Ensights — Summer 2020

ENSIGHTS I N S E ARC H OF T RU T H

SUMMER 2020

OPPORTUNITY

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2020-2021 President Will Morrow Vice President Jennifer Frist

In Search of Truth

Treasurer Bruce Crosby

ENSWORTH Mission Statement

Secretary Jim Bowen Legal Counsel John Jacobson Special Advisor Bruce Moore E. McBride Bass* Kathryn Brown Stuart Brunson Gerard Bullock

Ensworth is a kindergarten through twelfth grade, coeducational independent school. The School promotes academic excellence and inspires students to be intellectually curious, to use their talents to the fullest, to be people of integrity, and to be contributors to society.

Amy Christiansen Beth Courtney Amanda Farnsworth Ben Freeland Trish C. Frist* Craig Goguen Chad Greer Emily Kurtz Deb McDermott Neal Patel Yvonne Ralsky Josephine Smithwick

Administrative Team David Braemer Head of School Ricky Bowers Associate Head and Director of Athletics Dr. Sarah Buchanan Associate Head and Director of Enrollment Management Heather Caponi Head of Lower School

Jamee Thompson

Chan Gammill Head of Middle School

Head of School David Braemer, ex officio

Nowell Hesse Head of High School

Past Board Chair T.J. Wilt, ex officio

Jason Hiett Director of Technology

President Ensworth Parent Association Elizabeth Gerken, ex officio

Bedell James Director of Advancement

President-Elect Ensworth Parent Association Kirsten Crosby, ex officio

Whitney Johnson Director of Finance and Operations

President Ensworth Alumni Board Anna Russell (Kelly) Friedman ’97, ex officio

Bobby Mirzaie Director of Curriculum and Instruction

*Indicates Permanent Trustee

Bruce Libonn’s Drive-Thru Retirement Parade

ENSWORTH Vision Statement We envision a school community dedicated to following the highest principles with the greatest love, as characterized by moral integrity, intellectual vitality, discipline, compassion, humor, and joy.

Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion In order to realize the goals of our Mission and Vision, Ensworth must actively strive to be a diverse and inclusive community of learners that engages collectively In Search of Truth. The presence of different perspectives and life experiences plays a vital role in the development of our students, enhancing classroom and extracurricular experiences in meaningful ways. As a school, we are committed to cultivating an environment in which all members of the Ensworth community experience a true sense of belonging and are empowered to be active participants in the life of the school. These efforts are essential if we are to foster the growth of all students in line with their potential, and to equip them for lives of purpose that extend far beyond their time at Ensworth.

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Contents ACADEMICS

COMMUNITY

3 Remote Learning

3 Social Distancing Events

10 Capstone Scholars

8 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

12 Finding the Right College Fit 16 For the Record

20 Parent Association 24 Events Photos 60 Teacher Appreciation

ATHLETICS 32 Middle School Athletics

ARTS

FACULTY

38 One Acts: Middle School Play

42 Interview with David Whitfield

40 The Addams Family: High School Musical

44 Interview with Heather Caponi 45 Professional Development

ALUMNI 54 Alumni Class Notes 57 Alumni Profiles

46 Faculty Book Club 48 Faculty Bookshelf 49 Faculty News 50 Faculty Retirements

34 High School Athletics

Paper: Chorus Art Silk - 70 lb Text and 80lb Cover; 30% Post Consumer Waste, 100% Recyclable, EFC Chlorine Free

Copyrighted 2020 by Ensworth School. Ensworth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin in its admissions or its hiring policies. Ensworth is a member of NAIS, CASE, SACS, SAIS, and the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools.

ENSIGHTS is a bi-annual publication of Ensworth’s Office of Institutional Advancement.

EDITOR Tiffany Townsend DESIGN Mary Byrne Dailey EDITORIAL STAFF Paul Downey, Kirby Wiley CONTRIBUTING WRITERS David Braemer, Hayley Brantley, Sarah Buchanan, Brooks Corzine, Paul Downey, Sukey Johnson, Doug Magee, Bobby Mirzaie, Dean Schneider, Tiffany Townsend, Kirby Wiley PHOTOGRAPHY Travis Commeau, Mary Byrne Dailey, Paul Downey, Tim Jones, Nancy Keen Palmer, Adrienne Parker, John Picklesimer, Mike Strasinger, Doug Whitman, Kirby Wiley

MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Opportunity About five years ago, I was at a national conference for Heads of School and one of the keynote speakers was Scott Cowen, President Emeritus of Tulane. Cowen had recently stepped down as President of the university, and the focus of his talk was what he had learned from leading Tulane when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans. While it was hard to fathom all of the challenges that Cowen—and others—faced in managing through a natural disaster of that magnitude, one of the key takeaways from his talk was the importance of finding the opportunities for improvement that crises can create.

Not surprisingly, I have found myself reflecting on Cowen’s message quite often in recent months. With the complexity of our current societal situation only seeming to intensify with each passing week, we are all faced with new and different challenges. As a school, we are striving not only to respond to these challenges in ways that meet the immediate needs of our students, but also to seek out the possibilities to become an even better school in the long run.

For example, as part of our ongoing efforts to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, our faculty have had to develop remote teaching skills. Their ability to do this as well as they have is a credit to their commitment to supporting their students during this difficult time. Meeting these short-term needs also has long-term benefits, as is the case with the new capacities for leveraging technology that the faculty have been developing in recent months. These skills enhance their ability to meet the varied needs of their students, regardless of context, which will result in even more effective teaching and learning going forward.

The painful events of overt racism that sparked social unrest this summer represent another crisis for our society, one that

will ultimately help to make us better as a school. While a number of initiatives tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion were already underway as a result of our recent accreditation process through the Southern Association of Independent Schools, there is now an even greater awareness of the need for these efforts. This has not only added momentum to our efforts in this area, but it has also led to the creation of additional initiatives, all of which will make Ensworth a more inclusive community. While there is still a great deal of work to be done, this summer has served as an important catalyst as we strive to be a school where each individual feels welcomed, empowered, and safe.

In many ways, Ensworth is uniquely positioned to capita lize on the opportunities that crises create by virtue of our commitment to the Core Skills, and in particular, those of collaboration and communication. When I consider the tools necessary to work through the types of major challenges that we are all facing, helping our students to develop these two skills is critical. The ability to work together effectively to solve problems and the recognition of the need to engage different perspectives in the process are essential to achieving successful outcomes.

As for communication, this is an important two-way street that requires the ability to express oneself in a thoughtful manner as well as to listen to others with a similar degree of consideration. Intentionally developing these skills is essential to preparing our students to have the type of impact that will make our society a better place for everyone.

David Braemer HEAD OF SCHOOL

ACADEMICS Grade 8 drive thru celebration

Bruce Libonn retirement parade

End of year item pick up

ENSWORTH

Social Distancing

EVENTS Spring 2020

Grade 12 drive thru celebration

High School tshirt distribution Drive thru food drive

Pizzas delivered for a Senior Zoom pizza party 2020 SUMMER | 3

ACADEMICS

Te a c h e r s f r o m K–1 2 A d a p t We l l t o

REMOT E LEARNING Teachers throughout Ensworth’s K-12 continuum learned much from their students and about themselves during remote learning this spring. We caught up with a few select teachers to see how they seized the opportunity and remained nimble during this unique and experimental period.

B Y PA U L D O W N E Y ’ 9 2 , Associate Director of Marketing & Communications

Ensworth is fortunate to have leaders in independent school education in the earliest grades. The Journal for Social and Emotional Learning interviewed Ensworth’s 17-year veteran Kindergarten teacher Megan Florentine over spring break when online learning had yet to roll out. Ms. Florentine and several other Red Gables Campus teachers have taken a leadership role at Ensworth for the Responsive Classroom approach.

Sukey Johnson’s Kindergarten Zoom Meeting

The journal highlighted how she and other teachers were going to work together during the pandemic lockdowns. “We get along; we’re friends outside, and we’ve specifically learned to share ideas. It’s always served us well, but now it’s crucial.”

While grade-level teachers in the Lower School kept up with their students using a hybrid of live meetings and asynchronous lessons, the Lower School specials teachers— Spanish, Chinese, art, music, PE, library, and science—banded together early to provide engaging, fun content for students.

Kathryn Swords, Lower School art teacher, observed, “As Bruce and David said, teachers were to think of this remote learning phase as a marathon and to pace ourselves. It became a process of how to find and learn the tools needed to invent the wheel and then see if that wheel would roll.” Swords and her colleague, Evie Coates, decided to use one tool they both already used: Instagram.

Art Teacher Kathryn Swords posted art lessons on her Instagram account: @ensworthartswords 4 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

Miss Coates used her @artclasswithmisscoates account to go live each day from 2-2:30 p.m. for a fun, relaxed art lesson on drawing and watercolor. “We knew that art experiences during remote learning needed to be a time and place where children could relax and get lost in the creative process,” Evie explained,

ACADEMICS

Grade 4 Biography Fair “which we believe can be such a healer in challenging times.

We also imagined that a lot of students would rather go outside and play in the creek or kick a soccer ball, and so making the offerings lighthearted and optional was a major consideration.”

helped bring the fun cultural event online. With a theme for each day, Chinese teacher Caitlin Harris and Spanish teacher Edmiary Morales released daily videos with many educational crafts, games, movies, books, music, ethnic restaurant recommendations, and even recipes.

“The tigers who took advantage of my daily lessons would Middle School teachers are already well-known for their ability usually share their artwork with me,” she recalls. “And to blend creative, interactive projects with technology, so this spring’s remote learning challenged them to then I could share it with everyone! “ We k n e w t h a t adapt to the unique Middle School mind.

Even though it wasn’t a face-to-face encounter, sharing artwork virtually art experiences Best known for his Trojan Horse Shark was a fun way to connect and interact.”

Tank design contest and a faculty-judged Although young artists joined her live, during remote Caesareans vs. Republicans debate, Middle Miss Coates’ lessons are archived on learning needed School Latin teacher Trey House never YouTube for anyone to work through skipped a beat transitioning to remote on-demand. to be a time learning. For classroom discussion, he and place where introduced Flipgrid by Microsoft where a grid Ms. Swords also offered a step-byof student video submissions acts as a virtual step approach to her art lessons with children could sharing around the room. For homework Instagram but asynchronously at @ involving translating a Latin passage, ensworthartswords, using multiple r e l a x a n d g e t l o s t students each read their translations along steps on her posts. in the creative with any questions or problems they had. p r o c e s s .”

And to cut down on the increasing amount Beginning in late April, the specials of text-based instructions now inundating teachers created a schedule of “office Evie Coates, LS Art Middle Schoolers, Mr. House greeted his hours” where all K–5 students could join each teacher on an open-ended Zoom call. During students through recorded video using Loom. one session, for example, Grade 1 students were matching wits with Grade 5 students in a Chinese flashcard game on Mia Anderson, Chinese teacher and World Languages colleague of Mr. House, also used Flipgrid for classwork. “Before the break, Kahoot. eighth graders were just beginning to learn how to describe their World Language Week is a highlight of many Lower School daily routine,” she explained in April. “When we started remote students’ year. The special teachers’ collaborative ingenuity learning, one of their projects was to create a video of their new 2020 SUMMER | 5

ACADEMICS

Caitlin Harris & Edimary Morales produced a video to celebrate World Language Week

“I could randomly pop into their breakout rooms and it felt just like when I would walk around to approach their desks i n t h e c l a s s r o o m .”

Sharon Glenn, HS Math

daily routine at home. It was fun to get to see their faces and what they were up to as they adjusted to this new normal.”

Middle School science teacher, Becky Smith, also observed how the students learned in more visual ways during remote learning. She was impressed by how they started “showing their creative sides by turning in work in the form of videos, drawings, and the like.”

Doug Magee’s guitar lessons on Tigernet

Grade 4 Choral Concert

Leadership at the High School likewise implemented a sensible, organized approach to remote learning after Spring Break.

“The Ensworth administration was thoughtful and helpful in advance of our remote learning experience,” history teacher David Chanaca explains. His colleague Tim Love agrees. “The faculty training the week before was a big help,” he recalls.

“This included some great ways to use Tigernet, as well as some information about recording lessons to flip the classroom.”

Mr. Chanaca believes that in-person learning using the Harkness method can never be replaced. “It is more important now than ever to teach civil discourse and personal interaction in a positive and knowledge-based approach,” he asserts.

“Nothing can replace watching facial expressions, referencing a previous student comment in person, and using human connection to make verbal interaction honest yet supportive.”

He acknowledges, however, that “Ensworth kept its learning relevant, even innovative, while we waited for some sort of normalcy to begin again.”

Math teacher Sharon Glenn found it particularly challenging to teach her subject, which requires multiple forms of demonstration. She began to implement Zoom and ScreencastO-Matic to switch back and forth between documents, a calculator, Desmos, and iPad with Apple Pencil.

For the Ensworth Core Skill of collaboration, she found Zoom to be indispensable. Whenever she had a task for her class, she had “the ‘Zoom wizard’ divide the students into groups and send them to work,” she describes. “I could randomly pop into their breakout rooms and it felt just like when I would walk around to approach their desks in the classroom.”

High School Chinese Class 6 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

As a mom, Mrs. Glenn shared other parents’ difficult experiences of working from home with children also at home learning

ACADEMICS remotely. Her husband installed color-coded light bulbs outside of her room that would indicate to her children whether or not she was recording her demonstrations.

Seminar teacher Kristin Paine found that the asynchronous pacing of online learning held many benefits. She notes that reading aloud from a book using an Elmo camera mimics very closely how she would read and teach in class. “But,” she says, “it might be even better because the students can pause the video and go at their own pace and they can see my book the entire time.”

Arts at the high school level, while ideally taught in person with the benefit of hearing fellow performers’ voices or fellow dancers work on a routine, used technology to the fullest to make remote learning as immersive as possible.

Lower School Specials Teachers Zoom call

Photography students created animations and cinemagraphs.

The Rock Band performed a remotely synchronized version of “One of These Nights” by the Eagles. Encore, the contemporary a cappella group, assembled a rendition of H.E.R.’s “Fate.” And dancers of all ages danced in a heart-rending compilation to Janet Jackson’s “Together Again” from their own lawns, kitchens, and bedrooms.

Academically, the arts classes benefited from the pandemic because even master teachers were stuck inside. Dancing classes received a virtual visit and real-time discussion with Michael Schwandt, a successful choreographer turned director, who currently serves as Creative Director for NBC’s “The Masked Singer.” Stephani Kammer, dancer for Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani, and Lauren Gaul, a 10-year member of the Rockettes, also met virtually with dancers. And Acting classes received similar visits from actor Garrett Hedlund and linguist Dr. David Crystal and his son, actor Ben Crystal on what Shakespeare’s plays would have sounded like to their original audiences.

To view videos of these arts groups making the best of their remote learning experience, follow @ensworthartshs on Instagram, and visit the blog on ensworth.com for more divisional highlights from remote learning this spring.

Encore assembled a rendition of H.E.R.’s “Fate”

Logan O’Connor participates in a Field Day challenge

Ensworth Rock Band performs “One of These Nights” by The Eagles

Ensworth School of Dance video dancing to Janet Jackson’s “Together Again” 2020 SUMMER | 7

COMMUNITY

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at

EN SWORT H B Y D AV I D B R A E M E R , H E A D O F S C H O O L

In recent months, people across our nation have been engaged in deep reflection about the systemic racial inequities in our nation’s fabric that advantage some and oppress others.

While these injustices are rooted in our past, they remain omnipresent. If we at Ensworth are to live up to our motto, In Search of Truth, we must recognize and respond to the lived truth of everyone in our community.

This summer, several members of our school community, including alumni and current families, came forward to express concerns that some students, mostly Black and People of Color, did not feel or do not feel equally welcome at Ensworth. I am grateful for the courage and candor of those who reached out to share their stories, and I apologize to those who experienced hate or discrimination despite our stated commitment to kindness, respect, and inclusion.

Recent national events and revelations have further emphasized the importance of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and compel us to ensure that our ideals continue to be transformed into actionable plans. Following is an outline of efforts that have already been underway, as well as some new initiatives, all of which are geared toward making Ensworth a more inclusive community.

Building upon the establishment of an official Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by the Board in 2018, we chose the topic of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as a key area of focus for our reaccreditation process with the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) in 2019. Our self-study, the feedback from a survey of parents, students, and faculty that we conducted last fall, and the recommendations from a visiting team of educational leaders who came to campus during this past school year, are guiding our actions moving forward.

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COMMUNITY Our priorities coming out of this process include: Dedicated Leadership for the work of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Following the recommendation of the visiting team, this past spring we made the decision to create the senior leadership position of Director of Community Engagement and Inclusion. David Whitfield was appointed to this role, and he joined the Ensworth Leadership Team at the beginning of the summer. David has been a faculty member at Ensworth since 2006, teaching in the Seminar, English, and History departments at the High School, as well as leading a number of community-based initiatives such as Kids Academy, Time to Rise, and Tearing Down the Walls. Given his strengths and his experience as an educator at multiple schools, as well as his deep understanding of our community, he is eminently qualified to do an outstanding job in this role.

Faculty and Staff Professional Development. The SAIS visiting team emphasized the importance of dedicating resources and time for professional development and training around DEI for all stakeholder groups, including the Board, leadership team, and faculty and staff. While discussion groups—with relevant books, case studies, and movies about DEI issues—have taken place with the faculty on a regular basis, there is the need to expand upon these efforts in an intentional, systematic way.

Outreach and Recruitment. We must take an even more strategic approach in our efforts to attract a more racially diverse faculty, staff, and student body. While we have had some success in this area, with the representation of students of color in our student body increasing from 13% to 22% over the past ten years, and the number of faculty of color increasing from 6% to 11% in the past four years, there is still a great deal of work that needs to be done if we are to more accurately reflect the broader community.

Supporting conversations on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion issues in the school community. Feedback from the survey of community members expressed the desire for more opportunities for safe, authentic, inclusive discussions about diversity to take place. These types of conversations amongst and between constituencies, including students, faculty, parents, and alumni, are essential to cultivating a deeper understanding of each other and our community.

These established priorities are only the starting point, not the endpoint. We know our work is just beginning. Moving forward, we commit to take the following actions:

• Build effective K-12 Faculty and K-12 Family Councils

to work with our Director of Community Engagement and Inclusion to lead and support our DEI efforts.

• Leverage resources from the Nashville community to offer

professional development and school conversations to all constituencies (faculty, staff, school leadership, students, and families).

• Actively engage with our alumni of color, and in particular,

our Black alumni, to better understand their experiences so that we can utilize this understanding to improve as a school.

• Accelerate the diversification of faculty and staff by

implementing new protocols and training to reduce implicit bias in the hiring process and by building a more racially diverse pipeline of candidates.

• Expand support for faculty and staff of color through

internal mentoring and external growth opportunities.

• Examine our policies and procedures to increase our ability to identify, interrupt, and hold our community accountable for racial and other forms of bias that occur at Ensworth, such as hate speech.

• Further develop our curriculum to give students a

more complete understanding of the long history of racial oppression and injustice in this country, as well as constructive ways to interrupt that history.

We want our students, parents, alumni, faculty, and staff of color to know that their presence and contributions are greatly valued at Ensworth, and we stand in solidarity against any form of racism or oppression. As a school, we remain committed to becoming a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive place, where all members of our community experience a true sense of belonging. It will require our collective efforts in order to accomplish this goal, as we all must commit to partnering together in this important work for the good of Ensworth.

2020 SUMMER | 9

ACADEMICS

S CHOL ARS Despite the challenges associated with completing the academic requirements, seniors looked at the great opportunity that remote learning offered and persevered in their Capstone projects.

Ensworth’s Capstone Program gives students the opportunity to engage in an extensive exploration of a passion or interest that is above and beyond academic courses and extracurricular involvements—though it is often the product of weaving multiple inspirations into one. To participate, a student investigates, proposes, and gains approval for a specific research project in Grade 11, and conducts the research and presentation of their findings over the course of their senior year. Although a presentation to the Ensworth community was not possible due to the pandemic, several seniors demonstrated the Class of 2020’s enterprising spirit by completing video presentations of their Capstone projects.

GABRIEL ABRAM

“ROOM TUNES: AN AUDITORY EXPLORATION OF INDIE/BEDROOM POP” Under the direction of arts chair Jim Aveni and using the course material learned from Music Production, Music 2, and AP Music Theory, Gabriel Abram focused his project on the topic “Room Tunes: An Auditory Exploration of Indie/Bedroom Pop.” After describing the musical theory and aesthetic behind Bedroom Pop, he details the process of getting familiar with the small recording studio in the Elcan Arts Center. The pandemic, however, forced Abram to move all of his recording to his own bedroom, a happy accident for the low-fi sensibilities of Bedroom Pop. Check out Gabriel’s first two tracks, “I Love You” (featuring vocals by his sister, Chloe Abram ‘18) and “More Than That,” from the project on all streaming platforms.

JESSICA CALLOWAY “ANALYZING SPANISH, LATIN AMERICAN, AND MEXICAN ARTISTS’ STYLES THROUGHOUT HISTORY” Senior Jessica Calloway combined her two favorite subjects— Spanish and photography—to explore Spanish, Latin American, and Mexican artists. Her essays, written in Spanish, compare two artists. “My research focused on how two artists—from different time periods, with different families, environments, and lives—could create such comparable artwork.” She then used her own photographic creativity to produce art for each essay in the style of the essay’s subject.

Paige Chestler POETRY IN FILM

BRIGGS BLEVINS “EXPANDING MUSIC PRODUCTION INTO THE STUDIO” Briggs Blevins conducted a similar deep dive into the recording process with his Capstone entitled “Expanding Music Production into the Studio.” The core of his research involved the various technologies of the recording process such as mixers, preamps, mic placement, and software. “As time progressed,” Blevins observes, “my capstone project slowly transformed from songwriting to actually learning how to use all the equipment in the studio as an extension of myself in the recording process.”

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Paige Chestler’s project combined her greatest passions—poetry and filmmaking/ producing—using work from the upperlevel Poetry and Reel History classes. Although the project centered around well-known poets throughout history, Paige took inspiration from contemporary poet Rupi Kaur for her original poetry written for the capstone. For the filmmaking aspect, she read the poems as a voice-over with her family’s old home movies playing in the background. “They have a certain nostalgic feeling,” she explains, “as some of the poem’s hidden meanings are about hope.”

ACADEMICS

Carrie Cohen

COMPARISON BETWEEN THE PLOT OF FRENCH STORIES TO FRENCH BALLETS Carrie Cohen’s love of ballet spans her entire life, from being in the School of Nashville Ballet since the age of 2 and being cast as Clara at the age of 12 in Nashville’s award-winning production of “The Nutcracker.” Having already finished the highest level of French at Ensworth, she used her senior year to combine these great loves. Cohen compared how the ballet adaptations of French ballets related to the works of literature that inspired them, particularly Sleeping Beauty, Manon Lescaut, and Giselle.

Dante Rodriguez and Jordan Yi

“PODCAST SERIES: RELATIONSHIPS”

Two seniors with overlapping interests, Jordan Yi and Dante Rodriguez, spent their final year at Ensworth exploring the nature of particular types of relationships through the contemporary medium of podcasts. The first two episodes center on the interesting relationship dynamics between twins using interviews with family and members of the Ensworth community.

Interviewees include Jordan’s grandmother, Mr. Knopp, senior identical twin sisters, and fraternal twin Kindergarteners.

Listen at overandout.buzzsprout.com.

Tay Waggoner

My-Lan Le

“3D DESIGN TECHNOLOGY IN CARDIOLOGY AND NEUROLOGY” To begin her capstone that combined both science and art, My-Lan Le spent the summer before her senior year learning how to read MRI scans and working in a 3D design lab at Vanderbilt University. She used publiclyavailable medical images to create 3D models of crosssections of the human heart and a 3D simulator for medical students to practice the invasive and risky procedures to remove blood clots in the brain. The experience allowed her to work closely with a pediatric neuroradiologist, and a firstyear radiology resident.

“A STUDY OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF MAYA ANGELOU” Dontavia Waggoner felt a kinship with author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou in her ability to overcome the fear of speaking out on difficult subjects. After a thorough examination of Angelou’s life and work, Tay wrote a small selection of poems related to subjects like race and the recent tornadoes that whipped through Nashville. “I feel like sometimes it’s intimidating to speak out on a certain topic, and you’re not sure how people are going to feel about it,” she explained. “So this project was me speaking out how I feel towards the idea of racism—blacks and whites—and how I feel like everything is changing but at the same time, everything is still the same because really, not much has changed.”

Rylie O’Neil

“FROM TANG TO TODAY” Rylie O’Neil has been fascinated by the beauty of both the written and spoken forms of Chinese ever since her introduction to the language in Kindergarten. Her love of poetry led her to a study of Tang Dynasty poetry which is known as a golden age of Chinese poetry. The capstone culminated in the creation of a book of Tang Dynasty poetry paired with her modern interpretations. Her artistic flair was well-adapted for the logographic, hand-painted Chinese written word.

Visit the Resource Board on TigerNet to watch the 2020 Capstone P resentations

These two students presented on their capstones in December 2019.

Lucas Chaveyriat “ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES” Using photographs from his trips to Paris, London, Santiago, and Singapore, Lucas Chaveyriat presented his capstone on “Architectural Photography: International Perspectives.” The pictures are a mix of film and digital photographs that display individual stories when juxtaposed together.

Max Moeller “RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ECONOMY AND DEVELOPMENTS IN THE AUTO MARKET” Max Moeller explored the “Relationship between the Economy and Developments in the Auto Market” using coursework AP Economics, 3D Design Technology, Physics, and AP Physics under the supervision of Danny Wright.

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ACADEMICS

FINDING T HE RIGHT

COLLEGE FIT Students are matched with their college counselor at the beginning of freshman year and stay with the same counselor throughout their high school career. Four seniors share their experience with the program and how it helped them find the right college fit.

Interview by Tiffany Townsend Director of Marketing & Communications

Mae Mae Wallace What are some of the activities/ c l u b s /s p o r t s y o u’ v e b e e n involved in at Ensworth? I have participated in soccer, lacrosse, and tennis, as well as the Tearing Down the Walls club and the Math competition team. I was also a co-director of K ids Academy, worked on the committee for Dance Marathon, and attended the school’s summer trip to China in 2017.

What lessons or experiences from the last two months of school do you think will benefit you in the future? I think the most important thing I have learned is that face-to-face interaction is not only essential to learning but essential to life. The time this spring without my teachers and classmates left me feeling unmotivated and discouraged. However, I am now even more thankful for the close relationships I have built during my time at Ensworth.

Talk about your college counseling process—what were some of your main criteria in your college search? How did your college counselor help guide you through the process? Going into senior year, I had no idea where I wanted to go to college. I had toured almost 20 colleges but still wasn’t sure which ones were my favorites. My college counselor did a great job talking through my college visits with me and helping me articulate what I liked about each school I had seen. She 12 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

Duke University was able to inform me about which schools had what I was looking for academically, and she was able to suggest schools she thought I would like.

What were your top choices, and what led you to ultimately choose Duke? My top choices included Duke, University of Virginia, Princeton, Wake Forest, Northwestern, Yale, and Vanderbilt. Duke ended up being my first choice because it is the perfect balance of what I was looking for in a school.

It is medium-sized and academically challenging while still having great school spirit and a fun sports culture. It has small classes, impressive research and study-abroad opportunities, a diverse student body, and an ideal location. Finally, Duke is exceptionally strong in my main academic interests of global health and social justice.

In what ways do you feel like your Ensworth experience has best prepared you for college? Ensworth has taught me the importance of hard work, resilience, and community.

Ensworth creates an environment in which teachers are passionate about teaching, and in turn, students become passionate about learning. Most important, Ensworth’s Harkness method has taught me the value in collaboration, working with others, and achieving greatness together rather than individually.

Finish this sentence/thought: Ensworth is… a community that fosters collaboration, a love for learning, and a drive to better the world.

ACADEMICS

D o mi n i c W y n n What are some of the activities/clubs/sports you’ve been involved in at Ensworth? I was involved in varsity basketball, football, and track. I helped start the Tearing Down the Walls Diversity Club; I was also a member of the Chess Club, Tiger Pack, and was Student Government Vice President.

Talk about your college counseling process—what were some of your main criteria in your college search? How did your college counselor help guide you through the process? When I was looking for colleges that I wanted to attend, I was seeking schools that would challenge me and push me out of my comfort zone. I wanted a change from what I had experienced for the past few years of my life; I was interested in attending a school with a large student body that was a good distance away from Nashville. My college counselor, Mr. Phillips, was very supportive and helpful during my college search. He had worked closely with my brother during his college search, and therefore had a great understanding of my family and our values. That really helped him to guide me in narrowing my search and to introduce me to colleges that weren’t previously on my radar.

What were your top choices, and what led you to ultimately choose UVA? My top choices were the University of Virginia, Wake Forest, The University of Tennessee, The Air Force Academy, and North Carolina A&T. I felt like UVA would not only challenge me academically but also give me experiences that would best prepare me for life after college. I am a person who naturally operates in my comfort zone, so I felt that moving away from home and the people I had known my whole life would push me and force me to grow into a more complete person.

In what ways do you feel like your Ensworth experience has best prepared you for college? I think Ensworth has prepared me for a rigorous college experience. I am confident that many of the lessons I have learned throughout my time in high school will benefit me in college. Learning to build relationships with my teachers and advisors will help me when I begin to have problems that any regular college student has. I also think I have developed a great foundation of study habits and time management skills that will benefit me as I immerse myself in harder topics and classes.

University of Virginia What lessons or experiences from the last two months do you think will benefit you in the future? The virtual learning experience really made me appreciate aspects of my life that I had taken for granted in the past. I really missed going to lunch knowing I was going to have some great conversations with my friends. I missed seeing people around school and in the quad between classes. I don’t think anybody would have ever imagined the year to end the way it did and I hope no other senior class has their year ended that way; however, I feel like being quarantined forced me to change in a great way. I began to fall into a routine and schedule I created myself. It took a lot of discipline to stick to this schedule, especially when I knew that I could be sleeping in a lot more or playing the video game instead of studying. I used this time as a learning experience that would help prepare me for college and I felt I was able to make the best of the situation.

These past few weeks have exposed school and national issues that were previously ignored or overlooked. As a member of the Ensworth community, I think that it is vital to speak out about issues that we are facing and come together to find solutions. It is impossible to evoke change if we cannot do this in a peaceful manner. We must listen to each other and get ahead of problems that arise before they become unmanageable. As we have seen with the Black Lives Matter movement, if people feel as if they are unheard, they do things that make it impossible to ignore their voices; unfortunately, these actions aren’t always beneficial to the community. These past two months have also shown me how much we still need to change as a country. We have a long way to go to end racism, prejudices, and biases that exist in this world. That said, I am confident that my generation can play a significant role in bringing equity and justice to all people on this planet.

Finish this sentence/thought: Ensworth is…a place where I had a lot of great experiences, a lot of bad experiences, and everything in between. However, I wouldn’t change anything about it because it has helped shape me into the person I am today.

2020 SUMMER | 13

ACADEMICS

Nabeeh Daouk

Case Western Reserve University

What are some of the activities/clubs/sports you’ve been involved in at Ensworth? At Ensworth, I have played soccer and hockey, and I was a member of the Ping Pong club. I was also House Captain of the House of Morality my senior year.

wanted, and it didn’t have a D1 football team to watch. But when I visited, I was really impressed by the academic strength and loved the smaller classes.

And although it is farther than I would have liked, the short, 1-hour flight seemed much easier than a closer place that required a 6-hour drive.

Talk about your college counseling process— what were some of your main criteria in your college search? How did your college counselor help guide you through the process? My main considerations were location, strength of program, student life, and size. I am very interested in science and have spent some of my summers doing research at Vanderbilt in molecular physiology and biophysics, so I wanted a school with a strong science department. JJ Anthony, my college counselor, was super helpful in helping me choose where to apply and being realistic with me. He also patiently read many of my essays and helped correct them.

In what ways do you feel like your Ensworth experience has best prepared you for college? Ensworth really allows students to be independent. When it comes to balancing studying with activities and fun, Ensworth prepares students very well.

What were your top choices, and what led you to ultimately choose Case Western? Honestly, at first, Case Western was the opposite of what I wanted. It wasn’t as close to home as I

14 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

What lessons or experiences from the last two months (remote learning) do you think will benefit you in the future? I’ve learned the value of actually being with people when it comes to learning. I have also become a bit better with technology.

Finish this sentence/thought: Ensworth is…really a special place with the best people. In my 13 years, I have never met a teacher or faculty member who doesn’t seem to care about the students outside the classroom.

J o rd a n Y i What are some of the activities/clubs/ sports you’ve been involved in at Ensworth?

I first got into music during the summer before freshman year, in which I joined an eighth grade rock class. I didn’t even know what a C chord was.

Since then, I’ve been in rock band and jazz band throughout my high school career. It shaped a lot of my personality, and I know my newfound passion for music was prominent in my college application.

Visual art is my other passion; I took only one Studio 1 Art class during the school year, but I attended Studio 2, 3, and 4 over the summers to make up for the lost time.

As for clubs, I joined the beekeeping club in my sophomore year. While my schedule was too crammed to attend every meeting, I donned the infamous XL bee suit as many times as I could. Beekeeping was the first activity I had listed on my application.

Talk about your college counseling process—what were some of your main criteria in your college search? How did your college counselor help guide you through the process? The things I cared most about were the size of the college, the focus on undergraduate studies, and the temperature of the region. I thrive in colder weather, part of why Chicago is an ideal city for me. Size was crucial to me; creating personal relationships with professors was a huge factor in my Ensworth career, and I sought similar bonds for my next four years.

My college counselor Mr. Whitehill and I are tight. College was one of the biggest stressors in my life, so he saw me in his office a lot and quickly got a sense of my personality. I often asked him if he thought the atmosphere/personality

ACADEMICS

University of Chicago of a college would suit me, and I completely trusted his answers. If he felt like the values of the college clashed with mine, he would be sure to let me know.

What were your top choices, and what led you to ultimately choose UChicago? My top three choices during the application process were Brown, Williams, and UChicago (in that order). I applied Early Decision I to Brown and Early Action to UChicago. I was rejected by Brown and deferred by UChicago, so the big debate was whether or not to apply Early Decision II to UChicago. On one hand, I had a much higher chance of getting in by applying ED II rather than Regular Decision. On the other hand, I wasn’t certain if I was ready to put all of my luck into UChicago; I really wanted to hear back from the other 14 colleges. James Kent, a 2019 graduate who goes to UChicago, was a huge influence in my decision to do ED II. I think his love for the school rubbed off on me.

In what ways do you feel like your Ensworth experience has best prepared you for college? The most college-preparatory aspects of Ensworth are probably the Harkness table and studentteacher relationships. I don’t know if I would be able to hold academic conversations or diplomatic discussions as well as I can now had I gone to a school with the traditional desk structure.

What lessons or experiences from the last two months (remote learning) do you think will benefit you in the future?

Self discipline. Just like in quarantine, it’ll be so, so easy to waste the days away in college.

Finish this sentence/thought: Ensworth is… a home for people who love to love.

Class of 2020 College Matriculation: American Academy of Dramatic Arts Amherst College Auburn University (2) Austin Peay State University Barnard College Baylor University Belmont University (3) Berry College Boston College Boston University Butler University Case Western Reserve University (2) Centre College Clemson University College of Charleston Columbia University

Dartmouth College (2) Duke University Elon University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Emerson College Emory University (2) Furman University (2) Georgia Institute of Technology High Point University Indiana University (3) Kenyon College Lipscomb University Loyola Marymount University Mercer University Miami University-Oxford (3) New York University (5) North Carolina State

University of Kentucky University at Raleigh University of Memphis Northeastern University University of Miami Pepperdine University (4) University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Princeton University University of Mississippi (2) Rhodes College University of North Florida Southern Methodist University (5) University of Notre Dame (2) Tennessee Tech. University University of South Carolina (3) Texas Christian University (4) University of Tennessee (10) Trinity College University of Virginia-Main Campus Trinity University Villanova University Tulane University of Louisiana Wake Forest University (3) University of Alabama (2) Washington University in St Louis University of Arizona Western Kentucky University Univ. of California-Los Angeles Univ. of California-Santa Barbara Williams College University of Chicago University of Colorado at Boulder (5) University of Dayton 2020 SUMMER | 15

ACADEMICS

FOR T H E R E C OR D

Student Government Leaders Elected

Congratulations to William Vreeland and Gianna Bullock who have been voted the 2020-2021 Student Government President and Vice-President. The Class Speakers elected for the 2020-2021 school year are Senior Class Speaker: Kelile Southwell, Junior Class Speaker: Genevieve Schaefer, and Sophomore Class Speaker: Katherine Sales.

Beekeeping for a Cause

The Beekeeping Club donated profits from honey sales, a total of $2,700, to Project C.U.R.E. The funds were earmarked to be used to support their efforts for combatting the COVID-19 crisis in the USA.

Words & Music

Grade 4 students participate in Words and Music, a songwriting program from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. In the fall, students write an original song and then a songwriter selects several to set to music. Students experience this live performance during a museum tour and songwriter session.

Every spring, the CMHOF mines the thousands of student songs from across the nation and selects a dozen or so to represent the program in a showcase concert. Hank Rusie (4-Prentice) was selected this year for his piece, “Bengals Blues.”

Robotics Team

The Middle School Robotics Team shows off awards won at the FLL East Tennessee Regional Championship in Cookeville.

MathCounts Regionals

The Middle School MathCounts team of Peter Darst, Lily Bowen, Kavana Somayaji, and Niamiah Taylor placed 4th in the region on February 8th. Seventh grader Lily Bowen placed 15th, individually. Eighth grader Kavana Somayaji placed 8th and was scheduled to move on to the State Competition on March 14, but it was cancelled due to the Safer at Home order in Nashville.

Middle School Geography Bee:

Cooper Materazzi ‘24 was the winner of the 2020 National Geography Bee on the Lower/Middle School Campus. Julia Moore ‘24 was the first runner up, and Nicolas Recchia ‘26 and Duncan Coppeans ‘24 tied for second runner up.

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ACADEMICS

Book Awards

Each year colleges and college alumni groups recognize outstanding students throughout the country with book awards. This year, Ensworth juniors were honored for their excellence in various fields of endeavor by fifteen colleges and universities.

George Washington University Book Award: Kylianne Broughton The GW Book Award recognizes high school juniors who embody the GW drive and spirit, specifically with their academic excellence, leadership outside of the classroom, diversity of thought, and ability to put knowledge into action.

The Harvard Prize Book: Jacqueline Frist Presented annually in more than 2,000 high schools around the world to recognize outstanding students in their next-tograduating class who demonstrate excellence in scholarship and achievement in other non-academic areas.

The Hollins Book Award: Ella Talerico Recognizes an outstanding junior who has demonstrated sustained academic excellence and possesses a special interest in English and creative writing.

The Kenyon Review: Claire Humphrey This award is presented by the President of Kenyon College to a junior in recognition of intellectual engagement, creativity, and commitment to community.

The Princeton Book Award: Anna Lapre Recognizes a junior who displays excellence in the areas of academics, extracurricular activities, and community service, as well as a strong desire, either through words or actions, to change the world for the better.

The Randolph College Book Award: Amelia Mullis Recognizes an outstanding high school junior who displays excellence in academics and leadership.

The Rensselaer Medal: Vanessa Frigon Established in 1916 with two purposes: to recognize the superlative academic achievement of young men and women, and to motivate students towards careers in science, engineering, and technology.

The Rensselaer Medal recognizes an outstanding junior who has distinguished himself/herself in mathematics and science.

The Rhodes College Book Award: Zion Wynn Awarded to a junior student who has demonstrated exemplary community service coupled with a commitment to leadership and helping others.

The St. Lawrence University Book Award: Allie Duke Recognizes an outstanding high school junior who has displayed a significant commitment to community service.

The Tulane University Book Award: Sachi Srivastava Students selected for the award embody the university’s motto, “Not for one’s self, but for one’s own,” and have demonstrated excellence in academics, leadership, and public service, in their respective communities.

The Jefferson Book Award: Liam Frumkin Presented by the University of Virigina Club of Nashville to a junior who best represents the Jeffersonian ideals of scholarship, leadership, and citizenship.

Washington and Lee University Book Award: William Vreeland Presented by the Nashville Chapter of the Washington & Lee University Alumni Association to a student in his or her junior year who exhibits the qualities cherished and exemplified by George Washington, a generous benefactor of the University, and Robert.

E. Lee, its president from 1865 to 1870. These qualities are personal integrity, academic excellence, and leadership.

The Saint Michael’s Book Award: Kelile Southwell & Lucy Butler Awarded to a student of high academic success and exemplary community service involvement, whose accomplishments embody St. Mike’s commitment to intellectual achievement, social justice, issues of peace and concern for others.

The Yale Book Award: Chloe Rollins Awarded to a student at Ensworth who shows the greatest intellectual promise, as evidenced by actual achievements and demonstrated potential; who, by activities at school and in the community, has demonstrated a broad range of interests and accomplishments, and who is of outstanding personal character.

Cum Laude & Bar Pin Awards

To view a complete list of 2020 high school academic awards, visit the Ensworth Blog: www.ensworth.com/barpins 2020 SUMMER | 17

ACADEMICS

FOR T H E R E C OR D

2020 U.S. Presidential Scholar Semifinalist Ensworth senior Ryan Crants was named a 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars semifinalist.

Ryan was one of approximately 620 semifinalists selected from a pool of nearly 5,600 candidates.

National Merit Honors Congratulations to senior Dante Rodriguez on being named a National Hispanic Scholar. The National Hispanic Recognition Program recognizes approximately 5,000 Hispanic/Latino students each year.

Congratulations to the following seniors on being named National Merit Finalists: Ryan Crants, Max Moeller, Sara Pickrell, Colin Murray Congratulations to the following juniors who have been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship program as being among the 50,000 highest-scoring participants on the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. They will be recognized in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program in the fall of their senior year.

Jasper Bosch, Brooks Bradbury-Fawns, Vanessa Frigon, Jacqueline Frist, Nell Harris, Claire Humphrey, Anna Lapre, Noah Lucy, Evan Petty, Andrew Yu

Head of School Award

The Head of School Award, given to students who have earned a place on the Head of School list in all four marking periods of their eighth-grade year, was presented to: Linden Alldredge Sullivan Brown Lila Butler Corrine Chidsey Laela Clark Addie DeCoster

Reese Fogaros Camilla Garza Claire Gracey Gracie Lane Cooper Materazzi Quintin Miles

Julia Moore Kavana Somayaji Cates Spitzer Alara Weitkamp Meredith Whitson

James N. Brown Award

The James N. Brown Award, given to students who have earned all As in Effort and Consideration throughout their sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade years, was presented to: Linden Alldredge Sullivan Brown Savannah Cherry Laela Clark A.J. Dale Maya Dandekar Addie DeCoster

Camilla Garza Claire Gracey Gracie Lane Natalie Linn Chloe Lucy Cooper Materazzi Quintin Miles

Julia Moore Kavana Somayaji Cates Spitzer Alara Weitkamp Declan Werthan Meredith Whitson Spencer Yu

Chamber Singers Recognized

Ensworth’s Chamber Singers attended their first ever MTVA Choral Festival in February to be adjudicated in the areas of performance and sight-reading. They received a Superior rating in performance (the highest rating) and an Excellent rating in Sight-Reading (the second highest rating).

House Captains Elected for 2020-2021

House of Integrity Zoe Upkins Titus Wootson

House of Truth Gabby White Max Keller

House of Morality Lucy Butler Thomas Lee

House of Vitality Lainey Garside Milan Patel

18 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

MS Dance Team Wins First Place in Junior High Jazz Division

The Middle School Dance Team competed in the UDA Magic City dance competition in Alabaster, Alabama and earned 1st place in the Junior High Jazz Division. Way to go!

Class of 2020 Service Scholars

Ensworth Service Scholars engage in an extension of his/her senior Service Learning project. Service Scholars complete at least 20 hours of service on their Grade 12 projects beyond what is otherwise required. They spend additional time collecting artifacts, researching and composing a paper that provides insight into the issues relevant to their project. Read more about their projects at www.ensworth.com/servicescholars2020. Congratulations to the following Service Scholars: Charlotte Anne Alarcon: Factors Affecting Nashville’s Inner-City Anisa Bhatt: Childhood Education in Nashville Bry’Nhyia Brazier: Attitudes Toward Education Based on Class Jessica Calloway: The True Sacrifices of Families & Children for Pediatric Hospital Visits

Carrie Cohen: Haitian Education

My-Lan Le: Turnip Green Creative Reuse and the Landfill

Grace Edwards: Literacy’s Impact in Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Underserved Youth

Lilly Lucas: Federal Programs for Low Income Children

Carrie Elcan: Tearing Down the Walls

Charlie Mahanes: Nashville Food Project

Mary Hayes Greer: Incarceration and Hunger in Low-Income Families

Barrett McFerrin: Effect of Poverty on Education

Lizza Hubbard: Nutritional Choices of Impoverished Preston Taylor Ministries

Shealy Mischinski: Curriculum Building and Funding for Public Schools

Julia Moody: McDowell County, WV: The History, Coal Mining, Social Issues & Black Lung Neely Moorer: Factors Contributing to Low Literacy Rylie O’Neil: Time to Rise Jane Anna Vickery: Sexual Assault Public Policy Mae Mae Wallace: Poverty and Low Literacy

Arts Awards My-Lan Le ’20 ( AP Studio) was accepted into the prestigious Frist Museum’s “Young Tennessee Artists AP & IB Exhibition” for the 2019-2020 academic year. This year, the exhibition will be online and will run from October 9, 2020, through February 7, 2021 on the Frist Art Museum website.

My-Lan states, “I plan to study medicine, specifically neurology, so my AP Portfolio illustrates my passion for the mysterious and known aspects of the brain. Veins and Arteries (Acrylic paint on layers of clear film) is a realistic piece inspired by CT scans. It is a transitional piece in my AP “Sustained Investigation” bridging works that focus on the imagination to works focusing on the brain’s functions.”

2020 Middle Tennessee Scholastic Arts Award Winners include: Lillie Waddell ’21 - Silver Key - Drawing & Illustration Lillie Waddell ’21 - Silver Key - Painting Mei Mei Dellinger ’23 - Honorable Mention - Drawing & Illustration Sachi Srivastava ’21 - Honorable Mention - Drawing & Illustration

The Frist Art Museum invited teens to submit their artwork for this second edition of Teens Take the Frist!

Ensworth students’ artwork is displayed on the Frist Art Museum Website.

2020 SUMMER | 19

COMMUNITY

Build Our Community

| Support Our School

| Educate Our Parents

BUILDING COMMUNITY IS MORE IMPORTANT NOW THAN EVER I am honored and excited to serve as your 2020-2021 Parent Association President! While I never imagined the kind of unusual year this would be, I am inspired by the many ways Ensworth parents remain optimistic and continue to work hard on behalf of our school. Our PA Committee Chairs, PA Board Members, and many others have been busy this summer planning activities that uphold the PA mission to Build Our Community, Educate Our Parents, and Support Our School. Building a feeling of community will be more important now than ever as we seek creative ways to stay engaged, develop friendships, and ensure that new families feel the warmth of Ensworth.

There are countless FUN ways to be a part of the Ensworth community, even during COVID-19, and the PA would love your help! If you meet a parent who is new to Ensworth, follow up and make sure that parent feels welcome. Do you have an idea for a fun event for the parents in your grade? Talk to your Room Parent/Parent Coordinator. Want to start a walking group with other moms or dads? Let us know. Small group gatherings will be critical to cultivating a sense of community this year. Remember this: “You aren’t going to meet anyone sitting in your car in the hook-up line!” Make an effort to be a part of this wonderfully diverse place that enriches the lives of our children every day.

If you haven’t signed up yet to volunteer with a Parent Association committee, please email Ashley Owen, Volunteer Coordinator, at ashleyowenmc@yahoo.com.

I look forward to meeting each and every one of you and ensuring a wonderful year together!

ELIZABETH GERKEN

2020-2021 President, Ensworth Parent Association

GIFT TO THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN We are proud to announce the completion of the Parent Association’s $500,000 gift to the Excellence Begins With E Capital Campaign—two years ahead of schedule! Thanks to the efforts of many talented volunteers and loyal parent donors, funding for the new playground is secure, ensuring safety and fun for all Ensworth students.

20 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

Save the Dates!

SEPT. 9, 2020 11:30 AM Parenting With Purpose: The Collapse of Parenting by Leonard Sax, MD. OCT. 7, 2020 6:30 PM Parent Education Event: Jessica Long, Paralympian Speaker Event

FEB. 6, 2021 Tiger Night

MAY 1, 2021 Super Saturday SUPER SATURDAY MAY 1 , 2021

TIGER NIGHT SUCCESS AND “RAISE THE PADDLE” FUNDS ARRIVE JUST IN TIME The Tiger Night Chairs put the fun in fundraising during Tiger Night 2020, raising a total of $308,955.74! In addition to those funds, the inaugural “Raise the TIGER NIGHT 2020 CHAIRS Paddle” brought in almost $30,000 for Rebecca Shah, Laura Bowen, faculty professional development. These Jana White, Stacey Vallejo funds arrived just in time to prepare for these unprecedented times—with 100% of faculty engaging this summer in online workshops, courses, and expert tutorials in the name of adapting curricula to the evolving educational landscape. Areas of focus included assessment, student engagement, online project design, technology integration, and remote reading resources. We’re incredibly thankful for the faculty’s commitment to providing the highest caliber of education to our children, and sincerely appreciate all who helped contribute to the cause.

FACES OF THE PARENT ASSOCIATION: Parent Profiles

Dr. Christopher Rehm Spouse: Dr. Kris Rehm Children: Jackson & Lucas (’23), Grant & Logan (’25)

In addition to your PA involvement, you served on the Parent Committee for the Southern Association of Independent Schools Accreditation Survey during the 2019-2020 school year. One of the four major areas of the self-study focused on embracing diversity and supporting identity and inclusion. Where do you feel the PA has a role in helping to continue to make progress in this area across our community?

The Parent Association, in collaboration with the school, can and should continue to push us all to learn, reflect, and grow. This is a unique time in the history of the United States. Educational

institutions have the opportunity to take the lead in educating, informing, and creating forums for honest and open dialogue to provide the environment for each and every one of us as parents, educators, and students to move forward in a direction that is not the same as the past, but better than the past. The Parent Association and school can capitalize on the momentum. Things like recommended reading lists, book clubs, monthly speakers, and implicit bias education are just a few examples of ways the PA and the school can ensure that the Ensworth Community enters the summer of 2021 better members of the larger American Society. This will position parents, educators, and our children to be active participants and lead the change that is needed.

Congratulations on your recent promotion to Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer with Lifepoint Health! Could you share a little bit about the dyad leadership model you all have implemented as an institution, and how it’s perhaps shaped your perspective on teamwork/collaboration? How can we apply its lessons to our community of parents, students, and educators?

Being in a Dyad Partnership at work is the epitome of recognizing that everything we do in life is a team sport. No single individual knows everything or can do everything by himself or herself. Michelle Watson is my Dyad partner at LifePoint Health. She is the Chief Nursing

2020–2021 BOARD MEMBERS President Elizabeth Gerken President-Elect Kirsten Crosby Immediate Past President Barbara Smith Secretary Sara Perry Treasurer Mike Haney Treasurer-Elect Teresa Broyles-Aplin Parent Education Chair Lori Glenn Parent Education Chair-Elect Shanna Belott Communications Chair Katie Porterfield Communications Chair-Elect Nancy Keen Palmer Fundraising Chair Jim Boosalis Fundraising Chair-Elect Ruth Coppeans Auction Liaisons Camilla Jackson, Monica Michalec Lower School Rep Amanda Graff Lower School Rep-Elect Corinne Kidd Middle School Rep Mina Patel Middle School Rep-Elect Stephanie Bailey High School Rep Delia Darst High School Rep-Elect Jennifer Borden Volunteer Coordinator Ashley Owen Volunteer Coordinator-Elect Shannon McIntosh Arts Council Chair Pam Humbert Arts Council Chair-Elect Larissa Polkowski HS New Parent Support Chair Raja Clark LS/MS New Parent Support Chair Jessica Baba At-Large Reps Jason Bates, Son-Serae Batten, Denise Boosalis, Morris Jamison, Lee Schaefer 2020 SUMMER | 21

COMMUNITY

FACES OF THE PARENT ASSOCIATION: Parent Profiles (continued)

Officer while I am the Chief Medical Officer. LifePoint made the commitment at the senior leadership level to create the dyad model to highlight the importance of teamwork in delivering the highest quality care that every patient deserves.

Education is very similar in my mind. The school administration team has spent years learning about education theory and further developing that knowledge.

Teachers dedicated their careers to be the best educators possible. In addition, many of our administrators and teachers are also parents which brings additional perspective, knowledge, and insights to the table. Lastly, the community of parents at Ensworth is an incredibly talented group of parents. We bring a wealth of collective experience on parenting and children. In addition, we have experts among us from a diverse training and career perspective to assist and lend insight into any domain

Dr. Kiabe Allen

Spouse: Dr. Brandon Allen Children: Myles (’29); Amare, Grade 8 at Martin Luther King Magnet

22 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

we could think of relevant to Ensworth’s near term to long term strategic planning.

Bringing all of these groups together to work in partnership focused on what’s best for the students makes for a powerful formula to drive improvements moving forward.

Tell us about your family. Having two sets of twin boys must make for an interesting dynamic!

I guess you could say our family started with funny coincidences that were in pairs and continued with that theme through today! Starting with the obvious. Kris and Christopher Rehm. Kris, my wife, was born on April 4th (4/4) and I was born on November 11th (11/11). We both finished residency with plans to practice and potentially do something within healthcare beyond bedside care. We find ourselves about twenty years after finishing

You were one of five At-Large Representatives on the 2019-2020 Parent Association Board. At-Large board members represent our parent body “at large” and offer their perspectives and voices as part of the PA leadership. Did you enjoy this role? Tell us about your experience.

I have always had an interest in becoming more involved with the Parent Association but never felt that I could commit the time needed to be an engaged participant. Being an At-Large Board member allowed me to learn more about the Parent Association’s role in the Ensworth community, the inner workings of Ensworth, and the principles that guide the decision making at Ensworth—without a huge time commitment. Meeting parents from a variety of backgrounds was a wonderful experience; it was great to see that the Board continues to pursue a greater representation of the diversity Ensworth has embraced at large.

I enjoyed hearing the opinions of this group and getting to know many of them as individuals in and outside of meetings.

residency with careers in healthcare that look very similar to our dreams with emphasis on systems of care, operations, and doing what we can to put the front line caregivers in the best position to deliver high quality care to every patient they see.

We are blessed with two sets of fraternal twin boys just under three years apart.

Luckily, we had just a few short months of four kids in diapers! Having two sets of twins has shaped who we are as a family.

Every decision is in the context of that decision’s impact on someone else. No one in our family really gets their way, we try to negotiate an agreeable middle ground.

In trying times like we are living through now, we appreciate how our twins are best friends. It is never 100% all roses, but the built-in buddy has far outweighed the builtin nemesis!

From Tornados, to COVID-19, to police brutality and the increasing momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, this has been a monumental year to date. How is your family doing, how supported by the Ensworth community do you and your family feel, and what role would you like to see the PA play in efforts to increase diversity, equity and inclusion moving forward?

The world has certainly changed in ways that none of us could have imagined just a few months ago. A week before the pandemic took hold in Nashville, we were terrified by the tornadoes. All was well in our household, so we focused on donating both resources and time to help relieve the plight of those who weren’t as fortunate as we were. Our boys were happy to participate as they regularly engage in serving others at Ensworth. One short week later, the COVID-19 pandemic came to the forefront, and things drastically changed for all of us.

As health care professionals, Brandon and I both have had to adjust to many changes in delivering patient care along with helping

COMMUNITY our children navigate remote learning.

Thanks to their efforts, and those of their teachers, our boys were able to finish the school year strong.

The recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery have sparked anger, fear and optimism in our household.

Brandon and I have always had concerns about our boys as they develop into young, intelligent Black men; the challenges ahead of them appear long and daunting.

They both feel supported in their current school environments, but are not ignorant to the issues race and ethnicity bring with them. We remain hopeful about the future for them and countless others because of the support for equal opportunity, justice, and protection of Black lives many CEOs, people of prominence, and leaders all over the world have recently shared. The Black Lives Matter Movement was started many years ago as a peaceful effort to educate others about the issues of social injustice and inequality in the Black community.

The worldwide momentum it has recently gained may be the spark needed to promote real change in local, national and global communities. We can only hope.

Amare and Myles have always felt included and respected at Ensworth. We have been

Dr. Stacey Vallejo

Spouse: Dr. Victor Vallejo, Children: Brayden (’26), Cooper (’28), Delaney (’30) Tell us a little bit about your job as a pulmonologist/intensivist and what it has been like working on the front lines during a global pandemic?

I work at St. Thomas West as a pulmonologist/intensivist and have worked there for over 10 years. I see patients in my clinic to assist with the treatment of COPD or asthma, evaluate shortness of

fortunate to connect with other families that have treated our children as their own; nothing feels better than knowing our children are in good hands. I appreciate the efforts Ensworth has taken to diversify the student body so that anyone would feel comfortable going to school here. I do think that we have more work to do and believe one of the most successful ways to diversify a school is to diversify the staff. More recruitment of teachers and students of color is paramount to promoting diversity. The world is changing, and our children need to interact with other children and adults from different backgrounds. This type of exposure will help us all to not only become tolerant of our differences, but to develop a deeper understanding of these differences so we can view life from more than one perspective.

As a psychiatrist, tell us what’s emerging in the realm of mental health and wellness in response to these tumultuous times?

Since I moved to Nashville, I have worked for Centerstone, a community mental health organization that works largely with underserved populations. Under normal circumstances, I spend a great deal of time with children and their families, but since COVID-19 hit, I have missed seeing

breath, and diagnose lung cancer. I also see patients in the hospital who are admitted for various lung issues. The most intense part of my job occurs when I am working twelve-hour shifts in the Medical Intensive Care Unit where critically ill patients are on ventilators and medications to help their blood pressure. I have always found this part of my work to be the most challenging but also the most rewarding. The coronavirus pandemic has taken this aspect of my work to the next level. COVID 19 patients become critically ill very quickly and in a way that we as medical professionals have not seen before. My partners and I are learning daily and doing our best to care for these patients with supportive equipment and available treatments. And of course, an added stress is the chance to become infected yourself.

I have been fortunate to have enough Personal Protective Equipment at all times and amazing staff working with me. I have truly been inspired by everyone around me.

How do you balance your job with your volunteer efforts at school and why do you think it’s important to be involved at your kids’ school?

Since I started my job 10 years ago, I have

my patients and their families face-to-face.

I am grateful that technology has allowed us to engage each other through Telehealth visits. Mental health services in general have become more challenging as we try to address the increase in demand as people have become more isolated, depressed and fearful about the future. Yet, access to care has also been greater as people can have appointments in their own living rooms; some of these individuals couldn’t make it to the clinic consistently due to lack of transportation, financial problems or difficulty getting time off from work. As a community mental health organization, we also serve as a bridge to food and other services our patients might need during this time. We encourage self-care and inquire about the well-being of all family members in the home; when necessary, we make appropriate referrals for them as well.

So while I am sometimes frustrated with spending more time at home when I would love to be sitting on the beach somewhere, I am always grateful and humbled by the resilience that my patients have. In spite of what they are facing right now, they continue to push through, and they inspire me to keep on pushing through too.

made many changes to my schedule to accommodate my role as a mom. At the beginning of each year, I go through the calendar to make sure I can participate in some of my kids’ activities. I enjoy being involved with my kids’ school because I love meeting their classmates, the teachers and other parents. I also feel that my involvement allows me to be closer to my kids by seeing their experiences at school.

How are you and your family handling the coronavirus pandemic? What role do you think the PA could serve in supporting families during these times?

I will certainly admit that the coronavirus pandemic and all of its effects—a busy MICU, distance learning, staying at home, wearing masks and social distancing—has been a challenge for us. I usually tell people we are just taking it “one day at a time.” I appreciate everything the PA does for me as a parent throughout the year. The PA could support families during this unusual time through texts, cards or emails; communication that I have received throughout this time has meant so much to me.

2020 SUMMER | 23

COMMUNITY A

F

B

ENSWORTH

Lower/Middle School

EVENTS January–March 2020

D C G

E

24 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

COMMUNITY H

I

J

K

PICTURED A, B Grade 2 Poetry Slam C Grade 4 Harris Hillman Ice Skating D, E Grade 5 Book Drive F, G Grade 8 Ellis Island Simulation H, I, J Grade 2 Pioneer Day K, L Grade 7 Civil Rights Timeline

L

2020 SUMMER | 25

COMMUNITY A

B

ENSWORTH

High School

EVENTS January–March 2020

PICTURED A, B Service Learning C Dance Team visits RG Campus D Encore A Cappella Competition E, F Senior Lunch G, H, I Girls’ Basketball/Tiger Walk at RG C

D

26 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

J, K Jimmy Pankow of rock band Chicago visits HS Music classes

COMMUNITY E

F

G

H

I

J

K

2020 SUMMER | 27

COMMUNITY

CLASS OF 2020 GRADUATION Saturday, July 25, 2020 • Frist Campus (Series of 12 ceremonies organized by advisory groups)

28 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

COMMUNITY

ENSWORTH CLASS OF 2020 Gabriel Dov Abram Charlotte Anne Alarcon James Callaghan Archdeacon Polly McBride Bass Anisa Bella Bhatt James Briggs Blevins Thomas Alexander Bond Bry ’Nhyia Arieanna Brazier Malcolm Montgomery Bryan Gerard Milton Bullock, Jr. Kate Orgill Buttarazzi Andrew Wright Byers Jessica Rose Calloway Annabella Caroline Chancey Lucas Chaveyriat Kallie Jean Chelsvig Paige Merritt Chestler Nyro Shaw Child Roman Shaw Child Emily Brooks Clayton Carla Beth Cohen Carrie Anne Cohen Evan Porter Cooley Henry LeCrann Corwin Ryan Austin Crants Nabeeh Omar Daouk Jackson Arthur DeFrancesco Lee Franklin Denson Ella Grace Dillard Elizabeth Kate Downey Gabriel Tucker Duvall Grace Elizabeth Edwards Carrington Frist Elcan Virginia Love Elliott Kifle Tesfay Estifanos Alaina Alexandra Ewing Christianna Maria Ferrari Sydney Lynn Fowlkes Thomas Martin Gaither

Nsia Venesa Malikka Ruth Tenesi Gittens Mary Grace Glattes Bennett Peter Goguen Mary Hayes Greer Caroline Ellis Hardie Austin RTB Henderson Caleb Alexander Horton Catriona Morgan Mary Howard Elizabeth Gray Hubbard Lila Hope Hunt Lucas Rivers Ingram Elijah Ahmand Jenkins Johnnie Akil King Sara Olivia Kirkham Rushik Kisan Samuel Theodore Krupp Chaz Harrison Lanier Mary Sparks Lavey Keshawn Demer Lawrence My-Lan Natalie Le Olivia Abigail Lilley Lillian Anzhelika Lucas Charles Bergan Mahanes Genevieve McDermott Mahoney Jude Gabriel Maloy Lily Elizabeth Martin Jake Michael Martinez Derrick James Mason II Julian Patrick Maxwell Luke Allen Mayer Jerome James McAllister III Gabriel Lewis McDaniel Katherine Barrett McFerrin Audrey Caroline McGraw Eliza Katherine Milne Shealy Eleanor Mischinski Max Richard Moeller Julia Catherine Moody

Lillian Elizabeth Moon Neely Jean Moorer Anne Elizabeth Morgan Sarah Frances Morris Colin Andrew Murray John David Noonan Rylie Brynn O’Neil Elliston Summer Paavola Katie Rose Pacconi Jake Lindahl Pagach Lillian Pierce Pankow Macallan Marshall Parikh Paul Youngjae Park Kaitlin Alexis Patel Sara Margaret Pickrell Cordon Jane Phillips Samuel Patrick Prentice Zachery S. Ravanpay Joshua Eugene Reid Dante Sebastian Rodriguez Elizabeth Hayden Rowland Ari Simon Ruchman Trenton Samuel Sanchez Ava Brooks Saponari Ethan Lynn Sipe Tyler Jacob Spissu Caroline Elizabeth Stanley Laura Macie Teaster Emilija Larisa Vanagunas Jane Anna Vickery Dontavia Shenieria Waggoner Madeline Louise Wall Martha Lucille Wallace Aiden Charles Wildman Jordan Lindsey Williams William Morgan Willis William Henderick Wright Dominic Malik Wynn Jordan Olivia Yi

2020 SUMMER | 29

COMMUNITY

GRADE 8 CLOSING EXERCISES Friday, July 24, 2020 • Frist Campus (Series of 12 ceremonies organized by advisory groups)

30 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

COMMUNITY

ENSWORTH CLASS OF 2024 Lauren Blair Alexander Linden Barlow Alldredge James Carew Armstrong Bridget Leigh Bailey Lola Grace Bird Watts Werkineh Bond Kathleen Virginia Bottorff Sullivan Harkness Brown Abigail Elizabeth Brunson Lila Jane Butler Jaloni Nicole Cambridge Jack Ezra Cash Mary Leland Champion Savannah Rhea Cherry Corinne Jean Chidsey William Won Chung Laela Jasmin Benchekroun Clark Emma Chloe Conk Braden Paul Cooke Townes Duncan Coppeans Albert Jackson Dale V Maya N. Dandekar Peter Wise Darst II Giselle Bleu DavÊ Addelyn Joanne DeCoster Lana Camille Dismukes John Timothy Fleming Reese Whitman Fogaros Brian Peter Fong Charles Joseph Gaither William Mason Garner

Camilla Marguerite Garza Claire Ellen Gracey Addison Virginia Hartle Grace Elisabeth Hasselbeck Lucas Matteo Herring Hunter Olivia Hitchens Isabella Beatriz Hodes Michael S. Hughes Margaret Saunders Hull Owen Thomas Jackoboice Tanner Louise James Noelle Alexandria Jamison James Stutzner Johnson Jay Willard Johnson Cooper Landon Jones Theodor Robert Koehner II Grace Elizabeth Lane Natalie Marie Linn Ella Geneva Lucas Chloe Elise Lucy Cooper James Materazzi Lee Steven Mattoon Katherine Paige McGehee Quintin Alexander Miles Aaron Christopher Mixon Julia Jensen Moore Blythe Lovvorn Needham Estelle Marie Newell Olivia Arden Olson Chokash Nanaiya Owns Different Horses

Juliana Shyla Peak Harrison James Phillips Lola Elizabeth Price Dean Miles Ralsky William Spencer Rice Trevor John Richter Kenzie Marina Robbins Ty Austin Robinson Nathaniel Boone Sadler Eli Edward Schuh Hailey Jane Scott Grier Headrick Short Stanhope Alexander Sifford Oden Jennings Sohr Kavana Acharya Somayaji Benjamin Phillip Sonkin Noah Clay Sparrow Cates Anne Armour Spitzer Jayden Willow Surratt Akshay Karthik Venkatesh Varun Krishna Venkatesh Anderson Paul Waller Grant Steven Watts Alara Sophia Weitkamp Declan Bailey Werthan Meredith Malyn Whitson Caroline Alexa Williams Hudson Cannon Wilt Riley Fontaine Woolwine Howell Alexander Wright Spencer Rowan Yu 2020 SUMMER | 31

ATHLETICS

MIDDLE SCHOOL

HIGHLIGHTS

32 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

ATHLETICS 2019

|

2020

MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS *Due to the closure of campuses in spring, some sports were not able to complete their seasons

SWIMMING

• 4th place overall girls • 8th place overall boys • HVAC Results: 4th Place Girls Medley Relay: Leah Jackson, Gracie Corn, Elizabeth McWilliams, Kenzie Robbins, 6th Place Boys Medley Relay: Noah Sparrow, James Johnson, Elliott Darr, Akshay Venkatesh, 5th place 200 Free: Selin Weitkamp, 3rd place 200 IM: Leah Jackson, 8th place 200 IM: Kenzie Robbins, 8th place 200 IM: James Johnson, 3rd place 50 Free: Elizabeth McWilliams, 5th place 100 Butterfly: Elizabeth McWilliams, 4th place 100 Butterfly: Elliott Darr, 4th 200 Free relay: Sidney Tompkins, Ella Lucas, Selin Weitkamp, Gracie Corn, 6th 200 Free relay: Noah Sparrow, James Johnson, Varun Venkatesh, Elliott Darr, 2nd place 100 Backstroke: Leah Jackson, 2nd place 100 backstroke: Elliott Darr, 7th place 100 Breaststroke: Gracie Corn, 8th place 100 Breaststroke: Selin Weitkamp, 2nd place 400 Free relay: Leah Jackson, Elizabeth McWilliams, Sidney Tompkins, Kenzie Robbins • MTHSSA Meet Results: 4th place Girls 200 Medley Relay:Leah Jackson, Alex Glenn, Elizabeth McWilliams, Kenzie Robbins, 2nd place 200 Free: Leah Jackson, 8th place 200 IM: Alex Glenn, 5th place 50 Free: Elizabeth McWilliams, 9th place 100 Free: Alex Glenn, 9th place 100 Free: Elliott Darr, 4th place 200 Free relay: Elizabeth McWilliams, Sidney Tompkins, Alex Glenn, Leah Jackson, 5th place 100 Backstroke: Leah Jackson, 11th place 100 Backstroke: Elizabeth McWilliams, 7th place 100 Backstroke: Elliott Darr, 10th place 100 Breaststroke: Gracie Corn

BASKETBALL

6th Grade Basketball Boys: The 6th-grade boys’ basketball team swept through the regular season with an undefeated record and a 31 point average margin of victory. This talented group of young men continued their dominance as they won the HVAC Jr. Tournament defeating opponents by an average of 26 points. The team was led by the strong backcourt of Rico Edwards Jr., Justin Hopkins, and Terrance Reynolds. Key contributors included: Isaiah Batten, Blake Surratt, Nelson Butler, Cullen Womble, Jackson McGuffin, Edward Coppeans, and Cameron Obee.

Girls: The 6th-grade girls’ basketball team had a very strong season, finishing the regular season 11-1 and with an overall record of 12-2. Despite some adversity with injury and sickness during the semifinals of the tournament, the Tigers showed resilience as they fought hard to advance to the HVAC Jr Championship. The Tigers finished their season as the HVAC Jr. Division Runner Up after a tough battle against CPA. The team was led in scoring by point guard Nori Jamison, and Gabbi Bullock led the team in rebounds.

Grades 7–8 Basketball Boys: HVAC Semi-Finalist season record 13-6. The Middle School varsity boys’ team had a great season and showed improvement throughout. When the HVAC tournament started, the Tigers made it to the semifinals as a 5-seed to take on the Number 1 seeded CPA. After a hard-fought battle, the Tigers came just short of an upset, losing by four points. The team was led by Watts Bond, Duncan Coppeans, Robert Koehner, and Braden Cooke. Key contributors included:

Will Garner, Declan Werthan, Jack Fleming, Hudson Wilt, Jonah Biller, Logan Miller, Sam Haley, and Landon Sullivan.

Girls: HVAC Runner-Up - season record 16-5 The Middle School varsity girls team had a strong season, starting off by winning the Overbook Classic, beating Rose Park 51-45 in the championship game. The alltournament team consisted of Camilla Garza, Noelle Jamison, and Jayden Surratt as the tournament MVP. The girls finished as runners-up in the Brentwood Middle Holiday Classic, losing by one point in the championship game. The team lost the HVAC championship game by only four points. The team captains and leaders were Camilla Garza and Jayden Surratt. Other key contributors were Noelle Jamison, Meredith Whitson, Reese Fogaros, and Sullivan Brown

WRESTLING

The 2019 Ensworth Middle School Wrestling Tigers had an exciting season. Led by eighthgraders William Chung, A.J. Dale, Peter Darst, Jack Fleming, Michael Hughes, Owen Jackoboice, Jay Johnson, Oden Sohr, Grant Watts, Declan Werthan, and Spencer Yu, the Tigers finished fourth in the HVAC tournament.

Tournament placers were Bishop Starling (2nd Place, 92 lbs.), Grant Watts (3rd Place, 138 lbs.), Spencer Yu (1st Place, 148 lbs.), and Jack Fleming (1st Place, 158 lbs.).

2020 SUMMER | 33

ATHLETICS

HIGH SCHOOL

HIGHLIGHTS

34 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

ATHLETICS 2019

|

2020

HIGH SCHOOL WINTER/SPRING HIGHLIGHTS

Girls’ Basketball State Champions *Due to the closure of campuses in spring, some sports were not able to complete their seasons

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

• TSSAA Division II Class AA State Champions • Finished season undefeated: 26-0 • Tied the school record with 29 wins • Tennessean Sports Awards: Team of the Year • Dontavia Waggoner ’20: 2020 TSSAA Miss Basketball Winner, 2020 TSSAA State Tournament MVP, 2019 Holiday Shootout AllTournament Team, Division II Class AA Middle Region Player of the Year, 2020 Tennessean AllMidstate Girls’ Basketball Team (1st Team) 2019- 2020 TSWA All-State HS Girls’ Basketball All-State Team, The TN Report AllState Basketball Team, Nominated Tennessean Sports Award -Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year, Named to Tennessean All-Decade Girls’ Basketball Team • Annabel Frist ’21: The TN Report All-State Basketball Team • Kaiya Wynn ’21: 2020 TSSAA Miss Basketball Finalist, TSSAA Division II Class AA 1st Team All-Region, 2020 TSSAA AllState Tournament Team, 2020 Tennessean All-Midstate Girls’ Basketball Team (1st Team), 2019-2020 TSWA, All-State HS Girls’ Basketball All-State Team , The TN Report All-State Basketball Team, Nominated Tennessean Sports Award - Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year, 2019 Holiday Shootout Tournament MVP • Kennedy Cambridge ’22: The TN Report All-State Basketball Team • Jaloni Cambridge ’24: Division II Class AA 1st Team All-Region, 2020 TSSAA All-State Tournament Team , 2020 Tennessean AllMidstate Girls’ Basketball Team (2nd Team) 2019- 2020 TSWA All-State High School Girls’ Basketball All-State Team, The TN Report AllState Basketball Team

• Coach Mary Taylor Cowles: 2020 Tennessean All-Midstate Coach of the Year & Tennessean Sports Awards Coach of the Year

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

• Chaz Lanier ’20: 2020 TSSAA Mr. Basketball Finalist, Nominated Tennessean Sports Award - Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year, Division II Class AA Middle Region Player of the Year, Tennessean All-Midstate Boys’ Basketball Team (1st Team), Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) All-State Boys’ Basketball Team, 2019 Hoopfest All Tournament Team (1st Team) • Dominic Wynn ’20: Division II Class AA 1st Team All-Region, 2019 Hoopfest AllTournament Team (Honorable Mention)

SWIMMING & DIVING

• 3rd place in the combined State Championship.

• Individually, the Ensworth Boys’ and Girls’ Swimming & Diving teams both finished in 4th place at the TISCA State Championship Meet • Girls 200 Free: Kallie Chelsvig ’20 (2nd) • Girls 500 Free: Kallie Chelsvig ’20 (1st) • Boys 500 Free: Jake Mason ’22 (2nd) • Boys 100 Backstroke: Rob McCall ’21(2nd) • Boys 400 Free Relay: Noah Lucy, Jake Mason ’22, Patrick France ’21, Rob McCall ’21, Colin Murray ’20 (3rd) • Kallie Chelsvig ’20: 500 Freestyle State Champion, Automatic All-American in the 200 Freestyle and 500 Freestyle, Tennessean All-Midstate High School Girls’ Swimming Team (500 Freestyle), Nominated Tennessean

Sports Awards - Girls’ Swimmer of the Year • Jake Mason ’22: Consideration All-American in the 500 Freestyle, Tennessean All-Midstate HS Boys’ Swim Team (200IM, 500 Freestyle), Nominated Tennessean Sports Award - Boys’ Swimmer of the Year • Rob McCall ’21: Tennessean All-Midstate HS Boys’ Swimming Team (100 backstroke), Nominated Tennessean Sports Award - Boys’ Swimmer of the Year

WRESTLING

• Individual State Tournament: Toleo Malone ‘21 (220 lbs.) earned the 4th place medal.

• Toleo Malone ’21: Tennessean Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Division II-AA All-State Wrestling Team, 220 weight class

BASEBALL

• Devin Obee ’21: National HS Baseball Coaches Association TN Preseason All-American Team

GIRLS’ LACROSSE

• 2020 Tennessee Girls Lacrosse Association (TGLA) All-Region Team: Lucy Butler ’21, Carrie Elcan ’20, Annabel Frist ’21, Izze Gill ’22, Adelaide Mason ’22, Sara Pickrell ’20 • 2020 Tennessee Girls Lacrosse Association (TGLA) All-State Team: Carrie Elcan ’20, Annabel Frist ’21, Adelaide Mason ’22, Sara Pickrell ’20

2020 SUMMER | 35

ATHLETICS

36 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

ATHLETICS 2019

|

2020

H I G H S C H O O L AT H L E T I C S HENDRIX FOUNDATION ATHLETIC AWARD RECIPIENT Sara Pickrell ’20

In order to qualify for the Hendrix Foundation Athletic Award female seniors must compete in all 12 athletic seasons, have a four-year cumulative unweighted GPA of 87 or higher, and receive individual All-Region or All-State Honors in at least two sports.

ROBERT INMAN AWARD for Athletic Participation

Robert Inman, a coach and teacher at Ensworth for 33 years, instituted the ideals of Ensworth participation.

Mr. Inman coached four athletic seasons for over 30 consecutive years and positively influenced the lives of thousands of students.

The following seniors participated in at least 11 athletic seasons and received the Robert Inman Award for Participation: Paige Chestler Katie-Rose Pacconi Sara Pickrell Cal Archdeacon

Gerard Bullock Caleb Horton Jude Maloy Jake McAllister

Gabriel McDaniel Jake Pagach Ari Ruchman

The following juniors participated in at least eight athletic seasons and received the Robert Inman Award for Participation: Annabel Frist Gabby White

Fred Butler Toleo Malone Andre Turrentine

William Vreeland Andrew Yu

CLASS OF 2020 COLLEGE SIGNEES Cal Archdeacon - Amherst College (Football)

Lilly Lucas - Kenyon College (Soccer)

Gerard Bullock - University of Dayton (Football)

Lily Martin - Emory University (Volleyball)

Drew Byers - Notre Dame University (Baseball)

Julian Maxwell - University of California Santa Barbara (Golf)

Kallie Chelsvig - Notre Dame University (Swimming)

Mac Parikh - Miami University of Ohio (Hockey)

Evan Cooley - Furman University (Football)

Ethan Sipe - Dartmouth College (Football)

Nsia Gittens - Southern Illinois University (Volleyball)

Dontavia Waggoner - North Carolina State University (Basketball)

Austin Henderson - University of Minnesota (Football)

Jordan Williams - Pepperdine University (Swimming)

Caleb Horton - Austin Peay State University (Football)

Morgan Willis - Berry College (Baseball)

Chaz Lanier - University of North Florida (Basketball)

William Wright - University of Tennessee (Football)

Keshawn Lawrence - University of Tennessee (Football) 2020 SUMMER | 37

ARTS

38 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

ARTS

ENSWOR TH prese nts Scene Summaries: The Philadelphia by David Ives introduces a man who realizes, with the help of a friend and a waitress that he has awoken in ‘a Philadelphia’ and will not be able to get anything he asks for as long as he remains in it.

Lost by Mary Louis Wilson Two women of a certain age prepare for a night out at the theater but only when the women are up-side-down can they remember anything – from where they are going, to where their purses are.

Middle School Spring Play February 22, 2020

Our Middle School winter play this year was a collection of short one-act plays by various playwrights. Each play had a very small cast (most just two or three actors) and minimal set and costume design requirements, so the focus was really on the wordplay and story delivery within each scene.

Three of our pieces; The Philadelphia, Words, Words, Words, and Sure Thing are from the David Ives collection of short plays called All in the Timing, but that title could apply to all the scenes we chose. These were comedic stories in which timing and subtlety were so important, and our small cast size gave us the chance to explore those skills in depth.

Sprinkled among our published One Acts were three short plays written by our AP French students at the High School. Dr. Teresa Todd challenged her students to write plays (in French!) for us to perform. Our middle schoolers had so much fun experimenting with how to tell a story when neither we nor our audience understand the language! These short (less than three minute) scenes quickly became everyone’s favorite moments of our show. Dr. Todd came to several rehearsals to help us with our French pronunciation, and we were all delighted to see the AP French students in our audience for our performance.

While I had a chance to work closely with the cast of each of these scenes each week, the students were highly motivated and came up with most of their best moments on their own. Their delivery was funny, perceptive, and intelligent, and each student had plenty of time on stage to develop his/ her character – so we had a lively time together.

The French plays made us aware of how much we can communicate nonverbally. David Ives’ plays made us think about words and rhythm and what we can do with them. Sharon Creech and Mary Louise Wilson’s plays allowed us to focus on relationships and how we change ourselves for each other. All of our plays made us laugh together every day.

Hope Moeller

Le Manchot Et Le Petrel by Caroline Humphrey, Claire Humphrey in which a small penguin asks her mother why she cannot fly and her mother takes her ‘flying’ with the fish in the sea.

Words, Words, Words by David Ives imagines the conversations between three monkeys typing to infinity to sooner or later produce Hamlet.

Le Chameau et le Ver by Gigi Elliott, Shealy Mischiniski, and Elizabeth Rowland in which a worm chastises a camel for his rudeness and reminds him to be kind to the high and the lowly.

The Raven by Sharon Creech spoofs the publishing office of the famous poem The Raven

by Edgar Allen Poe and how such a poem might be received by an editor today.

Petite Nicolas by Gigi Elliott, Caroline Humphrey, Claire Humphrey, Ian Jaffe, Shealy Mischiniski, Elizabeth Rowland, and Lillie Waddell in which the fate of a teacher’s reputation with her supervisor relies on the least engaged member of her class answering one question correctly – and the antics of the class to help her answer successfully.

Laughs by Mary Louis Wilson details the challenges of a stage manager of a summer stock theater as he navigates the complicated relationship between two of his actors with competing egos.

Sure Thing by David Ives in which two strangers meet in a restaurant and are interrupted by a bell each time one of them says the wrong thing until they find themselves through to falling for each other in a Groundhog Day kind of a way.

Middle School Drama Director & Grade 2 Faculty 2020 SUMMER | 39

ARTS

40 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

ARTS

EN S WO RTH p res e n ts

High School Musical March 5–7, 2020

In 2009, I had the joy of seeing a pre-Broadway

The show has wit, passion, love, and quirky ancestors

Chicago tryout of The Addams Family. I loved much

returned from the grave. All the wacky characters

about it and found some things too bizarre even for

with all their beloved oddities grace our stage, and

the Addams crew. I vividly remember picking up my

there is plenty of weirdness and humor. But a show

tickets that afternoon at the theatre for the evening’s

like this doesn’t work without heart, and this show

show and passing three gentlemen energetically

has it. At its core, The Addams Family is just that—a

talking about the show as they entered the theatre.

family. While I hope you laugh (and maybe shudder,

They were the show’s creators, and at that stage, they

at times), I also hope you invest in the story of this

were changing the show daily. They would watch the

family, at a moment of letting go, when the roles of

show nightly with 1,500 audience members, gauge

parents and children shift. We all experience these

their reactions, then alter the show to strengthen

shifts, and so must the Addamses.

it. This continued until they hit Broadway. If you happen to catch any of the early versions on youtube,

It is little wonder to me that The Addams Family has

you will note much has changed.

ranked as the most-produced high school musical for the past few years, and I am pleased we present

What has not changed is the humor and love of the

it for you tonight. As bizarre as our Addams friends

Addams family. When the original musical was

may seem, I hope they shed light on the human

created, the Addams estate charged the artists with

experience—an experience (if we’re lucky) of wonder,

creating an original story inspired solely by the

trust, empathy, and unassailable devotion to and

original one-panel comics, not the television series.

from those we call our family.

And so they did!

Shawn Knight Director

2020 SUMMER | 41

FACULTY ACADEMICS

An Interview with

D av i d Whi t fi eld DI R ECTOR OF COM M U N IT Y ENGAGEM EN T & I NCLUSION

Share a little about your educational journey and your history with Ensworth. I joined the Ensworth community in 2006. Since that time, I have been the Seminar Department Chair and have taught in both the History and English departments. I created and taught elective courses in both the History of the Civil Rights Movement 1954–1968 and African-American Literature, both of which I teach currently. It has always been important for me to teach students about America’s challenge to get better in the arena of race relations and the quest for a more perfect union in general. We deal with tough and sensitive questions daily as we explore history and literature. I have also taught Russian Literature, British Literature, Short Stories, World History, and Contemporary Issues. This is a great time for Harkness instruction and critical thinking.

I’ve been in independent school education for a long time.

I was the first African American faculty member hired at Montgomery Bell Academy, and I spent 12 years at MBA in a variety of roles: history teacher, Director of Counseling Services, Head of Model UN, and Head of the Advisory Program.

What was the genesis of this new role of Director of Community Engagement and Inclusion? In 2017, David Braemer and I entered into discussions about my playing more of an expanded role at Ensworth. In 2019, our SAIS accreditation visiting team recommended that we create an official position to spearhead our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts, and I was appointed to this leadership role earlier this spring.

What do you see as opportunities for growth for Ensworth in the area of community engagement and inclusion? Ensworth is an American institution, and America is an evolving nation. We remain in pursuit of a more perfect union. We are always seeking improvement as an institution, and right now, independent schools across the country are being challenged to improve in our efforts 42 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

to create a stronger sense of belonging for our students in more systematic and concrete ways. This is an opportune time for Ensworth to become assertive in our efforts to meet these challenges. Some of the modest efforts we have made have helped other independent schools in the southeast to grow. We haven’t been afraid to open our doors to students of color and put them in prominent roles, from quarterback to student government president. And we can still get better.

Tell us about your involvement with other community organizations and how those relationships have extended to Ensworth.

Thirty years ago, I co-founded and became Executive Director of Time to Rise, Inc., which provides summer camps for at-risk youth that offer academic and enrichment opportunities along with a character education initiative. Time to Rise helps build bridges between independent schools and the community and operates on four different campuses now: Ensworth, Harpeth Hall, MBA, and we have an ELL program at Harding Academy.

Then in 2009, we established the Kids Academy program because we had an eager population of high school students who were very capable and interested in service opportunities in the summer. With Kids Academy starting at the high school in Bellevue, we identified rural communities to work with instead of urban areas. We train high school students to be the teachers and counselors and utilize our facilities to host these camps in the summer.

We developed Tearing Down the Walls (TDW), a race and leadership conference for independent school students in the Southeast. The purpose of the conference is to afford students from diverse racial and socio-economic backgrounds the opportunity to become leaders in the arena of race relations and inclusion. This year, the conference was supposed to be held at Ensworth with 25 premier schools from throughout the southeast, but we had to cancel due to COVID. The conference was held at Vanderbilt for the first two years.

FACULTY

TDW is designed to create a safe environment to have constructive conversations about complicated topics, specifically race. The idea is to make sure students from all walks of life can come together, talk, disagree, and understand that it’s ok to disagree. We exchange ideas and opinions but insist on civil engagement. The goal is to create a haven for fair-minded people who want to talk about race, recognizing there will be some discomfort, but no one will be penalized for not being as far along in the journey as someone else.

We have established a TDW club at Ensworth, and we hope to eventually have these clubs throughout schools in the southeast. As we build upon our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts, this club will become more instrumental in creating constructive, peaceful, and healthy discourse between students about all kinds of issues. And we won’t confine the focus to just dialogue but extend it to sharing in cultural experiences together.

What are some of your goals/priorities for the coming year? I’d like to facilitate much more systematic training for faculty to be more inclusive and culturally sensitive through professional development opportunities. I will be working with Dr. Rich Milner to develop more projects that raise the level of cultural awareness, and some of these will also be woven into student life. We also need to be much more intentional about building relationships with sources that can help us identify teaching faculty of color, which will include attending fairs in different parts of the country and building alliances with institutions and other organizations so when positions do arise, we can tap into these sources to ensure we have applicants of color.

I’ll be working with the Ensworth Parent Association to host monthly lunch conversations with parents and help new parents transition to the school. We’ll have roundtable discussions on what the transition to the Ensworth culture is like. We’d also like to offer evening classes for all adult members of the Ensworth community to come together and have conversations on race. It is also important to realize that at this moment the major focus is race, and this should never be trivialized, but we must also broaden our consciousness about the creation of safe spaces for all.

Ultimately, this has to be a community effort and will include the formation of a K–12 faculty diversity council and a K–12 parent diversity council whose intellectual capital I will leverage to help us move forward to create a greater sense of belonging for all students and faculty.

“ This is a great time for Harkness instruction and c r i t i c a l t h i n k i n g .”

2020 SUMMER | 43

FACULTY ACADEMICS

Get to Know Ensworth’s New Head of Lower School:

Heather Caponi

Tell us about your background in education: what drew you to teaching, what are the different roles you have held in schools, continuing education you have pursued, etc.? I grew up in Maine where I enjoyed running track and cross country and loved participating in theater. I attended Colby College where I met my husband, Chris, who graduated two years ahead of me and entered the Marine Corps as a First Lieutenant.

After I graduated, we married and moved to San Diego where he was stationed, which allowed me to attend the University of San Diego to achieve my M.Ed. We moved to Wisconsin in 1995 where I began teaching at Brookfield Academy. While at Brookfield Academy, I taught 4K, first, third, and fourth grades.

I also helped to create a resource department in our Lower School for struggling students and headed that department until I became the Assistant Lower School Head and then the Primary and Lower School Head. I am currently working on my Ed.D. through Arizona State University focusing on how to better understand teacher resistance to change.

What do you love most about working in a school? I pride myself on getting to know each child and family well and creating a partnership with them and the classroom teacher to support students. Strong school communities are based on relationships, and I relish these relationships because they allow me to watch children grow into the very best version of themselves. I absolutely love being a part of that.

44 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

What drew you to Ensworth? I consider it a privilege to be trusted with a child’s education and I enjoy leading a community that is independent and free to make decisions based on what is in the best interest of its students and their families. Ensworth’s commitment to its Mission and Vision as well as the clear love for the school exhibited by the faculty and staff inspired me to accept the challenge of leading the Lower School.

What are some of the opportunities for growth and development that you see within the Lower School program? (side note: the theme of this edition is “Opportunity”) As a leader, I believe profoundly in supporting a collaborative environment that encourages teachers to share knowledge and best practices not only within grade levels but across departments and the division. This is an essential practice to serve students well. Such collegiality already exists in the Lower School, but I see the opportunity to strengthen and better define data-driven professional learning communities that improve student learning.

List 3-5 fun facts about yourself that people might not know.

• I love riding Harley Davidson motorcycles.

• I walk really fast which makes it appear as though I am

too busy to stop and chat. But that is never the case.

• I have an epic shoe collection.

FACULTY

Faculty Learning Never Stops

BY BOBBY MIR Z A IE & DOUG M AGEE

During the summer break, all Ensworth faculty—every grade level and all subjects—engaged in professional development in pursuit of enhancing their teaching skills and knowledge.

Teachers attended online conferences or engaged in multi-week workshops and classes on a variety of topics related to remote teaching. Popular professional development courses focused on assessments and feedback, student engagement, online project design, building community and connection remotely, subject-specific remote teaching, literacy, and others. Faculty participation involved over 25 leading organizations such as Global Online Academy, World Leadership School, Ed Tech Teachers, Columbia University Teachers’ College, Center for Responsive Schools, Instructional Coaching Group, Online Learning Consortium, American School Counselors Association, LinkedIn Learning, Bureau for Education Research, Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, Institute for Multi-Sensory Education, and many others.

At the request of a cohort of a dozen Middle School and High School teachers, Doug Magee, Jenny Krzystowczyk, and Courtney Bahr developed a course for faculty members to support online learning.

The purpose of the Faculty Online Learning Course was to equip teachers with the practical tools to design teaching and learning experiences that can be adapted to meet a range of likely scenarios for the 2020-2021 school year. This two-week session was a hybrid of face-to-face and online learning with a focus on achieving the following goals: • Design a sustainable online learning ecosystem for face-to-face, hybrid, and/or remote learning scenarios.

• Integrate digital tools to expand the boundaries of the classroom, maximize relational connectivity, and provide timely feedback for learning.

• Create transparent learning pathways accessible on- or off-campus.

• Share resources and best practices across divisions and establish relationships for ongoing collegial feedback and support for improvement.

Furthermore, Middle School teachers Hayley Brantley and Maurice Hopkins co-facilitated weekly conversations with K–12 faculty members on the topics related to racism, racial inequality, and injustice in the United States and strategies for supporting further learning and awareness in our school community on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Teachers engaged in discussions while reading the following books: • New Kid by Jerry Craft • Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey • Stamped: Racism, Anti Racism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi.

Faculty learning will continue, both during August in-service and throughout the school year to build on these incredible experiences and further our school’s commitment to academic excellence in both remote and at-school instruction and for actively striving to be a diverse and inclusive community of learners.

2020 SUMMER | 45

FACULTY ACADEMICS

FAC U LT Y B O O K C LU B

Reflections

By Hayley Brantley

Middle School History Teacher & Service Learning Coordinator

O

ne of the things I tell my students often in my U.S. History classes is that I’m always hoping to learn more, from them and with them. This summer, as I watched our country grapple with issues of race, systemic racism, and who we’ve been, who we are, and who we are becoming as a nation related to race issues, I found myself returning to this want—and need—to learn more. As I read articles, looked at social media posts, and listened to the words of activists, it was clear to me how little I knew and how much I needed to learn in order to be a better person, mother, and teacher. I also knew that learning and accountability happen best in a community. So I sought out my community at Ensworth, beginning with my friends and colleagues in the Middle School history department.

Ruby Cortner and Maurice Hopkins (a long with new members, but longtime friends, Dean Schneider and Tim Wallace) have embraced and invited a culture in our department of questioning, growth, and learning. As we shared our thoughts and feelings about the events in our country this summer, I asked them if they thought a book club for our larger faculty on the topics of race, racism, and antiracism might be helpful for all of us as we live out our Mission as a school to seek truth, embrace curiosity, and strive to be communitybuilding. With their encouragement, Maurice’s generous offer to co-facilitate with me, and David Braemer’s wholehearted endorsement of the project, we set out to grow and learn together. Over 60 members of the faculty and staff have joined

us to learn more about the topics of racism, antiracism, and our role as educators and learners.

At the core of all of this is how we as faculty and staff can better serve all of our students. With that in mind, we chose three books that we felt might help us in that mission. The first was New Kid, a graphic novel by Jerry Craft that recently won both the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King author award. Written with middle-grade readers in mind, it tells the story of Jordan Banks, a black seventh-grade boy who is the new kid at an elite private school. Our second book was Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey. Our final book of the summer was Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi.

“We’re all being called to listen, learn, and reflect right now, and I’m so thankful for the community at Ensworth that has answered that call through this book club.”

46 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

Our conversations in these weekly meetings were r ich, t houg htprovoking, and vulnerable. What they show me most is that the faculty and staff at Ensworth care about learning, growth, and, most of all, our students. We’re all being called to listen, learn, and reflect right now, and I’m so thankful for the community at Ensworth that has answered that call through this book club. I’m also incredibly thankful for the work of Maurice Hopkins. His honesty, generosity of time and spirit, and his vulnerability make me better, and I’m proud and honored to work alongside him in the history department and in crafting this book club.

Reflections F R O M

FACULTY

FAC U LT Y B O O K C L U B M E M B E R S

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues around this important topic. ‘Raising White Kids’ is such an informative and empowering book.

One of the biggest takeaways for me is the importance of engaging with young children about difference and injustice. Older philosophies encouraged color-blindness and celebration of diversity but failed to address the realities of race and injustice. The author provides specific strategies to help adults navigate conversations with children.

I feel optimistic about our faculty’s willingness to learn and to work together on behalf of our students.”

—Whitney Earhart, Grade 4 Teacher

“With so much uncertainty going on in the world right now, to get a phone call from Hayley with the opportunity to have some open and honest conversation was quite refreshing. Her idea of starting a book club open to Ensworth staff and faculty offered a safe space for us all to react, reflect, and respond to issues concerning race relations within our school community.”

—Maurice Hopkins, MS History teacher

“As teachers, we are called to lead and facilitate the growth of our students and school community. Self-leadership and personal growth precede this calling, and this book club has provided an opportunity for all of us to examine our individual racial development. The readings and conversation have been transformative, and I am looking forward to seeing the fruits of this work within the Ensworth community from the seeds we are sowing within ourselves.”

—Ross Lyons, HS Science Teacher

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to connect with colleagues from all three divisions to discuss this topic that is important to all of us as teachers but also as human beings. By starting an honest dialogue together, we will be better able to support our students of all ages because we can also support each other. Hayley and Maurice have brought us together at a time when we need each other more than ever, and I am excited about the ideas and commitments that will come out of this experience and propel Ensworth forward.”

—Becky Smith, MS Science Teacher 2020 SUMMER | 47

FACULTY ACADEMICS

FAC U LTY B O OK S H E LF What did the Ensworth faculty read this summer?

JOHN CLINTSMAN

TOM JACKOBOICE

Extreme Ownership

The End of October

Head of Grounds

By: Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Truly a book everyone should be required to read.

The authors are former Navy Seals so they take you through stories of war and the bumps they hit in the road and how they corrected the issues, then give you real-life scenarios. As I strive to become a better leader at home, work, and in my daily, life this book offers lessons needed to achieve that.

High School History Teacher

By: Lawrence Wright

Pulitzer winning journalist Lawrence Wright’s novel about a fictional pandemic and tensions between scientists, politicians, and the general population as it spread could have been taken as a cautionary tale if it had been published earlier.

Those seeking an escape from current events should steer clear of this book. Some passages are quite graphic and deliver a gut punch, but this book is guaranteed to get the heart pumping.

WHITNEY JOHNSON

Director of Finance & Operations

How to Be Antiracist By: I bram X. Kendi

Kendi’s book reshapes the conversation about racial justice and civil rights in America. This piece of nonfiction is highly engaging as it floats in and out of a memoir of Kendi’s personal experiences as a black child and adult in America and the evolution of his own thoughts and ideas around racism over the course of his life. He challenges individuals to look inward at their biases and beliefs about race and interracial social relations. He examines the policies, politics, and social arrangements that support systemic racism, and suggests next steps for all Americans to contribute toward the formation of a truly equitable society. Awareness is not enough—this is a call to action.

LINDSAY PARRIOTT

College Counseling Office Manager and Registrar

Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success By: Phil Jackson

After watching ESPN’s The Last Dance, I wanted to know more about the former NBA player/ coach. I found lots of wisdom on being a leader, relating to others, and inspiring individual success within a team-first culture.

48 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

TREY HOUSE

Middle School Latin Teacher

How to Do Nothing By: Jenny Odell

Don’t let the title fool you: this book is a call to action to resist our current attention economy and to retrain our own focus to see the humanity in all of our surroundings. Synthesizing the work of philosophers, scientists, and authors, Odell makes a convincing case that this recalibration is not only morally correct but also beautiful and personally enriching.

SCOTT SANDERS

High School Facilities Staff

Watch for Me on the Mountain: A Novel of Geronimo and the Apache Nation By: Forrest Carter

One of the rare books that I can say affected me at a spiritual level. Carter will take you to a place and time like you were there and make you feel the emotions of a people that were and still are greatly misunderstood. He is most known for “The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales“ which is excellent, as well. If you love the old west, Native American lore, and stories that touch the heart, this is a must-read.

Visit the Ensworth Blog at ensworth.com/bookshelf for more faculty book recommendations

FACULTY

FAC U LTY N E WS RETIREMENTS Keith Crowe Middle School Math & Science 20 Years at Ensworth

Bruce Libonn Head of Lower School 15 Years at Ensworth

Jim Aveni received a UChicago Outstanding Teacher Award after being nominated by Jordan Yi ‘20: https://collegeadmissions.uchicago. edu/counselors-educators/outstandingeducator-awards Ross Lyons received his Ed.D in Leadership and Professional Practice from Trevecca Nazarene University.

Dee Dee Little Middle School English

Jen Budde received her M.Ed from National Louis University.

Debbie McQuitty Director of Food Services

Mary Taylor Cowles was honored as Coach of the Year at the 2020 Tennessean Sports Awards.

31 Years at Ensworth

17 Years at Ensworth

Alice Mogan Assistant to Head of HS 12 Years at Ensworth

Camy Sanchez Kindergarten

22 Years at Ensworth

BIRTHS

Amy Skillicorn presented “Gamification in the Latin Classroom” at the virtual institute for the American Classical League on June 24.

Ellen Reynolds earned the following certifications through American School Counselor Association (ASCA): Anxiety and Stress Management Specialist, Grief and Loss Specialist, and Trauma and Crisis Specialist.

Megan Florentine and Emily Parrelli presented two weeks’ worth of Responsive Classroom 4-day workshops via Zoom. Both had the opportunity to work with the same school district in New Hampshire; Megan spent a week with the elementary teachers while Emily worked with the middle school teachers. Parrelli also spent a week with educators from California. Florentine worked with a group of 24 educators from Georgia and has one more virtual group in New York City scheduled for the end of July.

Each presented 64 hours of Responsive Classroom content over the course of two weeks.

There is a new Responsive Classroom cohort of Ensworth teachers who attended the workshop this summer: Debbie Sandwith Middle School Course Barbara Royse Elementary Core Course Debbie May Elementary Core Course Ellen Reynolds Middle School Course Chris Champion Elementary Course Heather Caponi Elementary Core Course Paolo Guazzini Middle School Course Aaron Velthouse Middle School Course Leslea Gaines Elementary Core Course Gretchen Darr Elementary Core Course

Mia Anderson (Zach)

Juniper Joy Anderson July 4, 2020

JJ Anthony (Geri)

Hope Charlotte Anthony June 13, 2020

Joe Miles (Sallie)

Austin Amory Miles February 11, 2020

Hope Anthony

WEDDINGS

Juniper Anderson

Sally Taylor to Errol Lisonbee May 20, 2020 Mary Taylor Cowles 2020 SUMMER | 49

FACULTY

R E T I R I NG FAC U LTY T R I B U T E S

KEITH CROWE

Middle School Science & Math Faculty 20 Years at Ensworth Consummate team player. Utility fielder. Jack of all trades. Multi-tasker extraordinaire. Master teacher. Champion for all students.

Lover of all things Ensworth. Ernie to my Bert. And Renaissance man. While all these descriptors or monikers are apt or fitting, none truly captures the full essence of Keith Crowe.

Keith has selflessly served Ensworth in a variety of roles for more than twenty years: as a math teacher, as Network Administrator, as a science teacher, as the creator of the Florida Keys Adventure, as Science Department Chair, as Out West Trip sustainer, as the Belize Trip founder, as the leader of multiple Washington Trips, as the STEM Program developer, as the robotics tournament director, and as Math Department Chair. During his career at Ensworth, he has worn multiple hats, and they have all fit him well.

And while this catalog of Keith’s various contributions highlights the broadly talented, creative, and dynamic educator he strives to be, this list also reveals the core values, the totally personal code of beliefs that make him the singularly unique school person that he is.

First off, Keith is selfless and modest and humble….. almost to a fault. It is never about him. Instead, it is always about what is best for the school, what is best for the kids. He works tirelessly behind the scenes, leaving no detail untended to.

Anyone who has ever thumbed through one of his Out West

50 |50 ENSWORTH | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS ENSIGHTS

trip spiral bound notebooks, complete with van groupings, tent groupings, daily itineraries, driving directions, grocery lists for Wal Mart, hiking groups, and gourmet plans for dinners has some idea of his attention to detail. He has such high standards, he is such a perfectionist, and he is so intent on making sure that everything goes well.

Secondly, Keith is steadfast in his devotion to and love of each and every one of his students. Though I can vouch that he has no favorite student, each of Keith’s students thinks that she or he is Keith’s favorite student. He loves them all unconditionally. Whether he is offering character guidance to the perceived “bad” boy, helping a weaker or less confident student with her work in another teacher’s class before school, lending a hapless eighth grade boy his jacket and tie for school pictures, or loaning an anxious student who cannot find his wallet some money on a school trip, Keith is always there for his kids. Without any fanfare, without any public acclaim, Keith has always proven himself to be a trusted, beloved, and caring adult in the eyes of his students.

Finally, Keith’s love of and loyalty to the school and all things Ensworth know no bounds. Who else would spend the better part of two weeks this past summer decorating his classroom with two lovingly crafted, amazingly Ensworthy electrical tape murals adorning adjacent walls: one portraying the students in his and Sarah Biddy’s homeroom engaged in a heated battleball game, Oranges vs. Blacks of course; the other a huge panoramic view of Red Gables covering almost the entire front wall of his classroom.

Keith, thank you for all you have done for and given to Ensworth. You will be dearly missed by all.

Written by Brooks Corzine, Middle School Dean of Students

FACULTY

R E T I R I NG FAC U LTY T R I B U T E S BRUCE LIBONN

Head of Lower School 15 Years at Ensworth

How can I best share the impact Bruce has had on Ensworth? The Lower School has grown with more students and more teachers under his care. The curriculum has been enriched by the adoption of Singapore math, the addition of the Teaching Fellows program, the Language and Math faculty leaders in Lower School, the fifth-grade end-of-year celebration assembly, and the commitment Bruce has always had to his students and to the Lower School faculty. Throughout this school year, I have had conversations with a number of current and former Lower School parents who have shared their thoughts about Bruce’s years as the Lower School Head. One family shared with me that the oldest of their two sons remembers with great fondness that whenever he saw Mr. Libonn anywhere in school on campus, he would hear his name. Mr. Libonn always acknowledged him and it made him feel special. Likewise, it became tradition for the two boys in this family to shake hands with Bruce at the end of every school year and say thank you. Their oldest son said that he looked forward to this every year because, “I knew when I looked in Mr. Libonn’s eyes that he had loved us for the whole year.”

Last summer their third-grade son, anxious and chatty over the class and teacher placement, stated to his parents that HE knew how Mr. Libonn made these big, big decisions. Of course, the parents asked how. He said with complete certainty that Mr. Libonn goes to the beach with flip flops and his Hawaiian shirt and a big drink that looks like a slushee. He sits in his chair, spreads all the names of the kids in the sand and then takes out teacher names and “works his magic.” Then, he watches the sunset when it is over. There was no hesitation in his voice as he told his parents. The visual was priceless, and still is. So was the explanation by a nine-year-old.

Bruce: your unflagging support for what is right, your focus on the things that are most important, your faith in all of us, and your care for your students and faculty have always remained strong. Thank you for that.

Finally, I want to share a poem from a book of poetry that might be familiar to some of you. I share this as a way of saying thanks as it explains so well why I have appreciated the chance to work with you, Bruce.

The Contract: A word from the led

And in the end we follow them – not because we are paid, not because we might see some advantage not because of the things they have accomplished, not even because of the dreams they dream but simply because of who they are: the man, the woman, the leader, the boss standing up there when the wave hits the rock, passing out faith and confidence like life jackets, knowing the currents, holding the doubts, imagining the delights and terrors of every landfall: captain, pirate, and parent by turns, the bearer of our countless hopes and expectations.

We give them our trust. We give them our effort.

What we ask in return is that they stay true.

by William Ayot I hope you look forward to the years ahead with joyous anticipation, with hope, and with appreciation for your years spent with students and teachers. I feel fortunate to have you as a friend and colleague. We will all miss seeing you at school each day.

Written by Sarah Buchanan, Associate Head of School

2020 SUMMER | 51

FACULTY

R E T I R I NG FAC U LTY T R I B U T E S

DEE DEE LITTLE

Middle School English Faculty 31 Years at Ensworth

DeeDee and I came to Ensworth 31 years ago, in 1989. She must have been 12 at the time, I believe. And here’s a little-known fact: DeeDee and I went to the same school in Knoxville when we were kids and had the same eighth-grade English teacher, Betty Friedman. Not the same year, though; I am, of course, much older than she.

I arrived as the new English department chair, so that role gave me the opportunity to drop in and observe DeeDee’s classes. We would always laugh that I only seemed to show up for her fascinating grammar lessons, as if I needed to make sure she was teaching compound nouns or infinitives properly. What I really wanted to be there for was DeeDee running a book discussion. She was a master at leading discussions—encouraging students to pull details from the text, make connections, and think their way through the books she taught.

DeeDee led students from discussions into writing with the details they had so carefully garnered, guiding them, draft by draft, into polished papers.

DeeDee’s devotion to teaching and her kindness, humor, and caring will be missed, of course, but I hope to see her return often as a substitute teacher and to, I hope (selfishly), help me schedule my ERBs on the test calendar, something that became an annual test of friendship.

So, thank you, DeeDee, for all you have given to me and to the whole Ensworth community as a teacher, a friend, and a model of commitment, kindness, humor, and graciousness. We will miss you, but we hope to see you soon and often, and hopefully not just remotely or from six feet apart.

Written by Dean Schneider, Middle School English Faculty

52 |52 ENSWORTH | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS ENSIGHTS

FACULTY

R E T I R I NG FAC U LTY T R I B U T E S

CAMY SANCHEZ

Kindergarten Faculty 22 Years at Ensworth

22 years! How did you do it? I read some facts for the year you joined the Ensworth faculty in 1998. Here are a few hot items that year: A little search engine called “Google” was born.

“Furby” was famous. Nokia made the IT phone. Titantic was the highest-grossing movie.

And you were the new first grade teacher from Florida who was still single, but on the path toward marriage and a future with two beautiful boys. Soon after, I was privileged to join the first grade team and to have you as my mentor. You showed me the ropes. You taught me how to talk with students so they’d remember and how to talk to parents so they’d understand. I gained a lot of experience and a few tricks teaching next door to you, but mostly, I gained a friend. Fast forward 18 Pet Shows later, when I used some of your tricks to convince you to join me in kindergarten. “But they can’t READ,” you said. “We TEACH them,” I said. And you did – with your special blend of enthusiasm and encouragement.

Camy, it doesn’t matter what classroom you’re in. Children, families, and colleagues all love you. You are loved for your kindness, patience, dedication, willingness to forgive, and contagious sense of humor. As all great teachers do, you showed us the recipe for great teaching. For more than two decades, you’ve had the joy of watching your students grow- from their tiger bags to the clock tower. You’ve also thrown wedding showers, baby showers, surprise parties, and many more excuses we could make up to celebrate. You have earned a break. So now, we celebrate YOU. Congratulations! Good luck! We’ll miss you and always be grateful for you.

Written by Sukey Johnson, Kindergarten Faculty

2020 SUMMER | 53

ALUMNI

Ensworth Alumni

C LAS S NOT E S

WEDDINGS Jana Wolskij ’09 married Nick Wilhelm on May 24, 2020.

Lauren Piana ’10 married Adam Wray on May 9, 2020.

Sarah Shepard ’10 married Eric Shiflett on July 11, 2020.

Brittany Jenkins ’11 married Scott Williams on February 1, 2020.

Tory Thompson ’11 married Rob Storey on February 16, 2020.

Burrus Cox ’13 married Kendall Downey ’15 on March 14, 2020.

Anne Douglas Dingess ’13 married Captain Duke Gee on February 8, 2020.

William Knight ’13 married Haley Hall on February 22, 2020.

BIRTHS Stephen and Allison Bates Smith ’92 welcomed Stephen Buford Smith, III on May 1, 2020.

Porter and Graham Barton Meadors ’99 welcomed Constance “Reade” Meadors on July 3, 2020.

Russell and Brooke Bloom Riebeling ’01 welcomed Parks Anderson Riebeling on July 2, 2020.

Aaron and Jessie Parker Early ’08 welcomed Hank Forest Early on May 19, 2020.

Meredith and Rob Leathers ’08 welcomed Graham Boyd Leathers in April.

Sean and Maddie Graham McAuliffe ’10 welcomed Anne “Annie” Grace McAuliffe on July 3, 2020

1980s

Nashville songwriter and producer Daniel Tashian ’88 recently released his second children’s album, ‘Mr. Moonlight.’ The entire album was written and recorded with the help of his three daughters, Tigerlily (8), Tinkerbell (6), and Matilda (6), with artwork from wife and mom, Lillie Tashian.

2000s

Executive Producer Kathryn Berk ’01 won a Daytime Emmy for her Opioid Awareness Documentary, “Rebekkah’s Story.”

Shannon Neidmeyer ’02

began a fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine after completing her Internal Medicine Residency at Duke University in 2019. Under the mentorship of an attending Physician, she is responsible for the overall medical management of COVID-19 patients, supervision of Residents assigned to the unit, and other healthcare team members involved in the care of these difficult, complex patients.

2010s

William Joy ’10 accepted

a job as a news reporter for WFAA-TV, the ABC affiliate television station in Dallas, Texas.

Corey Sacks ’10 is the Vice

President of growth strategy and business development for Protect My Kids ID, a startup company in Nashville. PMKID is a fraud protection solution for kids. Corey returned to Nashville in May after working in Atlanta, and Newport Beach, California.

Corn Elder ’13, who was a

two-sport athlete at Ensworth, was named to the Tennessean’s All-Decade (2010-2019) High School Boys Basketball Team.

Kobie Jarmon ’13 received her Master of Science Degree in Sports Administration from the University of Louisville. In 2019, she was named the Head Coach of the Highland Hills Middle School Dance Team in Georgetown, IN, winning double first place titles at the 2020 Jamfest Dance Team

Continuing the Ensworth Tradition

SENIORS WITH ALUMNI PARENTS 54 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

BASS Jack M. Bass III 1984 Polly Bass 2020

BOND Andrew Watts Bond 1984 Alex Bond 2020

CRANTS Doctor Robert Crants III 1982 Ryan Crants 2020

ALUMNI

Nationals. She continues to do choreography for dance studios, high school, middle school, and college dance teams. Kobie’s future plan is to start her career in Sports Marketing and Crisis Management.

Claire Kirchoff ’13 was able

to complete her licensure in School Counseling through the endorsement program at the University of Tennessee at Martin as an addition to her current Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology. At the start of the national quarantine and school closures, Claire resumed her position at Cheekwood Child Development Center and has risen to the role of Lead Teacher in the preschool classroom.

In March 2021, Claire will travel to Nepal as the recipient of a Fulbright Student Grant. While there, she will act as an English Teaching Assistant while gaining valuable experience in cross-cultural education practices.

William Knight ’13 grad-

uated from The University of Mississippi with a B.S. in Engineering and passed the Fun-

DENSON Catherine Franklin Denson 1980 Lee Denson 2020

damentals of Engineering (FE) exam to obtain his Engineer in Training (EIT) certificate. He resides in Nashville and works with Structural Design Group.

Paige Parker ’13 graduated

from law school and received her Juris Doctor at Emory University School of Law.

Alexandra Farnsworth ’14 started a new position as a Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs.

Kaitlyn Waggoner ’14 com-

pleted her Masters in management from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in May 2019. She is now the marketing director for a property management company in Dallas.

Congratulations to Brycen Hopkins ’15 on being drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 4th round of the 2020 NFL Draft after a successful career at Purdue University.

Lauren Lewis ’16 graduated

knowledged as an Outstanding Honors Student.

Sage Loh ’16 graduated on May 15 from Washington University in St Louis where she majored in Cognitive Neuroscience with a minor in Biology. She earned College Honors from the College of Arts and Sciences, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts.

Send us your news!

Keep in touch with your classmates and let them keep up with you. Send your latest news, moves, and photos.

Contact:

alumni@ensworth.com

Tyra Gittens ’17 was named

the 2020 SEC Women’s Field Athlete of the Year. She was also named a finalist for the National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Association.

Dontavia Waggoner ’20 was

named to the Tennessean’s All-Decade (2010-2019) High School Girls Basketball Team.

Waggoner helped lead the Lady Tigers to two state championships in 2019 and 2020, winning the coveted Miss Basketball award both years. She signed to play at NC State.

from the University of Georgia in December and was just ac-

DOWNEY Ken Downey 1978 Kate Downey 2020

ELCAN Patricia Frist Elcan 1979 Carrie Elcan 2020

INGRAM John Rivers Ingram 1975 Lucas Ingram 2020

ALUMNI

Ensworth Alumni

C LAS S NOT E S Brycen Hopkins ’15

William Knight ’13

Lauren Lewis ’16 Anne Douglas Dingess ’13

Kathryn Berk ’01 Emmy Award Burrus Cox ’13 & Kendall Downey ’15 Jana Wolskij ’09

Sarah Shepard ’10

Stephen Buford Smith III

Hank Forest Early

Graham Boyd Leathers

William Joy ’10

Daniel Tashian ’88

Annie McAuliffe

MAHANES David James Mahanes III 1973 Charlie Mahanes 2020

Kaitlyn Waggoner ’14

M C ALLISTER Elizabeth Graves McAllister 1979 Jake McAllister 2020

Tyra Gittens ’17

MOON Gavin Joseph Moon 1982 Lilli Moon 2020

Lauren Piana ’10

WALLACE William Paul Wallace 1981 Mae Mae Wallace 2020

ALUMNI

ALU M N I PROF I LE S The passions and professions of our alumni reflect the lasting impact of our school’s Mission statement.

Read on to see how three Ensworth alumni are facing current challenges and opportunities.

Shannon Neidermeyer ’02 is profiled regarding her experience on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic at Johns Hopkins Medical Center; we interview Tavarres Jefferson ’09 about the effects the pandemic has had on his Executive Residency Program at HCA, and Kobie Jarmon ‘13 shares her perspective as a Black woman on current events.

Compiled by Kirby Wiley ’10 Communications Coordinator

Alumni Focus:

DR . SH ANN O N NIE DE RME YE R ’0 2 Dr. Shannon Niedermeyer ‘02 is used to taking care of some of the sickest patients who come to the hospital. After completing her residency at Duke University in 2019, Shannon began her fellowship at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Pulmonary and Critical Care where she mostly sees patients who are suffering from lung disease and other life-threatening illnesses.

Since COVID-19 first hit the Baltimore area, her work has been almost entirely with coronavirus patients who are admitted to the intensive care unit, most of whom require prolonged support on mechanical ventilation.

“If a [COVID-19] patient is sick enough to need ICU-level care, we anticipate a long duration of illness. This cannot be understated,” says Shannon. “Even though it’s a small portion of patients with COVID-19 that get really, really sick, it’s tragic and life-altering and devastating for that person and their family. While this is also the case in traditional ICU care, there are certain aspects of COVID-19 care that make it unique for providers, patients, and families.”

Like many medical facilities across the world, coronavirus forced Johns Hopkins to completely change the way the hospital runs. From creating new intensive care units throughout the hospital to recruiting fellows who were primarily doing research back into a clinical setting.

their breathing, support their blood pressure if they need it, support other organs that might fail. Ultimately we are left closely monitoring the patient and hoping that our support is enough to get them through. This, I think, is emotionally challenging for providers.”

As the pandemic continues to bring new “Taking care of these patients is tough, challenges to individuals and communities emotionally, but also physically because across the world, Niedermeyer says there of the personal protective equipment are a few positive things she’s seen come required for providers,” explains out of the crisis.

Niedermeyer. “We have broken it up into shift work so that nobody is in the “In ICU care in general, your day is filled hospital for more than 12 hours at a time, caring for the critically ill,” she says. and nobody is working more than four “You really have to hold it together as days in a row.” you go from room to room to talk to each family. In the world of physicians, the Shannon says one of the most emotionally emphasis and importance of talking about challenging things as a provider is workplace stress have increased over the fighting a virus that is still so new, with last few years. I think this pandemic has no known treatment. really opened that door even more.”

“There’s no—that we know of now—single drug or therapy that we can give or do to cure this disease. We work to support 2020 SUMMER | 57

ALUMNI

Alumni Focus:

TAVAR R ES J E FFE RS O N ’ 0 9 A 2009 graduate of Ensworth, Tavarres Jefferson has been working for HCA for the past six years. He earned his Masters of Business Administration at Trevecca and his Bachelor of Business Administration from MTSU where he was a two-sport scholarship athlete. Tavarres is currently in the Executive Residency Program for HCA at MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas.

Tell us a little bit about your role at HCA & about the Executive Residency Program.

I am currently an Administrative Resident and in an Executive Residency Program that trains and prepares you to be a future hospital executive within HCA. This program includes rotational exposure to key healthcare functions, physician relations, labor and staffing analysis, and benchmarking and costsaving analysis. My role as a hospital administrator is to help manage all operations within the facility.

What is a typical day like for you?

A typical day for me always starts with rounding and touching base with my direct reports. For example, Respiratory Therapy is one of the four departments that I oversee at MountainView Hospital. During this Respiratory Pandemic, it is essential to have constant communication with the Director and bedside therapists to make sure they have everything they need to do their job at the highest level of care for our patients. After rounding, I look over all of the daily metrics that we need to hit for the hospital; this ranges from productivity with labor-management metrics, quality of care metrics, and patient experience surveys. Hospital Administrators support all aspects of the hospital’s operations, monitor and track trends to improve processes or celebrate successes. Providing exceptional care for our patients is the most important thing, and that care can be at any time of the day. That means that I need to be available 24/7 to make the best decisions for our patients.

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team has been tested during this time, and I am impressed with our CEO’s ability to keep the staff remaining calm, informed, supported, safe, and overly communicating on any changes or updates that could occur. It is teaching me how to become the leader that I want to be.

How has your schedule/job changed since the COVID-19 pandemic?

When COVID cases first rose, I found myself at the hospital more often than not. I have spent a lot of time implementing new social distancing guidelines amongst our staff and advocating for the needs of our frontline employees and their patients.

What’s been the most challenging thing for you?

The most challenging thing has been just the unknown of COVID-19. Is there going to be a second, third, or fourth wave? Does everyone have the proper protective equipment they need to stay safe while treating patients who might have the virus? I spend a lot of time preparing for all scenarios, just to be ready.

What have you been surprised by?

I have been surprised by just how contagious the virus is and how quickly it can spread without a mask or practicing social distancing.

What have you learned?

I am learning that adversity brings out your true character. Our leadership

From the pandemic to the death of George Floyd, and the broader debate over police brutality, how have all of these current events affected you personally?

Wow, well, the timing of everything happening at once for a black man who works in healthcare has been a little overwhelming. On one hand, the most important thing when I go into work is to make sure my staff is taken care of. That way, they can give the patients the best outcome, quality, and experience as possible. On the other hand, being a black man and having to manage the feelings of pain, fear, and grief that comes from incidents like the killing of George Floyd while also doing my job can be difficult. It has been tough, but unfortunately, George Floyd is not the first incident of an unarmed black man being killed by a police officer. However, his killing happened during a global pandemic where people are out of work, and there are no sports, festivals, or really any distractions, which has forced everyone in the world to look at it.

I feel this could be a huge turning point for America because people who didn’t realize there was an issue are now sympathizing with many Black Americans, which is great.

ALUMNI The theme of this edition of Ensights is ‘opportunity.’ How do you think people and communities can use these challenging times as an opportunity to grow?

Between COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a challenging time for everyone in all communities, and it is an opportunity for all of us to grow.

I like to find the good in every situation, including this one. If you are out of work, it may be a time for you to pursue that passion you always wanted to do. If you have children who are home more than usual, it’s a great time to teach them to give kindness and love to everyone they come in contact with, no matter their ethnicity. If you were unaware of the history of African Americans and how the country got to this point, it’s a great time to educate yourself on it. Have some open dialogues, listen, ask questions, in the words of Ensworth “Search for Truth.”

Ensworth Background What ‘house’ were you in? Vitality!

What activities where you were involved in? Football, Basketball, Track, Soccer, Story & Song Festival.

What do you remember most about your time at Ensworth/ favorite memory? What I remember most about Ensworth is how close the ’09 class was. We were one of the first graduating classes at Ensworth, and it felt like we helped build the school. My favorite memory is my peers selecting me to give our graduation speech.

What is the most valuable thing you learned during your time at Ensworth? To get out of my comfort zone and to build relationships with people that didn’t have a similar background to myself.

Favorite teacher? David Whitfield Favorite class? Spanish 1 (Eva Lea)

Alumni Focus:

KOBIE JARMON ’1 3 I joined Ensworth as one of the new students in my grade for high school.

Coming into a new environment where everyone knew each other already, where it was a new learning structure, and where I was one of only five Black girls in my class of 111 students, I was in a whole new world. I like to think I am sort of a chameleon; I can adapt to any situation and make it work in my favor.

This comes from always being the only Black girl in many situations throughout my life. I cannot thank my teachers at Ensworth enough for encouraging me, supporting me, and having true confidence in me that I could be great. I’ve always struggled with asking for help, and if it wasn’t for Mrs. McGlasson sitting down with my parents and me to create a plan, I would still be struggling.

I graduated in 2013 and have had many years to reflect on my time at Ensworth. I made many lifelong friendships and gained mentors and life advisors as well as a community of people. I learned many life lessons attending Ensworth and I cherish them to this day. I’ve learned to challenge things that do not sit right with me and fight for the best outcome. I’ve learned that regardless of my gender or race, I am extremely valuable in every way.

Over the years since I graduated, I have accomplished a lot more than I ever dreamed of. I’ve won eight D1A national collegiate dance

championships as a University of Louisville Ladybird. I’ve also won eight dance national championships as a coach. I starred in a reality TV show about my college dance team.

And I graduated with two college degrees, a Master of Science in Sports Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication.

This year has been a very interesting time in this world.

With some of our greatest heroes dying unexpectedly, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the continued fight against systemic racism and police brutality, a lot has transpired quickly.

It’s a challenging time to be a Black woman and a recent graduate right now; the unknown is scary. Turning on the news or checking social media apps and constantly seeing another Person of Color murdered, harassed, or falsely accused at the hands of a White person or police officer is heartbreaking. I believe that my generation and those around it will be the ones to make and create change.

I love being a Black woman unapologetically. I’ve never had a problem speaking my mind, standing up for what’s right, and being an advocate for those who need it. Not until I became a dance coach did I realize how much younger girls and boys look up to me. I am a mentor, leader, and friend, and my time at Ensworth has helped mold me into the woman I am today.

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COMMUNITY

Thank You, Ensworth Teachers!

This spring, our parents showed their appreciation for faculty and their hard work and dedication in providing enriching remote learning experiences for our students.

60 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

A T RULY Extraordinary YE AR !

T h e 2019–2020 school year was eve n m o re ext ra o rdi n a ry t h a n we eve r could h a ve a nti c i p a ted. We are so g rateful to eve ryo n e w h o co n t ri bu te d to t h e E n s wo r th Fund , a s yo ur su pport equ ipped u s w i t h t h e re s o u rce s t h a t a l lowe d u s to t ra n s iti on to remo te learn in g swiftly an d s u cce ss f u l ly a n d to co n t i n u e to prov i de m o m e nts of achievem en t , di s cove ry, co m m u n i t y, a n d j oy.

Field Day Cheer

Virtual Art Classes Grade 3 Vocabulary Parade

Field Day Challenges

Librarian Fun!

Fitness Workouts

You r faithfu l an d g en e ro u s s u ppo rt i s de e ply a ppre c i a te d. !

Than k you for ma ki n g E n s wo rt h

extraordinary

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