzles; other papers pay substantially less. Wiegmann says one downside is the monthslong delay in response after submission, given the volume of proposals papers receive.

Meanwhile, Wiegmann’s day job is deputy assistant attorney general in the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He provides advice and support on a range of national security laws, as well as policies and activities, including counterterrorism, counterespionage, intelligence issues and cyber threats. The career public servant

52 | StC Magazine

represented the Justice Department, for example, in three public congressional hearings in 2019, testifying about U.S. capabilities to fight domestic terrorism and the critical importance of secret surveillance. He previously served at the Defense Department, State Department and National Security Council.

“Brad W. may well be ... the smartest student I have ever taught. ... The computer in that boy’s head was superfast and accurate.”

— Ron Smith, Upper School English teacher and writer-in-residence

Wiegmann is appreciative for the education received at StC, where he was especially drawn to languages, including English, Latin and French. ”It was a great classical education,” said the Duke University and Harvard Law School graduate. “I always thought St. Christopher’s was more demanding than the other schools I went to. My teachers were outstanding. I’m also grateful for the friendships I made there and the really positive environment in which I grew up.”

CLASS NOTES

Continuing Education Continuing Education ACROSS 1. Blanc who voiced Daffy Duck and Porky Pig 4. Complete reversal 9. Ways around Paris and D.C. 15. The Browns, on scoreboards 16. Cab alternative?

17. What altruists think of 18. One who lives in the past but is also very goaloriented?* 20. Jail, in slang 21. Kelly of morning TV 22. "Star Wars" cantina patrons, briefly 23. Company that makes a buck on every product?

24. "CSI" facilities 26. Bass player who's had more than his share of problems?* 29. Get beaten by 30. Some jeans 31. Designer Wang 32. The "e" of i.e.

33. They may have attachments 35. Moisten, in a way 36. Expert in mass communication who may offer you a lift?* 38. Font flourish 41. Like arugula, e.g.

42. Joplin's "Maple Leaf ___" 45. Smelting waste 46. Japanese stringed instrument 47. Cancel 49. Meter reader who's a former state official?* 51. Pristina native 52. Occupation in "The Queen's Gambit" 53. Christmas tree 54. Kind of monster

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55. "Nature _____ a vacuum." -Aristotle 57. Traditional, or an apt term for the answers to 18-, 26-, 36-, and 49across, collectively 59. Classic VW 60. It catches every pitch in the majors 61. Subj. of "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" 62. Predicaments 63. Strong adhesive 64. One-on-one move, in basketball slang DOWN 1. Andrea who was Broadway's original "Annie" 2. Current events?

3. Paraded by 4. FedEx rival 5. Target of some wire-cutters

6. Apartments, in real estate lingo 7. Goes bad 8. Last in a math series 9. Roadside stops 10. Waters who sang "Stormy Weather" 11. Work featuring "a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore" 12. Moved back 13. 60 minuti 14. Tax ID 19. Whiffenpoofs' home 23. "Crime ______ pay!"

25. Dined on, formally 26. Italian treat 27. "Chances ___ . . ."

28. Veer off course 30. Frasier's ex 34. Monastery heads 35. Snoozers

36. Muckety-mucks 37. Clarence Clemons played it 38. Lithuania, once: Abbr.

39. "Don't Bring Me Down" band 40. Stock market places?

42. Square meal?

43. Perplexed 44. Mustachioed TV journalist 46. Hershey products 48. Van ____ 50. Country music's Haggard 51. Affectionate term of address 53. Kerfuffle 55. Subj. of 1972 U.S.-Sovet treaty 56. Waggle dancer 57. Rock band?

58. Aha! or arrgh!, e.g.

Brad Wiegmann ’84 created this crossword puzzle for our readers. See page 62 for answers.

SUMMER 2021 | 53

CLASS NOTES Continued from page 51

Union and what the future might hold.

Don Mancini, creator of the Child’s Play franchise, is busy working on the upcoming “Chucky” series that will air on Syfy HDTV and USA TV later this year.

1985

1983 CLASS SCRIBE Alexander Macaulay ’83 alexander@macjamlaw.com Ross Peters started a new position in July 2020 as vice president at EXPLO Elevate.

This consultancy helps schools “design, build, implement and continuously improve the environments needed for all learners to thrive now and in the future.” Peters also serves on the board of the National Association of Independent Schools and blogs about educational issues at jrosspeters.com and Elevate.explo.org. His piece, “Zombies – Undead Colleges and Schools,” starts with a great anecdote about a viewing of “Night of the Living Dead” with his middle school classmates and poses thoughtful questions for private schools and colleges to consider during COVID and post-COVID times.

In March, John Barnard (percussion) joined fellow rockers Hunter Jenkins (slide guitar), Charles Bice (acoustic guitar) and John Booker (bass guitar) for a jam session in Richmond. Maybe we can book a gig at our next reunion!

1984 Tucker Carrington, law professor at The University of Mississippi, director of the George C. Cochran Innocence Project and a member of the Curtis Flowers defense team, was the recipient of the 2020 Frederick Douglass Human Rights Award presented by The Southern Center for Human Rights.

The celebration, usually in-person in Washington, D.C., was streamed.

Guy Archer, former communications director for the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, spoke at the Richmond Women’s Club in January about the history of United States-Russian business relations since the collapse of the Soviet 54 | StC Magazine

Brian O’Donnell was promoted to senior vice president, head of commercial solutions, for Amplity Health, a pharmaceutical contract commercial organization based in Philadelphia.

1986 David Ballowe and his wife Julie are the new managing owners of RVA Driving Academy.

1990s 1993 Charles Ayers is now running the Richmond office of Dunlop & Partners, which merged with a larger engineering firm, Salas O’Brien, in December.

1994 CLASS SCRIBE Massie Ritsch ’94 massie.ritsch@gmail.com The theme of this edition of ’94 notes is “Jobs I Don’t Understand.” Let’s check in with two classmates whose professional activities couldn’t be more different from my own and, thus, are mysterious.

Alec Reynolds joined biotech incubator Flagship Pioneering in 2020, moving his family from New Jersey to the Boston area. Flagship bankrolled Moderna, developer of the vaccine that has given this class scribe resistance to COVID-19’s most harmful effects. An article profiling Flagship described the venture capital firm as having “a tolerance for failure but not for weakness.” So, probably not a workplace with a pet bereavement policy.

Anyway, SVP Reynolds and his team are identifying and investing in pioneering medicines that will be coming to a body near you. At home in Newton, Massachusetts, Reynolds and his wife Laura try to keep up with their four children: daughters Quinn (12) and Lillian (6) and sons Elliott

(11) and Arthur (2). Alec’s brother, Quentin Reynolds ’91 , and his family live nearby, in Wellesley.

Turning the spotlight back to RVA, Will Selden has been promoted to vice president at Truist, the bank that resulted from the merger of BB&T and SunTrust.

(Pour one out for defunct Virginia-based banks that shed their stodgy names in the ’80s and adopted made-up ones: Crestar…

Signet…Freshëns. OK, one of those sold frozen yogurt.) First employed by Scott & Stringfellow, Selden has always been on the financial services side of the company, in various roles over the years. Currently, he’s working on tech projects related to the conversion of Scott & Stringfellow into Truist Investment Services. Selden’s lovely mother Jane was honored in 2020 for 45 years of teaching in Henrico County.

As long as we’ve been alive, guys, Ms. Selden has been teaching biology — truly remarkable. Her son was at her side as she enjoyed a socially distant celebration on her front porch last fall, which was covered in the Times-Dispatch and mailed to me by my own mother.

1996 Zula Belle Hartley was born Feb. 17, 2021, to Heather and Reid Collier. Collier, voted “most likely to evolve into a pirate/weird fisherman,” is happy to report he’s well on his way to fulfilling that prophetic label.

Reid Collier ‘96 with daughter Zula

CLASS NOTES

ROSS BUERLEIN ’02: Providing Care in a Clinic, Hospital and Hotel

By Hugo Abbot ’21

Guiding patients through the risk/benefit ratio of treatment is one of the most difficult but necessary parts of being a doctor. Imagine a scenario where the risk component is heavily increased to the point where it outweighs the benefit.

This was the situation that Dr. Ross Buerlein ’02 and others faced with COVID-19, as well as many people who chose to postpone nonemergency treatments.

With the increased risk in face-to-face contact, Buerlein had to find other ways to connect, such as providing care through telehealth appointments, which introduces a “whole other level of obscurity,” including challenging conversations about the risks and implications of any procedure.

Buerlein graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School and then went to the University of Virginia for his internal medicine residency. He stayed another year as the chief resident and completed a gastrointestinal fellowship there.

Buerlein is still at UVA, seeing patients at the Digestive Health Center and the hospital, and he teaches medical students, residents and fellows. In addition he is founder and director of the University Community Outreach Clinic, which works with student and medical resident volunteers to provide free health care to the homeless in Charlottesville.

When the pandemic started, the medical community worldwide struggled to understand how the virus spread and to procure adequate protective equipment.

Once understood that COVID’s main transmitter was respiratory droplets, there was heightened concern for gastroenterologists, such as Buerlein, who perform surgeries mainly through the mouth.

Hospital stress levels ran high as all resources were pushed to the max. Many doctors, Buerlein included, were removed from their subspeciality and redeployed to care for more general medicine patients as hospitals were overloaded and elective procedures were postponed.

One of Buerlein’s biggest challenges has been taking care of the homeless, a vulnerable population in close living situations with higher risk of significant medical conditions such as pulmonary issues.

Putting the clinics on hold would have been

the easy option, but he refused. He and others worked with city and local officials to circumvent barriers to patient care. At the onset of the pandemic, shelters significantly limited access to guests, and many people experiencing homelessness were temporarily housed in local hotels. Buerlein and his team created a video-based telemedicine clinic located within the hotel to continue providing care. They also partnered with the Health Department to organize COVID-19 testing and expedite vaccination efforts within this population.

While pandemic stress continued, Buerlein has had to manage his own challenges, such as providing for his family with two young children.

He enjoys fly fishing and getting outdoors and finds that running is a good way for him to decompress.

“You have to take care of yourself to take care of others,” he said.

Buerlein recognizes a big chasm dividing people and the challenge of meeting them on their own terms and understanding where they are coming from: “We have to be more tolerant and respectful of everybody’s different levels of understanding and comfort toward various things, such as COVID. You may not understand it, but you have to be OK with that and respectful of that.”

SUMMER 2021 | 55

CLASS NOTES 1999 CLASS SCRIBE Merrill Cann ‘99 mpc7k@yahoo.com Edward Mann married Frances Hiles Oct. 17, 2020, in Charlottesville.

2000s 2000 Phil Klein has started as senior manager of employer sales at Benefitfocus in Charleston.

Stark Sutton, Edward Mann ‘99, Andrew Healy ‘00

You may not recognize him behind his mask, but Peter Davis starred in a series of commercials for SimpliSafe.

BIRTHS Marshall Cabot to Anne Cabot and David Galeski, Jan. 23, 2021 Lucy Bennett to Anna and Phil Klein, Feb. 25, 2021

2001 Peter Davis ‘00 in a commercial for SimpliSafe

CLASS SCRIBE Paul Evans ’01 evans2pm@gmail.com In April, John Dos Passos Coggin’s poem, “Dominic Talks Fountain Pens,” was published in the literary magazine, Cathexis Northwest Press: https://www. cathexisnorthwestpress.com/post/ dominic-talks-fountain-pens.

Lt. Cmdr. Matt Washko ‘02 on the USS Gerald R. Ford

Kelly Crockett is national sales and marketing manager for Waterway Guide Media.

BIRTHS Anne Barrett to Alice and Tom Innes, Nov. 4, 2020 David Luckey to Christina and Craig Whitham, Aug. 25, 2020

2002

Lucy Bennett Klein, daughter of Phil Klein ‘00

56 | StC Magazine

After StC, Nelson Oliver went to the University of Georgia, studied at Oxford (U.K.) and graduated from Virginia Tech with a master’s in accounting and focus

on financial advisory services. After three years with Deloitte in New York City, he became a licensed CPA. Next, “Colorado” called, and for the past 10 years, Oliver has been helping entrepreneurs secure licenses and operate successful businesses in the medical and recreational cannabis industry.

With Virginia legalization impending, Nelson is excited to use his experience to collaborate with businesses in Virginia.

Lt. Cmdr. Matt Washko is the U.S. Navy lead for full ship shock trials for the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the nation’s newest aircraft carrier and the largest warship ever built. He wrote: “We will detonate a large underwater explosive device a certain distance off the ship to test the ship’s shock resiliency during combat. It will be the first time we have shock tested a nuclear powered aircraft carrier in 34 years, and these will be the largest explosive devices ever used in a shock trial. Hundreds of engineers and technicians will accompany the crew of 2,500. As we say on the FSST team, ‘It’s gonna be a blast!’”

BIRTHS John “Jay” to Neha and Stewart Ackerly, June 26, 2020 Walter “Wally” Huggins to Joanna and Clay Harris, Oct. 19, 2020 Summer Adair to Elisabeth and Wyck Sweeney, Oct. 28, 2020 Charlie Guerry to Ashley and John Tucker, Nov. 8, 2020 Ada Ellison to Mignonne and Jay Scherer, Dec. 1, 2020 Caroline Grace to Sarah and Scott Copeland, Feb. 23, 2021

2003 In December, Tom Bannard was featured in the Richmond Times-Dispatch in recognition of his work with Rams in Recovery at Virginia Commonwealth University. Five years after becoming coordinator, Bannard has built the collegiate recovery program at VCU into a model and a mentor for other Virginia colleges and universities.

CLASS NOTES

Stewart Ackerly ‘02’s children

Tom Innes ‘01 with his wife Alice and baby Anne

Jono Dahl ‘03 showing off his daughter Ella

John Tucker ‘02 with his wife Ashley and newborn son Charlie

Jay Scherer ‘02 introducing newborn Ada to her big sister

Christina and Craig Whitman ‘01 with their son David at his baptism

Wyck Sweeney ‘02 his wife Elisabeth and daughter Summer

SUMMER 2021 | 57

CLASS NOTES Jono Dahl and his wife Emily moved back to the States from London and relocated to Virginia Beach to be closer to family.

He is a realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Towne Realty at the beach office and just had his first child, Eloise “Ella” Lawson, born Oct. 2, 2020.

In April 2020, Jonathan Wright purchased Pocono Browns, a Black-owned hunting camp in Pennsylvania. He was featured in a December 2020 article in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

BIRTHS Louise Livington to Sarah Gray and Philip Innes, Sept. 10, 2020 Felix Coriander to Stacy Lee and Alex Woodson, Oct. 24, 2020

2004 CLASS SCRIBE Ben Traynham ’04 traynbht@gmail.com Marshall French has joined Sauer Properties as a development manager.

BIRTHS Daniel Clary to Margaret and Ashton Goldman, Aug. 24, 2020 Elizabeth “Bizzy” Tyndall to Meriwether and Alex Arnett, Sept. 30, 2020 Willard “Fitz” Phaup V to Alexis and Will Milby, Nov. 2, 2020 Wilson Lee to Kristen and Smith Burke, Jan. 14, 2021

2007 CLASS SCRIBES Brelan Hillman ’07 brelan.hillman@gmail.com Thomas Jenkins ’07 tjenkins43@mac.com Coleman Cann married Alexandra Fuller Oct. 17, 2020, in Bluffton, South Carolina.

BIRTHS Elisabeth “Libbie” Mackenzie to Maggie and Jeb Bryan, Aug. 26, 2020 Philip Charles to Elizabeth and Jacques Farhi, March 11, 2021 in Charlottesville, Virginia, where Farhi is working on his urology residency.

2008 CLASS SCRIBE John Garland Wood ’08 jgwood89@vt.edu BIRTHS: Harrison Insley to Elizabeth and Kevin Isaacs, Jan. 9, 2021 Mary Collins to Britt and Sandy Wall, April 7, 2021

2009 CLASS SCRIBE Christopher Alexander ’09 c.c.alexander@gmail.com

Ivy Paris to Danielle and Robert Porter, Feb. 20, 2021

John Stillwell is now area sales manager at kaléo. He’s based in Philadelphia, but oversees the medical product company’s sales force in the mid-Atlantic region.

2006

Carter Younts married Allison “Alli” Hicks Aug. 22, 2020, in Nashville.

Rob Bennett married Kerry Reilly Aug. 22, 2020. Rob’s brother Alex Bennett ‘12 was the best man.

2010s

BIRTHS Luanne Elizabeth “Annie” to Lauren and Tad Darden, Dec. 21, 2020

Coleman Cann ‘07 and wife Alexandra

2010 Campbell Henkel married Sara Sharp Oct. 10, 2020.

Jack Jessee has started as an associate at international venture capital law firm Gunderson Dettmer in Boston.

58 | StC Magazine

Rob Bennett ‘06 and his wife Kerry

Jacques Farhi ‘07’s sons Louis and Philip

CLASS NOTES BIRTHS Duncan Alexander to Kristen and Alec Vozenilek, April 16, 2021

2011 CLASS SCRIBES Henley Hopkinson ’11 thhopkinson@gmail.com Kurt Jensen ’11 kurtmj93@gmail.com Ira White was named Dancer of the Year during the virtual RVA Dance Awards in December 2020.

BIRTHS Hudson James to Madison and Casey Fox, Feb. 27, 2021 Carter Younts ‘09 and his wife Alli with their wedding party

Madison and Casey Fox ‘11 with their son Hudson

2013 CLASS SCRIBE Morgan McCown ’13 msmccown@email.wm.edu

Campbell Henkel ‘10’s wedding to Sara Sharp

Charlie Yorgen is engaged to his high school sweetheart, Katherine Maloney ’13 (St. Catherine’s). Yorgen played shortstop at East Carolina University and now lives in Washington, D.C., working as a portfolio analyst at Brown Advisory.

Andrew Gilmore recently moved back to Richmond from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Now a licensed realtor, he works at CapCenter.

Rodney Williams, who played basketball for Drexel University and professionally in Europe, earned his MBA online from the

Charlie Yorgen ’13 and Katherine Maloney at prom, and more recently just after their engagement

SUMMER 2021 | 59

CLASS NOTES The Artist Hayze ‘06 Andrew Hayes ‘06 has picked up his paintbrush again.

After burning out on 12-hour days and constant travel with Enterprise, the artist, who now goes by Hayze, helps people create a personal brand and paints it on clothing and merchandise. His brand motto is “Be you, because people live better, happier lives when they are free to be themselves.”

Seeds for the endeavor were planted years ago.

One year, on the first day back to Middle School, Hayze didn’t want to show up wearing the white Converse All Stars that took a beating through the summer, so he spruced them up by painting them white. He remembers with fondness time at the University of Miami, where he gained a following painting apparel and shoes.

The Hayze Brand website explains its role as a champion for personalization and self-love. “It’s more of a movement than about the products,” Hayze said. “It’s all about sharing with the world who you really are and being comfortable with it.”

Meanwhile, he’s busy with other art projects as well with a park fence commission in Miami and a painting series called “Happy Places,” monochromatic images of seven important people in his life, including his fiancée Reyna Lopez and identical twin brother Matthew ’06, also an entrepreneur who’s developing a barbershop concept.

You can find him on Instagram @thehayzebrand or www.thehayzebrand.com.

University of Maryland and is now working as assistant director of the Capital Region Small Business Development Center in Richmond. He helped coach StC varsity basketball last winter.

Sam O’Ferrall spoke to Upper School boys from Kuwait via video chat about his Army service.

Ben Foley married fellow Wahoo Jordan Jones from Fort Worth, Texas, in September. They live in Telluride, Colorado, where Foley works in finance.

the pandemic for Climb for Quent, an organization focused on young adult mental health. Will Abbott and Will Bruner were instrumental in that effort and will also be a part of the Climb for Quent team that will attempt to summit Mt. Rainier in July.

Wesley Owens is an Anglican minister at St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee, Florida.

2014 Sam O’Ferrall ‘13

Cole Carns is engaged to Kasey Callaway of Philadelphia. Carns played lacrosse at High Point University and currently works in the Richmond area for D.R. Horton as a land acquisition specialist.

Ben Foley ‘13 and his wife Jordan

60 | StC Magazine

Christian Alcorn is engaged to Whitney Busch ’13 (St. Catherine’s) and, with support from the StC community, helped raise more than $30,000 during

Saunders Ruffin is living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he is serving on an AmeriCorps project that aims to make city services more accessible and inclusive to the region’s immigrant and refugee populations. He will move to New York City this summer to enter NYU’s Master of Public Administration program as a David Bohnett Public Service Fellow.

Perseverance Got Max Parks ’11 To Mars

By Gene Bruner ’78 When Max Parks ‘11 was a kid and his family planned vacations, Lower School Librarian Lucinda Whitehurst recalls how he checked out books to learn about the destinations and their history. “Max was the kind of student who wanted to find out more about whatever topic a book was about,” she said. “Fascinated with faraway places, his piqued imagination drove him to dive deeply into the material.”

Little has changed. Parks now works for NASA’s 2020 Mars rover, the aptly named Perseverance, which is currently criss-crossing the Red Planet. As an expert of atmospheres on the terrestrial A selfie taken during a trip to Death Valley

“Max was the kind of student who wanted to find out more ...

Fascinated with faraway places, his piqued imagination drove him to dive deeply into the material.”

- Lower School Librarian Lucinda Whitehurst planets, Parks’ team will spend at least the next Martian year, about two years on Earth, guiding Perseverance to search for signs of ancient microbial life in the Jezero Crater, an area believed to be a lake in Mars’ deep past.

In unraveling the geological history of the subterranean surface, the Jezero Crater offers a perfect spot to explore because a river collects material from a huge area. “The analogy I like to use is if you’re looking for the needle in the haystack, you get to remove the hay and just find the needles,” Parks said. This data will provide a wealth of information that will help scientists put the rover’s findings in perspective as it drills and stores samples. A second mission will bring them back to Earth to determine if there are enough basic elements to survive there.

designed to ping the Martian landscape for underground water and ice. He plans to ultimately return to NASA headquarters to help formulate policy and procedures for future missions.

When not working long hours, Parks enjoys roller skating around Southern California. With water bottle in hand, he believes anyone can do anything “if confident and well-hydrated.”

After being asked what advice he would give to himself 10 years ago, he said: “No matter what anyone says, GPA in college matters.”

Then he paused and offered this: “I’d tell him that the next decade will be OK. It will be great, sometimes frustrating and sometimes tragic, but with perseverance it will all work out.”

Speaking from his home in Santa Monica, Parks relishes the challenges. After graduating from The University of Texas in Austin with a triple major in physics, astronomy and science policy, he found work formulating policy at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. While examining moonscape images from the Apollo 11 mission, he assumed studying such a lifeless vacuum would become “mind-numbing and tedious.” However, the opposite occurred; something clicked. Pictures of the lunar landscape triggered his imagination, prompting him to enter UCLA’s doctoral program in planetary science.

Parks’ team is solely focused on RIMFAX, one of the seven highly sophisticated instruments on board, a ground-penetrating radar

Max Parks ‘11 next to a wind tunnel where they simulate Martian dust blowing in the wind to recreate dunes seen on the Red Planet

CLASS NOTES 2016

2018

Coleman Andrews is a client service associate at Farr, Miller & Washington LLC.

Christian Carlow was offered one of five Karsh-Dillard full-ride scholarships to the University of Virginia School of Law. He graduated from the University of Georgia a year early.

Sean Menges, long stick midfielder at the University of Richmond, earned All-American honors and became the third player in Spider history to be named Southern Conference defensive player of the year.

Matthew Fernandez, a former nationally ranked tennis player, spoke to the Freshman Class in early March, sharing his life experiences and other anecdotes during his time here at St. Christopher’s to improve communication with underrepresented groups. His goal is for St. Christopher’s to become a more inclusive community, celebrating different experiences, heritages and ethnicities.

Fernandez graduated from the University of Richmond and is working as a client portfolio associate at Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley LLC.

Harrison Rice, a junior at Virginia Tech, placed second in the pole vault at the ACC Indoor Championships. He vaulted 16-9.5 to claim second place.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch ran a story in April lauding Nick Biddison’s versatility in baseball, playing six positions for Virginia Tech and starting in each of the 76 games he’s played so far. He contracted COVID last summer and is coming back from a shoulder injury.

Jackson Turley ’19

Nick Biddison ’18 Photo by Tomas Williamson, a Virginia Tech student

2019 Matthew Fernandez ‘16

2017 Jackson Deal and his fellow Christopher Newport University captains were named to the All-Tournament lacrosse squad for their league playoff performance. An article on the CNU website said, “During the postseason, the three captains led Christopher Newport to a 14-11 victory over Southern Virginia in the semifinals before falling to No. 3 Salisbury.” During the playoffs, Deal posted four points, including three goals.

62 | StC Magazine

Jackson Turley, a sophomore at Rutgers, became the first St. Christopher’s wrestling alumnus to earn D-1 All-American status by finishing in the top 8 of his weight class at the 2021 NCAA D1 Championships in St. Louis in mid-March. The Rutgers website wrote that he was a tremendous story at the NCAA Championships, describing his “aggressive style” as a key to his success.

Elby Omohundro, a sophomore at the University of Virginia, finished third in the high jump and fourth in heptathlon at the ACC Indoor Championships.

Arnold Henderson VI was featured in a January article in the Richmond TimesDispatch, which recognized his popularity as a member of Virginia Commonwealth University’s basketball team.

Tyler Hutchison, who just finished his sophomore year at the College of William & Mary, has been hired by Science Matters and VPM as a writer specializing in astronomy. His first article was published in March.

Charlie Whitlock is a member of the Belmont University a cappella group, The Pitchmen, who are recording an album.

Their cover, “I Have Nothing,” won Best Arrangement and Best Soloist at the 2020 International Collegiate Competition of A Cappella and is now posted on Spotify.

This year the group also won the fourth division in the Southern Region of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Quarterfinals with a cover of “Want Me Back,” and is performing in the Briarcrest A Cappella Invitational at the end of the semester.

M C A R D L E

E L N I N O S

L E D P A S T

S E R S L A R O N C A B H B E E M E S

U T U R P I N O Y S M I T A E T S L A B S E T O L E M A I B O B B L I F B I G K O T S M I T H H E S S O R S O T L E R S E S E

N T H

M O T D E G O L E E S L S A N T T T E O N K O F I R L D S A D A P O X

E T H E L

T H E R A V B E O N R E G S O G C H R Y

R E C E D E D

O S R S A N

R A V I O L I

A T A L O S S

A Y R A E W G E R A L D O

Solution to Brad Weigmann’s ‘84’s crossword puzzle on page 53.

CLASS NOTES

Networking for Young Alumni Zoom sessions seek to inform and connect St. Christopher’s and St. Catherine’s hosted a series of Zoom sessions to offer career advice and networking opportunities to young alumni. Each session focused on a different industry based on the interest of our college-age Saints.

Business professionals who shared their perspective included DeRon Brown ’05, investment manager at Conrad N. Hilton Foundation; Jack McDowell ’12, associate at Ridgemont Equity Partners; Elliot Warren ’11, founding partner of the Green Warren Group at Merrill Lynch; Ward Wood ’11, manager at CapTech Ventures Inc.; Brelan Hillman ‘07, project manager at JMI; and Matt Mattox ‘98, senior vice president, group account director at The Martin Agency.

“We have such a rich and strong alumni base, it seems like a no-brainer to connect the next generation of business people with some really great business alumni,” said Davis Wrinkle ’81, director of alumni affairs and annual giving, during the first meeting that focused on finance.

Participants were grateful for the opportunity. Ruslan Thomas ’17, for example, followed up with Jack McDowell after the discussion. “He gave a lot of good advice, and it was interesting to hear how he can apply his English major and communication skills to the analytical side of finance,” Thomas said. “Being able to connect with other alums was the most helpful part.”

Other Saints reached out as well. One young alumni landed a job at a panelist’s company after taking part.

Stay up to date on alumni and parent networking happenings: stchristophers.com/alumni and connectstc.com.

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IN MEMORIAM

1953 1941 Lyon Gardiner Tyler Jr. of Franklin, Tennessee, died Sept. 26, 2020. He is survived by his brother Harrison R. Tyler ’45.

Robert Gilliam Butcher Jr. of Richmond, Virginia, died April 6, 2021. He is survived by his sons Robert G. Butcher III ’78 and Guy B. Butcher ’86.

1955

Samuel Larry Swindell Jr. of Chicago, died Nov. 20, 2020.

Ronald Tyler Whitley of Richmond, Virginia, died Nov. 18, 2020. Survivors include his brother Donald P. Whitley ’55 and sons R. Tyler Whitley Jr. ’85 and W. Bland Whitley ’89.

1944

1958

Robert Coleman Rice Jr. of Richmond, Virginia, died Oct. 17, 2020.

W. Galen Weston Sr. of Toronto, died March 12, 2021.

1943

1963

James Raleigh Bryant Jr. of Marietta, Georgia, died March 31, 2020.

Robert Strother Buford Jr. of New York City, died Feb. 18, 2021. He is survived by his brothers Lewis B. Buford ’65 and A. Sidney Buford IV ’70.

1948

1963

Francis Montgomery MacConochie of Atlanta, died Jan. 18, 2021.

Randolph Mooers Stevens of St. Augustine, Florida, died Oct. 17, 2020.

1946

1949 Richard Coles Edmunds Jr. of Richmond, Virginia, died Dec. 19, 2020. He is survived by his sons Richard C. Edmunds III ’83 and G. Berkeley Edmunds ’91.

1964 John Page Coates of Richmond, Virginia, died April 21, 2021. He is survived by his brother Thomas F. Coates III ’62.

1951 Charles Samuel Luck III of Richmond, Virginia, died Dec. 1, 2020. He is survived by his son Charles S. Luck IV ’79 and grandsons Charles S. Haw ‘10 and Richard S. Luck ‘08.

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1966 Lester Edison Andrews Jr. of Farmville, Virginia, died Sept. 22, 2020.

1983 1967 Marvin Pierce Rucker II of Richmond, Virginia, died Feb. 13, 2021. He is survived by his brother Douglas P. Rucker Jr. ’64.

1969 Louis Wood Bedell Jr. of Libertyville, Pennsylvania, died Nov. 1, 2020. He is survived by his brothers Reginald H. Bedell ’66, Dickson J. Bedell ’71 and H. Alan Bedell ’72.

Gordon Willcox Wallace Jr. of Richmond, Virginia, died May 1, 2021.

He is survived by his father Gordon W. Wallace ‘55 and brothers D. Fleet Wallace ‘86, Scott M. Wallace ‘87 and Maxwell C. Wallace ‘91.

1985 William Stephen Richardson III of Richmond, Virginia, died Aug. 1, 2020.

He is survived by his father W. Stephen Richardson Jr. ’53.

1974

2004

Nicholas Constantine Dombalis of Raleigh, North Carolina, died Oct. 17, 2020.

William Massie Meredith III of Denver, died Feb. 26, 2021.

2009 1975 John Peyton Dodson of Richmond, Virginia, died March, 7, 2021.

Garrett Falls Lockhart of Irvington, Virginia, died Nov. 23, 2020. He is survived by his brothers Charles D. Lockhart ’03 and Colin R. Lockhart ’05.

2015

Walter Dennis Lindsey of Richmond, Virginia, died Feb. 9, 2021.

John Lodge Fergusson of Richmond, Virginia, died in 2020. He is survived by his father W. Berkeley Fergusson ’78 and brother W. Berkeley Fergusson Jr. ’14.

1978

2015

Jonathan Edwards Higgins of Richmond, Virginia, died Dec. 30, 2020.

Taylor William Rudnick of Fredericksburg, Virginia, died April 20, 2021.

1975

STAFF 1979 Stephen Donald Dawe of Richmond, Virginia, died Nov. 7, 2020.

Carolyn Mondy of Mechanicsville, Virginia, died Jan. 26, 2021. Mondy worked in admissions.

SUMMER 2021 | 65

FACULTY NEWS September 2020 to June 2021 For the past seven years, Laura Sabo has served as a team advisor for the IBSC Action Research Program, mentoring and advising teacher-researchers from around the world. Last fall she was named the program coordinator and now leads it, overseeing about 40 researchers. In this role, she helps designate yearly research topics, coordinates training and reports to the IBSC executive team. The Lower School Learning Commons librarian and research coordinator is excited about the opportunity to merge these professional experiences with ongoing work with The Center for the Study of Boys’ Saints research program (see page 26).

This spring Sabo received her Master of Information from Rutgers University with a concentration in library science. This program immersed her in current research and best practices for navigating the rapidly evolving information landscape.

Three Upper School history teachers recently completed their master’s degrees: Josh Thomas in liberal arts from Johns Hopkins University; Scott Van Arsdale in American history from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History at Pace University; and Bucka Watson in educational leadership with a concentration in leadership studies from Virginia Commonwealth University. Thomas took courses on the intersection of politics, religion and literature throughout history, with a specific focus on World War I and modern society. Van Arsdale gleaned a deeper understanding of the historical writing process and American history’s intricacies, debates and complexities. While focusing on administration and supervision, Watson also enjoyed electives in sports 66 | StC Magazine

leadership and educational ethics, with all classes framed through a multicultural and inclusivity lens, he said.

David Shin earned his doctorate in education from The College of William & Mary in March, using virtual reality to build empathy. The Middle School science teacher used head-mounted, 360-degree cameras to capture everyday classroom lessons from the students’ perspective. He then loaded the video into virtual reality headsets, allowing educators to experience a student’s day. The ultimate goal is to help educators better connect with students.

“When you have a good relationship with a student, they’re just more willing to work with you,” Shin said.

Fifth Grade Teacher Kadie Parsley completed her doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Virginia Tech. Her research focused on teaching strategies that educators identified as effective for boys. “These instructional practices may not benefit every boy; even within a given population of boys, some will respond differently to instruction than others,” she said. “However, this research helps to further inform schools, parents and families when making decisions regarding the most appropriate learning environment for boys and how that environment can further elevate each boy’s potential.”

Director of Information Services and Academic Technology Hiram Cuevas received a Pillar Award from the Independent Schools Association of

Technology Leaders. He and two others were recognized this spring for furthering the mission to empower schools to thrive through technology and were commended for their leadership, particularly given the seismic changes that took place in education during COVID-19. “Hiram is one of our unsung heroes at St. Christopher’s, quietly but effectively keeping our large JK-through-12 campus connected and coherent in its use and storage of data and a number of information systems,” said Headmaster Mason Lecky. “He masterfully leads our divisional technology specialists, ensuring that our faculty and students have what they need for an optimal teaching and learning experience in the rapidly changing classroom environment.”

Upper School English Teacher Emily Nason’s poem, “I Watch a Documentary on Owl Theory and Become Convinced That Everyone I Love Will Be Killed By a Bird,” was published in The Southern Review winter issue.

Writer-in-Residence Ron Smith performed poems online in three venues and read two new sports poems via Zoom at the Sport Literature Association international conference. He was a judge for the Library of Virginia’s Poetry Prize and for the Poetry Society of Virginia’s Ada Sanderson Nature Poetry Contest and served on a panel that tapped the first Poet Laureate of Richmond.

He spoke remotely to graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He also selected and edited poetry and wrote two prose pieces for Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature and participated in an online poetry reading for Art Against Hate. In addition, Artemis magazine interviewed him about his poetry, which was podcast, and he, along with other Edgar Allan Poe scholars, participated in a panel about Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death,” a discussion which aired at the Poe Film Festival in November. Mr. Smith published four poems in the online journal POETiCA REViEW, two poems in Artemis and a poem in Plume (online). His poem, “EP in the Garden,” was broadcast by Artemis and also appeared as an online reading from the Clemson University Press.

He also published a short essay on craft tips for poets in Poetry Newsletter.

Middle School PE and Extended Day Teacher Dustin Anthony married Ashley Baldwin Oct. 28.

Lower School Music Teacher Mary Tryer secured a hole-in-one at Brandermill Country Club in October, hitting it 105 yards on the 15th hole with a 9-iron.

Lower School Kindergarten Teacher Meredith Smart and her husband Taylor are new parents to their first child, Robert Scott, born Nov. 10.

Upper School Chaplain Whitney Edwards and her husband Chris are new parents to a fourth daughter, Selma, born Dec. 26.

Upper School Teacher John Winn’s jazz quartet began streaming on YouTube and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts website in April as part of the VMFA Thursday evening live performances.

Whitney and Chris Edwards and family

Meredith and Taylor Smart with baby Robert

Emily Nason

SUMMER 2021 | 67

Retirements Janie Kingsley: Middle School’s Engine, Soul and Heart

By Gene Bruner ‘78 The last time I saw Janie Kingsley, I caught her performing reverse pecking-order triage for three students standing around her desk.

One boy needed to call home. After a careful interrogation, Kingsley nodded approval, pointed to the phone and reminded him to press seven.

Another waited silently, dazed as he pointed to the kumquatsized bump ballooning on his forehead. The Middle School assistant tottered from her desk and grabbed a bag of ice. Gently placing it on his head, she whispered for him to take a seat nearby until the school nurse arrived.

Lastly, a teary-eyed sixth grader could not find Zee (the nickname for Middle School Academic Technologist Brian Zollinhofer).

Emotional atmospherics were about to reach a fever pitch until she waved him closer to inspect his computer and spied the scroll of keyboard symbols inching upward on the screen. When she lifted the laptop and rested it upside-down on her shoulder, a combination of orange cracker dust and cookie crumbs fell to her blotter.

Amazingly, the problem corrected itself, and the boy bolted back to his class, shouting over his shoulder, “Thank you, Ms. Kingsley!”

Adept at multitasking, Kingsley tended to the needs of everyone in Wilton Hall. She retired last December after 35 years, serving as ambassador, greeting guests, calming parents, comforting children, assisting teachers and, importantly, counseling administrators. Each day she solved multiple problems on the fly: a substitute who had a flat tire on the way to School; a teacher who got sick midday; a parent new to the School who only spoke Tagalog; a Papa John’s delivery man lugging a stack of pizzas needing payment; a jammed copier; a water gallon to be dead-lifted onto the cooler plinth; a puppy running loose on the playground. Kingsley handled each challenge with quiet calmness, while avoiding attention and routinely converting challenges into pleasant conversation.

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Kingsley’s affable charm and approachable methods stand out, particularly compared to the tractable style of her male counterparts. Loyal, discreet and essentially maternal, she knows and understands boys. Naturally, she utters more in a few short sentences than most of us can think in an entire day.

She breaks down complicated situations with humor and instructions as clear and simple as the directions on a toaster.

Kingsley distinguished herself as the engine, the soul, the heart and the glue for the Middle School.

There is the playful and vivacious Kingsley who exudes a wide-eyed enthusiasm for anything upbeat, adventurous and downright beachy; the charismatic Kingsley, who makes any room she walks into twice as fun and twice as bright; the intrepid and trustworthy Kingsley, who possesses boundless curiosity and whose character and integrity are beyond reproach; the courageous and determined Kingsley, who understands the reality of setbacks, confronts them and finds growth in every challenge. Lastly, there is the caring and empathetic Kingsley, who practices compassion and remains perpetually alert and attentive to those in need, standing by them until they build enough strength to stand for themselves.

Thank you, Laura Brown, for a Lifetime of Saintly Service

By Kathleen Thomas Much of Laura Brown’s life has been woven into the rich tapestry of life on the campus of St. Christopher’s. Her mother taught in Lower School. She graduated from St. Catherine’s in 1969 and hung out with StC boys, sometimes picking up boarders who escaped through the old dorms’ first floor bathrooms for adventures off campus. She raised three children, all Saints, and for 31 years worked as assistant to the chaplain and to development and communications and kept the school calendar, a complex assimilation of events, special schedules and traditions, long-standing and new.

“This is a calling for Laura. It was never a job, never an occupation.

Her heart is one that builds relationships and community, and StC is blessed to have had her in its midst.”

— The Rev. Melissa Hollerith, former Upper School chaplain Always a giver, Brown is lauded for her care for people. “She’s the big sister I never had,” said the Rev. Melissa Hollerith, former Upper School chaplain. “She takes care of everyone. She took care of me.”

Brown has organized and hosted too many StC birthday/good-bye/ retirement parties to count. When someone is sick or hospitalized, she makes and delivers food. When Hollerith organized a mission trip to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Brown took part.

Always a doer, when duties called for weekend hours, Brown showed up. When the telephone booth for boarders was torn down, she planted boxwoods and hostas to cover the remaining ugly cement slab.

Brown juggles all tasks and demands with seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm. She started out in the ’90s with a paper calendar and typewriter and, ever nimble, adapted as needed.

“Brownie” will long be remembered for her sense of humor and dressing in costumes, be it pulling pranks on former Headmaster George McVey ‘57 or being the short-statured Queen Elizabeth’s doppleganger, dressed in flower hat, long white gloves and pearls for faculty/staff garden parties she once orchestrated on the Terraces.

In addition, Brown speaks her mind. “She doesn’t hesitate to share her opinion with whomever will listen,” said former Development Director Delores Smith. “She wants the school to always be the best it can be, and she will do her job and anyone else’s to help it be its best.”

Undoubtedly, she’ll find plenty to stay engaged within her next chapter. She’ll still run Town & Country Cotillion and plans to volunteer. Travel is high on her list of priorities. Where? “Everywhere — Nova Scotia, British Columbia, the Panhandle, Sicily, Barcelona, Ireland,” she lists without hesitation. Brown aspires to take piano lessons to form a band with her grandchildren Carter Brown ’32, age 7, and his brother John, age 3, who both play violin. Meanwhile, her new bongo drums have already arrived. More frequent visits to three out-of-town grandchildren are definitely on the docket, and she’ll have more time for relaxation and connection on the water at her beloved Gloucester family home.

SUMMER 2021 | 69

DEPARTMENT TITLE

Retirements “Perfecting the Transfer of Knowledge” Middle School History Teacher Retires After 37 Years

By Stephen Wood ’11 Photo by Henry Proctor ‘24

Those of us who took a class from Cliff Dickinson still hear his voice in our head from time to time. We may have forgotten the finer points of the Compromise of 1850, but the lessons he taught us about how to write, how to learn and how to think will be with us forever.

Taking it upon himself to mold each new batch of eighth graders into writers who could construct a convincing argument, he turned essay writing into something like a mathematical formula. A given lecture may have featured a deep dive into historical maps, a tutorial on the best physical posture for sitting in class, or an impromptu lesson on the flora of the Piedmont, but Mr. Dickinson’s class was really about perfecting the transfer of knowledge — whether you were on the giving or receiving end.

“My teachers in high school will still mention Mr. Dickinson when talking about writing an essay,” said Drew Brown ’21. “Every once in a while, when I’m feeling tired in class, I’ll think back to what Mr. Dickinson said about sitting up and looking the speaker in the eye — it actually helps a lot.”

Hill Brown ‘85, his longtime history department colleague, remembered how Dickinson once gave up his Friday afternoon to give a tour of the campus’s trees. “I think he gets the same feeling from doing that as I might when I bring a box of doughnuts to my advisory,” Brown said. “He likes to share information with people, and see them light up.”

Dickinson’s room was like a den, full of odds and ends that he might gesture toward to illustrate a point or might never explain. It was the kind of place where one might expect to find hidden treasure — which Dickinson did, when he unearthed a historic copy of the Declaration of Independence. Despite the potential distractions, you were expected to pay attention, actively, in the way he had taught you, or risk being labeled a “slab” — an ingenious insult that leaves the recipient to answer for himself the all-important question, “A slab of what?”

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“There’s a really gentle manner about him,” Brown said. “He likes to joke with the boys, but I think that he jokes in a way that is having fun with them, as opposed to having fun at their expense.”

The emphasis was on helping us become better listeners, better learners and better men. He even taught us his formula for the ideal thank-you note. Let me see if I can still remember it: Dear Mr. Dickinson, Congratulations on your retirement, and thank you, on behalf of generations of boys, for dedicating your career to our education.

Teaching someone how to express themselves, to do their best work and to enjoy the acts of gathering and sharing knowledge is about the greatest give you can give. I hope you have a fantastic time in your retirement, although I know that really, you’ll always be teaching.

Thank you, once again, from all of us.

Sincerely, Your Students Since graduating from Princeton University, Stephen Wood ’11 has worked as a freelance journalist, with writing appearing in The Guardian, The Athletic, Current Affairs and Jacobin Magazine, among other outlets. He is a podcast producer at Artifact Co. Inc. and has worked in communications for several political campaigns in New York City.

Mission, Music, History, Photography The Many Passions of Chaplain Durk Steed

By Gene Bruner ’78 Durk Steed’s office door was always open. Decorated like a teenager’s version of the coolest grown-up office ever, there were Jimi Hendrix photos, two mounted CD covers of his own creation, books on the Torah, Beatitudes and the Gospel of Mark, family photos, notes from his research for a book he’s writing on the Battle of Tarawa, a Marshall amplifier poster as big as an upended twin bed, a guitar standing upright near his desk and, off to the side, a stack of freshly developed aviation pictures waiting to be framed.

The varied accoutrements speak to Steed’s versatile interests

“Reverend Steed showed me a type of care and consideration that had never been offered to me before. He gave me a safe space to express my feelings and share my ideas. I knew that he cared deeply for me, and because of that, classes and school were a bit easier.”

— Harrison Rice ’18 as a minister, musician, history buff, photographer and family man. His passions suggest life is meant to be experienced, sometimes with depth and sometimes with complexity, always allowing a path for softening the edges, making connections and pinpointing emotions, just like his ministry.

When the Rev. Steed bestowed his blessings and benediction at Baccalaureate in May and the Middle School Final Program in June, he closed a career at St. Christopher’s that spanned 21 years. He and his wife Nancy will return to their home state, North

Carolina, where Steed will take on leadership duties as Middle School principal at Myrtle Grove Christian School in Wilmington. Their older son Durk ’17, a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is starting a job in Raleigh, while Nash ’21 enters a new chapter as an Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia this fall.

Steed is grounded and meets people where they are. His mission promotes cooperation, tolerance and commitment to service while attuned to the spiritual journeys of those of other faiths, as well as those of no faith. With his distinct Tar Heel accent, Steed’s message is never overly clever or lofty.

He encourages, while an abiding sense of humor holds us like a warm embrace. He stays grounded and respects people in their milieu. His sermons provide optimism, hope and trust in the redemptive power of love and God’s unceasing grace.

Students gravitated to him, many staying in touch through the years. “Reverend Steed showed me a type of care and consideration that had never been offered to me before,” said Harrison Rice ’18. “He gave me a safe space to express my feelings and share my ideas. I knew that he cared deeply for me, and because of that, classes and school were a bit easier.”

Many of Mr. Steed’s colleagues said they will miss his upbeat attitude, which he used to encourage students. History Teacher Hill Brown said, “He always seems to have his finger on the pulse of the community, and he truly takes care of us all.”

CLASS OF 2021

Confidence. Resilience. Excellence.

St. Christopher’s Class of 2021 has proven no challenge is too great to overcome.

We applaud their acceptances into top schools across the nation and cheer them on as they begin this exciting new chapter of their lives.

Class of 2021 College Choices Brown University

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2)

California Institute of Technology

James Madison University (10)

University of Pittsburgh (2)

Clemson University (2)

Kenyon College

University of South Carolina (4)

College of Charleston

Morehouse College

University of St. Andrews (Scotland)

College of William & Mary (3)

New York University (2)

University of Tennessee (2)

Colorado College

Occidental College

University of Virginia (16)

Davidson College

Purdue University

Villanova University

Denison University

Savannah College of Art and Design

Virginia Military Institute

Francis Marion University

Sewanee: The University of the South

Virginia Tech (8)

Franklin University (Switzerland)

Southern Methodist University

Wake Forest University (4)

Hampden-Sydney College

University of Alabama (2)

Washington and Lee University

High Point University (4)

University of Louisville

Wofford College

University of Maryland 72 | StC Magazine

The Magazine of St. Christopher’s

STC Magazine Staff HEADMASTER Mason Lecky DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Sharon Dion EDITOR Kathleen Thomas SPECIAL FEATURES EDITOR Gene Bruner ‘78 ALUMNI NEWS EDITOR Jen Scallon VISUAL CONTENT EDITORS Cappy Gilchrist and George Knowles PHOTOGRAPHERS Jay Paul and Jesse Peters GRAPHIC DESIGN Merry Alderman Design CONTRIBUTORS Hugo Abbot ‘21 Kim Hudson, director of The Center for the Study of Boys J.D. Jump ‘05, multimedia and technology specialist Rohan Simon ‘22 Mac Suskind ‘21 Hayden Vick, second grade teacher Spencer Villanueva ‘21 Davis Wrinkle ‘81, director of annual giving and alumni affairs

The Magazine of St. Christopher’s

St. Christopher’s School 711 St. Christopher’s Road Richmond, VA 23226 P. (804) 282-3185 F. (804) 285-3914 www.stchristophers.com

St. Christopher’s School welcomes qualified students to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation or national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies and athletic and other school-administered programs.

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StC Magazine

The Magazine of St. Christopher’s

OUTDOOR EDUCATION Classrooms Without Walls - Page 12 SUMMER 2021

GRADUATION PAGE 36