Highlanders gather to Celebrate

Holiday Receptions

The Alumni & Development Office invited alumni, Trustees, parents, and friends near and far to celebrate the holidays at receptions in three festive cities in December. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and conversations, and showed their Highlander pride!

Thanks to the 75 alumni, parents, and friends who attended the New York City holiday reception on December 7, hosted by Trustee Natalie Holme Elsberg P’25 and her husband, David P’25.

A gathering on December 8 at The Oceanaire Seafood Room in Boston included: (front row) Sean Turner ’11, Sean Gilligan ’80, Peter Becker, Aaron Townsend ’04, Alexandra Rhodes, Mallory Farmer ’05, Sydney Fydenkevez ’18, Miranda Yang ’17, Eli Italiaander ’17, Eli Dorf ’19, Michael Kassis ’19; and (back row) Mark Rhoads ’04, Tom Meek ’81, Bobby Hooper ’14, Curt James ’85, James LeBlanc, Patrick Beerman ’06, Marlon Fisher ’01, Former Trustee Jack Reynolds ’68, Wiley Houldin ’11, McKay Flanagan ’16, Alix Israel, Nate Fydenkevez ’16, Riemke Bouvier, and Caleb Dorf ’19.

Friend of the Green Award

On November 19, 2022, The Frederick Gunn School presented the Friend of the Green Award to the Washington Scholarship Fund, a non-profit organization run by a volunteer board that has awarded over $4 million in scholarships to 700 local high school graduates and college students over the course of 50 years. Head of School Peter Becker presented the award at the Annual Town Holiday Party to Steven Cornell ’77 P’09 ’11 ’14, President of the Washington Scholarship Fund (fourth from left), who was joined by (front row, left to right): Matthew Muszala (Director); Christina Cornell Ruel ’09 (Director), Anthony Amato (Treasurer), Judie Gorra (Director), Susan Nicholas (Director and Scholarship Award Committee member), Sheila Anson (Scholarship Award Committee member), Linda McGarr (Director); and (back row): Head of School Peter Becker, Dave Werkhoven (Director and Scholarship Award Committee member),

LIVE LIKE ABIGAIL: A GUNN ALUMNAE TRUSTEES PANEL DISCUSSION

On November 9, 2022, the Alumni & Development Office welcomed Trustees Missy Cuello-Remley ’87, Sarah Scheel Cook ’82, Krystalynn Schlegel ’96, and Rebecca Weisberg ’90 as participants in “Live Like Abigail: a Gunn Alumnae Trustees Panel Discussion.” Wanji Walcott P’19, Vice Chair of the Board, moderated their discussion about why they joined the Board, what they hope for the future of Gunn, and why alumnae engagement matters.

“Frederick and Abigail Gunn’s legacy has inspired generations of students to be curious and thoughtful, to be active members of their communities, to stand up for what they believe in, and to find a sense of wonder and renewal in the outdoors,” Wanji said in her opening remarks. “Since the school’s relaunch, we have heard a lot about Mr. Gunn and his lasting legacy. But, tonight, we want to celebrate female leadership — and in a meaningful way, pay tribute to the school’s co-founder, Abigail Gunn. We decided to name this webinar ‘Live Like Abigail,’ because our female trustees are a living testament to the influence women have historically had on the Gunn community.”

Can you share a little bit about your time at Gunn and how you got involved with the school as an alumna?

Sarah: When I started, it was the second year they allowed girls, and the population of girls at the time that I started was between 25 and 30 percent. I spent four years at the school and I became involved because I was a scholarship student and probably would not have gotten the education I did anywhere else. I felt that, by the time I got out, I really owed something. I’ve spent my lifetime since then trying to figure out ways to pay back, and getting involved is the way I am able to contribute, and contribute consistently to the school.

The four panelists were asked to reflect on what it means to them to “Live like Abigail” today. What follows are excerpts of their discussion.

Missy: I spent four years at Gunn. When I started as a freshman, there were nine female boarders. I believe we had two female day students and they each had a desk in our room. What I enjoyed the most was the sense of community. That’s something I didn’t have before. I got involved mostly because of the relationships that I made at Gunn. I’ve become very good friends and been very tight with my classmates. We’ve been together through weddings and graduations and births of children. It only came later on in life where I really noticed that those relationships were attributed to Gunn and most of that was fostered there.

Krystalynn: I had a very different experience in terms of being all the way across the country in a very small, middle-of-nowhere place, coming from the Bay Area. There were more girls. We did have full dorms in Bourne and Van Sinderen. Nevertheless, it was definitely still challenging for me. Looking back and reflecting, I felt like The Frederick Gunn School really instilled several values that I used going forward. It was roughly 2006 when The Gunnery started The Gunnery Council. Many of us were Class Agents as well. We had discussions about how we could propel the school forward. So I really started getting involved a while ago. But it was very apparent to me that the school made a huge difference in my trajectory based on where I was headed before I went to The Gunnery.

Rebecca: I was a three-year senior and had an incredible experience. Academics were not necessarily my priority while I was there, but the relationships that I formed, not only with the students but with the faculty members, have shaped my life to this day, and will continue to do so. Most of my closest friends, like Missy said, are from the school, not only my class but other classes, and from Day One since I graduated, I’ve always been available to help out in any way that I can to try and ensure that future students and generations have the same experience that I had there.

Are there certain things from your experience at Gunn that you draw on today in the work that you do?

Missy: In the 80s, community service was one of the only ways to get off campus, so I seemed to sign up for every single opportunity. It was something I never really did before, but it ended up being a huge impact on my life, and not just in the sense of helping other people. I felt familiarizing myself with the community gave me an enormous sense of identity, and I was reaching outside of that bubble and seeing what was going on with my world, and being informed, and having a mindset of what’s going on in my community. I continued with community service when I went into college, and in law school, and then I became a public defender. Today, I work in a school system. I do community outreach there. That was really something that was fostered in me at Gunn.

Sarah: I was an athlete, three sports a year, varsity sports. Learning to work as a team is a very important thing, especially when you’re working toward company goals. Because you were required to play sports, you had people across your team that were in different places in their talents and their skills, so you had to learn to meet people where they are, and you had to learn how to build a bridge to make them successful. That’s one of the takeaways from my years at Gunn that’s impacted me deeply.

Reflecting on Abigail Gunn and her role in the founding of The Gunnery, what do you think it means to Live Like Abigail in the 21st century?

Missy: I’ve loved learning about Abigail Gunn. She’s someone I didn’t learn much about when I was at The Gunnery. I think of Abigail Gunn as somebody who was ahead of her time. She really was the female behind all the greatness of the school. Going into the 21st century, I would definitely say what it means to me is just to keep us forward-thinking always, to always have empathy, and to always be educating our community in a very diverse manner.

What are your hopes for the future of the school?

Sarah: I think the trajectory for the last decade has been historic for the school. We are hitting on all cylinders. The momentum is amazing, and my desire is that we are able to keep that up. A healthy endowment means a lot of things for the school, and while we’ve made great strides there, I think we have work to do. Also, to continue to create that infrastructure at the school that supports Frederick Gunn’s perspective, so we can continue teaching children indoors and out of doors. Those are the things that are my hopes for the future.

Krystalynn: I think we have gone through such a change through Peter’s leadership. I’m really excited to see what will happen with the new Science Building. The new dorms are beautiful. I go back to campus on a regular basis and I just go, ‘Wow, this is an incredible place to learn and be involved.’ And of course now with all the programs we have, Winterim and all of these different things we didn’t have in the 90s, I think it’s just an exceptional place to be.

We have alumni spanning the decades on the webinar tonight. What do you want to say to them about getting involved with the school and why engagement from alumnae in particular is important?

Rebecca: I think it’s so important for people to be involved because it just helps make the school a better place, not only financially, which of course is also very important, to be supportive in any way that you can. But I think that if there is anything that you are interested in, or any special passions that you have, I think that it’s a great way to give back to the school. To view the recording, go to: frederickgunn.org/ alumni/alumni-events/live-like-abigail