55 minute read
Campus Connection
The Extraordinary CLASS OF 2021
AFTER A YEAR THAT BEGAN under the cloud of a pandemic, 160 seniors capped off their final day at Hotchkiss under picture-perfect blue skies.
Family, friends, staff, and faculty members –– nearly 800 guests in all –– gathered at an appropriate social distance on Hoyt Field to honor the Class of 2021 in Hotchkiss’s 129th Commencement. The event marked the first time the entire class had met together, in person and maskless, in a public setting since the pandemic began.
Head of School Craig Bradley opened the ceremony by saying, “I don’t know that I can fully express how grateful I am that almost all of us are able to be here together, in person, to celebrate this joyous occasion.”
He thanked the Class of 2021 for working with the School community to complete the year without a major outbreak of COVID or an interruption in teaching and learning and for managing to keep the “the Hotchkiss bubble” essentially COVID-free.
“I will be eternally grateful to you — the members of the Hotchkiss community –– during this time of the pandemic for your willingness to sacrifice your personal needs for the good of the whole. Collectively, we have achieved this moment. Here we are, together, in person, safe and sound and gathering to celebrate your graduation from Hotchkiss in the good company of your families. I feel a profound sense of joy and gratitude,” he said.
In his parting words to seniors, Bradley spoke about the value of facing difficult challenges, a theme that was echoed in the remarks that followed by the School
PHOTOS BY: WENDY CARLSON
Co-presidents Cyrus Farman-Farmaian ’21 and Keren Mikanda ’21 and by keynote speaker Julie Cotler Pottinger ’87.
Bradley recounted an experience of whitewater kayaking over a dangerous stretch of rapids in Scotland when he was in graduate school. “Sometimes no matter how well you prepare and what you anticipate, life brings the unexpected,” he said, describing the need to remain calm and rely on knowledge and skill when swift currents pulled him into treacherous and potentially life-threatening waters. “How you respond to those experiences stimulates your learning and growth and that builds resilience,” he said.
“I hope that the experience of the pandemic has demonstrated to you that at some moments in your lives, each of you is likely to find yourself facing challenges that are daunting and unfamiliar, challenges that you’d rather not face,” he said.
“You’ll have no choice but to move through them. Trust in your skills and abilities. Use
—CYRUS FARMAN-FARMAIAN ’21
your good minds. Keep cool and keep your balance. Count on your teammates, including your Hotchkiss friends.”
After Bradley’s address, School Co-presidents Cyrus Farman-Farmaian ’21 and Keren Mikanda ’21 spoke from the podium and thanked their classmates for their strength, patience, and endurance during a year of regulations, isolation, and distancing. Mikanda also noted that this year in the United States was marked by historic demands for social change.
“While we were here in the Hotchkiss bubble,” she said, “the world around us was suffering. Once again, though, our class showed that we could rise to the occasion. We organized fishbowls, walkouts, and worked to change the culture on campus towards one of empathy and understanding. We spoke out and acted, and it is our class that led the School through it all. It is our strength that has defined this year.”
In a year punctuated by Zoom calls, quarantines, and boxed lunches, FarmanFarmaian praised the class for its willingness to rise to the challenge. “We took advantage of the crisis that was laid before us this year, we persevered, and not only did we survive, we are now stronger than ever. We are proud and immensely thankful to be a part of the Class of 2021 forever,” he said.
Earlier in the week in the Baccalaureate and Senior Awards ceremony, senior class Co-presidents Luke Gardiner and Ivy Bhandari spoke about their classmates’ integrity during the pandemic.
Violinist Angela In Seco Choi ’21 provided a musical highlight during the ceremony when she performed “Csárdás” by Vittorio Monti, accompanied by Instructor Fabio Witkowski on piano.
Top: Head of School Craig Bradley congratulated seniors as they received their diplomas. Bottom: School Co-presidents, Cyrus Farman-Farmaian ’21 and Keren Mikanda ’21, address the graduates.
View a replay of Commencement:
www.hotchkiss.org/parents/ graduation-2021/livestream
Keynote Speaker
JULIE COTLER POTTINGER ’87
JULIE COTLER POTTINGER is the author of numerous best-selling historical romance novels written under her pen name, Julia Quinn. A collection of her novels was adapted into the Netflix hit series Bridgerton, released last December.
During her address, Pottinger paused to share a video from one of the show’s stars, Nicola Coughlan, who extended her congratulations to the class. Her character, Penelope Featherington, often came across as unsure of herself. But ultimately she was the heroine of the series. As Pottinger explained, many seniors might have overcome similar feelings of insecurity during their time at Hotchkiss.
In her remarks, Pottinger told seniors that although this was the last time they would be together collectively as a class, it did not signal an end to their ties to each other and to the School. “You are all connected — to each other and to this place,” she said.
“You are a unit, and you will be forever bonded, perhaps in a way no other Hotchkiss class has been before. You arrived, most of you at least, when the world was normal. There were no plastic dividers in the dining hall, there was no quarantine, no pods, and classes began on day one, in the classroom... Masks were for Halloween. You had to work together to be together,” she said.
Pottinger went on to share some of her Hotchkiss experiences, reflecting her resilience, sense of humor, and a lasting connection to the School.
During her upper-mid year, she took an advanced math course taught by the formidable George Norton Stone, who back then “had been at Hotchkiss since the dawn of time, and literally wrote the textbook for geometry and advanced algebra and trigonometry,” Pottinger said.
One day, she became overcome by a test. “The math problems were unrecognizable. They might have been written in Cyrillic,” she joked. She felt tears welling up and was trying hard to avoid breaking out in full-blown sobs when Stone looked at her and boomed, “Now is the time for tears! Because you can’t cry during the Advanced Placement exam!”
With that directive, she started to bawl uncontrollably. To this day, she doesn’t remember if she passed the test, but she later scored a 5 out of a possible 5 on her Advanced Placement math test and received a handwritten letter from Stone that summer, who told her how proud he was of her.
“I’m willing to bet that all of you have
had a moment like that here at Hotchkiss. Maybe not a full-on, in-class sob, but you’ve all had a moment that was agonizing. Terrifying. Impossible.
“Guess what? You scaled that impossible moment. Or maybe you stepped neatly around it, or you hacked it apart, piece by piece, until it was dust beneath your shoes. But you know what? You did it,” she said. To the newlyminted Hotchkiss alumni, she said, “You made it. You’re here. You are the singularly amazing Hotchkiss Class of 2021, and this is your graduation.”
“You worked hard, you grew, you learned and overcame, and each of you deserves a round of applause.” H
2021 Senior Awards
On June 4, during the Senior Awards and Cum Laude ceremony, the following Academic Awards and School Prizes were presented to students by Jared Hall, dean of academic life, and Christy Cooper P’08,’11, senior class dean.
ACADEMIC AWARDS
FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE ARTS:
THE PETER D’ALBERT ’70 MEMORIAL ART AWARD
Luke Gardiner
THE JOHN HAMMOND ’29 MUSIC AWARD
Victoria Chen, Angela Choi, and Michael Zhang
THE CHAUNCEY P. GOSS JR. ’22 DRAMA PRIZE
Emily Heimer
THE EDWARD KOHNE KLINGELHOFER JR. ’43 AWARD
Felix Bao
THE SARAH T. CRAIG MEMORIAL PRIZE
Kyral Ogazi
THE ROBERT AND SANDY HAIKO FILM PRIZE
Luke Gardiner
THE THOMAS P. BLAGDEN ’29 AWARD
Nicole Morikawa
THE ADVANCED STUDIO ART PRIZE
Yuka Masamura
THE ARCHITECTURE PRIZE
Caroline McCann
FOR EXCELLENCE IN CLASSICAL AND MODERN LANGUAGES:
THE HOEY SENIOR GREEK PRIZE
Connie Cao
THE SENIOR LATIN PRIZE
Katerina Gill
THE KING TAK LAM CHINESE PRIZE
Jeffrey Lim
THE DAVID DEMARAY SENIOR FRENCH PRIZE
Charles Comfort
THE EMERSON BIGELOW ’13 AND JOHN EMERSON BIGELOW ’44 PRIZE FOR CONVERSATIONAL FRENCH
Amelia Wang
THE CHARLES E. BERRY GERMAN PRIZE
Maria Saldivar Palacios
THE SENIOR SPANISH AWARD
Annabel Wallace
FOR EXCELLENCE IN ENGLISH:
THE THOMAS H. CHAPPELL ’24 PRIZE
Felix Bao
THE TEAGLE ESSAY PRIZE
Olya Sukonrat
FOR EXCELLENCE IN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE:
THE EDWARD B. PRESTON ’79 PRIZE
Brian Haywood, Royce Shey, and Claire Wang
FOR EXCELLENCE IN MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE:
THE GEORGE NORTON STONE SENIOR MATH PRIZE
Reece Yang
THE SENIOR COMPUTER SCIENCE AWARD
Caroline Keswin
FOR EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE:
THE ROBERT B. FLINT ’23 SCIENCE PRIZE
Sachin Umashankar and Annabel Wallace
THE LEWIS A. CLARKE ’30 PRIZE
Alexander Kovitch SCHOOL PRIZES
THE FIRST SCHOLAR PRIZE
Alicia Werlen
THE HEAD OF SCHOOL’S PRIZE
Tina Deng
THE FRANK A. SPROLE ’38 SOCIAL SERVICE PRIZE
Annabel Wallace and Amelia Wang
MAJOR SCHOOL PRIZES
THE WALTER CLEVELAND ALLEN, JR. ’32 PRIZE
Felix Bao, Victoria Chen, Cyrus FarmanFarmaian, and Annabel Wallace
THE CENTENNIAL PRIZE
Ivy Bhandari, Keren Mikanda, Gunnar Overstrom, and Ben Weiss
THE ALBERT WILLIAM OLSEN ’13 PRIZE
Taylor Clayton, Maggie Hatch, Abby Powell, Asa Tuke, and Amelia Wang
THE CHARLES E. LORD PRIZE
Charles Billings, Katerina Gill, CJ Mitchell, and Yuka Masamura
THE CHARLES DENTON TREADWAY MEMORIAL PRIZE
Meghana Annamaneni and Luke Gardiner
THE FACULTY PRIZE
Eloise Berlandi, Alex Du, Langston Harris, Jack Kane, Julian Leonhardt, Grace Li, Rachel Mokriski, Bodie Molnar, Ruben Valenzuela, Ethan Vashel, Ashley Williams, and Isabella Yoo
SENIOR ATHLETIC AWARDS
Senior class athletes who earned at least six varsity letters in their career at Hotchkiss included:
BOYS
Taylor B. Clayton Jonathan D. Coffy Patrick J. Dunlea Brian C. Haywood William C. Herring Aidan M. Huber Hannon C. Huh Jack C. Kane Julian A. Leonhardt Nicolas L. Petersik Ryan T. Sellew Royce Shey Christopher P. Tolis Asa J. Tuke Mwcigi Wainaina William B. Wildish
GIRLS
Ivy D. Bhandari Alexandra W. Bowman Nia S. Butler Courtney A. Contiguglia Katherine W. Donahue Francesca B. Gunn Margaret H. Hatch Grace M. Helm Holly A. Knight Rachel Mokriski Abigail C. Powell Clara C. Preisig Simone A. Straus Romy N. Tarantino
THE GOSS ATHLETIC AWARD
Maggie Hatch Given to a senior girl who has contributed the most to Hotchkiss athletics through her ability, enthusiasm, and sportsmanship
THE JAMES T. BRYAN ’11 ATHLETIC AWARD
Ryan T. Sellew and William B. Wildish Given to the senior boy who is an outstanding athlete and has made the greatest contribution to the School’s athletic program
THE ANDREW KNOX DWYER ’01 AWARD
Brian C. Haywood and Grace M. Helm Given to the senior who demonstrates a love for Hotchkiss through school spirit, enthusiasm, and loyalty to Hotchkiss athletics as both a participant and a supporter
Spring Teams Return to Play
AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR AWAY
from competition due to COVID19 restrictions, Hotchkiss varsity athletic teams returned to interscholastic play with a limited game schedule this spring.
Hotchkiss partnered with four other schools — Taft, Choate, Loomis, and Westminster — to create a slate of contests for each varsity spring sport. The five schools all follow similar health and safety protocols.
“These stringent requirements give us confidence that we can engage in interscholastic play while maintaining the safety of our student athletes,” wrote athletic directors Robin Chandler and Danny Smith in a release to families.
Contests were only played on Saturdays and Sundays. This gave teams an opportunity to focus their competitive energies during a concentrated period of time.
The track and field team had a unique opportunity to compete in a series of “virtual meets” throughout the season. In each meet, Hotchkiss athletes competed in the usual full slate of events at the Baker Athletic Complex, and then compared their times and scores against an opponent who competed in the same events on their own campus.
Although official scores and season records were not kept, teams were able to highlight notable individual performances on social media and in communication with families.
The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council did not hold any championship tournaments this season, but two teams — rowing and sailing — competed in regional and national events at the end of the season. Sailing finished third at the New England fleet racing qualifying event and then finished tenth overall at the ISSA Mallory Doublehanded National Championship. The varsity rowing team competed at the US Open Youth National Regatta for the first time in program history, competing in the Men’s Youth 4+ Division and finishing 25th overall out of 47 boats. Varsity golf also had a stellar season. The boys and girls both finished 3-2. The boys’ season ended with a low score of 181, a record on the home course. H
He’s Got Grit
ONE OF KEVIN ERVIN’S EARLIEST
memories was as a four-year-old walking through the Red Hook projects in Brooklyn with his mother and brother. Sensing danger, his mother suddenly pushed them both down and lay on top of them, sheltering them from gunshots. Later in life, he found out that there had been a shootout, and his mother had risked her life to protect him and his brother.
“For me that was the first example of service and dedication, and that sat with me throughout my entire life,” Ervin said in a virtual All-School ceremony on May 17, when he was honored as the 2021 Community Service Award recipient.
Head of School Craig Bradley introduced Ervin, calling him a “true social entrepreneur.”
“He is someone who sees a need for education in the world, and he has done something about it. He has dedicated his life to creating opportunities for young people in communities that are underresourced and underserved,” said Bradley.
As the executive director of Change for Kids, a youth development nonprofit in New York City, Ervin has bolstered the vision and mission of the nonprofit, expanded the organization’s reach to more public school students, and refocused the organization on student agency.
Last fall, when schools in New York City closed in response to the pandemic, Ervin created a full digital platform for students in only six days, and he raised nearly $2 million to open a South Bronx remote learning center for students to attend on days when they were not in school.
Ervin attended New York City public schools before being accepted at Hotchkiss. Once in Lakeville, he embarked on new paths, including combining his musical talents and leadership skills to bring a fresh,
—CRAIG BRADLEY, HEAD OF SCHOOL
new approach to the School’s digital media program. Among his music recordings was a remix of “Fair Hotchkiss,” which he completed with then-headmaster, Skip Mattoon.
He earned a B.A. in leadership from Northeastern University and an executive master’s in public administration from New York University. Along the way, he discovered he had a passion and talent for working with youth. When the South Bronx enrichment program he was involved with was cancelled, he raised $135,000 in one month and started Gaining Life’s Other Ways. He eventually expanded the program to serve students from 16 schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and New Jersey.
Later, he helped Renaissance Youth Center grow its after-school and teen programming after raising funds in his first six months.
Ervin took a hiatus from non-profits to sharpen his administrative skills in the New York City Department of Education, where he was tasked with strengthening operations at Satellite Academy High School, the number one Transfer High School in New York City. There he helped over-age, under-credited students achieve academic success and graduate from high school. As someone who came from a similar background, he was able to reach and educate them in a caring, understanding way.
In a brief Q and A following the Community Service Award discussion, Ervin fielded questions from students, including how to pursue a career in service. If you decide to do this, he responded, you have to love the foundation of it, and you have to be dedicated to pushing against the grain. This is something Ervin has done his entire life.
“As a Black man,” he said, “I have grit and a level of tenacity that allows me to push through things that would have crushed other people.” H
Nader Tehrani ’81 Found His Calling at Hotchkiss
Hotchkiss 2020-21 Alumni Award Recipient
NADER TEHRANI ’81, Hotchkiss’s newest Alumni Award recipient, had lived in four countries and learned the basics of three languages before he came to the School in 1978 as a lower mid. At Hotchkiss, Tehrani, who is an internationally known architect, found a home — and a calling, thanks to the Main Building.
In a virtual All-School program on April 5, Tehrani modestly described receiving the 2020-21 Hotchkiss Alumni Award, the School’s highest alumni honor, as “a miracle,” given his academic record as a student. “It is just a profound honor to return to Hotchkiss for such an occasion and something that could not have been farther from my imagination,” he said.
Today, Nader’s accomplishments and contributions to architecture and design are recognized around the world. He currently serves as the dean of the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at the Cooper Union in New York and previously was a professor of architecture at MIT, where he served as the head of the department from 2010-2014. He is also principal of NADAAA, a practice dedicated to the advancement of design innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and an intensive dialogue with the construction industry. For his contributions to architecture as an art, Nader Tehrani was awarded the 2020 Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, to which he was also elected as a member in 2021.
His Hotchkiss teachers, he said, were critical to his development as an architect. “They didn’t just teach me things, they allowed me to learn. They had vastly different teaching styles, and so much of my interest stemmed from seeing them teach. … I did not set out to teach as much as I imagined myself emulating certain atmospheres that my teachers created in allowing me to learn.”
After Hotchkiss, Tehrani received a B.F.A. and a B.Arch. from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and continued his studies at the Architectural Association in London, where he attended the postgraduate program in history and theory. Upon his return to the United States, Tehrani received a master of architecture in
Melbourne School of Design, Melbourne, Australia
urban design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1991.
He has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, RISD, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Toronto’s Department of Architecture, where he served as the Frank O. Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design, Landscape and Design. His research on materiality, fabrication, and tectonics has been published internationally in a variety of journals. Over the past seven years, NADAAA has consistently ranked as a top design firm in Architect Magazine’s Top 50 U.S. Firms List, taking the top spot in three of those years.
During the virtual event, Tehrani spoke about his early global education as the child of an Iranian diplomat. “Growing up between England, Pakistan, South Africa, and Iran — all two- to four-years at a time — my language skills lagged behind. Somehow visual literacy served as a substitute. Learning to see became a way of internalizing the world around me.” In February 1978, when he first saw the Hotchkiss Main Building (designed by architect Hugh Stubbins in 1970), the building’s design immediately resonated with him. (The current Main Building façade was designed by Shope Reno Wharton in 1995.)
“I had no real sense about going into architecture when I came to Hotchkiss, but upon arrival, after turning in through the gate, the abstraction of Stubbins’s façade and the impenetrability of its monumentality put me in a state of awe. In effect, it was an architectural experience before I knew such a thing existed.
“Drama and art history turned out to be the two courses that lit a fire under me. And Blanche Hoar (then head of the art department) had everything to do with that; her energy, her tone, and her passion are something I will always remember. More than anything else, I remember the encouragement she gave, instilling in me a confidence unworthy of anything I had yet accomplished, but something I needed in order to forge ahead.”
At the end of his remarks, Tehrani shared a video of a project his firm is currently working on in Venice that uses material made from natural and renewable sources. He shared with his Hotchkiss audience projects that were LEED-rated and complied with emerging attitudes about green materials, reduced life-cycle costs, and sustainable practices. All of them, he said, use wood, a renewable resource, as their starting point.
“We will all have to become better activists ourselves,” he told the community. H
Top: BANQ restaurant, Boston, MA; Bottom: Rock Creek House, Washington, D.C.
Higher Ground
A group of intrepid students scaled new heights this spring when rock climbing was introduced as a new cocurricular. Nathan Vish, math instructor, outdoor program coordinator, and an experienced climber, oversees the activity, teaching students the ropes on the Malkin Climbing Walls outside Dana dormitory. The walls were a gift to the School from Jonathan Malkin ’80 to promote interest in his favorite athletic pursuit. Pictured here are Hong Kuan Chen ’22 and Eliza Ross ’22.
PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON
Recognizing a Lifetime of Teaching
Chemistry Instructor Virginia ‘Ginny’ Faus Named Lufkin Prize Recipient
VIRGINIA “GINNY” FAUS P’10,
instructor in chemistry and the Edward R. Tinker Chair, is one who doesn’t like to be in the limelight. But in May, the longtime teacher accepted the 2021 Lufkin Prize on a virtual stage, speaking to the campus community during an All-School Meeting in a pre-recorded video.
The annual prize, established by Dan Lufkin ’49, P’80,’82,’88,’23, honors “faculty members of character, commitment and skill who serve as role models to Hotchkiss students.” Lufkin’s goal in creating the prize was to recognize those who “consistently demonstrate excellence and strong moral leadership through teaching, advising, coaching, and overall service to the community.”
In the video ceremony, Head of School Craig Bradley said, “Ginny Faus stands out for her dedication to community and her humility. When she was hired, Ms. Sam Coughlin, dean of faculty at the time, wrote to Ginny, ‘I have a feeling you have the sort of cheerful disposition that allows you to keep saying ‘yes’ to other people’s requests for help.’ Dean Coughlin was spot-on.
“Ginny’s contributions are vast. They are a collection of moments — Ginny sees opportunities to contribute, and that is exactly what she does. She is always ready to offer extra help to students; her care for her advisees is extraordinary; and she is always ready to guide new colleagues as they become acclimated to Hotchkiss. Ginny leads by example on a daily basis in all of her actions, and the results of her attention to others are profound.”
Calling the award “an honor and privilege,” Faus thanked Lufkin for his generosity. She also thanked her Science Department colleagues, especially her fellow chemistry teachers, and her husband, Brad Faus, instructor in art, director of the art program, and holder of the Marie S. Tinker Chair, and her family. During her 37-year career at Hotchkiss, Faus has also coached swimming and, in the years when her children, Jamie and Cady, were in grade school, worked in the Admission Office as an interviewer. Currently, she teaches Honors Chemistry and Chemistry 250.
“I’ve always taught — even during my sabbatical year,” she says. “I like teaching too much to ever give it up. I would miss the kids too much. I came from a long line of teachers, and I was raised to believe that it was very important,” she said.
In her remarks, Faus expressed gratitude for two inspirational teachers in her life: her grandfather, Ralph Tyson, and her father, Robert. They both became doctors and taught medicine.
Ralph Tyson, born in 1888 as the youngest of eight children, had to forge his own path to education through ingenuity and effort. At 14, he received a common school diploma, which was the free public schooling then offered in the U.S. His Pennsylvania
PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON
township could not afford a high school to educate the children. He worked 10-hour days as a cabinetmaker and studied at night, eventually graduating from high school. Determined to continue his education, he worked in a one-room country schoolhouse, where he taught 55 students from ages six to 17. By age 22, he had earned enough money to pay for college and in 1915 received his M.D. After serving in World War I, he began practice as a pediatrician and taught pediatrics at Temple University. His son, Robert, followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a surgeon and professor of surgery at Temple and serving the surrounding urban community.
Faus’s chemistry professor during her first year at Hobart and William Smith College was another formidable influence. “Charles Barton had muscular dystrophy and was wheelchair-bound. This did not stop him from leading a meaningful and productive life. Professor Barton could not write on the board. Some of you can imagine how challenging it would be to solve stoichiometry problems or to learn to draw Lewis structures without seeing the work written on the board. I had to learn how to listen carefully.”
“We were solving complex problems by listening and taking notes,” she said later. “You’d miss an important detail if you weren’t listening. It was all discussion about the problems.”
After graduation, Faus taught chemistry at a high school in Queensland, Australia, and then hitchhiked in New Zealand for six months before returning to the United States to teach.
“I wanted to be in New England, to be able to climb, to ski, to hike. I joined the faculty of the Tilton School and was assistant dean of admission. While there, I earned an M.N.S. degree at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. My husband, Brad, and I came to Hotchkiss in 1987.”
In nearly four decades at Hotchkiss, she’s refined how she teaches her students. “I want them to be willing to take risks in the classroom. I want them to be able to look at a problem that they haven’t seen before, sit down and work at it, and try to come to a solution. I don’t care whether they give me the right answer or the wrong answer.
“I think that sometimes you learn more from a wrong answer than you do from a right answer. There are just so many more things you can discuss — you know, ‘Why is it wrong? Why doesn’t it make sense? What predictions can you make based on the patterns that you see? Yes, there are going to be exceptions, but what I want you to recognize are the patterns.’”
As an adviser, Faus has a caring nature. Margo Donohue ’22 says, “I couldn’t envision my Hotchkiss experience without Mrs. Faus. Stepping into her science classroom my first day at Hotchkiss was the first time I truly felt at ease on campus. As a (ridiculously) nervous new student, I was grateful to have found a teacher so authentic, dedicated, and unbelievably kind to lean on. Since my prep year, she has tirelessly supported me as a teacher and advisor, friend and role model. Her influence and encouragement have helped me not only find my passion in biology and environmental science but really lean into all of the academic and extracurricular opportunities Hotchkiss provides. If I’m having one of those days, it’s always Mrs. Faus who will be there with some invaluable wisdom and campusrenowned banana bread. To Mrs. Faus, I am so grateful for your altruism and how you always look out for me with admirable generosity and compassion.”
Faus, in turn, has gained as much from her students.
“You inspire me in the same way my grandfather, father, and Professor Barton inspired me,” she told them in her address.
“In many ways, you have shown some of the same perseverance and determination as my grandfather. I appreciate your patience and kindness, and please know that I learn as much from you as you hopefully learn from me.” H
Always at home in the chemistry lab
PHOTO: HOTCHKISS ARCHIVES
PHOTO: HOTCHKISS ARCHIVES
Ginny and Brad Faus with their children, Cady and Jamie
PHOTO: MARIO WILLIAMS
Never Stop Questioning
A Window into the Scientific Process at Hotchkiss this Spring
THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT
with the natural world is a hallmark of a Hotchkiss education. As some of the STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology and Math) projects from this spring reveal, the possibilities for experiential learning may well be infinite. During a communitywide Science Night in May, students presented research, independent study, and hands-on work, some of which will continue throughout the year ahead.
During the evening, students studying with Instructor in Biology Susan Park presented projects they had begun in the fall. “Students chose relevant issues facing society today. All of the topics were chosen by the students themselves without prior knowledge of many of the molecular biology applications they would apply in the springtime,” explained Park, who left Hotchkiss at the end of the academic year. “I would also point out that the design of their experiments covered many key aspects of the field of genetics. Their overall design was hypothesis-driven and required an iterative process of hands-on trial and error in the lab setting.”
In work titled “CRISPR: Editing ACE2,” Sofia Yawand-Wossen ’21 described using E. coli bacteria to engineer part of the human angiotensin-converting enzyme, ACE2, which has been linked to the infection and the severity of COVID-19. As YawandWossen explained, stretches of DNA known as CRISPRs (which is an acronym for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) play a key role in antiviral defense systems. Her project focused on the potential application of gene-editing technology to prevent infection. “The results of this experiment revealed that ACE2 cannot successfully be transformed into E. coli,” she explained in a summary of the work. “However, more time for further testing may have provided a different result.”
Francesca Gunn ’21 described a project called “Stem Cell Pluripotency.” The purpose of this work was to identify ways in which stem cell responses to injury differ among individuals. In other words, does DNA influence the way people’s bodies respond to getting hurt? “When one gets injured, stem cells dive into action to try to repair the broken body. They have the ability to heal the body, such as mending a broken bone,” Gunn described. In doing the work, her hypothesis posited that a particular gene (POU5F1) is similar within family members but differs among those who are not related. Gunn is using a lab technique called Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to study DNA samples from her own family in her ongoing research.
Kimberly Pothemont ’21 spoke about her work on zebrafish as a model organism of study in the lab. “The purpose of this study is to explore the role of UV light absorption on melanocyte development and identify genetic differences between the wild and mutant types of zebrafishes carrying the endothelin receptor Ba gene (EDNR),” she said. The work is related to the animals’ ability to produce melanin when exposed to ultraviolet light, an important factor in camouflage, speciation, and protection against environmental conditions. To execute the research, Pothemont used a spectrometer, which measures the reflection or transmission of light, to study deceased embryos from two different genotypes, one of which carried a mutation on a gene known to be associated with skin pigmentation. Her findings indicate that melanin production may be an important factor in UV light absorption. “A mutation of this gene is the largest factor in distinguishing genetic differences between people of African and European ancestry,” she explained in a summary of her work.
Biologists were not the only students to showcase their work. Also under discussion during Science Night were projects from a class called “Hacking the Universe with the Arduino Microcontroller,” which is taught by Instructor in Physics William Fenton. Arduino is an open-source electronics platform that converts external inputs, such as lights on a sensor or a finger on a button, into an action, such as activating a motor. In essence, it involves connecting the physical activity of human beings to computers.
Among the projects presented, Cooper Roh ’22 is building a jump pad that allows a user to interact directly with a nemesis — in this case, a hungry Tyrannosaurus Rex — within a video game. Roh’s project involves a wearable accelerometer, which is a device that constantly collects acceleration values, paired with code that detects changes in the acceleration of the user’s movements. Happily for the would-be victim, the technology allows the user to avoid the dino in real time.
Simon Griffin ’22 described the creation of a two-wheeled robot something like a Segway. This device also uses information from an accelerometer, combined with that generated by a gyroscope, to achieve and maintain reliable balance.
Brian Haywood ’21 spoke about building a tool optimized for bringing home the prize during a scavenger hunt. Connected to GPS satellites, the device collects longitudinal and latitudinal positions that help the user be the first to find the treasure.
Later that evening, engineering students bringing ideas to life in the EFX lab were also on hand to promote their wares. The projects are works-in-progress that will continue to be built, refined, and put to the test in the year ahead.
“EFX stands for Engineering, Fabrication, and Exploration. But I like to think the ‘X’ stands for excitement!” said Mike Boone, director of the EFX Lab. “This is a space where students can experiment, collaborate, and create.”
Kayla Robertson ’22 invited attendees into discussion about the body and frame of a Formula One race car simulator she is designing and building using CAD, a modeling software. In the fall, she will build actuators that will provide movement controlled by sensors on the steering wheel and pedal assemblies and then “driven” using virtual reality simulation. As she explained, her initial vision was to build a complete Formula One car, but it would have been too big to fit in the lab!
Rahul Kalavagunta ’22 is bringing part of the magic of Hogwarts to life through the creation of a mechanized chess board, the pieces of which appear to move of their own free will. In reality, a linear rail and electromagnetic system placed under the board moves the pieces in response to a user’s input.
—ALBERT EINSTEIN
Classmate Charlie McLean ’22 has designed a dual-suspension, highperformance mountain bike frame. He fabricated a mold for each half of the bike using carbon fiber and a combination of engineering, 3D printing, wood, and oldfashioned elbow grease. A CNC machine (spelled out as a Computer Numerical Controller) was employed to fabricate aluminum links to connect the two sections of the bike. In the year ahead, he will build the bike — which may one day blaze a trail around Main Circle.
Among other science content in the spring, the School also welcomed a roster of fascinating speakers as part of a virtual lecture series called Science Connections, which was established by Mario Williams ’12, instructor in science. The series is designed to connect students with professionals in science and technology with the goal of inspiring diverse, creative, and innovative leaders in STEM.
Among speakers this spring, alumnus Kevin Baines ’72 talked to students about topics as far-reaching as interplanetary travel and chemical evidence that explains how the impact of a single asteroid caused catastrophic climate change and the mass extinction of dinosaurs. As the Lead NASA scientist on Europe’s last mission to Venus, he shared fascinating perspective on the relevance of understanding the atmosphere of Venus to deciphering Earth’s past. Baines is a principal scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a senior scientist at the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Other speakers included Hotchkiss Farm Education Coordinator Amy Sidran, who spoke about exploring the relationships between food systems, ecology, and conservation, and Joseph Mohan, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute, who discussed the relevance of analyzing fossils to interpreting paleoenvironments and climate change.
In recognition of Eco Day in May, Dr. Gary Kofinas, professor emeritus at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and Dr. Dalee Sambo Dorough, international chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, spoke about the impact of climate change on the Arctic, the Inuit response, and international initiatives.
The search for answers at Hotchkiss is alive and well. In the words of Albert Einstein, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.” — “Old Man’s Advice to Youth: ‘Never Lose a Holy Curiosity.’” LIFE (May 2, 1955) H
Poetic License
Contemplating Hotchkiss through the lens of poetry
BY HOPE REISINGER COBERA ’88, P’24
Early this spring, a group of alumni gathered for Revisitings: A Virtual Colloquium hosted by The Town Hill Society.
ABOUT THE TOWN HILL SOCIETY
Revisitings: A Virtual Colloquium was hosted by The Town Hill Society, which celebrates those who have included Hotchkiss in their estate plans. Today, there are more than 220 living Town Hill Society members, including parents, friends, faculty, and staff. The youngest member is from the Class of 2011 and the oldest from the Class of 1937. Members are invited to participate in a wide variety of in-person and virtual events throughout the year.
The evening’s discussion was in some ways a trip back in time, connecting alumni to the arguably unparalleled experience of studying English at Hotchkiss. The conversation was led by Charlie Frankenbach and Jeffrey Blevins, instructors in English, and Tom Drake, instructor in history. In addition to helping to elucidate three poems, it provided a provocative allegory for change that draws on enduring structures of the past even as it unfolds into something new.
The first poem discussed was “Windsor Forest,” written by Alexander Pope in 1713.
“The Groves of Eden, vanish’d now so long, Live in description, and look green in song: These, were my breast inspir’d with equal flame, Like them in beauty, should be like in fame. Here hills and vales, the woodland and the plain, Here earth and water seem to strive again; Not Chaos-like together crush’d and bruis’d, But as the world, harmoniously confus’d: Where order in variety we see, And where, tho’ all things differ, all agree.”
—From “Windsor Forest”
“Windsor Forest” celebrates the end of the Wars of the Spanish Succession. Alexander Pope speaks of looking over the sylvan beauty of a royal hunting ground (but does not mention that he is forbidden entry because he is Catholic). He delights in its Eden-like perfection, an analogy to the rule of the Protestant Queen Anne. Pope speaks to an audience of readers from his intellectual caste. Like the claude glass used by painters of the time to create a small reflection of reality — one considered more beautiful than the natural world — Pope’s experience with nature is one-step removed, intermediated by formality and allusion.
After engaging with the poem, Frankenbach and Blevins guided the discussion to William Wordsworth’s “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey,” written in 1798.
For more information, please visit hotchkiss.plannedgiving.org.
“Nor less, I trust, To them I may have owed another gift, Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood, In which the burthen of the mystery, In which the heavy and the weary weight Of all this unintelligible world, Is lightened:—that serene and blessed mood, In which the affections gently lead us on,— Until, the breath of this corporeal frame And even the motion of our human blood Almost suspended, we are laid asleep In body, and become a living soul: While with an eye made quiet by the power Of harmony, and the deep power of joy, We see into the life of things.”
—From “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”
Decades of Hotchkiss students may remember certain lines that appear later in the poem, the memorization of which was long part of the English curriculum:
For I have learned To look on nature, not as in the hour Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes The still sad music of humanity, Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power To chasten and subdue…
Both the Pope and the Wordsworth texts begin in the present, anchored in observation of the natural world, and then navigate great distances. Pope explores English society and politics at a time when the political order of Europe was freshly rearranged. Wordsworth journeys inward to explore the power of the natural world to bring life to the soul.
“It’s astonishing, the sea change here!” said Frankenbach. “The possibilities of where poetry can go are now within the landscape of [Wordsworth’s] experience. He is in the mansion of his own memories. And that’s a game changer.”
“Pope believes in poetry as a kind of mediating force in a very formal way,” said Blevins, who also provided context for Pope’s position as a Catholic in a ruling Protestant society. “But for Wordsworth, it is very much unmediated. He doesn’t rely on simile or metaphor to bring nature to life. He focuses on what he sees and feels and remembers.”
“What I Mean When I Say Farmhouse,” written by Geffrey Davis in 2014, was the third poem in the evening’s discussion. Like the Pope and Wordsworth texts, it opens with personal observation of the natural world and then travels not only into memory but into the closed book of time.
Each shift in the winds of remembering renders me immediate again, like ancient valleys reignited by more lightning. If only I could settle on the porch of waiting and listening, near the big maple bent by children and heat, just before the sweeping threat of summer thunderstorms. We have our places for loneliness—that loaded asking of the body. my mother stands beside the kitchen window, her hands no longer in constant motion. And my father walks along the tired fence, watching horses and clouds roll down against the dying light— I know he wants to become one or the other.
I want to jar the tenderness of seasons, to crawl deep into the moment. I’ve come to write less fear into the boy running through the half-dark. I’ve come for the boy.
—From “What I Mean When I Say Farmhouse,” from Revising the Storm, ©2014 by Geffrey Davis. Used with permission of BOA Editions. www.boaeditions.org “Davis is treating himself, his own past, as a kind of shattered monastery,” observed Blevins, referring to the Wordsworth text, in which the physical structure for which the poem is named never actually appears. “The Tintern Abbey here is [Davis’s] childhood — it is the boy himself. He is bearing witness to his own growth. There is a tragic impossibility that almost reminds me of the unspoken sadness in Pope, honoring a forest that he can’t participate in…. There is a paradox in his words, ‘I want to jar the seasons.’ Is that jar in the sense of preservation, or is it jar in the sense of change and disruption?”
The instructors chose this sequence of poetry to invite discussion around the idea that the precepts of a given time — whether it be the golden age of England or that of the Hotchkiss faculty lounge — lend value to, but do not define, what comes after. There is room for disruption in harmony with preservation.
“The Pope poem invites us to think about Hotchkiss from a past in varying degrees of depth. When we move into Wordsworth and later to Davis, we have a more recent version of Hotchkiss,” said Frankenbach. He went on to describe the evolution of teaching he has observed during a 32-year career at the School.
“When I arrived here in 1989, there was still a firm foot planted in the Hotchkiss that many of you remember. Bob Hawkins, the Classics department, Sam Coughlin as the queen of the diagrammed sentence! In one ear, I had this frightening guy Hawkins reducing me to feeling like an 11-year-old, and in the other, I had people like Blair [Torrey], Mar [Geoff Marchant], Dick Hughes, and Sarah Tames reading poems like ‘Tintern Abbey.’ And I found that there was value in doing it all. I was really fortunate to be here at that wonderful moment. It wasn’t either/or. It was both/and.”
Among the alumni participating in the colloquium was Skip Nalen ’48. “It is remarkable that those of us who are really old alumni still connect Hotchkiss with what we learned there in English! Mr. Mack, who could forget him? Carle Parsons… Those lessons were imparted in our spirit and our mentality and are still here almost a century later… I congratulate all of you who continue to make this English department so impressive and unforgettable.”
—CHARLIE FRANKENBACH
During the evening, Frankenbach recounted an anecdote about an afternoon of angling with four first-timers. He described students casting their flies backwards into the flowing river. In a moment that could have been written for Hollywood, a bald eagle dove majestically down from the sky and soared along their line of sight. They cast and then watched their flies drift downstream, an invitation to think about the flow of time.
“This is a School where once upon a time you had maple syruping, but now you have a farm where kids are literally digging in the dirt! This idea of direct contact with the natural world is being played out programmatically. When students read something like ‘Tintern Abbey’ and are asked to contemplate their place in the natural world — and then they’re standing knee-deep in the Housatonic river, feeling a fish on the end of their line, and watching the sun reflect off the wings of a swooping eagle — that is thrilling!”
Nor wilt thou then forget, That after many wanderings, many years Of absence, these steep woods and lofty cliffs, And this green pastoral landscape, were to me More dear, both for themselves and for thy sake!
—From “Tintern Abbey” by William Wordsworth
As the evening’s discussion helped to reveal, the moorings that connect alumni to Hotchkiss allow us, upon reflection, to crawl deep into the moment and to see into the life of things.
Hotchkiss is not either/or. Hotchkiss is both/and. H
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS
Jeffrey Blevins, Ph.D., joined the Hotchkiss faculty as an instructor in English in 2019. His work has been published in numerous academic and literary publications, most recently including Poetics Today. An essay on T.S. Eliot will appear in Twentieth-Century Literature this fall. Blevins is currently leading a group of rising Hotchkiss seniors as part of the MacLeish Scholars Program, which he created (see Hotchkiss Magazine Fall 2020).
Thomas Drake joined the Hotchkiss faculty in 1982 as an instructor in history. During his tenure, he has held numerous roles, including serving as interim dean of faculty. He holds the Class of 1938 Teaching Chair and is the Director of the Center for Global Understanding and Independent Thinking. For a glimpse into why Drake teaches, please see page 5 in this issue.
Charles Frankenbach joined the Hotchkiss faculty in 1989 as an instructor in English. He holds the Russel Murray Bigelow Chair and serves as Head of the English Department. In 2020, he was named a University of Chicago Outstanding Educator, an honor that recognizes educators who go beyond everyday teaching and leave a lifelong impression on students. For a glimpse into why Frankenbach teaches, please see page 5 in this issue.
—SKIP NALEN ’48
New Appointments in the Deans’ Office
As we look toward 2021-22, The Hotchkiss School is pleased to announce several new administrative appointments in the Deans’ Office.
RICHARD DAVIS, associate dean of faculty and classics instructor, has been appointed dean of academic life, effective July 1. Davis joined the Hotchkiss faculty in 2006. In his most-recent role as associate dean of faculty, he oversaw three key areas: the Penn Fellows Program, new faculty orientation and mentoring, and faculty housing. In addition, he served an integral role in taking on the responsibility of being the School’s COVID coordinator.
Davis has also been an essential member of the School’s recruitment team and its efforts to reimagine recruitment and retention from the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion.
In an announcement to the Hotchkiss community, Merrilee Mardon, associate head of school, wrote: “Richard has served our community in many different ways and always with deep care and attention to individual and collective needs and wellbeing, which he has shown time and again in his role as the COVID-19 Coordinator.”
He collaborates closely with colleagues on-and-off campus, keeps up-to-date on emerging science and best practices, and consistently exercises thoughtful judgement to balance community safety, individual needs, and the quality of the student experience, Mardon noted.
“His balanced judgement, collaborative spirit, and clear communication will serve the School well as Richard moves into the role of dean of academic life,” she added.
Davis continues in his role as the Varsity sailing coach.
He holds a B.A. in Classics from Vanderbilt University, an M.A. in Classics from the University of North Carolina, and an M.S.Ed. in School Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.
Other appointments
After successfully launching her fourth class of Hotchkiss graduates this June, Dean CHRISTY COOPER P’08,’11 won’t miss a beat. Beginning this fall, she will take on the role of prep class dean. Who better to introduce each entering class of preps to the Hotchkiss community than Christy? She joined the Hotchkiss faculty in the fall of 1988 as an instructor in English. Christy has coached varsity soccer, varsity and JV ice hockey, and softball. She and husband John, instructor in mathematics, were dorm parents in both Buehler and Van Santvoord Halls, where they raised daughters Corey Cooper ’08, instructor in English and head coach of girls varsity hockey, and Brady Cooper ’11. Christy has also served in a number of administrative posts throughout her Hotchkiss tenure, including dean of students, dean of dormitory life, sexual misconduct prevention and response coordinator, and dean to the Classes of 2004, 2013, 2018, and 2021.
As the Class of 2024 settles into their new status as lower mids, Instructor in Mathematics DEMPSEY QUINN will settle into his new role as their class dean. Dempsey arrived at Hotchkiss in Fall of 2020 as an instructor in mathematics and football coach. He previously worked at Kent School, Brown University, and Berkshire School, after earning his B.S. in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University and M.S. in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University. He lives in Van Santvoord with his wife, Julia, sons Reidy and newborn Rory, and dogs Scout and Mowgli.
MARCIE WISTAR has proven to be a dynamic and creative director of student activities, successfully revamping the Olympian vs. Pythian contest and devising fun and memorable weekend programming for Bearcats. Her role will now expand to include guidance for student groups as the director of student activities, clubs, and affinity organizations. Marcie, who previously taught science and served as director of campus programming and communications at Kildonan School, has lived on campus since 2007 with her husband Roger Wistar, instructor in computer science, and their sons, Ben and Andrew.
Call of the Wild
The Outing Club connects students with nature
BY WENDY CARLSON
At Hotchkiss, there are more than 80 clubs in which students can pursue their passions and discover new interests. In the Outing Club, students explore the world of outdoor adventure.
SINCE THE SCHOOL’S FOUNDING,
Hotchkiss has had a tradition of building a connection between students and the natural world. Under the leadership of Headmaster George Van Santvoord, Class of 1908, students in the Woods Squad learned how to split firewood, clear trails, and build cabins. Over the years, the Woods Squad has been reimagined in different forms, and generations of students have explored the fields, forests, and streams surrounding the campus.
The Outing Club was started in the 1990s by Instructor in French Sarinda Parsons Wilson P’14,’17 and Ken Wiseman, the former head of food services. Since its founding, the Club has offered a variety of weekend activities
PHOTO: JACK JOHNSON ’22 geared toward exploring the great outdoors.
Not every student who joins the club has experience tackling a high-ropes course or spelunking. “I was not at all a star outdoors person to begin with,” Wilson jokes. But after 25 years as faculty advisor she is a seasoned veteran, leading students on sunrise hikes and full-moon walks through Beeslick Woods, paddling along with them on canoe trips, building campfires, clearing trails, and leading hikes along portions of the Appalachian Trail.
Today’s Outing Club offers opportunities that all students can enjoy and join, regardless of their experience, she said.
“This past spring, we offered an overnight at Fairfield Farm, an afternoon in canoes, a volunteer opportunity at the Audubon Center, and a Larsen Trail hike that we earmarked for new students especially,” says Wilson.
“We often begin with an ice-breaker, so that we all are able to learn a little something about the rest of the group (a hidden talent, a word association, a favorite item of clothing, or a ‘never have I ever…’ sentence to complete). Each voice counts, and time spent in a canoe or tent or on trails or snowshoes is better when the group feels some connection at the outset. And our student leadership is welcoming, confident and organized,” Wilson adds.
In her view, the focus of the club isn’t only about experiencing fun and challenging activities. Being outside in the natural world offers students a moment to pause and step away from their everyday
PHOTO: JACK JOHNSON ’22
routines. “Students are away from their devices, from familiar rhythms and predictable patterns, and they gain new perspectives and a chance to get to know peers whose paths they might not normally cross,” Wilson says.
“I try to encourage them to observe nature more closely, to see things that they wouldn’t normally notice — a unique tree, an owl pellet, a wildflower, an animal track in the mud or snow.”
For many club members, the activities become a memorable part of their Hotchkiss experience.
For Carolyn Chinatti ’22, the opportunity to have nature at her fingertips is essential to her wellbeing. The club provides a perfect way to take advantage of being in a place that is so connected to the outdoors, something she found particularly helpful during the pandemic’s widespread lockdowns earlier last spring, she said.
Since she joined the club, her favorite moments have been sitting around a campfire. “It’s a great way to meet new people, and even if I don’t know the people I’m with, by the end of the night, we’re all talking and laughing together.”
Walking along the Larsen Perimeter Trail, members pass cabins built by students and faculty over the decades, creating a bridge to the School’s past.
“They’re each so unique, and inside the walls are covered with the names of past Hotchkiss students. At times, it feels like stepping back in history,” says Chinatti.
The club recently added a service component. During the past year, members have volunteered at the Sharon Audubon Center and for the Hotchkiss Day of Service, and they have completed trail maintenance at Sharon Land Trust locations.
Co-head Jack Johnson ’22 already had significant outdoor expertise before coming to Hotchkiss. He chose to attend the School because of its setting and access to woods and trails.
“I grew up hiking with my family and spending lots of time outdoors. I also owe all of my professional experiences and all of my current jobs to my experiences growing up spending time in the woods,” says Johnson, who serves as an EMT at North Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps and shift chief for New Canaan EMS.
Students appreciate the small wonders and lessons they learn during outing events. “I have often gone on hikes with teachers who know the landscape well and are able to point out all the small beauties of the forest around us that I would never have noticed otherwise. Additionally, I have worked with the Outing Club in the past to help maintain these trails, so being able to hike the trails I myself have helped to create is incredibly rewarding,” said Madeline Chang ’22.
“I really think that there is nothing more centering and calming than taking a walk through the woods. Especially at Hotchkiss, where a lack of phone reception truly cuts you off from the rest of the world. Going outdoors to just look and listen to your surroundings and making that choice to take a moment away, a moment for yourself, really forces you to slow down, disconnect from the stresses of school, and reconnect with the beautiful landscape and nature that surrounds us but often goes unseen,” she adds.
Johnson agrees that nature offers solitude, a valuable resource in students’ often-hectic schedule. “My favorite place outdoors is the woods. At night, there’s a certain serenity and sanctity.” H
From the Office of Admission
Seeking Illumination? Look No Further.
THERE ARE A LOT OF IMAGES
accepted students might have expected to see on the webpage for Virtual Admission Days — but Minions probably weren’t among them. However, thanks to Chris Meledandri ’77, founder and CEO of Illumination, the smiling faces of the Minions greeted them front and center.
The artwork was part of a series of communications to accepted students that included an invitation to a virtual session with Meledandri. During the conversation, Meledandri discussed his career and the founding of the award-winning film company behind Despicable Me, Minions, Sing, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, Hop, The Secret Life of Pets, and many more beloved animated films. The company’s body of work has grossed $6.7 billion worldwide.
While at Hotchkiss, Meledandri was a member of the Hotchkiss Dramatic Association (HDA), co-editor of The Whipping Post, and president of the School. Since 1999, he has led fundraisers as a Class Agent, spoken at numerous School events, served on Reunion committees, acted as a host and as a Reunion Agent, and was a member of the Board of Trustees from 2007-16. Meledandri has also worked to connect the School with many talented students in southern California.
During the Zoom event, Meledandri congratulated attendees on being accepted to Hotchkiss. He then fielded questions from moderators Luke Gardiner ’21 and Gunnar Overstrom ’21 about lessons learned in Lakeville and the value of a Hotchkiss education to his career.
The idea of boarding school came as a completely new concept to Meledandri’s parents. As he explained, his father did not attend college, and his mother earned her college degree when he was in junior high. Despite how alien boarding school seemed to him, Meledandri said, “I had some sort of
—CHRIS MELEDANDRI ’77
chemical reaction when I got to the Hotchkiss campus, and I felt this is a place where I can really thrive. I just felt comfortable there… and so my journey began,” he said.
Meledandri harkened back to a strong sense of community. “There is a lot of anxiety about coming to a new place and embarking on a new journey, and the community welcomed me. I really found that it was made up of a combination of the culture of my fellow students and a very supportive faculty.”
At Hotchkiss, he said, students are invited to play an active role in the community through clubs, dorm activities, volunteer organizations, and team sports. “I was on the cross-country ski team, and I had never cross-country skied. I think I came in last in every race, but I loved being part of the team. And I loved being a fan of Hotchkiss sports teams that were really accomplished at that time.”
Meledandri shared that STEM subjects weren’t his strong suit at Hotchkiss, but he
This year’s admission cycle was the most competitive in the School’s history, with only one out of every eight applicants accepted. The virtual event with Meledandri was part of a comprehensive campaign designed to communicate with ninth- and tenth-graders as they made the important decision about enrolling at Hotchkiss.
managed to make great strides at his level. This gave him encouragement and a sense of satisfaction. Beyond academics, he said, Hotchkiss gives students a wonderful combination of challenges within a caring support system.
“So many of the experiences I had at Hotchkiss were these wonderful combinations of being challenged and being supported at the same time. It gave me so much confidence in other parts of my life to meet challenges ahead of me with a sense of confidence that I would get to the other side.”
Meledandri emphasized that Hotchkiss offers students multiple ways to develop new interests and ignite their passions. While he became very involved with HDA during his time at Hotchkiss, he had no idea he would pursue a career in film.
“I was terrible with a hammer and a nail, but I built sets. I learned about lighting. I tried acting, but I was terrible. I still have a photo of myself and Allison Janney ’77 performing on stage at Hotchkiss, and we finally got to work together on the set of Minions after all those years.” (Actress Allison Brooks Janney ’77 voiced Madge Nelson in the 2015 film Minions. She received Hotchkiss’s Alumni Award, the School’s highest alumni honor, in 2016.)
Meledandri told accepted students that while many schools offer great academics, Hotchkiss provides a very engaged culture within an interdisciplinary education.
In responding to a series of thoughtful questions posed by Overstrom and Gardiner, Meledandri encouraged accepted students to appreciate the full educational experience Hotchkiss has to offer, including the opportunities and moments for self-reflection.
“I think it is important for students to embrace the moment they are in –– and the spontaneous events that will lead them to a new level of awareness,” he said. H
For more information on the application process at Hotchkiss, visit the Admission page on our website or email: admission@hotchkiss.org
