Hotchkiss Magazine | Winter 2023

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

AS OF DECEMBER 2022

Robert R. Gould ’77, Co-President

Elizabeth G. Hines ’93, Co-President

Robert Chartener ’76, P’18, Vice President

Rebecca van der Bogert, Vice President

Raymond J. McGuire ’75, P’21, Vice President

David B. Wyshner ’85, Treasurer

Roger K. Smith ’78, P’08, Secretary

Charles Ayres ’77

Joseph P. Baratta P’24

Craig Bradley, Head of School, ex officio

Anne Matlock Dinneen ’95

John Grube ’65, P’00

Brooke Harlow ’92, Co-President, Alumni Association, ex officio

Alex Hurst ’97

John Khoury ’95, President, The Hotchkiss Fund, ex officio

Annika Lescott-Martinez ’06

Nisa Leung Lin ’88

Michael J. Mars ’86

Cristina Mariani-May ’89, P’23,’25

Paul Mutter ’87, P’26, Co-President, Alumni Association, ex officio

Carlos Pérez ’81

Thomas S. Quinn ’71, P’15,’17,’19

Christopher R. Redlich Jr. ’68

Thomas R. Seidenstein ’91, P’24

Timothy P. Sullivan ’81, P’13,’16

Rhonda Trotter ’79

Richard M. Weil ’81, P’23 ,’25

U.Gwyn Williams ’84, P’17,’19

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD

OF GOVERNORS

AS OF DECEMBER 2022

EMERITI

Howard C. Bissell ’55, P’82

John R. Chandler Jr. ’53, P’82, P’85,’87, GP’10,’14,’16,’22

Thomas J. Edelman ’69, P’06,’07

Lawrence Flinn Jr. ’53, GP’22

Dan W. Lufkin ’49, P’80,’82,’88,’23

Robert H. Mattoon Jr.

Dr. Robert A. Oden Jr. P’97

Kendra O’Donnell

Jean Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18

John L. Thornton ’72, P’10,’11,’16

Natalie Boyse ’09

Rafael Carbonell ’93. VP and Chair, Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Weijen Chang ’86, P’22,’24. VP and Chair, Admission and Engagement Committee

Julia Chen ’16

Ernesto Cruz III ’01

Marita Bell Fairbanks ’84

Danielle S. Ferguson ’97, VP and Co-chair, Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Carlos Garcia ’77

Whitney Gulden ’12

Brooke Harlow ’92, Co-President of the Alumni Association

Cameron Hough ’09

Julia Tingley Kivitz ’01

Robert Kuhn ’75

Keith Merrill ’02

Nick Moore ’71, P’89,’01,’06, VP and Chair, Nominating Committee for Membership

Paul Mutter ’87, P’26, Co-President of the Alumni Association

Honey Taylor Nachman ’90, P’21,’23

Daniel Pai ’19

Mark Pierce ’67, P’13

Gigi Brush Priebe ’77, P’06,’09

Blake Ruddock ’12

Marquis Scott ’98, Vice Chair

Adam Sharp ’96. VP and Chair, Communications Committee

Tom Terbell ’95, VP and Chair, Nominating Committee for Awards

Sarah Thornton-Clifford ’76, P’07,’23

Madison West ’05

Clara Rankin Williams ’89

Lisa Bjornson Wolf ’82

Whitney PakPour Zeta ’04

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

Craig Bradley, Head of School

Tom Seidenstein ’91, P’24, Past President, Alumni Association

Robert R. Gould ’77, Co-President, Board of Trustees

Elizabeth G. Hines ’93, Co-President, Board of Trustees

John Khoury ’95, President, The Hotchkiss Fund

ON THE COVER: The Festival of Lessons & Carols, a Hotchkiss holiday tradition, photographed by Brian Wilcox.

HEAD OF SCHOOL

Craig W. Bradley

CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Hope Reisinger Cobera ’88, P’24

EDITOR

Darryl Gangloff

MAGAZINE DESIGNER

Julie Hammill

CONTRIBUTORS

Catherine Calamé, Robin Chandler ’87, Julia Elliott, Eliott Grover, Jeffrey Hinz, Roberta Jenckes, Daniel Lippman ’08, Erin Reid P’01,’05, Nancy Somera, Aaliyah Wang ’25

PLEASE SEND INQUIRIES AND COMMENTS TO: The Hotchkiss School 11 Interlaken Road Lakeville, CT 06039-2141

Email: magazine@hotchkiss.org

Phone: (860) 435-3122

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 are welcome. Please keep under 400 words. We reserve the right to edit and publish letters.

5 Enduring Gratitude

Dr. John E. Ellis ’74 Serves Communities, from Patients to Students

18

The Crowd Goes Wild Kendall Giltz ’23 Makes Hotchkiss Football History

30 The Conservation Fellowship How Hotchkiss Alumni Have Helped Preserve the Northwest Corner

35 Global Education

Lorem Aminathia ’11 and Brian Sims ’89 Help Students Throughout the World

Educators and Open Discourse

THERE ARE MANY PRIVILEGES that come with being Head of School at Hotchkiss. The most rewarding is getting to know our students and witnessing their intellectual and personal maturation during their time here. It is also a great privilege to be among excellent teachers. Much of our conversation centers on the students, their learning, their growth, their successes, and their mistakes. In reflecting on what it is to lead a school, George Van Santvoord, Class of 1908, often invoked the final line of Voltaire’s Candide: Il faut cultiver notre jardin. It remains a relevant reference. A garden exists to enable the protected, orderly growth of living things, and the gardener’s job is to cultivate that growth by carefully tending to all aspects of the environment.

A gardener takes pride in the garden

thriving and the plants growing well. I certainly take great pride in the accomplishments of this community, many of which are outlined in the following pages.

Next time you visit campus, I invite you to stand facing the Main Building and look up at the façade that was built in 1995. You will see two Greek words on limestone panels: Apeth, meaning goodness and excellence, and ΛOΓOΣ, meaning logical argument. At its best, Hotchkiss is a place of excellence, of goodness, and of reason. It is a place where curiosity, never fully satisfied, is nurtured to grow stronger still.

In this spirit, we were proud to host a conference on the Chicago Principles of Open Discourse in November. The concept of open discourse itself dates back to ancient Greece and has continued to inspire emotion and controversy for centuries. In the mid-

Hotchkiss was pleased to host a conference on open discourse for educators, bringing to campus delegates from peer schools across New England and beyond.

“At its best, Hotchkiss is a place of excellence, of goodness, and of reason. It is a place where curiosity, never fully satisfied, is nurtured to grow stronger still.”

19th century, John Stuart Mill wrote of the “evil of silencing the expression of an opinion,” while Frederick Douglass famously stated, “liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist.”

In 2019, I had the pleasure of traveling to Chicago with a delegation of students and faculty members to attend a “Conference on Freedom of Expression and Open Discourse in High School” hosted by the University of Chicago. Hotchkiss was among 12 independent schools (and the only boarding school) invited to participate.

A key element of the 2019 event was investigating how a set of ideals advocating for the free and uninhibited debate of ideas that had been written for a research university could be applied in a secondary school setting. In a community such as ours, open discussion must be balanced with ensuring a civil and respectful atmosphere in which adolescent students are coming to understand their own sense of identity.

The Hotchkiss event in November, which was attended by representatives from a number of boarding and independent day schools, is one element of the important continuation of this work. I hope you will enjoy reading more about it on page 11, where you can also access a video sample of the engaging material that was covered.

Here in Lakeville, the days are beginning to lengthen, and planning Graduation for the Class of 2023 is well underway. We look forward to the arrival of spring when the plants in our garden will blossom and continue to grow. Il faut cultiver notre jardin. “Il faut” is a phrase that admonishes us to do the necessary. I hope that as you cultivate your gardens, you take time to enjoy their beauty and the excitement of continual growth.

All good wishes,

Mounds of Fun

Editor’s Note: If you have an interesting photo and would like to test your fellow alumni about it, please send it to magazine@hotchkiss.org.

We shared the above photo in the summer issue of Hotchkiss Magazine. It appeared in the 1976 Misch and is from fall 1975, the second fall that girls attended Hotchkiss. Many readers attempted to identify their classmates in the photo, and Sarah Thornton Clifford ’76, P’07,’23 confirmed she is in the middle of the pile of students. Other suggestions are Janegail Orringer Kahn ’77, Alissa Keny-Guyer ’77, Lili Knight Wallace ’78, Angel Lillard ’79, Duffy Long ’76, Chris Shea ’77, Ellynne Skove ’77, Sue Torrey ’78, and Heather Murray White ’77, P’16.

Hearty congratulations to Scott Barrow on his cover photo of Lake Wononscopomuc on the summer edition of the magazine. And what a delight that the magnificent panoramic view continued on the back cover. This lovely reminder of the bucolic setting of our beloved alma mater brought back a flood of fond “memories dear that cluster ’round our sojourn here.” Thanks for rekindling those memories.

Craig W. Bradley

GERRY SKONING ’60

A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

BY ROBERT CHARTENER ’76, P’18

The Trustees held three days of committee and full-board meetings in Lakeville at the end of September and beginning of October:

Opening of the 2022-23 year – Students returned to a largely COVID-free campus for the first time since March 2020. Only the incoming seniors had experienced Chapel before, when they were preps during the 2019-20 school year, and there was enthusiasm for a return to Chapel and other campus traditions that had lain dormant. The emphasis on community time and events has become important this year. The School opened with 601 students, 16 higher than the target of 585 because of an increase in the yield to 64% (up from 46% five years ago). With the Memorial renovation now underway and a higher initial number of students, dormitory space is tight. Common rooms that had been converted into student space during COVID “de-densifying” remain in use this year.

Almanac revision – The Almanac was comprehensively revised over the summer. There is now a greater emphasis on a valuesbased approach, and the departure from no-chance discipline meant a new drug and alcohol policy and new procedures regarding the disciplinary process. The Almanac has required thorough revision with respect to disciplining students who now remain at Hotchkiss as an alternative to withdrawing. Class deans now have expanded discretion.

Investment results – The School’s performance during the 2021-22 academic year was a decline of 10.1% during choppy and uncertain markets. That said, the School still placed in the top quartile. Our endowment stood at $531.6 million at June 30. We ended the year at $530.4 million. We continue to trust our diversification benchmarks, which enable us to exhibit lower volatility. The liquidity reserve is at 8.7%, which is above our target of 6%.

New faculty members and administrative changes – Hotchkiss welcomed 17 incoming members of the faculty this fall. There is a stronger emphasis on mentoring new faculty members, particularly on building community skills, and for all faculty members there is an increased emphasis on the residential and co-curricular aspects of their work. We have a new director of college advising, Serena Oh Castellano; Rick Hazelton, the prior head, is now in charge of the Center for Global Understanding and Independent Thinking. The DEI office is led by Kinyette Henderson, instructor in English and Crain Fellow, and Dr. Lisanne Norman ’94, an instructor in humanities and social sciences and director of the Hersey Scholars program. The School is searching for a new director of athletics.

Opening of Courage Garden – Following the meetings on Saturday, Oct. 1, the trustees attended the dedication of Courage Garden, a new area lying just north of the sixth fairway. Prior to the opening of the garden, several students performed in the Elfers Hall, and Craig Bradley expressed in moving terms the School’s heartfelt apology for past episodes of sexual misconduct. Funded by private contributions and the School, the garden is a campus space for healing and contemplation.

MacLeish and Hersey Scholars – Hotchkiss has two summer programs for students to research archival material, relying upon original documents rather than on another person’s opinions or interpretations. The Hersey Scholars Program, named for John Hersey ’32, uses Harvard’s significant collections of historical and sociocultural materials. These upper mids were the first high school students granted access to Harvard’s materials. A similar program, the MacLeish Scholars, is named for Archibald MacLeish Class of 1911 and focuses on literary archival study at Yale. Students spoke with great enthusiasm about their work.

Move away from AP courses – Like many other schools, Hotchkiss has moved away from AP courses in the last three years. There has been a concurrent growth in the number of different course offerings. Specifically, we have traded several sections of particular AP courses for a greater array of elective courses at the honors level. Hotchkiss is working on optimizing the appropriate balance between the breadth and depth of the upper-level curriculum.

Campus construction and renovation

– John Grube ’65, the chair of the committee on buildings, grounds, and the environment, described extensive work being done on campus. The Memorial Hall renovation, which will be completed by September 2023, requires large staging areas in front of and behind the building. It is an extensive project. Despite the challenges of dealing with an older building, it should be completed on time. Dormitory renovations continued over the summer with updates performed on Tinker during 2022. In the MAC, expanded fitness facilities were created from storage space and the former wrestling area, which is being relocated. Several trees were added in honor of Rusty Chandler ’53, P’82,’85,’87, GP’10,’14,’16,’22. Work on decarbonization and energy savings continue. The archives are being relocated to the Chapel basement in preparation for upcoming work on the Dining Hall.

New Trustees – The board welcomed two new trustees. Joe Baratta P’24 lives in New York City and is the global head of private equity at Blackstone, a major investment firm. Joe attended Georgetown University, where he is a member of the board of regents. Michael Mars ’86 attended Duke and founded mTerra Ventures after managing several business units for Mars Incorporated. Michael’s father, John, is a member of the Class of 1953.

Serving Communities, from Patients to Students

Hotchkiss Gave Dr. John E. Ellis ’74 a ‘Wider Lens to the World’

BY JULIA ELLIOTT

Dr. Ellis threw himself into his studies on his first day at Hotchkiss in the fall of 1971, leading him on a long and successful journey of academia, medicine, and service. He served on the Hotchkiss Board of Trustees for a decade, and he is proud to support scholarship and financial aid opportunities for diverse students through his generous gifts.

GROWING UP IN QUEENS, NY, in the 1960s, Dr. John E. Ellis ’74 was always a gifted student. His childhood nickname was “the Brain,” and by the time he was 10 years old, he played chess, was proficient at trigonometry and, according to a 2007 article in The New York Times, was prone to lecture playground bullies on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s theory of nonviolence. In junior high, his favorite subjects were math and drama, and he hoped to continue studying both in high school. He considered attending the Bronx High School of Science, the city’s most selective high school for STEM, but at nearly two hours each way, the commute would have made it nearly impossible to find time for both of his passions.

Dr. Ellis’s parents, a corrections officer and a homemaker, emphasized education and were aware that elite boarding schools, which had begun recruiting and offering financial aid to minority students in earnest in the 1960s, would be a good option for their bright son. “The initial appeal,” he says, “was being able to engage my interests on a campus where I could walk five minutes from one thing to another.”

He applied to and was accepted at several of the very best New England boarding schools. On a visit back to Hotchkiss during the spring of 1971, he was intrigued that the School offered access to an IBM 1620 computer—a rarity at the time. What really cinched the deal, however, was his host, Franklin Salisbury ’74. “My main memory of that visit was Franklin’s warmth and the coziness of the school,” he says. He entered that fall as a lower mid and a recipient of the Watson Family Scholarship. Fifty years later, Dr. Ellis still has dinner with Salisbury whenever his classmate travels to Chicago.

Dr. Ellis enjoyed his math classes at Hotchkiss, especially sessions taught by George Norton Stone, whom he recalls as “rigorous, inspirational, and iconic.” In addition, he “thoroughly enjoyed

PHOTO: SAVAGE PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICES

the opportunity to program the IBM computer—using hole punch cards!” He found opportunities for camaraderie, hard work, and leadership through acting in several Hotchkiss theater productions. The drama teacher at the time, Jennifer Barrows, was a tremendous influence. “To this day, I can get up in front of a crowd of 800 people and be comfortable and engaging. I credit a lot of my experience as an educator and public speaker to her.”

His parents, particularly his father, believed in the importance of language and culture study. They encouraged him to spend his junior year in Barcelona, Spain. “There were 40 or 50 kids in the School Year Abroad program, and I was clearly among the best prepared in terms of language,” he says, crediting his Hotchkiss Spanish teacher, Ray Keck. His scholarship support continued as he studied abroad.

Dr. Ellis remains grateful for the opportunities Hotchkiss gave him. “The beautiful thing for me was I could do all the different things that interested me and have those impactful teachers.” He also acquired “a certain confidence walking into any room,” which he credits not only to the drama and study abroad programs, but also to the fact that “Hotchkiss gave me a wider lens on the world and a more open mind to entertain difference, whatever that might be.”

A Career in Medicine

In the fall of 1974, with multiple advanced classes under his belt (and the Hotchkiss math, chemistry, and Spanish prizes), he entered Harvard as a 16-year-old sophomore. He graduated with a major in biochemistry and headed off to the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

It came as little surprise to his family that he gravitated toward anesthesiology during medical school. According to his sister, Tracy Ellis ’78, when the two played with bugs as children, “John would provide us with jars that held nail polish to sedate the insects.” He completed his residency at the University of Virginia, returned to the University of Chicago to complete a fellowship, and then joined the faculty there in 1987 as a cardiovascular anesthesiologist.

Dr. Ellis understands that, to some, anesthesiology means “you put the patient to sleep and then sit around and do nothing.” In his cardiovascular anesthesiology practice, however, he oversaw complicated surgeries, including liver transplants, major cancer operations, and repairs of aneurysms of the aorta. It was high-stakes medicine with steep intellectual and technical demands, and he loved the work. He especially enjoyed the “brief but intense opportunity to put patients at ease” and to help families through often stressful procedures.

In addition to his practice, Dr. Ellis researched drug therapies and techniques that might lessen the chance of heart attack after surgery. He also served on the Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and participated in one contentious panel that resulted in a drug being withdrawn from the market. “It felt good to know I was serving the wellbeing of the public,” he says.

As a faculty member at the University of Chicago, he found teaching to be particularly rewarding. “One of the things that brings me joy is seeing my former residents 20 years later and hearing what they learned and took away from those experiences,” he says.

Anesthesiologists, especially one who is 6'2" like Dr. Ellis, are often putting their bodies into awkward positions to insert intravenous lines or peer down scopes. By 2006, he had undergone two operations to repair herniated disks in his neck. While the operations saved him from possible paralysis, the injuries led to his retirement from practicing anesthesiology in 2008.

Prior to retiring, he founded destinationCME with his sister, and they continue to produce medical education opportunities for anesthesiologists around the country. “It’s been a joy to continue

“Hotchkiss gave me a wider lens on the world and a more open mind to entertain difference, whatever that might be.”

—DR. JOHN E. ELLIS ’74

to be involved in my specialty and watch it evolve,” he says. He also teaches as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania and is on the visiting faculty at the University of Miami. In addition, he served as vice president of the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists Research Foundation.

Along with Scott Meadow ’73, Dr. Ellis is a sitting member of the Investment Committee at Health Innovation Capital, a venture capital firm run by Andrew Meadow. “It has been wonderful to re-engage with Scott,” he says, “and it’s a way I can continue to both learn and teach.” Dr. Ellis is also an active volunteer, particularly in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, where he has lived for 40 years. He serves on the University of Chicago Alumni Board of Governors and the board of directors of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival.

Reconnecting with Hotchkiss

Roughly 20 years ago, Dr. Ellis reconnected with Hotchkiss through former Senior Associate Director of Admission Patricia Redd Johnson, who hoped he would speak at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event. He eventually joined the Board of Trustees in 2005 and served until 2015. He chaired the Academic Matters Committee and, with Eleanor “Duffy” Green Long ’76, co-chaired the Head of

School search. He brought to both roles a deep knowledge of academic culture.

Dr. Ellis found the Hotchkiss board to be highly effective, in part due to the leadership of John Thornton ’72, P’10,’11,’16 and Jeannie Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18, but also because “people brought diverse skill sets and viewpoints.” He particularly valued interacting with students and the faculty. He is an avid collector of African American art and shares similar interests with artist and fellow New Yorker Eilen Itzel Mena ’13, who is of Dominican descent. “She said it made her feel good to see someone who looked like her on the Board of Trustees, and that was gratifying to me,” Dr. Ellis says. He helped fund Mena’s February 2022 exhibit at the Tremaine Art Gallery and residency in the School’s studio art and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion departments.

Dr. Ellis deepened his friendship with Johnson during his tenure on the Board. When her retirement party was announced, he cut short a planned trip to Turkey to attend. “Pat was an admission officer, but she was much more than that. She worked tirelessly to support students of color and really touched so many lives.” When the Pat Redd Johnson Scholarship was announced, he immediately became a supporter.

He also contributes to the Walter J.

Crain Jr. P’86,’89 Scholarship in memory of Hotchkiss’s first Black faculty member. “For me it’s important that you have people of color as mentors to all young people. My fellow Hotchkiss board members and other white alumni know that Walter Crain was instrumental in their development as adolescents. That is as important as Pat Redd Johnson being a mentor to generations of students of color.”

As a member of the Town Hill Society, which recognizes those who have named Hotchkiss in their estate plans, Dr. Ellis is particularly proud to support financial aid. “Hotchkiss is enriched by having talented students from all over the country and different parts of the world. That rich diversity is important, and to the extent that financial aid facilitates that, it’s great,” he says. “Obviously, I wouldn’t have been able to go to Hotchkiss without financial aid. Hotchkiss was instrumental in what I have been able to do, and I want others to have the opportunity to have similar experiences as I have. My giving is modest, but every bit helps. There is nothing more important than having a talented student body, followed close second by having a talented faculty.” H

Dr. John E. Ellis with Patricia Redd Johnson

Dr. Ellis with Jeannie Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18, Trustee Emerita

ALUMNI AWARD

CNN Anchor Chris Wallace ’65 to Receive School’s Highest Honor

CHRIS WALLACE ’65 has been named the recipient of the 2023 Alumni Award, The Hotchkiss School’s highest honor. Wallace has covered many of the world’s biggest stories throughout his awardwinning journalism career, which spans more than 50 years. He is currently an anchor for CNN and hosts Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? on HBO Max and CNN, where he interviews guests across the spectrum of news, sports, entertainment, art, and culture.

“Hotchkiss played a big role during a key time in my life. I look back on those years fondly. I was surprised and delighted to be asked to come back to receive the Alumni Award. I can’t wait to return to campus and engage with the students there,” Wallace said. He will be honored during a ceremony in Lakeville in May.

Wallace, the son of Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes fame, spent the summer before his senior year at Hotchkiss interning for news anchor Walter Cronkite. He treasured the experience and decided to work as a reporter for The Boston Globe in 1969 after graduating from Harvard University. That

job launched his impressive career. In his September 2015 Hotchkiss Alum of the Month profile, Wallace commented on his success in the broadcasting field. “What separates people who succeed is not necessarily talent or brains, but energy and persistence. You have to keep at it daily while maintaining your standards. I have been lucky and have had great opportunities,” he said, noting that he spent a week with Mother Teresa in 1979 just after she won the Nobel Peace Prize. “I have had a wonderful career.”

Prior to joining CNN in January 2022, Wallace was the anchor of FOX News Sunday. Throughout his almost two decades at FOX, Wallace participated in coverage of every major political event, secured interviews with dignitaries and U.S. and foreign leaders, covered five presidential elections, and interviewed every president since George H.W. Bush.

Wallace moderated the first presidential debate of the 2020 election season, and he became the first journalist from FOX to moderate a general election presidential

debate in 2016. “My job is to keep them honest and to challenge their contradictions and arguments,” Wallace said in his Alum of the Month profile about interviewing politicians and officials. “A tough interview may not be what you think—combative is good when it gets you to the truth.”

Wallace has won every major broadcast news award for his reporting, including three Emmy Awards, the DuPont-Columbia Silver Baton, the Peabody Award, and the National Press Foundation’s Sol Taishoff Award for Broadcast Journalism. In 2021, he received the Panetta Institute’s Jefferson-Lincoln Award. In 2020, he was honored with the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism and was named to the top spot on Mediaite’s Most Influential in News Media for his “clear-eyed reporting, analysis, and commentary throughout the year.”

Wallace also received the ICFJ Founders Award for Excellence in Journalism for “his unbiased, piercing approach to interviews.” In 2013, Wallace earned the Paul White Award for lifetime achievement and service to electronic journalism from the Radio Television Digital News Association.

Wallace is also The New York Times bestselling author of Countdown bin Laden: The Untold Story of the 247-Day Hunt to Bring the Mastermind of 9/11 to Justice and Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World

Before joining FOX, Wallace worked at ABC News for 14 years where he served as the chief correspondent for PrimeTime and a substitute host for Nightline. Prior to ABC, Wallace was NBC’s chief White House correspondent and moderated Meet the Press, making him the only person to have hosted two Sunday talk shows. He also anchored the Sunday edition of NBC Nightly News

Since 1931, the Hotchkiss Alumni Association has honored notable alumni with the Alumni Award. Selected by the nominating committee of the Board of Governors of the Alumni Association, recipients have brought honor and distinction to themselves and Hotchkiss through their achievements. H

Elizabeth Irvin ’93 Empowers Women in Times of Challenge and Change

FOR

MORE THAN 20 YEARS,

Elizabeth Irvin ’93 has dedicated her career to providing compassionate and effective mental health care for women who have experienced trauma. She is this year’s Community Service Award recipient, selected by the Hotchkiss Alumni Association.

Irvin says she was surprised when she was told about the honor. “Knowing all the amazing work and service done by our fellow classmates, let alone all Hotchkiss alumnae, I could not imagine how the committee came to select me,” she said. “I am deeply humbled, grateful, and proud to receive this award.” She will be honored during a ceremony on campus in April.

Irvin is the executive director of The Women’s Initiative, a nonprofit with multiple locations in Charlottesville, VA, that empowers women in times of challenge and change. She joined the organization in 2009 as its first Spanish-speaking therapist. Soon after, she founded the Bienestar program to create a safe space for Latina women to heal and grow. Irvin became executive director four years later, and under her guidance the agency has become the second-largest provider of mental health care in the Charlottesville area.

The Women’s Initiative offers traumainformed, culturally responsive care— regardless of ability to pay—through services such as walk-in and call-in wellness clinics, individual counseling, groups and social support, and education and outreach programs. Recognizing the importance of affinity-based healing, there are specific groups to support Black women overcoming racial trauma through the Sister Circle program, as well as unique offerings for the LGBTQ+ community. The organization is committed to racial and social justice and addresses barriers to care such as cost, stigma, language, culture, and transportation. “COVID has heightened the already significant need for mental

health care, and the disparate impacts on Black, Latinx, and other communities of color have deepened,” Irvin said.

When Irvin arrived at Hotchkiss as a lower mid, she already knew she wanted to pursue a career as a therapist. “I feel so privileged and fortunate that my parents encouraged me to go to Hotchkiss. I had many great teachers there,” she said in her September 2018 Alum of the Month profile. “I am appreciative of my time at Hotchkiss, which taught me to think critically and globally. It gave me some of the greatest friendships and best memories of my life.”

Irvin received a joint degree in law and social work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining The Women’s Initiative, her work with survivors of trauma began at the San Miguel Resource Center, a domestic violence and sexual assault crisis agency in Telluride, CO. She also helped incarcerated women through an alternative sentencing program in Asheville, NC.

As a therapist, Irvin says she emphasizes a strengths-based perspective as she supports clients on their healing journeys from past traumas. She believes that every person possesses the strength and resilience they need to heal.

Presented annually, the Community Service Award honors the service contributions that Hotchkiss graduates have made to their respective communities, whether local, national, or international. The award seeks to recognize individuals who—in the estimation of the Nominating Committee of the Board of Governors of the Alumni Association—demonstrate through their volunteer and/or vocational endeavors an exemplary sense of caring, initiative, and ingenuity. H

Steve McKibben, Letty Roberts, and John Cooper were honored during their retirement dinner in June.

“I get to bear witness to a woman’s courage to heal and regain her strength. I am honored to come to work every day.”

—ELIZABETH IRVIN ’93

FUN-FILLED FAMILY WEEKEND

Campus was full of energy for Family Weekend. Attendees enjoyed a reception that included a welcome from Head of School Craig Bradley; student performances; sample classes in English, environmental science, human development, and molecular genetics; a Diwali dinner; and a Hotchkiss BIPOC Parent Network brunch. They met with advisors, teachers, and class deans, learned about our travel programs, and cheered for Bearcats sports teams against Choate. Thank you to all who joined us in October!

VIEW MORE PHOTOS!

Opening Up on Open Discourse

Hotchkiss Hosts Two-Day Conference for Educators

BY HOPE REISINGER COBERA ’88, P’24

PROTECTING THE SCOPE of open discourse and the courageous exploration of ideas has always been a hallmark of Hotchkiss culture. In order to foster an environment in which varying ideas and points of view can be openly shared, the School is actively engaged in aligning its work with a set of tenets put forth by the University of Chicago called The Principles of Open Discourse (also known as the Chicago Principles).

In November, Hotchkiss was pleased to host a conference on open discourse for educators, bringing to campus delegates from numerous peer schools across New England and beyond. The two-day event explored opportunities and challenges associated with enabling free expression in a secondary school setting. Discussion was led by thought leaders with deep expertise in developing action plans to help students build their capacities for

constructive and open dialogue.

Visiting presenters included Dr. Leila Brammer, a teaching professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Tampa (and former director of The Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse at the University of Chicago); Suzanne Nossel, CEO of Pen America, a leading human rights and free expression organization; and Denise Pope, senior lecturer at Stanford University Graduate School of Education and co-founder of Challenge Success: Belonging and Open Dialogue; among others.

“This was an amazing two days. It was really well organized with a lot of provocative and insightful practices and theories,” Brammer said. “People came ready to engage with questions but also with interventions they have tried.” She noted that tables were full of attendees who

were processing information and testing ideas to take back to their schools.

Rick Hazelton, director of the Center for Global Understanding and Independent Thinking and dean of summer programs, organized the conference. “Open dialogue is tied closely to our mission. Hotchkiss seeks to develop students who open their minds and hearts to the views and experiences of others, creating space for all to belong and to thrive,” he said. “This work can support all of us—and our students—in engaging in productive disagreement. That feels particularly important at this time of political polarization.”

“It was incredible to see and hear from so many people who spend so much time thinking this through,” said Dr. Lisanne Norman ’94, Hotchkiss instructor in humanities and social sciences, and co-director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. “One of the things I really took away from this event is that discourse equals democracy—and democracy equals discourse.” H

“Hotchkiss seeks to develop students who open their minds and hearts to the views and experiences of others, creating space for all to belong and to thrive.”

—RICK HAZELTON, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING AND INDEPENDENT THINKING AND DEAN OF SUMMER PROGRAMS

Rick Hazelton, director of the Center for Global Understanding and Independent Thinking and dean of summer programs, in conversation with Suzanne Nossel, CEO of Pen America.

Attendees discussed open discourse.

Bringing Courage Garden to Life

BY DARRYL GANGLOFF

IN NOVEMBER 2020, a group of dedicated alumni led an important virtual gathering to reflect on historical sexual misconduct at the School. They discussed the creation of an enduring space on campus for healing and contemplation. Two years later, their idea became a reality with the dedication of Courage Garden—a landmark designed to provide comfort, beauty, and peace for those impacted by sexual abuse during their time at Hotchkiss and beyond.

The Oct. 1 ceremony began in Katherine M. Elfers Hall with a student musical performance and a welcome from facilitator Amy Wheeler, executive director of Learning Courage, a nonprofit that works with independent schools to reduce incidents, improve responses, and support healing from sexual misconduct and abuse. Hotchkiss

is engaged in an ongoing partnership with Learning Courage as part of strengthening the School’s prevention of and response to sexual misconduct on campus.

“To members of the Hotchkiss community past and present, this is your day. For too long, the voices of those who were abused at Hotchkiss were silenced,” Wheeler said. “The dedication of Courage Garden is part of breaking that silence, acknowledging the pain, and beginning the healing process.”

Project designer Jenna Pfau of Mariani Landscape described the design process behind Courage Garden. “The overall concept was to create a naturalistic garden that took a visitor through a journey of healing with many twists and turns, ups and downs, steps and walls, barriers and entrances. We wanted each ‘nook’ of the

garden to feel like a different experience and each turn to hold something unexpected and meaningful. Our goal was to create a powerful space for alumni and survivors, but also a refuge for students to enjoy,” she said.

All-School Co-President Richardine Mamam Nbiba ’23 recited her beautiful poem Skydiving. “I never realized how much courage it took to survive,” she read aloud as the final line.

Head of School Craig Bradley took the stage and said that attending the dedication was an act of bravery for survivors and their loved ones. “As the head of School, my role today, first and foremost, is to apologize,” he said. “I extend this apology to all of you who are survivors. I also extend it to your parents, your families, and those who love you. Like ripples outward from a heavy

stone cast, an expanding circle of people have been hurt by the pain that was inflicted on you.”

Bradley said the School continues to refine and enhance its protocols, procedures, and training requirements to ensure that students today and in the future will be cared for and safe. “Courage Garden signifies our commitment to creating and sustaining an environment in which all young people are safe to learn and grow well, a place where young people can thrive,” he said.

He also said the School is “particularly grateful for the profound commitment and remarkable grace of those who have led the creation of Courage Garden.” The leaders of this work are Martha Bryan ’77, Carolyn Eaton ’77, Andy Luke ’77, Anne Owen Armfield ’77, Margaret Simpson ’77, and Fred Wacker ’77. They were supported by members of the Sexual Misconduct

Prevention and Education Advisory Committee, among numerous others.

Bradley mentioned that gardens often symbolize faith and renewal and noted that they thrive on the passage of time. “A garden cannot change the past. Yet Courage Garden can, in a very genuine way, contribute to changing the future,” Bradley said. “I hope that the growth and opportunity for healing symbolized by Courage Garden can indeed take root, and that this growth will continue to be nurtured by your voices.”

At the conclusion of Bradley’s remarks, attendees were led by survivors in a silent walk from Elfers to the garden’s permanent space just north of the sixth fairway of the golf course, with a view of Lake Wononscopomuc. In a moving gesture, a gauntlet of students stood quietly along the path, and members of the Calliope and Blue Notes a cappella

groups greeted guests with hushed, stunning music as they arrived at Courage Garden.

The program continued with remarks by friends and survivors. As part of a brief reflective activity, visitors ladled water over the large stones in the center of the garden “to connect with the people, the place, and what all of this represents,” Wheeler said. “Maybe you will even make a wish.” The water rushed over the words etched into the stone: “May you find comfort, beauty, and peace here.” H

Design and construction of Courage Garden were made possible by the generous gifts of alumni in addition to support from the School. The garden was designed by Mariani Landscape of Lake Bluff, IL, and constructed by Kent Greenhouse & Gardens of Kent, CT, with oversight and significant contributions by Hotchkiss Director of Facilities John Bryant and the facilities team. Hotchkiss continues to maintain an absolute commitment to transparency with respect to the investigation of reports of sexual misconduct by members of the faculty or staff that occurred at any time in the School’s history.

“Courage Garden signifies our commitment to creating and sustaining an environment in which all young people are safe to learn and grow well, a place where young people can thrive.”

—HEAD OF SCHOOL CRAIG BRADLEY

TAKE A VIDEO TOUR OF THE GARDEN

Far left, the Calliope and Blue Notes a cappella groups performed at the dedication ceremony. Left, a gauntlet of students stood quietly along the path as visitors walked to Courage Garden. Right, stones in the garden are etched with the words, “May you find comfort, beauty, and peace here.”

‘A Full-Circle Moment’

Playwright Mallory Weiss ’11 returns to Hotchkiss

to

inspire student writers

BY DARRYL GANGLOFF

MALLORY WEISS ’11 WROTE her first play at Hotchkiss and her debut theatrical production—about a pizza place where she had worked over the summer— was held in the Student Center. More than a decade later, she returned to that same room as an award-winning playwright to share her writing advice with students. “It’s a full-circle moment,” she said. “Hotchkiss is where I learned to write. The English Department helped me become a professional writer.”

Weiss was thrilled to spend time on campus in January as part of the Nalen Writing Program, which was established by Skip Nalen ’48, P’79, G’13,’15 to enrich and inspire students and instructors in the art and practice of writing. She visited classrooms and discussed topics such as “how to bring your own voice to things, how to translate everyday speech into something a character would say, and how to be a professional artist in the world.”

She also hosted a lecture on Jan. 12 for a large audience of lower mids in the Student Center where her passion for writing began. She read aloud an excerpt from a play she is currently working on that is loosely based on Hotchkiss and boarding schools. “I wrote about Hotchkiss when I was here, and I’m still writing about it,” she said with a smile.

Mallory kept all of her Daily Theme essays from her time as a Bearcat. This writing practice requires all lower mids to complete up to 20 short pieces, and she revisited her entire collection in anticipation of her talk. She shared titles like Feeling Like I Don’t Have the Capacity as a Writer to Talk About Death and Grief, The New York Times Crossword Puzzle, and How I Almost Left Hotchkiss in My First Semester but Instead

Christy Cooper Saved the Day

Weiss’s Top 10 Writing Tips for Daily Themes

1 Have a naming convention and filing system.

2 Daily Themes are your homework. Just do them.

3 This is an opportunity to capture who you are and what you care about and submerge it in amber.

4 Don’t be precious, but do be honest.

5 There is always something to write about.

6 Be willing to be vulnerable.

7 Keep a list of things you might want to write about.

8 Write by hand, especially when you don’t know what to write.

9 You are a writer. (Head of the English Department Charlie Frankenbach “wrote that one single sentence on the back of a paper that I wrote and it changed my life.”)

10 Relish being a writer.

“I really wanted to be a writer when I was here. I wanted to find big, important themes inside of small everyday moments,” she told the crowd. She joked that her Daily Themes were slightly embarrassing to read as an adult but emphasized they were “earnest, unapologetic, and revolved around ideas and feelings that I still write about.”

Eager students asked Weiss dozens of questions about her writing process. “I very rarely know the ending of my plays when I start them. I don’t draft in order,” she said. “I will put scenes on index cards and lay them out on the floor and move them around and see what happens.”

She told students that there is always something to write about. “When I need to come up with a new TV pilot, I turn to a matrix that I made with columns for genres, locations, themes, and twists. I roll dice. It’s a sci-fi show at a petting zoo about sibling rivalry—oh, and they’ve been dead the whole time!” she said with a laugh. Weiss fills the notes application on her phone with story ideas to help her create those “weird worlds.” She also writes as often as possible. “The best thing that Hotchkiss gave me for my writing was asking me to do a lot of it.”

For the final question of the evening, a student asked, “Is there a piece of work that you found to be transformative or holds profound meaning for you?” Weiss reminisced about watching a “mindblowing” Hotchkiss Dramatic Association production of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice. She then took a road trip during her senior spring break to Philadelphia, where she saw Ruhl’s In the Next Room. “This feels important. I came back and switched my Teagle topic to write about this play. Fast forward to my last year of grad school, where I was able to ask a playwright to be my mentor. I got to work with Sarah Ruhl on one of my plays,” she said as the audience gasped. “It was a real full-circle moment. Her style set me on the path I am now. It changed my life here at Hotchkiss.” H

Mallory Weiss’s full-length plays include Big Black Sunhats, LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO, The Page Turners, Pony Up, Howl From Up High, and Losing You, Which Is Enough. Learn more at MalloryJaneWeiss.com

5, 4,

Launch!

Honors Physics Students Test Rockets in Preparation for National Contest

BY DARRYL GANGLOFF

THE HOTCHKISS CLASS OF ’49 FIELDS recently acted as the launch site for flying rockets that soared hundreds of feet into the sky. The event marked the inaugural test flights for four teams of honors physics students who are competing in the national American Rocketry Challenge—the world’s largest rocket contest.

“The goal is to fly a single egg inside the payload of the rocket to an altitude of 850 feet. The section containing the egg has to stay aloft between 42 and 45 seconds,” physics instructor Dr. Jeffrey LaCosse told a small crowd that gathered for the event. “And the egg has to be intact.”

One by one, the four teams set up their rockets, counted down, and pushed the launch button on a controller. The rockets shot into the air, separated into two sections, and glided back down on parachutes.

Emily Iorio ’23 and Brayden Li-Kato ’24 said their rocket went 480 feet high. They were immediately thinking of ways to improve their model for the next test flight, such as redistributing weight to make it more balanced. Both students are enjoying this project and the chance to compete at a national level. “It’s really exciting. I have wanted to do stuff like this, but I’ve never known how to. It’s fun to be able to learn about rockets in class,” Emily said.

The honors physics students will continue to test and tweak their rockets throughout the winter, culminating in qualifying flights in front of a judge after spring break. The top 100 teams from these qualifiers will attend the national finals near Washington, D.C. The winning team will be awarded $20,000 and head to Paris to compete in the world championships. H

Left, physics instructor Dr. Jeffrey LaCosse with students. Below, Brayden Li-Kato ’24 and Emily Iorio ’23.

Brooks Clifford ’23 Published in Highly Selective History Journal

BY NANCY SOMERA

BROOKS CLIFFORD ’23 HAS BEEN published in the winter issue of The Concord Review, the only quarterly journal to publish academic history papers of secondary students. His paper on political cartoonists was one of 11 chosen for the highly selective journal that only prints about 5 percent of the essays it receives from students around the world.

Brooks came up with the topic for his paper during his sophomore year at Bronxville High School in New York, where he researched the masked messages behind the cartoons and children’s books of Theodor Seuss Geisel—better known as Dr. Seuss. “I found the research and creation of the project to be a really fun and interesting process, as I found it intriguing how an entire nation and many generations could be greatly influenced by media such as political cartoons and children’s books,” he says. At Hotchkiss, he was given the opportunity to research any topic for Thomas Drake’s U.S history class last year. He knew he wanted to go into more depth on this topic. “It was where I came up with

the idea of comparing Dr. Seuss to another historically famous political cartoonist, Thomas Nast,” he says.

Upon hearing about The Concord Review, Brooks was eager for the challenge to write for it. He spent the summer editing his paper and made many changes, the most significant coming when he learned The Concord Review doesn’t publish images. His original paper was conceived as a project dealing with visual sources. Drake, the Class of 1938 Teaching Chair and history instructor who acted as a sounding board for Brooks, explains, “His final essay for the course included about a dozen reproductions of cartoons; indeed, they were essential to the paper. Only when we were preparing the submission did we realize that The Concord Review does not publish images!”

Undeterred, Brooks rewrote the paper and finished with a 32-page piece that focuses more on the entire lives of the writers and how their values affected their writing, the technologically opportune periods they lived in, and the effect their

types of media had on the American population. “He approached the added work over the summer with undiminished enthusiasm,” says Drake. “And in the process, he refined the analytical component—the analysis of continuity and change—significantly.”

Brooks praises many at Hotchkiss for their guidance. “Mr. Drake was an amazing help throughout the entire process, from showing us the benefits of citation tools, specifically Zotero, to giving us a great framework and detailed process through which we were able to conduct interesting and detailed research,” Brooks says. “In addition, the resources offered by Hotchkiss, from the teachers who are more than willing to help students accomplish their goals, to the librarians who were there for my many questions about citations and helped me find helpful and interesting sources, were all amazingly helpful in guiding me throughout my research process.” H

The Concord Review will host a program on campus for Hotchkiss Summer Portals 2023. This two-week intensive workshop in history, research, and writing offers students an advisory structure in which to work on historical research papers that feature topics of their own choosing. LEARN MORE at Hotchkiss.org/Summer

READ THE PAPER BY BROOKS CLIFFORD ’23

Into the Woods Brightens the Stage

BY AALIYAH WANG ’25

INVITING THE AUDIENCE to a fairytale realm of joy and terror, student performers, musicians, and the Hotchkiss Dramatic Association tech team presented Into the Woods in Walker Auditorium from Nov. 10 to 13.

Into The Woods, a musical written and composed by Stephen Sondheim in 1987, highlights the importance of togetherness, the power of one’s actions, and the significance of seeing the world from an alternate perspective. These themes were woven throughout the production by the direction of MK Lawson, instructor in theater and humanities. Reflecting on the show, she said, “Into the Woods acknowledges that life isn’t always happy ever after, but most importantly what we make of it. Life gets dark for everyone sometimes, but what matters is how we deal with the hardship and learn from it.”

To piece together the show, cast members first met for table reads to analyze the motives behind each character and the overarching theme before putting the story on stage. Meanwhile, the tech crew, led by Derek Brashears, director of theater and technical director, began designing the set, props, sound effects, and lighting. Aster Lee Lufkin ’23 designed the costumes. Simultaneously, guest Musical Ensemble Director Logan Carithers began choreographing the musical pieces of the

production. The different groups of the production met up during the final week to bring the entire production together.

In contrast with last year’s musical, Mamma Mia!, Lawson said, “This is a much more complicated show musically, so it challenged our singing actors in a way that Mamma Mia! didn’t. Mamma Mia! is the type of show that is designed to help you escape reality and have a good time. Into the Woods is really designed to make you think and reveal deeper truths about the human condition. Both shows require exceptional skills, but extremely different ones. And we love to present that kind of theatrical versatility in our department.”

Cast members shared some of their favorite moments from the production. Addie Cirulis ’25, who played the Witch, said, “The Your Fault/Last Midnight scene was my favorite part of the entire production! It portrayed an important turning point of the plot where things started to pick up. I also really enjoyed watching both Agony and Agony Reprise [because] the princes are very funny.” Harry Morelli ’23, who played Cinderella’s prince, said, “I loved the scene where Chris Mitchell ’24, the narrator, encounters the giant’s wife. Voiced by both Mrs. [Christy] Cooper and Mrs. [Maggie] Crain, she is near-sighted and can’t tell who is who, so when she is looking for the murderer of her

husband, the narrator ends up being pulled into the actual scene to be sacrificed. This is the funniest scene for me, especially when the narrator’s body fell from the ceiling.”

After months of hard work, Into the Woods wrapped on Nov. 13, marking the beginning of a new academic year of productions brought by HDA to the local community. The group followed Into the Woods with its winter performance of Lady Windermere’s Fan in February (view photos at go.hotchkiss.org/windermere). H

VIEW MORE PHOTOS go.hotchkiss.org/intothewoods

THE CROWD GOES WILD

Kendall Giltz ’23 Makes Hotchkiss Football History

BY DARRYL GANGLOFF

KENDALL

GILTZ ’23 MADE

Hotchkiss history on Nov. 5 under the lights on Sprole Field. When her kick sailed through the goalpost, she entered the record books as the first girl to score a point in a varsity football game.

The stars aligned to make this a memorable moment for Kendall. “It’s something I can tell my kids,” she said with a smile. It was Senior Night against Kent, and Kendall kicked an extra point to tie the game. “Everyone on the sidelines was cheering and going crazy,” she remembers. The Bearcats carried that energy to a 13-7 victory. “It was a surreal experience running off the field with the guys. The team is so positive.”

“I think the excitement from the crowd and the sideline tells you everything you need to know about that moment,” said Dempsey

Quinn, head varsity football coach. “I am just so happy for Kendall, knowing that to my knowledge she was doing something that had never been done before at Hotchkiss. To succeed in such a clutch moment was a very proud moment for me as a coach, and I hope for her as an athlete.”

Coach Quinn is the reason Kendall joined the varsity football team. Sports have played a big role in Kendall’s life

since she arrived at Hotchkiss as a prep. She plays varsity hockey and lacrosse and previously was a member of the varsity soccer team. When she decided to look for something new, Quinn suggested last spring that she pursue a role as football kicker. “I didn’t think he was being serious at first,” she laughed. “But once we talked about it more, I considered it all summer.”

“The coaches are really great. Their commitment to me as a player has helped me and made a big impact on how the season went for me.”

—KENDALL GILTZ ’23

Elisabeth “Barbs” Bilar ’93 blazed the trail for Kendall (see story, this page). Bilar played one season on the JV football team in the fall of her senior year. Katie Brickley ’94 also played briefly on the same JV squad.

Kendall attended three football practices, and she says the team atmosphere was the deciding factor to officially join the group. “I knew the guys would be accepting, so I wasn’t afraid to try something new,” she said. “And the coaches are really great. Their commitment to me as a player has helped me and made a big impact on how the season went for me.”

Quinn says that Kendall is the first female-identifying student-athlete he has coached in football. “From day one, the team has treated her like any other teammate. They are always looking out for her and encouraging her during practice and conditioning. They are very respectful and understand the importance of creating an inclusive culture that will welcome any member of the Hotchkiss community into our program,” he said. “We talk about our ‘football family’ all the time, and I think Saturday night was an amazing example of how much these players care about and support Kendall and want to see her succeed.”

Kendall is not sure if she will pursue football in the future, but she was “fascinated to learn that there is something beyond high school for women” in the sport. “I’m definitely glad I joined the team,” she said. “It’s not an experience I will ever get again.” H

Alumna Has Fond Memories of the Gridiron

BY DARRYL GANGLOFF

“JV FOOTBALL WAS, and remains, the most fun and amazing athletic team experience in my life to date,” reminisced Elisabeth “Barbs” Bilar ’93, who played one season on the Hotchkiss JV football team during her senior year. A casual conversation with some male athletes as an upper mid “catalyzed a sort of dare” to join the football team. “Never one to back away from a dare, I showed up at JV tryouts in September and gave it my all,” she said. Katie Brickley ’94 joined Bilar on the team for the first few weeks.

Bilar started as left offensive guard for the first game of the season. “This was well before social media, so no one on the opposing team had any idea there was a girl in the game,” she said. She recalls “the rush and excitement of trotting out to the line, crouching down, eyes on the turf” and surprising her opponents with her voice. “It afforded me a perfect window to plow through the confused pause. Coach started me in almost all the rest of the games after that.”

The JV team had rotating senior captains, and Bilar filled that role for the final game of the season. “I distinctly remember having to call out the pregame warm-up exercise counts as captain, and every single head on the opposing team swiveling my way when they heard a conspicuously female voice.”

Bilar played four years of varsity ice hockey at Hotchkiss, as well as stints on the field hockey and lacrosse teams. She has fond memories of her time with the Bearcats on the football field. “The goal was to have fun learning and playing the game,” she said. “It was the camaraderie and team spirit that made it memorable.” H

PHOTO OF ELISABETH “BARBS” BILAR ’93 BY ELLEN TERIE

WATCH A VIDEO OF KENDALL GILTZ ’23 SCORING A POINT

“I think the excitement from the crowd and the sideline tells you everything you need to know about that moment.”

—DEMPSEY QUINN, HEAD VARSITY FOOTBALL COACH

Bearcats Receive Fall Athletic Awards

THERE WERE MANY REASONS to roar as Hotchkiss athletes were honored with fall athletic awards during a special ceremony on Jan. 17.

“Bearcat teams experienced a wide range of emotions and outcomes this fall,” Head of School Craig Bradley told the audience. “There were thrilling victories as well as some tough losses. Amidst the ups and downs, I hope there were also valuable lessons on teamwork, accountability, resilience, humility, and self-confidence. Many of these lessons, and especially those that are hardest-earned, will help strengthen your character and allow you to enjoy future success at Hotchkiss and beyond.”

Bradley also thanked “the many people in this community who work incredibly hard to make sure our athletic program runs smoothly and our athletes are well cared for,” including the staff of the Forrest E. Mars Jr. Athletic Center; the grounds crew; athletic trainers; Communications colleagues; members of Blue & White; and the athletes and coaches. “Your dedication, sportsmanship, and love of competition are elemental to the Hotchkiss experience,” he said. H

WATCH A RECORDING OF THE FALL ATHLETIC AWARDS CEREMONY

CROSS COUNTRY

THE CHARLES E. BERRY AWARD

Darina Huang ’23, Chase Dobson ’23, and Ella Mohanram ’23

THE WALTER J. CRAIN CROSS COUNTRY AWARD

Nicole Ocampo Montoya ’23 and Marston Lufkin ’23

VOLLEYBALL

THE DAVID P. BOLMER ’73

VOLLEYBALL PRIZE

Kate McCormick ’23 and Paige Dzenutis ’23

FIELD HOCKEY

THE NEIL H. SCOTT FIELD HOCKEY PRIZE

Tory Dana ’24 and Rowyn Pemrick ’25

THE CAROLE S. HAWLEY ’75 AWARD

Eleanor Helm ’25

FOOTBALL

THE BRIAN CULLINAN ’67 FOOTBALL PRIZE

Liam Burke ’24

THE GEORGE A. GOSS, JR. ’38 FOOTBALL AWARD

Wylie Warchol ’23

THE SCOTT L. PROBASCO ’11 FOOTBALL AWARD

Ian Marshall ’23

BOYS SOCCER

THE W. DAVID COUGHLIN AWARD

Nicholas Chang ’24 and William Trachsel ’24

THE LUCIEN SWIFT STRONG ’40

MEMORIAL AWARD

Thomas Navab ’24

GIRLS SOCCER

THE CAPTAIN’S TROPHY

Nell Dwyer ’24, Emmanuella Frimpomaa ’24, Lyyli Stern ’26, and Etta Coburn ’24

THE COACHES’ AWARD

Darcy Dwyer ’25, Morgan Jenkins ’25, Amber Bretz ’23, and Sasha Belland ’23

MOUNTAIN BIKING

THE MOUNTAIN BIKING COACHES’ AWARD

Michael O’Brien ’23, Huntyr Ammons ’25, and Maya Grogean ’26

THE COACHES AWARD

Boys JV Cross Country

River Schmidt-Eder ’23

Girls JV Cross Country

Natalie Bushell ’24 and Sawyer Eaton ’25

JV Field Hockey

Nicky Ames ’23 and Taylor Hemelt ’23

Thirds Field Hockey

Evelyn Anderson ’26

Boys JV Soccer

Ben Wistar ’26

Boys Thirds Soccer

Jared Hurst ’24, Teddy Kim ’23, Preston Leung ’23, and Wyatt Towner ’24

Girls JV Soccer

Anjolaoluwa “Anji” Ashaye ’24

JV Volleyball

Kristen Pariseau ’23

Thirds Volleyball

Rosie Oberto ’25 and Zayda Gordon ’25

FOUNDERS ALL-LEAGUE AWARD

Boys and Girls Cross Country

Chase Dobson ’23 and Axel Nzi ’24

Dasha Gracheva ’26 and Grace Gordon ’24

Field Hockey

Avery Doran ’24, Steph Ionescu ’24, and MaryHelen McCooey ’25

Football

Liam Burke ’24, Cole Foster ’23, and Sean Donovan ’23

Boys and Girls Soccer

Oscar Emus ’23 and Alex Cheng ’23

Sofia Marcktell ’23 and Quinn Pollack ’25

Volleyball

Kate McCormick ’23 and Ella Yu ’24

Hotchkiss High Five

Director of Athletics Danny Smith shares his “Hotchkiss High Five” highlights from the fall season.

5 | The teams that were victorious at Taft Day: girls JV soccer won 4-0, JV volleyball won 3-1, and thirds volleyball won 3-0.

4 | Kendall Giltz ’23, who made Hotchkiss football history by being the first girl to score a point in a varsity football game (See page 18).

3 | The varsity mountain biking team, which won its first championship.

2 | Hotchkiss coaches for “supporting you at the finish line, spending time each day planning practice, encouraging you after a devastating loss, celebrating with the team after a thrilling last-second victory,” and more.

1 | The amazing 28-season career of girls varsity soccer Head Coach Christy Cooper P’08,’11. “Coach Coops has impacted the lives of hundreds of Hotchkiss girls,” Smith said. “She prepared her teams to compete with kindness, respect, enthusiasm, and love. Along the way she won Founders League championships, made numerous appearances in NEPSAC tournaments, and helped guide many of her players through the college recruiting process. Most important, she has helped countless Hotchkiss soccer players grow into strong, confident women.”

ALL-STAR RECOGNITIONS

Boys Cross Country

Founders All Stars (Top 15 Finishers): Chase Dobson ’23 (5th) and Axel Nzi ’24 (13th)

New England All Stars (Top 20 Finishers): Chase Dobson ’23 (15th)

Field Hockey

Western New England All-Stars: Bella Bigelow ’24 and Annabel Raffin ’24

All NEPSAC Class A Field Hockey: Eleanor Helm ’25

All NEPSAC Class A Honorable Mention: Julia Widen ’24

Football

All NEPSAC Class A Football: Liam Burke ’24

All NEPSAC Class A Honorable mention:

Wylie Warchol ’23

Boys Soccer

CT All-State Prep Class L Team:

Mohammed Nuhu ’23

WNEPSSA All-Star: Mohammed Nuhu ’23, Thomas Navab ’24, and Benjamin Brown ’24

ALL-NEPSAC Class A Soccer:

Mohammed Nuhu ’23 and Thomas Navab ’24

Girls Soccer

WWNEPSSA All-Stars: Nell Dwyer ’24 and Emmanuella Frimpomaa ’24

NEPSWSA Junior All-Star: Nell Dwyer ’24 and Emmanuella Frimpomaa ’24

CT All State Team: Nell Dwyer ’24 and Emmanuella Frimpomaa ’24

Boston Globe All-NEPSAC Team:

Nell Dwyer ’24

Volleyball

All NEPSAC Honorable Mention Class A: Paige Dzenutis ’23

FALL SEASON WRAP-UP

Field Hockey: 6-5-3

Football: 2-6

Boys Soccer: 4-13-2

Girls Soccer: 11-6-2

Volleyball: 7-11

Boys Cross Country: 4-5

5th place, Founders League

9th place, NEPSTA Division 1

Girls Cross Country: 4-5-1

4th Place, Founders League

11th Place, NEPSTA Division 1

Mountain Biking:

1st Place Boys in the Housatonic Mountain Biking League

1st Place Girls in the Housatonic Mountain Biking League

JV AND THIRDS TEAMS

JV Boys Cross Country: 1-6

JV Girls Cross Country: 1-3

JV Field Hockey: 3-7

Thirds Field Hockey: 1-6-1

Boys JV Soccer: 0-10

Boys Thirds Soccer: 4-8-1

JV Girls Soccer: 8-2-3

JV Volleyball: 11-4

Thirds Volleyball: 2-6

New Scoreboard is Monumental Tribute to ‘The Rock’ Coughlin’s Coaching Career

BY ROBIN CHANDLER ’87

AN IMPRESSIVE GROUP OF current and former faculty, as well as numerous Hotchkiss alumni, gathered on Centennial Field prior to a fall boys varsity soccer game to honor longtime head soccer coach W. David Coughlin P’91,’93, AKA “The Rock,” with the dedication of a new scoreboard. A plaque that appropriately sits atop a large boulder next to the scoreboard reads, “Given as an expression of enduring gratitude, respect, and affection for W. David Coughlin by his captains and team leaders.” The classes listed on the plaque span Coughlin’s nearly 30-year coaching career from 1962-1990.

“The duration of an athletic contest is only a few minutes, while the training for it may take many weeks of arduous training and continuous exercise of self-effort,” states a quote on the plaque. “The real value of sport is not the actual game played in the limelight of applause, but the hours of dogged determination and self-discipline carried out alone, imposed and supervised by an exacting conscience. The applause soon dies away, the prize is left behind, but the character you build up is yours forever.” While the author of this quote remains anonymous to this day, every one of Coughlin’s former players knows this as The Rock’s coaching and life philosophy. Students who played for The Rock lived and breathed this credo, and he let you know if you were not living up to his high expectations.

Coughlin stood out as one of the most inspirational and powerful influences on the life of Doug Tudor ’85. He fondly recalls Coughlin’s impact on his time at Hotchkiss and shares the many lessons learned on the field. “You played as one team, not as a collection of individuals, and played for something bigger than yourself,” he said,

remembering how these lessons extended beyond the playing field. “You took your responsibilities seriously and met your commitments. You showed up early to your practice and game times, ready to perform. You represented Hotchkiss as a gentleman. You won with humility and lost with grace. When you experienced adversity and were knocked down and lost, you got back up and moved forward. The Rock expected you to be the best version of yourself, and he would let you know it if that wasn’t the case.”

Tudor created a fund in honor of his former coach called The W. David Coughlin Head Varsity Soccer Coaching Fund—the first of its kind at Hotchkiss. During the Oct. 29 dedication, Tudor turned toward Coughlin and beamed with Bearcat pride. “Alumni have come together to fund this position to thank you and to honor you.”

Rob Durkee ’66, who celebrates an enduring sense of gratitude, respect, and affection for Coughlin, led the charge in raising the funds for the new scoreboard. “I will always remember and celebrate The Rock’s impatience with partial efforts,” he says. “He insisted that we worked hard and played hard. His constant exuberance and great expectations were contagious for the team and individual players. We would follow him anywhere.”

Coughlin was overcome with emotion at the dedication of the scoreboard and the announcement of the coaching fund. “It was such a delight to see so many of my former players again going way back to Hugh Freund, captain of the 1962 team, my first as head varsity coach, all the way up to the late 1980s. Seeing former colleagues and co-coaches of the past, who took the time to join us, made for a wonderful afternoon and evening, and it’s hard to express my gratitude for the many tributes, recognition, friendship, and affection,” he said. “It’s all pretty humbling.” H

VIEW PHOTOS OF THE DEDICATION CEREMONY

First-Ever Farm Week: ‘Where Does Our Food Come From?’

THE INAUGURAL FARM WEEK educated and inspired the Hotchkiss community to learn more about where food comes from and how small decisions, like eating a local pear or choosing to compost, can make a big difference.

Fueled by daily informative emails crafted by Hotchkiss students, the week offered opportunities to learn about soil health, food security, food waste, and meat and vegetable production at Hotchkiss’s Fairfield Farm and in the surrounding community. H

HERE IS A SAMPLING OF FARM WEEK ACTIVITIES FROM OCT. 16-21:

Farm Fest featured pumpkin carving, farmpressed cider, and donuts at Fairfield Farm.

Chapel talks focused on the student experience of the farm by Maddie Lykouretzos ’23 and food waste by Marcus Lam ’23.

Kelley Babbin from Howling Flats Farm in Canaan, CT, outlined ways to sustainably consume meat. Her farm produces pork for the School.

The Student Environmental Association hosted a food waste competition to see which team—the Olympians or Pythians— could generate the least food waste at lunch. The Pythians won!

FFEAT students and farm staff hosted an Asian pear, apple, and carrot tasting and farm trivia during the School’s first all-vegetarian dinner, which featured vegetables and eggs from Fairfield Farm.

Hudson Carbon discussed research they are undertaking with Fairfield Farm and internationally to monitor carbon in the soil, learn about ecosystem health, and promote regenerative farming and forestry practices to help mitigate climate change.

Hotchkiss Celebrates Two Dedicated Volunteers

Cindy Softy ’77, P’07,’09

2022 THOMAS W. ARMITAGE ’25 AWARD RECIPIENT

The Armitage Award is named for alumnus Thomas W. Armitage, Class of 1925, in recognition of his tireless work for The Hotchkiss Fund. It is presented each year to an outstanding class volunteer for distinguished service to The Hotchkiss Fund.

Cindy Softy ’77, P’07,’09 was one of the first young women to enter Hotchkiss as a lower mid in the fall of 1974. Since graduation, Softy has supported her class and The Hotchkiss Fund for 45 years. She has executed the duties of a class agent to the fullest by staying up-todate on campus life and attending both in-person and virtual events, keeping her classmates informed and engaged with the School, and adopting new technologies and practices to improve efficiency and communication between all parties. She is an exemplary role model who has inspired her peers and the next generation of Hotchkiss philanthropists and supporters, including her children, Schuyler Softy ’07 and Ben Softy ’09. Hotchkiss is grateful for her generous spirit and leadership.

Ruth Godin P’25

2022 MCKEE AWARD RECIPIENT

The McKee Award is named in honor of Hugh and Judy McKee P’78,’80,’84,’89 in recognition of their tireless work for The Hotchkiss Parents Fund. It is presented each year to Hotchkiss parents for distinguished service to the Fund.

Ruth Godin P’25 is the mother of Amalia Sardinha ’25. As a prep parent, Godin joined the Parents Fund team and was incredibly enthusiastic about reaching out to families. She tirelessly made phone calls during the Day of Giving and arranged a beautiful luncheon in Garden City that included many families from the area. Hotchkiss is grateful for her warm outreach to her fellow Hotchkiss parents and for making everyone feel like a special part of the community.

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From left, Chief Advancement Officer Ninette Enrique, Peri Navab P’24, Ruth Godin P’25, Head of School Craig Bradley, and Neda Navab P’24.

From left, Chief Advancement Officer Ninette Enrique, Head of School Craig Bradley, Cindy Softy ’77, P’07,’09, and Bob Gould ’77.

Community Honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy During Full Day of Programs

BY DARRYL GANGLOFF

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” These powerful words by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. kicked off a full day of workshops, conversations, performances, and community service on Jan. 16 to honor King’s legacy and reflect on how the Hotchkiss community can continue to learn from his messages.

KINYETTE HENDERSON, co-director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Walter Crain Fellow, and instructor in English, told students in Walker Auditorium that King’s assassination occurred 55 years ago, which is “not as long ago as you think.” She said that this is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer and improve their communities. “We are going to take the time today to really think about our community at Hotchkiss. There is still work to be done.”

Students participated in more than a dozen workshops, where they discussed topics such as LGBTQ+ activism; how African American cuisine transformed America; the history of salsa music; racialized religion; empathy; food deserts; King’s speeches; and how to communicate in a community full of difference.

Bearcats also took part in community service activities. Children from neighboring towns visited Hotchkiss to play basketball and hockey with athletes in the Forrest E. Mars Jr. Athletic Center and create King-inspired pieces of art in the Class of 2017 EFX Lab. Some Hotchkiss students volunteered off-campus with Noble Horizons and the Humane Society.

Chapel events featured a poetry reading by Richardine Mamam Nbiba ’23 and a history lesson from Head of School Craig

Bradley. “Martin Luther King Jr. Day is an important day for many reasons,” Bradley said. “It is a day during which we study the past, contemplate the present, and prepare to change the future for the better. It is a day for learning, it is a day for looking inward, and it is also a day for celebration.” He said the fight for justice must continue because racism, inequality, and injustice persist. “I encourage you to use this day and the days ahead to reflect on Dr. King’s words, teachings, and his spirit. I encourage you to learn and understand our collective history. And I encourage you to learn how to use it.”

‘There is still work to be done’

Above, students participated in a variety of workshops. Opposite page, the community enjoyed a panel discussion and a Step Team performance.

Panel Discussion

The Hotchkiss community gathered for an in-depth panel discussion with Kimberly Jones, an author and filmmaker known for the bestselling young adult novel, I’m Not Dying with You Tonight; Sam White, who collaborates with civil rights organizations and nonprofits on social impact projects and talks with young people about advocacy and civic engagement; and DeRay McKesson, a civil rights activist focused primarily on issues of innovation, equity, and justice. Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Erby Mitchell Jr. and Director of Multicultural Outreach and Recruitment Imani Majied ’15 moderated the talk.

“We are an intentionally diverse community. We seek to identify the most talented young people from around the world no matter their background,” Mitchell said, acknowledging that comes with some tension. “What advice would you give to these young people?”

Jones said Hotchkiss students are in a good position due to the cultural diversity on campus. “Growth comes from discomfort. You can’t always shy away from that, but you are also more than your worst day,” she said. McKesson agreed, adding that “talking through our feelings is really important.”

“Where does courage come from?” Mitchell asked. Jones suggested that “safe” spaces need to be replaced with “brave” spaces. “It’s important for you to expand your friendships so you have a diverse group of friends,” she said, noting young adults can have brave conversations with each other about implicit bias. “Kids are still at

a point where they can do that, master it, and we can create a new generation of better adults.” She also emphasized that “being kind is a show of strength.”

“Bravery is doing what you think has a reasonable chance of success even if it’s uncomfortable,” White said. “You are some of the most elite students in the country. You have access to so much more than so many other people. Part of that requires the responsibility to do something with it.”

McKesson spoke at length about protesting and advocacy. He asked the audience for examples of items that cost $200. Responses included AirPods, shoes, a dress, hockey gloves, jewelry, and a textbook. “In New Jersey today, if you steal over $200, you can get 18 months in prison,” he said. “We believe in accountability without cages. There should be a consequence, but prison feels like a wild consequence. There are a million of those types of issues that you can advocate for and understand.”

Jones said that “activism is exceptionally local” and told the crowd to learn about

their local lawmakers to make changes in their own communities. In the age of viral social media posts, White said the “value of something is not determined by its scale.” If “only” 10 people came to a meeting, what did you do with those 10 people? How did you take advantage of that time? “It’s great to do things for a lot of people. It’s also great to do things for people, period,” he said. “It’s OK if you don’t change the world tomorrow. You still matter. You’re still valuable.”

‘How You Want to Be Remembered’

Students learned from King’s 1968 “drum major” sermon that he did not want to be remembered for his accolades. “If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter,” he said.

Following a dorm activity, students ended the day by sharing how they want to be remembered. Many want to be remembered as a good friend, as a leader, and as being kind. Standing on Elfers stage, one Bearcat said, “If I leave Hotchkiss having helped at least one person and made an impact in their life in some way, then I’ll be happy.” H

STUDENTS SHARE HOW THEY WANT TO BE REMEMBERED

“Bravery is doing what you think has a reasonable chance of success even if it’s uncomfortable.”

SAM WHITE

Hotchkiss Welcomes Year of the Rabbit with Lunar New Year Festivities

BY DARRYL GANGLOFF

THE HOTCHKISS COMMUNITY

welcomed the Year of the Rabbit during a series of Lunar New Year events that highlighted Asian cultures through delicious food, fun activities, and impressive performances.

From its origins as an afternoon dumplingmaking session, these School festivities have expanded into a popular multiple-day annual tradition thanks to the dedication of students, parents, faculty, and staff.

The festivities kicked off on Wednesday, Jan. 18, when a group of students and volunteers crafted dozens of red lanterns to hang in the center of campus. In Asian cultures, red symbolizes good luck, joy, prosperity, happiness, and a long life.

Students shared what Lunar New Year means to them during Chapel on Thursday, Jan. 19, and Monday, Jan. 23. These events were organized by Aurora Zhang ’24 and featured reflections by Remy Lee ’26, Keira Dwan ’24, and Annie Dong ’23.

The community headed to the Dining Hall on Saturday, Jan. 21, and enjoyed a feast of dumplings, egg rolls, noodles, and more. Hotchkiss is grateful to the parents who provided wonderful food for the menu.

“During Lunar New Year in Thailand, I gather with my extended family and have dinner together. Adults normally give children red packets filled with money and we all wear red to show the new year spirit,” said Ken Matanachai ’24, whose favorite Lunar New Year food is dumplings.

“I return to my dad’s childhood village located in the countryside, which we don’t visit often, and spend the first half of the day going to temples. Then we have family dinner,” said Megan Wei ’23, who enjoys steamed fish.

The Lunar New Year holiday fell on Sunday, Jan. 22. The Student Center was bustling with activity throughout the evening thanks to organizer Mike Xu ’24

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and members of the Chinese Club, the Korea Club, and the Asian Culture Club. Attendees practiced calligraphy, grabbed microphones for karaoke in Asian languages, ate snacks, played a variety of games, and even solved puzzles in a Lunar New Year-themed escape room. As a light snow began to fall, everyone made their way outside to light sparklers with the red lanterns glowing behind them.

The All-School meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 24, featured singing, dancing, and instrumental performances by talented Bearcats—including an exciting lion dance. “Thanks for making this Lunar New Year a memorable one,” said Isabella Wei ’23, who organized the All-School celebration. “I’m really appreciative for how much support we get as a student body to celebrate.” H

VIEW

PHOTOS AND A RECORDING OF THE ALL-SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

Visitors Share Voices of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Black History Month with Ilyasah Shabazz and Dr. Anthony Jack

The Hotchkiss community listened to two powerful presenters during Black History Month. Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, is an award-winning author, speaker, educator, and community organizer. Dr. Anthony Jack, assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is the author of The Privileged Poor, which reveals how—and why—disadvantaged students struggle at elite colleges and explains what schools can do differently to help these students thrive. They both met with faculty, staff, and students for thought-provoking conversations. go.hotchkiss.org/shabazz

Native American Heritage Month with Rebekah and Lenny Fineday

Multiple speakers took the stage at All-School meetings in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. Rebekah Fineday and Lenny Fineday, sibling members of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota, visited campus and spoke with students. Three indigenous students—Avery Doran ’24, Bella Bigelow ’24, and River Schmidt-Eder ’23—also shared their personal stories. go.hotchkiss.org/nativeamerican

Hispanic Heritage Month with Bruno Carvahlo ’00

Cooking Demonstration with Dontavius Williams

Museum interpreter Dontavius Williams led an outdoor cooking demonstration at Fairfield Farm in support of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, this year’s All-School Read. Williams prepared traditional foods with deep roots in the experiences of enslaved Africans, and he discussed the process of making ham hock and okra stew and fried chicken with students.

Harvard professor and Hotchkiss alumnus Bruno Carvahlo ’00 returned to Lakeville as part of Hispanic Heritage Month to speak to students and community members during a lecture, classroom visits, and an All-School meeting. He discussed urbanization, how social and cultural processes of the past converge with the present, and the role that Hispanic people are playing in revitalizing urban centers in the U.S. go.hotchkiss.org/carvahlo

Connie Chung Joe on Interracial Tension

Connie Chung Joe is the chief executive officer of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. She discussed the theme of interracial tensions during an affinity space with self-identifying students of color, and several student facilitators joined her on stage during an All-School meeting.

How Hotchkiss Alumni Have Helped Preserve the Splendor of the Northwest Corner

THE CONSERVATION FELLOWSHIP

BY ELIOTT GROVER

There’s a stretch of road between Sharon and Lakeville that features some of the most spectacular vistas in New England. The Berkshires loom in the north, the Catskills hang on the western horizon, and farmlands roll under the hills of the Red Mountain range to the east. This panorama of rustic glory is well known to generations of Hotchkiss students. Less known, perhaps, are the tireless conservation efforts that have kept it undisturbed. Over the decades, many members of the Hotchkiss community have contributed to this work. In recent years, three alumni have helped lead the way.

Roger Liddell ’63, P’98, Chris Clow ’65, P’04, and Nick Moore ’71, P’89,’01,’06 have many things in common. At the top of the list is a lifelong love affair with Connecticut’s Northwest Corner. “You can’t help but be affected by the splendor that surrounds you here,” Liddell says.

Like Liddell, Clow’s fondness for the area traces back to his days at Hotchkiss. A midwesterner who inherited his father’s love of flyfishing, Clow felt right at home in the Upper Housatonic Valley.

Moore grew up in Manhattan, but his family had a home in Sharon where he spent as much time as possible. “I liked being in the country and living a rural life,” he says. “Summers on the farm and driving cars around the field. That kind of thing.”

Over time, the three men have all made homes in Sharon. Clow and Liddell both arrived in the mid-1980s with their young families in tow. Moore was already here with his own. Although they didn’t overlap much at Hotchkiss, they have become close friends as neighbors. Their bond centers around their shared passion for the Northwest Corner, which they have worked together to protect through the Sharon Land Trust (SLT) and other conservation organizations.

“There are certain places you pass almost every day that you just hold in your heart,” says Clow. “You see them and you cherish them. And yet, unless there’s attention being paid and some good planning, that could change in the blink of an eye.”

The SLT is a private nonprofit that seeks to prevent this kind of devastating change. For the last four years, Liddell and Clow have served as co-presidents. Moore, who previously served on the board, is active in many conservation initiatives at the state and federal level. Former Hotchkiss Head of School Skip Mattoon is also a current board member. Since its founding in 1982, the SLT has permanently protected roughly 3,500 acres of vital land through easements and acquisitions. This includes much of the Route 41 viewshed.

The Goodbody Preserve

Two of Sharon’s four principal ridgelines are Indian Mountain to the west and Red Mountain to the east. Beyond their beauty, the mountains and woodlands are critical to the local watershed and support an array of flora and fauna.

“We’re trying to protect what is a long-recognized and established wildlife migration corridor so that it’s as unbroken as possible,” Liddell says. Clow noted that “science is at the heart of what we try to do—to really understand how to take care of the soil, the land, the trees, and the water.”

Thanks to the benevolence of conservation-minded residents and the SLT’s perseverance, much progress has already been made to protect these two mountains. In 2001, the SLT purchased a 107-acre parcel on the south face of Indian Mountain. The deal, which took years to finalize, was single-handedly negotiated by Garrett Goodbody ’63, a longtime SLT board member who passed away in 2003. In 2013, the SLT named the parcel the Goodbody Preserve.

“Garrett was there 30 years ago in terms of recognizing the value of conservation,” Liddell says. He credits Goodbody with sparking his own passion for this work. The two became best friends during their lowermid year at Hotchkiss, a bond that only grew stronger with time. “The way I explain our relationship is like this: I never had a brother except for Garrett.”

The Goodbody Preserve includes a two-mile loop that features stunning views of Sharon Valley. Creating and maintaining a trail through steep woodlands is not easy work, but the SLT’s dedicated volunteer corps is always up for a challenge.

“There are a lot of us, mostly 60 and older, who have some time in the morning to do it,” says Moore, an

From left, Chris Clow ’65, P’04, Nick Moore ’71, P’89,’01,’06, and Roger Liddell ’63, P’98

“Science is at the heart of what we try to do—to really understand how to take care of the soil, the land, the trees, and the water.”

– CHRIS CLOW ’65, P’04

enthusiastic volunteer. “It’s well organized. We have three or four sort of captains, and we’re pretty autonomous in a lot of situations.” The volunteers clear brush, maintain trails, and have recently learned how to identify and remove invasive plants such as bittersweet, a serpentine vine that strangles trees. This last piece is part of the SLT’s stewardship program, which Liddell has led with vigor.

The miles of trails that volunteers have turned out in droves to build speaks to the SLT’s success at engaging the community. It’s hard work, but it’s a labor of love. “There’s a lot to do,” says Moore. “You need a pick mattock and McLeod fire rake to scrape the dirt off right down to the mineral soil. It’s not just putting some markers in the woods.”

In recent years, Hotchkiss students have lent their hands. Liddell was instrumental in helping the School launch its Day of Service program in 2011, an initiative aimed at encouraging students and alumni to volunteer in their local communities. Moore has fond memories of working with Liddell and a group of students on a section of the Goodbody trail. “We were sort of huffing and puffing, but we had these athletes up there,” he says. “We gave them pickaxes and turned them loose. It was amazing. They really got a lot done. They’re very enthusiastic and great to be around.”

The Mary Moore Preserve

Students have also volunteered on another significant property, one that holds a special place in Moore’s heart. In 1979, his mother, Mary Moore, purchased 181 acres of land along Red Mountain in order to save it from development. When she passed away, she left it to the Sharon Land Trust in her will.

The Mary Moore Preserve contains five distinct habitat types and is critical to the local water supply due to its location above a town-owned reservoir. With an active cow pasture set beneath Red Mountain, it is a postcard of pastoral beauty. The trail system, on which Hotchkiss students have worked, includes exceptional views that encompass three states.

“It’s one of our most prized preserves,” says Clow. “A lot of work has gone into maintaining it. One of our real goals is to extend the trails that are on the Mary Moore Preserve all the way north up to Hotchkiss and try to tie in with the Hotchkiss trail system.”

Hotchkiss students helped build trails on the Goodbody Preserve.

Shaping Conservation

These aren’t the only new trails the SLT plans to build. In September, it purchased the Von Ahn farm, a large parcel on Indian Mountain north of the Goodbody Preserve. The deal, which was many years in the making, highlights how Liddell, Clow, and Moore have collaborated so effectively for so long. “The key is that we totally trust each other, and we know how committed we all are,” says Clow, who oversees the Land Trust’s acquisition work.

“Chris is really good at acquisitions,” Liddell says. “He knows people, he knows what’s going on, and he’s able to be effective in that quiet way. There’s a lot of confidential work.”

The three alumni communicate with total transparency. Liddell pinpoints their Hotchkiss bond as the bedrock of their working relationship. They are all quick to express gratitude for the education they received and the impact it has had on their work. “The conservation ethic doesn’t sell itself,” Liddell says. “It has to be championed and sold to the public. What the School did was teach us how to write and think clearly, which has allowed us to articulate conservation messages with clarity and force.”

Although Moore is not officially part of the SLT’s leadership, he is a valuable partner and advisor. Over the last three decades, he has amassed a wealth of experience learning how to navigate the confluence of political, legal, and financial channels that shape conservation work. He has spent a considerable amount of time in Hartford and Washington, D.C.

“My whole purpose was to learn enough that I could bring back information to the Sharon Land Trust and others,” he says. “I decided just from looking around the area that somebody needed to get beyond Sharon. If you wanted to do serious conservation work, you had to get to where the action was. And that was in

the state legislature.” He credits fellow alumnus Andrew Roraback ’78, a state representative who has since become a judge, with providing advice and helping secure funding for conservation projects. “You always need a champion in the legislature, and Andrew stepped up big time,” Moore says.

Moore’s vast experience has given him a seat at the table for landmark policy debates. When the IRS tried to eliminate tax deductions for conservation easements, a move that would have sounded the death knell for many land trusts, Moore helped defeat the proposal through his involvement with the Land Trust Alliance, a national trade organization. In response to the government’s criticism that too many individuals were gaming the system, the Land Trust Alliance created a rigorous accreditation program that convinced the IRS to retreat.

“I admire Nick tremendously because he was really smart to try to pursue conservation work at more of a national and state level,” Clow says. “He’s done things that are way beyond anything I’ve ever done. We are so much better because of that.”

The mutual respect the three alumni have for each other is as tangible as the impact their work has had on the local community. Operating amid relentless development pressures, their efforts have protected beautiful landscapes, coveted recreational space, and critical ecosystems. Eternally humble, they’re quick to deflect praise, preferring to see themselves as temporary torchbearers in a movement that will never end.

“There’s a line that comes up frequently with this work,” Liddell says. “Conservation isn’t a destination. It’s a journey.”

Moore smiles when he hears this before offering his own spin. “The bear went up the mountain, and what did he see? He saw another mountain.” H

To find trail maps and learn more about the Sharon Land Trust, visit sharonlandtrust.org.

“Conservation isn’t a destination. It’s a journey.”

– ROGER LIDDELL ’63, P’98

EDUCATING STUDENTS WORLD THROUGHOUT THE

Lorem Aminathia ’11 and Brian Sims ’89 graduated from Hotchkiss more than 20 years apart, but they are collaborating today on the same goal: helping students throughout the world receive a highquality education.

Aminathia plans to open a school in South Sudan. Sims is the executive director of a global education nonprofit. The stars aligned, and Sims is assisting Aminathia with his important project. “I am incredibly grateful for his support,” Aminathia said. “I think it just goes to show the power of the Hotchkiss network.”

A ROAD PAVED WITH LEARNING LEADS TO A NEW SCHOOL IN SOUTH SUDAN

BY ELIOTT GROVER

IT’S A MATTER OF FAITH. For Lorem Aminathia ’11, his faith in the transformative power of education is unshakable. “It has been more dramatic than anything I have ever experienced in my life,” he told the Hotchkiss community at a recent All-School talk. This is a compelling statement considering the dramatic forces that have shaped his life.

Aminathia returned to campus to share his story and discuss how it has led him to make education his life’s work. In 2024, he plans to open Kinyeti Academy, a school in South Sudan that aspires to equip students with the skills to become the kind of globally competitive and innovative leaders the country needs. “The idea is to try to find young boys and girls throughout South Sudan and then provide them with an educational opportunity like the one you enjoy here today,” he told the crowd of students in Walker Auditorium.

Aminathia was born in a rural village in South Sudan at a time when the notyet-independent country was embroiled in a brutal civil war. His grandfather was the chief of their village and owned cows, sheep, and goats, which Aminathia’s father and uncles tended. Shortly after he learned how to walk, Aminathia was sent to a cattle camp. This is how young boys in

South Sudan often begin their journey into adulthood. Rather than starting school, they learn how to care for livestock.

When Aminathia was 4, he contracted tuberculosis and nearly died. He left the cattle camp and returned home where his mother cared for him without access to any medical facilities. “You can imagine my mom having no access to health care at all,” he said. “The only thing she could do was to treat me with traditional concoctions of herbs, which, unsurprisingly, didn’t really help.”

Desperate to save his life, his parents brought him to a refugee camp in Kenya where he received modern medicine. His father returned to South Sudan while his mother stayed by his side. After a year, Aminathia recovered. His father returned to bring his mother home, but they decided to leave Aminathia in the camp. It was the last time he saw them. They soon became two of the war’s many victims.

“I was left in the custody of a young relative a couple years older than me,” Aminathia said. “We lived in a group of teenage

boys.” The heroic story of this resilient group, popularly known as “The Lost Boys of Sudan,” has been well documented.

In 2012, Nicholas Kristoff profiled Aminathia for The New York Times. “Boys raising boys might seem a recipe for Lordof-the-Flies chaos, but these teenagers forced Lorem to go to school, seeing education as an escalator to a better life. And Lorem began to soar.”

The refugee camp had a makeshift school run by the United Nations. Classes met under the shade of a large tree where roughly 500 students learned from one teacher. Without any pencils or books, Aminathia practiced writing by scratching letters in the dust. He was a voracious learner. He made a second home in the camp’s library, devouring books and absorbing as much knowledge as possible. By the time he was 10, he was teaching his peers. As he approached high school age,

“For many people, you don’t realize how an education at Hotchkiss can dramatically change a person’s life. Not only their own personal life, but a whole community.”

—LOREM AMINATHIA ’11

Lorem Aminathia ’11, far right, holds the South Sudan flag with Arop Arop ’23, whose parents immigrated from South Sudan.

Aminathia took a national exam and earned the second highest score in the district. The Kenyan government awarded him a full scholarship to Alliance High School, one of the top schools in the country.

At Alliance, Aminathia flourished. When the headmaster became the founding dean of the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, he selected Aminathia as one of a handful of students to join the inaugural class. Aminathia thrived there as well. One of the school’s co-founders was a Yale alumnus who wrote his alma mater and implored them to accept Aminathia. They did, but they worried about his readiness to, in Aminathia’s words, “survive at Yale,” which is how he ended up spending a postgraduate year at Hotchkiss. “This is not a normal high school. This is something really special,” he said with a smile.

“I’m sure a lot of you are curious what it was like here coming from a refugee camp in Kenya via Nairobi and then South Africa,” Aminathia said. “It was very overwhelming. But then I also just learned that this is life. Each of us, you

don’t choose where you’re born or what happens to you when you’re young.”

This perspective helped him make the most of his Hotchkiss experience. “One of the things I did here was just remain vulnerable and open up myself,” Aminathia said. He illustrated his point with a story from Christopher Burchfield’s English class in the fall of 2010. The class was reading a poem that featured the word “icicle,” a word Aminathia had never encountered before. “I raised my hand and asked Mr. Burchfield to explain to me what an icicle was.” It was that “openness to learning more” that created unique learning opportunities. When the first snow fell that winter, Burchfield held class outside, a memory Aminathia still cherishes.

“For many people, you don’t realize how an education at Hotchkiss can dramatically change a person’s life. Not only their own personal life, but a whole community,” he said. Following his time as a Bearcat, he graduated from Yale in 2015 with a B.A. in economics and was selected for the second cohort of Schwarzman Scholars at China’s Tsinghua University, where he was awarded an M.A. in global affairs in 2018.

Aminathia’s vision for Kinyeti Academy is to create a model program that can be scaled and replicated to address South Sudan’s acute educational crisis. The country has one of the lowest adult literacy rates in the world and one of the

highest rates of uneducated youth; three out of four school-age children do not attend school. Since gaining its independence in 2011, South Sudan has faced a turbulent socio-political landscape that has stifled development.

Aminathia hopes to pave this bumpy road with learning in order to help his country’s future leaders receive the kind of transformative education he has experienced. “The opportunity I had [at Hotchkiss] gave me a chance to see what life could be for young children from my community,” he told students. “This place is extremely powerful. If you make use of it, it can really give you the opportunity to build competence to operate effectively in the world and be able to create an impact that could change many people’s lives.”

A student asked Aminathia where he finds motivation. “There are very few South Sudanese people of my age who have had the background that I’ve had,” he replied. “There’s a sense of responsibility to try and say, ‘I’ve had the fortune of having access to some of the best education that anyone can wish for in the world. What can I do with it?’”

If his words and actions are any indication, he plans to do quite a lot. H

Lorem Aminathia ‘11 spoke with students about the power of education during his visit to campus.

IMPROVING EDUCATION ON A GLOBAL LEVEL

BY DANIEL LIPPMAN ’08

BRIAN SIMS ’89 FELL IN LOVE with education as a teacher and principal, and he discovered a passion to take this work to a global level. He wakes up every day trying to solve an important problem: many teachers in the developing world struggle with the material they are trying to teach, which makes it difficult to pass along that knowledge to their students.

In a stark example, Sims said a generation of Black South Africans were intentionally deprived of a high-quality education by the apartheid government. Two-thirds of South African sixth-grade teachers have not mastered the math content at that level. “It’s not their fault that they don’t know sixth-grade math. The system was designed for that to happen,” Sims said. “Our goal is to help them teach sixth-graders the math that they need to learn.”

Sims is the executive director of the One World network of schools, a global education nonprofit working to improve student learning by developing the next generation of school teachers and leaders. He helps train principals and teachers in 15 countries across four continents, and One World’s work has already touched more than 2 million students. According to the organization, research shows that highly effective principals can raise student achievement by 160 percent in a year, helping students who were once behind catch up.

He traces his love of education all the way back to Hotchkiss, where he looked up to his teachers and aspired to forge a similar path. “They all seemed like they were having fun, and they had a youthfulness and joy to them that I think happens when you work

with young people to open their minds and provide them opportunities in life,” he said.

Sims grew up in a small town in Michigan and comes from a long line of Bearcats: his father, Mac Sims ’49, who was a banker and chief financial officer of a Fortune 500 equipment company; his brother, Frank Sims ’75; and his sister, Laura Sims Davis ’87. At Hotchkiss, he was student body vice president, captain of the football and golf teams, and the managing director for The Hotchkiss Record, where he spent countless hours cranking out the next edition.

He said a strong work ethic and a sense of civic responsibility were all values that Hotchkiss built in him, and he credits the late Blair Torrey ’50, P’74,’80 for shaping his thinking and helping him grow up at the School. “Hotchkiss taught me what it’s like to pursue a fully enriched life,” he said. “It is my most pivotal educational experience. I owe so much to Hotchkiss.”

He headed to Dartmouth College— inspired by his Hotchkiss peers who went there—and studied history. He was the rugby captain, and he chose to stay a semester after graduation to coach the team. Following a stint as a substitute teacher in Austin, TX, he spent three years teaching social studies and coaching sports at an independent Episcopal school in Lafayette, LA. He wanted to deepen his knowledge before he continued his career, so he headed west to earn a master’s degree in education and history at Stanford University, where he also met his future wife, Gretchen Crosby. They moved to New Jersey, and Sims taught

seventh- and eighth-grade social studies in a high-poverty community. He called the job “life-changing.”

“I got very motivated and inspired by the opportunity that education could provide, and I have dedicated my career to trying to improve schools so that young people could have the kind of opportunities that those of us who went to Hotchkiss enjoyed,” he said.

Sims and his wife moved to Chicago, where he became the managing director of the Academy for Urban School Leadership, a nonprofit organization that provides equity-focused programming to improve educational outcomes for students in underinvested communities. He was the founding principal of the

“I have dedicated my career to trying to improve schools so that young people could have the kind of opportunities that those of us who went to Hotchkiss enjoyed.”

—BRIAN SIMS ’89

program’s first high school, and he helped grow the organization from five schools to more than 20. He also helped improve the academic results of elementary school students to be double the district’s average.

In neighborhood schools where more than 80 percent of students received free or reduced lunch, Sims saw firsthand the challenges high-poverty schools face in getting their students to attend college. “These were schools that had been underperforming for many years, and we had the chance to work with the communities to turn them around and bring in new approaches to teaching and new extracurricular programs to kick-start a transformation process,” he said.

After a few years serving as the head of education at a network of 40 public schools across England, he became the executive director of One World. The nonprofit supports schools in countries such as India, Uruguay, and South Africa, with some of its biggest projects in Tajikistan and

Malawi, where they are rolling out teaching methodologies in first- and second-grade classrooms to improve literacy.

The issues they face are profound, but the opportunities are endless. Sims says education is key to making countries more prosperous, which can make them more peaceful and often more democratic. But what works in one country’s culture doesn’t necessarily work in a country thousands of miles away, so he tells his employees that one of the organization’s mottos is “the universality of questions and the locality of answers.”

One World helps identify key teaching techniques that can be replicated at scale. For example, it just helped Malawi classrooms roll out two approaches: one called “positive praise,” where teachers actively narrate positive behaviors as opposed to pointing out bad ones; and another called “pair share,” where students are instructed to talk to their neighbors to grapple with questions and report back to the teacher.

Due to the vast need for improving the

skills of teachers and principals around the world, the organization has doubled in size in three years. It gets funding from several major family foundations, as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Sims continues to find connections to Hotchkiss alumni in his global education work. One World is helping Lorem Aminathia ’11 as he plans to launch Kinyeti Academy in South Sudan (see preceding story). Sims attended a fundraiser for the budding school hosted by Carolyn Smith Henderson ’95, who works as an education coach at One World. He met Henderson when she was an English teacher at an Academy for Urban School Leadership school in Chicago.

“I was overwhelmed with joy that my experience at Hotchkiss could lead me back to somebody who wanted to start a school in South Sudan,” he said. H

Daniel Lippman ‘08 is a reporter covering the White House and Washington for POLITICO and can be reached at dlippman@gwmail.gwu.edu.

Above, from left, Mark Geall ’88, Brian Sims ’89, Lorem Aminathia ’11, Laura Sims Davis ’87, Carolyn Smith Henderson ’95, and Aaron Oberman ’92, P’24.

Top left and bottom left: Brian Sims ’89 and One World work with classrooms in locations like Malawi and India.

FALL REUNIONS

It was so much fun to welcome back the Classes of 1956, 1960, 1961, 1967, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1990, 1991 for reunion weekends. Alumni visited classes, enjoyed campus tours and meals, and attended exciting athletic games and fantastic performances. Members of the Class of 1955 met virtually and reminisced about their days at Hotchkiss.

These memorable weekends included the dedication of the Class of 1967 Boat House in memory of the late William Rice Elfers ’67 and the rededication of the Class of 1976 Library Fund in honor of Walter E. DeMelle Jr. P’94, H’76.

READ ABOUT THE DEDICATION OF THE CLASS OF 1967 BOAT HOUSE

VISIT FLICKR AND SCROLL TO VIEW REUNION PHOTOS

The Board of Governors Congratulates the Recipients of This Year’s Alumni Awards:

ALUMNI AWARD

CNN anchor Chris Wallace ’65 has covered many of the world’s biggest stories throughout his award-winning journalism career, which spans more than 50 years (see p. 8).

COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD

For more than 20 years, Elizabeth Irvin ’93 has dedicated her career to providing compassionate and effective mental health care for women who have experienced trauma (see p. 9).

The Alumni Award recognizes individuals who, through personal achievement, have brought honor and distinction to the School. The Community Service Award honors the service contributions that Hotchkiss graduates have made to their respective communities, whether local, national, or international. Please submit your nominees for these awards via our website at go.hotchkiss.org/nominate.

Call for Nominations

Hotchkiss Alumni Association Board of Governors

Winter Wonderland

Students enjoyed Nordic skiing in this photo from 1980. Bearcats skied competitively for almost 50 years, beginning in 1937 and ending around 1985. Skiing was important enough in 1937 that The Hotchkiss Record reported that the new gymnasium—now known as Monahan—would include a ski room in the basement. Hotchkiss teams competed in both alpine and Nordic skiing in addition to participating in the town of Salisbury’s long tradition of ski jumping.

November 2022 Alum of the Month: Eric Buckland ’73 ’73

It brought together an eclectic group of people into a singular family. With Dave Sermersheim’s ‘gentle oversight,’ we became an entertaining phenomenon that only Hotchkiss could have spawned. Anyone at our final 1973 performance will never forget it. It still makes me smile.” One of the singular honors of his life was being elected captain of his cross country team. “We developed lasting bonds.”

counterdrug operations. For 20-plus years, I worked with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. Counterdrug operations are complicated and challenging, but are critically important to the safety of our nation.”

LTC (R) ERIC BUCKLAND ’73 says his time at Hotchkiss made him “self-reliant and self-disciplined,” reinforcing the critical relationship between effort and achievement, etching deeply in his mind the importance of mentors. These lessons served him well during a 22-year career in the U.S. Army, including 15 in Special Forces (Green Berets). His last years in the military were spent in counterdrug operations; he continued this work with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Buckland praised faculty members for giving him the guidance to succeed at Hotchkiss. “My parents wanted me to be challenged, so I found myself a member of the Class of 1973. My efforts were mediocre until faculty members Dave Sermersheim, Walter Crain, George Stone, and Blair Torrey became my mentors—resulting in an incredible senior year.”

Torrey’s English class instilled in him a love of writing. “Even now, when writing, I wonder what he would think,” he says. “I was also part of Buddy Weiser & The Hops, a musical group formed by some classmates.

In the ROTC, Buckland found another mentor. “The senior non-commissioned officer was an experienced Special Forces master sergeant. He encouraged me to go to Airborne and Ranger School, igniting my desire to attend the Special Forces qualification course.”

A primary mission of Special Forces is training soldiers from other countries. Buckland trained hundreds during deployments to Latin America. “The training is usually focused on improving professionalism and inculcating the importance of respecting the human rights of civilian populations and enemy combatants.”

Buckland was the operations officer in the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School that conducted all initial skill training for U.S. soldiers going through the Special Forces qualification course, with training occurring simultaneously for 1,000 to 1,500 soldiers. “The job was challenging and rewarding,” he says. “I also commanded the company responsible for training all soldiers slated for assignment to Civil Affairs units.”

Of his work in counterdrug operations, he notes the natural progression from the military to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. “The military missions of unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, and counterinsurgency are similar to

Proud that he “did everything in my power to take care of the soldiers for whom I had responsibility,” he also mentored them. “As a company commander in the 82nd Airborne Division, my Special Forces experience affected the way I trained and led my paratroopers, and many re-enlisted becoming Special Forces soldiers. I am also very proud of graduating from the Army’s Ranger School—the hardest thing I ever did!”

To students, Buckland says of the Special Forces, “At times I was exhausted and miserable from spending days in the jungle. At times, I was terrified, but there were also times I felt intense pride and accomplishment. If that sounds appealing, I would recommend it as a career.”

Buckland’s decorations include: Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Ranger Tab; Special Forces Tab; Master Parachutist Badge; Combat Infantryman’s Badge; Special Forces Underwater Operations Badge; and the Air Assault Badge.

He has been married to his wife, Maureen, for 43 years. They have three grown sons and three grandsons, with a fourth on the way. Buckland now spends much of his time researching Mosby’s Rangers, a Confederate Civil War unit. “Their activities were similar to some of my Special Forces missions. I was compelled by the activities of individual Rangers and intrigued by their successes after the War.” He has self-published several books and had articles published in America’s Civil War magazine. H

August 2022 Alum of the Month: Shelby Bonnie ’82 ’82

SHELBY BONNIE ’82 combined his fascination with computers and his business propensity to become an early pioneer in the Internet space, co-founding with Halsey Minor the computer content site CNET.com. The company also launched many other properties before being sold to CBS in 2007.

Bonnie demonstrated his aptitude for computers early on at Hotchkiss. “I created a program to ‘appropriate’ passwords to access the administrator’s area and was caught.” says Bonnie. “Later, as a member of the Discipline Committee, I sat in judgment of two students who did the same thing.”

Bonnie’s father, Ned, was Class of 1948, and his grandfather, Class of 1911. “My dad was so happy when I was accepted, but I struggled at first. I was an awkward kid from Kentucky. My parents said I could leave, but I decided to stay. Thanks to friends and faculty members (especially Ellen Torrey), I got to a happier place.”

Coming from a family of equestrians, Bonnie also credits being able to ride at Hotchkiss as key to his sanity. “I found meaning in living in Van Santvoord dorm. My dad was invited to ride George Van Santvoord’s horse, and their relationship was a big part of his wonderful experience at Hotchkiss.” Ned Bonnie went on to have a prominent career in equine law.

After graduating from the University of Virginia (B.S.), Bonnie received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He began his career in finance in New York, covering media. “CNET combined media and computers. We created a 24-hour cable channel about computers and digital technology with a companion online service. It was 1992, and Prodigy, CompuServe, and AOL were the common online services.”

CNET was a pioneer in online content, and Bonnie led the effort to innovate in the advertising space. Serving as CNET’s chairman and CEO from 2000 to 2006, he concurrently became chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and was named Publisher of the Year in 2006.

After CNET, he stayed involved in start-ups, establishing Whiskey Media in 2008 (the name is a reference to a Kentucky distillery owned by his family before prohibition), which he ran and ultimately sold.

His latest endeavor is a video tool called Worbler AI. “Creators of social media have access to large audiences. They have many tools, but not great tools for sounds and voices. We have built a huge library of voices, sound filters and effects that you can add to any video. You can even add a custom voice for your dog.”

Bonnie has given more than 20 years to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), serving as board finance chair. A leading environmental organization, EDF began on

Long Island in 1967 when scientists fought to save ospreys from the toxic pesticide DDT. They now focus on solutions for the global environment’s biggest issues, including market-based solutions.

“An example is the MethaneSAT, a satellite launched fall of 2022 to detect methane leaks from space. From a climate standpoint, one of the easiest short-term tools to manage temperatures is to decrease the amount of methane being emitted into the atmosphere. It’s a potent greenhouse gas and much of the emissions come from the oil and gas industry. By providing detection of leaks for free, energy producers can rely on their own economic self-interest to plug those leaks so they can monetize the gas. The organization takes a promarket, entrepreneurial approach to environmental problems.”

Though his father is deceased, his mother still lives on the farm in Kentucky where he grew up. “Hugely influential in my life, my parents had deep confidence in me, giving me the space to make choices, and at times, to flounder. They encouraged me to find my own way, making me resilient and confident in my own abilities.”

“Hotchkiss provided an important foundation, and my initial unhappiness and subsequent choice to stay taught me a lot. I struggled with foreign languages, and fondly remember Mrs. Becker’s comment on my final report card: ‘It would be in Shelby’s and Hotchkiss’s best interest that this be his last year of French.’ I have followed her advice.”

Bonnie and his wife, Carol, have three children. “My kids have outperformed me both in academics and in athletics.” H

September 2022 Alum of the Month: Sean Heywood ’96 ’96

SEAN HEYWOOD ’96 began his journey to Hotchkiss from only 100 miles south of Lakeville, but for him, the working-class neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn, was a world away. Now a director of growth at Meta (formerly Facebook), he credits his Hotchkiss experience with preparing him for a career in leadership positions at several of America’s top technology companies.

Heywood came to Hotchkiss through the Albert G. Oliver Program, which places high-achieving Black and Latino students from New York City at top New England independent schools. “Despite some initial challenges, my time there was unambiguously valuable. It was the first time that I encountered students who looked like me and would go on to attend prestigious universities. That representation was transformative as it transitioned my academic pursuits from what felt like a walk of faith to one that was about execution.”

After Hotchkiss, he went to Brown University for pre-med. “But it wasn’t for me. I overheard some students talking about investment banking and changed course to business economics. I spent junior year at the London School of Economics and interned at Morgan Stanley sophomore and junior years.” He graduated from Brown magna cum laude and then received his M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Heywood worked as an analyst prior to joining Google as a market manager. He went to Meta to lead strategic product partnerships for its Messenger app, cultivating its developer ecosystem as the app grew from 300 million to 1.2 billion users.

Moving to Amazon, he led Alexa’s business development initiatives involving the interoperability of Alexa with other artificial intelligence platforms. Heywood also led business development for Amazon’s

Surface Transportation group, where he focused on autonomous driving technology, alternative fuels and infrastructure, telematics, and fleet acquisition initiatives.

Having recently returned to Meta for new opportunities, he notes: “Meta’s mission to make the world more open and connected has always resonated with me. The work is sophisticated, global in scope, and quite often controversial. The scale at which we operate is non-intuitive and can be humbling. It’s my hope that my perspective and experiences can help influence the company through the next chapter of its growth.”

Heywood lives in Palo Alto, CA, with his wife, Kuleni Gebisa, and their three sons. “I met my wife shortly after college. We had our third date at Hotchkiss for Blue and White Weekend!”

His connection to Hotchkiss is strong. “Several faculty members were very influential for me, including Walter Crain, Patricia Redd Johnson, and Christina Cooper,” he says. “Along with others, they created a sense of home in an unfamiliar place, helping me identify and further develop my unique strengths.

“At Hotchkiss, I began to cultivate deep relationships with classmates who remain among my closest friends nearly three decades later, and met some remarkable people who left an indelible mark. At the recent wedding of Keith Bernard ’95, I reconnected with Ivan Henderson ’95, Tom Terbell ’95, Steven Turner ’94, and John Khoury ’95. It was an amazing time and a blessing to reflect on the experiences we shared decades ago. I’m also a member of a vibrant WhatsApp group with more than 60 Black and Latino Hotchkiss alumni. I’ve had the opportunity to work with several classmates over the years.”

Heywood hopes that Hotchkiss plays a role in determining the future of technology by shaping the next generation of leaders. “A decade is a lifetime in technology. The only certainty is that the scope of invention will remain unpredictable, and navigating how these technologies illuminate and amplify the best and more challenging aspects of humanity will become increasingly complex. This will require leaders who possess tremendous intelligence and a sense of empathy in order to safely shepherd these effects across our society.”

In closing, Heywood says, “I left a community where fewer than five percent of residents had a college education, and joined one where I could record the Brandenburg Concertos as a violinist, win two New England tennis championships, speak with Rosa Parks, and gain admittance to an Ivy League university. Hotchkiss, for me, created a paradigm shift in the trajectory of my life that will have generational impact. It was hard, but worth it.” H

October 2022 Alum of the Month: Christina Bechhold

Russ ’03 ’03

CHRISTINA BECHHOLD

RUSS ’03 is a venture capitalist and sought-after speaker who has found success in a field historically dominated by men. She leads Truist Ventures, where her team “invests in and acquires exceptional high-growth founders and funds bringing surprise and delight to financial services.”

Drawn to finance after being selected for the business school honors program at Boston College, she says, “I have a love of building things and am fascinated by technology’s ability to create.”

She has always been interested in new business models. “I started out as an angel investor, co-founding Empire Angels, a member-led group and fund investing in early-stage companies. It was the first angel group for millennials, with peers investing in peers,” she explains. “I enjoyed that work immensely—venture capital is a great career for anyone with strong intellectual curiosity.”

While women are becoming more involved in finance, Russ says they still make up only about 15 percent of check writers at venture capital funds. “It’s a similar percentage of women in executive roles in finance more broadly. We need more women at the table, in the boardroom, making the decisions. The outcomes are empirically better when they are.”

In a TEDWomen event, Russ spoke about women, wealth, and powering entrepreneurship. “I credit Hotchkiss Speech and Debate (the Vavpetics) and Hotchkiss Drama (Sarah Tames) for my comfort level as a speaker, which has helped me professionally,” she notes.

She was recognized by the New York Business Journal as a 2016 Woman of

Influence. More recently, she was named a Woman to Watch in Venture Capital by Business Insider and as one of Britain’s 35 Women in Business Under 35 by the Daily Telegraph. She is a contributor to publications including the Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur, again, drawing on skills she learned at Hotchkiss. “Being able to organize your thoughts and express them effectively is critical. Great writing absorbs the reader, changes perceptions, and illuminates ideas. Publications are always looking for those voices.”

Hotchkiss was Russ’s only choice for secondary school. “My parents went to boarding school—my mother, Northfield Mount Hermon, and my father, Hotchkiss Class of 1972. They spoke about their experiences with incredible fondness. I can probably tell you as many stories from my father’s time in Lakeville as my own. My grandfather was a member of the Class of 1948.”

Her Hotchkiss experience was profound “thanks to exceptional courses and faculty members. The Holocaust with Lou Pressman was one of the reasons I chose to double major in philosophy in college. Tom Flemma’s AP U.S. history lessons on

understanding source material are still relevant. Jim Fornshell, Chris Burchfield, and Julia Trethaway were standouts, and Tim Acker wrote a wonderful recommendation for my application to study abroad in my junior year of college.”

Russ participated in numerous extracurricular activities as a Bearcat. “I loved the camaraderie of team sports and served as captain of both cross country and track and field,” she says. Her Hotchkiss trip to Antarctica during her upper mid-year remains memorable.

When classmate Bennett Rathbun ’03 decided to launch the nonprofit organization Hope on a String in 2011, he asked Russ to help. “My husband and I actually met there as founding board members. I’m proud of what Hope on a String has accomplished, building community through music and the performing arts in Haiti. Bennett did a tremendous job, and we were honored to be involved.”

Russ has made financially supporting Hotchkiss a priority. “The School helped form the core of who I am, and many of my closest friends are my classmates. I want to ensure Hotchkiss is a place of growth and opportunity for many more generations.”

She has also volunteered for Hotchkiss as a member of the School’s Board of Governors. “As chair of the nominating committee for School awards, I helped identify achievement—there is great value in sharing stories. We chose the first female Alumni Award recipient, Allison Janney ’77. You can’t emulate what you can’t see. That was a very important moment for all women.” H

ARCHIBALD MCCLURE P’68,’69, GP’00, ’00,’02,’02,’04,’04,’04,’10, age 99, passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on Aug. 6, 2022. Born in South Bend, IN, he graduated from Hotchkiss in 1940 and Yale University in 1944. He was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy and served as a combat information center officer and later as executive officer on a destroyer, with two convoy escort runs in the Atlantic and two and a half years operating as a picket ship to support carrier task forces in the Pacific. After retiring from the Navy as a lieutenant, he joined the engineering department of the Quaker Oats Company in 1946 and worked at Quaker plants in Memphis, TN; Harrisburg, PA; Cedar Rapids, IA; and St. Joseph, MO, before eventually settling the family in Kenilworth, IL. He retired from Quaker as an executive vice president and director in 1979. He then served as vice president in administration of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago until his retirement in 1988. He served on the Board of the Quaker Oats Company, Holiday Inn, and the First Illinois Bank, among others. He supported many charitable, educational, and civic organizations such as National Boy Scouts, Coe College, and United Fund, and served as president of School and Kenilworth Union Church Boards, Presbyterian Home in Evanston, and United Religions Initiative. He was married to Sallie Van Norden for 40 years and was father to children Archibald McClure ’68, John McClure ’69, P’00,’02,’04, Sallie Stanley, and Marion Cartwright P’00,’02,’04. He had eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. They include John McClure ’00, Gene Cartwright ’00, Archibald McClure ’02, John Cartwright ’02, Douglas McClure ’04, Grant Cartwright ’04, Catherine Wallace Spalding ’04, and Stephanie Wallace ’10. He was then married for 28 years to Anne Downey and was the stepfather to her five daughters, who include Anne Wallace P’04,’10, 11 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren. Arch nearly made it to his 100th birthday on Aug. 19. Though dementia had clouded his memory, he knew his family had been watching over him in his last weeks, and that was what mattered most to him.

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JOSEPH (“JOE”) SAMPLE, born March 15, 1923, died peacefully on Oct. 13, 2022, at his home in Billings, MT. He was 99. Born in Chicago, he attended Hotchkiss from 1937 until graduation in 1941 and subsequently graduated from Yale. During World War II, he led intelligence missions in China for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), predecessor

of the CIA. Recalled into the Korean War, he served as chief, Domestic Intelligence, for Fifth Army Headquarters. His professional life began with work as an intern for a Chicago advertising agency, where he quickly rose to vice president and media director. While proud of his Chicago upbringing and his professional work there, Montana stole his heart. In 1954, he moved to Billings, and a year later joined thenKOOK-AM-TV as a minority stockholder and president. He established the Montana Television Network with stations in Billings, Butte, Great Falls, and Missoula. He served as president of the Rocky Mountain Broadcasters Association and was also vice-chairman of the Montana Educational Broadcasting Commission. Retiring in 1984, he became a programmer and board member of Yellowstone Public Radio. His jazz program, reflecting his Chicago roots, was called “Spreadin’ Rhythm Around” and aired for more than two decades with content curated by him as “Scatman.” He became president of the Greater Montana Foundation, as well as the Sample Foundation, which serves the poor and underprivileged, and continued his work with the foundation up until his death. During his career he served on numerous boards and was governor of the Western Canada Hockey League and president/owner of the Billings Bighorns. A member of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame, he received the Governor’s Medals for both the arts and the humanities, and honorary degrees from MSU and Rocky Mountain College. Later in life, he spent his winters in Naples, FL, in a community developed by his father. Service to his country, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy made for a full life. He also found time to appreciate Western art and artists and to build an impressive personal collection, which he shared with museums all over the West. He loved the Chicago Cubs and baseball in general, having lived to watch both Babe Ruth in person, and, just days before his passing, Aaron Judge on television, make history. In the end, however, his friends and family most engaged and delighted him. After the loss of his beloved wife, Miriam Tyler Sample, and the murder of his son, Michael, he manifested the strength, resolve, and positivity of the Greatest Generation. He was predeceased by his sister and is survived by two sons, as well as seven grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

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JOHN PHILIP MARCHANT, formerly of Putnoe, Bedford, England, passed away peacefully at The Moorings, Earsham, Norfolk, England, on May 18, 2018. He was 93. After Hotchkiss, he graduated from Yale in 1945 and Oxford in the Class of 1950, where his major

was physics. He served three years in the British Army. He co-authored a book with D. Pegg, Digital Computers: A Practical Approach, which was published in London in 1967 by Blackie. During his career he was employed by Advanced Computer Technologies Group and taught science at Bedford School.

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EDGAR JADWIN of Vero Beach, FL, passed away on June 27, 2022, at age 95, leaving to mourn family and friends. After graduating from Hotchkiss in 1945, where he was influenced by Carle Parsons, whom he described as a master of words and the English language, he earned an A.B. in economics in 1949 from Princeton. He worked at a paper machinery company for 10 years before beginning a 31-year career in jewelry manufacturing. In retirement, he enjoyed traveling and belonged to the Senior Core of Retired Executives (SCORE), counseling startups and small business operators. He won several gold medals in the Senior Life Games (swimming) in Vero Beach, FL. He is survived by his family, Normandy Beach and Vero Beach; his wife, Lois Breckley of Mountain Lakes, NJ; his two daughters; and his three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A cousin, Jim Lathrop, is a member of the Class of 1964.

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GEORGE W. MEAD II , an icon in the Wisconsin and North American paper industry, died in Madison, WI, on July 29, 2022. He was 94. He was known for his leadership of Consolidated Papers, Inc., formerly headquartered in Wisconsin Rapids, and for his leadership in the paper industry. He also served as chairman of the Mead Witter Foundation, Inc., a family philanthropic foundation. From 1971 to 1993, he was chairman and CEO of Consolidated Papers, Inc., the company his great-grandfather started in 1894. He joined Consolidated in 1952 as a chemical engineer and progressed to production manager and quality manager before becoming vice president of operations in 1962 and a corporate director in 1963. In 1966, he became president and chief executive officer, the position he held until 1971, when he was named chairman and CEO. Under his leadership the company grew to nearly $2 billion in sales, was designated a Fortune 500 company, and became known as the world’s leading producer of coated printing papers. The company was valued at $4.8 billion at the time of its sale in 2000. Throughout his career, he served on a variety of corporate boards and held key positions in national papermaking organizations. Like his father, Stanton Mead ’18,

he was an avid conservationist. He continued the work of his father in preserving land for hunting and fishing through active involvement in the Mead Wildlife Area, a 33,000-acre property owned and operated by the DNR in Central Wisconsin; the promotion of best forestry practices on Consolidated Papers’s 692,000 acres of timberlands in the U.S. and Canada, as well as serving on the board of Trees for Tomorrow, Inc., an organization focused on introducing young people to careers in the forest industry. A trustee of Lawrence University for 30 years, he also served as trustee, vice chairman, and chairman of the board for the Institute of Paper Chemistry, later the Institute of Paper Science and Technology. Following in the tradition of both the Witter and Mead family of support for the community, he worked his entire life to improve and preserve open park space for public use along the banks of the Wisconsin River. He enthusiastically supported the Madison Jazz Society and assisted in the archiving at Stanford University of the Jim Cullum Riverwalk Jazz concerts aired on Wisconsin Public Radio. He received his early education in Wisconsin Rapids and attended Hotchkiss from 19421946. After graduating from Yale in 1950 with a degree in chemistry, he went on to receive an M.S. degree from the Institute of Paper Chemistry in 1952. During his college years, he married Helen Anderson in Connecticut. He later married Susan Feith, who survives him. He also is survived by a sister; two daughters and a son; two stepchildren; as well as four grandchildren, four step-grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, Gilbert “Gil” Mead, Class of 1948.

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RICHARD W. SMITH JR. (“DICK”) , a past president of the Maidstone Club, died at his Borden Lane residence in East Hampton Village on Aug. 20, 2022. The cause was cardiopulmonary arrest. Also a resident of New York City, he was 92. For many years, he worked at Bankers Trust in London and New York. In East Hampton, where his family had first come around the turn of the last century, he was president of the Maidstone Club from 1993 to 1999. He was active in the social life there and with local charities. With a fellow resident, James Tompkins, he helped establish a scholarship fund and tournament for caddies at the club, the Frank Collins Memorial, named after a beloved caddy. Born on Feb. 27, 1930, in New York City to Richard W. Smith and the former Anna Bailey, he grew up in Glen Cove and attended Buckley Country Day School in Roslyn and Hotchkiss. He graduated from Yale University in 1952 before serving in the Navy

as a senior lieutenant until 1954. In 1956, he graduated from Columbia Law School. That year, he and Mary Louise Ryan were married. They had two sons who survive him, Richard W. Smith III and Bruce Bailey Smith. Mary Louise Smith died in 2002. He was also predeceased by a brother, Bailey Smith ’50. Lalitte Smith, whom Mr. Smith married in 2005, also survives him.

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HOWARD C. JUDD JR. (“PETER”), age 90, of Denver, CO, passed peacefully on Sept. 3, 2022. He is survived by his beloved wife of 25 years, Barbara, his two sons and two grandchildren, two nieces, and his brother-in-law. After growing up in New Canaan, CT, he graduated from Hotchkiss and Lehigh University. After college, he proudly served in the U.S. Air Force as a co-pilot in the Strategic Air Command, flying B-47s during the Cold War. After his military service, he received an M.B.A. degree from Columbia University. He enjoyed a long, successful career in sales and marketing that had him traversing the country coast to coast, throughout the Midwest and the Rocky Mountains. He held executive positions with notable Fortune 500 publishing companies throughout his career, and even in retirement, his drive kept him very active with various organizations. He was deeply proud of his sons. His son Peter followed his dad’s love of advertising and became a creative director. His son Ryan followed his dad’s love of guitar and became an accomplished musician and music therapist. After settling in Colorado, Peter married Barbara Berney. Together they looked forward to yearly fly-fishing trips in Wyoming, exploring the Rocky Mountains, visiting friends and family, going to CU games in Boulder, and cheering on the USC Trojans from afar. He even found the time to write a memoir, so his grandkids could know the full story of their grandfather.

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GREGORY G. CONNELL (“GREG”), 86, of Glenview, IL, and formerly of Northfield, where he lived for 40 years, died July 18, 2022. He attended New Trier High School and graduated from Hotchkiss in 1954. He graduated from Colgate University in 1958, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi. He attended Northwestern School of Law. While in law school, he served in the Illinois Air National Guard and spent six months with the Air Force in basic training and aircraft electrical repairman school. He was employed in the Trust Department of the Northern Trust Co. for 19 years before joining Lane Industries and Lionheart Trust Co., from which he retired as vice president. He is survived by his wife of 46

years, Sally Hoelzer Connell; his five children and six grandchildren; and two sisters. Greg and Sally enjoyed vacations in Puerto Vallarta, river cruises, and theater. He was an avid Cubs and Wolves hockey fan. He will be remembered for sharing jokes and stories with friends.

LT. COL. ASHTON CHRISTAL LAWRENCE

JR. (“CHRIS”), 86, died Oct. 11, 2022, at home, surrounded by his loving family. Born in New Haven, CT, he attended the University of Connecticut for a year after Hotchkiss. He then was appointed to West Point, graduating in 1959. In his Misch II profile, he credited Hotchkiss for giving him the educational background to make it through West Point. He selected Field Artillery as his basic branch and Aviation as his specialty. While attending the Officer’s Basic Course at Ft. Sill, OK, he met his wife, Linda Jones. He started his military career at Ft. Benning, GA, developing plans for testing the 11th Airborne Division concept. Upon activation of the division, he became a Caribou pilot and flew in support of the test program. He flew the Caribou in two tours during the Vietnam War. After his second tour in Vietnam, he and his family were stationed in Des Plaines, IL. He served on an innovated ROTC program at Loyola University and obtained his master’s degree in international relations. His next assignment took the family back to Ft. Sill, OK, where he was assigned to research and development in a new drone program. He always said that his major contribution to the service was his work on this innovative program, Aquila, which, though never activated, was a precursor to what we see today in the drone field. After a tour to Turkey as commander of troops in support of the NATO troops in Ismer, he finished his military career at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, retiring from active duty in 1981 as a Lt. Col. He went on to have a second career as administrative officer of the Mental Retardation Research Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, where he served for 20 years. In 2001, he retired to the family’s 10-acre “ranch” in Olathe, KS, where he and his wife enjoyed riding their horses. After the death of his wife, Linda, in 2014, he moved to Tall Grass with his beloved cats in 2015, where he enjoyed playing bridge and cribbage and building intricate model ships. He is survived by his two daughters, five grandchildren, and his two sisters.

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GEORGE GURNEY of Center Harbor, NH, died in Concord on Oct. 28, 2022, at age 82, surrounded by his family—his wife Susan, son Peter, and daughter Katri. As the son of Richard C. Gurney, who taught at Hotchkiss, and Margaret Gurney, George was the beneficiary of a wealth of educational, recreational, and cultural

resources throughout his childhood, which he deeply treasured. After attending Hotchkiss as a student, he spent a gap year in England at the Bishop’s Stortford College with the EnglishSpeaking Union Exchange Fellowship. While studying abroad, he developed a love for art and found his life’s calling. Upon his return from England, he began his pursuit of expanding his knowledge of art at Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania, and concluding at the University of Delaware, where he earned his Ph.D. He taught at the University of Hartford and Sweet Briar College before entering the museum profession as a fellow at the National Gallery of Art. George worked at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from 1974-2011, serving as curator of sculpture for over 25 years. He was named curator emeritus at his retirement. He drew professional satisfaction from exhibitions he curated, beginning with Sculpture and the Federal Triangle in 1979, for which he wrote the definitive book on the subject, and ending with Remembering the Running Fence in 2010, working closely with the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Upon retirement, George and Susan moved up to Squam Lake in New Hampshire—a place he had retreated to annually and loved his entire life. His two children also moved to the area, drawn there by the love George instilled in them of the region. He committed himself to volunteering for environmental causes—taking water quality measurements, removing invasive plants, conducting trail maintenance, monitoring conservation easements, and serving on the town’s Conservation Commission. Everything he did was with the deliberate intention of helping the people and natural world around him. In the evenings he and Susan would sit down and play a game of cribbage while they admired the sunset. He had one brother, Peter Gurney ’53, five years his senior, now deceased. He is survived by his niece, Christie Rawlings ’85, and a great-nephew, Parker Rawlings ’12.

CHARLES JAMES MCDERMOTT III (“JIM”) of Quogue, NY, died peacefully on Sept. 3, 2022, after a long struggle with a brain injury due to a fall. He was 83. Born in Brooklyn on April 23, 1939, he grew up in Madison and then Bernardsville, NJ. He graduated from the Peck School, Hotchkiss, and in 1961 from Rollins College, in Winter Park, FL, where he was a member of the crew team. An editor and writer, he completed magazine and fiction courses at the Columbia University School of General Studies. He served in the U.S. Army from 196264 at the Evacuation Hospital in Fort Devens, MA. Returning to New York City, he wrote for a number of small magazines until he began working at Norman Vincent Peale’s magazine,

Guideposts. He became articles editor there and was not only writing, but also teaching writing in towns all over the U.S. under the aegis of Guideposts. As Peale and McDermott came to know each other, Peale asked McDermott to accompany him on his speaking tours to “warm up the crowds.” McDermott traveled with Peale, esteemed author of The Power of Positive Thinking, making his clever introductions and capturing audiences around the nation. He married Judith Vandeveer of Bernardsville, NJ, in March 1975. They lived in Brooklyn and then Riverside, CT, where they raised their children. He retired to Quogue, where the couple’s life was filled with friends, sports, and extensive travels. He served as the warden at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Westhampton Beach and was an avid athlete, playing tennis, golf, surfing, skiing, and biking. He loved boats, fishing, and vintage cars. He was a well-known wordsmith and brilliant raconteur of many a joke and story at Quogue dinner parties. He is survived by his wife, Judith; a son and daughter; and a sister and five grandchildren.

JOSEPH HENRY STAGG III (“JERRY”) died on July 31, 2022, at age 82 in Bridgeport, CT, the city where he was born in November 1939. He credited The Unquowa School, his grade school, with forming his character and love of learning. He attended Hotchkiss from 1953 until his graduation in 1957. He went on to Brown University, where he studied history and competed in golf and swimming. From 1962 to 1965 he served in the U.S. Navy, an experience he felt gave him indispensable skills to manage people. He left the Navy with the rank of LTJG to begin work in the “real” world at Hawley Industrial Supply in Bridgeport, a 120-year-old private industrial supply business run by his grandfather and then his father. He became president and CEO in 1977. In 1973 he married Mercedes E. Walker; they resided in Easton, CT, where they had a son and a daughter. In 2006 Jerry moved to Dennis, Cape Cod, and married Judith Titus November. Over the years he served on many boards, including the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA, United Way of Bridgeport, Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra, The Unquowa School, National Industrial Distributors Association, and Cape Cod Museum of Art. He enjoyed researching and planning his extensive international travels to share with his family. He was a collector of many things and loved to tell stories about his family, his antique maps, and all his German Shepherd dogs. He played golf across the United States and Europe, including St. Andrews. He is survived by Judy; his daughter and son, and two grandsons; a stepdaughter and her son.

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GORDON GILLESPIE died on July 3, 2022. He was born in Barnesville, OH, and attended Hotchkiss from 1955 until his graduation in 1959. He studied German while at Hotchkiss and also, for a time, held the record in the hammer throw. After graduating from Princeton in 1963, he moved to England, where he studied and demonstrated against the Vietnam War. Due to England’s support for the war and hostility toward those opposing the same, he moved to Berlin, where he worked as a professional translator. He mastered and spoke fluent German and kept in touch with other Hotchkiss students. He is survived by his wife, Brigitte Crockett, and son, Patrick Gillespie.

RICHARD ALLEN PURKISS (“PURK”) of Devon, PA, and Avalon, NJ, passed away peacefully on July 24, 2022, surrounded by family after a valiant battle with cancer. He fulfilled his final wish and spent one last summer in Avalon, hosting family and fishing with his buddies. He was generous, kind, and courageous, and he leaves legions of family, friends, and colleagues who loved him. He also touched the lives of generations of young trick-or-treaters in his neighborhood through his role as the magical Great Pumpkin, a role he followed for more than 40 years. Each October he would carve an enormous pumpkin and attach a microphone, and as the trick-or-treaters came to the door, the Great Pumpkin would talk to them. When he retired the activity, the local news interviewed him. Born March 19, 1941, in Pasadena, CA, he grew up in Darien, CT. He graduated from Hotchkiss in 1959 and then attended Princeton, where he graduated summa cum laude in economics. He began his financial career at Walston and Co., and in the early 1970s he started a long and distinguished career at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, ultimately serving as CEO. He mentored many young brokers in the Philadelphia area and after his retirement continued to participate in financial arbitration cases for the NASD. He will be remembered for his high ethical standards, his honesty, and his fairness. Always athletic, he enjoyed participating in many sports, particularly golf, skiing, softball, deep-sea fishing, and sport fishing in Avalon. He made hundreds of treks offshore in the Carolinas to hunt yellow and bluefin tuna aboard his beloved tuna boat, “The Tiger.” He ran two marathons and coached high school ice hockey as well. Remembered as “a fun-loving guy,” he taught every one of his grandchildren to water-ski and ski on snow. He was also an enthusiastic cook; his summer dinners at the shore are the stuff of family legend. He was dearly loved by his

wife Christine (“Chrissy”), his three children, stepdaughter, and his 11 grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister and many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews. He was so generous with his time and always prioritized family. He was a patient and loving man to the end. He tirelessly participated in charitable events; his favorite was Laps for Lexi to honor the life of his granddaughter, Alexis.

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DAVID BEAM OSBORNE (“DAVE”) of Brunswick, ME, died on July 7, 2022. He was 80. Born on May 15, 1942 in New York City to James S. and Elizabeth (Beam) Osborne, he was predeceased by his wife, Deborah (McKnown) Osborne in 2003 and by his brother, John S. Osborne Jr. ’59. After graduating from Hotchkiss in 1960, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Williams College in Williamstown, MA. He spent his career at the Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, MA, as a director of secondary school placement and a teacher of Greek and Roman history. His greatest enjoyment was the 34 years he coached the school football and basketball programs. Notwithstanding his quiet nature, he was an effective and well-respected coach. After his retirement in 1996, he and his wife Debby moved to Brunswick, ME. He volunteered with the Big Brothers program in Brunswick, as well as at the Parkview Hospital in Brunswick and for Habitat for Humanity. He was a member of Hotchkiss’s Town Hill Society and its True Blue Society. During his retirement he continued to enjoy attending high school sporting events and summers on Lovejoy Pond in Wayne, ME. His niece, Eliza Osborne, is a member of the Class of 1986.

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FRANKLIN WILLIAM HAMILTON

(“FRANK”) P’91 passed away after a short illness on Oct. 11, 2022, at Tucson Medical Center, with family by his side. Born on July 8, 1943, to Margaret and Frank Neunuebel, a market research executive with the AC Nielsen Company, he was raised in Lake Forest, IL. He attended Hotchkiss from 1957 until graduation in 1961, before earning his bachelor’s degree in economics at Lake Forest College in 1965 and his M.B.A. from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He met his future bride, Jean Turner, in college. They married in the fall following graduation and remained happily together for 55 years, until Jean passed in 2020. He had a successful career in market research and mergers and acquisitions. His true passion outside of work was travel; he visited more than 61 countries with Jean. He also enjoyed competing with his friends on the golf course and tennis court; collecting western art;

and horseback riding. He volunteered countless hours on charitable boards, including most recently the Tucson Museum of Art (TMA) and Arizona Public Media. He was a founding member of the TMA’s Western Art Patrons, and the Tucson Museum of Art named its western art after Frank and his wife. His many friends will miss his quick wit, easy laugh, stalwart friendship, and generosity. He is survived by two sons and a daughter, Margaret Reeves ’91; his brother and sister; and three grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his wife, Jean Hamilton, and his sister.

HOWARD G. MCKINLEY JR., 81, of Fort Defiance, AZ, died May 22, 2022, in Cedar Lake, IN. He was born Jan. 6, 1941, in Fort Defiance, AZ; his father was a Navajo tribe chief. He was born of the Bitter Water clan, born for the Red Running into the Water People clan. He attended Ganado Mission School in Ganado, AZ, and Hotchkiss from 1959 until his graduation in 1961. He said in a 1970 interview that he was the first and only Indian to attend the school on scholarship. He recalled, “I wasn’t aware that I’d be able to memorize long, long pages of poetry and even, you know, the ability to do it, to remember. I had never had any kind of experience like that. But there they made one work and made one really appreciate how much one is able to do and get done in class work.” Until his retirement he was employed with the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, CO. He enjoyed silversmithing and spending time with family. Survivors include his wife Valentina V. McKinley; a son and two daughters; a sister; and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Pauline and Howard McKinley Sr., and two brothers.

TEMPLE EMMET WILLIAMS, a journalist nominated twice for a Pulitzer, died in Boca Raton, FL, on May 6, 2022. Born in 1942 in Cleveland, OH, he attended Hotchkiss and Yale University and was swept up by the Marines. In his early 20s, he became a journalist for the former New York World-Telegram and Sun He went undercover as a police officer for six months to write a seven-day front-page series called “I Was a Subway Cop.” This scathing expose won him a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a less-than-favorable review from his former “colleagues” in blue. Next, he moved to East Africa, where his work supporting the FRELIMO fighters in Mozambique had him chased by colonialist rulers from country to country. His six years in Africa were interrupted by a trip home to marry his first wife, Janet. They relocated to South Africa, he became managing editor of the news magazine News/ Check, and they had two sons before the marriage ended. After returning to the U.S.,

he worked at advertising agencies, including Ogilvy Mather and Leo Burnett in Chicago, where he met the love of his life, Kerstin, known as Kickan. After their marriage, they moved to London, and he became the creative director of a leading ad agency, part of the KMP Group, in Great Britain. Once back in the United States for good, he served as editor for the Reader’s Digest, started a successful marketing and communications company in New York, and then moved to Florida, where he and Kickan shifted their attention to real estate. Perhaps due to the colossal failings of the medical industry after a diagnosis of prostate cancer in his 60s, Williams launched headfirst into his true calling of writing memoirs and novels. His first memoir, published at the age of 70, is the award-winning Warrior Patient: How to Beat Deadly Diseases with Laughter, Good Doctors, Love, and Guts. Williams said the book was more fun to write than live through, but he kept fighting and successfully battled both cancer and kidney failure. Warrior Patient was followed by three thrillers loosely based on various episodes from his incredible life. He shared his insightful commentary, gift for storytelling, incredible experiences, and no doubt collateral damage with friends, family, and the world. He died with his wife, Kickan, by his side. He is survived by his wife, Kerstin Williams, and his two sons, Douglas and Ethan. He was predeceased by his father, Lewis Williams ’30.

RICHARD HARRY BAKER WOODROW SR. (“DICK”), age 78, of Weaverville, NC, died on Oct. 20, 2022. Born in October 1943 in Washington, D.C., he was preceded in death by his brother, Peter Woodrow ’56. Dick had a generous soul that touched every human he greeted with an unmatched charm. He was genuinely interested in every relationship he made, and it showed through loving inquisition. His love for nature and his garden was shared with his wife and family. He loved being outdoors, undertaking projects at the ranch, and playing with his well-loved dogs. He was a very giving father and grandfather; he was inspired and in awe of his much-loved grandchildren. Throughout his life he mastered many talents, including as a competitive athlete, winning multiple titles in swimming and marathons. He loved to dance and play the piano, sing and dance some more. He had a laugh that moved mountains and a smile even more powerful. His physical presence is devastatingly missed; however, his laugh and smile are seen in his children, friends and family. His joyous presence will remain in their hearts forever. He was dedicated to his career at Raychem and Finisar. He enjoyed living in Northern California, where he fell in love with the 49ers and Warriors. He

cherished working on his ranch in Colorado, which later became the Mountain Valley Horse Rescue, a great personal legacy. He was also a committed volunteer at the Vail Valley Medical Center. In Weaverville, NC, he volunteered at CarePartners Hospice. He is survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, Marcy Woodrow; two daughters and a son; two stepchildren; a sister and brother; seven grandchildren and four stepgrandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

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HUTCHINSON DUBOSQUE JR. (“TOMMY”) , of Huntington, NY, age 73, passed away peacefully Aug. 17, 2022, in Manhasset, NY. Born Jan. 30, 1949, in Manhattan, he lived a full and meaningful life, rich with humor, mischief, purpose, family, and friends. Growing up he loved ice hockey, sailing, and skiing. He attended East Woods School in Oyster Bay, NY, Hotchkiss from 1963-65, and Cold Spring Harbor High School in Cold Spring Harbor, NY. He received his degree in journalism from Hofstra University. He was an Army Medic in Vietnam, 1968 to 1970, and a member of the “Wolfhounds” 27th Infantry Regiment. He received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal. He was a veterans’ advocate, president of the PTSD assoc. of Northport, NY, and blogger, and pursued the Department of Veterans Affairs to recognize cancers caused by Liver Fluke Parasites as “service-connected.” His work and advocacy were covered in Newsday, and through interviews with local affiliates of major TV networks. He worked in manufacturing and naturally excelled in mechanical engineering. He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Carol DuBosque; two sons and a daughter, four grandchildren, and three sisters. His cousin, Douglas DuBosque, is a member of the Class of ’72. He was predeceased by his father, Hutchinson DuBosque ’39, P’67, and uncle, Clayton DuBosque ’36, P’72.

Fire Department in 1975, where he met his future wife, Kathleen Campion. They married that year and embarked on a 47-year adventure that saw many moves and extraordinary love. SUNY New Paltz was the next educational stop, followed by a move to North Carolina, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in health sciences as a physician assistant. He practiced medicine, specializing in emergency medicine and later in perioperative anesthesia and surgical screening, optimizing patients for both anesthesia and surgery, to reduce the risks of both. One of his many strengths was as a teacher. He taught at the Duke Physician Assistant Program for many years and said that he found teaching and training new PAs to be fulfilling on many levels, but that most important was the opportunity to meet new members of the profession. He loved his students and colleagues. He retired from Duke in 2014. His new life was filled with enough time to indulge in his many interests: riding and maintaining his bike, gardening, as well as reading and discussing politics with friends and family. But most important, he got to spend more time with Kathleen and whatever dogs were currently sharing his life. Jack had many relatives among the Hotchkiss alumni body, including cousins Jack Dale ’48, Stu Keen ’55, Chase Lord ’72, Charlie Lord ’83, Deirdre Lord ’85, Tim Lord ’83, William Lord ’75, and Win Lord ’55.

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JOHN CLARENDON LORD II (“JACK”)

died on Nov. 10, 2022, from a stroke, which was caused by an acute case of pneumonia. He was born in New Haven, CT, in March 1950. He lived with his parents in Weston, CT, along with his stepbrothers, Mark Williams, Paul Williams ’59, and Peter Williams. He also had a stepsister, Elizabeth Lord Peyton, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. His early years in school were spent in Weston, as well as Pompano Beach, FL. After graduating from Hotchkiss, he enlisted in the Navy, trained as a Medical Corpsman, and was attached to the Marines. He served with honors in Vietnam and then began his studies at Dartmouth. He joined the Hanover

TIMOTHY WOODWARD GRIMES (“TIM”) of Hamden, CT, born May 6, 1957, died peacefully at Connecticut Hospice in Branford, CT, on July 20, 2022. He grew up in Middlebury, CT, and attended McTernan. He attended Hotchkiss from 1971 until his graduation in 1975 and then graduated in 1979 from St. Lawrence University with a degree in government. He was deeply dedicated to his family and loyal to his friends. He adored his four grandchildren, who knew him as “Bear.” They especially enjoyed his childlike, playful demeanor and sense of humor. An exceptional athlete, he played paddle tennis, golf, and tennis up until a few days before his diagnosis. He was well-known in the insurance industry, having built his own business over 40 years. He was generous and heavily involved in the community, always striving to give back. He held many titles with the United Way of Greater Waterbury. He also held titles with the Connecticut Community Foundation, American Cancer Society-Waterbury Unit, and the Women’s Seamen’s Friends Society. He spent his summers on Fishers Island, NY, playing golf and tennis, and kayaking by wife Susie’s side during her swims along the sandbar. He loved to be outside, working in

the yard and garden, or enjoying a rum drink overlooking the water. He is already sorely missed by family and friends, and by all who met him; his presence was joyful and kind, and he made everyone feel important. He was an animal lover and attracted all kinds of creatures who recognized his gentle spirit. His mother-inlaw, Peg Campbell, loved him like a son and will miss his delicious cooking and their golf outings. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Gordon and Dudley, Class of 1966; and by his parents, Elizabeth and Charles Gordon Grimes P’66,’75. Tim is survived by Susie, his wife of nearly 38 years; his three daughters; his four grandchildren; and his devoted yellow lab, Gus.

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CHUTINANT BHIROMBHAKDI (“NICK”)

P’09 , president and CEO of Boon Rawd Brewery Co. Ltd. in Thailand, chairman of the board of directors at Singha Estate Public Co. Ltd. and chairman of CB Holding Co. Ltd., died on Sept. 13, 2022, at a hospital in Boston, MA, where he was receiving medical treatment. His wife and son were with him. He was 65. His classmate and longtime friend Robert Chartener ’76 wrote to classmates that Nick had contracted pneumonia after having completed earlier rounds of stem-cell treatment and chemotherapy for an aggressive form of lymphoma. He was an alumnus of Cardigan Mountain School and attended Hotchkiss from 1973 until graduation in 1976. He then earned an economics degree from Boston University in 1980 before completing postgraduate programs in business management from Harvard University. “Nick was a truly remarkable man,” Chartener said. “He was the president and CEO of Boon Rawd, the brewer of Singha beer that had been founded by his grandfather in 1933. In addition, he had extensive business interests that included many hotels, food and beverage products, and various ventures in Thailand and southeast Asia. Nick also served as a senator in Thailand, was president of the Thai Karate Federation and a black belt in Shotokan karate, was a Buddhist monk several years ago, and played in a popular TV series. He was particularly proud of his extensive work with Thailand’s paralympic committee, of which he was president, and a tireless supporter of paralympic athletes, many of whom credited him for their success. He was extremely proud to have won the Community Service Award at Hotchkiss earlier this year for his work with the paralympics.” Ning Li ’76 shared the following note: “My relationship with Nick was more like brothers. We were brothers for almost 50 years, and because of our strong close friendship, our wives and children have also developed a close bond. All his life, he was

a fighter, and he fought with determination and focus in facing his illness. After a hundred days of Buddhist ceremonies that ended Dec. 21, Nick’s funeral will be held on Jan. 21 in Bangkok.” Thailand’s national paralympic national team mourned his passing by blacking out their social media profile pictures. He is survived by his wife, Khunying “Tone” Piyapas P’09, and their three children, Chitpas “Tant” Kridakorn, Nantaya “Tui” Bhirombhakdi, and Lt. Naiyanobh “Toy” Bhirombhakdi ’09. Two items on the Hotchkiss website offer further information on Nick: an Alum of the Month profile at go.hotchkiss.org/NickAlum, and details on his Community Service Award at go.hotchkiss.org/NickAward.

DONAL C. O’BRIEN III (“DON”) P’09,’10 died peacefully, surrounded by his family, on Nov. 24, 2022, after a courageous 10-year battle with a progressive neurological illness. A longtime resident of New Canaan, CT, he was the son of Katharine and the late Donal C. O’Brien Jr. ’52. He attended Hotchkiss from 1973 until his graduation in 1976, and then graduated from Dartmouth and the NYU Stern School of Business. After college, he began his career in real estate at the Trammel Crow Company. Over the years, he worked in brokerage, consulting, and asset management at Cushman Wakefield, CBRE, and Heitman Properties (Kennedy-Wilson), where he was a member of the firm’s acquisition and disposition team. He co-founded CIT’s Commercial Real Estate Group, was executive vice president at Collins Enterprises, and the founder of Entry Point Capital. A passionate conservationist, he was most devoted to the National Wildlife Refuge Association, where he served as board member and its chairman. During his tenure, he helped raise the association’s endowment and public awareness. In 2015, the board established an endowment to support The O’Brien Prize, an annual award for Refuge Friends Groups which honors him, recognizing his dedication to the association and his appreciation of the role of Friends Groups as ambassadors for the Refuge System. He served on the board of the New Canaan Country School and was president of the New Canaan Winter Club Board. In 2021, the New Canaan Winter Club Award was renamed the Donal C. O’Brien III Award, which recognizes selfless devotion to the club and to the game, through leadership, spirit, and effort. He was an avid outdoorsman and skilled sportsman, whose special interests were upland bird and waterfowl hunting, fly fishing, and surfcasting, activities he learned at an early

age from his father and grandfather. He was a gifted and tenacious lifelong athlete, excelling at ice hockey, football, and lacrosse, captaining all three of these varsity teams at Hotchkiss and continuing to play hockey at Dartmouth College, where he twice joined his team at the NCAA Frozen Four. He later played in the European Pro League and with the St. Nick’s Hockey Club. A leader and trusted friend, he had the ability to share his talents and his deep interests to elevate and enrich the experience of others. His legacy is the impact he had on the people he knew and on those with whom he worked and played. Through his quiet leadership and modesty, he demonstrated a life of integrity and was an example to many. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Carolyn O’Brien; a son, Donal C. O’Brien IV ’09; a daughter, Elinore O’Brien ’10; mother, Katharine O’Brien; three sisters and their spouses; nine nephews and nieces; two grand-nephews and one grand-niece; and countless friends. Other Hotchkiss alumni in his family include an uncle, Steve O’Brien ’62, and cousins Jen O’Brien ’79, Steve O’Brien ’87, and Amanda O’Brien ’01.

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F. LEONARD DANIELS III (“LEE”) of West Palm Beach, FL, died on Oct. 17, 2022. He attended Hotchkiss from 1974-77 and earned a B.A. in French literature from Stetson University. He also received an M.A. in French literature from Middlebury College, an M.A. in journalism from Northeastern University, and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Sewanee, the University of the South. A prodigious writer, he worked in journalism, including for 10 years in Ukraine, where he was based in Kiev. He was chief editor of ICU, editing, rewriting, and fact-checking macroeconomic, geopolitical, and financial news and research for Ukraine’s largest financial services firm. He also wrote and edited corporate communications, as well as numerous travel articles, book and film reviews, and artist, writer, and explorer profiles. He wrote four books, his latest being Cornish Delight and Other Stories (2022). He was awarded a first-place prize in nonfiction in the 2013 Porter Fleming Literary Competition for his essay on personal insights into the developing world—specifically, West Africa. A dedicated volunteer, he worked for nearly a decade in economic empowerment as microfinance partner and development volunteer in a rural village in central Nepal. He served as vice chair, Outreach Ministry, for the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, participating

in the ministry’s outreach in education, feeding, shelter, and grants initiatives. He also mentored gifted high school students through the program Take Stock in Children of the Palm Beaches, helping them achieve higher college board testing scores and gain full-scholarship admissions to the colleges of their choice. His late father, Forrest Daniels, was a member of the Class of 1937.

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THEODORE B. CHOI P’14 (“TED”) passed away on Oct. 27, 2022, after a long battle with cancer. He was 55. He was born on March 9, 1967, in the U.S. and was the son of Choi Il Chu and Choi Kyoung Sook. He attended Hotchkiss from 1982 until his graduation in 1985. He then graduated from Brown University in 1990 with a degree in international relations/ international science. He also earned a degree from Georgetown University in 1993 and passed the California Bar in 2005. He worked for Samsung Electronics and subsequently practiced law. He is survived by his wife, Juhee Lee, and his children. He will be sorely missed. He was predeceased by his son, Ted, Class of 2014, whose graduation from Hotchkiss made his father very proud.

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KATHERINE LATHROP MCSPADDEN (“KATE”) died at her home in Essex, CT, on July 26, 2022, of a cerebral hemorrhage. An artist, teacher, and passionate gardener, she was born on July 18, 1982, in New York City. She attended the Chapin School, Hotchkiss from 1997-99, and Miss Porter’s, where she graduated. An art history major at Vanderbilt University, she won the Phi Beta Kappa writing prize as a freshman and the prestigious Margaret Stonewall Wooldridge Hamblet Award in Studio Art her senior year. Her spirit lives on in the art she created and curated and in the students she inspired at Avon Old Farms School, where for seven years she taught architecture, studio art, art history, photography, ceramics, and French, in addition to being a dorm parent and yearbook advisor. A self-described “plant nerd,” she had been studying horticulture through the Master Gardener program at the University of Connecticut while working at Ballek’s Garden Center in East Haddam. She had just established her own fledging landscape design business. She was a generous and thoughtful friend with an innate sense of empathy and an extraordinary intellectual curiosity. She reveled in a heated

political discussion, live jazz, modern art, and philosophy. She is survived by her parents, Ruth Ann and Jack McSpadden; her sister, brother, and grandmother; beloved dog Toby; and fiancé Tom Taylor.

Former faculty and staff

WILLIAM HENRY WOOD (“BILL”) died at his home in Egremont, MA, on Sept. 10, 2022, at 85. A native of Egremont, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1959 and worked as an executive of the Insurance Company of North America in Hartford and later as vice president of Edward J. Kernan and Co. in Windsor Locks, CT. In 1977 he brought his family back to live in Egremont, which his mother’s family had called home since the 18th century. He served in the National Guard after college and for more than a decade as an auxiliary trooper with the Connecticut State Police. He was a campus safety and security officer at Hotchkiss from 2016-20. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Lynn Humason Wood; a son and a daughter; five grandchildren; and a sister-in-law.

Neil Scott P’77,’78,’82

FORMER CHEMISTRY TEACHER AND WINNING COACH

Ever the quiet force, Neil Scott P’77,’78,’82 died peacefully in Sharon, CT, on Oct. 12, 2022, after 94 years of a remarkable life. Born in Bolton, Great Britain, in 1928, he spent an active youth sailing, rowing, fishing, and hiking around the Isle of Man, a small island between England and Ireland. He attended King William’s College on the island through his high school years and then was conscripted into the Royal Air Force. Always a man of wry humor, when asked what he did in the RAF, his reply was “played six-a-side hockey in the hangars.”

Following the RAF, Neil attended Keble College at Oxford University from 1950 to 1952, where he studied chemistry and won numerous rowing cups for Keble. He then taught chemistry and coached rowing at The King’s School, Canterbury, from 1953-69. At King’s he met and married his wife, Jill. Seeking new adventures, he moved with his young family to Quebec in 1969 to teach at Stanstead. A year later, he was recruited by Hotchkiss to teach chemistry. While at Hotchkiss, he started the sailing program and later coached girls varsity field hockey, both teams winning championships in short order. The Neil H. Scott Field Hockey Prize was established in his honor in the 1980s. It is presented to a member of the varsity squad who has shown the most improvement during the season.

Neil arranged a yearlong teaching exchange in New Zealand in 1986, where he and Jill enjoyed camping and traveling around the islands as much as teaching. He retired from Hotchkiss in 1993 and happily spent more time based in Lakeville, but out on the water whenever possible with his wife, children and grandchildren. He was a longtime volunteer for Reading for the Blind and used his science expertise while on the Salisbury Town Sewer Commission. As a 50-year member, he firmly believed in the mission of the Rotary Club—to provide service to others. His special interest was serving on Rotary’s Scholarship Committee, following his lifelong love of working with students. He is survived by his wife, Jill P’77,’78,’82, son David ’77, daughter Carol ’78, four grandchildren, and his brother Ian. He is predeceased by his daughter, Kathryn ’82, and brother Geoff. He is greatly missed.

PARTING SHOT

Beautiful Music

A group of talented Hotchkiss musicians performed at Carnegie Hall on Jan. 27. Joanne Eastman Sohrweide Chair, Arts Department Head, and Music Program Director Fabio Witkowski and Piano Instructor Gisele Nacif Witkowski presented the showcase in one of the world’s most recognized and revered concert venues.

Jerry

finished his performance of Boccherini’s double bass concerto.

Above,

Liu ’24

VIEW MORE CARNEGIE HALL PHOTOS

PHOTO BY FADI KHEIR