The Summit Magazine Winter/Spring 2021

Winter/Spring 2020-21 Magazine

In this issue: Leading the Way Campaign for The Summit

The magazine of The Summit Country Day School Winter/Spring Magazine 2021 EDITOR Nancy Berlier ASSOCIATE EDITOR Nick Robbe ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER Kathy (Hilsinger) Penote ’93 PHOTOGRAPHY Nancy Berlier, Jolene Barton, Lisa Cox, Robert A. Flischel, Hannah Michels, Rick Norton, Kathy (Hilsinger) Penote ’93, Nick Robbe, Joe Simon, Leigh Taylor.

CONTRIBUTORS Lisa Cox, Ryan Glass ’11, Tami McMann, Mark Osborne, Nick Robbe, Special thanks: Andrea Bennett, Sandy Champlin, Lauren Flowers-Neal, Tracy Law, Ph.D. ’85, Jen Szakal McGrath, Laura Wulker.

PRINTING Arnold Printing ©

2021 The Summit Country Day School, Cincinnati, OH.

The Summit magazine is published by the Communications Department of The Summit Country Day School.

Direct address changes to 2161 Grandin Road, Cincinnati, OH 45208.

Summit News Phone: (513) 871-4700 ext. 291 Email: communications@summitcds.org

Alumni News Please submit news about degrees, jobs, marriages, births and other notable passages in your life.

Go to www.summitcds.org/submityournews

Summit Magazine Online Archive www.summitcds.org/magazine

The Summit Country Day School serves students from age 18 months through grade 12 in a coeducational setting.

The Summit combines the academic excellence and one-on-one guidance of a top-tier independent school with the servant leadership and character-building environment that are hallmarks of a Catholic education.

2 Winter/Spring 2020-21

Features

4 6 16 21 24 40 ON THE COVER: Kenyon Byrd ‘26 gets performance experience in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Kenyon played the roles of Officer Bert, young George Bailey and Petey Bailey. The production was an exercise in creative problem-solving by Director of Theater Tom Peters and his cast. Unable to host a play in person because of the pandemic, the story was presented as a radio play. Actors performed separately.

Re-enactment photo by Robert A. Flischel. See story on page 10.

ON THIS PAGE: Wearing pink shirts to support a 2018 Breast Cancer Awareness Game, Summit Boosters, from left, Greg Simpson, Joe Bissmeyer, Jerry Dowling, Michael “Yogi” Yagodich and Will Jones ‘85 grill out in the school parking lot.

Becoming a Booster not only supports athletes, but also helps parents form friendships with each other. Read about what members of our community have gained from involvement in our community groups on page 24.

Head of School Rich Wilson introduces the Leading the Way Campaign for The Summit.

Expanding resources support, developing diversity curriculum and library books, creative problem-solving during the pandemic and supporting characterbased leadership initiatives are examples of the Strategic Plan at work.

Seven Summit students are earning their Eagle Scout badge, a distinction that requires characterbased leadership and community service.

Students and faculty have earned special distinctions this year.

Members of the community share what they believe makes The Summit distinct and special and talk about the benefits of getting involved.

The Summit inducts the 1995 baseball team, Bradley Evans ’10 and Nancy (Griffin) Rhodenbaugh ’74 into the Athletic Hall of Fame.

Departments 21 22 44

Newsmakers Faculty Newsmakers Class Notes

Gift Catalog The Leading the Way gift catalog accompanies this magazine.

Head of School Message

Investing in Children The best investment anyone can make is to invest in the education of a child. Such a gift serves as a multiplier that positively affects not just the children attending The Summit, but the positive impact those children will have on many others as they mature into leaders of character.

During the quiet phase of the Leading the Way campaign, leadership benefactors stepped forward to lead the way by investing in Summit’s leaders of tomorrow. Their investments are helping us address key Strategic Plan initiatives:

• Endowing the Schiff Family Science Research institute. Begun in 2014, the Institute provides students experience in a professional lab where they work on a project in their area of interest. Entrance into the program is highly competitive.

Graduates report the program was a key part of their college application and gave them a leg up in their science pursuits in college.

• Expanding and Funding the Upper School Resources Program (see page 6). This serves the 15 percent of our student population who are searching for learning strategies which will help them be successful in school. Without help, these students may struggle to master the rigorous academics at The Summit.

This gift allowed the school to hire a second

•

•

•

•

intervention specialist this year and will fund the entire program for 10 years. The monies the school would have spent on this program during the next decade, plus additional needed gifts, are being reallocated to an endowed fund to ensure the program will run in perpetuity.

Endowing the 5th and 6th Grade Resources Program. This will fund the teachers who guide these students to become independent learners. We are looking for two additional donors to contribute $287,000 each to endow the 7th and 8th grade Resources Programs.

Endowing the Homan Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. We will enroll the first class of students in Aug. 2021. Modeled after the success of the Schiff Family Science Research Institute, this center will teach business basics and provide students hands-on experiences in local businesses and startups. This is an area of high interest for many students.

This unique program will separate Summit students in the college admission process and will continue to distinguish a Summit education from competitive high schools in town. An additional Summit family stepped up to endow a Business and Leadership course which will start in the fall.

Endowing an Endowment Incentive Fund. During the Aiming Higher campaign, we had a donor who offered to contribute 10 percent if a donor would commit to 90 percent of an endowment fund. We established 22 endowed scholarship programs through this idea. Given that success and our objective to continually grow the school’s endowment, we had two donors step forward from one family to endow this idea so the incentive will be available in perpetuity.

Endowing Hardship Funds. Every year, we have children whose family has an unexpected hardship which may make it difficult for them to stay enrolled in Summit or who cannot afford some of the extra expenses of the school year – trips, prom dresses, graduation attire,

•

•

•

•

•

etc. In the past, we would approach some of our most blessed families for help in these situations. With Hardship Fund endowments, we can count on money being available to help in these situations.

Endowing Scholarships. Many donors derive great satisfaction from leaving a legacy at the school that will help children attend who otherwise couldn’t afford the tuition. Many families have stepped forward so far in the campaign to share their blessings with those less fortunate. It is important that this school have a broad spectrum of socioeconomic diversity in its student body. We allocate more than $4 million per year for financial aid. Endowed scholarships account for 25 percent.

Endowing a coach. Mission-driven athletics are a key part of the Summit experience. Hiring the best coaches has resulted in significant athletic success for our student-athletes over the last decade. Having an endowment for coaching in a sport is a way to ensure excellence in that sport long into the future.

Funding capital projects. The renovated Middle School playground, the new Joseph Family scoreboard at Williams Field, the renovated Flannery Gym Locker rooms, the new audio-visual system in the chapel and technology improvements are examples of capital projects already funded.

Support for the educational plank of the strategic plan. Several donors were inspired to help us make progress with the character-based leadership; diversity, equity and inclusion; and creative problem-solving initiatives underway to ensure our graduates have skills that will give them an advantage in the 21st Century. These funds allow us to pay teachers over the summer to write lessons to standards in these areas.

Growing our base of Angel Donors.

With a minimum gift of $2,500 per year to the Summit Fund over the five years of the campaign, these donors will help sponsor a child with financial need.

Our largest Angel Donor contributes $50,000 per year.

• Endowing Forever Funds. An innovative idea to encourage longterm annual giving to the Summit Fund, a donor, for example, makes a gift to endowment of $25,000 which yields a Leaders of Character minimum gift of $1,000/year to the Summit Fund in perpetuity. A gift of $60,000 yields $2,500/year, the minimum amount to become an Angel Donor through the Summit Fund in perpetuity.

While we are heartened by the support we’ve received so far, there is much more to do before we can declare this campaign done. One of the main objectives of the public phase is to significantly boost annual participation in the Summit Fund among our parents, alums, parents of alums, grandparents and friends. The Summit Fund provides the extras that tuition doesn’t cover; those extras distinguish our school and our students. By increasing participation, we develop a culture of philanthropy across the Summit community that all great independent schools must have – everyone involved; everyone invested.

Leading the way in this regard, our Board of Trustees and Senior Leadership Team are at 100 percent participation and faculty and staff are at 96 percent.

Likewise, I ask each of you to lead the way by making a five-year commitment to the Summit Fund, a top strategic priority for the school. We hope to conclude the campaign June 30, 2021. After the books are closed, I look forward to celebrating the gift of every donor in our Campaign Impact Report. Every gift counts.

At whatever level you decide to give, you will be investing in tomorrow’s leaders of character who will go out into the world and become the changemakers and peacemakers Christ calls all of us to be.

That’s the Summit Way.

Rich Wilson Head of School

Summit Magazine 5

STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACT

Leading the Way Campaign Enters Public Phase

Early Gift Benefits Resources Office

Resources & Intervention Specialist Ryan Fleming and Jamie Stephens ‘22 in the Upper School Resources Office.

By Nancy Berlier On any given day, a dozen or more high school students may walk into the offices behind the St. Cecilia Hall stage looking for help.

Maybe they need help juggling their rigorous academic schedules with extracurriculars. Maybe they don’t understand how to take advantage of their personal learning strengths. Maybe life has them stressed out and they have difficulty focusing in the classroom. Maybe they don’t know yet there are skills they can learn to help them succeed in the classroom and that it is OK to ask for help.

Dr. Laura Samuels and Ryan Fleming, Resources & Intervention Specialists, welcome them with reassurance and see them leave with a lighter heart and more confidence.

The Upper School Resources Center received a huge boost this year from an early gift to the Leading the Way campaign. Thanks to the Harold C.

6

Winter/Spring 2020-21

Schott Foundation and Summit Board Chair Allison (Hiltz) Kropp ’93, the center received funding for the next 10 years. At the end of that time, an endowment will be created to permanently support the center.

Leading the Way is a comprehensive, five-year campaign in support of The Summit’s strategic plan to ensure a sustainable advantage for the school and its graduates. The strategic plan seeks to equip our students with the skills, habits of mind and experiences they will need to succeed in the fastchanging years ahead.

Dr. Laura Samuels

The four planks of the plan are: 1. Developing Leaders of Character for the 21st Century.

2. Enhancing the Value Proposition.

3. Strengthening the Financial Model.

4. Building a Culture of Philanthropy.

Augmenting the work of the Resources Center is one example of how the strategic plan is being put into action to give Summit students a sustainable advantage.

TION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN

The center reserves eight spots in each grade level for students who have matriculated into the Upper School from the Harold C. Schott Middle School.

An Admission Office committee takes applications to the program when there is space available. The center also serves students who have a learning difference but do not need to be in the resources program. And a third tier of service is helping students who have an immediate need.

“My whole goal is for kids to understand neurodiversity,” Dr. Samuels says. “All of our brains learn differently. Learning is all about strategies. Many kids have learned how to learn in the middle school or elementary school and are able to continue it on their own. But in 18 to 20 percent of the population of schools around the country, students still have to learn these skills. It is all about success.

How can we help kids garner success with skills?”

In the Resources Center, students learn things like how to use a planner, annotate while reading, summarize notes, schedule all their activities, plan ahead, study, take tests, communicate better with teachers – so they can be masters at learning.

And because of neurodiversity, they have different ways of mastering these skills.

Some remember by forming images in their mind, while others remember by doodling. The trick is finding out what works best for each student.

Another major tenet of the program is developing a mindset that it is OK to ask for help.

“One of the best things we do is build a family atmosphere between the resources students who are in classes together,” Mr. Fleming says. “We try to build trust to understand we are all working to a common goal – to have success in the classroom. When students know they are

not alone with their learning challenges, they will reach out to each other and say, ‘Did you catch this in class? I wasn’t focused. May I borrow your notes?’ ” The success of the program speaks for itself.

“Almost all of the kids, by the time they are juniors and seniors, are taking honors and Advanced Placement classes,” Dr. Samuels says. “They’re able to do that, and they do well in them. We have had 100 percent placement of these kids in their No. 1 college. By the time the kids graduate, they must be able to be independent with their learning struggles because they have to know how they are going to do this on their own in college.

Middle Resources Program Currently, one faculty member of each grade level team in the Middle School teaches a class to support our nontraditional learners. The Leading the Way campaign provides the opportunity to endow these positions so that we can ensure this heightened level of support on into the future. Two donors have stepped forward to give $287,000 each to endow the program in the 5thand 6thgrades. We are hoping two more donors will step forward to endow the 7thand 8thgrade programs. “The faculty who teach in the Resources Program are dedicated to ensuring that all students at The Summit have access to our rich and rigorous curriculum,” says Middle School Director Mike Johnson. “Having an endowment which guarantees the longevity of this program is a blessing to the entire Middle School community.” All Leading the Way donors will be recognized this fall in our Impact on Philanthropy Report.

Summit Magazine 7

STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACT

Project 235 A Shift in the Narrative

Eighth grader Kylie West displays her chalkboard sign in Project 235, a writing-based course focused on promoting social justice.

By Ryan Glass ’11 This past summer, Harold C. Schott Middle School English teacher Rosie Sansalone sat deep in reflection, hoping to find words to explain the widespread social unrest across our country after the death of George Floyd. How can we possibly give our students the context to understand these events? Picking up her pen, she goes to write, yet the ink is dry. She has 8

Winter/Spring 2020-21

no words. All she knows, and what she continuously circles back to, is the fact that she is a teacher. Being a teacher is a tremendous responsibility. How can we use the classroom and the powerful weapon of education for justice?

That is the genesis of Project 235, a course offered exclusively at The Summit which has a sole purpose to dive deep into instruction in diversity, equity, inclusion

TION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN

“canned” which keeps the topics relevant to current issues.

Through this forward-thinking curriculum, Summit seventh and eighth graders are exposed to topics of discussion that push how to think about justice. Each lesson has a writing, poetry or creative art assignment with an end goal in mind.

For example, the first segment of the course is centered around identity – to go beyond the visible and look deeper into the invisible characteristics which truly define one’s identity. Another Project 235 is a writinglesson was related to based course focused intersectionality. Students on promoting social reflected on how layers justice. The course of identity intersect and includes 20 lessons lead to either privilege or throughout the school oppression. Students read year with each lesson a poem by Nikki Giovanni using a story or work titled “Quilts” and not of a writer, musician, only grew to understand historical figure, artist or intersectionality through poet from a marginalized her story as a woman of community. Each color, but also learned lesson also weaves about the history of in opportunities for This identity quilt square, created by eighth quilting in African students to write poetry, grader Sophia Nery, demonstrates how layers American culture. prose and reflections of identity intersect.

Students created their in journal entries. The own identity quilt squares course content seeks to positively to portray their own visible and invisible impact students’ personal and social characteristics in a creative way. development while developing critical

reading and thinking skills, enhancing The Summit aims to form leaders of reflective writing abilities and fostering character who value and improve the respectful dialogue. world they inherit. Project 235 is not just a

course about social justice; it is a dialogue Project 235 is a unique class started in composed of understanding, discussing the fall of 2020. It includes lessons from and acknowledging the circumstances the four domains of the DE&I standards that surround justice in everyday life.

The Summit wrote into the school-wide Sansalone often says to her class that, “A curriculum in 2018-19 – identity, diversity, shift in the narrative is important to the justice and action. Through interactive, creating of justice.” engaging lessons, students read, discuss

and respond in writing to various prompts What started as dry ink and an empty and historical sources. The course page has now turned into hundreds of content includes historical documents writings, thousands of words and an even and artifacts, relevant TED talks and deeper understanding of the world. interviews, art and music and other social justice stories. Also, content is not and character-based leadership. Project 235 introduces seventh and eighth graders to an anti-bias and multicultural curriculum which uses the following hallmarks of a Notre Dame de Namur learning community: • No. 2 – We honor the dignity and sacredness of each person • No. 3 – We educate for and act on behalf of justice and peace in the world; and • No. 5 – We embrace the gift of diversity

Summit Magazine 9

STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACT

It’s a

O W

L IF E L U F R E ND Radio Play Becomes Exercise in Creative Problem-Solving

10 10 Winter/Spring 2020-21

Upper Left: Kathryn Daniher ‘22 plays the lead female role of Mary Hatch Bailey in the production “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Upper Right: Owen McEachern ‘23 portrays Clarence the angel.

Left: T.J. McGrath ‘23 plays the lead male role of George Bailey.

TION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN

By Nick Robbe Summit junior Kathryn Daniher and sophomore T.J. McGrath have never met before. That fact is not so peculiar given they are in different grades. What makes it extraordinary is they were the leads in The Summit’s production of “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

Normally, the two students would be interacting a great deal through rehearsals and performing. However, with the safety protocols amid the pandemic, Summit Director of Theatre Tom Peters had to get creative.

What materialized was a radio drama.

To make this work, students recorded their lines in 45-minute sessions with Mr. Peters. Then, he took pieces from each read-through of lines and stitched them together, making the final product as seamless as possible. It took about 30 minutes of production for each minute of clean audio.

“I think they were surprised and impressed with how it came together,” Mr. Peters says.

“But it was harder to do than I thought.”

This time around, putting together the production was so fragmented. It created some doubts in Mr. Peters’ mind as to whether he was getting his point across or not.

However, even with all the trials and tribulations, the finished product took shape.

“It was very exciting to hear from start to finish,” Mr. Peters says. “All births are painful, but the joy that comes after makes it worth it. We did this. We made it happen.”

“I had a full (theater) season planned,” Mr. Peters says. “I could not just stop and change those plans. I thought this was the best way to keep everyone safe and to put this production together.”

At The Summit, an emphasis is placed on encouraging faculty and students to look at multiple solutions to a problem and face the challenge head-on.

Mr. Peters said it was tough to get students interested at the start because they either wanted to perform in front of an audience or were worried about other commitments.

Over time, however, the students came around to this new way of putting on a production.

Hana Conte ‘26 portrays Zuzu Bailey, one of the Bailey children, and Eustace, a loan office clerk.

11 Summit Magazine 11

STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACT

Library Lets All Children See Themselves in Stories

First grader Amelia Wilson sits in the Lower School Library with a copy of “Unicorns and Germs,” a book in the Zoey Sassafras series.

12 12 Winter/Spring 2020-21

TION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN

By Nancy Berlier Seeking a diverse selection of books for the Lower School Library’s 12,000 volume collection is not new to Lower School Librarian Cammie Corder-Nelson. But it is personal.

Her husband, Emil, died 20 years ago from leukemia at the age of 30, leaving The Summit to mourn the loss of a wellrespected Middle School social studies teacher and leaving her with young children.

“As a single parent of biracial children, I had to put more thought and effort into how I raised my kids,” Ms. Corder-Nelson says.

“Their grandmother is from Jamaica, so they knew their culture and how wonderful it is. I wanted them to hold that in their hearts. Finding books that reflect other cultures has always been a priority for me personally and as a librarian.”

So she began curating a diverse selection of books when The Summit adopted 20 anti-bias standards in 2018-19. “Diversity is part of everyday living in this library,” she says. “It isn’t a new thing. This has always been a priority.” But her determination to be inclusive became easier recently as publishers expanded diversity options.

“It’s exciting that the publishing business is catching up,” she says. “They’re giving me more options. It’s easier for me to find the books that I need.” Typically, Ms. CorderNelson purchases about 250 new books for the library annually. She considers popular culture, student requests, curricular needs, social-emotional learning and diversity of every kind: culture, ethnicity, gender, identity, social issues, religion, socioeconomic status and physical abilities.

“I always consider what will speak to the students, present new learning experiences, let them see themselves in the characters and allow them to grow as readers,” she says. “And, of course, I look for what will bring them joy.”

First grader Emilio Pruneda browses the selection of new books in the library.

13 Summit Magazine 13

STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN AC

Montessori preschooler Sara Kate Schreiber is lifted from a Christ Hospital LifeFlight helicopter on the Lower School backfield after getting a good look inside. The joy on her face tells the story: Learning is fun.

Outdoor Learning Is a Breeze for Montessori Students

By Lisa Cox

Field trips are an important aspect to the enrichment activities that support The Summit’s academic curriculum. But social-distancing protocols caused by the coronavirus pandemic presented a challenge this year.

As a creative alternative to field trips, the Montessori faculty embraced lingering summer weather with alfresco “classrooms.” Montessori Director Lauren Guip invited several experts to campus to provide many experiential learning activities outdoors.

“The Montessori philosophy is very strongly tied to nature,” says Mrs. 14

Winter/Spring 2020-21

Guip, who wrote her master’s thesis on the subject. “Dr. Montessori states that outdoor learning ‘assists in the overall moral, spiritual, and emotional development of the child.’ “

In September, the Montessori welcomed “Farmer Krystal” from Gorman Heritage Farm who brought animals to campus so children could compare the similarities and differences of living things. While sitting on the grass, students learned about what the animals ate, how they moved around and the different sounds they make.

The Orff Schulwerk music class, taught

by Ai Li Brown, migrated from the Lower School music room to the oak trees

CTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION • STRATEGIC PLAN

behind the Lower School — offering a magical experience that allowed students to dance, jump, laugh and sing amid the sunshine, gentle winds and greenery.

Students witnessed the scheduled landing of a Christ Hospital LifeFlight helicopter on the Lower School backfield in early October and climbed inside the cockpit to see the controls up close. Medical personnel answered questions and informed students about the lifesaving technology onboard these air ambulances.

Among other outdoor activities, students also participated in an earth-sustaining fruit tree planting.

Ian Walker pets a rabbit from Gorman Heritage Farm during an outdoor learning activity.

From left, Billie Price, Will Maag, Corrina Roth, Franci Bocchio, and Henry Martin help plant fruit trees on the field behind15 Summit Magazine the Montessori School.

New Eagle Scouts Exemplify Character-Based Leadership

Jacob Locke ’21 is one of seven students at The Summit who have become Eagle Scouts, a distinction which requires a demonstration of character-based leadership values and community service.

16

Winter/Spring 2020-21

By Tami McMann and Nancy Berlier Using old tables, a sustainable mindset and his own ingenuity, senior Jacob Locke has earned distinction as an Eagle Scout for completing a project inspired by the COVID-19 virus.

Thanks to Jacob’s leadership, the Exploratarium has 10 mobile workbenches. He “upcycled” computer tables that were heavy and cumbersome into more flexible furniture for his classmates by reusing the table legs and adding new casters and tops.

“In researching this project, I learned that this space could be better used and support a large number of students in a socially-distanced environment,” says the Summit lifer who is a member of Troop 86 at St. Joseph Parish in Cold Spring, Ky. Jacob coordinated with Summit Middle School Librarian and Exploratarium Coordinator Mary Kate Newton to develop and execute his idea for a more COVID-friendly workspace. To complete the build in August, he led 11 students and parents in the hands-on construction of the finished tables. Kindergartners were some of the first students to use the new furniture as they sat appropriately distanced while constructing puppets for a school project.

Jacob is one of seven Upper School students who have given back to the community while earning Eagle Scout distinction.

“We talk a lot about character-based leadership, but this is tangible evidence that our students are using the leadership skills they have developed to serve others,” says Head of School Rich Wilson.

“Every one of their projects required them to plan, collaborate, work through a process of checkpoints and gain the cooperation of a small workforce.”

Colin Altmix ’21

Colin Altmix builds gazebo for community garden Colin Altmix, a member of Troop 170 at St. Mary’s Church in Hyde Park, worked with a team of volunteers to assemble a gazebo in the community garden of Valley View Nature Preserve.

Becoming an Eagle Scout has been a goal of his since he began scouting in elementary school. As with other Eagle projects, Colin had to come up with an idea for a community service project, get it approved by the beneficiary and present it for approval to the district scouting council. Then, he had to plan it, get materials, coordinate with the beneficiary staff to do the work, find and coordinate volunteers and supervise construction. In some cases, scouts have to raise money for materials. In Colin’s case, the gazebo had been a display model for a home and garden show and was donated for the project. The project took six months from beginning to end. He had eight volunteers who helped him with the construction which took five hours to complete.

“The community garden at Valley View provides space to grow rescued plants from neighboring garden centers,” he says.

Summit Magazine 17

Humphrey Domville ’21

Humphrey Domville builds peace path Senior Humphrey Domville, a member of Troop 191 at The Summit, organized and supervised the construction of a peace path walkway outside The Summit’s Lower School. The path is made up of different textures to create different feelings and stimulate reflection when a student walks barefoot over them.

“The peace path is a place for kids of all ages to come together and reflect when having a stressful day,” says Humphrey. “It is important for kids to have a place where they can just let it all go and just take time for themselves.”

The idea for the peace path originated with retired Montessori Director Kathy Scott. Humphrey met with her, Mr. Wilson, facilities staff and several teachers to get approval and decide where to build it. The build took 59 hours with about 10 people working on it over the course of three weekends in November 2019.

“I learned it is easy to envision what you want, but it’s harder to make others visualize it,” Humphrey says. “It was a great learning experience.”

18

Winter/Spring 2020-21

Grant Gerhardt ’21

Grant Gerhardt builds raised garden boxes Senior Grant Gerhardt, also a member of Troop 191 at The Summit, organized and supervised the construction of four raised garden boxes and a bench for the Garden for the Good to support the Montessori School science curriculum.

“I spent a long time looking for and researching a project,” Grant says. “I wanted to do something related to the environment – tree planting, park repair, trail cleanup, etc.” Retired Montessori Director Kathy Scott heard Grant was looking for a project and approached him about creating an outdoor learning environment for the preschoolers.

“I thought this was a good way to do something outdoors and related to the environment while giving back to my school community,” he says.

Grant and his team of more than 10 volunteers, mostly Summit students, spent 45 to 60 hours on the project over two days in April. The garden boxes and bench were placed along the exterior walkway between the Lower and Middle School buildings. The biggest challenge was asking for help – recruiting volunteers

for the build and donations of building and gardening materials. “It’s hard to inconvenience and put people out, even when it’s for a good cause,” Grant says.

Grant learned that managing projects can include complex, multiple steps over time, so staying organized is key. Keeping a large group of people on-task is a challenge.

And pitching the project for approval and fundraising is a skill.

between 350-400 families. With the support of The Summit community, parents, fellow scouts, family and friends, Oren later repeated his efforts to restock the pantry’s shelves. Once again, his team donated enough food and supplies for hundreds of families.

“This project helped fulfill all the duties of a scout to serve God and other people,” Oren says. “It helped create a greater sense of community and allowed those who are more fortunate to give back to the community where they live and work. This experience will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Oren Jenkins ’22

Oren Jenkins stocks food pantry Junior Oren Jenkins, a member of Troop 191, worked on his Eagle project when he was in the eighth grade and received his Eagle medal and badge at an Eagle Court of Honor ceremony in 2019.

Oren and his volunteers collected donations for and stocked the Bond Hill Food Pantry after shelves were depleted from serving the needy from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

Beginning in December 2017 and concluding in February 2018, Oren collected more than 52 boxes of nonperishable food items, hundreds of personal care and cleaning items and monetary donations. Pantry coordinators estimated the donations helped feed

Lucas Valle ’22

Lucas Valle provides iPods to veterans with dementia For his project, juinior Lucas Valle collected iPods, downloaded music onto them and gave them to veterans with dementia at the Ohio Veterans Home.

“I was volunteering there and noticed a lot of the veterans did not want to take part in the many activities that OVH has to offer,” Lucas said. “I have a love of music and decided that for my project I would share that love.”

Summit Magazine 19

The project took Lucas a year to complete.

He gathered donations from Troop 128, friends, family and the school.

“It’s an honor to be a part of the four percent of scouts who earn the Eagle Scout rank,” he said. “It truly is a great feeling.”

From concept to finish, Kees spent 219 hours over the course of six months to get equipment and lead a logistics team, volunteers and a Red Cross group of 30 people.

Today, his project has grown to become a national Red Cross program in 100 cities.

“I learned that a leader needs to be organized, manage their time and ask for help.” Kees says. “You can’t lead alone. I needed to ask for help from the Red Cross staff, my troop leaders and parents to help me throughout the planning, the day of the event and preparing for my final application to become an Eagle. I needed to believe in myself and my vision for the project.

“I needed to stay motivated and inspire others to help. I had to think through problems and find solutions.”

Kees Woodruff ’21

Kees Woodruff helps Red Cross install 1,000 smoke alarms Senior Kees Woodruff, another member of The Summit’s Troop 191, led the Red Cross Logistics team in a 2016 “Mega Blitz” to install 1,000 smoke alarms across the city.

The project not only earned him Eagle Scout distinction but also the Red Cross National Youth Volunteer of the Month award.

Kees came up with the idea of this project while volunteering with the Red Cross.

“I was able to see firsthand the lack of people in Cincinnati who have working smoke alarms in their homes,” he says. “So, through this project, I hoped to be able to make somebody’s home a little bit safer, even in the smallest way.”

An Eagle Scout medal.

20

Winter/Spring 2020-21

NEWSMAKERS Perez, Tianqi “Arthur” Li, Drew Reder, Jiangbo “Benny” Shen, Sophia Stanisic, Melina Traiforos and Sam Vessel. Read their blogs at www. summitcds.org/SRI.

Top to bottom, Lily Charville ’23, Katie Dobelhoff ’22, Johanna Huelsman ’22, Erin Devine ’21 and Sam Vessel ’21 (not shown) received Ambassador Awards as part of the National Community Service Awards.

Grant Gerhardt ’21 was recognized as a National Merit Scholarship Corporation semifinalist. Sean LaMacchia ’21 was recognized as a National Merit commended scholar.

The College Board recognized Sam Vessel ’21 as a National African American Scholar and Sam Perez ’21 as a National Hispanic Scholar.

Mona Hajjar ’21 received a perfect score on her ACT exam.

Twelve seniors in the Schiff Family Science Research Institute participated in summer scientific research and blogged about their experiences.

They were Ellie Adam, Erin Devine, Mona Hajjar, Evan Lakhia, Sean LaMacchia, Sam

Summit football players Graham Nicholson (first team) and Carter Bibler (honorable mention) were named to Division V all-Ohio football teams.

Kathryn Shaffer ‘22 was selected for The Dick Snyder Sportsmanship

Award for the Fall 2020 sports season by the Miami Valley Conference.

Kathryn helped anchor the stout defensive unit on the girls’ soccer team. She is a three-year varsity letter winner. The Dick Snyder Sportsmanship Award is given to an athlete from each of the MVC schools who displays integrity and good sportsmanship during the season. Each winner is nominated by one or more of the MVC Athletic Directors.

The Upper School has been ranked the No. 1 Catholic High School in Ohio for the third consecutive year. Niche, an organization that reviews and ranks schools and neighborhoods nationwide, released the rankings and gave The Summit an Overall Niche Grade of A+.

Seven 2020 graduates were named National Advanced Placement (AP) Scholars by the College Board, the highest award level in the AP program. Left to right, they are Maliah Bricking, Ryan Burns, Connie Nelson, Madeline Riley, Emily Warden, Matthew Warden and Ziyan “Richard” Zhang. To become a National AP Scholar, these students had to earn a score of 4 or 5 on at least eight AP exams.

Summit Magazine 21

Faculty Newsmakers Tami McMann was named Communications Director effective Jan. 25, concluding a nationwide search. In this role, Ms. McMann is a member of The Summit’s Senior Leadership Team with responsibility for media relations, parent communications, brand management, the school website, social media marketing, the school magazine and other publications. She succeeded Nancy Berlier who retired Feb. 1.

“The application pool for this position was voluminous with many outstanding candidates,” says Head of School Rich Wilson. “Amongst all these applicants, Tami stood out. Her skills and experience perfectly matched our requirements. She will be an asset to our school in promoting why Summit is the obvious choice for parents looking for rigorous academics; character/faith formation; a close knit, nurturing community; and boundless opportunities for a child to shine.”

Ms. McMann was most recently associate director of communications at Graland Country Day School in Denver, Colo. A key member of Graland’s communications and marketing department, she worked closely with the development office, admission office and the parent association to build community engagement and brand awareness. As the primary writer and editor on her team, she was also responsible for developing all the school’s publications, social media content and media relations efforts, securing local and national news coverage for the school. In 2015, she earned a graduate certificate in organizational and professional communications from the University of Denver. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications with a concentration in public relations and minor in English.

22

Winter/Spring 2020-21

Assistant Upper School Director Cliff Pope is now the coordinator of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) for The Summit. Taking over a role previously held by Kirstin Pesola McEachern, Ph.D., Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs, Mr. Pope will have oversight of Middle and Upper School DE&I Committee activities as well as the SEED professional development program. Mr. Pope will collaborate with senior leadership to encourage teamwork in promoting DE&I progress throughout the organization; support activities of parent, student and alumni groups in purposes and goals related to DE&I issues; and act as a resource on DE&I matters for faculty and staff in their relational work with students and parents.

“While we have made progress in some of these areas, we recognize more effort is necessary to realize our school’s DE&I potential,” says Head of School Rich Wilson. “Through the combined efforts of Mr. Pope, Dr. McEachern, the Senior Leadership Team, faculty, parents, students and alumni, we hope to make progress on our DE&I goals.”

Susan Miller was promoted to College Counseling Assistant Director, continuing to report to Dr. Nick Accrocco, College Counseling Director. Mrs. Miller joined The Summit as a member of the Development Office team in 2008 and transitioned to College Counselor in 2014. This promotion reflects the strong contributions she has made to our college counseling operation.

Faculty Newsmakers Latin teacher Larry Dean received the University of Chicago’s Outstanding Educator Award.

He was nominated

by Matthew Warden ’20, now attending the university, for guiding him along the path toward intellectual growth.

Tracy Law, Ph.D. ’85 has completed the National Geographic Educator Certification Program. Among the steps taken toward certification, Dr. Law submitted a lesson plan entitled “Exploring Gender, Education and Development – Using Maps to Facilitate Critical Thinking” which used standards from Advanced Placement Human Geography.

Lower School Counselor Elizabeth Drumm has earned two new credentials in the past year through the American School Counselor Association. She completed the requirements to earn the “Grief and Loss Specialist” and “School Counseling Leadership Specialist” designations.

Dr. Kirstin Pesola McEachern, Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs, donated a kidney to her half-brother, Victor, on Nov. 24 at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Mass.

Her brother was in stage 5 kidney failure as a result of living with Type 1 diabetes for more than 30 years. In keeping with the spirit of The Summit Way, Dr. McEachern, who is chairing the faculty-staff division of the 2020-21 Summit Fund campaign, created a video appeal just as she entered the hospital.

She also delivered a livestream presentation Dec. 9 to the seventh grade on the organ donation process. Middle School art students made cards for her that were delivered to her hospital room.

Summit Magazine 23

OUR SU

COMM 24

Winter/Spring 2020-21

UMMIT

MUNITY Summit Magazine 25

What makes The Summit community special?

Parents, teachers and administrators who share common values and goals Summit’s grill master loves to see people having a good time.

Happy to be enjoying the community of other Summit parents, Michael “Yogi” Yagodich, at the grill, works with Greg Simpson, left and Joe Bissmeyer on the school parking lot for a 2018 Breast Cancer Awareness game.

By Nancy Berlier For the past few years, Yogi Yagodich could be found many Friday nights in the parking lot above the endzone of Williams Field for hours before games started.

There, he tended a monster smoker hand built and painted Summit blue by his grilling partner, Greg Simpson. Yogi spent countless hours tending pork, ribs, burgers or hot dogs, talking to parents and cheering on the Silver Knights. Sometimes, he would set up as early as 5 a.m. to allow adequate time for the smoke to create that perfect char-encrusted bark for a postgame meal. One time, he hosted a tailgate party at a state championship soccer game. Another time, he set up all day in the Flannery Gym parking lot to serve students pancakes, sausage and eggs for breakfast, hot dogs for lunch and a smoked pork after a lacrosse game.

26

Winter/Spring 2020-21

“People are very hesitant to do things on their own,” he says. “That’s why athletics brings people together. It puts everything else to the side. Our kids are on the field, and we’re all rooting for the same cause.

Becoming part of a community takes you out of your comfort zone. It introduces you to folks you might not get to know.

When you get involved with other people, you find other things you have in common.

Being engaged in a community exposes you to other interests and similarities. I think it also exposes you and allows others to get to know you.”

Now the Summit Boosters president, Yogi encourages other parents to become involved in school activities so they feel

part of The Summit family. As he is fond of saying in his characteristic Kentucky drawl, “The water’s warm. Come on in.”

Parents Lindsey and Sam Huttenbauer recall many “aha” moments when they felt the strong tug of The Summit community.

Sam certainly remembers it from his early childhood days as a Montessori preschooler. Lindsey recalls connecting with parents who recommended The Summit when they, having moved back to town from New York, were looking for a school for their son, Baer. There was the time when a Summit parent, who happened to be a nurse, went out of her way to help Sam through a medical crisis.

Lindsey volunteered with other parents as classroom moms, parent ambassadors, Helping Hands, iLabs and Party of the Century. There were the times when Sam became the go-to-guy for the Fun Day ring toss and found a “micro Summit family” when he co-coached girls’ soccer in the parent-run K-6 athletic program.

Or when he helped launch the school’s My Summit Story video series, joined the Development Committee and, more recently, joined the Board of Trustees.

Shared experiences are part of what creates a community. One of these is the “Hallmark” moment of the first day of school.

On this first day a couple of years ago, Sam Huttenbauer takes what he says must be among thousands of photos he has taken of his kids, Baer ’28 and Annabelle ’30 at The Summit.

Baer and Annabelle Huttenbauer display the sign they made for the 2020 end-of-school parade.

There was the time they sat in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel, filled to capacity with other families, watching their daughter, Annabelle, carry the baby Jesus forward during a Christmas Eve Mass.

But they say it was the May 6 Lower School parade that cemented their immersion in The Summit community.

Their children stood in the backseat of their blue-and-white car holding up signs to greet the teachers who had lined up, socially distanced, to wave to them.

“In the heart of the pandemic, for all we knew, the world was about to end,” Sam says. “We had no knowledge about the disease. We didn’t know if a vaccine was remotely possible. Having that parade and outpouring of emotion, seeing the teachers in tears watching the students come by, hearing kids cheering, being part of the long line of people waiting to circle the parking lot. That was an extraordinary way to show community when community was being attacked on so many levels,” Sam says.

Summit Magazine 27

isolated. Family after family after family came back with the kids waving through the sunroofs. Estelle saw friends she hadn’t seen forever, and we saw friends we hadn’t seen forever.”

Estelle Neyer ’30 rides with her parents in the end-ofschool parade, a community event that brought her mom and many others to tears.

Christy Neyer is a parent who stepped up this year because of the pandemic.

The first week of school, she saw School Counselor Elizabeth Drumm drenched by rain trying to get the kids inside from carline. “I said, ‘This is crazy. I should do something to help.’ ” She volunteered the next day, which led to her being asked to supervise some recesses and that led to getting her teaching license so she could fill in over seven weeks for a teacher. Now, she’s easily logging 10,000 steps a day as a long-term substitute teacher in grades 1-4.

She is co-chair for the SPA Lower School efforts and the New Families initiative. And she is second in line for SPA president.

Among many moments of connectedness since she joined The Summit community in 2014, Christy says she was brought to tears by the parade up Convent Lane. She and her husband, Tom, had put the top down on their gray convertible so their daughter, Estelle, could sit on top of the back seat. Estelle had put a lot of work into her handmade sign, and she was anxious to show it to her teachers. The Neyers showed up too early, so they parked in the Flannery lot and waited. All of a sudden, teachers poured out of the school and socially distanced themselves along the parade route. “We saw Mrs. Wojcik and Mrs. Snow who were retiring; it broke our hearts that this is the way they were retiring. When we saw Ms. Kane, that’s Estelle’s teacher, Estelle’s eyes just lit up. We had been so 28

Winter/Spring 2020-21

Christy says she wants parents to understand the important role they can play whether they have a little time or a lot of time to give. “I’m so proud of our school.

When I talk to people about what we’re doing with COVID, they’re just floored. A lot of people are working in the school to make it work, and a lot of parents have stepped up. It doesn’t just run on staff alone.”

Suzanne McHugh describes the moniker “volunteer mom” as an evolutionary experience. She first joined The Summit community when her family moved to Cincinnati. “When I first came here, I volunteered out of a basic need to get connected because we had no family in town,” she says. “I can remember going through the directory section that is organized by zip code. I needed to know the families around me. That was my carpool.” Three or four years later, she ran the Faculty-Staff Appreciation events for a year because she was impressed with the dedication of the faculty, and there she made friends with parents from other divisions of the school. Over the years, she’s volunteered in many SPA events.

Now, she focuses on mission integration with the founding Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and runs Prayer Partners.

A special moment she recalls was at a Fall Festival where she organized a sunflower booth for children. She cut dried sunflowers from the St. Julie Sunflower Patch along the driveway and laid them on a table. The children plucked the seeds with tweezers and made sunflower pictures that they could take home. She told them the story about how St. Julie Billiart said we imitate the sunflower, which turns toward the sun, and we should turn our eyes toward God. Then she gave them a “seek and find” activity which involved

Parent Suzanne McHugh helps a child with a sunflower activity during an SPA Fall Festival.

finding a sunflower on the building.

(Spoiler: Look above the front door.) “You wouldn’t believe the look in their eyes when they ran back to tell me they found the sunflower. I integrated the mission in a most subtle way so kids could experience it. You wouldn’t believe how excited they were.”

Prayer Partners has been a special gift to the Summit community, not just for those who are struggling with illness and grief but also for the participants. “When a community lifts up an individual who is struggling, that community member feels held within the community,” she says.

“You just feel better whether from cards or meals or prayers. It’s like you’re forming this web of hands. It takes the burden off, and every person who reached out is stronger. People feel lifted.”

The Silver Knight mascot gives a child a hug during the annual festival.

Summit Magazine 29

It was the international flags in the Main Building hallway that told Jen and Warner Allen what community is at The Summit. “Seeing all the flags in the hallway that represent the diversity of all the students at The Summit meant so much for me personally,” Warner says. “This is what our son needs to see. That openness. That transparency. That welcomeness. That acceptance. Seeing those flags told us so much about the importance of inclusion at The Summit. We knew we had to find a place for our biracial son where he knew he was included, and the color of his skin didn’t matter. For him to be in classes with Indian kids, Chinese kids, black kids, demonstrates that the school’s diversity is ingrained in the culture of the school. We see it.

We feel it, and we want to help grow it.”

Jen says she felt welcomed at The Summit. “When we started, we didn’t have any friends,” she says. “We came from a small school in Covington. We wanted that small school feel where everybody would wave and say, ‘Hi.’ We got that coming to The Summit.”

Jen and Warner Allen take turns with other parents preparing and serving meals to Lower School students following strict COVID-19 protocols that they helped develop.

30

Winter/Spring 2020-21

Last summer, when the school administration was developing protocols on reopening campus in the fall, Jen and Warner saw a way their expertise in organizational management could help. They developed a process for volunteers to safely serve lunch in the Lower School. Their plan, which spells out the tasks step-by-step that volunteers need to take from 10:40 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., included personalizing the meals based on what each parent ordered for their child. Then, the Allens volunteered to help serve lunch. “Since Warner and I have time, this is a way we can give back to our community we care so much about,” she says.

“We’re invested in Summit.”

When Jaden Woodard ’18 enrolled as a freshman at The Summit, his mother, Betty Woodard, was looking for the best school for her son, not thinking about making friends. After all, her family was well established in a community and home church. But the summer before Jaden’s freshman year, he underwent a heart transplant, and the family learned quickly how the Summit community embraces people in need. More than 300 visitors came to see Jaden at the hospital even though they didn’t know him yet. Summit families brought meals to their door. “I was meeting new people in the hospital,” she says. “I was definitely blown away.”

Sherry Liao gets a hug from Rose Jenkins, a Summit alumni parent and grandparent, during an outdoor event.

When Sherry Liao enrolled her oldest son in The Summit 11 years ago, many things about The Summit were new to her because she was raised in a different culture. So she volunteered for Helping Hands, an SPA group of moms who help prepare materials for classrooms. “Those tasks are not big tasks. Any little thing was fun to me, and I had so much fun talking to the parents. They taught me a lot of things. It was interesting to listen to what they said about their education and their lives. Generally, it was about making friends.”

The faith community is an aspect of The Summit that is important to Sherry, even though she is not Catholic. Growing up in China, Sherry had not learned about Christianity until she came to the United States where she studied religion. “At The Summit, I saw that they did teach the Bible and teach other religions. A Christian community was really important to me when I chose the school for the children,” she says. “You never know how God will speak to them, transform them.

It’s about teaching children every day what it’s like to be a leader, to work in a community, to be of service.”

Now a lead teacher in the Extended Day Center, Betty was given the Leader of Character Award this year for modeling kindness and respect while nurturing a warm environment that makes children feel loved. “Sometimes, you’re serving others; sometimes you’re being served,” she says. “It is a shared experience. I don’t want to be thriving in a community when someone else isn’t.”

She may not have set out to make more connections when she enrolled Jaden in The Summit, but she certainly did. “One thing I learned from my parents who are community leaders is it always helps to get to know people’s names. I enjoy adding more names to my mind.”

Betty Woodard and her children Aniya ’22 and Jaden ’18, pose for a photo with alumni parent Cindy Hertzel at a scholarship event.

Summit Magazine 31

were in the cafeteria. I can still picture it to this day, just looking around and thinking, ‘Look at how we all came together to serve this purpose.’ “

SPA president Judy Toebben, center, talks with Patrice Callery at a Parent Ambassador meeting.

Judy Toebben believes everyone has something to offer. It doesn’t have to be something big; little things have impact too. About 15 years ago, she had an idea for a Summit Parent Association (SPA) project where kids could get together and make some purposeful crafts for People Working Cooperatively – stuffing fabric tubes with beans to be door draft stoppers, making blankets, painting wooden crates for toy bins. “We decided to do it on Martin Luther King Jr. Day when the kids were off school. Several women from the black community loved the idea of it being in honor of Martin Luther King. Probably 50 to 60 people

Now serving a second term as SPA president, Judy is in her 19th year of active engagement in The Summit. She has done it all at one point or another – room parent, Fall Festival, auction, library, event decorating, executive board, new families and, her favorite, activities that celebrate The Summit’s multicultural nature. “One thing I love about The Summit is you meet people from all over the United States and all over the world,” she says. “You discover we’re all more similar than we are different, but you also meet people who have different traditions or a different way of looking at parenting. I love that about Summit. I love the mix of people.”

“I love being part of a community where we all have the same goals,” she says.

“We’re looking for top notch leadership, we’re looking for character to be taught.

Here, you are surrounded by parents who have high expectations for their children, where top quality in everything is No. 1 in parenting and teaching. I love being part of that environment.”

The community turned out for a formal gala five years ago at Music Hall when the school celebrated its 125th anniversary.

32

Winter/Spring 2020-21

Five members of the Pauly family have worn the number 50 on The Summit’s gridiron. In a reunion of 50s this year, from left, Will ’19, now in the ROTC at the University of Cincinnati, stands with his dad Sandy ’82, brother Nicholas ’21, mom Bridgitt and brother Jacob ‘17, also at UC.

For years, Bridgitt and Sandy Pauly ’82 have invited the football team, their parents, siblings and coaches with their families to a preseason spaghetti luncheon on Saturday afternoons at their Hyde Park home. Everyone brings drinks and desserts. Some of the dads come early to help set up tables under tents in the backyard. Coaches give speeches. And everyone gets to know each other. “When the season starts,” Sandy says, “there isn’t someone saying ‘I don’t know anyone. I don’t know where to sit.’ “

older brother, Chip ‘76, was the first as a member of Summits inaugural football squad. Then came Sandy followed by sons Jacob ’17, Will ’19 and Nicholas ’21. So when it came to this year’s senior night, Bridgitt and Sandy walked out on the field with all three boys amid thunderous applause from their friends in the stands.

Athletics is a natural community builder because everyone finds common ground in rooting for the same team.

But, Bridgitt says Summit offers lots of other opportunities for students and their parents to become engaged in the classroom, art, theater, music, faith and other activities. “It’s just been a gift for us to feel like you can walk into a football game and feel welcome, to walk into a basketball game, to walk into the Chapel and feel welcome, to walk into a rosary group and feel welcome.”

Football is special to the Pauly family, because five of them wore the number 50 jersey for the Silver Knights. Sandy’s

Nicholas Pauly ’21 wearing the number 50, carries the American flag onto the field at the beginning of the football game on senior night.

Summit Magazine 33

Summit Country Day varsity football team won in double overtime,” she says. “I was in tears as the parents of the players were telling me that their sons were playing their hearts out for me. At the conclusion of the game, I was greeted by the team with the game football that each of them had autographed for me. It is one of my prized possessions. Each of those boys took the time to wish me well, to say that they loved me and to encourage me on my road to recovery. It was absolutely precious. It was community at its finest.”

Patrice Tolble gets a big hug from her son, BT, at his graduation.

Patrice Tolble and her son, BT ’20, were on their way to Miami University to pick up her son, Ruben ’18, on a Sunday in late September of 2019 when her car was struck by another driver. Thankfully, BT was not injured, but the accident left her with multiple broken bones and titanium “souvenirs” in a wrist and foot. The outpouring of support from The Summit community, says Patrice, “blew me away.”

Key doctors who cared for her – people she didn’t previously know – turned out to be Summit parents. She was inundated with get-well cards from all four divisions of the school, meals, restaurant gift cards and rides to physical therapy.

BT’s football squad dedicated a double overtime win to her and gave her the game ball. “That game against Dayton Christian was a fierce, fierce battle that the 34

Winter/Spring 2020-21

After more than 13 years as a Summit parent, Patrice’s children have graduated.

But she is still involved in The Village, an organization she helped found to nurture community among families of African ancestry. The Village gets its name from the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Patrice recalls the welcoming call she received from a parent volunteer before she first visited The Summit. “I remember finding out we knew people in common,” she says. “We were talking and sharing and learning before school started.

We were taken into a village that we didn’t even identify as such at that time. Now, I want to make all black and brown children feel comfortable. I don’t want any child coming here and feeling skittish. There are some natural feelings you have when you enter a new environment. I want people to know Summit is a very special place.”

Patrice Tolble, left, and Upper School religion teacher Stephanie Duggan, right, flank nationally notable artist Brian Washington ’98 to get this keepsake photo with him after he presented to students.

Cherie Montgomery, left, gets a quick photo with Regina Sansalone, who taught in The Summit’s Montessori School for 16 years, and Patrice Tolble at a Village event.

Another member of the Village, Cherie Montgomery, attended a Christmas party at Athletic Director Greg Dennis’ house a few years ago. At the time, she was trying to decide where to send her preschooler.

Everyone at the party was telling her to

send him to The Summit. She did just that and immediately immersed herself in school goings-on: the Boosters, the Spirit Shop and Montessori parent ambassadors.

She also opened her home to host some of The Summit’s international students.

Now, she is an organizer for the Village.

While the pandemic limited the group to virtual meetings this year, past years have seen monthly gatherings at the school, at people’s homes, at a park or a bowling alley. The group helps new parents feel comfortable, Cherie says. “In addition to the awkwardness of being new, sometimes you have this unique position where you’re one of a small number of people who look like you. It helps to have someone who looks like you, who shares a similar background as you, to say this place is OK. I have friends who have children at other independent schools, and none of them have a resource like the Village.”

Summit Human Resources Director Maria Hill and her family - husband, Samuel, and their children Alexander ’30 and Skylar ’32, - are all smiles at a fall festival.

Summit Magazine 35

his classmates and teachers from years ago at his father’s funeral. Chatting on the sideline of a football game with other dads on the yard marker “chain gang.”

Attending Christmas Eve Mass knowing that, like him, many attendees were not Catholic but part of the same community.

“The Summit is kind of like the theme song in the old Cheers sitcom,” Rob says. “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.”

Rob Dzeich ’88, who was coaching a Middle School girls’ basketball team when this photo was taken, likens Summit to the Cheers television sitcom where “everybody knows your name.”

Midi (Amann) Drew ’81 is another alumna who feels at home at The Summit. She’s the third generation of a four-generation Summit family that dates back to 1905 when her grandfather, Charles Bert Amann, attended the school. Growing up in The Summit community, Midi has so many moments of feeling part of The Summit community, but one that stands

Rob Dziech ’88 recalls a winter break league championship game at Kilgour School when his daughter, Elizabeth ’21, was in fifth or sixth grade. As a prosecutor-turned-defense attorney, Rob was probably more at home in a trial court than on a basketball court. But like many dads and moms in the parent-run K-6 athletics program, Rob was coaching. The squad was depleted because school was out for winter break. Even Elizabeth was absent because of another commitment.

A larger-than-normal cheering section showed up for the game because older siblings were home for the holidays.

So when Rob’s underdog Silver Knight team eked out a narrow win, the crowd, as they say, went wild. Rob remembers looking around him and seeing dads who went to school with him and kids who he had known since his daughter entered preschool. He remembers thinking: “This is family.”

As someone who has been “kicking around these halls” since he was 3-yearsold, Rob has had many moments when he felt that connectedness: Discussion at the dinner table with his child whose teacher had taught him many years ago. Seeing 36

Winter/Spring 2020-21

Midi (Amann) Drew ’81 wears one of her many hats, that of a Spirit Shop volunteer.

out was sitting in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel in 2016 as she watched her daughter, Mary Ann, now a senior, participate in Lessons and Carols. “I just had this overwhelming sense of peace and belonging,” she says. “I was feeling like I was part of this beautiful progression that goes back as far as my family can remember and that I see going into the future.”

Volunteering to chaperone summer Adventure Club trips as a young alumna in her 20s and day field trips when her daughter was in the Montessori School, Midi has been volunteer bookkeeper for the Spirit Shop for several years. She spent last summer creating an online shopping experience for the Spirit Shop because social-distancing mandates meant the shop couldn’t open. This fall, she stepped up to work in the cafeteria at a time when she heard the school was short on applications because of COVID-19 fears.

“I’ve always felt at home at Summit,” she says. “There’s never been a time when I walked in -- even if I didn’t know people -- that I didn’t feel comfortable there. Everybody has always been nice and kind and thoughtful. It has a very warm, welcoming feeling.” She says she knows, because she left The Summit to try another school for seventh and eighth grades, that The Summit is inviting.

“The education is fabulous, and I expect that from Summit. What you don’t get everywhere else is that sense of family and community where everybody is welcome and everybody is made to feel a part of things.” As a parent, she feels a sense of camaraderie with other parents and staff, and she knows her contributions are valued. “For me, it is the use of my gifts and talents. I don’t give a lot of money. I don’t have a lot to spare. But I do have time, and I do have talents. I feel like I am able to utilize those in ways that help the school and that my efforts are appreciated.”

Annie and Mike Bergeron sit together in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel for son Jack’s graduation in 2019.

In 2006, Annie and Mike Bergeron attended their first SPA Fall Festival.

They had just moved to Cincinnati from Michigan. They picked up their pizza from the LaRosa’s booth and sat down at a table with their three children. The front circle was abuzz with activities.

High school kids were painting the faces of younger children. Kids were squealing with delight with their prizes from games.

Parents and alumni were everywhere.

Annie says: “I looked up at the building and looked around and I thought, ‘Look at all these families. Look how happy they are for their children. This is our community now. This is who we are.’ I just had this sense of Summit being a family.”

Since then, Annie has volunteered to do just about everything at the school – SPA treasurer, Helping Hands, Spirit Shop, Fall Festival chair and many times a festival worker, room parent or sports team mom. She’s put hundreds of miles on her odometer setting up Open House yard signs all over town. She’s gone time and again to pick up chocolate-covered Rice Krispie treats or iced cookies for one event or another. She’s sat around the table with other parents assembling Summit Magazine 37

Sarah Cherot-Abercrombie, left, talks to Cristina Williamson (Kayleigh’s mom) at an SPA Welcome Coffee in 2019.

thousands of back-to-school packets.

Now she’s on the board of trustees and heads the 88-member Admission Office Parent Ambassador network. Parents in the network have a passion for the school that they want to share with others. “I’ve made a lot of friends through the parent ambassador group,” she says. “It is a good way to connect with people.”

Annie describes community as a feeling of warmth, goodness and kindness. “It is something you want to be part of.” Her advice to new parents is this: “Show up. Be present. Go to school and hang out a little bit. You’re going to love it. You’re going to feel part of something that’s bigger than you. Just accept it. Welcome it. You’re going to be blessed by what comes back your way.”

On a recent Tuesday evening, 19 parents joined Montessori Director Lauren Guip in a virtual book club session to discuss Jessica Lahey’s “The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed.” The setting was casual. The discussion was spirited and fun. Parents laughed as they gave each 38

Winter/Spring 2020-21

other tips on letting their children be more independent – devoting a special drawer where preschoolers could get their own snacks, a towel within reach so toddlers could clean up their own spills, a willingness to let children try things even if they make mistakes.

“We weren’t meant to raise our children in isolation,” Mrs. Guip says. “So much can be gained from the knowledge and insights of others. The intrinsic benefits that parents receive by getting engaged are the friendships that come from working together toward a common goal – doing what is best for our children.”

The book club is an avenue Mrs. Guip took this year to fill a social void created by the separation requirements of the pandemic.

For the past few years, these new-toschool parents have been among the most engaged parents on campus. They actually have a “Family Fun Committee.” Through welcome socials, Helping Hands, football tailgate parties, wine-and-cheese socials, group outings to Reds games, Halloween Trunk-or-Treat, Advent wreath making, classroom parties and picnics, parents

have many opportunities to get to know each other during or outside of the school day.

Sarah Cherot-Abercrombie first joined The Summit community when she brought her five-month-old daughter to the IgKnight Music and Movement Class.

Once a week, she would join a small circle of moms and grandparents in trying to keep time to the music, waving scarves, beating drums, laughing at the antics of the children and following teacher Donna Doran in a gallop around the room. “I was just looking for something to do with her, and I wanted to meet other parents,” Sarah says. “We did that for two full years.

It was awesome.”

When she enrolled her daughter, Ainsley, in the toddler program, she immediately volunteered for the Family Fun Committee and Helping Hands. Now she is chair of the SPA’s Montessori efforts. “Sometimes people worry committees take up too much time or that it is monetary,” she says.

“You don’t have to pay dues to be in the SPA. We just want some of your time, and we know some parents have more time than others. We appreciate that.”

The SPA organizes a lot of different activities so parents can find something that works with their schedule. One of her favorites is the Montessori family picnic on the back field. Signs are posted for each teacher so they can put their blankets down near each other. “Eventually all the kids head for the playground, and the parents just hang around and talk,” she says. “It’s nice to see that your kids are happy at school, that they have friends

Ainsley Abercrombie ‘33 sends a message of love to her teachers during the end-of-year parade.

and to meet the parents of their friends.”

People can find community anywhere, says Sam Huttenbauer, but The Summit community is unique because of the common values parents, teachers and administration share in delivering a character-based and academically rigorous education to children.

“Some of the first people Lindsey and I met, before we put our kids in the Montessori program, sent their kids to The Summit,” Sam says. “They were the most polite and respectful children we’d ever met. It became clear that The Summit was responsible for a large piece of that.

Part of it was the parents themselves, but a large piece of it was the education and upbringing they received at The Summit. The people who end up sending their children to The Summit are a selfselecting group. We know we’re going to share the values that we hold dear. So that piece of it makes the school a special place.”

Fifth grade parents gather in 2019 for a fowling party, which for the uninitiated is a curious but fun combination of football and bowling. Hosted by the SPA, this was one of the last events held 39 Summitof Magazine before the transition to remote learning because the pandemic.

The Summit Country Day School

Athletic Hall of Fame

The Summit baseball team won the 1995 Division IV state championship, the first state title in school history. First row, from left: A.J. Cohen, Adam Keslosky, John O’Brien, Jeff Eversman, Mike Daly, Mike Tudor, Todd Schueler and Colin Stayton. Second row, from left: Asst. Coach Joe Molony, Justin Sanders, Brian Tolleson, Dustin Cohen, Mike Keslosky, Mike Norman, Head Coach Jeff Stayton, Andy Nichols, Patrick Meyer, Sean Daly, John Domaschko, Statistician Mike Flax, Asst.

Coach Kim Cohen.

1995 Baseball Team Hit Home Run in Summit History

By Nick Robbe From the brilliant white gowns and sharp tuxedos to classmates cramming together on the front steps of the school for the class photo, commencement at The Summit is teeming with tradition.

Twenty-five years ago, seniors Dustin Cohen, Mike Keslosky, Mike Norman and Justin Sanders turned the typical proceedings on its collective head. They arrived at graduation wearing eye black and baseball jerseys caked with dirt.

Why the stark contrast in attire? They had just returned from winning the 1995 Division IV baseball state championship, the first state title in school history.

“After we celebrated (the victory), they rounded up the seniors and told us we had to go. Without telling us where we were going, they put us into a vehicle,” Mike Norman says. “We were floored when 40

Winter/Spring 2020-21

we got to the airport and were told that someone had sent a private jet to fly us and our families back home so that we could make graduation. That was one of the craziest moments of my life. It was like being a superstar.”

It was quite an ending for a team picked to finish fourth in the Miami Valley Conference (MVC). Mike Keslosky says jokingly: “We had some pretty good athletes on that team, so I’m not sure who was on the preseason ranking committee.

They probably heard Adam Keslosky (his brother) made varsity and rightly knocked our expectations down a bit.”

Jeff Stayton, coach of the 1995 team, says the MVC, with the likes of St. Bernard and Cincinnati Country Day, was a tough conference, but added that polls are only speculative. No one truly knows how a team will perform. But a coach knows when a team has talent. Coach Stayton felt he was like Sparky Anderson, the

manager of the Big Red Machine era Cincinnati Reds. All he had to do was fill out the lineup card and stay out of the way.

Several players from that season continued their playing careers in the collegiate ranks. Coach Stayton said the next year’s team would have repeated as state champions if the ace pitchers were juniors instead of seniors.

“We were like a bunch of misfit toys,” Dustin says. “We played as a team to win games. We were never flashy and were rarely smooth. No one hit long home runs on a regular basis, and we did not have gold glove winners on defense. We all just did what we could to make the team better.”

That talent can be wasted if the team does not have good chemistry. The ’95 team had no issues in that regard. “As far as chemistry goes, while we had some great individual players; no one’s ego caused any problems,” Justin says. “Nobody made it about himself as an individual. When we would huddle up before games or between innings, we would always break the huddle by yelling ‘1...2...3...Old School!’

It sounds silly, but that really is a perfect way to describe our team and the way we played. We all contributed in our areas of individual strength to help the team succeed.”

A successful regular season transitioned into an even more remarkable postseason run, fraught with ups and downs.

In the quarterfinals, Coach Stayton recalls, the team was not playing up to its caliber.

At one point, he remembers thinking the season might end with that game. Instead, their opponent attempted a pick-off play at third base. The opposing pitcher threw the ball away, pushing the winning run across the plate for Summit.

In the fifth inning of the semifinal game against Galion Northmor, with Summit trailing 2-0, the Silver Knight offense came

alive. “I said ‘Guys it’s getting close to the end (of the game). Let’s hit,’” Coach Stayton says. His team responded.

Capped by a Mike Tudor grand slam, Summit scored 11 runs in the frame. The 11-run inning is still a state tournament record, regardless of division. The Silver Knights won the contest, 11-3.

After that success, Summit met Greenwich South Central for the title. Summit pushed a run across the plate in the bottom of third inning, but South Central would answer in the top of the fourth. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Tudor singled to center, bringing Mike Daly to the plate. Mike followed with the gamewinning double.

Justin entered the game in relief and allowed just one hit. In that moment, Coach Stayton believes the players knew it would be the first state championship in school history, but it wasn’t something they mentioned before the game.

“We told them it was just an opportunity to do something pretty cool because not many people get that far,” the coach says.

“We all felt that we had made it this far, why not go and win the last game.”

The win is still top of mind. “I think about it often,” assistant coach Joe Molony says. “I’ve had success at other schools, and I often lean on the lessons learned from that year to get me through the current year. When I talk to new teams about climate, chemistry and culture, my thoughts go to that 1995 team.”

The team photo hangs in Flannery Gymnasium. That gives Coach Stayton ample opportunity to glance at the past triumph and reflect. “I still turn around and look at it,” he says. “But it’s not for me, it’s for the kids. You’re only as good as your players and coaches, and I was really blessed to have great kids, great senior leadership and great coaches.”

This article is dedicated to A.J. Cohen ’97.

Summit Magazine 41

Bradley Evans ’10 Starred in Three Sports The Marc Gerard Fragge ’83 Memorial Scholarship mirrors Marc’s passion for academic achievement, athletic engagement and spiritual growth.

Bradley Evans ‘10, one of the many recipients of the scholarship, followed those passions. He was was a three-sport athlete at The Summit. Bradley earned a bachelor of science degree in Chemical Engineering from Howard University and has participated in numerous volunteer and mentoring programs.

years of high school, including MVC player of the year. In his junior season, Summit won a district championship. In 2008, he was second-team allDistrict and honorable mention all-District the following year. He was a four-year starter and senior captain.

Also in that senior season, he ran track, excelling at the 100, 200 and 400 meter distances. He was also a regional qualifier.

After college, he worked as a senior analyst for Goldman Sachs before joining Google in 2018 where he works as a leadership compensation associate. In his time at both companies, Bradley took advantage of volunteer and mentoring programs.

The new member of The Summit Athletic Hall of Fame participated in basketball, football and track during his senior year at the school.

In football, Bradley was a four-year starter and a senior captain. He also finished second-team allMiami Valley Conference (MVC) in 2009 and made honorable mention from the conference in 2007.

He had numerous offers to play football for Ivy League schools before ultimately opting not to play sports in college.

On the hardwood, Bradley was selected to all-MVC teams all four

Bradley Evans now, top photo, and as a Summit runner, bottom photo.

— Nick Robbe

42

Winter/Spring 2020-21

These programs included field trips with at-risk children, cleaning homeless shelters and helping maintain sustainable gardens for use at food banks. He even keeps his competitive spirit alive by playing in the company basketball league.

Nancy (Griffin) Rhodenbaugh ’74 Was a Six-Sport Athlete Nancy (Griffin) Rhodenbaugh ’74 enrolled here at The Summit Country Day School following a unique circumstance. After her eighth grade year at Sacred Heart, a primary rival of Summit at the time, the school closed its doors.

“All of us coming over from Sacred Heart were scared to death,” she says. “But the attitude of the school was so open and friendly. I always enjoyed my time there and the many friendships built from being on different teams. Every few months, I get together and have lunch with them.”

Mrs. Rhodenbaugh played volleyball, basketball and tennis, swam, ran track and field and was a cheerleader. Under the direction of Farrell Ackley, Nancy was a member of the school’s first track team. Like today, there was no track on campus, they ran in the neighborhood.

Being involved with so many athletic teams seems like quite the undertaking. But for her, that was the norm.

“I was raised to be an athlete even away from high school through backpacking, canoeing and hiking,” she says. “My

parents supported me 100 percent.” Her contributions to Summit athletics cannot be overlooked.

“She excelled in every sport she played,” classmate Deborah (Weber) Reinstatler ’74 says. “She was always at the top of her game.”

Because of her superior athletic competency, Nancy was invited to be a part of the Summit Athletic Club (SUMAC) her senior year. The SUMACS were a group of skilled girls who were selected based on their athletic abilities and leadership in the school.

Nancy graduated from Xavier University and worked for both her father and mother.

Her father stoked her passion for medicine and her mother cultivated her fascination with the arts. Then, she married a Navy man and traveled to different locations around the globe. They eventually settled in Blue Ash and raised two daughters.

Nancy began working with therapy dogs after caring for her mother before she passed. Now, she is training her pet, appropriately named Dash, to be a therapy dog.

“I love it. With Dash, it’s about bringing a smile to someone who isn’t feeling well,” she says.

— Nick Robbe

Summit Magazine 43

50s

Class Notes

Sr. Rose Ann Fleming SNDdeN ’50 was a Transformation Award winner at the Center for Respite Care.

Jacob Sweeney SBS ’59, CEO, Jake Sweeney Automotive, was named in Cincinnati Magazine’s “300 Most Powerful Business Leaders” list.

60s

John Barrett SBS ’63, Chairman, President and CEO, Western & Southern Financial Group, was named in Cincinnati Magazine’s “300 Most Powerful Business Leaders” list.

70s

Tom Williams SBS ’71, President and CEO, North American Properties, was named in Cincinnati Magazine’s “300 Most Powerful Business Leaders” list.

Eric Kearney BMS ’77, President and CEO, African American Chamber of Commerce for Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, was listed in Cincinnati Magazine’s “300 Most 44

Winter/Spring 2020-21

Powerful Business Leaders article.” Also, he now serves on the board for Union Savings Bank.

80s

Hollie Beemer ’81 was promoted to Customer Service Representative at the Social Security Administration. Hollie has been employed by the agency for twelve years.

Brian Brockhoff ’82 was promoted to Market President of SW Ohio at CFBank in Jan. 2020.

Andrew DeWitt BMS ’85, Chairman, Dewey’s Pizza, was listed in Cincinnati Magazine’s “300 Most Powerful Business Leaders.”

Dr. Dana Zimmel ’85 was named Interim Dean of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Dec. 2019.

Julie (Kelley) Back ’87 was named the

top sales agent for Ohio REALTORS® organization for 2020.

This is Julie’s fourth consecutive year receiving this honor, and she has been the top agent for Sibcy Cline for the past nine years. Pictured above: Pam (Dixon) Sibcy ’66, Rob Sibcy, Julie (Kelley) Back ’87 and Robin (Sibcy) Sheakley GMS ’87.

Robin (Sibcy) Sheakley GMS ’87, President of Sibcy Cline Inc., was named in Cincinnati Magazine’s “300 Most Powerful Business Leaders” list.

Michael Stagnaro BMS ’87, President and CEO, Stagnaro Distributing, was listed in Cincinnati Magazine’s “300 Most Powerful Business Leaders” list.

90s

Betsy Sundermann GMS ’90 was appointed to the Cincinnati City Council in March 2020.

Aprille Flint-Gerner GMS ’91 started as the new Child Welfare Deputy Director of Workforce Development and Equity at the Oregon

Department of Human Services in March 2020.

Colin Kegler ’93 started his second term on the Harvard Alumni Association Board of Directors. Ty Moore ’02 also serves on the board.

David Falk ’94, Chef and Owner, Boca Restaurant Group, was named in Cincinnati Magazine’s “300 Most Powerful Business Leaders” list.

Jim Price ’95, Owner and CEO, Empower Media, was named in Cincinnati Magazine’s “300 Most Powerful Business Leaders” list.

Justin Sanders ’95 started a new job as Senior Litigation Attorney at Becker Law Office in July 2020.

Alicia Bond-Lewis ’97 is part of Class 15 for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s WE Lead program.

The program is an executive leadership development experience for high-potential, goaloriented women who are actively preparing for the next level of their career.

Kyle Perkins ’98 was awarded the Idaho Cross, the highest honor a member

of Idaho’s military division can receive.

The award was given to him by Idaho Governor Brad Little in Jan. 2020 after he saved another man’s life.

Molly Flanagan SMS ’99 was awarded Cincinnati Business Courier’s “Forty Under 40” in Oct. 2020.

Dr. Tamara Taggart ’99 received a Pilot Award from George Washington University. The Pilot Award will fund her work for community awareness about the effectiveness of PrEP, a prescription for HIV negative people.

00s

Trenita (Brookshire) Childers ’01 published the book, “In Someone Else's Country: AntiHaitian Racism and Citizenship in the Dominican Republic,” in Aug. 2020.

Dominic D’Alonzo ’02 opened a new franchise of Tide Cleaners in Butler County’s Liberty Township in July 2020.

Ty Hogan ’02 joined Magnified Giving’s Board of Directors in Aug. 2020.

CJ MacConnell Jr SMS '02 and Will

Vollmer SMS ’00 launched Protect|ED in June 2020 as a result of COVID-19.

The company supplies schools with protective personal equipment and has medical doctors and former school administrators on staff to advise best practices to keep everyone safe during the pandemic. The school is grateful for the expertise they offered the school at the start of the pandemic.

René Cheatham III ’03 started a new job as the Senior Director of Finance for Learning Grove in Covington, Ky. in Aug. 2020.

Kyndal Michel Marks ’07 recently graduated from the Leadership Council for Nonprofits Board Orientation + Leadership Development (BOLD) Class 3.

Sam Buse SMS ’09 was promoted in Oct. 2020 to Real Estate/Construction Alliances Specialist at LOTH Inc.

Emily David ’09 and husband, Nick Farrell, were featured in Forbes Magazine in May 2020. The couple co-founded Bites Media, a news and information platform for middle and high school students.

Madeleine “Pudy” (Kroger) Lame ’46 passed away June 3 at age 92.

Mrs. Lame’s mother, Theresa (Finn) Kroger, class of 1907, was one of the earliest graduates of The Summit.

Mrs. Lame was a graduate of Dumbarton College in Washington D.C. and a lover of art. A longtime docent at The Taft Museum, she developed tours for the visually and hearing impaired after her own hearing and sight deteriorated. She also developed a reference book for museums on sensory tours for people with disabilities.

The Cincinnati Enquirer named her Woman of the Year in 1993.

A Summit lifer who continued to support The Summit throughout her lifetime, Mrs. Lame was recognized in 2017 when her family donated funds to restore two sets of gothic revival side doors in the narthex of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel.

Preceded in death by her husband Charles J. Lame Jr. and son Charles J. Lame, III., she is survived by sons John C. Lame (Susie), and Mark K. Lame; grandchildren Anne Megerle (Steve), Katie Axe (Brian), Libby Reder (Steve), Jay Lame (Ali) and Michael Lame; and greatgrandchildren Andy, Charlie and Ellie Axe, Jack Reder ’35, Millie Reder and Trey Lame. Her sister, Anne (Kroger) Lambert graduated in the class of 1936.

Jamal Shteiwi ’00 passed away on November 9 at age 39.

Captain of The Summit’s 1999 state champion soccer team, he went on to play soccer at the University of Kentucky where the team won the conference championship three times and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. After college, he played with the Columbus Crew and came back to The Summit for a while to help coach soccer. He was inducted into The Summit’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.

He is survived by his wife Lauren (Russell) Shteiwi ’00; four children, Will, Maya, Eliza and Juju; parents, Diab and Cindy Shteiwi; and three siblings: Jomana Dobbs ’01, Jibran Shteiwi ’03 and Jennifer Shteiwi ’09.

Summit Magazine 45

The Class of 2009 celebrated its tenth reunion in Dec. 2019 at Northside Distilling Company in Over-the-Rhine. Alumni in attendance included Elizabeth Maynard, JoJo Pogue, Addie (Dowling) Dwyer, Katherine Burrington, Khiry Hankins, Chaz Hahn, Allison Ranieri, Jennifer Shteiwi, Brian Reynolds, Ryan Horst, Will Stromberg, Kiaren Hickson, Camille (Maynard) Maddrix ’07, CJ Collins, Lauren Mongelluzzo, Sophie Seidner, Danny Dwyer, Riley Birk, Kirby Birk, Brian Koch, Mary Spahr, Henry Meininger and Gordy Horn.

10s

Dr. Shirley Nunlist ’11 graduated from the University of Kentucky School of Medicine in May 2020. Dr. Nunlist has accepted a Residency in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.

Katie Funk ’12 started as the new Chief Giving Officer at La Soupe in Walnut Hills in March 2020.

46

Winter/Spring 2020-21

Andrew Lyons ’12 earned a master's degree in Environmental Science, Hydrology & Water Security on May 8 from the Gallogly College of Engineering at The University of Oklahoma. Andrew is a forecaster at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.

in New York, N.Y. She is the editor of “You Should See Me in a Crown” by debut novelist Leah Johnson, which has appeared on the Indie Bestseller List week over week and was recently named the inaugural Reese's Book Club YA pick.

Ella Cooney ’13 is now an Investment Banking Analyst at Piper Sandler in New York City.

Antonio Woods ’14 has signed to play professional basketball in Europe for Sport Club Lusitânia after playing the last five years for the University of Pennsylvania.

Esther Gault ’15 graduated from Miami University with summa cum laude honors and received membership into Beta Gamma Sigma honorary society for being in the top two percent of her class.

Michael Hudson ’17 has accepted a full-time position at Boston Consulting Group in their Chicago location.

WEDDINGS

Maya Marlette ’12 was promoted to Associate Editor at Scholastic Press

Brian Kramer ’98 and Brandie Piper were married on Nov. 2, 2019. The couple resides in St. Louis, Mo.

Grant Bailey ’02 and Katie Dauer were married on May 24.

The couple resides in Fairfax.

Katie (Honerlaw) Wallace ’08 married Andy Wallace on Oct. 17. The couple resides in Walnut Hills.

Joseph Wernke ’09 and Payton Moore were married on July 25. The couple resides in Milford.

Tommy Kreyenhagen ’12 married Katelyn Craig on Sept. 5 in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel. The couple resides in Madisonville.

BIRTHS Jaime Masters SMS ’98 and wife, Alison, welcomed their third daughter, Holly Elizabeth, in Aug. 2020.

Secrets Of The Summit Revealed Sara “Sally” (Ryan) Gaede ’58 Nov. 11, 2020 Ann (Ryan) Vollman ’62 April 3, 2020 Laura (Steinmanis) Bieschke '02 and husband, Adam, welcomed daughter, Noelle Kathryn, in Feb. 2020. The family resides in North Barrington, Ill.

Ronald Endres SBS ’63 July 21, 2020 Shirley (Hoover) Payne ’65 June 8, 2020 Delle (Christensen) Jones ’67 July 21, 2020 Susan (Harmeier) Conway ’71 Aug. 20, 2020

Jessica (Long) Bare ’05 and husband, Tyler, welcomed their first baby, Olivia Anne Bare, in May. Lauren Shumrick ’05 gave birth to baby, Theo D. Furlani, in March 2020.

Erin (Hickey) Kelly SMS ’06 and husband, Shane, welcomed son, Theodore Brown, in Aug.

IN MEMORY

Barbara (McCarthy) Rielly ’44 July 31, 2019

Joyce (Macke) Rohan ’49 March 20, 2020 Helen "Mimi" (Gerdsen) Kispert ’50 March 18, 2020 Peter Shapleigh SBS ’52 July 14, 2020

Elizabeth “Lisa” Reininger ’75 May 18, 2020 Adrian M. Carsiotis ’78 March 12, 2019 Daniel C. Perry ’84 Aug. 9, 2020 Takia T. Dasent ’04 Oct. 7, 2020 Patricia Dumont, Lower School teacher in the 1970s and 1980s, Aug. 1, 2020

Alumni News Please submit news about new degrees, new jobs, marriages, births and other notable passages in your lives. Go to www. summitcds.org/ SubmitYourNews

Join us as we explore the secrets of the Summit and view familiar sights with a new lens. Developed by Summit social studies teacher and campus historian Tracy Law, Ph.D. ’85 and Communications and Development Manager Ryan Glass ’11, a new video series explores the origins of our landmark 1890 school. Discover history that even students or faculty may not know. www.summitcds.org/historytour #SummitHistory

Corrections Listings in the 2019-20 Impact Report on Philanthropy omitted the following:

Leaders of Character Society 1890 Circle: Holly (Friesz) Seltman ‘86 (13) and P. Stuart Seltman ‘86.

Leaders of Character Five Pillars Circle: Kathryn (Stahl) ’84 and Keith Harsh ’84 (12).

The Summit Fund Five Pillar’s Circle: Kimberly and Daniel LaBar BMS ‘77 (8).

Silver Knight Club $500-$999 (under age 35): Kyndal Michel Marks ’07 and Samuel Marks (10).

A quote from Terricka and Eric Austin in the 2019-20 Impact Report on Philanthropy should have read: “Eric and I have been blessed to provide a great education for our kids. We are advocates for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion for all, and especially for underrepresented students who may not have the opportunity to attend schools like The Summit. We became angel donors because we want others to have the same opportunity that our kids have!“

Two captions in the fall magazine contained incorrect identification. On page 21, the caption should have read senior Grace Harrell. On page 31, the caption should have read Amir Johnson and his parents, Dalena Johnson and Aaron Sammy.

Summit Magazine 47

2161 Grandin Road Cincinnati, OH 45208 513.871.4700 www.summitcds.org

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION US POSTAGE PAID CINCINNATI, OH PERMIT #553

Address Service Requested Postal regulations require The Summit to pay at least 50 cents for every copy not deliverable as addressed. Please notify us of any changes of address.

The Summit Country Day School invites you to join students from all over the tri-state area. Programming for ages 3 through high school.