Hotchkiss Magazine Summer 16

Summer 2016

Board of Trustees

EMERITI

Barrett Lester ’81

Charles Ayres Jr. ’77

Howard C. Bissell ’55, P’82

Nisa Leung Lin ’88

Thomas C. Barry P’01, ’03, ’05

John R. Chandler, Jr. ’53, P’82, ’85, ’87, GP’10,’14, ’16

Paul Mutter ’87

John G. Coumantaros ’80, P’16 Ian R. Desai ’00 Thomas J. Edelman ’69, P’06, ’07 William R. Elfers ’67, Vice President

Frederick Frank ’50, P’12

Nichole Phillips ’89 Vice President and Chair, Alumni of Color Committee

Forrest Mars ’49, P’77, ’82, GP’09, ’09, ’11, ’11, ’14

Emily Pressman ’98

Dr. Robert A. Oden, Jr. P’97

Chip Quarrier ’90 Vice President and Chair, Communications Committee

Francis T. Vincent, Jr. ’56, P’85

Casey Reid ’01

Arthur W. White P’71, ’74, GP’08, ’11

William Sandberg ’65

Diana Gomez ’76, P’11, ’12 Sean M. Gorman ’72 Secretary Edward J. Greenberg ’55 Ex Officio John P. Grube ’65, P’00 Charles F. Gulden ’79, P’12 Elizabeth G. Hines ’93

Tom Seidenstein ’91 Vice President and Chair, Alumni Services Committee Bryan Small ’03

Alumni Association Board of Governors

Sheria Smith ’01

Christina Bechhold ’03 Vice President and Chair, Nominating Committee

David Tan ’91 Michael Thompson ’66 Carolyn Toolan ’97

Kendra S. O’Donnell

Miriam Gelber Beveridge ’86 Vice President and Co-Chair, Gender Committee

Thomas S. Quinn ’71, P’15, ’17, ’19

Sirin Bulakul ’06

Jean Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18 President

Doug Campbell ’71, P’01 Secretary and Chair, Membership Subcommittee of the Nominating Committee

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

Adam Casella ’06 Vice President

Katie Berlandi ’88, P’19 Past President, Alumni Association

Roger K. Smith ’78, P’08 Marjo Talbott John L. Thornton ’72, P’10, ’11, ’16 Officer-at-Large William B. Tyree ’81, P’14 Treasurer

Nathalie Pierrepont Danilovich ’03

Chuck Gulden ’79, P’12 President, The Hotchkiss Fund

Mark Gall ’59 Peter Gifford ’93

Daniel J. Wilner ’03

Ed Greenberg ’55 President, Alumni Association

David B. Wyshner ’85

Dan Pullman ’76, P’14 Past President, Alumni Association

Charlotte Dillon ’10

Rebecca van der Bogert

G. Peter O'Neill Jr. Head of School

Jean Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18 President, Board of Trustees

Caldwell Hart ’87, P’16 Keith Holmes ’77 Vice President and Co-Chair, Gender Committee Annika Lescott ’06

Trail Blazers With the completion of the Larsen Perimeter Trail last fall, students have more opportunities to access the natural world. The seven-mile loop connects the main campus with Fairfield Farm, Hotchkiss Woods, Long Pond and Lake Wononscopmuc. On page 41, Environmental Science Instructor Jenn Rinehart writes about how her students use the woods, streams, and lakes as outdoor labs.

PHOTOGRAPH BY WENDY CARLSON

Robert Chartener ’76, P’18

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY WENDY CARLSON

18

22

26

34

HEAD OF SCHOOL

G. Peter O’Neill Jr. CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Hellen Hom-Diamond EDITOR

Wendy Carlson MAGAZINE DESIGNER

Julie Hammill WRITER &

DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER

Chelsea Edgar

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

Julie Vecchitto VIDEOGRAPHER AND DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST

Tyler Wosleger

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Eugene Wang

CONTRIBUTORS

Roberta Jenckes Jenn Rinehart Roger Wistar The Hotchkiss School does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, religion, race, color, sexual orientation, or national orientation in the administration of its educational policies, athletics, or other school-administered programs, or in the administration of its hiring and employment practices.

Hotchkiss Magazine is produced by the Office of Communications for alumni, parents, members of the faculty and staff, and friends of the School. Letters and comments are welcome. Please send inquiries and comments to: The Hotchkiss School, 11 Interlaken Road, Lakeville, CT 060392141, email magazine@hotchkiss.org, or phone 860-435-3122.

FEATURES

18 For Fiona Bock ’16, Knowledge is Never

a Dangerous Thing

22 A Landscape of Hotchkiss Moments 26 Behind the Velvet Ropes 32 Across the World and Closer to Home,

Hotchkiss Alumni Offer Students a Foray into the Workplace

34 Makai Mason’s Big Year 38 A Hive of Activity at Fairfield Farm 40 Getting Muddy for the Sake of Science DEPARTMENTS

4 Campus Connection 44 Class Notes

58 In Memoriam 64 Parting Shot

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

1

From the head

“From its founding days, nearly 125 years ago, Hotchkiss has emphasized developing strength of character as well as a keen intellect through academic excellence.”

—Peter O’Neill

2

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

A

t the last auditorium of the year, I shared with the

students that I was dressed the same way that I had dressed on my first day of teaching nearly 45 years ago — navy blazer, grey flannel pants, blue oxford button-down shirt, and red regimental tie. Perhaps this consistency could be seen as a reflection of the Emerson quote: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” However, as I shared with our students, I prefer to think of it in light of the Thoreau quote: “Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.”

Despite the continuity that has characterized my career, I think of Thoreau’s quote more metaphorically — less about wardrobe, more about the integrity of character. I counseled the students to be cautious of enterprises that require you to

change who you are and become something that you are not.

From its founding days, nearly 125 years ago, Hotchkiss has emphasized developing strength of character as well as a keen intellect through academic excellence.

While I have enjoyed a 45-year career in independent education, it is unlikely that the majority of today’s students will follow a single line of work. As technology rapidly changes, so do the career options that become available. We are educating a generation of Hotchkiss students for whom careers may not yet exist. This was true for a member of my own family, who is now enjoying a career in social media marketing, a career that did not exist when I handed her a diploma from my previous school in 2008.

I also reminded the students that many of the speakers who came this year —

PHOTOGRAPHS BY WENDY CARLSON

of s cho o l

particularly alumni returning to be honored for their commitment to the School and their service to others — spoke about having found their “passion” at Hotchkiss.

That passion cuts across broad areas of interest in the arts, the environment, science, and education. I have found that the level of engagement Hotchkiss expects and fosters in its students in all areas of School life — academically, artistically, athletically, and the rich co-curricular life — requires a commitment that kindles an early passion in our students. I have also found that the level of engagement creates a strong sense of community, ensuring that everyone is contributing to the success of this “enterprise.”

Incoming Head of School Craig Bradley will join Hotchkiss at an exciting time in its history. Craig and I have been in frequent, nearly weekly, communication during this transition, and we have developed a close professional and personal relationship that I am confident will continue into next year and beyond.

As we turn the calendar to the next academic year, Hotchkiss also will mark its 125th year. Maria Harrison Bissell Hotchkiss opened the School’s doors on October 19, 1892, and diplomas were given to 14 young men the following summer.

In 2017, our 125th class will graduate — and this senior class is decidedly different from and far more diverse than the graduates of 1893. The School has planned a number of appropriate celebrations of its quasquicentennial year, and we look forward to inviting you to celebrate with us.

As I complete my brief tenure as the oldest PG of the Class of 2016 and head off to my gap year, Peggy and I want to thank the entire community for the warm embrace that we have received throughout the year. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve Hotchkiss.

Letters to the Editor KUDOS

I particularly liked the winter/spring issue of Hotchkiss Magazine. It expresses so eloquently the hearts and minds of the authors and subjects. I was particularly taken by Jason Larson’s article, because I am hearing impaired; the article on David Watson ’78, because I have suffered the same stigma; and the blurb about the new telescope, because I headed the Astronomy Club when I taught physics, chemistry, and math at Hotchkiss from 1975 to 1978.

— Steve Adams ’60, Mont Vernon, N.H. A JOB WELL DONE

I want to congratulate your staff for the wonderful job you have done with the fall and winter/spring issues of Hotchkiss Magazine.

You guys really make things come alive. Everything about the magazine is superb, from the covers, to the design, layout, photography, and the quality of the text. What a joy it is to read the articles. I see that several of my former students appear in these two issues.

Kevin Baines, Eliot Ferweda, Jim Sadwith, and others were my students. Jim was in my very first photo class during his senior year.

— Robert Haiko, Salisbury, Conn.

Robert Haiko was the former head of the photography and film department and codirector of the Tremaine Art Gallery.

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

3

Campus

con n e cti on

GRADUATION

Class of

2 016

“Be a Protagonist for Ideas and for the Future” At 10:15 a.m. on May 27, 168 seniors paced the English wing. Boys fiddled with their ties and girls clutched pink roses as they waited to take their final walk out of Main Building to Memo Quad for Commencement exercises. In a few hours, they would become Hotchkiss’s 124th graduating class.

Earlier that morning, seniors and their families had filled the Chapel for the Baccalaureate program, which included a

4

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

performance by the Hotchkiss Chorus and reflections by Chloe Onbargi ’16, Colin McCalla ’16, and Chaplain and Instructor in Philosophy and Religion Lou Pressman. In her talk, Onbargi discussed her mixed feelings about being voted “Most Changed Since Prep Year,” a distinction, along with “Best Dressed,” that she earned in this year’s Misch. But she came to understand that even as she’s changed physically since coming to Hotchkiss as a prep

— trading her long hair for a pixie cut — she’s also become “more herself,” in her words. Her path to self-discovery had come full circle as she neared graduation.

Outside on Memo Quad, family, friends, and alumni welcomed the Class of 2016.

The much-loved John Virden, also known as “Mr. Hotchkiss,” who served Hotchkiss for 34 years, most recently as associate head of school and dean of students, delivered the

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JONATHAN DOSTER

John Virden III ’64, P’89, ’91 Sends off The Class of 2016

“Wherever that road may lead, walk with confidence, hold your head up and keep your eyes open.�

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

5

Campus

con n e cti on

Make the most of each day.

Respect yourself. Be honest. Be humble.

— John Virden

6

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Commencement address. In his speech, he offered graduates some deceptively simple advice: make the most of each day, respect yourself, be honest, and be humble. Virden also exhorted students to take full advantage of the many opportunities ahead of them.

“As human beings we are the sum of our experiences, and the rewards that can be derived from the challenge of change far outweigh the risks of temerity and indecisiveness,” he said. “Wherever that road may lead, walk with confidence, hold your head up and keep your eyes open.”

And Virden told students that they shouldn’t be afraid to cry — a point he illustrated by example at the end of his speech.

School Presidents Camila Toro and Sumner Erbe also spoke, taking turns sharing their favorite Hotchkiss moments.

Many of their reminiscences touched on the collaborative spirit of the School community — spontaneous games of manhunt in the Bissell quad, group speech-writing sessions in the English wing, and Head of School Peter O’Neill’s (to whom the Class dedicated the 2016 Misch) impersonations of Johnny Cash.

Throughout the ceremony, the sky threatened rain, but only a few drops fell as the crowd dispersed and the grounds crew folded up the chairs.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY WENDY CARLSON AND JONATHAN DOSTER

2016 senior awards

ATHLETICS The James T. Bryan ’11 Athletic Award: Nicholas A. Carola III & Marco L. Quaroni The Goss Athletic Award: Calla K. Khilnani & Avital Romoff The Andrew Knox Dwyer ’01 Award: Julia Y. Chen & Andre R. Kurtz

ARTS The Ellen R. Torrey Dance Prize: Jamie Ma The Peter D’Albert ’70 Memorial Art Award: Grace Cheng & Freddy Espitia The John Hammond ’29 Music Award: Jonathan Cruz Walma & Kanika Gupta The Sarah T. Craig ’95 Memorial Prize: An (Ivy) Nguyen The Film Prize: Michael Sansbury The Edward Klinghofer Jr. ’43 Prize: Colin McCalla The Thomas Blagden ’29 Award: Kamonphorn (Narisa) Buranasiri

HUM ANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES The Edward B. Preston ’79 Memorial Prize: Sophia Wang Philosophy & Religion Prize: Jacob Kagan The Frank A. Sprole Social Service Prize: Normandie Essig Jiaxuan (Sophia) Wang

LANGUAGES The Hoey Senior Greek Prize: Olivia Ostrover Latin: Bokeun (Bobby) Kwon Chinese: Kyoung A (Viola) Lee David Demaray Senior French Prize: Kateryna Bolonnikova Emerson Bigelow ’13 and John Emerson Bigelow ’44 Prize for Conversational French: Ruben Castro

The Architecture Prize: Silas Gibbons

The Charles E. Berry German Prize: Weon Tae (Bryant) Jung

ENGLISH

Spanish: Julia Greenberg

The Thomas H. Chappell ’24 Prize: Kamonphorn (Narisa) Buranasiri The Teagle Essay Prize: Brooke Lummis

M ATH

SCIENCES The Robert B. Flint ’23 Science Prize: Kyoung A (Viola) Lee The Lewis A. Clarke ’30 Prize: Sumner Erbe

M AJOR SCHOOL PRIZES The First Scholar Prize: Hannah Pouler The Head of School’s Prize: Hannah Pouler & Bokeun (Bobby) Kwon The Walter Cleveland Allen Jr. ’32 Prize: Agnes Ezekwesili & Marco Quaroni The Centennial Prize: Ruben Castro & Jill Rosenthal The Faculty Prize: Nicholas Carola III, Jack Duryea, Normandie Essig, Kanika Gupta, Edward Kalaydjian, Chamberlain Mathis, Chloe Onbargi, Cady Stanton & Hannah Xu The Charles E. Lord Prize: Freddy Espitia, Charles Mangum & Stella McKew The Albert William Olsen ’13 Prize: Noah Ahmed, Stephen Moon, Jiaxuan Wang & Chujun Zhang The Charles Denton Treadway ’14 Memorial Prize: Sumner Erbe & Brooke Lummis

The George Norton Stone Senior Math Prize: Jack Duryea & Stephen Moon

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

7

Campus

con n e cti on

125 Hotchkiss

Celebrating Hotchkiss, from A to Z

is for

Scoville Gate Designed in 1937 by Delano & Aldrich, the gate defines the southern side of campus and was built after Route 41 moved east and no longer bisected the School grounds. The brick work echoes the south wall on the Chapel, built a year earlier, and the acorn finials symbolize growth. The gate was replaced in 2002 with an exact replica, built with custom-made bricks molded to the original dimensions. The gate — always written as a singular noun — honors Robert Scoville (1876-1934), a Hotchkiss trustee from 1905 to 1934.

8

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANNE DAY

On October 19, 1892, The Hotchkiss School opened its doors to 50 students in pursuit of “the highest order of college preparation,” according to the editors of the School’s first publication, The Hotchkiss Annual (later renamed The Mischianza). In 1893, the School presented diplomas to the 14 young men who comprised the first graduating class.

At the end of the 2016-17 academic year, Hotchkiss will present diplomas to its 125th graduating class. To celebrate this milestone, Hotchkiss Archives & Special Collections will present a Hotchkiss encyclopedia, slated to debut in the Rotunda next spring. The exhibit will feature 26 panels — one for each letter of the alphabet — illustrating a quintessentially Hotchkiss tradition, place, or person.

We invite our community to submit ideas for “Hotchkiss: A to Z.” When you think of Hotchkiss, what comes to mind? A spot on campus? A certain teacher? “Fair Hotchkiss?” Send your thoughts to archivist@hotchkiss.org

by August 15.

BISSELL PHOTOGRAPHS/ HOTCHKISS ARCHIVES; REDLICH PHOTOGRAPH BY WENDY CARLSON

The Opening of Redlich Hall Adds a New Chapter to the Residential Experience This fall, students will move into Hotchkiss’s newest dormitory, Redlich Hall, which opened on June 20 after almost two years under construction. The centerpiece of the School’s effort to enhance residential life, the 60-bed dormitory sits on the site of the former Bissell Hall, which was decommissioned in 2014 after 120 years of service. In the future, older dorms on campus will receive needed improvements, including renovations to faculty apartments, student rooms, and common areas.

The new dorm is named in honor of donor Chris Redlich ’68 of Hillsborough, Calif. His support of this goal through his gift strengthens the School’s ability to attract and retain great teachers.

Redlich Hall features shared and private

spaces, in addition to both single and double rooms for boarding and day students. The four faculty residences will accommodate growing families, while offering single teachers and couples comfortable living spaces.

These attractive apartments encourage interaction between students and their dorm faculty, while also taking into account faculty accessibility and family privacy.

Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York, whose founder and senior partner, Robert A.M. Stern, is dean of the Yale School of Architecture, Redlich Hall occupies the same quad as Flinn Hall and Edelman Hall, which were designed by the same firm.

“Redlich Hall has now taken its place on the

Hotchkiss campus and sits beautifully next to Flinn and Edelman, completing the quad,” said Hotchkiss Director of Facilities John Bryant. “The building looks as though it has been here for many years, which is a testament to the planning and vision of the project design team.”

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

9

Campus

con n e cti on

Community Service Award Winners Alexander R. Brash ’77 and William L. Bryan Jr. ’62, P’92

By ROBERTA JENCKES Photographs by JONATHAN DOSTER

“If you’re passionate about something, stay with it.”

– William L. Bryan Jr. ’62, P’92 10

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Opposite page: Alexander Brash ’77, left, and William Bryan Jr. ’62, P’92 On left, Director of Environmental Initiatives and Assistant Head of School Joshua Hahn and Alumni Association President Ed Greenberg ’55, far right, congratulate Brash and Bryan.

T

he Hotchkiss community honored the 2016

Community Service Award winners during an All-School program on April 22. In remarks delivered during an on-stage discussion, the awardees frequently touched on the timeless messages of Earth Day — of service to and caring for the natural environment.

Brash was president of the Connecticut Audubon Society, the state’s leading independent conservation organization, overseeing a staff of 30, four nature centers, two museums, and 19 sanctuaries encompassing 2,600 acres. Bryan is founder and president of One Montana, a nonprofit organization that seeks to address mental health issues facing families in rural communities and Native American reservations.

During the program, both men reflected on their years at Hotchkiss and the experiences made possible by the environment surrounding the School. “Hard to imagine,” Brash said, telling the audience how there used to be salmon swimming right in Sucker Brook on campus. He also remembered how, fresh from New York City, he was captivated by the sight of a brown creeper flying into the library window right before his eyes. As he watched the bird recover and then fly off, Brash thought about how the bird “keyed me into the beauty and fragility of the world around us.” Bryan recalled that students didn’t take much interest in the environment

Bryan accepts his award during Auditorium.

in the early ’60s, when he was a student, until a new instructor with a love of fishing and bird hunting helped to change things. And, he noted, the Fur, Feather, and Fin Club was active at the School.

Asked about the skill set needed to be successful in any field, both honorees spoke of the importance of communication. “Get your writing skills to the best possible level,” Brash advised students. “No matter what you think, it’s only to yourself, unless you get it out there.” Bryan echoed him, emphasizing the importance of good listening. And, he told students, “If you’re passionate about something, stay with it.”

In addition to founding and leading One Montana, Bryan has decades of experience in organizational development, natural resource planning, and experiential education. He has given much of his time to service on the boards of numerous organizations, both nationally and within the Northern Rockies. He and his wife, Pam, are co-founders of Off the Beaten Path, an international specialty travel company based in Bozeman, Mont. Additionally, he is the author of Montana Indians: Yesterday and Today.

Before being named president of the Connecticut Audubon Society, Brash held positions at the World Wildlife Fund and the Nature Conservancy and worked with the U.S. Forest Service.

As director of management planning and, later, as chief of the Urban Park Service of New York City’s Parks Department, Brash allocated the agency’s $350-million budget and led a group of 500-plus uniformed employees. In 2004, when the 96-year-old National Parks Conservation Association opened its first office in New York, he was named senior regional director. There, he was charged with raising awareness of national park issues and developing public and congressional support for the federal funding critical to the preservation and care of national parks.

Since 1992, 61 alumni have received the Community Service Award, given by the Hotchkiss Alumni Association. Recipients are selected by the Nominating Committee of the Alumni Association Board of Governors. Edward Greenberg ’55, president of the Alumni Association, presented the awards to this year’s recipients.

More information on the 2016 Community Service Award winners can be found at hotchkiss.org/alumni.

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

11

Visitors

Ralph Nader Makes the Case for Civic Engagement

Jennifer Finney Boylan Speaks to the Hotchkiss Community Making Room for Open Dialogue Noted writer, professor, and activist Jennifer Finney Boylan spoke to the Hotchkiss community on April 7 as part of the Human Development lecture series for lower mids.

Boylan is the inaugural Anna Quindlen writer-in-residence at Barnard College of Columbia University. She also serves as the national co-chair of the Board of Directors of GLAAD, the media advocacy group for LGBT people worldwide.

Boylan is the author of 13 books, including the 2003 memoir She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders, which became the first bestselling book by a transgender author. She’s a contributing writer to the New York Times op-ed page, and she serves on the Board of Trustees of the Kinsey Institute for Research on Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. Boylan is also special advisor to the president of Colby College.

In addition to her writing and advocacy work, Boylan is a consultant and cast member on I Am Cait, the docuseries about Caitlyn Jenner that debuted on the E! network in July 2015, and she served as a consultant for the critically acclaimed Amazon series Transparent.

During her talk in Elfers Hall, Boylan encouraged students to be compassionate with one another, and she emphasized the importance of creating space for open dialogue.

To listen to a podcast of an interview with Boylan, go to www.hotchkiss.org/podcasts.

12

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Ralph Nader — veteran consumer activist, lawyer, author, and five-time presidential candidate — visited campus in March. Nader urged students to become civically engaged and asked instructors to “connect their classrooms to the larger community.”

Nader’s visit was part of the Beal Lecture Series, established in honor of Thaddeus R. (Ted) Beal Jr. ’35 to address current national and global issues.

In Auditorium, Nader was introduced by his nephew, upper mid Torleif Stumo, who said his uncle was able to accomplish major reforms by moving beyond “social criticism to enact effective political action.”

Nader rose to prominence as an activist in 1965, when he took on the automobile industry with his book, Unsafe at Any Speed, an investigation into safety standards in the auto industry. The exposé led to government regulations for car manufacturers, like mandatory seat belt installation.

Nader, 82, continues to speak out against oversized corporate interests and defend consumer rights — and last summer, he opened the American Museum of Tort Law in his hometown of Winsted, Conn.

In his 40-minute address, Nader challenged students to become “agents of change” through their education.

His advice resonated with some students, including senior Ruben Castro, who had not heard of Nader before his visit to Hotchkiss.

“Nader’s remarks about citizenship pertain to our generation,” Castro said. “As citizens, we must be informed in order to take action. We have the right to information and we have the right to knowledge, but we don’t take advantage of these rights.”

Senior Bryant Jung, editor-in-chief of the new student publication, The Hotchkiss Review, said Nader’s values reflect the philosophy behind the publication: to be a medium in which students can discuss and express their opinions.

“He was inspiring,” Jung said, “because he reminded us that we need to consciously uphold our civic values. In a place like Hotchkiss, we often forget that we belong to a bigger society.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY WENDY CARLSON

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES BOWDOIN © 2007

Connecting Classrooms with the Community

Visitors

Visiting Artist Wendy Klemperer Teaches Students How to Forge Their Own Sculpture

By WENDY CARLSON

A

rtist Wendy Klemperer spends a lot of time poking around scrapyards and construction sites. On a good day, she might haul away 1,000 pounds of discarded steel, everything from rusty pitchforks to bundles of twisted rebar. Back at her studio in Brooklyn, Klemperer wields an arc welder and a torch to transform heaps of rusted metal detritus into works of art, which have been exhibited across the country. In 2015, Klemperer won the Clare Weiss Emerging Artist Award for her work, Shadow Migration — an installation of 10 steel animals, including a fox, a bear, a wolf, and deer.

During her week-long residency at Hotchkiss in early May, Klemperer demonstrated her technique to art students, explaining how each sculpture progresses from a rough steel frame that captures the “gesture” of the animal she wants to create to an intricately welded, three-dimensional piece.

Despite her reliance on man-made refuse, Klemperer’s work reflects her fascination with the natural world.

Despite her reliance on man-made refuse, Klemperer’s work reflects her fascination with the natural world. The daughter of chemists, Klemperer grew up outside of Boston, and as a child, she would spend hours sketching wildlife in the woods near her home. She was on the path to pursue a career in science herself, and she earned

a B.A. in biochemistry from Harvard. But while at Harvard, she took a sculpture class, and soon discovered that she loved being in the foundry. She switched career paths, moved to New York, and eventually earned a B.F.A. in sculpture at Pratt Institute in 1983.

Inspired by her early love of nature, Klemperer’s metal creatures are mythical in stature, and they often seem poised to spring into action. Small bits of steel, machinery, and car parts become features — horns, teeth, claws — on these hollow, skeletallooking pieces. The natural landscape fills the negative space, both complementing and camouflaging the sculptures.

Under Klemperer’s guidance, students began working together to create two sculptures: one of her German shepherd, Omar, and an abstract form resembling a teepee.

“Working with the students was great.

I love their enthusiasm and focus,” said Klemperer, whose residency was arranged by the visual arts department and Special Collections.

“I was amazed that, within a few minutes, they just dove in and started working,” she said. “I even managed to teach some of them how to weld with the arc welder and to use the torch to cut through metal.”

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

13

Campus

con n e cti on

Hotchkiss Celebrates Its 20th Eco Day Students attended a keynote address by Barry Parkin, chief sustainability and health and well-being officer at the Mars Corporation, and took on a range of outdoor service projects on campus and in the surrounding community.

Photographs by WENDY CARLSON

T

his year marked the school’s 20th eco day,

an annual recognition of the importance of environmental stewardship held during the week of Earth Day. On April 19, students participated in a range of outdoor service projects on campus and in the surrounding communities— from cleaning up trash along Route 41 to mulching asparagus beds at Fairfield Farm.

In the morning, students and faculty attended a keynote address

by Barry Parkin, chief sustainability and health and well-being

14

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

officer at the Mars Corporation and chairman of the World Cocoa Foundation. Parkin traced each ingredient in a bag of peanut M&Ms to its source to examine the environmental and socioeconomic sustainability of the production process — which, in the case of a bag of peanut M&M’s, spans multiple continents and accounts for thousands of jobs. The company’s new environmental practices will help Mars reach its goal of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, Parkin said.

“The highlight of the day was watching students learn from each other — and from Hotchkiss staff members and members of the local community.”

— Joshua Hahn

After Parkin’s talk, upper mid Jackie Ryu demonstrated a computer program that measured energy usage in each building on campus over several months, which he developed in an independent study with Director of Photography Greg Lock.

After lunch, students broke into smaller groups to tackle outdoor projects. At Fairfield Farm, they built raised garden beds, wired mobile chicken coops, constructed stiles for the Larsen Trail, and planted apple trees.

“It reminds me of The Amazing Race,” said Connie Shi ’18 as she helped lower an apple tree sapling into the ground.

Other students, including Abraham Asante ’16 and Pierre Coffy ’17, picked up trash along Route 41 between the School and Fairfield Farm. Asante and Coffy were the first members of their team to reach the Farm — and, they hoped, the bearers of the heaviest trash bag. Triumphantly, they plopped their load on the scale. When the needle only reached the 10-pound mark, they both groaned.

“Maybe we should add some rocks,” Coffy joked.

Joshua Hahn, assistant head of school and director of environmental initiatives, said that the highlight of the day was watching students learn from each other — and from Hotchkiss staff and members of the local community. “This year, Dennis Smith in our grounds department taught students how to graft fruit trees. Mike Webster in Dining Services taught students about sustainable sourcing strategies while the students prepared dinner. And Allen Cockerline, a Salisbury farmer with whom we partner, helped students understand how invasive species affect his grass-fed beef,” Hahn said. “These are truly important and lasting connections for the community.” — Chelsea Edgar

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

15

Campus

con n e cti on

Spring Athletic Highlights Go Bearcats!

I

t was a season in transition for several spring athletic programs, and yet, as always, there were standout performances to highlight. The boys and girls track teams led the way with a combined head-to-head record of 18-3, the girls finished third at the Founders League Championship, and the boys finished third at both Founders and New England Championships.

Individuals on each team also had stellar performances. Julia Greenberg ’16 and Colin Hussey ’16 led the Bearcats to a sweep in the pole vault at both Founders and New Englands, and Cahleb Derry ’16 also won in triple jump at both events. Jiah Norman ’17 defended his New England title in high jump. Greenberg, Norman, and Marco Quaroni ’16 each set School records at New Englands.

Coming on the heels of their transcendent 2015 season, the varsity Ultimate Frisbee team had a tough act to follow, but the reconstructed roster acquitted itself well, battling through to a runner-up finish at the Connecticut state championships and a third-place finish at New Englands.

The girls varsity lacrosse team produced another reliably excellent season. The Bearcats rode a nine-game winning streak to the end of the season, finishing with at least 10 wins for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.

Hotchkiss also played well on the links. The boys varsity golf team closed its season with six wins in its last seven head-to-head matches and finished fourth at the Kingswood-Oxford Invitational Tournament tournament. The girls varsity golf team finished 7-9, its secondhighest win total in the last 10 years, and finished third at Founders.

Female sailors had a banner year, with Chrissie Klingler ’16 skippering the winning boat at the New England fleet races and the team finishing third at the New England women’s fleet races. — Roger Wistar

16

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

17

18

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

FOR FIONA BOCK ’16, KNOWLEDGE IS NEVER A DANGEROUS THING How one Hotchkiss student turned her awareness of human trafficking into an award-winning documentary short

By CHELSEA EDGAR

Photograph by WENDY CARLSON

Human trafficking, a hidden epidemic that affects some 300,000 underage girls in the U.S., has never been a secret to Fiona Bock. From an early age, Bock heard about young women being sold into sex slavery from her mother, Sharmin Bock, whose work as assistant district attorney for Alameda County in California put her into close contact with victims. Last summer, Bock decided to dig deeper into the world of sex trafficking by making a documentary called Child For Sale, a 13-minute film that aims to show the real impact of sex trafficking through interviews with victims. In April, the movie won the grand prize in the Girls Impact the World Film Festival, an annual event sponsored by the Harvard College Social Innovation Collaborative, and received an honorable mention for best documentary short at the Sonoma International Film Festival. Bock also won the Grand Jury Prize and Best Documentary Prize at the fifth annual Hotchkiss Film Festival in May. As she prepares for life after Hotchkiss, Bock reflects on what led her to make the film — and what she learned in the process.

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

19

I DISCOVERED THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE OF THE REALITY OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITIES, BUT THE WIDE RANGE OF SURVIVORS PROVES THAT EVERY DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC GROUP IS AT RISK.

When did you first become interested in this issue?

When I was in sixth grade, my class took a field trip to the state assembly, where my mom was testifying in support of a law that would help victims of child sex trafficking.

I remember thinking that if every person in the room did something small, it would make a big difference in the lives of these children. I have always been passionate about raising awareness about human trafficking and helping survivors gain access to the opportunities they deserve.

Why did you decide to make the documentary?

Initially, I thought I wanted to approach the project as a series of still photos of the girls — I had been auditing an advanced digital photography class with Mr. Lock, so I had become familiar with different techniques I could use to photograph the subjects in the dark [to maintain their anonymity]. But then I realized you can’t hear their stories in their own voices with just still photos. I really wanted to show through the film that it’s not just one type of girl that’s affected by trafficking. I also had a mentor, documentary film producer Eric Paul Fournier, who helped me shoot the film.

How did your mom’s work as assistant district attorney for Alameda County influence you?

My mom started the first human trafficking unit in the county, and she’s written a lot of legislation in California to help victims of child sex trafficking. When I decided I wanted to make this documentary, my mom connected me with Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, and she helped me get in touch with the Oakland Police, who let me do a ride-along with them and film it.

20

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Was it difficult to get the girls you interviewed for this project to open up about what they’d experienced?

I spent a weekend with a group of them at a safe house in northern California, and I connected with them on a personal level.

It was probably easier for them to talk to someone their own age than it might be for them to talk to an adult. I ate meals with them, I hung out with them, and I still talk to some of them — I think of them as friends.

But it was really important to me that they didn’t feel like they were being pressured to tell me anything they didn’t want to share, because those girls have been used their whole lives. I didn’t want them to feel like I was using them, too.

What did you hope to accomplish with this film?

I have found that most documentaries on human trafficking don’t fully represent the issue. Often, the films won’t thoroughly explore the psychological manipulation that occurs in these situations, falsely portraying the girls as “prostitutes” instead of “the prostituted.” This was never how I saw them, so I wanted to put together something that would dispel these stereotypes, and I thought the best way to do that would be to show the world that these girls are no different from your daughter, niece, granddaughter, or sister.

What surprised you in your research on human trafficking?

I discovered that most people are unaware of the reality of human trafficking within their communities, but the wide range of survivors proves that every demographic and socioeconomic group is at risk. When many people think about sex slaves and human trafficking, they think about Asian and Eastern European girls being shipped around

in cargo containers, but what they don’t realize is that American children make up a large portion of the 4.5 million people forced into sexual labor worldwide.

What organizations did you work with to make the film?

I have been working with a number of not-for-profit organizations, such as New Day for Children (which is the biggest one), Love Never Fails, Free the Slaves, and Shared Hope. I also think that Heat Watch, the Polaris Project, and the National Human Trafficking Resource Center are a few of the best education resources on human trafficking.

New Day for Children is the safe house where I interviewed a group of survivors ranging in age from 14 to 19. Many of the girls that I interviewed were exploited and trafficked from very young ages, starting even younger than four years old. New Day provides the girls with safety from their exploiters, long-term counseling and education, and hope for a better life.

What’s the film’s message?

I think educating the public is the most important thing. The vast majority of the victims said that they had no idea what they were getting into, and if they had been aware of human trafficking, they might not have been a victim. Prevention on both sides is necessary; we need to educate young girls about the risk, and we need to educate young boys that being a “pimp” isn’t cool, despite what the media might suggest. Since the average age of entry is 12 to 14 years old, we can decrease the number of at-risk children by educating them at an early age.

You can watch Child for Sale at Vimeo.com.

News from the A lu m n i A s s o c ia ti o n

Building a Legacy for Alumni of Color

O

n may 12, the association’s alumni of color

committee hosted a gathering in Brooklyn at Emeline’s, a restaurant owned by the family of Benjeil Edghill ’94. Sixtyeight alumni came to reconnect with classmates and listen to remarks by Alumni of Color Committee Chair Nicole Phillips ’89, Board of Trustees member Liz Hines ’93, and Instructor in Chemistry Richard Kirby, P ’08, ’09, ’14, ’15, who also serves as co-chair of the newly formed Strategic Planning Committee for Inclusion and Diversity at Hotchkiss.

In the light-filled restaurant, classmates enjoyed cocktails and

conversation. Kirby, who spoke about his role on the planning committee and how Hotchkiss has made strides toward supporting its goals, reunited with many of his former students, including Faith Briggs ’06, whose decision to come to Hotchkiss had a lot to do with Kirby’s role as track coach. “The track program was a huge source of support for me,” Briggs said.

In her remarks, Phillips said the goal of the committee is to “build a legacy” for Hotchkiss’s alumni of color — and to strengthen relationships between alumni of color and the School.

Be an Advisor!

In March 2015, The Hotchkiss Alumni Association introduced the next generation of trusted web-based career networks: the Hotchkiss Alumni Career Network (a replacement for Career Connections on Alumnet). We have partnered with Evisors, making us the first secondary school in the country to provide this cloud-based service for our alumni. This network allows advisors to choose the services they would like to offer (i.e., career conversations, resume critiques, and mock interviews). Advice seekers can search for alumni in many industries.

Signing up is fast and easy at www.hotchkiss.evisors.com.

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

21

A Landscape of

By ROBERTA JENCKES

22

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Photograph by WENDY CARLSON

Hotchkiss Moments Artist, teacher, and outdoorsman Charles D. Noyes ’78, P’03, ’07 is the 2016 Lufkin Prize Winner.

Established in 2006, the Lufkin Prize is given in recognition of teachers who make a significant contribution to character development within the Hotchkiss community and serve as role models for students.

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

23

“ If I’m moved by a combination of shapes and angles, and lighting and color, then I try to capture that confluence.” — Charlie Noyes

C

harles Noyes, or “Charlie,” as he’s known, has lived and worked 32 of his 56 years on campus — three as a student and 29 as a faculty member. “So many stories. So many people. So many memories. In all my ruminations,” Noyes said during his Lufkin Prize acceptance speech in April, “I kept on coming back to the power of story, and realized that my Hotchkiss experiences — my Hotchkiss stories — have shaped and defined me.”

Growing up in Norwich, Conn., young Charlie had heard about Hotchkiss from his father, Harrison Noyes, a member of the Class of 1941. But he never seriously thought about leaving his school and friends. That all changed when he showed one of his English compositions to his father, who found numerous errors that had gone uncorrected by his teacher.

Whoa, thought Charlie. Maybe there was something to this Hotchkiss business.

When he arrived for orientation in the fall of 1975, he faced daunting challenges.

24

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

“I was pudgy, shy, and did not know a single soul,” he said. But a young faculty couple, Jennifer and Carl Hagelin, whose faculty apartment was next to his room on the third floor of Memorial Hall, helped him feel at home his first year. They were new to Hotchkiss, too, and Carl, who taught music, helped young Noyes to discover his love of singing.

“I spent a lot of time with them that year working through my issues, mastering the Etch-a-Sketch, listening to Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen on Carl’s huge reel-toreel tape player, and hiding from the more challenging aspects of being a new lower mid at Hotchkiss,” Noyes said.

Academically, he was finding his way, especially in English and art classes.

Blanche Hoar, one of the first women hired by the School in those early years of coeducation, proved to have an enormous influence on the budding artist.

“She gave so much of herself, but she expected much from us in return,” Noyes

said. “Through her, I discovered a passion for drawing and painting that I never knew I had, and I would go on to study art with her for all three years.”

But when senior prizes were announced and Noyes did not win the Art Prize, he was disappointed. In his heart, though, he knew why.

“I’d always worked hard in art, but not that hard. I took risks sometimes, but not big risks. I stretched myself, but never far enough. My art was good, but it could have been better,” he said. He carries the lesson to this day; perhaps it’s why he pushes his own art students so hard, he said.

After graduating from Hotchkiss, he chose Middlebury College, which combined his academic interests in art and English with his love for the outdoors. There, he also met Karin, his future wife, on a trip to Virginia sponsored by the Middlebury Mountain Club.

They became engaged in his senior year.

After graduating magna cum laude with a major in English literature and minor in

TOP PHOTO BY JONATHAN DOSTER; BOTTOM PHOTO BY LEN RUBENSTEIN

studio art, he tried out a number of different jobs — in college administration, advertising, carpentry, catering, and commercial printing.

Then he got a call from Hotchkiss about a job teaching visual art.

“I had zero teaching experience and had only graduated eight years earlier,” he recalls.

But friends on the faculty, including Ron Carlson and Walter DeMelle, who had been his advisor at Hotchkiss, encouraged him to come. That summer, Charlie and Karin moved into Buehler Hall with their baby, Megan.

Sons Merrick and Nick followed later.

In the 28 busy and fulfilling years since, he served as the chair of the visual art department for 13 years, followed by three years as co-head of the newly configured department of visual and performing arts. He lived in the dorms for 17 years, including 14 years as dorm head, and served as co-director of the Tremaine Art Gallery, director of the Living with Difference program on campus, and as a member of many School committees.

But with all the leadership roles he juggles, he still makes time to pursue his own art as a painter and illustrator.

Teaching and advising, though, remain at the center of his life at Hotchkiss.

“I love teaching preps, seeing them grow and blossom with confidence,” he says. “I’m pushing them to be more responsible for the

conceptual development of their work. For most kids, that’s brand-new.

“I will say to them, ‘If you write a poem, if you do a drawing of a cup, what does it mean?’ ‘It’s a cup on a window sill,’ they will say. That’s technique. That’s step one. Step two is why, and ninth-graders never ask themselves that question. They have to get to understand that that’s an important factor in getting to create imagery that matters.”

In recent years, a serendipitous turn of events led him to focus on the School’s natural environment.

“It was interesting, how it happened,” Noyes said of his involvement with Fairfield Farm. “Around 2008, a local farmer who was leasing some land at the farm asked for help with planting. At the time, I was the advisor to the Climbing Club, so I showed up with my climbers one Wednesday. Before we knew it, they were cutting potatoes, having fun, singing Broadway tunes,” he said, laughing.

He saw how much the students enjoyed working at the farm. The next day, he wrote a proposal for Fairfield Farm Ecosystems and Adventure Team (FFEAT), a cocurricular activity to develop leadership skills and teach students about sustainable food systems. In recent years, FFEAT has been enrolled to full capacity.

In 2013, Noyes became curriculum

coordinator for Fairfield Farm, devoting half of his teaching time to working with faculty members to develop academic programming at the farm, including the inaugural farm-to-table summer program for adults.

His life at Hotchkiss has now come full circle — from his beginning as a shy student to becoming a leader strengthening the School’s connection with the land. “I’m not a farmer, you know?” Noyes conceded. “But, I’m a naturalist. I just love all these things.”

To see a video and read about the Lufkin Award ceremony, go to hotchkiss.org/lufkin2016.

Opposite page: Noyes’s painting Beeslick, Early Spring, a watercolor landscape at Fairfield Farm Above: Charles Noyes accepts the Lufkin Prize from Dan Lufkin ‘49.

Left: Noyes teaches students about agriculture and environmentalism at Fairfield Farm.

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

25

Behind THE Velvet Ropes

26

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARTIN SECK

By WENDY CARLSON

T

wo Hotchkiss alumni lead distinguished careers at two very different museums. At one, you might come across two performance artists screaming into each other’s open mouths; at the other, you’ll converse in hushed tones while maintaining a reverential distance from the Rembrandts.

Inside the offices of Ian Wardropper ’69 and Peter Reed ’73

plus

an alumnus with the greatest private medal collection in the world

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

27

Ian Wardropper ’69

At Home with Vermeer

T

&

Goya

he sounds of horns blaring and taxis screeching along Fifth Avenue are muffled in the second-floor office of Ian Wardropper, director of The Frick Collection. Even the tulip trees in the elevated garden below appear softer, a gauzy pink in the afternoon rain.

Like the rest of the mansion, Wardropper’s plush office — once the boudoir of Adelaide Howard Childs Frick, wife of industrialist Henry Clay Frick — retains its Gilded-Age splendor, with its original carved oak doors and marble fireplace. An imposing oil painting of 18th-century musician Antonio Bartolomeo Bruni, arrayed in hunting attire, looms above Wardropper’s desk.

These rarified trappings make it seem as though Wardropper is cocooned in another time. In a sense, he is. Wardropper, director of The Frick since 2011, gets to spend his days among masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Goya, to name a few of the artists whose works adorn the walls of the massive limestone mansion that became a museum in 1935. Every day, he makes a point of descending from his office down the palatial stairwell to the first-floor galleries, where he surveys the scene — noting how many people are there and what they’re looking at — and nods hello to the guards.

28

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

OPPOSITE: THE FRICK COLLECTION @ 2015/ PHOTO BY MICHAEL BODYCOMB; (THIS PAGE) PHOTOGRAPH BY WENDY CARLSON

There’s an intimacy at The Frick that sets it apart from other museums. A Bellini masterpiece hangs against oak-paneled walls in the living room, furnished with 18th-century French settees, Renaissance bronzes, and Chinese porcelains, arranged as they might have been when the Fricks lived there. Paintings have small metal labels on the frames instead of informational plaques.

Nothing is under glass, and it’s up to the guards to make sure that visitors don’t press too close to the art.

“The Frick is a really unusual institution.

I’ve spent my life in bigger museums,” says Wardropper, who came to The Frick from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he chaired the department of European sculpture and decorative arts. “But to come to a smaller museum towards the end of my career and have the challenge of being a director is very different, and it’s been a very rewarding experience.”

At The Frick, one of Wardropper’s many responsibilities is to ensure that the museum’s collections of Old Master paintings, European sculpture, and decorative arts are maintained in a setting that captures the spirit of Henry Clay Frick, the 20th-century industrialist and art collector who built the mansion in 1911.

But while the museum tries to maintain an aura of the past, it needs to move forward, says Wardropper, who has helped organize more than 20 exhibitions during his tenure, including the spring 2016 exhibit, Van Dyck: The Anatomy of Portraiture.

The Frick averages 300,000 visitors a year, and the museum needs more room for educational programs and exhibitions.

Wardropper is so busy with the proposed expansion, juggling budgets, hiring staff, attending dinners with patrons, and meeting with architects, that he has less time to pursue projects in his field of expertise, French Renaissance sculpture. Last year, he was able to spend time in the museum’s vaults while doing research for his most recent book, Limoges Enamels at The Frick.

His interest in European art was first piqued as a child. His father was English and a professor of Spanish literature at Duke University, and every summer, the family would travel to Europe.

“

to come to a smaller museum towards

”

the end of my career and have the challenge of being a director is very different,

and it’s been a very rewarding experience.

“When I was about seven years old, we went to the Prado, and the first painting that I really remember seeing was Velázquez’s Las Meninas, a huge portrait with the king and queen walking through their palace, with all these princesses and court dwarfs. The painting was exhibited in a room by itself with a mirror on the opposite wall that was the size of the painting,” he recalls. “The result was a through-the-looking-glass effect that was very theatrical.”

Today, Wardropper thinks that encounter with Las Meninas might have marked a nascent interest in curating. “I was thinking not only about the art, but about the way it was presented,” he reflects.

But at Hotchkiss, Wardropper didn’t spend much time in the art department.

Instead, he wrote for The Record and presided over the chess club. During his junior year at Brown, after he realized he hadn’t declared a major yet, he decided to take an art history course. “Once I discovered art history, I totally immersed myself in it,” he says.

These days, no matter how busy he is, Wardropper makes a point of strolling through the galleries, picking one piece of art, and studying it closely. “It’s the one thing,” he says, “that takes me back to my roots.”

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

29

How a Medal Collection Reunited Two Hotchkiss Alumni For much of his life, Stephen Scher ’52 ran Scher Chemicals, Inc., his family’s business. But he always remained true to his real passion: art history.

“I sort of led a double life,” says Scher, who lives in New York City and serves on the visiting committees of several museums.

He and his wife, Janie, own what is widely considered the greatest private collection of portrait medals in the world.

Before taking the helm at Scher Chemicals in the early ’70s, Scher taught art history at Brown for 12 years, where he had Ian Wardropper ’69, now director of The Frick, as a student. The two scholars kept in touch, and their lives intersected again last fall, when Scher decided to donate his medal collection to The Frick.

Scher’s interest in medals began when he was on a trip to Florence as an undergraduate at Yale, studying Renaissance history. “I wandered into a dealer’s shop and saw a medal, and it just struck a note with me.

I felt like I was holding the Renaissance in my hand. It was a very evocative moment,” he says.

Scher graduated from Yale, earned his masters’ at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University in 1961, and then returned to Yale for his Ph.D. in art history. While still at Yale, Scher began lecturing in art history at Brown. He continued teaching for 12 years; for two years he was chair of the art department.

Then, in 1972, his father died. For several months, Scher agonized over whether to leave Brown and take over the family business. He took a leave of absence, and then, in 1975, he made the decision to step in and run the company. But he didn’t abandon his love of medals. Today, his collection includes examples by European masters as well as a Hotchkiss medal, the Hotchkiss Estill Prize, awarded in 1931 to Pulitzer-Prize winning writer John Hersey ’32.

After selling Scher Chemicals, Inc., in 2004 and retiring, Scher became more involved with museums, lending his medals for exhibit at major institutions, including the Yale Center for British Art, where he was honored with the Yale Medal last year.

The initial gift of 450 medals from the Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher Collection to The Frick Collection traces the development of the art of medal from the 15th century through the 19th century and will be displayed in a temporary exhibit next spring. Following the expansion of The Frick, the medals will be exhibited in a permanent gallery.

In a New York Times story announcing the gift, Wardropper said that the medals are “miniature lessons in history,” and will complement Henry Clay Frick’s collection of portraiture.

30

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PETER REED ’73

Moving mountains

at

A

MOMA

still from When Faith Moves Mountains, a 2002 film

by Francis Alÿs, hangs prominently in Peter Reed’s office at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

The film was shot on a mountain near Lima, Peru, where the artist asked 500 volunteers to walk in a line and use a shovel to move the sand dune 10 centimeters from its original position. The photo shows the line of workers, trudging their way up the mountain like marching ants.

“One can interpret the image in many ways, and sometimes it strikes me as a wonderful metaphor for what I do here,” says Reed, wryly.

As senior deputy director for curatorial affairs, Reed covers a lot of ground. MoMA — the city’s largest private museum with 800 people on staff and more than 120,000 square feet of galleries — receives more than three million visitors a year. At times, the maze of galleries feels like a beehive, swarming with sketchbook-toting students who dart from gallery to gallery, narrowly avoiding collisions with the senior citizens inspecting the Pollocks and Lichtensteins.

Alfred Barr, the founding director of MoMA, once described the museum as a laboratory, and “in its experiments the public is invited to participate.” Visitors expect the unexpected when they enter its galleries. “So my colleagues and I are constantly anticipating the future,” Reed says.

His duties range from attending black-tie galas to approving lobby signs. On any given day, he may have to talk with a curator about how to present a controversial piece or attend a trustee meeting on the museum’s proposed expansion, slated for 2019.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBIN HOLLAND

MoMA’s plans include adding roughly 50,000 square feet of gallery space and more rooms for performances, along with other renovations. The museum will remain open during construction, so Reed will have to be even more nimble.

Reed’s tenure at MoMA began in 1992, when he was appointed assistant curator in the department of architecture and design. After earning a B.A. in art history at Lake Forest College in 1977, Reed spent time traveling in southeast Asia, and he briefly considered a career in anthropology. Instead, he attended graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied 20th-century architecture and medieval India.

“Within the first 10 days at Penn, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I knew this is what I wanted: to be surrounded by art and to help people to understand it, and make it meaningful,” he says.

Reed now oversees four departments in the museum, including education, and serves as the liaison between the senior administration and the museum’s six curatorial areas. But Reed still manages to find time for the scholarly research that first led him to a career in the museum world. He has authored exhibition catalogues and contributed to

“

my collegeagues

”

and I are constantly anticipating

the future.

Peter Reed, senior deputy director for curatorial affairs, The Museum of Modern Art

many publications, and he is working on an historic overview of the sculpture garden, his favorite place at MoMA. “It’s really the heart of the museum and an important urban oasis. The garden’s been the setting for different installations, so it’s like another gallery,” he says.

The garden also provides a respite from the museum, which can be a sensory overload for visitors. So Reed works with the education department to make modern art more accessible to the public and the busloads of students who visit each day — including Hotchkiss students, who took a field trip to MoMA in April.

“Hotchkiss has changed so tremendously since 1970-71, the year I attended Hotchkiss as a lower mid,” says Reed.

“The arts just weren’t very present for me at Hotchkiss at that time. I was practically the only kid taking music lessons. But it’s been wonderful watching the School change over the years,’’ says Reed.

Since Reed’s time, the School added the Tremaine Art Gallery in 1995, a gift from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation and Burton G. Tremaine Jr. ’40. In 1981, the student recreational center was renovated into the Edgar and

Louise Cullman Arts Center, a gift from Edgar Cullman ’36 and his wife, Louise.

Reed is thrilled about the strength of the arts program at Hotchkiss today. “Art can take you so many places: history, politics, mythology, current events, and literature. It unpacks the humanities, in a sense. And that’s what I love about it. It opens up so many doors and teaches you about the human condition,” he says.

One of his favorite pieces in the MoMA is The Migration Series by Jacob Lawrence, a series of 60 panels that tell the story of the African-American migration from the rural South to the urban North between World War I and World War II. The series has been part of the museum’s permanent collection since the 1940s, but it was exhibited again last year.

“When I first saw it, I just stopped in my tracks. It had so much to do with what was going on in the country with respect to social justice,” Reed says.

“To revisit one of my favorite works of art and see it in a new light was breathtaking.”

“But,” he adds, “there’s so much I could see and do at MoMA in a day — sometimes I wish I could retire and enjoy it all.”

ART CREDITS: PAGE 26: ANDY WARHOL. GOLD MARILYN MONROE. 1962. SILKSCREEN INK ON SYNTHETIC POLYMER PAINT ON CANVAS. THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NY. © 2016 ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTS / ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK. • PAGE 28: SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK (1599 - 1641).

PORTRAIT OF A GENOESE NOBLEWOMAN, 1622-1627. OIL ON CANVAS • PAGE 29: PABLO PICASSO. SEATED WOMAN. PARIS, 1927. OIL ON WOOD. THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NY. © 2016 ESTATE OF PABLO PICASSO / ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

31

Across the World and Closer to Home, Hotchkiss Alumni Offer Students a Foray into the Workplace

E

nglish Instructor Charles Frankenbach was flipping through an issue of Vanity Fair one day last spring when he came across a story about two Hotchkiss grads he had as students.

Billy Nachman and Hobson Brown III, both from the Class of 1993, had teamed up to launch Criquet, a line of vintage-inspired men’s golf shirts in Austin, Tex. After class the next day, Frankenbach showed the article to one of his students, Marco Quaroni ’16, then an upper mid and editor of the School’s student-run fashion photography blog, The Hotchkiss Lookbook.

As Quaroni tells it, Frankenbach said, “Hey, you’re from Austin and you’re interested in fashion — you should look these two up next time you’re home.”

Quaroni, often seen toting a camera to document the School’s sartorial scene, had spent the previous summer washing surgical instruments at a medical office.

(His father is a physician, and Quaroni is interested in medicine as well as business and art.) But on a visit home last spring,

32

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

he stopped into Criquet’s retail outlet in Austin to buy a golf shirt for his dad — and introduce himself to Nachman and Brown. After meeting Nachman, who heads up Criquet’s sales, Quaroni was offered an internship for the summer.

Instead of washing retractors and clamps, Quaroni folded a lot of shirts.

But he was also involved in many aspects of the company, from seeing how the button-downs are made (many of them are manufactured by a third-generation Texas shirtmaker) to marketing and advertising to assisting on photo shoots.

Brown and Nachman have two retail stores — one in Austin that features a clubhouse with a backyard driving range and a beer garden, and another in Dallas.

But they’re still a small operation with just seven full-time employees, and 95 percent of their sales are online.

“We don’t have cubicles in our office, so Marco was able to attend many meetings and to absorb everything we did on a daily basis,” said Nachman. Quaroni, who plans

to study business and art as a freshman this fall at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., said that the experience gave him an invaluable look at the inner workings of a fashion company.

For Nachman and Brown, having a Hotchkiss student intern strengthened their bond with the School.

“It was nice to have someone on our team who could relate to our own experience at Hotchkiss,” said Nachman.

Criquet’s brightly colored cotton shirts were partly inspired by their Hotchkiss years, when the two alumni practically lived in polos and the well-worn shirts they pilfered from their father’s closets. These days, they’re even kicking around the idea of designing a Bearcat shirt for the School.

Meanwhile, Marco, who still has an interest in medicine, will be returning to work at Criquet again this summer. “Who knows? Maybe there will be a boom in the medical garment industry,” he quipped.

— Wendy Carlson

PHOTOGRAPH BY WENDY CARLSON

For Marco Quaroni ’16, a Hometown Connection Led to a Summer of Vintage Polos

A Year of Self-Discovery Sparks a Passion for Hospitality

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY RICHARD HOLKAR

W

hen Hyungtae Kim ’15 learned he had been accepted to the University of Pennsylvania, the school of his dreams, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was truly prepared to take advantage of everything college would offer him. In his last semester at Hotchkiss, Kim took Emma Wynn’s class on East Asian religions, which opened his eyes to a new way of experiencing the world. He was raised a Catholic, and as he struggled to find his footing after leaving Hotchkiss, Asian philosophy struck a chord with him.

“I fell in love with what I now realize was a very romanticized image of India, Hinduism, and Buddhism,” Kim reflected.

“I saw the opportunity to explore Eastern spirituality as a chance to run away from everything that I knew.” Through the Office of International Programs, Kim learned about a hospitality internship at Ahilya Fort, a hotel in Maheshwar province owned since 1971 by Richard Holkar ’62. So he decided to defer enrollment at Penn to take a fivemonth internship at the hotel.

For Kim, the decision was dramatic — he was moving halfway across the world to a place where he didn’t speak the language, and he’d never worked in a hotel before. He remembers sitting in the car on the two-hour ride from the airport in Indore to Maheshwar, wondering what he’d gotten himself into. But once he arrived at Ahilya Fort and became swept up in the rush of hotel life — greeting guests, helping with events and weddings, and meeting people from all over the world — Kim started to feel at home.

“There was never a typical day,” he said. “We had designers from Balenciaga, grandfather clock technicians driving cross-country in a vintage Lanchester carrying eight kilograms of parmesan, and even former Hotchkiss head of schools.

Each guest made every day different. Not a single day went by in my five months there in which I did not see, learn, or live something new.”

Holkar spoke highly of Kim’s work at Ahilya Fort. “Hyungtae has the ideal temperament for someone in the hospitality

“I had these sublime occasions that were just filled with the brilliance of the present.” — H Y U N G TA E K I M ’ 1 5 business — friendly and efficient with a good sense of humor,” Holkar said. “He was a star.”

After completing his internship at Ahilya Fort, Kim spent a few months in a monastery in South Korea, where he deepened his understanding of Buddhism. This spring, he returned to the U.S., and before he starts at Penn this fall, he’s decided to pursue another hotel internship over the summer, either in New York City or Hoboken, N.J. But Kim’s time at Ahilya Fort gave him more than just a vocational direction; in

his daily routine at the hotel, he found Zen-like peace. “I had these sublime occasions that were just filled with the brilliance of the present,” he said. “Like a bus ride from Indore to Maheshwar, looking out the open window as the sun set, filling my lungs with the country air.”

— Chelsea Edgar

Kim, far left, with Ahilya Fort guests

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

33

34

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

MAKAI MASON’S

BIG YEAR In March, the former Bearcat point guard helped lead the Yale Bulldogs to their first-ever win in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. But he’s not resting on his laurels.

By TYLER WOSLEGER

Photographs by WENDY CARLSON

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

35

36

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTO BY STEVE MUSCO

F

rom the time he could walk, Makai Mason ’14 has lived and breathed basketball. Growing up in Greenfield, Mass., Mason, the youngest of four boys, first learned how to play hoops as a toddler. A recent Sports Illustrated profile described the way he would spend hours throwing balled-up socks into a laundry basket; later, in kindergarten, he would disappear into the basement of his family’s house to shoot Nerf hoops. His parents — particularly his father, Dan Mason, who was an assistant basketball coach at Hotchkiss while Mason was a student — dedicated their lives to honing his natural talent, drilling him until he could make 70 percent of his three-point shots.

Mason enrolled at Hotchkiss as a prep and left as one of the most dominant basketball players to have donned a Bearcat uniform.

To this day, he holds the School record for points scored in a game, with 44.

A rising junior at Yale, Makai — whose manic work ethic has earned him nicknames like “Cyborg,” “The Machine,” and “Golden Child” — has wrapped up his biggest season yet, which culminated in a first-round upset of fifth-seeded Baylor in the 2016 NCAA tournament. (Fellow Bearcats who suited up for the Bulldogs in Providence included Matt Greene ’15 and Thomas Ryan ’15.) In the game against Baylor, Mason scored 31 points, and USA Today dubbed him “the first breakout star of March.” Although Yale would fall to Duke in the next round, Mason had made a name for himself on the national stage, drawing the attention of NBA scouts and, for a brief time, becoming a trending topic on Twitter.

In May, Mason showcased his talents in front of coaches and scouts for several NBA teams, including the Knicks and Celtics. Due to a recent NCAA rule change, Mason could participate in these evaluations without committing to entering the draft, and he ultimately decided to remain at Yale. In an interview with Hotchkiss Magazine, Mason reflected on his team’s success, his stint playing trumpet in The Hotchkiss Orchestra, and his advice to young athletes.

Mason drives past a Baylor defender in Yale’s NCAA opening-round win in Providence, R.I.

“Throughout the games, the whole stadium turned to support us, which was huge.” — M A K A I M A S O N ’14

QA &

Mason pauses inside the lobby of the Payne Whitney Gym to admire a Sports Illustrated cover featuring John J. Lee, Yale Class of 1958, who led Yale to a league championship and NCAA berth.

IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT AND RUNNING THE POINT ON THE BASKETBALL FLOOR?

WHEN DID YOU FIRST START PLAYING BASKETBALL?

I’ve had a basketball in my hands since I was a baby. There are pictures of me swinging on one of those toy swing sets and putting a ball into a basket.

IN THE UPSET OF BAYLOR, WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE RELATIVELY LOCAL IN PROVIDENCE AND POUR IN 31 POINTS FOR YALE’S FIRST TOURNEY WIN?

Providence was kind of key for us.

Throughout the games, the whole stadium turned to support us, which was huge. And having Yale alumni there to support us during our first tournament berth [in more than 50 years] was pretty special. Just being able to share a meal and celebrate with them afterward was pretty cool.

HOW DID YOUR TIME AT HOTCHKISS INFLUENCE WHO YOU ARE TODAY?

The sense of community at Hotchkiss is pretty special. The faculty really care about your success. Coach McKibben was always a great dude. He did a great job of trying to keep things light and in perspective. And Coach Lane taught us a lot about hard work and how that can propel you to success, like we had during my senior year at Hotchkiss [New England Class A runners-up]. Mr. Moon was a role model for me, as well. I got to know him during pool workouts, just having conversations with him and picking his brain about college.

FOLLOWING THE NCAA TOURNAMENT WIN, THERE WERE SEVERAL STORIES CIRCULATING ABOUT YOUR DAD’S ROLE IN PREPARING YOU FOR THAT PRECISE MOMENT. TALK ABOUT HIS IMPACT ON YOU AND HOW HE HAS PREPARED YOU THROUGH THE YEARS.

My dad is the reason why I’ve been able to get to this point. He’s been very invested in me and has sacrificed a lot of time for me every day. You know, researching drills for me to do, making up drills, whether it be quickness, jumping, lifting, and skill stuff, then driving me everywhere to play basketball against the best talent. It has really prepared me well, and it culminated with the success in the tournament. It’s been cool for both of us to see it all come together.

MANY PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE THAT YOU WERE IN THE HOTCHKISS STUDENT ORCHESTRA.

I played the trumpet in the orchestra for four years. I wasn’t the most talented, but it was definitely a cool experience just to be around people who are very serious about something that is not athletic. Mr. Witkowski is a very demanding and serious guy, and he made it all come together for all the talented students in the orchestra.

In both music and basketball, you try to hone your own skills. You’re practicing trumpet in a little room at Hotchkiss, just trying to hammer down your part. You don’t really realize how it’s going to come together, but you know all the other people are practicing their part, and they’re going to be ready, too. It’s a similar thing in basketball.

Most of the time, you’re practicing your skills in the gym by yourself, and then the team comes together and you mesh throughout the season.

HOW DO YOU BALANCE BASKETBALL WITH THE ACADEMIC DEMANDS AT YALE?

It’s all about time management. You’re not necessarily given a large amount of support for being an athlete. You’re expected to get your stuff in on time, just like any other student. It’s tough, because you go to class, you eat, you go back to class, and then you go to practice for two and a half, three hours, you eat dinner, you probably have an evening class, and then you’re dead for when you have to do your homework. It’s a struggle to have enough energy.

ANY ADVICE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS RISING THROUGH THE RANKS IN A PARTICULAR SPORT?

Stick with it. All the time and effort that you’re going to put in are worth it, even just to help yourself get into college. And you never know when your team is going to break through, like we did this year. The support network of an Ivy League school — all the alumni who came out and cheered us on when we had that breakthrough — is really an amazing thing. It made me realize that this season was as big for Yale as a whole as it was for our team.

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

37

A HIVE ACTIVITY at Fairfield Farm Story and Photographs by

WENDY CARLSON

despite a few bee stings, the apiary society reaps sweet rewards

Sorry, sorry,

“

” cooed Sam Suslavich to a cluster of honeybees as he coaxed them through a narrow vent into their new hive.

“I’m more polite to the bees than I am to my friends,” explained Suslavich. With good reason: Covered from head to toe in protective suits, both he and fellow lower mid Dean Parenteau were being slowly encircled by a cyclone of Apis mellifera.

38

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

On an unseasonably chilly May afternoon, Suslavich and Parenteau, members of the School’s fledgling Apiary Society, were tasked with the delicate process of transferring some 30,000 honeybees that had just arrived by mail from the much-warmer state of Kentucky to their new hives at Fairfield Farm.

And the new arrivals appeared none too pleased with their new digs in the orchard.

Thousands of worker bees had died in transit, along with one of the three queens.

As Suslavich and Parenteau eased the survivors into one hive, a swarm of outliers buzzed listlessly around them, as if they were lost without one of their matriarchs.

Even in the best conditions, nature is brutal on bees. In an ideal spring, every colony will produce at least one swarm,

A single hive can yield between

50-200 POUNDS of honey a year.

doubling the population. Over the course of one season, the Hotchkiss bee population could increase to more than 80,000, and a single hive can yield between 50-200 pounds of honey a year.

Until they have settled into their hives and are producing and storing enough honey on their own, the bees are fed sugar water. Meanwhile, students monitor the hive; overcrowding, poor ventilation, and death of the queen can stress bees.

The surrounding environment — the flora and fauna, the fertilizers and pesticides local farms are using, and local bears and raccoons, who have a penchant for honey — also has a huge impact on their well-being.

In the mid-20th-century, Headmaster George Van Santvoord, Class of 1908, shared his enthusiasm for beekeeping with students during his tenure. The Apiary Society, a more recent development, started in 2013 and has about 60 members. The club doesn’t just teach students how to work with bees, Suslavich noted; it gives them experience running a business. Not enough bees survived last year to produce honey for sale, but, from the remaining honeycombs, the club made lip balm, which they sold at the School store. With the sale proceeds, the

club plans to buy a large automated honey extractor to separate the honey from the frames. Next year, they hope to offer the Class of 2017 four-ounce gift jars of honey.

The bees also have a major impact on the School’s natural environment: They help increase the Fairfield Farm crop yield through pollination of fruits and vegetables, and they offset the decline in the worldwide bee population caused by colony collapse disorder.

Beekeeping can also inspire a passion for entomology in students. Suslavich spent hours researching bees online; in the process, he landed a paid internship this summer in the plant sciences and plant pathology department at Montana State University, where he will study beekilling viruses.

Despite getting stung more than 30 times last year alone, Suslavich says there’s nothing he’d rather do than spend time with bees.

“I think it was Charles Darwin who first wrote about how absolutely incredible

the brain of an insect is. Honeybees are capable of completing relatively complex tasks and solving rudimentary problems, despite having brains that are about the size of the head of a pin. That is what I find particularly spectacular about Apis mellifera, an Italian species,” Suslavich said.

“We had a choice between Italian and Russian bees, but we’re kind of partial to Italian bees,” he added. “Italians are generally more docile and swarm less readily.”

As Suslavich and Parenteau piled into the farm truck and headed back to campus, they rolled down the window to release a few stragglers. The bees zigzagged through the rain, getting their bearings, before finding their way back to the hive.

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

39

40

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Getting Muddy for the

Sake of Science Written by JENN RINEHART Photography by WENDY CARLSON

T H E L A R S E N P E R I M E T E R T R A I L , completed last fall, was made

possible through the generosity of the Larsen family: Chris ’55, his brother Jon ’57, and Chris’s sons, Mark ’82 and Chad ’88. The year-long project involved constructing new trails and rehabilitating old ones to make a seven-mile loop that connects the main campus, Fairfield Farm, the Hotchkiss Woods, Long Pond, and Lake Wononscopomuc.

Environmental Science Instructor Jenn Rinehart reflects on how the Larsen Trail has made it easier for her students to use Hotchkiss’s streams, ponds, and woods as outdoor labs.

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

41

“For environmental science students in particular, the Larsen Trail becomes far more than a great afternoon hike or a scenic crosscountry run.”

42

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

T

he hallmark of the industrious environmental science student is the muddy boot.

We wouldn’t expect chemistry students to comprehend reactivity without a balance or beakers. We couldn’t help art students understand the power of color without a palette and paints.

For environmental science students to understand complex, interconnected ecosystems, they need to get a little dirt under their nails and some grass stains on their knees. They need fields to forage for biodiversity, streams to ford for flow velocities, and soils of all types to connect the dots between land use and soil chemistry. To become ecoliterate, students must learn to bridge the gaps between natural and human-influenced systems.

At Hotchkiss, students have at their doorstep a myriad of environmental laboratories, from Fairfield Farm to our biomass facility, from Lake Wononscopomuc to the Beeslick Woods.

For environmental science students in particular, the Larsen Trail becomes far more than a great afternoon hike or a scenic cross-country run. The trailheads are the doorways to outdoor lecture

halls. The bridges become lab benches for stream studies. And these beautiful paths lead us to the place where learning begins — the question.

How do soil chemistry and the slope of the land affect timber growth? We use the trails to delineate sampling areas of different slopes where we test soil acidity and measure forest density. What can we learn about the effect of mowing on species diversity? We follow the paths to the sports fields, where we collect data on rodent diversity and grass heights.

How do long-term weather and daylight patterns affect plant and animal diversity?

Following trail maps, students choose a specific site to revisit throughout the year, logging changes in plant diversity and bud formations. By exploring these questions, students develop a deeper understanding of the larger patterns in the living and nonliving variables that surround them.

This year, each environmental science student “adopted” a site in Beeslick Woods. Students visited their sites for an hour each month, even in the snow. The purpose of the project was at once simple and profound. The most obvious goal was to experience the seasonal changes at

their site; each student collected data and journaled during site visits. They used the skills they practiced in the lab to further their description of their site. As the year came to a close, the students were asked to derive one research question about their site, design an experiment to explore this question, and capture data in the field to seek an answer.

Their questions varied: How does sunlight infiltration affect budding in Norway maples? What was the condition of the Beeslick stream after construction of the Larsen Trail? How does time of day affect call frequency of birds? Has the development of the Trail system affected mammal densities or distributions?

All of the data they have collected, both from their journals and final experiments, will become part of a long-term ecological monitoring program for the Hotchkiss community.

Another component of the project is the development of interactive kiosks along the Larsen Trail. By next fall, visitors walking the trails will discover a series of permanent signs that describe the ecology and land use along major sections of Beeslick Woods. By taking a

picture with their smartphone of the QR code printed on the kiosk or visiting the website posted on the kiosk, visitors will be able to access the work of students: their journals, pictures through the seasons, data collected, even recorded bird songs.

And each year, as we continue to involve new students in the long-term study, the archives will create a richer experience for both students and hikers.

There are also many opportunities for extracurricular research that can connect our student scientists to professional scientists around the world. The monitoring work students complete will become a springboard for partnerships with agencies like the Audubon Society, Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and NASA. Students motivated to explore even more deeply can also invest their time in advanced research classes. This spring, Instructor in Biology and Environmental Science Chris Oostenink and a team of students began a study to compare the carbon concentrations in farmed and forested soils. Their work could expand the global understanding of the role of land use in atmospheric carbon sequestration,

helping scientists create efficient systems for reducing greenhouse gases.

Next year, my Woods Squad students will begin to explore the relationships between alternative agriculture and agroforestry systems and soil mycology. This initial work could lead to the development of fungal prototypes that act as phosphorous “sponges” in the soil. Their work could help farmers like Fairfield Farm Manager Ellie Youngblood ’10 maximize the benefits of organic fertilizers while decreasing phosphorus runoff into our watersheds. This shift could decrease harmful algal blooms in waterways from the Hudson to the Chesapeake to as far away as Bangladesh. In this way, the Larsen trail becomes a conduit to global learning about environmental responsibility.

As they explore the Larsen Trail, students build deeper problem-solving skills and practice the link between practical learning and decision-making. In the future, these students will become the voters and citizens who will decide how we manage and sustain our Earth’s resources. There is no better way to encourage responsible thinking and doing than by having students sink their boots into the mud in our own backyard.

S u m m e r

2 0 1 6

43

pa rt i n g s h o t

Who’s that Dog?

In 1903, when this photo was taken, the Hotchkiss baseball team won 11 games and lost three. Pitcher

Stanley Palmiter Emerick, Class of 1903, led the team in hitting, with an average of .373. Back then, students often played pickup games in front of Main Building. Regular season games were held on Baker Field, the School’s first athletic field. The dog pictured in the front, Jack, appears in numerous team photos from the early 1900s, but little else is known about Jack’s humble existence. Today, the Bearcats play on the newly renovated Hoyt Field, one of the best baseball diamonds among private secondary schools in the Northeast.

(Pictured above: Standing: Otto Monahan, coach; Albert S. Ditman; C. Bruce Jones, manager; Garrett P. Judd, and Danforth F. Alford; Seated: John H. Mallory; Robert L. Wallace; Arthur G. Camp, captain; Harold A. Dewing; Stanley P. Emerick; Harold D. Baker; “Jack;” and Clarence H. Eggleston)

64

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Hotchkiss Reunions September 23-25, 2016

The Class of 1966 50th Reunion • The Class of 1956 60th Reunion

Hope to see you in Lakeville!

For more information, please contact: Kamaren Suwijn, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations ksuwijn@hotchkiss.org • (860) 435-3114 Visit www.hotchkiss.org/alumni (click on Events and Reunions)

Looking ahead to 2017 Classes ending in 2 or 7

Save the date! June 16-18, 2017

Alumni Association

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 36 Pittsfield, MA

11 Interlaken Road Lakeville, CT 06039-2141 (860) 435-2591 www.hotchkiss.org ALUMNI