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IN THIS ISSUE
Volume 66
Number 1
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MOST LOVED............JOE LAKOVITCH By Barclay Johnson ’53
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THE SCHOOL IN SERVICE By Jean Strumolo Piacenza ’75 Page 2
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A NEW ACADEMIC CENTER FOR TAFT By Bill Morris ’69
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MANY NAMES OF TAFT HARRY PAYNE BINGHAM D E P A R T M E N T S 17—WINTER SPORTS SCHEDULE 19—NEWS OF THE SCHOOL Page 6
New Faculty, New Appointments, CASE Alumni Program Award, Taft in Thailand, Alumni Offspring, Admissions Travel…
23—ALUMNI NOTES 41—FORMER FACULTY NOTES 42—MILESTONES 43—ENDNOTE By Lance R. Odden Page 11
On the cover:
Will Kneip ’96, Peter Sicher ’96, Laura Stevens ’99, and Katherine Percarpio ’99 take a break while clearing a trail. Photo by Peter Frew ’75.
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Most Loved……Joe IN MEMORY OF JOE LAKOVITCH: A CHAMP FOR ALL AGES By Barclay Johnson ’53
Most Popular .............................................Leon Most Likely to Succeed ...............................Taft Most Versatile...................................Franciscus Most Naive ............................................. Glatte Handsomest.............................................. Rocca Busiest................................................... Brenner This aquifer of gratitude Best Dressed............................................. Smith Has sprung a generous spirit
Best Voice .............................................. Belcher Last summer, when Joe left us, at age eighty-four, many alumni could still see him as clearly as he had seen every one of them. Reunions with Anne and Joe at the tent had been a tradition long before he retired—and long after. How easy it was to find them, even at their height. From a circle of old happy faces, laughter would grow younger and younger. And there would be Joe, with lovely Anne on one side, his cane preempted on the other, taking chums back to their lower mid years.
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hrough all of these gettogethers, our Class of ’53 had seen itself in the forefront of Joe’s fabled memory. And to secure such a place, we had left our yearbook to him. Of course, we owed this man much more than that; for back in the days of dark austerity, Joe had been, to many of us, our first adult friend. As athletic trainer, director of phys. ed., and manager of the school store, he had known all our names, our nicknames, our bones, our hometowns, and far too many of our parents. Furthermore, he had known our minds. This ability alone had placed Joe above any giant on the faculty. Then, too, there was something else we liked. According to local scuttlebutt, Joe had spent his college days fighting in the ring. But some kids still wondered if he could handle us. In his position, somewhere between the frosty deans upstairs and the madcaps in the basement, what clout did he have to drop the lid on us? Besides, he was smaller than we were. Naturally, before long we had to corner him in the store and ask politely, “Hey, Joe, you eva fight for dough?” Quick as a bantam, into a crouch—jabs snapping right up to our noses. “Come on!” he huffed. “How much ya got?” Backing off, we told him, “Not much.” (In 1949, the Business Office controlled our allowances.) “How much!” He pawed, shuffling around. “You brightboys think I did it for fun?!”
We had to laugh, which, fortunately, had been the whole idea. Also, we had to believe what we saw. At least, the fight-game would account for his round back, stiff neck, and tough, overdeveloped chin. After that, we left Joe’s history alone. It was enough to know him as he was—as “Joe,” or “Uncle Joe” to faculty kids. He and everyone else preferred Joe to “Sir” or “Mr. Lakovitch.” Simply to be a friend was not beneath his dignity. The faculty kids had gotten it right: Joe was a playful uncle to us all. Like a poker-faced clown, he could loosen you up, cool you off, give you what you needed— even before a big game. It didn’t take much for him—just the last piece of ankle tape wrapped around both feet. But good old Joe
Back in the early ’60s, we had to wonder what Joe ever did for fun, except laugh at us. It is now known that he and Joe Brogna would take a drive, from time to time, to the Green Mountain racetrack in southern Vermont. The question remains: which Joe was driving? Rick Davis ’59 recalls a few trips to New Haven, with Lakovitch behind the wheel. “In fastflowing traffic, Joe would check his odd prismatic mirror, then, turning like a bear—all in one piece— literally face me for the better part of another yarn.”
Anne and Joe with old friends at the Centennial celebration.
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wasn’t always that funny. At the dinner table, for instance, he could dish out “grades” with triumphant glee—for nothing. “Bad manners,” he would tell us—or “sloth,” whatever that meant. But Joe could never scare our class. Actually, the man enjoyed not being feared, maybe because he never feared anyone himself— not even Mr. Cruikshank. That way he could kid the whole school down to his size—faculty and students alike. If you happened to be a stuffed shirt, Joe would unstuff you: “Authority means peace; authoritarians mean war.” But if Joe ever had a conflict of loyalties, we lightweights never knew it. His advice to the most charming felon: “You’re a good jabronie, Huntington. So fess up and take your lumps.” By the time most of us graduated, we still knew little about Joe’s real life. His own stories had always
…Joe stayed at the center of student life: the tsar of “milk lunch,” Santa’s helper, warden of the air raid shelter under the old gym, chauffeur of students en route to Sunday Mass… featured someone other than himself—our distinguished predecessors or much-revered instructors or us. (Where he got his information remained a nagging mystery.) Thus, benighted, we had to superimpose fight scenes on his already rugged childhood in Vermont; then again on his college days at Arnold. We could only imagine that Joe had earned his degrees in physical education and sports medicine the hard way. It was Dean Douglas, a veteran master sergeant from World War II, who told us that we were right. Joe had played on every varsity team that Arnold could
Track coaches Ed Douglas, Bob Adams, Joe, and John Harper.
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support in 1931, but boxing had been his first love. Years later, those of us who had circled back to teach here, much to Joe’s amusement, learned the source of his real first love and power. Strangely enough, he had met her in the ring—or beside it. Joe had been fighting for money in Anne’s hometown of Jaffrey, New Hampshire. On the night that Joe hit the mat for the full count, the referee happened to be her brother. The ref went over and picked him up himself. And there was Anne, waiting to be introduced. Thereafter, we were told, Taft became their life.
S P O T L I G H T
Joe, taking care of everyone at the school store.
This part was hard to believe, even for new teachers; but soon the story, now a classic, began to take form. Hired by Horace Taft in the spring of 1936, Joe arrived on campus with his family an hour before the Cruikshanks. (That they remained personal friends long after Paul’s retirement in 1963 says enough about mutual respect). Grateful for work during the depression, Joe did every job that classroom teachers could not do. On his initiative, the school started interscholastic boxing in the league. After an array of more popular sports eclipsed Joe’s efforts, he helped to coach football, wrestling, and track. Then, as trainer and chief taper, Joe may well have saved more than a few team records. He seemed to be on the sidelines of every game—often two at once. Players and fans could easily spot Joe’s face, tanned by all
the elements, deep-dimpled by an eager smile. After a bitter football game, casualties from both sides remember the trainer’s room as a veritable triage. To those in bad shape Joe would say, “Gosh, you look like a pro.” To those who moaned with the same old bumps, “Get this boy to surgery!” On top of it all, Joe stayed at the center of student life: the tsar of “milk lunch,” Santa’s helper, warden of the air raid shelter under the old gym, chauffeur of students en route to Sunday Mass, master of ceremonies at all club banquets— hiding the name of the winning club under a slew of baffling statistics. Finally, as manager of the school store, he never lost a book or a charge. Meanwhile, Anne worked in the library with Jean Shons and Martha Adams. She also helped Edith Cruikshank add warmth to the school at every occasion. As years scudded by like autumn clouds unnoticed, it was Anne and Joe’s friendship that grads and new faculty would best remember. From the day the Stones arrived in the fall of 1962, the Lakovitches were their greatest comfort. Together with Lance Odden, Joe’s part-time assistant in the school store that year, Larry and Joe held the roof on the old Annex dorm, which some believed might, sooner than later, like a summer hotel, threaten to burn level with its tennis courts. Lance recalls a number of Fathers’ Day reunions at Anne and Joe’s (with Phil Snyder ’38, Bill Shee ’39, and J.C. MacDonald ’40 as perennials).
…Joe did everything else the school asked of him, with cheerful efficiency and kindness.
The Pencil Story, 1936 Joe could spot a homesick kid as fast as the kid could spot Joe. One lower mid from Atlanta, who later became a battalion commander in the First Marine Division, was buying his books, one at a time, for the whole first week of school. When Joe saw the kid shivering too much he rubbed the fledgling between the shoulder blades and gave him one of the new sweatshirts. Frequently thereafter, until his senior year, the kid would come all the way down to the store for only a single pencil. Apparently that was all he wanted—plus a brief chat with Joe. Then, at graduation, when the family arrived for the first time, his father helped him load the car with four years of stuff. On the last trip up to his son’s room, the father hesitated above an open box filled to the brim with identical, never-sharpened pencils.
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Students in adjacent rooms also remember the laughter that rocked them to sleep. Under John Esty’s leadership, the school grew in every way— size, complexity, sophistication. Joe, however, never became old or distant. Larry Stone, as director of athletics, head coach of football and baseball, and daily companion, came to know and appreciate Joe better than any of us: “Even as assistant athletic director, Joe did everything else the school asked of him, with cheerful efficiency and kindness. A real gentleman of service to Taft, he never complained or waited for praise. That Joe had carried the pain of bad arthritis since his boxing days remained Joe’s secret.” Then Larry added, “Mr. Cruikshank had been a fortunate headmaster: He had great deans and scholars at his right, and Joe Lakovitch at his left.” The ’70s, however, began to challenge the mightiest. As Joe told Bill Nicholson in a retirement interview, “You know, girls are a lot harder to deal with than the boys; they’ve got to see things for themselves.” Then, not unlike Voltaire’s Candide, Joe concluded, “I think I need a rest; I’d like to do some gardening.” While it was true that he could drive the highways like a fighter pilot, Joe made it to New York for his retirement dinner in good form. And there, the Class of ’53 learned a little more humility in Joe’s
Joe as director of physical education in the ’40s.
presence. One of the tributes soon made it clear that the Class of ’45 had also left its yearbook to Joe. Moreover, their simple dedication had said it all: “In heartfelt recognition of his unassuming, though invaluable efforts, his sturdy sympathy, his contagious humor, his fervid leadership, and his cordial comradeship, we dedicate our Annual to Joseph Bernard Lakovitch.” Then, a year after Anne and Joe had resettled in New Hampshire, we heard that the Class of ’73 had honored the same man, in the same way. Apparently the Joe of ’45 and ’53 was still “Joe.” As if
Joe, the humanizer, was the right teacher at a critical time, at the best place for us— a top-notch school, soon to become great —even in affection. F A L L • 1 9 9 5
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that had not been poignant enough, we noticed another constancy—the pattern of war years. Our class and theirs could well remember the dread of the draft, the call for volunteers that some schoolmates had answered with their lives, the deep relief to graduate on a morning of rather sudden peace. In other words, Joe, the humanizer, was the right teacher at a critical time, at the best place for us—a top-notch school, soon to become great— even in affection. Our sympathies to Anne, Joe, Jr., Joan, and to their children. May they always feel a special part of Taft. For their parts in this tribute article, the writer wishes to thank Joe Lakovitch, Jr. ’56; Anne Romano, archivist; Phil Snyder ’38; Lu and Larry Stone; Lance Odden; Rick Davis ’59; Joe Brogna; Al Reiff, Jr. ’80; Bill Nicholson, and Dick Lovelace.
S P O T L I G H T
THE SCHOOL IN SERVICE On Monday, October 2, the entire school—students and faculty—left campus in a force 600 strong to participate in the first Community Service Day in recent history. Classes
Rachael Zichella ’96 scrapes paint off a window molding at one of the houses being renovated in Waterbury.
and all extra-curricular activities were cancelled, and the entire day was devoted to service in the local community. Four buses, four vans, and twenty faculty cars were loaded up with
Michael Jordan ’98 and Philip Lo ’96 clear a new trail at Veterans’ Memorial Park in town.
students, box lunches, and tools and headed out for forty different locations in Watertown, Waterbury, Wolcott, Thomaston, and Salisbury. Students kept busy from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM cleaning, shoveling, raking, building, painting, sanding, planting, cooking, teaching, and cutting brush. Many local businesses donated supplies and tools, and many members of the local community offered their help and
History fellow Beth Wheeler and Adrian Cheng ’98 spruce up a playground at a Watertown elementary school.
support as well. It was an exciting opportunity to see the school motto—Non ut sibi ministretur sed ut ministret—put into action on such a large scale. Students and faculty were enthusiastic about the day, and their efforts were greatly appreciated by the various organizations with which they worked. The response to the day in its entirety was overwhelmingly positive and plans are Brian Grady ’96 and Emily McClure ’96 groom the front lawn of Baldwin Elementary School in Watertown.
already in the works for next year’s second annual Community Service Day. —Jean Strumolo Piacenza ’75
Jon Adler ’97 and Doug Harris ’97 tend the garden at Judson Elementary School.
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Like the Volunteer Program itself, the scope of the school’s first community service day was widespread. The following is a list of organizations and schools that welcomed Taft’s volunteers on October 2: ABC Children’s Center American Red Cross Appalachian Trail Clean-up Baldwin Elementary School Beacon House Bread Basket Bakery Children’s Community School Connecticut Forest and Parks Association Family Services of Greater Waterbury Flanders Nature Center Girls’ Club Griffin School Habitat for Humanity Heminway Park School
Hillside Acres Homeless Community Center Housatonic Valley Association Judson Elementary School Mattatuck Trails Morris Foundation Munson House Town Offices N.O.W. Drug Prevention Program Naugatuck Valley Housing Development Polk Elementary School Salvation Army Seven Angels Theater St. Vincent DePaul Homeless Shelter St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen
Swift Junior High School Town Beautification—Main Street WACC Dining Room Waterbury Association for Retarded Citizens Waterbury Baptist Ministries Waterbury Day Nursery Waterbury Girls’ Club Watertown Area Youth Soccer Program Watertown Food Bank Watertown High School Watertown Library White Memorial Foundation YMCA/YWCA
Rachel Brodie ’97 and Eliza Geddes ’97 work with youngsters at the Children’s Community School.
Kathy Savino ’97, Laura Dickman ’96, and math teacher Jen Bogue sand and waterseal the playground equipment at Baldwin Elementary School.
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Liz Merck ’98 and Kristen Kawecki ’98 help clean up the neighborhood around Chestnut Avenue in Waterbury.
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Above: Ryan Kerwin ’96 and Jake Fay ’96 help beautify Main Street by planting fall bulbs. Left: Chris Castle ’98, Justin Christaldi ’96, Harry Grand ’96, Ryan Reynolds ’96 (front), Peter Martino ’97 (back), and Ben Steele ’98 check out the view after clearing an overgrown hiking trail to this summit near campus. Below: A crew of fifty students helps to renovate four abandoned houses on Chestnut Avenue in Waterbury.
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Alberto Van Der Mije ’96, Jamal Turner ’99, and Taj Frazier ’99 shovel gravel to improve the parking lot at a youth soccer field.
Molly Hall ’96, Emily Israel ’96, Ali Solomon ’96, Sarah Stopper ’96, and Joel Dakin ’97 scrape and repaint shutters at the Munson House town offices.
Justin Kreizel ’97 helps restore one of the houses in Waterbury.
Dick Cobb, right, leads a group of painters at the Munson House in Watertown.
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Randy DePree ’96 watches as English teacher Ethan Frechette ’90 demonstrates how they will construct wooden raceways for an elementary school science project.
S P O T L I G H T
A NEW ACADEMIC CENTER FOR TAFT By Bill Morris ’69, Dean of Academic Affairs, and Jerry Romano, Director of Development
t least since the time of the Pythagoreans in Archaic Greece, Western culture has had a fascination with understanding the natural world. Reason, science, and mathematics have been joined to produce knowledge benefiting humans in unimaginable ways.
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Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Descartes, Leibniz, Darwin, the Pasteurs, Mendel, Einstein, Watson and Crick all take their place in a galaxy of great scientific and mathematical minds who asked fundamental and probing questions and who changed the face of human experience. More recently, one of Taft’s own graduates, Dr. Alfred Gilman ’58, Nobel laureate in medicine or physiology, added his own contribution by opening the doors of cellular behavior to scientists throughout the world. Mathematics and science have always been a key component of a Taft education. The 70th Anniversary Science Center recognized their importance to the liberal arts foundation which the faculty has always believed graduates must have. For thirty-five years, the Science Center has served students well. As demands for space have grown, the faculty has, until now, creatively used all available space to accommodate Taft’s markedly increased enrollment in mathematics and science classes. Today, the Science Center can no longer accommodate the needs of Taft’s students. It is overcrowded, and a number of factors account for the need for a new science and mathematics facility: • Today, there are 175 more students at Taft than when the Science Center first opened in 1960. • Students are now taking more science and mathematics courses than ever. Taft
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now offers 25 percent more courses in mathematics than in 1985, with virtually all students taking four or more years of mathematics, compared to only 60 percent in 1960.
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• The same remarkable trend is true for the study of science. Today, 85 percent of our students take three or more years of science, nearly double the percent since 1985. Not surprisingly, the number of science courses offered has grown by 50 percent since 1985. As encouraging as this trend is, in itself, it is also interesting to note that more women are studying science and mathematics at the highest levels of our offerings than ever before at Taft. • The Long-Range Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees carefully considered expanding and upgrading the existing facility and learned that current State of Connecticut regulatory requirements would actually result in renovations as costly as the construction of a new facility. The Committee also recognized that it would be impossible to continue to teach science and mathematics in the present structure and at the same time undertake its expansion and necessary improvements.
A view of the new academic center from Centennial Quadrangle
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Main floor plan of the new academic center
As a result of a national competition during the summer of 1994, the Long-Range Planning Committee selected Graham Gund to design a new science and mathematics facility. Gund’s solution to Taft’s needs called for the construction of a new mathematics and science center in the space between the current science center and The Hulbert Taft, Jr., Library. In addition, he proposed a major addition to the library to expand it as a learning center joined to the new science and mathematics center. In sum, the proposed construction will give Taft a new, unified academic F A L L • 1 9 9 5
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center that would combine an expanded library with 45,000 square feet of state-of-the-art teaching space for science and mathematics. In addition, the entire structure will be fitted for a computer network that will connect the library, science and mathematics classrooms, and faculty offices with other classrooms and offices at Taft and with the world of information beyond Watertown. A new main entrance, fronting Centennial Quadrangle, will lead students to both the library learning center and new library reading
room, as well as to the new science and mathematics center. Construction of Taft’s new academic center began in October, and plans call for its completion and dedication in time for the opening of classes in September of 1997. As seen in the accompanying renderings, the character of the new facility will also add to Taft’s architectural heritage. Finally, once the new facility is in place, the Pond will be enlarged to encompass the area of the present Science Center, offering views from the center of the campus to the fields beyond.
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An interior view of the new reading room
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The Many Names of Taft People are the foundation of our
BINGHAM AUDITORIUM
school. Thousands of students and
*In grateful acknowledgement of the generosity of *Harry Payne Bingham ’06 and Elizabeth Bingham Blossom
faculty have walked the halls of Taft. Daily, as we make our own journey through the school, we are reminded of those who have gone before us—reminded by the names memorialized in so many of Taft’s buildings and rooms. The passage of time wears away at memories until they are so thin that only the name remains. Ted Squires ’28 gave this notion some thought and proposed a regular column in the Taft Bulletin that would draw us back to the many names of Taft, to remind us of the lives of the people responsible for the names. In this initial column we focus on the origins of Bingham Auditorium, as a first segment in a series devoted to those who, in their turn, molded key parts of “our kind firm molder.”
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Bingham Auditorium, located at the east end of Charles Phelps Taft Hall, is named after Harry Bingham, member of the Class of ’06, and his sister, Elizabeth Bingham Blossom. This facility is at the heart of school life, housing Vespers, school meetings, plays, movies, and concerts since 1930. Harry Bingham was so involved in school life that there is hardly a section of The 1906 Annual that does not bear his name. A four-year student from Cleveland, Ohio, he was a school monitor, president of the senior class, a superb athlete, and leader of the Mandolin Club. He was the quarterback for the football team, forward for the hockey team, pitcher for the baseball team, and all around best athlete as voted by his class. He was great friends with classmate Robert Taft, the future senator, and they roomed together both at Taft and at Yale. Eventually, he moved to New York and became a director of the
First National Bank of New York and vice president and director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Upon learning that the new facility would bear his name, Mr. Bingham wrote, “There is no institution in the country that I would rather have my name permanently connected with than The Taft School.” Mr. Bingham died in 1955. His son, Harry Payne Bingham, Jr., is a member of the Class of ’32. Dudley Blossom ’30 is the son of Mrs. Blossom.
NEWS•OF•THE•SCHOOL
Winter Athletic Schedule 1995-96 This schedule is subject to change. If you would like to verify the time and location of any game, please contact the school at 203-274-2516.
Boys’ Varsity Hockey S, Nov. 18 Taft Jamboree W, Nov. 29 2:30 Salisbury A S, Dec. 2 2:30 Berkshire H W, Dec. 6 2:30 Avon A Dec. 15-17 Lawrenceville Tournament S, Jan. 6 2:30 Avon H W, Jan. 10 2:30 Westminster A S, Jan. 13 7:30 Choate H W, Jan. 17 2:30 Loomis A S, Jan. 20 2:30 Canterbury H W, Jan. 24 2:30 Kent H S, Jan. 27 2:30 Trinity-Pawling A M, Jan. 29 4:00 Salisbury H W, Jan. 31 2:30 Kent A W, Feb. 7 2:30 Kingswood H S, Feb. 10 2:30 Hotchkiss H W, Feb. 14 4:00 Deerfield H S, Feb. 17* 2:30 Choate A W, Feb. 21 2:30 Trinity-Pawling H S, Feb. 24 2:30 Hotchkiss A Boys’ JV Hockey S, Dec. 2 2:30 W, Dec. 6 2:30 W, Jan. 10 4:30 S, Jan. 13 2:30 W, Jan. 17 4:30 S, Jan. 20 4:30 W, Jan. 24 4:30 S, Jan. 27 2:30 W, Jan. 31 2:30 W, Feb. 7 2:30 S, Feb. 10 4:30 W, Feb. 14 2:00 S, Feb. 17* 4:30 W, Feb. 21 2:30 S, Feb. 24 4:30
Berkshire A New Canaan H Westminster A Choate H Loomis H Kent H Salisbury A Trinity-Pawling H Berkshire H Kent A Hotchkiss H Avon H Choate A Trinity-Pawling A Hotchkiss A
Girls’ Varsity Hockey W, Dec. 6 4:00 Deerfield H Dec. 14-16 Taft Tournament S, Jan. 6 3:30 Greenwich Ac. A W, Jan. 10 2:30 Berkshire H
S, Jan. 13 W, Jan. 17 S, Jan. 20 W, Jan. 24 S, Jan. 27 W, Jan. 31 S, Feb. 10 W, Feb. 14 S, Feb. 17* W, Feb. 21 S, Feb. 24
2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 4:30 4:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 4:30 2:30
Choate A Loomis H Kingswood A Loomis A Tabor A Williston A Hotchkiss A Westminster A Choate H Kingswood H Hotchkiss H
Girls’ JV Hockey S, Jan. 13 4:30 W, Jan. 24 4:30 S, Jan. 27 4:30 W, Jan. 31 4:30 S, Feb. 10 4:30 W, Feb. 14 4:30 S, Feb. 17* 4:30 W, Feb. 21 4:30 S, Feb. 24 4:30
Choate A Simsbury HS H Loomis H Gunnery H Hotchkiss A Canterbury A Choate H Canterbury H Hotchkiss H
Boys’ Varsity Basketball S, Dec. 2 4:00 Canterbury A W, Dec. 6 4:00 Kingswood A Dec. Loomis Jamboree M, Jan. 8 4:00 Choate A W, Jan. 10 4:00 Kent A S, Jan. 13 4:00 Hotchkiss H W, Jan. 17 4:00 Berkshire H S, Jan. 20 4:00 Trinity-Pawling A M, Jan. 22 4:00 Canterbury H W, Jan. 24 4:00 Berkshire A S, Jan. 27 4:00 Trinity-Pawling H W, Jan. 31 4:00 Hotchkiss A W, Feb. 7 3:00 Deerfield A S, Feb. 10 4:00 Avon H W, Feb. 14 4:00 Kent H S, Feb. 17* 4:00 Loomis H W, Feb. 21 4:00 Avon A S, Feb. 24 4:00 Westminster A
Boys’ JV Basketball S, Dec. 2 2:30 W, Dec. 6 2:30 M, Jan. 8 4:00 W, Jan. 10 2:30 S, Jan. 13 2:30 W, Jan. 17 2:30 S, Jan. 20 2:30 M, Jan. 22 4:00 W, Jan. 24 2:30 S, Jan. 27 2:30 W, Jan. 31 2:30 W, Feb. 7 3:00 S, Feb. 10 2:30 W, Feb. 14 2:30 S, Feb. 17* 2:30 W, Feb. 21 2:30 S, Feb. 24 2:30
Canterbury A Kingswood A Choate A Kent A Hotchkiss H Berkshire H Trinity-Pawling A Canterbury H Berkshire A Trinity-Pawling H Hotchkiss A Deerfield A Avon H Kent H Loomis H Avon A Westminster A
Boys’ III Basketball W, Dec. 6 2:30 W, Jan. 10 1:30 S, Jan. 13 2:30 W, Jan. 17 3:00 S, Jan. 20 4:15 W, Jan. 24 2:30 S, Jan. 27 2:30 W, Jan. 31 2:30 W, Feb. 7 2:30 S, Feb. 10 2:30 W, Feb. 14 2:30 S, Feb. 17* 2:30 W, Feb. 21 2:30 S, Feb. 24 2:30
Avon A Suffield H Hotchkiss A Choate A Trinity-Pawling H Hotchkiss H Canterbury A Hopkins A Berkshire A Westminster A Kent A Berkshire H Avon H Suffield A
Girls’ Varsity Basketball S, Dec. 2 2:30 Suffield A W, Dec. 6 2:30 Kingswood H Dec. 14, 15 Tabor Tournament S, Jan. 6 2:30 Greenwich Ac. H W, Jan. 10 3:30 Deerfield H S, Jan. 13 2:30 Berkshire A W, Jan. 17 2:30 Kent A S, Jan. 20 2:30 Loomis H W, Jan. 24 2:30 Canterbury A 17
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S, Jan. 27 W, Jan. 31 W, Feb. 7 S, Feb. 10 W, Feb. 14 S, Feb. 17* W, Feb. 21 S, Feb. 24
2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30
Girls’ JV Basketball W, Dec. 6 4:00 S, Jan. 6 4:00 W, Jan. 10 3:30 S, Jan. 13 4:00 W, Jan. 17 4:00 S, Jan. 20 4:00 W, Jan. 24 4:00 S, Jan. 27 4:00 W, Jan. 31 4:00 S, Feb. 10 4:00 W, Feb. 14 4:00 S, Feb. 17* 4:00 W, Feb. 21 4:00 S, Feb. 24 4:00
Hopkins A Kent H Westminster H Hotchkiss H Williston H Choate A Berkshire H Hotchkiss A
Kingswood H Greenwich Ac. H Deerfield H Berkshire A Kent A Loomis H Canterbury A Hopkins A Kent H Hotchkiss H Williston H Choate A Berkshire H Hotchkiss A
Varsity Wrestling Su, Dec. 3 12:00 Taft Invitational Tournament W, Dec. 6 3:00 Taft Quads S, Jan. 13 3:00 Loomis and Tabor W, Jan. 17 3:00 Gunnery A S, Jan. 20 2:30 Hopkins A W, Jan. 24 3:00 Hotchkiss H W, Jan. 31 3:00 Williston H W, Feb. 7 3:00 Avon H S, Feb. 10 2:30 Trinity-Pawling A W, Feb. 14 3:00 Choate A S, Feb. 17* 2:30 Suffield A S, Feb. 24 WNEPSWA Tournament JV Wrestling W, Jan. 17 S, Jan. 20 W, Jan. 24 S, Jan. 27 W, Jan. 31 W, Feb. 7 S, Feb. 10 W, Feb. 14 S, Feb. 17* S, Feb. 24
4:30 Gunnery A 4:00 Hopkins A 4:30 Hotchkiss H 2:30 Taft JV Tournament 4:30 Williston H 4:30 Avon H 4:00 Trinity-Pawling A 4:30 Choate A 4:00 Suffield A Northfield JV Tournament
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Boys’ Varsity Squash W, Nov. 29 2:30 Salisbury A S, Dec. 2 3:00 Pomfret H W, Dec. 6 2:30 Avon A W, Jan. 10 3:00 Choate A S, Jan. 13 10:00 Choate Invitational W, Jan. 17 2:30 Berkshire A S, Jan. 20 2:30 Hotchkiss A M, Jan. 22 4:00 Millbrook H W, Jan. 24 2:30 Kent A S, Jan. 27 2:30 Trinity-Pawling H W, Jan. 31 4:00 Hackley H W, Feb. 7 3:00 Choate H S, Feb. 10 2:30 Brunswick A W, Feb. 14 3:30 Deerfield A S, Feb. 17* 2:30 Hotchkiss H W, Feb. 21 2:30 Westminster H S, Feb. 24 NEPSAC Tournament Boys’ JV Squash S, Dec. 2 3:00 W, Dec. 6 4:00 W, Jan. 10 3:30 W, Jan. 17 2:30 S, Jan. 20 4:00 W, Jan. 24 4:00 S, Jan. 27 4:00 W, Feb. 7 3:00 S, Feb. 10 2:30 W, Feb. 14 3:30 S, Feb. 17* 2:30 W, Feb. 21 2:30
Choate A Avon A Williston A Avon H Hotchkiss A Kent A Trinity-Pawling H Choate H Kingswood H Deerfield H Hotchkiss H Westminster H
Girls’ Varsity Squash S, Dec. 2 3:00 Pomfret H S, Jan. 6 2:30 Choate H W, Jan. 10 3:30 Greenwich Ac. H W, Jan. 17 2:30 Millbrook A S, Jan. 20 2:30 Hotchkiss H S, Jan. 27 2:30 Canterbury A W, Jan. 31 2:30 Kent A W, Feb. 7 3:00 Choate A S, Feb. 10 2:30 Millbrook H W, Feb. 14 3:30 Deerfield A S, Feb. 17* 2:30 Hotchkiss A W, Feb. 21 2:30 Westminster A S, Feb. 24 NEPSAC Tournament
Girls’ JV Squash S, Dec. 2 3:00 W, Jan. 10 3:30 S, Jan. 13 2:30 W, Jan. 17 4:30 S, Jan. 20 2:30 S, Jan. 27 2:30 W, Jan. 31 4:00 W, Feb. 7 3:00 S, Feb. 10 2:30 W, Feb. 14 3:30 S, Feb. 17* 4:00 W, Feb. 21 4:00
Choate A Greenwich Ac. H Kingswood H Millbrook A Hotchkiss H Westminster H Kent A Choate A Miss Porter’s A Deerfield H Hotchkiss A Westminster A
Varsity Volleyball S, Dec. 2 2:00 W, Dec. 6 3:45 W, Jan. 10 3:00 S, Jan. 13 2:30 W, Jan. 17 3:00 S, Jan. 20 2:30 W, Jan. 24 2:30 S, Jan. 27 2:30 W, Jan. 31 2:30 W, Feb. 7 3:00 S, Feb. 10 2:30 W, Feb. 14 3:00 S, Feb. 17* 2:30 W, Feb. 21 3:15 S, Feb. 24 2:30
Play Day St. Margaret’s H Hopkins A Westminster A Westover H Hotchkiss H MacDuffie H Ethel Walker H Berkshire H Choate H Hotchkiss A Canterbury A Loomis A Choate A Miss Porter’s H
JV Volleyball S, Dec. 2 2:30 W, Dec. 6 3:45 W, Jan. 10 3:00 S, Jan. 13 4:00 W, Jan. 17 3:00 S, Jan. 20 2:30 W, Jan. 24 2:30 S, Jan. 27 2:30 W, Feb. 7 3:00 S, Feb. 10 2:30 W, Feb. 14 3:00 S, Feb. 17* 4:00 W, Feb. 21 3:15
Berkshire H St. Margaret’s A Hopkins A Westminster A Westover H Hotchkiss H MacDuffie H Ethel Walker H Choate H Hotchkiss A Canterbury A Loomis A Choate A
Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity Ski Racing Schedule to be announced. *Mothers’ Day Boldface denotes host school
NEWS•OF•THE•SCHOOL
NEW FACULTY AMY FELDMAN BERNON Amy returns to Taft from Boston, where she was head of middle school music at Buckingham, Brown, and Nichols for two years. This summer, she and fellow faculty member Jonathan Bernon were married and moved to their new home in Woodbury. Amy is a graduate of Yale University with a master’s degree in music. CARL CARLSON Carl comes from St. Mark’s School, where he taught math and coached for five years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s in education from Harvard. He lives in Charles Phelps Taft Hall with his wife, faculty member Alison Jastromb Carlson. JOHN CROSBY John received his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Maine and comes to Taft having been a postdoctoral research associate at the Harvard/MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He is teaching biology and lives in Charles Phelps Taft Hall with his wife, Julie, and son, JohnChristian. MAURICE DYSON Maurice received his bachelor’s degree in African-American studies and political science from Columbia and was honored with the Columbia Graduate School Award for Excellence in Scholarship as well as several awards for community service. He is this year’s Carpenter Fellow, teaches history, and lives in Charles Phelps Taft Hall.
New Faculty, from left, Pam MacMullen, Jennifer Glenn Wuerker ’83, Beth Wheeler, Amy Feldman Bernon, Rick Wood ’72, Maurice Dyson, Chris Ledwick, Jana Draper, Sheila McGrath, Sam Hsiao, Rick Cascio, Carl Carlson, Jill Smith, Ingrid Johnson, John Crosby, and Kelley Roberts.
SAM HSIAO Sam graduated magna cum laude from Haverford College with a B.S. degree in mathematics. He is a teaching fellow in math and lives in Horace Dutton Taft Hall. INGRID JOHNSON Ingrid received her bachelor’s degree in French at Hamilton College, where she also gained considerable computer experience. She is a teaching fellow in French and lives in Congdon House. CHRIS LEDWICK At Bowdoin College, Chris majored in English and history. He is a teaching fellow in history at Taft and lives in Upper School Boys’ Dormitory.
PAMELA MACMULLEN Pam taught English for eight years at Sheehan High School in Wallingford, CT. She has a master’s degree from the Breadloaf School at Middlebury College and teaches English and works in public relations at Taft. Pam lives on Guernseytown Road with husband Willy ’78 and their son, John William. SHEILA MCGRATH Sheila was Phi Beta Kappa at Holy Cross College and spent last year as a teaching fellow at Phillips Andover. At Taft, she teaches physics and lives in Pond Wing. KELLEY ROBERTS Kelley received her bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire. She is this year’s Mailliard Fellow in English and lives in the lower mid girls’ dormitory.
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JILL SMITH Jill graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Amherst College and returned to the United States after a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship in Germany. She teaches German and lives in Horace Dutton Taft Hall.
wife, Mary Anne, and sons Jon ’98, Danny, and Sammy. JENNIFER GLENN WUERKER ’83 After Taft, Jennifer received her bachelor’s degree from Yale and MFA from American University and has been a professional artist since her graduation. She and husband Aaron were married last summer and live in Morris.
BETH WHEELER Beth received her bachelor’s degree in history from Williams College. She is a teaching fellow in history and lives in Horace Dutton Taft Hall. RICK WOOD ’72 Rick returns to Taft after several years at Choate as assistant business manager, following a successful career in business at The Travelers, Bank of America, and SEDCO. He is the new business manager and lives on Guernseytown Road with his
David Hostage Director of Taft Educational Center
Although familiar faces on campus last year, JANA DRAPER, computer sciences, and RICK CASCIO, assistant athletic trainer, have been appointed to the 1995-96 faculty.
Debora Phipps Davis Coeducation Study
E OF XC
1995 AWARDS FOR EDUCATIONAL FUND RAISING
E
John Wynne Director of Athletics
Jonathan Bernon Technology Coordinator
CIRCLE
LENC EL
Membership in the Circle of Excellence is bestowed on a highly select group of educational institutions whose overall fund-raising results or creative programming demonstrate exemplary performance or significant improvement. We congratulate your institutional advancement staff, volunteer leaders, and donors for notable achievement in advancing the mission of your institution. It is with great pride that the Council for Advancement and Support of Education honors
The Taft School as a member of the Circle of Excellence in Educational Fund Raising for
Overall Performance
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APPOINTMENTS
German teacher MARGRIT GILLESPIE and theater teacher CAROLE SBORDONE have been granted sabbatical leaves for the year.
COUNCIL FOR ADVANCEMENT AND SUPPORT OF EDUCATION ®
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Steve McKibben Director of Fellowships
ALUMNI OFFSPRING New legacy students at Taft this fall: Chris Castle ’98 .............................. Thomas Castle ’70, father Lauren Chu ’99 .......................... Alexander F. Chu ’66, father Tim Cowie ’99 ........................... Paul F. Cowie, Jr. ’66, father Josie Green ’99 .......................... B. Gordon Green ’65, father Bradley H. Green ’41, grandfather Tori Hasler ’98 .......................... Wyndham Hasler ’59, father Brad Little ’99 ........................... George F. Little II ’67, father Donald C. Little ’37, grandfather Emily Lord ’99 .................................. John M. Lord ’63, father Martha Lord ’99 ................................ John M. Lord ’63, father Laura Mestre ’98 .......................... Eduardo Mestre ’66, father David Morris ’99 ................. William G. Morris, Jr. ’69, father Whitney Morris ’99 ...........Lawrence B. Morris III ’65, father Lawrence B. Morris, Jr. ’35, grandfather Kate Sands ’98 .............. Edward Van V. Sands, Jr. ’65, father Edward Van V. Sands, Sr. ’14, grandfather Zack Schiller ’97 .................... J. Irwin Miller ’27, grandfather Teddy Scholhamer ’99 .... Charles F. Scholhamer, Jr. ’61, father Lanny Shreve ’99 ......................... Brandon Shreve ’64, father David-Alexander Sloan ’98 ..... Geoffrey W. Sloan ’62, father Ned Smith ’99 ............................. John McG. Smith ’68, father Laura Stevens ’99 ......................... Richard Stevens ’69, father Jon Wood ’98 ................................. Richard Wood ’72, father
NEWS•OF•THE•SCHOOL
TAFT
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THAILAND
When Thai businessman Kritsanant Palarit visited Taft two years ago with his daughter Pam, he was impressed with what he saw. He also began to wonder why Thai children should have to travel 12,000 miles from home to get this kind of education, and he began to dream. Last May, having bought a beautiful piece of land outside of the ancient city of Chiang Mai, he wrote to Lance Odden to ask if he knew of anyone who would like to move to Thailand to start a school there on the Taft model. Mr. Odden brought the idea to Gordon Jones, the lower mid class dean, and his wife, Emily, head of the History Department, and they began to correspond with Mr. Palarit. They visited Thailand this past July, and the plans for the school began to take shape. The school will be called Ake Panya International School and will enroll both Thai children and expatriates, from grades seven through twelve. While fitting culturally into the Thai setting, it will offer a Taft-style education, with emphasis on high academic standards, close relationships between students and faculty, and a commitment to service and ethical education. In addition to sending the Joneses to start the school, Taft will continue to be affiliated with
Emily Jones head of the History Department and Gordon Jones the lower mid class dean.
Ake Panya in a variety of ways, in particular through student and faculty exchanges. Taft students will have a chance to study in an Asian culture, in a tropical setting (22a swimming pool, but no hockey rink!), while continuing in a curriculum similar to that at Taft. Ake
Panya students will be able to experience life at Taft in return. The new school will take its first students for a summer session in 1997, and begin its first regular year that September; planning is continuing apace both in Thailand and in Watertown.
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ADMISSIONS OFFICE EXPANDS TRAVEL SCHEDULE Taft’s new crop of students continues to be as talented and as diverse a group as the school has ever seen, thanks largely to efforts of the admissions officers who traveled the globe last year in response to requests from schools, parents, and alumni. Of the over 3,500 inquiries last year, 1,465 potential students visited the campus, 1,211 applied, and 178 were enrolled. Alumni and parents gave 150 off-campus interviews as well. A record $2,375,000 in financial aid was awarded to a
third of the student body. New students hail from 22 foreign countries and 38 of the United States. (We have more than eight students each from California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina—as well as Connecticut.) And here is a list of the places where Taft will hold admissions gatherings this year: Albuquerque, Aspen, Atlanta, Austin, Bangkok, Bermuda, Bombay, Boulder, Budapest, Charleston, Charlotte,
Chicago, Cincinnati, Cologne, Dallas, Denver, Easton, Far Hills, Fort Worth, Grand Rapids, Hong Kong, Houston, Jerusalem, Lake Forest, Las Cruces, Lexington, Ligonier, London, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis, Naples, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, Palm Beach, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Prince Edward Island, Princeton, Rumson, San Antonio, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Seattle, Seoul, Taipei, Tel Aviv, Tempe, Toronto, Vero Beach, and Washington.
HONG KONG Pat Chow (mother of Selwyn ’93, Jackie ’95, and Evan) hosted a reception for new Taft students at the Hong Kong Country Club. Front row from left, Dianne Ip ’95, Jackie Chow ’95, Serena Lam ’98, Jane Lam ’97, Winnie So ’99, Catherine Cheng ’95; standing, Teddy Chen ’95, Edwin Lam ’97, Vincent Ip ’96, Gallant Nien ’96, Kenneth So ’97, Clayton Chen ’98, Justin Mak ’98, and Evan Chow.
ISRAEL Admissions Director Ferdie Wandelt ’66 visited Jerusalem and Tel Aviv this fall. The trip was two years in the making and included visits to Jericho, Lebanon, Syria, and the Golan Heights, where Ferdie is pictured with Eileen Rhulen (Samantha ’87, Blake ’88, Sloane ’90), their guide Dr. Col. Raanan Gissin, and Peter Rhulen.
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ADVICE TO NEW STUDENTS —Remarks By Headmaster Lance R. Odden
A
s new students, you are a remarkable group. You come from twenty-two nations, thirty-eight states
and have been selected from over three thousand inquiries and nearly thirteen hundred formal applications. All one hundred and seventy-five of you represent the finest qualities Mr. Wandelt and his admissions staff could imagine bringing to Taft. In spite of the extraordinary facilities we
years. Our job is to help you to
work, you may change at term’s
learn both in the classroom and in all that you do. The faculty and I define ourselves in terms of your triumphs, your successes, and we
end. We prize close facultystudent relationships at Taft, and your ability to choose well assures the success of that relationship.
are here to help those occur.
At this time I cannot resist giving new students a bit of headmasterly advice. I have lived here for over three de-
“…people make Taft what it is, and parents and students alike are
cades. I have taught, advised, lived in dormitories, and coached before becoming headmaster. I have watched a generation grow up and become
have, in spite of the great curriculum we have created and the many wonderful traditions we have inherited, people make Taft
essential to our school family.”
adults. In today’s audience, there are nearly twenty parents whom I knew when they were in your spot as young students. I can
what it is, and parents and students alike are essential to our school family. Taft’s faculty, too, are a
Within the faculty lies your advisor. Taft is different from most of the nation’s other schools because we do not assign an
assure you that they weren’t perfect then and that they had the same anxieties you do today. They also overcame them and
remarkable group. There are one hundred and seven of us, one for every five students. We are an unusual group, broadly talented
advisor to you. We ask you to choose within the first two weeks, and so as you go through your classes, sports, extracurricular
have gone on to be the men they are today. Because of my experience, I have a few clear convictions about
but united by our calling—to live and work in a residential community. We have elected to live with you twenty-four hours a day, to
activities and live in your dorms, you should assess your teachers and try to find the one whom you admire, whom you would like to
what makes for success at Taft and in life. These qualities are the same, and they are very simple: The first is the ability to
share in your journey through adolescence in these crucial
take counsel from and to realize that if this relationship doesn’t
focus on your responsibilities and to work hard. Taft is a very
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busy place. You will have many responsibilities and many options at all times. Those who do best here are those who have
your first priority, and making friends is very important. However, if you plunge into the life of Taft, if you work hard, and if you
hope for will not necessarily work out. Occasionally, you will not be as successful as you have been in the past. Learn from
clear priorities, make their work their first priority and get it done early and well. Second is that the ability to
work well with and for others on teams, in the arts, in extracurriculars, and in your dormitory life, friendships will take care of
those disappointments and be open to new experiences. At graduation last spring, Brian Crane ’95 told us that he came to
work well for and with others is critical, to be one of those people who gets things done by being helpful and supportive of others and not insisting on the spotlight always being on you. In yesterday’s New York Times, there was an article bemoaning a national slippage in social intelligence. The article proceeded to report that new research in psychology has found that empathy, cooperation, the ability to build consensus and to avoid being selfish are the most important characteristics of success in the workplace. This comes as no surprise to the faculty and me. Each of you has true intellectual ability, each
“…the ability to work well for and with others is critical, to be one of those people who gets things done by being helpful and supportive of others and not insisting on the spotlight always being on you.”
Taft expecting to be a soccer god. He had been the finest player on his home team in Pennsylvania. Brian, however, was limited by being 5'5" and slow. At Taft, he tried for j.v. as a lower middler. He was cut. Then he was cut from the thirds. Finally, he wound up as a bench warmer on the fourths. He realized that he was not going to be that soccer god, and so he tried new things. By senior year he was a great actor, a leading singer, and an outstanding student of Mandarin Chinese. He was a recognized leader of his class. In the summer after graduation, he was employed by a major American company to do a
of you has untapped talent. It is how you draw that out and how well you work with others that will determine your success here
themselves, and you will have already begun to be successful. Be
research project for them in China. Brian took disappointment and built it into new talents, into success. In the months ahead,
and in later life. Now you will think, what of making new friends, or how do I fit in? Yes, you can make this
a doer and a helper, and friendships will follow. One last word of advice. Recognize that everything you
remember Brian Crane, and you will discover that you have wonderful new strengths and talents that will thrive here.
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