SPA Magazine Winter/Spring 2024

The Magazine of St. Paul Academy and Summit School

EDUCATING EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATORS:

OUR

EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATORS

No matter where I go in the SPA community— whether it’s a walk down the hall at the Lower School or a regional event across the country with our graduates—I know I will witness the impact of our incredible faculty on the students they teach. The bond that is formed in our classrooms between our teachers and students is legendary, and it is at the heart of the SPA experience. You see it in a Morning Meeting at the Lower School, in advisories in the Middle School, around the Harkness table in Upper School. You see it on the playground and in the hallways and at lunch. And our students talk about it, both while they are with us and long after they graduate. A highlight of the last year for me has been the Regional Alumni/ae Events we’ve held in cities around the country, from Los Angeles to Boston, in part because I love hearing our graduates talk about their lives and their careers, and how much their SPA teachers—sometimes even more than their college or graduate school professors— have influenced and continue to influence how they think and work.

That tradition of exceptional educators is the focus of this issue of SPA Magazine In our feature story, starting on page 22, we meet three SPA teachers and alumni/ae—Mollie Ward ’83, Alexis Irish ’15, and Asad Masood ’15—whose memories of their own SPA teachers have influenced their work as educators. All three talked to us about working to create spaces for students to learn and grow into themselves,

just as their teachers created those spaces for them. As Mollie puts it,”That’s my philosophy: helping [students] be their best selves, because if they’re doing that, then they’re going to feel good about walking into this building every day.”

In many ways, the entirety of this issue of SPA Magazine reflects that philosophy, and the amazing things that happen when students are encouraged to do what they love and love what they do: the state championships on the soccer field; the awards and accolades for debate and journalism and robotics competitions and the fine arts; the out-of-this-world accomplishments of graduates like Anil Menon ’95, who became a NASA astronaut in February and like so many of his fellow graduates, remembered the part his SPA teachers played in getting him there.

I hope you’ll take the time to read through this issue and appreciate, as I do, all that makes this an extraordinary community of teachers and learners.

With gratitude,

Dr. Luis Ottley Head of School

Scott Streble

OFFICERS

Tim O’Brien ’77, President

Bake Baker ’71, Secretary

Lit Field, Jr. ’75, Treasurer

MEMBERS

Mark W. Addicks

Cristina Arellano

Hyung Choi

Jennifer Coates ’96

Jeanne Cochran ’84

Anne Larsen Hooley

David W. Kansas ’85

Varun B. Kharbanda ’92

David Kristal

Amanda Kay Liu

Philip McKoy

Barbara L. Naramore

Chip Pearson

J.P. Peltier

Tony Sanneh ’90

St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105

651-698-2451

info@spa.edu www.spa.edu

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Principal Photographer

Scott Streble Design and Layout

Kimberlea Weeks, CEVA Design

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Read SPA Magazine online at spa.edu/ SPA_Magazine

Fourteen Seniors Honored in National Merit Competition

Fourteen members of the Class of 2024 earned national recognition in this year’s National Merit competition. Five seniors were named National Merit Semifinalists, and another nine were named Commended Students. The 14 seniors honored represent 15% of the Class of 2024.

The five Semifinalists are Rishi Bhargava, Henry Choi, Samantha Gilats, William Richardson, and Anja Seifert. They are among the top

16,000 high scorers on the PSAT from the fall of the student’s junior year. Semifinalists complete an application to move on to the Finalist competition; Finalists will be announced in spring 2024.

The nine Commended Students are John Christakos, Eliza Farley, Alessandro Fusco, Malachi Gross, Bridget Keel, Claire Kim, Humza Murad, Ford Reedy, and Oliver Zhu. They are among the next 34,000 high scorers nationwide on the PSAT.

Community Speaker Series Focuses on Building Healthy Multiracial Communities

“Building Healthy Multiracial Communities” was the focus of the Fall 2023 Community Speaker Series, a new initiative in conjunction with SPA’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Strategic Plan. The twopart series featured community presentations and discussions for both students and parents with two expert speakers representing different cultural perspectives and racial identities.

Dr. Michael is a scholar and educator who serves as Co-Director of the Race Institute for K-12 Educators, working with schools and organizations across the country to make research on race, whiteness, and education more accessible and relevant to practitioners.

Michael Howard Stevenson

Dr. Ali Michael’s workshop with the SPA community focused on the role we all play in building a healthy multiracial community, offering guidance for parents of white children about the specific racial skills and competencies that are necessary for developing a positive identity and becoming a full member of the racially diverse environments in which they learn.

Dr. Howard Stevenson’s work with the SPA community addressed the ways in which parents can understand and manage racial stress in conversations through racial socialization and literacy. His presentation was designed to help parents identify racial stress, coping, self-efficacy, socialization, and literacy and practice racial story-telling, a conversation using racial mindfulness. Dr. Stevenson is the Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education and Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the Executive Director of the Racial Empowerment Collaborative, which was designed to promote racial literacy in education, health, and community institutions.

Ali

SPA Launches Christopher Center Pathways Program for Students with Language-based

Learning Differences

In fall 2024, an exciting new program serving students with languagebased learning differences will debut at SPA’s Lower School. The Christopher Center Pathways Program is designed for students with high academic potential and a primary diagnosis of dyslexia. Using the Orton-Gillingham (OG) approach, the program will support students in their acquisition of skills in reading, spelling, writing, and math.

For the 2024-25 academic year, the Pathways program will be implemented in Grades 3-5, with small cohorts of Pathways students in each grade working with their OG teacher for literacy and math instruction, and then joining their grade-level homeroom for the rest of the school day. “Students in the Pathways program are very much a part of the larger SPA community,” says Head of School Dr. Luis Ottley, who notes that students’ participation in the homeroom cohort and the larger Lower School community provides a robust social base for students while maintaining the specialized support necessary for progress in literacy and math. Each Pathways cohort will be embedded within a Lower School homeroom for art, music and movement, PE, recess, lunch, assemblies, and “mini” elective courses.

The Pathways program will be housed in SPA’s Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT) and overseen by CLT Director Karen Rassmussen. The program is based on more than 60 years of research showing that students

with dyslexia thrive as learners when given direct instruction in a multisensory, systematic, and sequential way. “Students with dyslexia need teachers who understand how the dyslexic brain works and can help them develop new neural pathways for reading, writing, and spelling,” Rassmussen says. Pathways faculty are master teachers from SPA’s Lower School who are also trained in the Orton-Gillingham pedagogy and have deep experience teaching upper elementaryaged students. Rassmussen also notes that the program’s goal is to provide a foundation for students with dyslexia to build the skills needed to meet and often exceed the benchmarks of SPA’s academic program.

Lower School Principal Beth Nelson is excited about the opportunities the Pathways program will provide for students in her division next year. “Pathways is an exciting endeavor for the Lower School, which will provide critical academic support for students with dyslexia, while providing the experiences and relationships that define the magic of SPA’s Lower School,” Nelson says. “The addition of the program to our Lower School will enrich the whole community through effective pedagogical practices that help students develop both skills and confidence while maintaining strong connections to the broader program.”

Upper School Debaters Take Top Spots at Sections, Move on to State Tournament

After an exceptional regular season, SPA’s Upper School debate team swept the top two spots at the MSHSL Section IV tournament. The team of Cerena Karmaliani ’25 and Henry Hilton ’24 took the section championship with a first-place finish, and teammates Henry Choi ’24 and David Schumacher ’25 took second place. Both teams qualified for the State Tournament, held at the University of Minnesota; Schumacher and Choi were semifinalists at State and Karmaliani and Hilton were quarterfinalists.

Left to right: Henry Hilton ’24, Cerena Karmaliani ’25, David Schumacher ’25, and Henry Choi ’24.

Karen Rassmussen

Beth Nelson

Spartans Shine in 2024 Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards

Twenty-two SPA students in grades 8 and 10-12 were honored in this year’s Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards (MSAA) program. Established to ensure that artistic talent is recognized in schools and communities across the country, the MSAAs offer recognition in 25+ diverse categories.

This year’s MSAA winners earned 48 Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention awards:

Gold Key: Caleb Colton ’28, Hadley Dobish ’25, and Carys Hardy ’24

Silver Key: Violet Benson ’24, Carys Hardy ’24, Jane Higgins ’24, Thomas Kovarik ’25 (2), Bora Mandic ’25, Mikkel Rawdon ’24, Savannah Switzer ’24, Isidor Valdez ’25, Oliver Zhu ’24

Honorable Mention: Violet Benson ’24 (5), Phillippe Cristobal ’26, Dashiell Horstman ’24 (2), Serene Kalugdan ’25, Annika Kim ’26 (5), Claire Kim ’24 (2), Thomas Kovarik ’25, Emma Krienke ’24 (5), Duncan Lang ’25, Nellie Larson ’26, Bora Mandic ’25, Mikkel Rawdon ’24, Bri Rucker ’24 (3), Savannah Switzer ’24 (2), Liza Thomas ’25, Helen Townley ’25, Anneli Wilson ’27, Oliver Zhu ’24

Upper School Fall Play Wins Fourteen Spotlight

Awards

SPA’s production of Sense & Sensibility, the 2023 Upper School Fall Play, was the recipient of 14 awards from the Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Spotlight Program. Spotlight is an awards program for high school theater; Spotlight evaluators attend participating high schools’ theatrical performances and award honors to selected productions, ensembles, and individuals. Award winners are then invited to participate in a culminating showcase in early June.

The ensemble Spotlight Awards for Sense & Sensibility included “Honorable Mention” accolades for Overall Performance, Ensemble Acting Performance, and Run Crew, and an “Evaluator Shout Out” for Overall Technical Production. The recipients of individual Spotlight Awards were Eleanor Putaski ’25 (Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role); Ava Doody ’27 (Outstanding in Technical Leadership); Oliver Zhu ’24 (Honorable Mention Performance in a Supporting Role); and Lucille Brooks ’26 (Honorable Mention Performance in a Supporting Role). Six individuals were also named in the Evaluator Shout Out category: Aarushi Bahadur ’25, William Hanna ’26, Grace Medrano ’25 Bri Rucker ’24, Savannah Switzer ’24, and Coda Wilson ’25.

Eleanor Putaski ’25 and Savannah Switzer’24

Remembering Spring, Carys Hardy ’24

Lucille Brooks ’26 and Bri Rucker ’24

Three Spartans Pass 1000 Career Points in Record-breaking Basketball Season

For the first time in the history of SPA basketball, three players reached the 1000-point threshold in a single season. Seniors and co-captains Ethan Carter ’24, Tysen Hayes ’24, and Mikkel Rawdon ’24 all scored 1000 career points in their Spartan basketball careers. The three now join a roster of legendary basketball Spartans, including Adam Holod ’21 and Dalante Peyton ’16, in the SPA 1000-point club.

“It is a significant achievement to have just one player reach the 1000-point mark in a season,” says Randy Comfort, Upper School Athletic Director, “but to have three players do it in the same season is remarkable. Ethan, Tysen, and Mikkel have set the bar very high for future basketball players at SPA,” Comfort says.

A standout point guard, Carter was the first to reach 1000. On January 20 in the first half of a game against Edison High, Carter got a rebound and made a quick putback layup to pass 1000 points. Carter, who has been a starter on SPA’s varsity team since his sophomore year, is “a dynamic defender who can change the momentum of a game by forcing the opponent into turnovers,” according to Head Basketball Coach Kevin Keto. “When Ethan gets on a roll, he’s one of the very best guards in all of AA basketball,”

A few weeks later, on February 13, Hayes joined Carer in the 1000-point club in the first half of the game against Math and Science Academy,

hitting a smooth 3-point shot from the corner. Like Carter, Hayes has started for SPA’s varsity team since Grade 10. “His offensive versatility is truly special,” Keto says of the star forward. “Most people who watch Tysen play can see right away that he’s a talented scorer—he can hit threes, finish at the rim with his left or right hand, post up a smaller defender, and dribble around a bigger one.”

The third member of the club, Mikkel Rawdon, joined his teammates to complete the 1000-point hat trick on February 22 against Highland Park. In the second half, Rawdon hit a layup in stride to reach four digits in just two years as a starter on the varsity squad. “This achievement speaks to Mikkel’s consistent growth and perseverance,” Keto says, noting that Rawdon went through the C-team and the JV team—where he led the team in scoring—before earning his varsity spot as a junior. “Mikkel never stopped pushing himself, improving his ball handling, his endurance, and his strength,” Keto says.

Left to right: Mikkel Rawdon, Ethan Carter, and Tysen Hayes

Keto says.

Middle School Teams are Champions in Volleyball and Soccer

Two Middle School teams—the Grade 8 coed volleyball team and the Grade 6 boys’ soccer team—earned championship titles in the fall 2023 season. The volleyball team took their title after a nailbiter of a contest against Immaculate Conception, winning three closely-contested sets (15-25, 25-16, 15-11) in the championship match. The soccer team capped off an undefeated regular season by winning their championship in thrilling fashion with a 1-0 win over Nativity.

Annie Hlavka ’24 Earns Target “Epic”

Award

In October 2023, senior Annie Hlavka ’24 was one of 25 young women from around the Twin Cities recognized with a Target EPIC Award. The EPIC Awards program is sponsored by Target’s Women in Science and Technology program, and recognizes young women in the Twin Cities area who are EPIC (engaged, passionate, innovative, and curious) about STEM fields. The EPIC Awards began in 2017 as a program to support local schools and organizations in the community and to encourage girls to celebrate their achievements in STEM.

EPIC Award winners are selected based in part on their capacity for inventing, designing, building, and researching improvements using STEM concepts and seeking opportunities to learn and grow. Dr. Kate Lockwood, SPA’s Director of Computer Science and Engineering, notes that Hlavka’s work in her Advanced Technology Projects course—engineering a cell-phone case and accessories for patients with dementia–was a testament to her passion for engineering. “Over the course of her phone case project, Annie expanded her skills along multiple dimensions,” says Lockwood, who notes that Hlavka developed a survey and did interviews with caregivers to get a broader view of the requirements and limitations of her target audience, and also taught herself 3D modeling using an industry-level tool so that she could quickly create and test prototypes of her designs. “In every step of the process, Annie made insightful observations that have helped her improve her project and make it more accessible for her target audience,” Lockwood says. “The project was a great example of Annie’s persistence in problem solving and the way that empathy for the problems of others drives her desire to innovate.”

Columbia Scholastic Press Association Recognizes SPA Publications in Crown Awards

The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), a program of the Columbia University School of Journalism, has recognized two SPA student publications as 2024 Hybrid News Crown Finalists.

Arts magazine Iris: Art + Lit and the print/online hybrid of The Rubicon newspaper and the digital RubicOnline were honored in the program, recognizing the nation’s top scholastic and collegiate publications for overall excellence. Iris: Art + Lit was one of only 37 print literary magazines to be named a Crown Finalist and was the only magazine published by a Minnesota school to be named. The Rubicon/RubicOnline was one of 46 high school news hybrid finalists, and the only Hybrid Crown Finalist from Minnesota.

Spanish Exchange Program with Colegia Malvar Returns to SPA

Middle School Magazine Wins National Award

In January 2024, the National Council of Teachers of English awarded the Middle School magazine, Art and Literature Vol. 8, a First Class REALM award for its 2023 publication. SPA was one of 105 magazines across the country and the only school in Minnesota to earn the First Class distinction in the competition.

The Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) award program recognizes excellent literary magazines produced by students with the support of their teachers. REALM is designed to encourage all schools to develop literary magazines that celebrate the art and craft of writing.

In September 2023, SPA hosted a group of Spanish high school students and their teachers from Colegio Malvar, a secondary school in Madrid, Spain. This was the first exchange visit from Colegia Malvar since the fall of 2019. The 23 students and two teachers were embedded in the SPA community for two weeks, staying with SPA host families, shadowing Spanish classes, and enjoying field trips around the Twin Cities. A group of SPA students will return the visit in June 2024, when they travel to Madrid to complete the exchange.

BOYS’ TENNIS — STATE CHAMPIONS AGAIN!

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

Boys’ tennis had another championship season, following up a strong regular season by clinching the Section 4A title with a 5-2 win over MPA and a return ticket to the State tournament for the team. The team dominated the State Tournament once again, going 21-0 and earning the Class A State team championship for the second straight year after defeating Rochester 7-0. Spartan tennis also dominated individual play, with the doubles team of Leo Benson ’24/Maik Nguyen ’24 qualifying for the State doubles tournament for the second straight year, joining Zahir Hassan ’27, who qualified for State singles. After a remarkable run at State, the doubles team of Benson and Nguyen won the doubles Class A State Championship after defeating a duo from Litchfield 6-3, 6-1 and Hassan won the third-place singles match, 7-5, 10-4.

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Winston Arvidson ’28, Zahir Hassan ’27, Baasit Mahmood ’24 and Maik Nguyen ’24

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION:

Leo Benson ’24, Jacob Colton ’25 and David Schumacher ’25

TRACK AND FIELD

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

At the section track and field championship meet, multiple Spartans ran their best times of the year and freshman Elizabeth Tuttle ’26 qualified for the State meet after finishing in first place and setting a school record in the long jump (17’7”) along with two second-place finishes in the 100 (15:31) & 300 (47:74) meter hurdles. Additional top five finishes at sections included Julia Taylor ’25 who placed fourth in the long jump (16’3.25”), Oliver Thompson ’25 who placed third in the 400-meter dash (51:90), and Tuttle again who finished third in the triple jump (35’2”). At State, Tuttle landed a spot on the podium, finishing third in the long jump (17’2”) and qualified for the finals in the 100-meter dash after finishing in seventh place in the opening heat. In the State final, Elizabeth placed sixth overall.

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Oliver Thompson ’25 and Elizabeth Tuttle ’26

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION:

Ray Guo ’23, Bridget Keel ’24, Clare Ryan Bradley ’26, Bennett Sauer ’26, Theo Su ’25, Julia Taylor ’25, Langston Thompson ’27 and Belle Weng ’25

Elizabeth Tuttle ’26

BASEBALL

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

Developing their individual skills and improving team chemistry was the focus for the 2023 baseball season. The team posted exciting wins over Minnehaha Academy, Mounds Park Academy, Trinity, and Lake City, finishing with a 5-14 regular season record.

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Griffin Schwab-Mahoney ’24

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION:

Ezra Cunningham ’26, Roberto Velez ’23, Tommy Verhey ’23 and Nelson Wodarz ’23

GIRLS’ GOLF

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

Under second-year Head Coach Angie Kritta, the team improved in every competition over the course of the season, and ended the regular season by hosting the first-ever SPA girls’ invitational tournament at Somerset. In postseason play, Nikola Barkwell ’23, Audrey Peltier ’27, Millie Farrington ’26, Alyda Overgaard ’28 and Peony Steele ’27 all advanced to the second round of section competition after shooting 94, 94, 102, 102, and 102 respectively.

Symbol denotes team or athlete competed at the State level

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION: Nikola Barkwell ’23

BOYS’ GOLF

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

Boys’ golf finished third in the conference after a solid regular season on the links. In section play, Will Black ’24 Connor Overgaard ’24 Will Fenlon ’25 George Peltier ’23 Ethan Peltier ’25, and Henri Peltier ’24 all advanced after shooting 78, 78, 81, 87, 92, 93 respectively on opening day. In the second round, Overgaard shot 77 (155 over two days), good for a sixth-place finish at the section tournament and a State tournament appearance at the Ridges at Sand Creek golf course in Jordan for the second straight year.

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Will Black ’24, Will Fenlon ’25, and George Peltier ’23

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION: Connor Overgaard ’24 and Ethan Peltier ’25

Griffin Schwab-Mahoney ’24

Nikola Barkwell ’23

Connor Overgaard ’24

BOYS’ LACROSSE

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

TrIMAC lacrosse, a cooperative program with Concordia Academy, DeLaSalle, Minnehaha Academy, St. Agnes, South St. Paul and St. Croix Lutheran had an exceptional season, finishing with an impressive 12-2 record and the IMAC conference championship. Behind the leadership of Minnesota’s All-Time leading goal scorer, Joey Stolpestad ’23, the team received a favorable sixth seed in the postseason, but fell to the talented threeseed, St. Thomas Academy, in the opening round.

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Henry Hartllyn ’25, Jack O’Brien ’23 and Joey Stolpestad ’23

Symbol denotes team or athlete competed at the State level

Joey Stolpestad ’23

GIRLS’ LACROSSE

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

Girls’ lacrosse spent the 2023 season mastering their skills individually and improved collectively as a team each game. Notable victories included a 10-6 win over Waconia and a 12-9 win over Columbia Heights.

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Julia Colbert ’23 and Charlotte Goings ’24

ALL-CONFERENCE

HONORABLE MENTION:

Lindsay Browne ’23 and Ivy Raya ’23

ALL-SECTION 3A SECOND TEAM:

Julia Colbert ’23

SOFTBALL

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

Spartan softball put up impressive wins over traditional rivals, ending the season with a 7-11 record. Highlights of the regular season were victories over IMAC foes, including a 7-0 victory over Breck and a 12-11 win over Blake. The Spartans earned a sixth seed in section 4AAA play, and despite an opening-round loss to three seed Hill-Murray took two straight victories in the elimination round against the seventh seed St. Paul Harding (7-5) and the fifth seed Totino-Grace (2-1). In the elimination semifinal, SPA would match up against Hill-Murray again and fall 8-1.

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Tamari Christopher ’27 and Greta Magnuson ’23

Tamari Christopher ’27

Julia Colbert ’23

GIRLS’ SOCCER — STATE CHAMPIONS!

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

STATE CHAMPIONS! It was a championship season for girls’ soccer.

After a 6-6-4 regular season, the team peaked at exactly the right time to power through the postseason. The Spartans earned the #3 seed in Section 3A and marched through section competition, defeating Trinity 2-0 in the quarterfinals and Visitation 2-0 in the semifinals before taking down rival Minnehaha Academy 3-2 in a nailbiter of a section final and advancing to the State tournament for the second year in a row. The girls were seeded #4 at State and advanced to the championship match after defeating Esko in epic fashion in the quarterfinals, winning 2-1 in PKs, and then defeating #1 seed Providence Academy in a come-from-behind 4-3 victory to punch their ticket to the championship for the second consecutive year. In the state championship, the girls’ defeated St. Charles in convincing fashion 3-0 to win the program’s first state title.

CROSS COUNTRY

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

Cross Country had another strong season capped off by solid performances at the IMAC conference championship: the girls’ team finished second overall and Taylor Barkwell ’25 and Alyda Overgaard ’28 finished in the top 10, finishing seventh and eighth overall. At the Section 4A meet, the team finished second behind Nova with a final group score of 56 and clinched a ticket to the State meet. At state at the University of Minnesota’s Les Bolstad Golf Course, the team competed hard and Barkwell finished in the top 60.

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Taylor Barkwell ’25 and Alyda Overgaard ’28

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION: Paloma Good ’27, Maren Overgaard ’26 and Johanna Pierach ’25

MSHSL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:

Sawyer Bollinger Danielson ’25, Clare Ryan

Bradley ’26, Elizabeth Tuttle ’26 and Annie Zhang ’25

ALL-METRO SECOND TEAM:

Sawyer Bollinger Danielson ’25

ALL-STATE:

Sawyer Bollinger Danielson ’25 and Annie Zhang ’25

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Sawyer Bollinger Danielson ’25 and Annie Zhang ’25

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION: Lucia Gonzalez ’26, Clare Ryan Bradley ’26 and Elizabeth Tuttle ’26

Congratulations!

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

STATE CHAMPIONS! High expectations for this year’s boys’ soccer team were fulfilled when the Spartans were crowned Class 1A State Champions for the second consecutive year. After the team’s 8-4-3 regular season and 5-3 conference record, they earned the #2 seed in Section 3A, where they defeated St. Croix Lutheran 2-0 in the quarterfinals and St. Agnes 3-0 in the semifinals. In the section title game against IMAC rival Minnehaha, the Spartans came out on top 2-0 and advanced to the State tournament for the second year in a row. At state, the #3-seeded boys defeated St. Paul Washington Technology Magnet 2-1 in the quarterfinals and Holy Family Catholic 2-1 in overtime in the semis. After falling behind 1-0 in the first half of the state championship game, the boys’ rattled off three goals in the second half to win 3-2 over Pine Island/Zumbrota Mazeppa and capture the program’s sixth championship overall and become the first team to win back-to-back titles since the 1986 and 1987 seasons.

MSHSL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:

Orion Kim ’24, Cooper Olson ’24, Awaale Osman ’24 and Ezra Straub ’25

MR. SOCCER CLASS A: Cooper Olson ’24

ALL-STATE:

Orion Kim ’24, Cooper Olson ’24, Awaale Osman ’24 and Ezra Straub ’25

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Orion Kim ’24, Cooper Olson ’24, Awaale Osman ’24, Ezra Straub ’25 and Arlo Zirps ’25

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION: Carson Granberg ’25 and Lucas Granja ’25

VOLLEYBALL

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

Spartan Volleyball took big victories over St. Paul Humboldt, St. Anthony, and IMAC rival Breck this season. In the postseason, the Spartans received the #8 seed in Section 4AA and faced off against Math and Science Academy in the opening round of section play, winning 3-0 before falling in the second round to a talented Nova squad.

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Eliana Mann ’24

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION: Nadia Degnan ’24

Eliana Mann ’24

GIRLS’ SWIMMING AND DIVING

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

The Sparks swimming and diving team, a co-op between SPA and Highland Park, had another solid season finishing third in the St. Paul City Conference. In section competition, four athletes advanced to the section finals: Adele Gjerde ’25 and Audrey Peltier ’27 swam the 100-yard freestyle finishing tenth and twelfth; and Claire Kim ’24 and Anja Seifert ’24 swam the 100-yard breaststroke finishing eighth and eleventh respectively.

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Avital Coleman ’27, Adele Gjerde ’25 and Claire Kim ’24

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION:

Ayla Rivers ’24

Symbol denotes team or athlete competed at the State level

FOOTBALL

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

The SMB Wolfpack, a cooperative program between SPA, Minnehaha Academy, and The Blake School, had a challenging season, finishing with a 0-8 record. In the postseason, the Wolfpack received the #6 seed in Section 5AAAA and fell to a talented Benilde-St. Margaret’s team in the quarterfinals.

GIRLS’ TENNIS

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

Notable victories for girls’ tennis included wins over Highland Park, Visitation, Minnehaha Academy and Cretin-Derham Hall, with the team finishing with a 11-6 overall record. In Section 4A competition, Nellie Larson ’26 took third place in the singles competition.

ACADEMIC ALL-STATE: Rita Li ’24, Audrey Senaratna ’24 and Lucy Shaffer ’24

ALL-CONFERENCE:

Nellie Larson ’26, Georgia Ross ’25 and Audrey Senaratna ’24

ALL-CONFERENCE

HONORABLE MENTION:

Nabeeha Qadri ’27 and Elle Williams ’26

Nellie Larson ’26

Connor Overgaard ’24

Homecoming 2023 Homecoming 2023

Homecoming 2023 was a week-long celebration of Spartan Spirit! The week included special events and activities in all three divisions, including the first-ever All School Homecoming Assembly, a brand-new gathering for the entire K-12 community (see next page for details). Celebrations also included dress-up days, the traditional Blue and Gold Day at the Lower School, and the Upper School Pep Fest before the Homecoming soccer game, featuring our State Championship girls’ team winning a decisive 4-1 victory over Holy Family.

All-School Assembly All-School Assembly

highlight of this year’s Homecoming Week was the firstever All-School Homecoming Assembly. On the morning of Tuesday, October 3, school buses filled with Lower School students arrived at Lang Field to join the Middle and Upper Schools for the celebration. The Class of 2024 formed a “welcome tunnel” for our Lower Schoolers as the entire community took their seats in the bleachers. The assembly featured remarks from Head of School Dr. Luis Ottley and the leaders of the Upper School Council, who helped plan the event.

Student representatives from the Middle and Lower Schools spoke to the crowd and helped lead the entire community in a rendition of “Stand Up,” student-written song that is a favorite in the Lower School. The event also included a special “beading ceremony” in which the Class of 2024 welcomed the Kindergarten class to their first Homecoming.

This was the first Homecoming for new Upper School Principal Minnie Lee, who joined the SPA community in July 2023. “As a new community member, the All-School Assembly was a real moment of joy for me,” says Lee, who also noted the remarkable leadership shown by the senior class in planning and participating in the assembly. “Our seniors displayed remarkable leadership and uplifting energy in making this day happen,” Lee says. “Plus, it was wonderful to see the full arc of the SPA student community, from kindergarten to Grade 12, at one place and time. The sense of community and fun was palpable. We’re all looking forward to next year’s assembly already!”

CELEBRATING THE CLASS OF 2023

COMMENCEMENT 2023

PHOTOGRAPHS

BY

SCOTT STREBLE

OOn Sunday, June 11, 2023, SPA celebrated the 98 members of the Class of 2023 at the school’s 123rd Commencement ceremony, held on the North Lawn of the Randolph Campus.

Ceremony highlights included remarks from Senior Speakers Simon Assefa and Riley Erben and Commencement Speaker and Upper School faculty member Ben Bollinger Danielson, all of whom were selected by the senior class to speak at Commencement. The ceremony also featured the traditional awarding of the school Bowl honors, given this year to Rebecca Richman (Faculty Bowl), George Peltier (Alumni/ae Bowl), and Clea Gaïtas Sur, Maryeva Gonzalez, and Quenby Wilson (Head of School Bowls). Final remarks were offered by Head of School Dr. Luis Ottley, officiating at his first SPA Commencement at the conclusion of his first year as Head.

After the ceremony, the graduates and their guests celebrated with an outdoor reception in the Lilly Courtyard.

2023 BOWL RECIPIENTS

Rebecca Richman received the 2023 Faculty Bowl, awarded to that senior who has shown unusual breadth and depth of intellectual interest and outstanding commitment to academic excellence.

Clea Gaïtas Sur, Maryeva Gonzalez, and Quenby Wilson were the recipients of the 2023 Head of School Bowl, awarded to those members of the senior class who have been recognized by their peers and teachers for significant contributions to the school.

Julia Colbert Ben Chen

George Peltier received the 2023 Alumni/ae Bowl, which is presented to an individual elected by the faculty from nominations made by the senior class. It is given each year to that member of the class deemed to be most outstanding in many areas of school life.

Student Speaker Simon Assefa

Student Speaker Riley Erben

Upper School faculty member Ben Bollinger Danielson served as Commencement Speaker

Catherine Hooley Lela Tilney-Kaemmer Cassandra Zirps

CLASS OF 2023 COLLEGE CHOICES

EDUCATING EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATORS:

SPA’S ALUMNI/AE TEACHERS

BY AMI BERGER | PHOTOGRAPHS BY SCOTT STREBLE

AAsk a graduate what they most value from their time at SPA, and the answer you’ll most likely hear is “my teachers.” The bond between faculty and students at SPA is legendary; many SPA alumni/ae become educators themselves, and sometimes those educators carry on the tradition at their alma mater. SPA Magazine talked to three such alumni/ae-educators with a remarkable bond of their own: Mollie Ward ’83, who has taught History and Social Studies in SPA’s Middle and Upper Schools since 2003; and Intercultural Life Program Specialist Alexis Irish ’15 and Auxiliary Program Coordinator Asad Masood ’15, both of whom were in Ward’s advisory as students and have since returned to SPA to become her colleagues. Together, Ward, Irish, and Masood represent the past, present, and future of the exceptional education that is at the heart of SPA’s mission.

“Obviously a lot has changed since I was a student at SPA, but in some important ways it’s fundamentally the same. Our students are ridiculously well-prepared for college. They leave here feeling capable and confident. They understand what it means to love learning and really dig into something they’re passionate about.”

— Mollie Ward

MOLLIE WARD ’83

Helping students be their best selves every day

Mollie Ward came to SPA as a seventh-grade student, but her family has been connected to the school for generations: both her parents attended SPA, as did three of her four grandparents. She returned to SPA as a teacher in 2003, moving between the newly-created Middle School and the Upper School. She has taught in the Upper School History Department since 2011, teaching the Grade 10 World History class in addition to electives such as History of Refugee Communities, History of Race, and Ancient World History. Ward is also the parent of two SPA graduates: Isabel LaVercombe ’12 and Harry LaVercombe ’10. We asked Ward to reflect on the teachers who inspired her, and how she’s incorporated those lessons into her own teaching.

>On How SPA has Changed:

“Obviously a lot has changed since I was a student at SPA, but in some important ways it’s fundamentally the same. Our students are ridiculously well-prepared for college. They leave here feeling capable and confident. They understand what it means to love learning and really dig into something they’re passionate about. That’s one thing the faculty do very well here: model their own love of their subject, and of teaching and learning in general. At back-to-school night this year, a parent came up to me at the end of the presentation for my History of Refugee Communities class, and she said ‘my son describes this class as what a class looks like when a teacher is teaching something that they really care about.’ I thought that was one of the greatest compliments I’d ever gotten.

“The great thing about going to a school like SPA is that it’s small. You’re known. You’ve got an entire community that genuinely has your back. But honestly, that can also be hard. You stick a crayon up your nose in first grade, and then you’re “crayon kid” until you graduate. But I think we’re much better now about giving kids the space to grow and change, and to make mistakes. That’s a big difference from when I was a student here. We’ve very deliberately created a lot more spaces where kids are allowed to just be themselves and feel good about it.”

“ I think we’re much better now about giving kids the space to grow and change, and to make mistakes. That’s a big difference from when I was a student here. We’ve very deliberately created a lot more spaces where kids are allowed to just be themselves and feel good about it.”

Mollie Ward

>On Her Own SPA Teachers:

“I had so many great teachers here, but one who stands out was Mike Foley. I first had him for 10th grade English and it was rough. And he meant it to be rough. He was a bit scary before you had him in a class, but when you had him as a teacher and got to know him, you just adored him. He was hilarious and he challenged us. In 10th grade he made us write a paragraph every Friday that he would hand back on Monday with what he called “the yellow spot of life,” which was a big circle he would make on your paper with his yellow highlighter. When you got the yellow spot of life, it meant you had to rewrite the entire paragraph. In the beginning every single one of us got the yellow spot of life, even the straight-A students, because we were just terrible writers in 10th grade. But he made us better, because he was so funny and so passionate and we wanted to do well for him. I had him for Shakespeare too, and I loved Shakespeare because of him. He acted out all the plays, and listening to him made all the difference—you’d be in his class reading your third play of the year and all of the sudden, without even realizing it, it all made sense. He was a legend.” [Please see page 48 for a tribute to Mike Foley, who passed away in October 2023—Ed.]

“The other teachers that stand out to me are Hazel Belvo, who taught art, and Jane Tiers, who taught chemistry. Hazel was my advisor and really nurtured us; the art wing was my happy place, the place I could go and feel completely comfortable. She made us feel like we were all in this together, that we were a family, and I’ve really tried to carry that through to my own advisory. Jane Tiers was such a hoot and a brilliant science teacher—I never liked science before I had her, and I ended up absolutely adoring chemistry. The two of them had such an impact on me that when I graduated and went to [University of Wisconsin] Madison, I originally was going to double-major in art and chemistry.”

Above: Ward in a photo from the SPA yearbook in 1982; Right: Ward teaching an Upper School History elective in 2024

>

On How Her Teachers Inspire Her Own Teaching:

“There’s a lot I’ve carried forward from my own teachers. From Mike, I think I took that directness about expectations—just being very clear and direct, and having very high expectations for everyone. And sometimes the students think I’m a little scary until they get to know me in class. With Jane, you could always tell how much she loved teaching and loved her subject, and that’s a big part of what I try to do in my own classes. Hazel was such an earth mother, and I think about her all the time when I’m with my advisory. I’m more of a mama bear than Hazel was, but I’m always trying to create that same kind of nurturing atmosphere with my advisees.

“Upper School advisories are kind of a touchstone—it’s the place where a student gets seen every day by an adult and a really small group of peers. You all get to know each other really well, and it’s the first stop for parents too. We always tell parents, ‘if anything’s going on, start with the advisor.’ I really try to make my advisory a place where the kids can take a breath and just be. One thing I definitely don’t do is let the day invade that advisory space. I’m not thinking about everything I have to do and I don’t want the kids thinking about everything they have to do—we’re just going to have fun. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we play a game—whatever it is that they need to be their best selves in that moment. That’s my philosophy: helping them be their best selves, because if they’re doing that, then they’re going to feel good about walking into this building every day.”

ALEXIS IRISH ’15

A philosophy of teaching rooted in relationships

Alexis Irish is a “lifer” who attended SPA from Kindergarten through Grade 12. After graduating Davidson College, she worked for several years as a youth facilitator focused on the health and wellness of students of color. She returned to SPA in 2021 as an Intercultural Life Program Specialist, working with Director of Intercultural Life Dr. Naomi Taylor to support Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging programming in the Middle and Upper Schools. Irish advises Middle and Upper School affinity and special interest groups, teaches Middle School wellness units, serves as an Upper School advisor, and leads cultural programming and professional development. Irish talked with SPA Magazine about returning to SPA as an educator, and how her time as a student has shaped her approach to teaching and learning.

> On Returning to SPA as an Educator:

“When I first started working here, I went down to the Lower School for a meeting and ran into Mr. Rongstad, who was my second-grade teacher. He said ‘It’s so great that you’re working here now, but I thought you were going to be a doctor!’, because when I was in second grade, I thought I was going to be a doctor. I couldn’t believe he remembered that. I thought, ‘wow, you really saw me and listened to me as a child, and you held that in your brain for twenty years.’ It’s the same with so many of my teachers who are still here. I remember being in college and listening to my friends talk about how horrible middle school was, and I was like ‘huh, I have nothing to add to this conversation’ because my middle school teachers were amazing. You knew that they really cared.

“I feel like being a student here, and remembering how much those relationships mattered to me, has helped shape my philosophy of teaching. I really want my students to have the same kind of trust and openness with me that I had with my teachers. I want them to know that there is genuine care behind everything we’re doing, and I want them to believe me when I say ‘I’m not doing this because the curriculum says I have to, but because I see you as a person and I care about your well-being’.”

Above: Irish at Homecoming in fall of 2014; At right Irish with members of her Advisory in 2024.

>Remembering Her SPA Teachers:

“Our advisory with Mollie Ward was so amazing. I feel like Mollie was just magical. She has an incredibly special energy—she was such a great mentor for all of us, and there was the expectation in our advisory that as an older student, you were expected to also be a mentor for the younger students. There were times when I would be freaking out about something, and a senior would say ‘it’s fine, you’re fine,’ and that was always so reassuring. Mollie modeled that for all of us. She made us understand that it was up to us to create that kind of supportive environment, and that we all had a responsibility to make our advisory a positive place. She did not put up with bad attitudes at all; she would say to us,

‘I’m sorry you’re having a bad day, but you’re not going to ruin this space for everyone else,’ and then she’d help us figure out how to deal with whatever was bothering us. Sometimes she’d just let us rant for a bit if that’s what we needed. But she never said ‘don’t talk about that, that’s not important.’ She always gave us that space to talk about our experiences, which was especially important because our advisory was mostly kids of color. It was

“As a student, the teachers who were the most pivotal for me were the ones who took the time to let us engage with material in the ways that made sense to us, even if it meant going off on a bit of a tangent. I tell my students, ‘if you’re engaged in the material, you’re learning. And if that’s how you’re going to learn today, then that’s what we’ll do’.”

Alexis Irish

so valuable to be able to relax and laugh and not censor yourself in any way, with an adult there who really heard us, and cared about what we had to say.

“[Science teacher] Karissa Baker was also a huge influence on me—she changed my entire trajectory when it came to studying science. She was my Earth Science teacher in ninth grade, and after that class she came to me and said ‘you really need to go into Honors science,’ and I initially said no. I didn’t believe her at all! I told my mom that Ms. Baker didn’t know what she was talking about. But I did end up going into Honors, and every time I got stressed out about it or felt like I couldn’t handle the work, I’d think to myself, ‘well, Ms. Baker thinks I should be here’.” I’d go to her office and say ‘why am I taking this high-level course? I shouldn’t be in this class’ and she’d give me a look and tell me ‘Yeah, you should. You need to be in that class’.”

> On Her Philosophy of Teaching and Advising:

“So much of what I do with my students as a teacher and advisor is based on my own experience as a student here. I’m an Upper School advisor now—my advisory is all students of color—and I use what I learned from Ms. Ward’s advisory all the time. I want them to come into that advisory space knowing that it’s a place where they can be themselves and talk honestly about things that are frustrating or upsetting and not be worried about repercussions. I’m also willing to go off course if that’s what the group needs at any point. As a student, the teachers who were the most pivotal for me were the ones who took the time to let us engage with material in the ways that made sense to us, even if it meant going off on a bit of a tangent. I tell my students, ‘if you’re engaged in the material, you’re learning. And if that’s how you’re going to learn today, then that’s what we’ll do’.”

ASAD MASOOD ’15

Creating structure and space for students to have fun

Asad Masood came to SPA in Middle School as a member of the Class of 2015. After graduation, he attended the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and stayed connected to SPA both during and after college through academic tutoring and working with the Upper School debate program. Masood then returned full-time to SPA in 2023 to take the role of Auxiliary Program Coordinator. He works primarily with Middle School students and faculty on experiential learning initiatives, Middle School assembly programming, and after-school activities, and also oversees SPA’s summer enrichment workshops and day camps. Here, Masood reflects on the Middle and Upper School teachers who continue to impact his work as an educator.

“A big part of my role at SPA is supervising Middle School students, and I think a lot about the ways that my SPA teachers would create structure and enforce rules. Mollie was very good at leveling with us in a very human way without talking down to us; she never assumed that we wouldn’t understand the ‘why’ behind a rule.”

Asad Masood

>On His SPA Middle School Experience:

“When I think about Middle School, I think about the teachers who empowered me. I had Dan Steinhacker for sixth-grade LASS [language arts and social studies] and he was one of my favorite teachers of all time. He was really fun to have in class, but he also pushed me to take responsibility for my work: keeping track of my assignments and getting things done. When I was in seventh grade, I had to get his approval before I could compete on the varsity Alpine skiing team, and he made me a deal: I had two weeks to show him that I could get to all my practices and still get all my work done. I give Dan a lot of credit for putting me on the path of academic responsibility.

“Another big moment for me in Middle School was our eighth-grade Taking a Stand project in social studies. Everybody chooses an issue and takes a side and creates a poster about it. Andrew Roy was my teacher, and he really encouraged me to be creative with my Taking a Stand presentation. He had shown us Prezi [a digital presentation tool] in class and I thought that was so cool. My topic was pretty complicated—it was about whether the US should take unilateral action in Pakistan—and I thought Prezi would be a better way to present it. Mr. Roy was totally open to that: he told me ‘you should do this in a way that makes sense to you, and if that’s not a poster board, that’s not a big deal.’ But it felt like a big deal to me, that he had given me the freedom to explore how I wanted to talk about this issue. It made me feel like I had agency over my education.”

On Being an Authority Figure with Students:

“A big part of my role at SPA is supervising Middle School students, and I think a lot about the ways that my SPA teachers would create structure and enforce rules. Mollie was very good at leveling with us in a very human way without talking down to us; she never assumed that we wouldn’t understand the ‘why’ behind a rule. That’s given me the perspective and the ability to enforce rules with the students in a way they’ll understand, but without trying to be their best friend. And I also work really hard to give them spaces where they can just relax and have fun. One of my favorite parts of my job is the Middle School after-school program, because that’s when you get to see the kids just being kids: you can joke around with them and tease out the playfulness. And if they’ve had a long day, you can be the person that’s safe.”

>

On Adjusting to the Upper School as a Student:

“In ninth grade there are a lot of training wheels, a lot of guardrails. The Harkness tables and discussions take some getting used to. You have to really show up and be able to contribute. B-Dan [Upper School history teacher Ben Bolligner-Danielson] was my ninth-grade History teacher, and he does such a good job of taking kids who are basically still Middle Schoolers and guiding them into a much more sophisticated academic setting. He helped us understand that whatever you get out of a class is entirely up to you. I remember I got the ninth-grade Book Award for History that year, and I hadn’t really thought that history was my thing before B-Dan’s class.

“So many of my Upper School teachers were instrumental in making sure I had the structure I needed and helping me feel like I belonged here. [Math teacher] Mary Lincoln used to track me down in the hallways to make sure I met with her if I needed help. [Debate teacher] Tom Fones came up to me after a Student Political Union meeting when I was in ninth grade and told me I should do debate, which became a huge part of my life. Kathryn Campbell taught an English class that basically changed my life—it was a Gender and Literature class that completely changed my entire perspective on gender and sexuality.

“I definitely wouldn’t be the person I am today without Mollie [Ward]. Before I joined her advisory in tenth grade, I didn’t really know her, but I did know her reputation: you didn’t mess around with Ms. Ward. But the dynamic in our advisory was amazing, because Mollie set the bar at ‘you treat each other well and we go from there.’ We all knew that she cared about us—not just about how we were doing in school, but about us as people. She did such a great job of making sure that I never fell through the cracks. She basically ordered me to come to her study halls my sophomore year because she could see I needed a bit of extra support, and she was right. My junior year, she didn’t make me go to her study halls anymore, but I did anyway. And senior year I had two History electives with her: Ancient World History and Global Migrations. Those were great classes, and because we were all seniors she let us really explore our options in terms of our projects. A lot of my classmates would design these amazing art projects based on what we were studying—I remember one project was a jigsaw puzzle that you could only put together if you knew the answers to certain questions. I’m not a crafty person, though, so I ended up just writing a paper and Mollie pretended to be mad at me about it.”

Above: Masood as Senior Speaker at his Commencement in 2015; At Left: Masood with a Middle School colleague in 2024.

ALUMNI/AE EVENT CALENDAR

June 2024

COMMENCEMENT FOR THE CLASS OF 2024

Sunday, June 11, 2023, 4 p.m.

Randolph Campus

September

2024

REUNION WEEKEND 2024

Friday and Saturday, September 6-7, 2024

Visit www.spa.edu/alumni/events for details

2024 ATHLETICS

HALL OF FAME CEREMONY

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2024, 5-6:30 p.m.

Huss Center for the Performing Arts Visit www.spa.edu/alumni/events for details

November 2024

YOUNG ALUMNI/AE REUNIONS: CELEBRATING THE CLASSES OF 2009, 2014, AND 2019

Friday, November 29, 2024

Various times and locations

Contact Kate Bogdan, Assistant Director for Alumni/ae Engagement and Annual Giving, for more information, kbogdan@spa.edu

ALUMNI/AE COUNCIL UPDATE: JOIN US!

Volunteering with the Alumni/ae Council is a wonderful way to network with other alums and stay connected to the school. To learn more about the work of the Council, contact Kate Bogdan, Assistant Director of Alumni/ ae Engagement and Annual Giving, at kbogdan@spa.edu.

For additional Alumni/ae Events, visit www.spa.edu/alumni/events

2023-24

ST. PAUL ACADEMY AND SUMMIT SCHOOL ALUMNI/AE COUNCIL

Walt Lehmann ’81

President

Elena Averbakh ’02

Dr. Kevin Boeh ’86

Chris Cheney ’88

Mercedes Henderson Clark ’88

Peter Daniels ’02

Jim Delaney ’93

Jamie Forman ’77

Maura Hamilton ’07

Stephanie Hill ’11

Emily Gleason ’03

Ali Hussain ’07

Reid Kett ’13

John Moore ’95

Dorothy Munholland ’07

Hayley Peterson ’08

Mara Schanfield ’98

Courtney Vincent ’92

REUNION WEEKEND 2023

SEPTEMBER 8-9, 2023

Thank you to all who attended Reunion Weekend 2023! We had an amazing weekend welcoming back so many alumni/ae and friends to campus. The Friday evening festivities began with the Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony (see item on page 33) followed by the opening of the Alumni/ ae Art Show and the Blue & Gold Bash. On Saturday morning, we welcomed the Class of 1973 into the Heritage Society and celebrated all classes who have graduated fifty years or more at the Heritage Brunch, and on Saturday evening, alumni/ae classes ending in “3” and “8” gathered for class parties. See pages 38 for photos from class parties, and make sure to save the date for Reunion Weekend 2024 on September 6-7, 2024!

ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME Welcomes 13 New Inductees

During Reunion Weekend 2023, SPA proudly inducted thirteen individuals into the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Athletics Hall of Fame. The event, which was emceed by retired teacher and coach Jim McVeety and current teacher and alumna Kris Flom ’80, featured remarks by Head of School Dr. Luis Ottley and the formal induction ceremony. Pictured (left to right) are inductees Thomas Vannelli ’73, William Langford ’53, William Larson ’79, Cathy Paper ’85, Manuel “Buzz” Lagos, J. Peter Sawkins ’81, Hilary Raudenbush Magnuson ’59, James Goins ’63 (accepting on behalf of his late brother, David Goins ’64), Keren Gudeman ’94, Anthony Sanneh ’90, and Elizabeth O’Brien ’73. Inducted but not pictured are Kira Gregerson Steiner ’89 and Penelope Stout Shanks ’58.

ON THE ROAD WITH HEAD OF SCHOOL DR. LUIS OTTLEY: Regional Alumni/ae Events in New York, Los Angeles, and Boston

Head of School Dr. Luis Ottley was on the road again this year meeting alumni/ae on both coasts. Many thanks to the graduates who joined us in New York in November 2023, in Los Angeles in January 2024, and in Boston in April 2024 for three wonderful evenings of conversation with Dr. Ottley and fellow alumni/ae.

Gatherings in Los Angeles (left), New York (below), and Boston (bottom).

Be Social With Us!

SUPPORTING STUDENT-ATHLETES: The Buzz and Sarah Lagos Scholarship Fund

St. Paul Academy and Summit School is proud to announce the establishment of the Buzz and Sarah Lagos Scholarship Fund. The fund will provide need-based financial aid for studentathletes from diverse backgrounds to attend SPA. Scholarships will support low to middle-income families.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups/ 1949775 or search on “St. Paul Academy & Summit School Alumni”.

SPA Online Directory: spa.edu > Alumni/ae > Directory to search for classmates, local alumni/ae, or alumni/ae in a particular field or industry.

SmugMug photo galleries: stpaulacademy.smugmug.com > Alumni/ae to view photo galleries from all events.

The Lagos Scholarship Fund honors Buzz Lagos, who served as a math teacher, soccer coach, and mentor during his quarter-century working at SPA. As a Middle and Upper School math teacher, Buzz’s passion for mathematics and genuine interest in his students had a profound impact on generations of students. Just as profound is Lagos’ legacy as the Head Coach of SPA’s boys’ varsity soccer team: under Coach Lagos’ leadership, SPA boys’ varsity soccer won 11 section titles and 5 state championships in the 70’s and 80’s.

The Lagos Scholarship Fund was also created to honor Lagos’ wife Sarah, who is an integral part of the Lagos soccer legacy. She served as chief supporter, Russian tea provider, mother figure, and annual soccer celebration hostess. Her legendary tacos and enchiladas forged indelible memories for Spartans spanning several decades. “We felt the fund would be a fitting tribute to the dedication and influence that Buzz and Sarah have had on the SPA community for over half a century,” says Coach Lagos’ son Gerard ’88, who along with his wife Jane has worked to establish the Lagos Fund. “We’re both amazed by and grateful for the overwhelming support to establish this fund in their names,” says Jane.

Coach Lagos continues to serve the SPA community as an assistant boys’ soccer coach, helping to shape a new generation of SPA leaders. For more information about the Lagos Scholarship Fund, please contact Alyse Simondet, Senior Development Officer, at asimondet@ spa.edu

SPARTANS GIVE DAY

On April 18, 2024, the entire SPA community came together for Spartans Give Day—a one-day philanthropic event where all are encouraged to make a gift to the Annual Fund. This year’s Spartans Give Day also featured a special incentive: $17,500 in “challenge funds” generously donated by David Kristal and Cristiana Giordano and Tim ’77 and Francine O’Brien. Every gift made during Spartans Give Day unlocked an additional $100 to the Annual Fund, up to $17,500.

According to Chris Jenkyns, Director of Annual Giving and Alumni/ae Engagement, this year’s goal was 175 gifts from the community on Spartans Give Day, but that goal was quickly surpassed: by the end of the day, more than 230 donors had contributed a total of $60,237, easily unlocking the $17,500 challenge fund. Jenkyns reports that 232 donors from 27 states (and Australia!) and 48 SPA classes were a part of Spartans Give Day; alumni/ae classes represented ranged from 1956 to 2023 and every current class, from Kindergarten to Grade 12, was also represented in the final tally. “Overall it was a phenomenal day,” Jenkyns says, “and one which would not have been made possible without the generosity and support of this community.”

GIFT FOR THE FUTURE OF SPA:

Former Lower School teacher and Summit School alumna Sandra Bemis Roe ’59 donates $5 million to strategic priorities

In September 2023, SPA announced an extraordinary gift for the future of SPA to current parents, faculty, and staff: a $5 million gift from former Lower School teacher and Summit School alumna Sandra Roe to help support the renovation of the Goodrich Campus and a new endowment for faculty compensation. As Head of School Dr. Luis Ottley noted in the announcement last fall, “these are two of the most essential elements at the foundation of everything we do, and they are priorities that we now must support and grow as we look ahead to SPA’s next century.”

“The opportunity to support Dr. Ottley’s vision for enhancing learning and community spaces at the Goodrich Campus and establishing a dedicated faculty endowment was the inspiration for my gift,” Roe says. “Thinking about the impact of these initiatives stirred deep and joyful memories of my time teaching with inspiring colleagues and wonderful children!”

Ottley notes that the school has spent the past several years working to better understand these needs. In late 2020, SPA began an assessment of the Goodrich Campus physical plant with HGA, the architecture firm responsible for the construction of the Huss Center, the Schilling Center, and the Upper School Humanities Wing. With a thorough understanding of recommended infrastructure improvements, HGA also consulted with the Lower School’s faculty and leadership to explore their space and programmatic needs, and to determine how to best support learning on the Goodrich Campus now and in the future.

As this work was taking place, the school also launched a compensation study in September 2022 designed to understand and ultimately strengthen compensation packages for all K-12 faculty. “We are committed to a robust strategy that will make SPA the best school at which to teach as well as the best school at which to learn,” Ottley says, “and part of that commitment is the establishment of a dedicated faculty endowment fund to increase faculty salaries across all three divisions.”

The $5 million commitment from Roe, who taught at the Lower School from 1979 to 1989, is a testament to the importance of these strategic priorities to the school’s future and advanced the planning of these initiatives. “Sandra’s gift has galvanized our work,” Ottley says, “and we are enormously grateful to her for her generosity and her vision for the future of SPA.”

The first phase of improvements to the Goodrich Campus will begin in June 2024. “I look forward to sharing updates and progress with the full community in the year ahead,” Ottley says.

Sandra Bemis Roe ’59 (center) with Lower School Principal Beth Nelson and Head of School Dr. Luis Ottley.

Have news to share?

Email your news to alumni@spa.edu or send it to Class Notes: St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55105

We look forward to hearing from you!

Become a Class Agent!

Class Agents keep in touch with their classmates and provide updates on SPA happenings.

Class Agents also help with special events and reunions. All classes welcome additional volunteers and multiple Class Agents are encouraged.

To become a Class Agent, please contact alumni@spa.edu or 651-696-1308.

Contact Your Class Agent

Please visit our website at www.spa.edu/alumni/connect or reach out to Kate Bogdan, Assistant Director of Alumni/ae Engagement and Annual Giving, at kbogdan@spa.edu.

’53

Class Agent

The Class of 1953 is looking for a Class Agent. Please contact alumni@spa.edu or 651-696-1308.

Reyn Guyer and his team at Winsor Concepts developed the first Nerf ball in the late 1960s and now that first ball and all Nerf Toys have been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. To be included in the Hall of Fame, a nominated toy must have inspired creative play and enjoyed long-lasting popularity. The other toys included the 2023 class of inductees were the Fisher-Price Corn Popper, Cabbage Patch Kids, and baseball cards. Reyn and his team also developed and licensed the game Twister to Milton Bradley in 1969 and, in 1986, Reyn was inducted into the Hasbro Inventor’s Hall of Fame.

’56

The Class of 1956 is looking for a Class Agent. Please contact alumni@spa.edu or 651-696-1308.

Bob Fisher, who describes himself as “a sometime indoor rowing erg sportsman,” recently became #1 in the world in the 85-100 age category for the 2,000 meters in indoor rowing erg. Bob says that he discovered his niche as an oarsman on national and international championship Harvard crews, including a team that won the Grand Challenge Cup at the Royal Henley Regatta in 1959. After an unsuccessful bid for the 1964 U.S. Olympic team, Bob spent several years driving winning cars in the World Manufacturers’ Championship, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring, 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, finishing second in the 24 Hours of Daytona, and being the top American qualifier in a team that won at Le Mans. Despite collecting varsity letters while at SPA, Bob says he was never among his class’s better athletes but credits SPA for exposing him to the enjoyment of team sports and for motivating him to do his best.

’61

Class Agent

Brian Fitch

George Crawford relocated from the suburbs of New York City (Mamaroneck in Westchester County) to San Diego over the summer. He is enjoying his new home and walks to the San Diego harbor where he sees anything and everything from sailboats to aircraft carriers going in and out of the bay. He is looking forward to taking full advantage of living so close to the water and plans on getting a slip and his own sailboat soon.

Carl “Sandy” Drake lives with his wife Barbara in Wausau, Wisconsin. He retired after careers in banking and real estate and has assisted many nonprofit organizations, including the United Way, Boys and Girls Club, various women’s shelters, the YWCA, and Prodeo Academy in fulfilling their goals and has set up scholarship programs at various schools. Over the past forty years, he has been active in many athletic endeavors including cross-country ski marathons around the world, flat water kayak touring in Georgian Bay, Alpine skiing, and cycling.

Brian Fitch retired six years ago after providing organizational development services in leadership, visioning, collaboration and communication. He and his wife Cathy are living happily in Cleveland Heights, OH. He writes, “We love being in touch with our children and grandchildren; and we lost our wonderful daughter, Audrey, shortly after I retired. Also I love football as much as ever and have transitioned from a Gopher (during my doctoral program at the U of M) to a fervent Buckeye fan, a process that began when I was on the faculty at Ohio State University early in my career. I used to run marathons yearly but have had to give that up and now my pup and I content ourselves with a few miles daily.”

Wood “Chip” Foster retired ten years ago after a “wonderful 45-year career as a litigator in Minneapolis,”which included cases in twentynine states. He and his wife Jane have seen their kids graduate from Harvard, St. Olaf, Stanford, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, and Dartmouth. He still enjoys an active lifestyle, playing pickup soccer a few times a week and skiing out west with his law firm partners during their yearly trip. Chip shares that he “can still remember SPA days well” and that he feels very fortunate to have been a SPA grad.

Harvey Mills reports that the Mills family has now eight granddaughters and zero grandsons! “What are the odds?” Harvey says.

Alan Ruvelson and his wife Sally are both retired and loving it, enjoying their kids and grandkids who live nearby. They are enjoying traveling—a fun trip to Scandinavia in June and July and a trip to Southern Italy in January. He sends his best to everyone!

Ivar Siqveland is retired after 30+ years in the travel industry. Prior to purchasing his travel agency in 1974, he received his commission in the U.S. Army and served one year in Vietnam flying helicopters and completed his active duty service as a flight instructor. He reports that he and his wife Peg have four wonderful grandkids.

After SPA graduation, Tim Griggs attended Middlebury College in Vermont and remains a strong Middlebury fan to this day. Faced with the draft, he chose to remain in ROTC and graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant with an eye to becoming an Army Aviator. After training, he received orders for the First Cavalry Division in Vietnam where he faced combat as a US Army helicopter pilot. After the service, Tim went to Aspen, began his career in real estate, and enjoyed many years of skiing and a wonderful lifestyle. He was lured back into flying as a commercial airline pilot with Horizon Airlines before starting up his own air charter business in 2001. He now lives in Steamboat Springs and is happily married, retired, physically active, and in moderately good health.

’64

Class Agents

John Maher

Cindy Schuneman Piper

The Summit Class of 1964 is looking forward to their 60th Reunion in 2024. Class Agent Cindy Schuneman Piper is gathering class members for a “girls slumber party” to celebrate.

’69

The Class of 1969 is looking for a Class Agent. Please contact alumni@spa.edu or 651-696-1308.

s Axel Janik, who joined the class of ’69 as an exchange student from Germany and stayed with the family of Charlie Greenman ’70, is the proud owner of the new Minnesota state flag. Charlie gifted the new flag to Axel, who developed a strong loyalty to Minnesota during his time here. Charlie reports that the new flag is flying high at Axel’s home in Germany.

’70

Class Agent

Charlie Greenman

in the fall, members of the

for two

reunions.

of

are Paul Rogosheske ’71 (center) and Chris Winship Rogosheske (right) enjoying Lake Pokegama.

s Bob Adair, Charlie Greenman and Chip Lindeke spent a July summer day visiting Ross’s Bee Hives.

s Earlier

Class

1970 gathered

mini

Pictured

s Charlotte McDermott enjoying Lake Pokegama.

s Members of the Class of 1970 took in a beautiful fall day at Cherokee Park in September.

Pictured (Back row L to R) are: Mary Lindridge, Cynthia Mills, Terry Gilberstadt, and Laura Bathke (Front row L to R) are: Charlie Greenman, Betsy Perna, Kate O’Brien, Ellen Seesel, and Ellen’s dog, Franny.

s Members of the Class of 1970 enjoyed a Minnesota fall day by getting together for a walk.

Pictured are Chip Lindeke, Bill James, Gates Blodgett, Bruce Lilly and his dog and Barry Ross

’71

Class Agents

Alice Berquist

Tom Wood

s Don Lewis retired in June as co-founder and shareholder of Minneapolis-based law firm Nilan Johnson Lewis. Lewis helped found the firm in 1996 and his practice focused on complex employment litigation and internal investigations, including alternative dispute resolution, whitecollar criminal defense and health care litigation.

’80

Class Agent

Tom Kayser

s Dr. Artemis

Preeshl is serving as a Fulbright Senior Specialist in the Department of Communication and Media at the Central University of Tamil Nadu in April 2024. As

A Third Grammy for Sean Patrick Flahaven ’91

On Sunday, February 4, 2024 at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, Sean Patrick Flahaven (pictured third from left) won the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album for Some Like It Hot (Original Broadway Cast Recording). Flahaven served as executive producer of the album and label head of Concord Theatricals Recordings. This is Sean’s third Grammy: he previously won in this category for Into the Woods (2022 Broadway Cast Recording) and Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording).

Assistant Professor of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, she is co-leading the Buena Vista University Volunteer Trip to Cape Town and the Wildlife Rescue Centre in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, during May Term 2024.

’83

Class Agent

Tracy Cosgrove

Ann Ruhr Pifer is entering her tenth year as Executive Director of AdoptAClassroom.org, a national nonprofit organization that aims to support teachers and students in high-need schools. She also serves as the Board Chair of the Minnesota Museum of American Art and is delighted to have Nathan Johnson ’93 and Walt Lehmann ’81 as fellow board members.

’90

Class Agents

Debbie Lipschultz Goldenberg

Darren Strafelda

s In October, Minnesota United Soccer Club named Manny Lagos as their first Chief Development Officer and Senior Technical Advisor. In his new role, Manny will focus Minnesota United

on helping drive commercial and business development opportunities for the club, as well as expand fan and community engagement initiatives.

s Sera Markoff ’89 and Tom Madsen, artist, and subject, reconnected over a senior art seminar painting thirty-five years after its creation. Sera originally gave the portrait to their advisor, math teacher and beloved philosophy club mentor Robert Drechsel with the inscription: “To Mr. Drechsel, A painting of one of your philosophers by another.” After Mr. Drechsel’s passing, Sera rediscovered the painting in 2020 and inquired on Facebook if anyone could connect her with Tom. Blythe Lang then tracked down Tom and in August 2023, Tom, Sera, and the painting were reunited and everyone celebrated at Indeed Brewing Company.

’97

Class Agents

Dena Citron Larson

Jeff Jarosch

’98

Class Agent

Mara Schanfield

Anil

Menon ’95 Celebrates NASA “Astronaut Graduation”

s Kristin Vuković reports that her debut novel, The Cheesemaker’s Daughter, will be released on August 6, 2024. The story centers around Marina Maržić, who returns to her native Croatia to help her father try to save their cheese factory. The geography of the region and the process of cheesemaking both play into Marina’s narrative as she confronts the state of her own life and the many relationships that she has left behind in Croatia. Kristin is a writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, BBC Travel, Travel + Leisure, Coastal Living, Hemispheres, and the Daily Beast, among others. She currently resides in New York City with her husband and daughter.

’02

Class Agent

Sarah Crandall

s Laura Coates has her own show on CNN. The former federal prosecutor and St. Paul native hosts “Laura Coates Live” from 10-11 p.m. every weeknight. She also hosts The Laura Coates Show on SiriusXM where she breaks down top headlines and news from a legal perspective.

s Several members of the Class of 2002 recently gathered to watch SPA videos and reminisce at Joey Wertz’s home. Pictured from left to right: Peter Brodd, Dave MacDonald, Peter Grinager, Peter Daniels, Sarah Crandall, Lael (Nelson) Blum, Matt Rischall, and Joey Wertz.

On March 5, 2024, Anil Menon celebrated his official completion of the NASA astronaut training program. Along with the eleven other astronauts-in-training in his candidate class, Anil now joins the ranks of NASA astronauts qualified for missions in space. His connection to the Twin Cities sparked a number of stories in local media, several of which noted his time at SPA. KSTP-TV interviewed Head of School Dr. Luis Ottley for their story about Menon’s achievement, and FOX9’s story also mentioned SPA and retired teacher Peggy Keeling Jewett, who was a particular mentor for Menon during his time at the Upper School. The Star Tribune also mentioned SPA in its coverage, referencing the postcards created by SPA Lower School students with messages and drawings of congratulations for Menon, which were displayed at the post-graduation reception at NASA headquarters in Houston, as well as the congratulatory video message from the entire school, which was also shown during the reception.

Reunion Weekend 2023: Class Parties

ST. PAUL ACADEMY CLASS OF 1968: Standing: Jim Borchert, Nick Linsmayer, Jim Vaughan, Tom Verhey, Dan Starjash, Dar Reedy, Jim Kamman, Doug McMillan, Greg Pierce, Dick Stryker. Seated: Geoffrey Taylor, Bill Levin, Joe Benson, Cal Branton.

Many thanks to all who joined us for Class Parties celebrating classes ending in “3” and “8” on Saturday, September 9 during Reunion Weekend 2023, and special thanks to all our Class Volunteers who helped plan these memorable events.

CLASS OF 1973: Back Row: Ford Nicholson, Richard Brynteson, Tony Millington, Omar Johnson, Peter Alden,Charley Bathke, Richard Waterfield, Jeff Gilbertson, Charlie Zelle, Bruce Derauf, Bob Mairs, Mike Dosdall, Tom Vannelli. Middle Row: Susan Austin, Winnie Dick, Mary Mundahl-New, Elisabeth Paper, Lisa O’Brien, Anne Carroll, Cyndy Tanner, Barney Harris, Whit Carnes, Dorothy Goldie, Kate Walters, Ginny Buell, Jamie Cowie, Helen Easton, Rick Weyerhaeuser, Paul Michaels. Front row: Elizabeth Strouse, Lynn Brown, Lisa Greenman, Mike Braman, Carolyn Carnes.

SUMMIT SCHOOL CLASS OF 1968: (Left to Right): Anne Cowie, Sally Foster, Christie Hammes, Cathy Geist, Lucy Wieland, Katie Platt, Carol Rone, Martha Ravits.

CLASS OF 1978: Back Row: Liz Husebye Hartmann, Vicki Mateo Lincoln, Amy Sundberg O’Brien ‘83, Shannon McNeely Whitaker, Mary Holman Vance, Andrea Garretson Potter, Paul Baillon. Middle Row: John Butler, Scott Austin, Bill Lincoln (spouse), Ric Capretta (spouse), Lisa Tesar Capretta, John O’Brien, John Perry, Steve Whitaker, Phil Foussard, Don Potter (spouse), Jim Bronstien, Scott Butwin. Front Row: Tom Dodge, Clover Earl, Heide Mairs, Grace Amplatz (partner), Bob Albrecht, Phil Allen.

CLASS OF 1988: (Left to Right): Andrew Arashiba, Eric Clark (spouse of Mercedes), Mercedes Henderson Clark, Kirsten Brooks Selinger, Dana Nelson, Chris Cheney, Theresa Zottola Drift, David Salchow, Dan Deuel, Kharma Parker, Fred Kaemmer, Jennifer O’Brien, Anne Marie Vorbach, Dawn White, Amy Myrbo.

CLASS OF 1993: Back Row: Collin Verheyden, Nick Coughlin, Noah Rouen, Peter Peterson, Boris Kopilenko, Miriam Dickler, Joe Wiener, Mike Milinovich, Nate Johnson, Jim Delaney, Jens Strand. Front Row: Bill Fleming, Lisa Wortman, Jenny Schumi, Judd Gilats, Susanna Styve, Tascha (Geiger) Bartsh, Ann Westra, Lara Livgard, Evan Ruotsinoja, John Cosgriff.

CLASS OF 1998: The Class of 1998 was so happy to welcome some former teachers to join in on their reunion celebration! Back Row: Georgia Bond, Lucy Polk, Tom Lundholm, Marcus Gatto, Anna Bracewell, Whitney Boesel, Emma Page, Erica Sandey, Jeremy Stein, Matt Craighead, Michael Lorberbaum, Bree (Yaeger) Jensen, Tanya Adelman, Aaron Bergad, Sara (Weum) Wellington, Todd Winter, Chris Johnson. Front Row: Christy (Oehrleine) Boull, Wilhelmina (Mauritz) Shoger, Julia (Rupp) Struve, Alicia (Boxall) Czech, Leah (Dozier) Krumpholz, Mara Schanfield, Kat (Thompson) Pescheck, Hilary Magnuson, LInda Brooks, Kris Flom. Also in attendance, but not pictured: Sarah Foster-Walters and Anna Kurhajec.

CLASS OF 2003: Back Row: Emmett Lamb, Dan Stein, Owen Davies, Sam Starkman, Andrew Loula, James Bohn, Ralph Smith, Angela Narayan, Nicole (Callahan) Rattner, Jenny Moeller, Cadence (Brand) Fingerholz. Front Row: Emily Gleason, Sarah (Pennie) Thompson, Nicole (Frey) Farese (Frey), Erica (Egge) Hageman, Neil Griffin, Susan (Miranowski) McGirr, Mackenzie Kigin, Tracy (Lappegaard) Grinager, Jill (Stein) Lipset, Anika (Sjoholm) Heng, Leah Corey, Elizabeth (Graber) Bentley.

CLASS OF 2013: Back Row: Reid Kett, Claire Samuelson, Amanda Hotvedt, Cameron Causey, Sarah Hays, Claire Flom Staab, Sid Dicke. Front Row: Julian D’Rozario, Ariana Amini, Ellie Fuelling, Francesco Di Caprio, Andy Monserud, Jonah Wang. Not Pictured But In Attendance: Saif Ahmed and Serena Hodges.

CLASS OF 2008: Back Row: Travis Novak, Pierce Norton, Sam Donaldson, Aaron Olson, Lauren Mast, Meredith Lis, Alex Feng. Front Row: Vanessa Hoffman, Maren Hansell, Austin Lilly, Sarah Kerr, Zahra Masoud, Hayley Peterson.

CLASS OF 2018: In Attendance: Marlo Graham, Sly Schifsky, Peter Blanchfield, Naya Tadavarthy, Emma Hills, Breandan Gibbons, Emilia Topp-Johnson, Sorcha Ashe, Emily Carter, Ned Laird-Raylor, Noah Solomon, Stephanie Frisch, Arib Rahman, Terry Cheney, Jake Adams, Turab Naqvi, Michael Hooley, Mira Zelle, Jackson Wertkin, Daniel Ellis, Zach White, Adnan Askari, Julia Wang, Drew Fawcett, Eli Striker, Erin McNamer, Hendrie Grant, Maya Shrestha, Ben Mellin, Michael Hall, Erik Quillopa, Tony Bogolub, Elsa Runquist, Cam Walsh, Tucker Waltenbaugh and Jak Kinsella.

’02

continued

Eliana Johnson who is currently the Editorin-Chief of The Washington Free Beacon served as one of three moderators for the GOP Primary Debate on December 6, 2023.

’03

Class Agents

Tom Christ

Brenden Goetz

Aleks Sims

s Emily Gleason and her family have relocated back to Minneapolis after living in the Boston area for the last fifteen years. Her son, Gabe is finishing Grade 2 and her daughter

Anna is in her last year of preschool. Outside of raising her family and readjusting to life back in Minnesota, Emily is continuing to plot a non-traditional and often bumpy career path in science education.

s Max Lipset was recently featured in a Star Tribune profile of Step One Foods, founded by Twin Cities cardiologist Dr. Elizabeth Klodas (pictured here). Step One is a line of snacks and breakfast foods that were created by Dr. Klodas to lower cholesterol; Max is partnering with Step One in his role as Director of Health Quotient, an initiative of Twin Cities Orthopedics which focuses on helping companies which emphasize health and wellness bring healthy options to their employees.

(Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii, courtesy Star Tribune)

Isabella LaBlanc ’15 Starring in HBO’s True Detective

’05

Class Agents

Jack Adams

Lindsay Giese

Nikki James

Hannah Lewine

Sarah Wald

s Former Amy Klobuchar campaign manager Joe Radosevich married Brian Krebs in Sonoma County, California in September 2023. Joe is currently Vice President, Campaigns and Outreach at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC. Classmates from the class of 2005 who attended the celebration include (from left to right): Beth Marlington, Noah Smith, Martha Grant, Joe, Ilse Griffin, Joel Cornell, and Irene Lilly Fleury (not pictured).

Isabella LaBlanc is currently starring in HBO’s fourth season of True Detective as Leah, the stepdaughter of the chief of police (played by Jodie Foster). Isabella is a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota tribal nation and is grateful to play a Native character within an authentic and respectful Native storyline. Isabella reports that she auditioned for the show from her home in Minneapolis and met with the director on Zoom; after her audition, she headed to Iceland for the long, cold overnight shoots. She has also appeared in the television series Long Slow Exhale and in the movie Pet Sematary: Bloodlines In between acting jobs, Isabella narrates audiobooks including a recent project with author Stephen Graham Jones.

’08

Class Agent

The Class of 2008 is looking for a Class Agent. Please contact alumni@spa.edu or 651-696-1308..

s Bryna Wiens, Chris, and Ainsley are happy to share the birth of Dax Arthur Wiens Bryna was grateful to be able to take a leave from teaching to be home with Dax and soak in all the baby snuggles.

’13

Class Agents

Sophia Myers-Kelley

Reid Kett

’19

Class Agent

The Class of 2019 is looking for a Class Agent. Please contact alumni@spa.edu or 651-696-1308.

s Ben Braman is now in his fifth season as an Assistant Coach of the St. Olaf College men’s soccer team. The team won their first ever national title in 2023 and Ben also helped St. Olaf to back-to-back appearances in the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons, making the Oles one of five NCAA Division III men’s soccer programs across the country to accomplish that feat. As a student at St. Olaf, he was a four-year starter on the soccer team from 2013-16, posting a career record of 34-17-7 with 23 shutouts.

s Mimi Geller graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2023 where she earned a degree in Journalism from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She interned as a Booking Fellow for Good Morning America in New York City and was highlighted during an intern segment live on the air.

Teaching Award for Maddie Flom-Staab ’15

Maddie Flom-Staab was named Student Teacher of the Year by the Minnesota Council on the Teaching of Languages and Cultures. Maddie, who now teaches Middle School German at SPA, was recognized for her outstanding service as a student-teacher at the University of Minnesota and her extraordinary potential in providing excellent instruction in the world language classroom.

St. Olaf College Athletics

Our condolences are with the family and friends of those we have lost.

1942

Catharine Fuller Walker Passed away March 19, 2024

1944

Bradner Ameluxen

Passed away August 4, 2021

Dr. Nadine G. Smith

Passed away December 19, 2023

1945

Deborah Donnelly Goltz Passed away April 2, 2024

Virginia Kinkead Stockwell Passed away February 4, 2024

Jean M. West

Passed away November 29, 2023

1946

Charles Jensch

Passed away February 18, 2024

Merritt Osborn Passed away December 8, 2023

1947

Martha Elmquist Cleveland Passed away November 21, 2020

1948

Sarah Ann “Sally” (Willius) Lehmann

Passed away on October 19, 2023

1951

Georgiana “Genna” Lewis Anderson

Passed away October 2022

David Z. Cook

Passed away November 12, 2023

1952

Mary B. Field Passed away November 7, 2023

1953

John Milton 1935 - 2023

1955

T. Peter Townsend Passed away January 22, 2024

1958

Blake Davis Passed away December 4, 2023

Nancy Lewis Passed away February 4, 2024

Virginia Colin Platt Stees Passed away August 18, 2023

Full remembrances are available on the SPA alumni/ae website or by scanning the QR code at left.

1961

Ed Harriman

Passed away in January 2021

Crosby Sommers Passed away April 3, 2023

1963

Frederick P. Bradford Passed away November 13, 2023

1967

B. Franklin Fuller Passed away February 2024

1971

Virginia Stryker Brodeen Passed away March 29, 2024

Theodore Mark Kohn Passed away May 16, 2023

2014

Helen Derechin

Passed away January 2024

Former Faculty

Olive Jean Bailey, Fine Arts faculty and department head, Passed away August 25, 2023

REMEMBERING MIKE FOLEY: TEACHER, COACH, MENTOR

Mike Foley passed away peacefully at his home on October 13, 2023 at the age of 80. He was survived by his wife of 58 years, Elsie; children, Patricia, Sean, Mark, and Blake; eight grandchildren; and countless extended family and friends.

Foley was a beloved teacher, coach, administrator, mentor, and pillar of the SPA community for nearly forty years. Foley began teaching at SPA in the fall of 1968, one year before the merger of St. Paul Academy and Summit School. He taught Upper School English— including his favorite subject, Shakespeare—in addition to coaching hockey. As a teacher, Foley brought fervor and passion into the classroom. He was renowned among students as an enthusiastic, humorous, and rigorous teacher. Enamored with the plays of Shakespeare, Foley was legendary for acting out scenes for his students, many of whom credit their love of Shakespeare and literature to him. He was as influential on generations of Spartan hockey players as on his English students. His coaching career spanned nearly 40 years, including coaching roles at Colgate University and North St. Paul High School. During his time as head coach of the SPA’s varsity boys’ hockey team, Foley led the team to the state Independent High School tournament several times, winning the championship in 1974. Foley’s love of both literature and hockey led him to write two books on the sport, Hockey, Play by Play (1973) and Fundamental Hockey (1995).

The Mike Foley Athletic Scholarship at St. Paul Academy and Summit School honors

Although Foley retired from teaching at SPA in 1984, he stayed connected to the community for the next two decades, serving as the manager of Drake Arena and Arena Manager and Facilities Director before his appointment as the school’s Director of Operations in 1999. When he retired in 2005, he wrote the following to his colleagues in a heartfelt goodbye letter:

I’d rather not think of this as goodbye, but more as, “I’ll see you later”...We all know that life takes us in many directions and that such movement and change are inevitable. With that in mind, I turn just one more time (and I promise this will be the final time) to the Bard of Avon as the dear friends, Brutus and Cassius, part ways and head into battle:

“And whether we shall meet again I know not./Therefore our everlasting farewell take….../If we do meet again, why, we shall smile;/If not, why then this parting was well made.”

Dear friends of many years, my two parting wishes are, all the very best to you, and that we shall indeed meet again, and smile.

Mike Foley’s years of service to the school as hockey coach, English teacher and Director of Operations. The Foley Scholarship is a need-based, endowed scholarship for a student demonstrating interest in and aptitude for athletics. For more information about the Foley Scholarship, please contact Alyse Simondet, SPA Senior Development Officer, at 651-696-1320 or asimondet@spa.edu.

REMEMBERING JENNIFER FARNHAM: TEACHER, PARENT, COLLEAGUE

On February 2, 2024, the SPA community lost a longtime teacher, parent, and friend with the passing of Jennifer Farnham. Jenn, who had been on leave since she was first diagnosed with lymphoma in the spring of 2023, was a Lower School teacher and a current SPA parent with a son in the Middle School. Below is an excerpt from the Head of School’s note to the community upon Jenn’s passing.

To the SPA community,

It is with a heavy heart that I write to share the passing of our friend and colleague Jenn Farnham last night from complications of lymphoma.

Jenn was a beloved presence at SPA since her arrival as a Lower School student-teacher in 1998. She joined us as a homeroom teacher in 1999, teaching Kindergarten, Grades 1/2 and then Grades 3/4 alongside colleagues who loved her and whom she loved, sharing a particularly special bond with her longtime teaching partner and dear friend Alisa Grewe. In 2015, she became an SPA parent when her son Archie began Kindergarten at the Lower School and quickly became as much a part of our community as his mother.

Jenn was a shining light with a radiant smile, an infectious laugh, and a neverending supply of optimism and joy. She was a consummate educator, with an unshakable belief in every child’s ability to learn, grow, and become their best self. Alisa will tell you that their classroom lessons during the first weeks of every school year were less about math or reading and more about simply connecting with students: finding out who they were and what they needed, and creating ways for students to connect with each other.

Her gift for connection extended to her colleagues. She was an indispensable member of the Lower School faculty—always the first to welcome a new colleague, ask a question in a faculty meeting, and use her gentle but strong voice as an advocate for making the community better. Her colleagues across all three divisions—Lower, Middle, and Upper School—remember the twinkle in her eye, the cup of tea in her hands, and her fierce dedication to her students. She understood that she was a part of something larger than herself, and never stopped pushing herself, her colleagues, and the school to embrace changes that would help our students.

Jenn was also a profoundly playful person who understood the value of play for children. This inherent sense of fun is reflected in Archie, who is now an eighthgrader in our Middle School. Archie was the center of Jenn’s world and the light of her life; her joy, playfulness, and enthusiasm for learning and life is an essential part of his spirit as well. Jenn loved teaching her colleagues’ children, and loved watching Archie flourish under the guidance of her colleagues. In the coming days, our energy as a community will focus on surrounding Archie with our care and love, and ensuring he has everything he needs.

Jenn’s loss will be felt in every corner of the SPA community. I take some comfort in knowing that the community will respond with the care, compassion, and love that Jenn herself embodied. We will take care of Archie and we will take care of each other, and by doing so, we will honor Jenn’s memory.

In grief and gratitude, Dr. Luis Ottley Head of School

In celebration of Jenn’s life and profound impact on SPA, her family has established the Jennifer Farnham Lower School Scholarship Fund. The Farnham Fund will be dedicated to supporting financial aid and program needs for students at SPA’s Lower School. For more information, please scan the QR code to visit the fund website.

Middle School Fall Play

October 2023: Broadway Lullaby

Upper School Fall Play

November 2023: Sense & Sensibility

Upper School Pops Concert, December 2023

Middle School Winter Vocal Concert, December 2023

Upper School One-Act, January 2024: DoomGirl

Middle School Musical, March 2024: Frozen Jr.

Middle School Instrumental Concert, December 2023

The Spartan Hub is packed with up-to-date information about all our Spartan teams, games, results, and athletes. Scan the QR code or visit SPAathletics.org to visit the Spartan Hub.