BISHOP’S A MAGAZINE FOR THE BISHOP’S SCHOOL FAMILY AND FRIENDS FALL/WINTER 2015
Tracking His Passion
Riding the rails thanks to the Jacobs Prize
The Crucible of Competition Learning beyond the classroom
Knights-N-Nosh Inside the kitchens of Bishop’s alumni
table of contents
BISHOP’S A magazine for The Bishop’s School family and friends
FEATURES
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The Crucible of Competition Students and teachers take learning beyond the classroom with academic competitions.
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A “Selfie” Sets the Tone for Jeff Small’s ELLS Talk on the Movie Business DreamWorks Studios President Jeff Small encourages students to follow their passions.
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Fall/Winter 2015 • Vol. 13, No. 1
“Never Give Up. Never Quit”
Credits Editor Suzanne Weiner Managing Editor Keri Peckham
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Contributing Writers Zach Jones ’01 Melissa Kenyon Keri Peckham Frank Sabatini, Jr. Joe Tash Jared Scott Tesler Suzanne Weiner Diane Y. Welch Honor Roll Staff Gale Hill Lisa Johnston
A quadruple amputee inspires the Bishop’s community with stories of determination and resilience.
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Graphic Design Design Perspective Contributing Photographers Betsy Bourn Adam Davis Melissa Kenyon Dr. Peter Nordland Dave Siccardi Michael Spengler David Zaitz
Then and Now with the Class of 2016 Bishop’s first class of sixth graders in 2009…and now as seniors.
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Tracking His Passion
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Teacher and author Adam Davis takes a life-changing journey across the U.S. with the Jacobs Prize.
12 Alumni Weekend—A Tradition Class reunions and the Ellen Browning Scripps Celebration bring alumni back to campus for a weekend of memories.
Knights-N-Nosh A delicious look inside the kitchens of Bishop’s alumni.
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Different Voices From student wellness to scientific research, the Bishop’s community learns from visiting speakers.
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New Faces, Fresh Spaces for Performing Arts Students Two new teachers and one versatile theatre space energize the performing arts department.
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Head of School Aimeclaire Roche Assistant Head of School and Chief Advancement Officer John A. Trifiletti Director of Alumni Advancement Sarah Garro
of Friendship
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The Bishop’s School
Bishop’s is published two times a year by The Bishop’s School.
DEPARTMENTS
Letters: We welcome your comments. Please send letters for possible publication to weiners@bishops.com or contact us at (858) 875-0735.
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The Bishop’s School 7607 La Jolla Boulevard La Jolla, CA 92037-4799
faculty focus: Dr. David Moseley
24 bishop’s buzz 25 family matters: class notes HONOR ROLL OF DONORS 2014-2015
Phone: (858) 459-4021 Fax: (858) 459-3914 www.bishops.com Mission Statement The Bishop’s School is an academic community pursuing intellectual, artistic, and athletic excellence in the context of the Episcopal tradition. We are dedicated to offering the highest quality education to a diverse student body and to fostering integrity, imagination, moral responsibility and commitment to serving the larger community.
Knights Keep Sports in the Family Athletic siblings support each other on the field, court and in the pool.
Cover Photo: Adam Davis traveling through Pratt, Kansas, on his Jacobs Prize
on the quad with AC
their own education. Sincerely,
Aimeclaire Roche Head of School
Above photo: Aimeclaire Roche presenting Travis Mills with the Bishop’s Medal
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I am fond of saying that a student-centered education nurtures autonomy in young people, in age-appropriate doses, over time, so that the adults who graduate from our schools feel confident in their ability to weigh options and perspectives, to collaborate and make effective choices and to contribute meaningfully as citizens. In his book, Breaking into the Heart of Character, Self-Determined Moral Action and Academic Motivation, educator David Streight describes, “Autonomy is about having choices. It is about an individual’s perception of having a certain amount of control over his or her life and significant issues in it...The more choices teachers can offer—in areas where choice is appropriate, of course—the more autonomy students feel, the higher quality of work they produce...” Offering students myriad opportunities to express their own passions and to choose how to spend their academic or co-curricular hours fosters a sense of autonomy, and ultimately confidence and commitment in them. In this edition of Bishop’s you will discover the many ways the School encourages students to hone unique skills and chart their course. Speech and debate, mock trial, Model United Nations and robotics competitions give students a chance to draw upon multiple areas of expertise and demonstrate mastery of subjects through performances, which are unique to each individual. In these activities, students make countless decisions about how to solve a problem, collaborate and set goals, whether that is in building a robot or presenting and defending an argument; students’ choices one year are never the same as the last, or the next! Our Global Education Program, led by Dr. David Moseley, offers students opportunities not merely to travel, but to engage with those who have different perspectives, life experiences, cultures and traditions. Students choosing to travel together under David’s leadership speaks to varied places and people about whom our students are curious and with whom they wish to live and work. The Endowed Leadership Lecture Series and Veterans Day Assembly, featuring retired Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills, is itself a marvelous example of student autonomy and their taking ownership of a school event. Mr. Mills and his experience as a quadruple amputee was brought to our attention by three students, who were passionate about having him speak with their classmates. My hope is that Bishop’s is always in a position to nurture autonomy by offering students choices in terms of how they can pursue their passions and by allowing them the opportunity to invest in
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The Crucible of Competition
Academic contests provide valuable, real-life lessons for Bishop’s students.
By Joe Tash
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ich del Rio’s Mock Trial students dress up in their best clothes and head into the courtroom, where they conduct criminal trials before real Superior Court judges. Evan Pruitt’s Robotics team brings its custom-designed machines to do battle in 12-foot-square arenas. Matt Valji coaches Bishop’s Speech and Debate and Model United Nations teams, which rely on thorough research, public speaking techniques and their wits to vanquish opponents. Year in and year out, Bishop’s students compete in these cerebral, winner-take-all contests, exhibiting team spirit and a drive to excel on par with any other activity at the School, from athletics to music, dance or drama. Students, teachers and administrators say these academic competitions allow students to put classroom knowledge to practical use, building collaborative skills and having fun in the process. ”The bottom line is we are an academic school,” says Bill Goss, head of the upper school. “Academic competitions are both exciting and educational—and a great way to exercise kids’ brains.” While all four of the above-mentioned competitions— mock trial, robotics, speech and debate and Model United Nations—are linked to classes offered at Bishop’s, the students who take part in practices and competitive events must exhibit a high degree of independence and self-motivation, say their teachers. On a typical day in robotics class, Evan’s students enter the
classroom and immediately begin working on their projects with little or no introductory preamble by the teacher. Students in speech and debate practice their presentations and critique each other as Matt moves among the different rooms where the sessions are held. Rich says that once his students enter the courtroom, they are on their own for the duration of the mock trial. These activities tie in well with a key initiative launched by Head of School Ameclaire Roche: student-centered learning. As Bill explains it, student-centered learning means that students are more involved with the course of their learning, and that teachers can serve as educational coaches or guides, rather than “sages on the stage,” dispensing information while students take notes and later are tested on the material. “We want them to ask questions, to think about things and be analytical problem solvers, rather than regurgitators of information. Academic competitions are the epitome of that,” he says. Academic competitions require a significant time commitment for practices and weekend events; some of them entailing travel throughout the state or even across the country. Bishop’s students are busy with classes, homework and a variety of co-curricular activities, ranging from sports to community service, but students say they benefit both from the contests and the preparation leading up to them in a number of ways. Angela Li ’16 says she knew from an early age that she
“Some of the judges remark that after working so hard for four or five months, the kids are sometimes better prepared than the lawyers that appear before them, which is amazing.” would enjoy competing on the speech and debate team. Her interest was stoked by a series of debates held in her eighth grade history class. She was disappointed, however, when she entered ninth grade and found that the Bishop’s Speech and Debate team was on hiatus. She talked to teachers and administrators, but with busy teaching schedules it wasn’t until Matt joined the Bishop’s faculty that a coach for the team was found. As a former high school debater himself, he readily agreed to serve as speech and debate coach. “I was over the moon that it was going to be possible,” says Angela, now the team’s president, who went to work putting dozens of posters around the School and recruiting team members. The reconstituted speech and debate team is now in its third year and going strong with about 30 members. Bishop’s students compete in a number of speech and debate events, ranging from verbal jousts over congressional legislation, to prepared speeches on topics of the students’ choice, which must be memorized.
Angela says along with the excitement of competing with students from other schools, speech and debate offers her a chance to hone skills that she can use in other areas, such as her science internship at Princeton University last summer and her work as editor-in-chief of Quanta, a student science magazine. She also enjoys the close camaraderie of her teammates, with whom she spends long days during the competitions. Ankita Nair ’16 credits her involvement with Model United Nations with helping her land an internship last summer with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Ankita, who leads the Bishop’s Model U.N. as secretary general, has been involved with the program since freshman year, and says the program broadens her horizons. Each student who participates in Model U.N. represents a country, and starts by researching and learning about the nation he or she represents. At conferences, the student representatives work with their counterparts from other countries, giving speeches, writing resolutions and debating issues.
Opposite page: Bishop’s Mock Trial team at the 2015 San Diego County Mock Trial Tournament; this page: robotics team members Avrey Larson ’19, Ryan Briest ’18
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“That’s the ultimate takeaway from Model U.N. There are 193 countries out there, and they all have a point of view. All are valid, and you learn a lot from that,” Ankita says. “If you come in with an open mind, you are usually able to come up with some sort of compromise by the end of the day.” Ankita and her fellow Model U.N. team members will test their skills on a big stage in January, when they travel to Boston to take part in a conference put on by Harvard University, which will be attended by more than 1,000 students from all over the world. While some Bishop’s students debate the pressing issues of world affairs, others focus on the details of law and justice. Before she joined the Bishop’s Mock Trial team, says Tara Vogel ’16, she remembers watching last year’s team of seniors in action in the courtroom. “It wasn’t like they were pretending to be attorneys. They moved around the courtroom like they were authentic and professional attorneys, which was really cool to watch,” she says. “I wanted to have that experience myself.” The mock trial competition is taken on each year as a project of Rich del Rio’s Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics class. At the beginning of the school year, all of the high school mock trial teams in California receive the same fictional criminal case to tackle, and the students take on the roles of prosecutors, defense attorneys and witnesses. After researching the law and practicing their courtroom techniques, the students go head-to-head with other schools’ teams in
simulated trials before real judges. Students are judged by volunteer attorneys on all aspects of their presentation. The Bishop’s team has won the San Diego County competition five out of the past six years, and last year came in third in the state. For Tara, one of this year’s co-captains, the competition could be a prelude to a legal career although she hasn’t decided for sure. But whatever career choice she makes, she says her mock trial experience will be invaluable. “No matter what I end up doing, a lot of the skills I’m learning this year will transfer,” she says. “Working on a team in an academic setting is important because I will have to work with groups and teams to accomplish things.” Teamwork is also critically important in the robotics program, in which two teams of five students each design and build a robot. Although a couple of this year’s students have competed in robotics before, this year the program is essentially “rebooting” with a new teacher, new equipment thanks to a gift from the Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation and mostly new students, says teacher Evan Pruitt. Among the tasks that the robots will have to carry out in competition is shooting a ball into a goal and lifting up another robot. During a recent class session, the students arrived and quickly went to work on their creations. Two seniors, Rhiann Holman and Mary McNeil, worked on an assembly that would pick up a ball from the floor and raise it up to a launcher, which will then shoot it into the goal.
The many lessons learned by the students— from public speaking to research to teamwork— are reinforced by the competitive environment.
Opposite page: Speech and debate team members Angela Li ’16 and Sayeh Kohani ’18; this page: the Model U.N. team at a UC San Diego conference
“It really sticks with them because they’ve learned it under fire,” says Rich. The competition also pushes students to do their best. “Some of the judges remark that after working so hard for four or five months, the kids are sometimes better prepared than the lawyers that appear before them, which is amazing,” Rich says. By polishing their skills and boosting their confidence, says Matt, the Model U.N. and speech and debate teacher, students are better positioned for success later in life. As he is fond of telling students and parents, “Any career that you might want to go into, except maybe becoming a mime or a monk, requires strong verbal skills.” Competition is one of the big motivators, he says, but not an end in itself. “Competition does fuel the fire of this whole thing, we’re not speaking to empty rooms,” he says. “The students wouldn’t do this if they didn’t feel a little bit of the heat of competition. But ultimately, my goal is not to fill up a trophy case.” As a teacher, he says, he always leaves an academic competition feeling very positive about the current generation of students, who will be the leaders of tomorrow. Matt says that both he and the parents who watch the competitions come out being so fundamentally impressed by the students … because they’re eloquent, passionate and thoughtful.
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Along with designing and building their robots, the students also must write the computer code that will direct the machines to carry out their tasks. The pressure was on, because the team’s first competition was just a couple of weeks away. “It’s fun to take a problem and think it through, and see what you can accomplish,” says Mary. The skills she learns while solving problems with her teammates, she says, “can definitely help on other projects in work or college.” The team experienced a moment of shared joy when the mechanism worked for the first time, elevating a bright orange plastic ball from the table to the top of the 18-inch-tall robot. “I’m so happy,” says Rhiann. “I can’t believe it works,” Mary exclaims. That sense of accomplishment is one of the key benefits of academic competitions, say teachers. Evan, who also teaches physics, says he took part in robotics competitions as a high school student, which paid lasting dividends for him in terms of personal development. “It’s huge,” he says. “You learn to approach a problem that you’ve never seen before and develop a mindset of how to tackle it. It’s something you can’t really get any other way.” Rather than telling students how to correct a problem with their robots, says Evan, he might suggest different approaches to try. “It’s really my goal to act more as a mentor than as a teacher,” he says. “They’re doing it on their own, but they can turn to me for guidance.” The many lessons learned by the students—from public speaking to research to teamwork—are reinforced by the competitive environment, says Rich, who coaches the mock trial team.
Endowed Leadership Lecture Series
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Since 2003, the Endowed Leadership Lecture Series has allowed Bishop’s to invite individuals to the campus who serve as role models for students through their demonstrated leadership and achievements. These speakers also support the basic core values of the School in the ways in which they live their personal and professional lives.
A “Selfie” Sets the Tone for Jeff Small’s ELLS Talk on the Movie Business By Diane Y. Welch
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fter receiving the Bishop’s Medal, Jeff Small aimed his phone to photograph the audience “for his mom.” “Take a selfie,” chanted students, which he did, followed by gleeful applause setting the tone for his presentation. Mr. Small came to the School through the 2015 auction to be the first Endowed Leadership Lecture Series (ELLS) speaker of the 2015-2016 school year. “First off I’ll tell you a little about me,” explained Mr. Small, who as president and COO of DreamWorks Studios works with Principal Partner Steven Spielberg. “And then we’ll talk about the movie business.” Mr. Small’s journey into movies began as a childhood dream. “This is where it all started,” he said using stick figures
to illustrate his family and being raised in Marietta, Georgia. Memories included watching Sesame Street and cartoons, rounded out with baseball. Growing up he was “a pop culture kid” reading Mad magazine, playing Atari and watching the movie Airplane, repeatedly. “It shaped the way I saw the world,” he said, “I knew I wanted to be in the movies.” During his senior year at Stanford University, the Walt Disney Company interviewed students on campus, and Mr. Small made good on his childhood dream when he was hired to work with them in finance. From there he worked in mergers and acquisitions for Universal Studios, an experience contrasting with his later move to a smaller company, Revolution Studios,
where he learned all aspects of production. “It was a really important step in my career,” he stressed as it led to his current role with DreamWorks where he oversees production, financing, logistics and marketing. “So this is what you do in the movie business, what could I do?” Mr. Small asked rhetorically. In the beginning, “You may be an assistant, making a lot of coffee, but you are learning alongside an expert. Later you may write scripts, direct films, or be a lawyer, a musician, an editor, or design hair, make-up, costumes. Whatever the role, a successful movie is made from a great story well told.” “It’s a long, expensive process,” said Mr. Small who commented that with the release of DreamWorks’ Bridge of
Opposite page: Malcolm Devoe ’16, Christian Ford ’16 and Jeff Small; this page, above: Jeff Small; below: Travis Mills
movie theatre brings is powerful.” Charmaine Hiller ’16, said that she would love to write scripts and appreciated learning about the business side of the industry, “because that’s not the side that I am usually open to. It was nice to hear that even the people working on the business side are very much aware of the artistic value that each film has.” Mr. Small concluded his presentation with a lively question and answer session that had students lining up with questions ranging from “How long does it take to make a movie?” to “How can you prevent pirating movies?” to “What is your favorite movie?” “It was great that Mr. Small could really relate to the kids and make his talk interactive,” said Gale Hill, senior director of advancement. Mr. Small’s closing statements advised those aspiring to get into the movie business to be persistent, “It’s about hard work. If you want something enough and have the drive and passion for it, you can do it. There is room for everyone.”
“Never Give Up. Never Quit”
By Diane Y. Welch
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lone figure stood on the stage in the Eva May Fleet Athletic Center casually dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. After receiving the Bishop’s Medal, retired Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills, a speaker in the School’s Endowed Leadership Lecture Series, was greeted with thunderous applause from the entire student body on the morning of October 27. With two prosthetic legs and a prosthetic arm visible, modern science has made him appear more like a bionic man and less like a serviceman who was a victim of tragedy. The talk, focused on his motto, “Never give up. Never quit,” was both entertaining and inspirational, and everyone was touched by Mr. Mills’ story of recovery shared through his personal perspective.
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Spies he felt, “like my baby has gone out into the world.” After the lecture, Sydney Yockey ’16, a theatre student who would like to act in film, shared that Mr. Small’s message of hard work resonated with her. “The fact that anyone can start from the bottom and work their way up to the top was really encouraging,” she said. “It was very inspiring!” For Dylan Rohn ’16, recently honored with the Media Arts Center of San Diego
Young Filmmaker Grand Recognition Award, his artistry is expressed behind the camera. A budding director, the finance aspect of Mr. Small’s talk was enlightening. “While I make movies simply because I love to, I hope to eventually make it my livelihood,” he said. “I’m anxious to see how I can work in a studio environment and what adjustments I can make to ensure that something I direct is both self fulfilling and marketable.” The financial success of a movie depends largely on ticket and merchandise sales. It used to be that a big star would guarantee success. Today it is more about the story. Transformers was a massive hit for DreamWorks, which Mr. Small said was a surprise to the industry that didn’t think a movie about toys would be successful. For Dylan the human aspect of a shared experience at a theatre is a factor in the success of the industry: “That communal, sometimes spiritual, experience of sitting in a dark room with a bunch of strangers sharing laughter and tears in a fantasy world for a good two hours that only the
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His interactive presentation (with and never quit.” He started to walk photos and video footage) was animated laps and then completed a 5K race in by his humor that had the audience New York, to memorialize those who howling in response. “We’re going to perished on 9/11. laugh a little bit today,” said Mr. Mills, Another goal was to drive. “Stay one of the nation’s five surviving away from me I’m a horrible driver,” quadruple amputees from the wars in he warned. “But I have a rocket ship Iraq and Afghanistan. And laugh they did. of a van, I can go from 0 to 60 in about The presentation began with Mr. Mills’ 15 seconds, it is fast!” life growing up in Michigan where he was And a long-term goal was to start a the middle child and “perfection foundation to aid other families of compared to my siblings.” As a young adult he embarked on a military career as a paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne Division. “I used to jump out of airplanes for a living, it’s just gravity, you just fall out, that’s all there is to it!” he joked. He began married life in 2008, but that life changed abruptly during his third deployment to Afghanistan, when his daughter, Chloe, had recently been born at home. On August 10, 2012, a buried improvised explosive device transformed him from 250 pounds to 140 pounds. “It was a rough day for me, a rude awakening,” he said. His brother-in-law broke the news to him that he wasn’t paralyzed, but he didn’t have fingers and toes anymore. Nine doctors and seven nurses worked 14 hours Travis Mills, Cassidy Drost ’16 straight to save his life. The commitment of his medical team amputees at a retreat in Maine where and determination to live for his he currently lives. “I don’t want people daughter and wife empowered to give up on themselves,” he stressed. Mr. Mills to overcome his obstacles— Bringing Mr. Mills to Bishop’s was and setting goals started him on the student initiated and driven. Former path to recovery. student Cece Rooney suggested the His first goal was to feed himself. idea after seeing his presentation in “I was embarrassed when my wife Coronado, said Bill Goss, head of the started doing airplane with the spoon, upper school. and I’m trying to catch it,” he quipped. Gabi Smith ’16 and Alden Ducazau ’16 Five weeks into his recovery he received became involved soon after and planned a prosthetic arm and re-mastered the follow-up service opportunities to eating process. coincide with Veterans Day. “So that this A second goal was to walk. Prosthetic would not just happen, and we would legs made it possible. “It was very forget about it, but instead our students painful, but I decided to never give up could do something meaningful for the
veterans in our city,” said Bill. Alden agreed with Mr. Mills’ idea, “that he was not ‘wounded’ but rather someone with scars of past wounds. Being wounded can hold you back from achieving your goals, but scars show you how far you have come and the potential you have to become an even better version of yourself,” Alden remarked. “Travis’ message of resilience is one desperately needed on a campus of high stress individuals who often get swallowed up in the troubles of this rigorous high school and become overwhelmed,” said Gabi, who also appreciated the humor in the presentation. “It’s been a long time since the student body has laughed that much and that genuinely during an all-school assembly.” The presentation concluded with questions from the audience and with Mr. Mills demonstrating his prosthetic legs’ Bluetooth and other capabilities. And again he stressed his appreciation for those who helped him gain perspective. Many servicemen paid the ultimate sacrifice, with their lives. “I’m able to still live, and I have a little girl who looks up to me and a wife who is my best friend,” he said. “When I feel down, I think of that.”
Scan to see images of Veterans Day activities at Bishop’s.
Bishop’s First Sixth Graders The Class of 2016… Then and Now
Tracking
The Jacobs Prize allows a Bishop’s teacher to trace the train journey of his novel’s main character.
His Passion
“Outside, smoke rose tepidly in the early light. The cold blistering, the sun surgical. This lower limb of Brooklyn a palace of ice. Shanties bloomed across nine city blocks like derelict flowers. Upon garbage heaps men and women milled, opportunistic as birds, but the pickings were as slim as the pickers, and they found little more than their breath preserved as cirrus before them.”
—Description of a Depression-era shantytown from the novel-in-progress by Bishop’s English Teacher Adam Davis.
By Joe Tash
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ver the past seven years, Adam Davis has meticulously researched and written a novel about a teenage boy who lives the life of a hobo, riding freight trains across the United States in the early 1930s in the midst of the Great Depression. Much of the story came from his imagination; he also borrowed from documents such as a 1927 railroad map that he came across in the cartography room of the New York Public Library’s main branch. But this summer, he got the chance to follow in the footsteps—or train tracks— of his main character during a 10-day, cross-country trip that started in Pittsburgh and ended back home in San Diego. Adam says the summer adventure by car and rail gave him a new perspective on his literary project.
“I pretty much saw every abandoned and shuttered-up town from the Eastern Seaboard all the way to the West Coast.” As he traveled, he says, “The book came to life right in front of me.” Adam, who is in his sixth year of teaching English at The Bishop’s School, is one of the fortunate faculty members to receive the School’s Jacobs Prize, which was launched in 2009 with a $1 million endowment from Dr. Paul Jacobs and Dr. Stacy Jacobs. Each year, a committee accepts applications from Bishop’s faculty, and awards cash prizes that allow winners to take a personal trip or complete a project, usually over the summer. “It’s incredible,” says Adam. “There’s no way I could have done this without the Jacobs Prize.” The only requirements are that
applicants must be full-time faculty members at Bishop’s, and have a proposal that speaks to a personal passion or interest. Teachers are not required to submit proposals based on their own field of expertise. “I think what we look at are real dream proposals. Something that is unique, that would make a difference in somebody’s life,” says Joan Black, who chairs the Jacobs Prize selection committee. Joan was dean of faculty when the prize was initiated and has since gone back into the classroom to teach history. “It’s an intensely personal process. Every teacher has a unique passion or project he or she would like to pursue if the financial resources were available. This is a beautiful example of the high esteem in which our teachers are held
from El Paso to Tucson. Adam’s own background helps him identify with his novel’s main character, he says, because his family moved often, both within the U.S. and abroad, during his childhood as his father pursued his career as a chemical engineer. His grandfather also told him stories about his own youth, when, as a young boy during the Depression era, he rode freight trains from Michigan to Washington state to visit family. “I’ve always wanted to ride the rails, but I’ve never been brave enough to do so,” he says. Traveling solo, Adam says, he got a taste of what his character—who so far is simply referred to in the novel as “the boy”—went through, as Adam ate every meal alone, stayed in cheap hotels and experienced “the gentle, creeping madness of the road.” Adam says he was struck by the poverty and desolation he encountered in the small towns of the Midwest, and also the segregation between racial groups that he witnessed. Now halfway through the fourth draft of his novel, which he also has not yet named, Adam says his trip through the American heartland gave him new confidence in his ability to write his story with authenticity, creating a realistic portrait of the country during the Depression years. As he tells the story of his teenage roamer, Adam says, his book is also “a study of a nation of transients, and the national alienation that came with that experience.” So many people were uprooted from their homes as they moved around the country to look for work, but many of them arrived in new locations only to find there was no work to be had. Still, he says, the resilience and hope instilled in the American psyche bring a sense of optimism to an otherwise dismal period. “There was a certain beauty to be found in the struggle—a struggle that continues on for so many,” he says. After traveling some 4,500 miles this summer, Adam says, he crested the mountains and drove down into San Diego County, and, “You realize how good life is here.”
He says he won’t soon forget the trip he took in the summer of 2015, courtesy of a unique prize offered to faculty of The Bishop’s School. “It brings legitimacy to what you’re doing,” he says of receiving the Jacobs Prize. “To have the opportunity for those 10 days to be nothing but a writer, it felt great.”
2015
Jacobs Prize Recipients In addition to Adam Davis, four other faculty members had the chance to experience personal, professional and intellectual enrichment this summer. Regina Ballard experienced the art, architecture and religious history of Paris and Rome. Rich del Rio traveled to Barcelona to study Catalan nationalism. Jeremy Gercke traveled to London to study ceramics at The Victoria & Albert Museum. Julie Zedalis traveled back to Germany, the place where her teaching career began.
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at Bishop’s,” says Chief Advancement Officer John Trifiletti, an ex officio member of the selection committee, which also includes winners from the previous year. Past Jacobs Prize winners have used their award to fund a variety of endeavors: one teacher traveled to England to record a music CD, while another purchased equipment and made a documentary film. In 2011, a teacher volunteered at an orphanage in Africa while another went to Peru, where she studied the engineering techniques of the Incas. Although awardees are not required to apply their Jacobs Prize experience directly to their classroom work, Joan says, “Every one of them has been enriched and enthused by the experience and has told wonderful stories in the classroom, and they’ve also shared stories with the faculty.” Adam set off from San Diego with his wife and 8-month-old daughter, and after visiting relatives in the East, his family flew home and Adam continued his journey solo in a rental car. He passed through such towns as Cairo, Illinois; Pratt, Kansas; Calico Rock, Arkansas; and Tucumcari, New Mexico, taking copious notes and snapping hundreds of photos along the way. He visited deserted downtowns, railway stations and freight yards, even spotting the scrawled chalk signatures of modern-day hobos on the sides of weather-beaten train cars. He didn’t hop any freight trains himself, but he did take a break from driving when he rode a passenger train
Alumni Weekend A Tradition of Friendship
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By Zach Jones ’01
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or more than a century, The Bishop’s School has opened its doors each year to a new class of students. True to its original character as a boarding school, the campus becomes home over the course of those students’ careers, and each spring, a fresh wave of graduates walks across the Quad one last time before embarking on a new journey. What happens inside those gates— the friendships formed, the memories shared—is what brings those graduates back, year after year, for a celebration of a place beloved by so many. This year’s Alumni Weekend took place October 23-25 on campus in La Jolla. Among the highlights was the Ellen Browning Scripps (EBS) Celebration, an awards event that pays tribute to those in the Bishop’s community who exemplify leadership, service and honor.
Julie Zures Turner ’95, Lee Jenkins ’95
“The EBS Celebration is a wonderful Centennial Celebration. opportunity for the Alumni Association But the alumni weren’t the only to recognize those who inspire us and ones honored over the weekend. bring out our Bishop’s pride,” says Julie The Michael W. Teitelman Leadership Zures Turner ’95, Alumni Association Award is given to a visionary leader in Board vice president and awards the Bishop’s community, and the 2015 nomination committee chair. honoree was Courtney Flanagan, a There was also plenty of hardware to teacher in the School’s Performing Arts hand out, in the form of the Bishop’s Medal. Department since 1984. The Ellen Browning Scripps “Courtney has had a transformative Distinguished Alumni Award, given impact on nearly every student she’s to a graduate who “through personal worked with in her more than 30 years achievement, has brought honor and here,” said Tim McNamara, chair of distinction to him or herself and The Bishop’s Performing Arts Department, Bishop’s School” was given to Lee “so she was recognized this year with Jenkins ’95, who is the head NBA writer a very well-deserved award.” at Sports Illustrated. In addition to the awards, a special Among his recent achievements was EBS Celebration tribute shared the story an interview with LeBron James in the of the San Miguel School for Boys, an summer of 2014 that revealed James all-boys institution that merged with would be returning to Cleveland to Bishop’s in 1971 to give the School play for the Cavaliers. its current co-educational form. Lee has spoken at Bishop’s in the Also affiliated with the Episcopal past and is quick to credit the School Church, San Miguel was founded in for preparing him to succeed in his 1951 and was located on a campus professional life. in Linda Vista. Don Carlson ’80, received the Service The tribute explained some of San to Bishop’s Award, presented to alumni Miguel’s contributions to modern-day whose loyal service to the School goes beyond the call of duty. Members of the Class of 1965 celebrate their 50th class reunion. Don has served in a number of volunteer capacities at Bishop’s, notably as both a member and president of the Alumni Association Board and as a member of the School’s Board of Trustees during the head of school transition from Michael Teitelman to Aimeclaire Roche and the School’s
Don Carlson ’80 (seated center) celebrates his Service to Bishop’s Award with family and friends.
Bishop’s traditions, including the Knights mascot, the maroon and gold school colors and the Harvard Cup, presented to the member of each graduating class with the highest grade point average. “Many alumni don’t know that these traditions came to us from San Miguel,” says Director of Alumni Relations Sarah Garro. “With this tribute we were able to document the history of traditions that are so important in our campus life today.” San Miguel continues to have a voice on the Alumni Association Board, that of John Lucas, a member of its Class of 1963. There were plenty of opportunities for returning alumni to see how the School has changed—from guided tours of the campus to the chance to sit in on actual classes. Then again, brunch for alumni and their families on beautiful Rohr Terrace was a reminder that life should always have “milk break,” and at Bishop’s, it still does. The returning classes were headlined by the Class of 1965, celebrating their 50-year reunion, and full of stories about their 48-year bash as well. The Class of 1980 having some fun
Courtney Flanagan
“We have always been a unique and spirited class, with a bond that grows even stronger with time,” says Linda Donovan Olson ’65. “Two years ago we decided we did not want to wait until our 50th reunion to reconnect, so we had an ‘unofficial’ reunion in 2013. It was such a huge success that everyone was even more motivated to attend Men of San Miguel: George Rutherford ’70, Carlos Daughaday ’63, John Lucas ’63 our 50th, and it was absolutely glorious!” “This class is so enthusiastic,” Sarah Head of School Aimeclaire Roche. says. “They have a remarkable leader in It’s a familiar brand of passion from Linda, their class agent, who really rallied classmates eager to connect with the the Class. A number of others stepped up memories of decades ago. to either host a gathering at their home, “Every class is distinct with their own or put together a memorabilia book with personality. It seems that each of this photos and updates on where people year’s reuniting classes has a tight bond are today.” that was formed during fun times as The Class of 1965 warned the alumni students—and those bonds have grown office that they were full of trouble but as they’ve experienced life after Bishop’s no demerits were given and, in fact, the together,” Sarah says. alumnae had a great connection with Members of the Class of 1990 reconnect at the Alumni Weekend Kickoff Party.
faculty focus
David Moseley Dr. David Moseley Widens the Lens to International Studies By Frank Sabatini, Jr.
FACULTY FOCUS | David Moseley | 14
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essons in global citizenship are precisely what Dr. David Moseley affords his students through an ongoing series of international trips as well as classes he teaches aimed at building awareness and sensitivity to foreign cultures and religions. A native of Bristol, England, David joined Bishop’s in 2006 as a religion and ethics teacher. Several years later he became director of global education, a fitting position for someone who recently hit the “50-country mark” in his scholastic and personal travels. At age 19, after his first year of college at Oxford University, he and a friend embarked on a sweeping train tour through Europe. “We ate on the trains, stayed in youth hostels and managed to see 20 countries for peanuts,” he recalls. It was years later, while working as a grant writer for Project Concern International (PCI) and Survivors of Torture International, both based in San Diego, that he developed a keen interest in the plights of those affected by war, poverty and oppression. “Working at those organizations had a big impact on my global awareness and consciousness,” he says. A resident of La Jolla, David moved to San Diego in 1997 after earning bachelor’s degrees in law and philosophy, and a master’s degree in theology and philosophy from Oxford. He earned his doctorate in music and theology from the University of Cambridge. While grant writing and in his early days of teaching at Bishop’s, he was also an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego. On the Bishop’s campus, David teaches world religion, introduction
David Moseley at Daraja Academy in Kenya
to biblical literature, philosophy and human rights. As director of global education, he literally brings students to the core of various cultures. Over the past nine years, David has led seven student trips to various regions throughout India, Africa and China. The first was in 2008, when he took nearly two dozen students on a 16-day trip to India, traveling in and around Delhi and to Varanasi, which is considered the holiest site in Hinduism. A year later, in conjunction with Bishop’s World Languages Department, he and a group of students packed for China, where they met the famous peasant farmer who inadvertently dug into the burial complex of China’s first emperor just outside of Xian. “We went to the site and its museum, and he happened to be there. He’s a celebrity in China, and the students got to meet and interact with him.” Last year, David and 20 students journeyed to Africa and spent time repainting a girls academy in Kenya and helped build a kindergarten for an
impoverished school on a fishing island in Lake Victoria. Lehua Miller ’16 says the time spent in Kenya was particularly inspiring. “All of the girls at the academy had a high thirst for learning. We would show them dances from American culture and photography techniques with our cameras. Seeing how they live with few material possessions was very powerful,” she says. “And Dr. Moseley was a great organizer. He knew so much about the culture, where everything was and how to get there.” In March 2015, David returned to India with a different group of students for 17 days. They volunteered for a program assisting street children in New Delhi, and worked at a shelter home for boys outside the area. “Our students learn quickly on these trips that their peers around the world have the same joys and aspirations they do: sports, music, dating, etc. It’s a very eye-opening experience for them,” he says. Dylan DeWaart ’15, a freshman at
Above: Bishop’s students and faculty at the Taj Mahal; below: Nicholas ’18 and David
In recognition of his work promoting global service and awareness among his students, David was one of three local educators who recently received The Local Hero Award by PCI during its annual Hands Across Borders gala. The award is due in part to the funds his students have helped raise for PCI’s Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s Program over the course of four different trips to India, plus more than 20,000 hours of community service. The spring break 2016 trip will be to Cambodia. “It’s the first time we’ll be doing a trip for ninth graders,” he says, adding that India is once again on the calendar for 2017. David, whose son Nicholas ’18 is a student at Bishop’s, also brings much of the world onto the campus through cultural events and celebrations he helps organize with the support of students and their parents. One highlight is a festival commemorating the Asian Lunar New Year, held in late January or early February. Last year that celebration involved community members from China, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan.
In recent years, he has also held a weeklong series of events celebrating Diwali, the ancient Hindu festival of lights, for which students of Indian heritage offered classical and Bollywood dance performances and played traditional instruments. A Hindu priest joined in on some of the activities. When his passport isn’t in use, David enjoys spending time with his son and attending opera and theatre productions. He is also an avid fan of live music, adding with a quip, “Any type except modern country.”
15 | David Moseley | FACULTY FOCUS
Harvard, went on the trips to India in 2013 and Africa the following year. “They impacted my perspective of the world,” he says, recalling how small children were unfazed carrying large jugs of water on their heads when the group was building the kindergarten on the fishing island. “They were helping us bring the water from the lake to make the bricks.” Dylan also credits Dr. Moseley with inspiring him to start Global Buddy, a network of students and teachers from five continents who exchange cultural knowledge through modern technology. “I would have never been able to get that off the ground without Dr. Moseley’s support.” Locally, David takes students on Tuesdays and Thursdays to St. Mark’s Church in City Heights to provide after school tutoring for young Karen refugees from Myanmar. He initiated the effort three years ago and has since enlisted an average of 100 students each year who have collectively devoted 1,000 hours of time to the program, which assists the refugees with their homework and English skills.
FEATURE | Knights-N-Nosh | 16
Chelsea Coleman ’03 Owner of The Rose Wine Bar San Diego As a business owner, the witty and outgoing Chelsea Coleman ’03 has grown accustomed to wearing multiple hats, from menu master, to wine connoisseur, to dish washer. She isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, which is also evident with her interest in “homesteading.” In her yard, you’ll find compost, a garden and chickens. When she’s not working at The Rose in South Park, this pioneer woman is volunteering with Slow Food Urban San Diego, an organization that raises awareness for foods that are local, seasonal and sustainably grown. Prior to finding success as an entrepreneur, Chelsea earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.
Natasha Pickowicz ’02 Pastry Chef at Foragers Market New York City Natasha Pickowicz ’02 is a true Renaissance woman, versed in curating concerts, writing and crafting savory pastries. After graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Scottish literature, the multitalented Natasha fused her veneration for music and journalism while working as a freelance writer, and later, she became the arts editor at The Ithaca Times. When she moved to Montreal in 2009, she tried her hand in the kitchen. This unfamiliar territory was scary for her, yet she pushed on, testing herself and broadening her repertoire of culinary artistry. Eventually, she made her way to Foragers Market in Chelsea, where she found a home in a close-knit culture focused on producing innovative farm-to-table cuisine.
Kelly Senyei ’04 Founder of Just a Taste When you visit Kelly Senyei’s ’04 food blog, Just a Taste, you’ll quickly realize why this Newport Beach chef has garnered acclaim from top magazines like O, The Oprah Magazine and bon appétit. Before graduating with highest honors from The Institute of Culinary Education, she earned her master’s degree in broadcast television from Columbia University. Life’s journey led her to work for the Food Network, author Food Blogging for Dummies, serve as an editor for Condé Nast and ultimately develop a signature brand that encompasses her passions for all things food, lifestyle and entertaining.
Knights-N Bishop’s graduates Chelsea Coleman ’03, Natasha Pickowicz ’02, Kelly Senyei ’04, Shawn Walchef ’00 and Samantha Ward ’86, all have one thing in common: a love for food. We may be biased, but these foodies are the crème de la crème. Each of them has a flair for fare, from petite pastries to barbeque.
Q&A
If you could give someone a taste of something that envelopes your skill and passion for food, what would you serve?
Chelsea: Homemade tagliatelle pasta
Samantha Ward ’86 Owner of Exquisite Desserts Palm Desert
Shawn Walchef ’00, a family man with Bulgarian roots, dreamed of creating a welcoming place for loved ones to gather, watch sports and enjoy “low-n-slow” barbeque. With the help of his team, his vision of Cali Comfort BBQ came to fruition, finding a home in the Spring Valley community in 2008. The restaurant’s slow smoked pork ribs, BBQ wedding beans and “wicked” peach cobbler are a few fan favorites. Shawn is also the director of the Spring Valley Tailgate and BBQ Festival, which brings the community together to raise money for the youth of Spring Valley to participate in sports. Before founding his restaurant and festival, Shawn graduated from the University of San Diego, and he helped his grandfather, Dr. Luben Walchef, publish his life story.
If you don’t have a sweet tooth, that will soon change with a forkful of Samantha Ward’s ’86 divine lemon angel torte. Samantha has always had a fondness for making sweets, a skill she continues to refine as she pours her heart into delectable cakes, pastries and custom desserts. Her business, Exquisite Desserts, has experienced major growth since opening as a catering and wholesale business 15 years ago, and in September, she opened her doors to the public with a retail space. Leading up to establishing her business in the Coachella Valley, Samantha graduated from The California Culinary Academy and worked as a pastry chef in San Francisco. Next on the docket, she hopes to travel to India to learn environmentally sustainable and cost conscious ways of baking.
-Nosh By Melissa Kenyon
Natasha: A blueberry ricotta pound cake with duck egg sabayon, grilled donut peaches, ground cherries and bee pollen.
Kelly: If I were serving dinner, I’d prepare chicken Milanese with a green apple salad and a side of cheesy mashed cauliflower. And for dessert, I’d make coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
Shawn: I would serve them a full rack of slow smoked spare ribs with our sauce on the side, our wedding BBQ beans, jalapeno corn bread and mac-n-cheese.
Samantha: My banana peanut butter chocolate crunch savarin.
You have accomplished so much already. What would you say is your proudest achievement? Chelsea: Well, there’s much more to accomplish, but I am very proud of the integrity of our product and the welcoming and convivial attitude at The Rose.
Natasha: Catering the Cool Fest, an experimental avant-garde music festival that my friends put on up in Montreal, was one of the most positive cooking experiences I’ve ever had.
17 | Knights-N-Nosh | FEATURE
Shawn Walchef ’00 Owner of Cali Comfort BBQ Spring Valley
with lamb Bolognese (secret ingredient: dark chocolate), which I’d pair with a Rosso di Montalcino, for nostalgia’s sake, or the J° Brix Rougarou (a 100 percent San Diego County Carignan), for my current interests.
Q&A
...continued
Kelly: I took a big risk leaving a stable
and friends in those places, and I’m very happy to say that Courtney Flanagan and Sara Sweet both hang out at The Rose.
chef if you can do a professional apprenticeship or stage in their kitchen. Learning on the clock, with chefs I admired, was the best education.
Natasha: I think about my years at
Kelly: The food industry has become
helping my grandfather self-publish his autobiography. I was also able to translate the book into Bulgarian for all his friends and family to enjoy.
Bishop’s all the time! What a special place. We all engaged with so many dynamic, smart, curious, cool, funny, strange people. My favorite teachers and best friends turned me onto things that I still love to this day—literature, film, music and art.
Samantha: My son
Kelly: Absolutely. I have such vivid
so expansive, with countless creative opportunities ranging from restaurants and media to product development and health. There are so many ways you can find inspiration for a career in food, but I think it’s important to understand what sector within the food industry interests you the most. Then focus your efforts on that area and learn anything and everything you can about who’s successful in it and how they got there.
job in media to run Just a Taste full time, but that decision has proven to be the best decision of my professional life. I’m incredibly proud of the company I have built, and it’s been a long, steady road to get to this point.
Shawn: I take the most pride in
What celebrity would you love to see seated at your table, fork in-hand? Chelsea: Hillary Clinton? Hopefully
Shawn: Every day I am fortunate that
wearing sunglasses indoors.
my grandfather could afford to send me to Bishop’s. Teachers like Dr. Rappaport, Dr. Sturgis, Mr. Brown, Coach Lekvold and Dr. Mower provided me with structure and a continual thirst for knowledge. My closest friends today are Bishop’s alumni.
Natasha: Foragers is right in Chelsea off FEATURE | Knights-N-Nosh | 18
memories of being taught the importance of hard work and determination in order to succeed while at Bishop’s. I’ve translated those same qualities into launching and growing my own company.
the High Line, so celebrity occurrences in our dining room are really common. Susan Sarandon eating my scone and coffee cake was pretty sweet, though.
Kelly: I would love to have Ina Garten at my table. She’s been a longtime inspiration, and I’d love the opportunity to cook for her.
Shawn: I want to serve Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey, House of Cards) a full rack of our slow smoked ribs.
Samantha: Deepak Chopra Thinking back to your time at Bishop’s, did your teachers and peers help shape who you are today? Chelsea: My high school friends are still my closest and dearest boos. They remain my support network even as we have all settled in different cities. In high school, my safe spaces were the theatre, the cafeteria and the choir room. I found a really supportive network of teachers
Shawn: First, get an entry-level job at a full service restaurant, and stay there for one full year to learn as many positions as possible. The lower the pay, the better. You will quickly learn that to swim in this business, your work ethic and drive will be the primary reasons you do not drown.
Samantha: Don’t go to culinary school. Seek out the best in the industry and work for them.
Samantha: There is no comparison to the teachers and students at Bishop’s. I hit the ground running and learned to work hard when I transferred as a junior.
What advice do you have for Bishop’s students interested in pursuing their culinary passions? Chelsea: Think about it. Sometimes I wonder if I made a mistake turning my “passion” into a career. There are a lot of unglamorous and repetitive tasks like washing dishes and cleaning floor drains, which, my friends, is pretty gross. But when I have a customer who has a really great experience at The Rose, I know there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.
Natasha: Make a list of your favorite restaurants in your city, then ask the
What was your favorite menu item in the Bishop’s dining room? Chelsea: In seventh grade, I ate a PB&J with crunchy peanut butter every day. A classic.
Natasha: The pizza. I always had at least three fat slices and then took a nap on the Quad.
Kelly: The chocolate chip cookies from the snack bar were my go-to. I remember the cookies were so soft and loaded with chocolate chunks, exactly the way I make my chocolate chip cookies now.
Shawn: Coffee cake Samantha: I remember the meatloaf was exceptional.
DIFFERENT VOICES By Keri Peckham
In a busy fall speaker season, The Bishop’s School welcomed diverse speakers to campus to inform and inspire our community.
Student Wellness Takes the Podium
Scientific Innovations—From Ebola to Autism On October 29, Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., was the first Shaffer Family Foundation Endowed Science Lecture Series speaker for the 2015-2016 school year. Dr. Saphire, a professor at The Scripps Research Institute, leads a consortium of scientists who study immunotherapeutics against viral hemorrhagic fevers. In her presentation, she compared Ebola to origami and Transformers, illustrating that the molecules in the virus are nimble and able to play multiple roles in a life cycle. The discovery of their transformative nature has led to significant strides toward finding a cure. The next speaker in the science lecture series will be alumna, Dr. Shafali Jeste ’93, on January 28 at 6:30 p.m. She will discuss her work at the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment.
Save the Date: Endowed Scholar-In-Residence The School is looking forward to welcoming best-selling author and historian, Dr. Douglas Brinkley, to campus February 1-5, 2016. Dr. Brinkley is the author of several bestsellers, and he edited The Reagan Diaries, the personal diaries kept by Ronald Reagan during his time in the White House. His latest book, The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, was an instant New York Times bestseller and won a National Outdoor Book Award. Dr. Brinkley is a professor of history and Baker Institute Fellow at Rice University. In addition to teaching classes and meeting with students and faculty, the Endowed Scholar-in-Residence Program provides an opportunity for scholars to share their work with the greater community. Dr. Brinkley’s presentation will take place the evening of February 2. More information will be available on the Bishop’s web site in January.
19 | Different Voices | FEATURE
During the 2015-2016 academic year, several campus initiatives are focused on student health and wellness, and the Parents’ Association brought two speakers to campus in October, whose messages addressed these issues. On October 1, Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of How to Raise an Adult, spent the day on campus. When speaking to upper school students, Ms. LythcottHaims expressed her concern about what she calls the “checklisted childhood,” and encouraged students to instead, “Try hard, be kind, develop your work ethic. Go to college and study what you love. That will lead to a meaningful life.” In her talk to parents, she referenced her work as dean of freshmen at Stanford University, where she and her colleagues noticed a trend of very accomplished students arriving to college, unable to make their own way, often hindered by parents who had done too much for them. She suggested that, “Our job as parents is to put ourselves out of a job. We’ve succeeded if our adult children can fend for themselves.” On October 7, the Parents’ Association welcomed Dr. E. Lee Rice, founder of Lifewellness Institute and father of Kelly Rice ’97. He voiced his concern over the stress young people are experiencing, and suggested that families develop a “mission statement” to help define purpose and how they will help each other reach goals. Dr. Rice reassured parents that they don’t have to have all the answers for their children. They “must simply be there for them.”
New Faces Fresh Spaces
for Performing Arts Students By Frank Sabatini, Jr.
Above: The Tempest in the Black Box Theatre; right: Intro to Theatre students Faizan Jamil ’18 and Simran Deokule ’18
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newly created teaching position and the replacement of an esteemed faculty member are among the latest changes within Bishop’s Performing Arts Department sure to benefit theatre and choral students for years to come. The department kicked off the school year with the arrivals of Spencer Williams, a musical playwright who served as performing arts director at Pinewood School in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Dr. Christine Micu, a longtime choral director at Hillsborough High School in New Jersey. Spencer teaches both choir and theatre, a newly-established position
that supports the expansion of drama classes for middle school students. “Spencer has a deep passion for musical theatre, which allows him to straddle the theatre and vocal areas in teaching,” says Tim McNamara, performing arts department chair and instructor of theatre design and technology. Christine, who earned her doctorate in musical education from Rutgers University, is the new choral director and oversees all upper school choir classes, as well as the vocal components of the sixth grade theatre arts rotation. She fills the shoes of Louise Carmon,
who retired after an illustrious 25-year career at Bishop’s. “Christine has a lot of experience in choral music and musical theatre,” adds Tim. “She will preserve our very successful choral program while infusing it with her own ideas and passions.” Fueling the department’s evolution is the remodel of Ellen Browning Scripps Hall, known as EBS, which last year gave way to choir, ensemble and instrumental music rooms upstairs and a main choir room at ground level that connects to the new Black Box Theatre. The black box is home to the new
Christine Micu with Bishop’s Singers Samantha Webster ’16, Nico Langlois ’17 and Douglas Burkhart ’16
In regard to the new suite of choral practice rooms on EBS’ second level, they are a luxury for both Christine and her students. “We can do sectional rehearsals because of them. I can have the sopranos rehearsing in one room while the altos, tenors and basses rehearse in the other rooms before all coming together to sing in harmony.” In addition, she applauds the new first-floor choir room in which she teaches. “It’s state-of-the-art with acoustic tiles, heavy curtains for adjusting reverberation during choral classes and a fantastic filing system that allows us to store our extensive choral library, which features hundreds of different titles.” Spencer teaches all of his classes in an upstairs choir room and likes that it’s fairly removed from the rest of the campus. “We can sing without disturbing anyone. It’s a great space.” He also uses some of the other new rooms upstairs to conduct lectures in preparation for various performance pieces. “I’ll then move my classes
Spencer Williams rehearsing with Musical Theatre 8 students
Scan to see the Bishop’s Performing Arts Photo Gallery.
21 | New Faces, Fresh Spaces | FEATURE
Drama 7 class, added to the curriculum this fall, and currently being taught by drama teacher Courtney Flanagan. Spencer will take over the class in the spring, giving Courtney the opportunity to introduce Drama 8 to the program and to use the new space in the Black Box Theatre. “It’s a nice performance space with full light and sound,” says Courtney. “I’ve used it for most of my classes and for small performances such as our student directed improv shows. Previously this type of performance, and my classes, all happened in the lower level of the science center, which was a less than ideal performance space.” Last year’s Shorts Festival, presented by students in Courtney’s Acting Workshop and Tim’s Advanced Theatre Production class, marked the first show ever held in the Black Box Theatre. “To have a second live-performance space in addition to the Taylor Performing Arts Center is a huge bonus,” notes Tim, who utilized the intimate theatre in May for a three-day run of The Tempest that he directed. The show was presented by theatre students from the ninth and tenth grades. Tim adds that for October’s Noises Off production, held in the Taylor Performing Arts Center, the black box proved highly useful for holding many of the show’s rehearsals. “It’s a wonderful and flexible space,” he adds. In early November, the theatre embraced its first major dance concert, Just Beneath the Surface, and it has also become the preferred venue for sketch comedies, such as Twelve Angry Thespians that will be presented in May by two seniors.
downstairs to the Black Box Theatre to rehearse monologues, pantomime and scene work,” adding that he hasn’t yet produced a show in the theatre. Before coming to Bishop’s, he directed more than a dozen musicals while teaching at Pinewood and wrote a full-length musical, For Tonight, which was presented at the New York Musical Theatre Festival and Michigan State University. As the performing arts program continues flourishing with steady class enrollments, Tim cites other notable developments in recent years, such as the addition of an annual middle school production, and the dance program, led by Donna Cory, putting on two shows per year. “We’ve done a lot more since I came to Bishop’s 10 years ago, although the changes we’ve seen over the past couple years in particular are significant for any department.” Courtney concurs: “The performing arts department is expanding and growing considerably, especially in the middle school area, which is great because we now have more drama options and two new faculty members.”
Knights Keep Sports in the Family Family ties in athletics run deep. By Zach Jones ’01
FEATURE | Knights Keep Sports in the Family | 22
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t their best, high school sports can give students a sense of family, camaraderie and support at a critical time in their development. But for many Bishop’s student-athletes, their teammates are literally family, and wearing the maroon and gold is a sibling tradition that spans multiple seasons and championships. For Natalia Wrobel ’07, there was never a question about what sport she would play in high school. Her older sister, Monika ’03, played volleyball on both school and club teams, and those were footsteps she was eager to follow. “I’m five years younger than my sister, and at that point in time I admired everything she was doing, so I signed up for the same club,” says Natalia, who went on to play collegiately at Dartmouth. “My sister was a huge influence in why I started playing, and then I ended up really loving it and continuing with it.” Their age gap prevented the sisters from ever playing on the same upper school team, but they paved the way for their younger brothers, Adam ’11 and Viktor ’13 to build a volleyball legacy with the Knights that ran four players deep in the Wrobel family. By the time Viktor’s turn came, the line of siblings before him ensured there was little chance he would stray from the volleyball court. “Monika is 10 years older than me, so for as long as I can remember she’s been playing volleyball,” he says. “Being the youngest, I would attribute the choice to play volleyball solely to them. If they played a different sport, I probably would have played that.” So deep was the family sports tradition that it came with a designated uniform number as well. “We called it ‘The Ocho,’” he says. “I think my brother was the one who was really pushing for it to be a thing.”
Each of the Wrobel siblings wore number eight during their playing days, and when Viktor was blocked by Adam from using the number when he was a freshman and sophomore, he did the next best thing: “I was number nine until he graduated, and then I wore number eight. It was cool because before a CIF game, when we lined up and they announced our names, since he was number eight and I was number nine, I got to stand next to him.” While his older sisters helped set the family’s path toward volleyball, it was older brother Adam (who played Adam Wrobel ’11 water polo at Bishop’s and George Washington University) who blazed a trail in the pool, and the pair played side-by-side for two seasons, bringing home a CIF section championship with a seniorladen team in 2010. “It meant a lot to be able to play with my brother,” says Viktor, currently a junior on the Harvard water polo team. “That was the year I first decided I really loved the sport of water polo.” Twin brothers Merle ’19 and Phillip ’19 Richman know what it’s like to be both siblings and teammates. Separated by just a minute in age (“He uses that minute against me a lot,” Phillip jokes.), they’ve been almost constant teammates since they began playing around the age of seven. “I think at first, both of us weren’t quite sure what water polo was,” Merle says. “But I loved it the first day I jumped
in the pool at Shores. I remember seeing the 14-and-unders playing when I was seven—seeing these giant guys playing— and imagined that would be me one day.” As freshmen on this year’s varsity team, they say it’s been valuable seeing a familiar face at practice every day as they make the jump to a new level. “It’s more competitive when you switch from middle school to upper school,” Phillip says. “It was good to have Merle there at the beginning of the year, because I could talk to someone on a regular basis about how things were going for him.” A sibling playing the same sport can be both a coach and a rival at the same time. Viktor Wrobel calls his older brother his best water polo mentor, and also admits their family competitiveness would boil over in the pool.
Left: Riley Bedingfield ’17; above: #11 Cullen Bedingfield ’17
Phillip ’19 and Merle ’19 Richman
“I have a memory of us practicing in our front yard,” Natalia says. “I remember her saying ‘You should be a setter,’ and it was something I’d never considered before.” But sibling support isn’t confined to the field of play. Junior volleyball player Riley Bedingfield ’17 has never been teammates with her twin brother Cullen ’17 (football, basketball), and
the last time they even played the same sport was years ago in youth soccer. Officially, their birth certificates say they were born at the same moment, and these days a lot of the pressures are the same as well. “We’re pretty much on the same track—we both have practice every day after school, games every week and the same homework loads,” Riley says. “Same SAT tutor. It’s nice to have someone there for you and to push you along the way, too.” It doesn’t leave much time for either Bedingfield to see the other compete, so when it does happen, they make up for lost time with extra enthusiasm. “He left his football barbeque early to come to my game (this season), and he grabbed a bunch of his friends,” Riley says. “The stands were not full, and I could hear him and his friends all screaming my number. I was sitting on the bench—I wasn’t even in the game— but he was going crazy. It was such a nice feeling seeing him there.”
23 | Knights Keep Sports in the Family | FEATURE
“Things got a little bit chippy when we were at practice,” Viktor says. “Sometimes he was really physical when he was playing defense.” As for their sister Monika (a middle blocker on the volleyball court at both Bishop’s and MIT), she gets the credit for turning little sister Natalia into a setter— a position she played throughout high school and into college.
bishop’s buzz
WEBNews Hoagland) was featured in
PARENTS Steve Kerr (Matthew ’16) is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, 2015 NBA champions.
the San Diego Union-Tribune
Did you know that student publications can be found on the web site? To view issues of The Tower, Quanta and Zenger go to www.bishops.com/studentpubs or scan the QR code.
as one of four physicians who have performed heart transplants at Sharp Hospital in San Diego for the past
PAST PARENTS
30 years.
Fernando Aguerre (Jakue ’15, Kaila ’15 and Tiare ’15 Aguerre), president of the International
Director of Admissions and
Surfing Association, spoke to high school students at the third
NEWS | bishop’s buzz | 24
FACULTY Financial Aid Kim Peckham and Associate Director of
annual San Diego Unified School
Admissions Joy Davis presented
District STEAM Leadership
a session at the Annual Confer-
Series. n Judge Yvonne Campos
ence of the Secondary School
(Madeleine Morales ’15), of
Admission Testing Board. The
the San Diego Superior Court,
event drew over 800 admissions
was presented with the Joan
professionals and independent
STUDENTS
Dempsey Klein Distinguished
school administrators from
Out of nearly 6,000 entrants
Jurist Award by the California
production on the stage of The
around the country and abroad.
(ages 11-17) from around the
Women Lawyers. n Willis Allen
Old Globe in January. Emily’s play
n Elizabeth Wepsic, chair of
world, Miles McInerney ’20
was one of 269 scripts submitted
real estate associate Linda
the visual arts department who
was selected as one of the 85
to the California Young Playwrights
Daniels (Luke ’95, Devin ’96
teaches portfolio development
commended Foyle Young Poets
Contest. n Mary McNeil ’16 was
and Mary ’99 Daniels) was
in the summers at the San Diego
of the Year for his poems
selected for the Girls Who Code
recently awarded the “Christie
Museum of Art, was a visiting
“33°15’33”N 116°23’57”W” and
summer program at Facebook
International Real Estate Luxury
educator at the museum’s Teen
“Kind of Blue,” both written while
and was on Mark Zuckerberg’s
Specialist” distinction. n Dr. Peter
Art Café this fall and conducted
he was a student in Tod Mattox’s
Facebook page. Check it out—
Hoagland (Dusie ’01, Mike ’03,
a workshop on how to “doodle
English class. n Emily Midgley’s ’17
Mary is third from the left in the
Amy ’11 and Patrick ’12
to music.”
play, The Acquittal, is one of four
back row!
Auction 2016 Great food, fine wine and a touch of magic will represent the flavor of Bishop’s annual party with a purpose as the School community celebrates auction 2016 A Knight in White on April 16, 2016. The event will be co-chaired by, pictured at right, Alexandra Johnson (Charlie ’22, Logan ’22) and Katherine Lobo (Kendall ’18, Justin ’20). Annually, the auction raises funds in direct support of the need-based student financial aid and faculty professional growth programs. More than 20 percent of the current student body is receiving $3 million through the financial aid program, and annually teachers and coaches are provided enrichment opportunities. The 31st annual auction will feature dinner for 400, dancing, wine auction, and both live and silent auctions with an emphasis on items that offer unique experiences. To learn more about auction underwriting and donation opportunities, contact the advancement office at (858) 875-0804.
plays to be selected by the Playwrights Project for full
Terry and Annie Wolterstorff Love ’65
“It’s a family commitment,” says Annie Wolterstorff Love ’65, a Bishop’s Honorary Lifetime Trustee, when talking about the decision she and her husband Terry have made to leave a bequest to the School that will help grow the Helen Seeger Wolterstorff Endowed Financial Aid Fund. Her late father, The Right Reverend Robert Wolterstorff, the first Bishop of the San Diego Episcopal Diocese, established the fund in 1994 in memory of his wife and Annie’s mother. In many ways, the Wolterstorff family has a long-standing affection for and tradition at the School. In addition to Annie, a member of the Class of 1965, and her brother Robert, a member of the San Miguel Class of 1969, Annie and Terry’s daughter, Kellie Love Whited, Ph.D. ’96, chose to come to Bishop’s in her junior year. “Bishop’s really prepares you, and Kellie knew this was the school she needed for what she wanted to do in life.” Remembering Bishop’s with a bequest from your estate is a wonderful way to leave a legacy and help us sustain
“We want a Bishop’s education to be available for all kids on a need-basis. We believe it is a lifetime gift—a gift for their future.”
quality education programs for future students. Some of the advantages of bequests include: • It costs nothing now, yet provides you with the satisfaction of making a meaningful gift • You continue to maintain control and use of your assets during your lifetime • You have the ability to modify your plans if circumstances change
Contact John A. Trifiletti, chief advancement officer, at (858) 875-0851 or trifilettij@bishops.com to discuss meaningful ways of how you can leave a bequest. We also invite you to visit our planned giving pages at www.bishopslegacy.com or the Honor Roll of Donors (page 43) in this issue of Bishop’s for sample bequest language.
• Bequests in your will and trust are an effective way to lower estate taxes if you have a taxable estate
Bishop’s magazine features glimpses of people who, by walking the halls of the School, are changing its face forever.
The Bishop’s School 7607 La Jolla Boulevard La Jolla, California 92037-4799
Parents of Alumni, if your son or daughter no longer maintains an address at your home, please notify the Office of Alumni Relations of his or her new address. (858) 875-0505 • Fax (858) 456-2681 tbsalumni@bishops.com
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