Perry Awards The Perry Awards were established and endowed in 1995 by generous donors to honor the life and work of former faculty Les and Barbara Perry, who devoted thirty years to the students of Webb and served the school loyally and in many capacities. The Perry Awards serve as a tangible reward for a job well done and for extraordinary dedication to the growth and development of Webb students. THE 2021-22 PERRY AWARD WINNERS: Joseph Vincent, World Languages Mr. Joseph Vincent dives into the study of World Languages – personally and as a teacher. Not satisfied with written and verbal fluency in Chinese and Spanish, he spent the summer of 2021 at Middlebury College’s prestigious graduate program in French studies as a recipient of the Davis Fellowship for Peace. He approaches his classes the same way, making the student experience his priority. In his classes, don’t expect to just learn vocabulary and conjugations. Expect to fully experience the language through highly deliberated and detailed class blocks. Outside of the classroom, Joseph enriches Webb’s community with his characteristic charm and wit, whether he’s supporting our international students, leading a hike or orchestrating a trip into Los Angeles. This Perry Award allowed Vincent to return to Middlebury and continue his studies as he cements his understanding of French and further strengthens his ability to serve Webb’s students. Joseph has a BA in Chinese language and literature from Reed College and an MA in Chinese literature from National Taiwan University. He joined Webb in 2019. Melissa Mani, Fawcett Library Ms. Melissa Mani is perhaps the ultimate utility player at Webb, providing support in the library, substituting in classrooms and championing students as an advisor and diversity, equity and inclusion advocate. As Webb’s assistant librarian, her multifaceted skillset ranges from running an independent study in
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Arabic to ensuring students have a conducive place to study and the resources they need. Beyond this, she is dedicated to creating a true sense of belonging for Webb’s students. Melissa guides students with empathy, care and compassion. The reality is that no task is too large or too small for Melissa, and she handles each of them with professionalism and grace. She never seeks individual recognition or credit, as she truly does all these things for Webb because of how much she values and loves the work. Melissa received her BA in Islamic law and theology from Zaytuna College and her MA in religious studies from Claremont Graduate University before joining Webb in 2017. Jackie Leishman, Fine Arts For Mrs. Jackie Leishman, who teaches Webb’s Advanced Art course, art is life and life is art. She approaches art as a way of seeing, interpreting and living in the world. For her, art is a way of asking and answering serious questions – as demonstrated by her recent work addressing climate change. Jackie teaches that creativity is a skill we cultivate, practice and enjoy daily, and that success and failure are both legitimate aspects of the creative process. In summer 2022, Leishman continued her education through an art residency in Italy, studying such artists as Michelangelo, Bernini, Raphael, and Caravaggio and creating a new body of work inspired by the history of Rome. This contextual understanding of the development of western art will inform her class discussions and aid her in cultivating student voices, vision and studio practice – as well as her own skills. Jackie joined Webb’s fine arts department in 2017 and holds a BA from University of Georgia and an MFA in photography from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
