Webb Magazine Spring 2022 by The Webb Schools

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MAGAZINE SPRING 2022

SPRING 2022

Webb

The

Alf

Method:

ANATOMY OF AN UNBOUNDED EDUCATION

ADMINISTRATION Taylor B. Stockdale Head of Schools Theresa A. Smith, Ph.D. Associate Head of Schools John Choi Director of Equity William Diepenbrock Director of Marketing & Strategic Communications Jamila Everett, Ed.D. Director of Admission & Financial Aid

Andy Farke, Ph.D. Director, Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology Bob Fass Chief Advancement Officer

CREDITS VOLUME 25, NUMBER 1 EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Michael Hoe ’04 Director of Studies

William Diepenbrock

Hector Martinez Dean of College Guidance

Lexus Beaman ’08, John Choi, Scott Cooper, Andy Farke, Bob Fass, Danielle Gordon, Alison Hansen, Abigail Johnson Hess ’12, Jenn Liu ’05, Rahmi Mowjood ’90, Scott Nichols, Jessica Rice ’12, Gabriel-Philip Santos

Janet K. Peddy Director of Finance, Planning & Operations

CONTRIBUTORS

DESIGN

Shari Fournier-O’Leary

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2021-22

Planning for THE NEXT 100: THE CENTENNIAL CAMPAIGN has set forth the goal of dramatically increasing financial aid endowment to ensure Webb can enroll and support every student with the drive to succeed and passion to contribute to our schools. A robust endowment is key to accomplishing our goal of opening Webb to the world, and estate giving is an especially important means for future endowment growth.

Rogers and Moore, pictured above alongside Skip Hanson,

Upon the public launch of The Next 100, alumnus Timothy

are all examples of the many members of the Webb

Moore ’59 was inspired to document a bequest that will

community who have made philanthropic plans that

create a financial aid program for first-year students.

benefit current and future students. Increasing funding

“John Rogers ’59 established the Rogers Scholars program at Webb for outstanding students in their sophomore, junior and senior years who require financial assistance. I intend to provide funding for incoming freshmen in need of assistance,” Moore said.

for financial aid for our next 100 years depends on the generosity of today’s donors. For more information on how to make an impact at Webb or the Alf Museum, contact Bob Fass at bfass@webb.org or Danielle Gordon at dgordon@webb.org.

Sanjiv P. Dholakia ’87, Chairman David Loo ’79, Vice Chair Christina Mercer McGinley, Ph.D. ’84, Vice Chair, Secretary R. Larry Ashton Jr. ’70, Chairman, Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology Board, ex officio Blake H. Brown ’68 Michael M. Chang ’92 Deval R. Dvivedi ’00 Jenna Z. Gambaro ’95 Wendy Hornbuckle William Hornbuckle Jennifer Ishiguro ’91 Naveen Jeereddi ’92 Sandra Lee Rebish, M.D. ’88 Julia Marciari-Alexander, Ph.D. ’85 Rahmi Mowjood, D.O. ’90 David C. Myles, Ph.D. ’80 Mickey E. Novak ’70 Melvin Oliver, Ph.D. Janet K. Peddy, Director of Finance, Planning and Operations, Chief Financial Officer & Secretary, ex officio R.J. Romero Miles Rosedale ’69 Wendin D. Smith, Ph.D. ’89 Taylor B. Stockdale, Head of Schools, President & Chief Executive Officer, ex officio Jordan Taylor ’02 Lara Tiedens, Ph.D. Lance Williams ’97 Denis Yip

LIFE TRUSTEES Jim Drasdo ’63 Hugh H. Evans Jr. ’49 Anne Gould Earl (Bud) Hoover II ’52 Murray H. Hutchinson Ann Longley Claire H. McCloud Kimball (Kim) McCloud ’67 Roger J. Millar ’61 Susan A. Nelson Paul M. Reitler ’54 Peter Ziegler ’63

HONORARY TRUSTEES William Chiu Robert Hefner ’53 Pak Fu King Ming Chung Liu Col. John Rogers ’59 (Ret.) Yafei Yuan

ALF MUSEUM BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2021-22 R. Larry Ashton Jr. ’70, Chairman Caroline Adler Morales ’00 Gretchen J. Augustyn Terry W. Baganz Richard H. Clark Jeffrey C. Cripe ’08 Sanjiv P. Dholakia ’87, Chairman, The Webb Schools, ex officio Andy Farke, Ph.D., Museum Director, President, ex officio Daniel Gluckstein, M.D. Ronald P. Hagander ’66 James E. Hall, Ph.D. ’59 Lexington B. Henn ’09 F. Gard Jameson, Ph.D. ’71 Jenny Kong Carl W. R. Lachman ’86 David P. Mirkin, M.D. ’66 L.J. Patrick Muffler, Ph.D. ’54 Michelle Plyley Mary W. Rose, Ph.D. Elizabeth A. Smith ’92 Charles Steinmann, M.D. Taylor B. Stockdale, Head of Schools, ex officio Page W. Thibodeaux Monica Atiyeh Whitaker ’96 Thomas Yu ’06 Tammy Zipser

LIFE TRUSTEES Anne G. Earhart Sherwood C. Kingsley ’58 John (Dick) R. Lynas ’55 Douglas F. Myles Michael O. Woodburne, Ph.D.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Arielle Brosh, Scott Nichols, Elise Ferrari, Gabriel-Philip Santos, Jamie Zeng ‘23, PRINTING

Precision Services Group NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY

The Webb Schools admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the schools. The Webb Schools do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law in administration of their educational policies, tuition assistance, athletic, and other school-administered programs, or any other basis in law. THE WEBB SCHOOLS – MEMBERSHIPS

The Association of Boarding Schools; National Association of Independent Schools; California Association of Independent Schools; Western Boarding Schools Association; Western Association of Schools and Colleges; National Coalition of Girls’ Schools; Independent Curriculum Group; College Entrance Examination Board; Educational Records Bureau; Association of Independent School Admission Professionals; National Association of College Admission Counselors; Council for the Advancement and Support of Education; and the Cum Laude Society. ALF MUSEUM – MEMBERSHIPS

Geological Society of America; Society of Vertebrate Paleontology; American Alliance of Museums; Association of Science Museum Directors; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections; and the National Association of Geology Teachers. PUBLICATION INFORMATION

WEBB Magazine is the official publication of The Webb Schools. Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Webb Schools 1175 W. Baseline Road Claremont, CA 91711 PH: (909) 626-3587 FAX: (909) 621-4582 EMAIL: alumni@webb.org webb.org THE MISSION of The Webb Schools is to provide an exemplary learning community that nurtures and inspires boys and girls to become men and women who: • Think boldly, mindfully and creatively, • Act with honor and moral courage, • Lead with distinction, • Serve with a generous spirit.

Webb

Features 36

Arts

4 The Alf Method

Activities

26 Centennial Campaign Gathers Momentum

Faculty

Honors

The Alf Museum

Academics

Athletics

From the Head of Schools

Webb Today

MAGAZINE SPRING 2022

Leadership

Giving

Newsnotes 56

Alumni Profiles

Events & Highlights

Alumni News

In Memoriam

78 The Final Word

COVER Webb students climb the Atlantis Wall in Joshua Tree National Park’s Lost Horse Valley in February 2022 during an Unbounded Days adventure called Climbing through History. Students studied petroglyph art and the region’s history as they learned rock-climbing skills. The biennial Unbounded Days program embodies Webb’s emphasis on creating dynamic learning experiences for students – in the classroom or wherever their academic journeys take them. Photo by Jamie Zeng ’23

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A Lesson of the Pandemic SOME PEOPLE CALL ME OLD-FASHIONED. I take it as a major compliment. I marvel at the progress we are making in many aspects of our lives. At the same time, when I try to imagine the future of Webb and the world in a decade or more, I remain convinced that there lies a profound impact and power in core, human interactions.

“Your support has never been more important.” This pandemic, and all that it has involved, has reaffirmed my belief in the power of family and (in-person) community. It has reinforced my strong conviction that for this age group – high school – where students are crossing that bridge from adolescence to adulthood, the preeminent experience in teaching and learning is eye to eye, emotional, relational and human. I also think the pandemic has highlighted the importance of our traditions and the day-to-day flow of our interactions with each other. Chapels, class meetings, community dinners, weekend trips, Peccary Trips, classes and many more formal activities build our collective soul as we progress through the year. But there are also the “in-between” times where I believe the magic lies in boarding school. The buzz in front of the dining hall before first block; gathering around a field or court just before an athletic event, dance performance or other activities; the smiles of students as they high five walking up chapel hill; the laughter in the dorms and dorm chores just before lights out. These brief and seemingly small moments in our day are the glue that keeps the family together. They allow us to catch up with each other, maybe tell a joke or just see each other and share a story. It is hard, if not impossible, to see in the moment, but it becomes clear during a senior chapel talk or after students graduate, when they recall how and why Webb impacted their lives. I am hearing a lot about all we have learned about the power of online learning and living during the past two years. I completely agree. It will forever change and improve many aspects of our lives. The power of online interaction is just now becoming fully understood in terms of information flow, workflow and efficiencies in pretty much every industry and component of our lives. Education is no exception, and major disruption is indeed afoot. I do think traditional mid-level liberal arts colleges will struggle mightily in the coming decade to maintain their viability, and many shifts, mergers and downright

closures are ahead of us. The same is true for schools, including some boarding schools, I’m afraid. Because of this, it is more imperative now than ever that we as a community do two things simultaneously: 1) Double down on our values and the types of activities and programming that give our students real experiences which build their confidence in taking that next step in their lives to become productive, strong, fulfilled adults, and 2) Embrace the future of teaching and learning by taking full advantage of who we are (unbounded thinkers from the very beginning) and where we are (on the front porch of the greater Southern California area) to give every student unparalleled experiences. These are not mutually exclusive goals. They are what makes Webb the place it is. We are always on that time spiral Ray Alf used in his classroom nearly 90 years ago. We are eternally grounded by our community core while having the moral courage to change and adapt to ensure we are creating that optimal place for students to learn the skills and habits of mind to foster lives of impact and purpose, and to become leaders in a global economy. For our alumni, especially, your support has never been more important. Spread the word, come back and visit, ask questions, provide perspectives. Because this is our Webb … our family.

Taylor B. Stockdale Head of Schools

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The Alf Method: Anatomy of an Unbounded Education

IN THE CLASSROOM The following pages provide an overview of how Webb delivers extraordinary learning experiences that foster unbounded thinking, take you into classrooms to see the Alf Method in action and demonstrate how the model is layered throughout a student’s school day.

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n any given day, a casual observer peering into Webb classrooms will see a snapshot of activities much like the following: * Biology students probing the ethics of cell ownership * Humanities students drawing posters to portray the 1920s L.A. immigration push * Spanish language students exploring global environmental challenges * Ethics students debating European refugee needs * Art studio students converting an array of still-life images into collages * Biotechnology students cloning plasmids * Gothic fiction students filming scary movies * Gender studies students designing logos * Math students tackling a mix of geometry and algebra

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Though brief, this list of classroom activities clearly illustrates the concepts that fuel the Alf Method, a teaching strategy that turns every Webb course into a learning experience that puts students at the center of an immersive, engaging and challenging journey of discovery.

“ The Alf Method drives Webb’s ultimate academic goal – to create unbounded thinkers by inspiring passionate, curious students to pursue novel ways of learning,” Head of Schools Taylor B. Stockdale said. “These students become entrepreneurs and leaders who break through frontiers, who innovate and create opportunities without regard to traditional barriers.” The Alf Method is named for biology teacher Raymond M. Alf, who launched Webb’s paleontology program nearly 90 years ago, when he began taking students on fossil-hunting trips into California deserts and across the nation’s badlands. Their discoveries led to the creation of the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology on Webb’s campus and a remarkable research program in which students have coauthored more than 50 original papers for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The Alf Method can be dramatic – like the fossil hunts that remain integral to Webb’s science program, Webb’s biennial Unbounded Days adventures or the generous support provided to a special project, like the student who designed, built and tested a go-kart. The Alf Method can be the focus of an activity – like Webb’s after-school programs in science, museum operations, and debate and robotics teams.

ALF METHOD CONCEPTS Student-centered: Students are engaged in the design of their own education, asking questions and identifying problems with support from their teachers. Learning experiences: Classes blend content, theory and activities to create a learning experience, not just a presentation of information. Discovery: Students ask probing questions and lean into risk to develop skills and build and apply knowledge to new contexts. Mapping multiple perspectives: Students deepen their understanding by exploring a range of perspectives on issues. Multi-disciplinary: Classes incorporate a blend of complementary topics and disciplines. Project-based: Concepts are often taught through activities that hold personal relevance for students. Active learning: Students physically engage in their learning through hands-on activities and creative enterprises. Field work: Students engage in activities with real-world impact and implications, including original research, creative activities and community service projects.

Students in Webb’s American Society course take part in a masquerade ball featuring Progressive reformers from the Gilded Age. The assignment includes researching a historical figure, creating a social media profile and giving a presentation on Gilded Age social issues that references discussions held during the ball with other historical figures.

Collaborative learning: Students work in small groups, combining strengths, teaching each other and learning to collaborate. Reflection: Classes aren’t just about finding the right answer, but about the paths taken and understanding the value of missteps.

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But most of the time, the Alf Method is subtle – like the blend of topics, hands-on classroom activities and projectbased instruction that boost engagement and foster original acts of creativity across the Webb curriculum.

and events. Courses in 2021-22 ranged from Literature & Leadership in the Wilderness to Global Societies & Sustainability, from Culture & Politics of the Border to The Long Novel.

It’s hard to miss in some courses. Honors Studio Art, in which students pursue independent projects, is about as pure a project-based learning course as you can get. But the method is equally integral in foundational and advanced courses in math, science, humanities and world languages.

Advanced studies courses provide a deep exploration of college-level topics in the humanities, science and math. Courses typically feature in-depth exploration of multiple issues and student-directed projects.

“Webb’s academic program doesn’t dismiss traditional thinking. In history, for example, it’s important to know the broad scope of what happened as well as the dates and key players in significant movements and conflicts,” said Dr. Theresa Smith, associate head of schools. “But the Alf Method goes beyond that, connecting what happens in the classroom to the world around us, delving into original perspectives about what we learn, and taking a hands-on role in exploring and expressing that understanding.” Many schools provide hands-on programs, often summarized by the phrase “learning by doing.” With the Alf Method, students do much more. They become active participants in what they learn, benefiting from a robust struggle for discovery and the inevitable failures along the way, and they engage in critical reflection to make sense of the experience. At its heart, this means students don’t just simulate the activities in which they may one day engage. “In our classes, you are a mathematician, or a scientist, or a linguist or a humanities scholar,” Smith said.

Creating this kind of immersive experience requires planning, coordination and regular reflection on teaching strategies. This intense focus on academics drives the innovation that created Webb’s college-style humanities electives and an advanced studies program that spans multiple disciplines. In the humanities, students study a mix of literature and history through topics that often incorporate current issues

Another aspect of Webb’s program allows teachers to propose courses that may align with their personal interests. Webb’s Unbounded Days program, held every two years, doubles down on both experiential learning and teacher input by asking Webb faculty and staff to plan three- to fiveday adventures that blend academics and activities. This year’s event, held in March, featured 25 such adventures, including canoeing the Colorado River, photography in the desert, climbing at Joshua Tree National Park, marine biology and explorations of Native American history and Los Angeles culture. “Unbounded Days is a great opportunity for our students and teachers to step beyond the planned curriculum and dig into a passion project or explore an interest,” said Director of Experiential Learning Dr. Susanna Linsley, who oversees the program. “Because there are no boundaries, it’s an exploration of ideas and activities at its most pure. Students and faculty alike return invigorated and with new perspectives.” Webb’s curriculum, museum, afternoon activities and Unbounded Days are intentionally layered to foster unbounded thinking across all aspects of the Webb experience, Smith said. This inspires students to apply an entrepreneurial mindset to every challenge or opportunity, shaping unique, individual educational journeys through Webb’s expansive curriculum, no matter where a student’s passions lie. “Because we do away with the traditional restrictions of secondary school academics, our students aren’t passive receivers of information. They become creators of knowledge who drive our academic processes through a spirit of inquiry that expands every course into a dynamic learning experience,” Smith said.

Students perform interpretive moves on One Thousand Steps Beach in Santa Barbara, Calif., during an Unbounded Days course titled Ir Más Allá. The term is Spanish, meaning to go further or to go beyond. In this course, students looked below the surface to understand the relationship between Santa Barbara’s native tribes and its landscape as well as the region’s colonization by the Spanish and the Ranchero era.

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Unbounded Classrooms

Webb’s teachers act as learning coaches, applying the tenets of the Alf Method to everyday elements of their courses as they guide students through dynamic learning experiences. Students engage in collaborative activities, push themselves to explore multiple perspectives and learn the value of failure. HONORS ETHICS & MODERN GLOBAL AFFAIRS: ‘ Learning and growth occur outside of our comfort zones’

own opinions and use others’ perspectives to make me more understanding and more knowledgeable as a whole.”

Honors Ethics & Modern Global Affairs students huddled on two sides of their classroom, gathering data, sketching out arguments, coordinating presentations and preparing challenges.

“Learning and growth occur outside of our comfort zones,” Rosenfeld said. “Being forced to challenge the way they think, the way they work, the way they interact, the way they approach an assignment and even the way they speak will lead to growth and understanding in areas they otherwise would never explore.

Welcome to debate day. The issue: whether European countries should be required to accept quotas of refugees. Each side presented three arguments, offered an introduction and conclusion, rebutted the other team’s three arguments and interrupted arguments with challenges. Each speaker received just 90 seconds – less for challenges – and the teams set their own plans of attack. The action was tense, the arguments filled with data, the challenges sardonic, biting. “As others bounce their ideas around the room and challenge the stability of your opinion, I feel that it really tests my own understanding of my opinion and my character,” said Maksym Graham ’23, a member of the Webb debate team who leapt into the fray. “This allows me to strengthen my

Teacher Ken Rosenfeld said this kind of deep thinking is his goal.

“ Every class is an opportunity to push our students to experience a new challenge, and I’ve found the more frustrated they become in the process toward mastery, the more we move the needle.” At the debate’s conclusion, students organized themselves in a circle, no longer representing two teams, to share personal perspectives that at times differed from their required debate stance. “I think the most engaging element of class is the in-class discussions,” Wura Ogunnaike ’23 said. “Everyone has their own idea of what is ethical or unethical, and we all bring

“The environment in the class is great, and everyone’s ideas can be heard and challenged in a respectful manner.”

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“ I learned to record everything meticulously and I developed the habits of mind of a scientist. These are the skills I want to impart to my students.”

different perspectives to the discussions. The environment in the class is great, and everyone’s ideas can be heard and challenged in a respectful manner. Hearing from others gives me new ideas that aid in my comprehension.” Rosenfeld said he encourages students to focus on the power of the activities, assignments and discussions to inspire thinking beyond the moment.

“ We have a better chance of ensuring they leave class inspired and encouraged to take ownership over their education,” he said. “Too often, students forget that they have a say in their present. Reminding them of their power and control over the moment encourages them to think about how they wish to take advantage of the now in a way that will shape their tomorrow.”

ADVANCED STUDIES IN BIOTECHNOLOGY: ‘ This is not always about getting the result that you want’ Biotechnology student groups used gene cloning techniques to insert a gene that conferred antibiotic resistance into a plasmid – a bit of DNA that can be used to add traits to host cells. In this case, the altered plasmid was used to transform bacteria cells, allowing them to grow even in the presence of the antibiotic. Simply put, if the gene cloning succeeded, the bacterial colonies would turn white. If it didn’t, they would turn blue.

“ This is not always about getting the result that you want; it’s about what you learn during the process. You should be able to analyze everything that you have,” teacher Lisa Nacionales told the students. For some students, parts of the experiment worked perfectly. For others, small errors led to mixed results. But

in every case, students were able to detect why they got the results and what corrective steps would be needed. Bradyn Wishek ’22 said he learned to accept that a failed experiment is part of the process. “Our experiment was successful, though I don’t think it turned out as expected,” Wishek said. He said the class format pushes students to dig deeply into the material.

“ When you actually get to design and carry out an experiment, it forces you to understand why you do each step and what is occurring on a microscopic level,” he said. “It makes it so much more engaging and fun.” Nacionales, who chairs Webb’s Science Department, said she learned the value of hands-on experiments the hard way – in grad school. “I had a lot of book knowledge by the time I entered my graduate program in biochemistry and molecular biology, but when I got into the lab, I was lost. I had no idea how to apply that knowledge to actual problems,” she said. She got help from lab mentors and things started to click. “I learned by doing and by being motivated to solve problems and design experiments to solve those problems. I learned that my results had no meaning without the appropriate controls and then having to repeat experiments with a better design. I learned to record everything meticulously and I developed the habits of mind of a scientist. These are the skills I want to impart to my students,” she said. Savanna Cespedes ’22 said the experiments are demanding but effective. “Learning from a lecture and studying someone else’s methodology is not as engaging. It can be challenging to understand and follow a complex procedure that someone else is trying to describe to you,” she said. “When you conduct an experiment that is just as complex, you have to understand not only the process that is occurring but also the steps of each process and what they do.”

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ADVANCED STUDIES GOTHIC & HORROR LITERATURE & CULTURE: ‘ We got to be both creative and analytical’ Students studying Gothic literature explore the psychological roots that spark elemental fears, reading not only novels that span a range of literary styles, but deep analysis of the human psyche, critical essays and academic works as well. They also study how those tools are used in film-making to create disorienting and disturbing imagery that in turn creates tension and drama. As a capstone project, students demonstrate their practical understanding of class concepts by working in groups to create short movies that employ these techniques. Students write scripts, design costumes, select locations, direct and act to bring their understanding of the works to life. Jolina Zhao ’23 said the film project pushed her into a new role and a deeper understanding. “I never would have pictured myself directing a horror movie,” she said. “Instead of having us write essays to summarize our understanding of the psychology of fear, my peers and I teamed up to express our knowledge more creatively … We dove deeper into psychological horror and the effectiveness of little tweaks, such as camera angles and perspective. This approach, in contrast to an essay, made the material resonate a lot better.” Students also bring unexpected talents to the productions, like those who pull off amazing feats of acting, or write original music or design costumes – all elements needed to generate the sense of horror.

“ I had a lot of fun writing the script and putting in details of psychological horror and character development, and we found a really uncanny warehouse to shoot it,” Shuci Zhang ’23 said. “We got to be both creative and analytical – all the artistic choices we made echoed the techniques and horror formulas we discussed in class.” Teacher Elizabeth Cantwell said the class also features small-group activities and visual practices. In one, students

drew haunted houses and analyzed them to see what elements (like bats and attics) seemed to emit a sense of the eerie. For a creative writing exercise, students crafted a piece in the style of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But the highlight of the class is the movies. “They’re great at writing essays and, of course, we write essays in class, but this allows students to show what they know in a different way. I really want to see them take theoretical and abstract concepts of horror and run with them in their own way,” Cantwell said.

SPANISH 4: ‘ Something for everyone to take away from the class’ After a round of greetings, Spanish 4 students ditched their desks to circle up on the floor for a discussion of environmental issues involving orangutans – using a collection of images as a springboard for a Q&A. Catherine Chen ’23 said the hands-on activities make the class more engaging.

“ Instead of memorizing vocabulary from a textbook or drilling grammar rules into your head, we are able to learn the language through conversation, activities and other interactive ways,” Chen said. “You need to actually think about how to respond in Spanish instead of simply repeating a phrase you’ve seen in a textbook.”

During a floor discussion, students discuss environmental issues prompted by images and share personal thoughts – all in Spanish.

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During the floor session, questions addressed the topic, but they also sought personal perspectives – all in Spanish.

Dr. Susanna Linsley, Webb’s director of experiential learning, teaches the course.

“Why the floor? It makes for such a great conversation space. I think students feel more engaged, it’s a change of scenery, and they can see and grab the images spread out on the floor. I also feel like it is fun and playful, so they are more drawn to speaking and really playing with the language,” teacher Morgan Kapp said. “We were celebrating everyone who wanted to share and ask questions. Some of the questions got goofy, but they were cracking each other up in Spanish and weren’t totally off-topic.”

“ You curate an experience, so students learn visually, through reading and kinesthetically. That’s what scholars of the humanities do. They read art, they read film, they read texts. You provide lots of modules and modes to experience the topic,” Linsley said. “And you want it to be fun.”

Kapp said the class intentionally blends topics – like the environmental issues and a section on the Argentinian Dirty War – along with discussions about students’ day-to-day lives to drive an engaging mix of language and writing skills. “There is some explicit Spanish language instruction, but students’ language development is driven primarily by what they hear and read in class. My goal is that there is something for everyone to take away from the class – and that students are able to get what they need,” she said.

ADVANCED STUDIES GLOBAL GENDER STUDIES: ‘You curate an experience’ Students in Global Gender Studies started class by sharing reflections about novels that explore gendered identities – a companion effort to their research of the topic through personal narratives, historical accounts and journalism. Then, in short increments, the class transitioned to a freewriting exercise, a group discussion and designing logos for themes in the novels. Jonathan Yu ’22 said the mix of activities keeps him engaged.

“Different forms of assignments and activities enable me to continually be passionate,” he said. “I really like the check-in because it gets us started and ready for class and we get to learn what our classmates are thinking.”

As a capstone to the class, students created visual essays. “It’s about picking a different mode of communication,” Linsley said. “I think you have to be really deliberate about the choices you make to deliver an argument, and you have to be very intentional and beautiful. Creating an effect or feeling is what you do when you communicate. It’s harder to show students that’s what you do through writing. But when you do it visually, you can show them that’s what you do.”

ART STUDIO: ‘Dance with failure’ Art Studio students dedicated two months to crafting 15 to 20 versions of a still life – using acrylics, drawing implements, in black and white, as negative images, as positive images and so many more. With each class, students changed their scale, focus, materials and speed. Then, one day, they had to tear every piece apart to create two collages. “You have to let go. I want to hear some ripping, I want to hear some cutting,” teacher Jackie Leishman told students. “It takes a little bit of bravery to say, ‘I’m willing to cut into this and I don’t know what’s going to happen yet. I might ruin something that I love to get something else that I love.’ ” Kate Donez ’24 tore through her works with gusto.

“It’s important for them to feel completely safe if their project does not go well, to dance with failure and see it as a step along the path to growth and becoming an artist.”

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Webb celebrated the success of Victor Zhang ’22 with a victory lap party, in which he zipped around campus to the cheers of classmates and teachers.

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“Collage is the art medium that I love the most,” Donez said. “I’ve learned how to look at things in a different way, to get perspective. Even if it’s not very clear to everyone else, if it gives meaning to you, then that’s the most important thing.” At first, some struggled with the act of destruction.

“ It’s your creation, and when you cut it, it’s sad,” Xajani Badkar ’24 said. “I’m scared that I’ll mess it up and I won’t like it as much as the original. But also, you should embrace the new artwork you create.” The assignment is designed to prompt just this kind of shift in perspective. “The visual is its own language. How we translate back and forth as we try to articulate what we are doing visually through words can be tricky. It can be extremely frustrating, so I want to give them the tools to build upon and gain confidence,” Leishman said. “It’s important for them to feel completely safe if their project does not go well, to dance with failure and see it as a step along the path to growth and becoming an artist,” she said.

AP STATISTICS: ‘Our goal is much more than the specific formula or algorithm’ AP Statistics students tackled a classic challenge known as the German tank problem – based on a World War II effort to calculate German tank production using engine part serial numbers from captured vehicles. To figure out their version of the problem, students were asked to determine how many slips of paper were in a bag based only on a sample of seven numbered slips. Dillon Anabi ’22 said he learns best with a problem-based class structure, because it allows him to apply concepts to real-world scenarios. “It forces me to rely on myself and encourages me to take risks in class,” he said. The task was to learn about sampling distributions – the basis for inferential statistics. “Rather than simply giving the students formulas, I wanted to have them create their own methods for an easy-to-

understand situation – even if it’s quite difficult to solve,” said teacher Andrew Neyer, chair of the Math Department. “More importantly, I wanted them to decide how to evaluate one method over another. In other words, I wanted to start from a place of exploration and discovery.” As students tackled the challenge, Neyer praised the ingenuity on display. “I’ve never seen that before – I like it,” Neyer told one student group. Eventually, students generated 10 possible ways to solve the problem. Neyer chose the four most promising techniques and asked each group to focus on one. In the end, students plotted many of the same options as the allies’ scientists.

“ This is problem solving at its core,” Neyer said. “The role of the teacher is to guide students along the way and to help them synthesize the material. Our goal is much more than the specific formula or algorithm – rather, it’s about the process of getting there. Making conjectures, testing those conjectures, communicating your thinking to others both in writing and in speaking and learning how to collaborate with others is what we strive to do in the classroom every day.”

GO-KART SPECIAL PROJECT: ‘Accept failure, enjoy it and learn from it’ Victor Zhang ’22 is passionate about mechanical engineering. So, in summer 2021, Webb set him up with an internship at an auto dealership’s service center. Then, in fall, he asked for the opportunity to design and build a gokart during a free block.

Webb’s answer: The school provided Zhang with mentorship from science teacher Brian Kays and access to tools.

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“Creative and meaningful work arises when we help each other discover the ideas about ourselves that limit us and then embrace the fact that we are creative individuals,” Kays said. “The self-awareness students cultivate from this is both flexible and durable, and we believe this is one of the most important things our students can gain toward success in a quickly changing world.” Zhang said the activity was revelatory. “The most important part I learned from the build was to accept failure, enjoy it and learn from it,” he said. “The firstever test of the go-kart ended in a massive failure, because previously, to make the chain fit, I ground the 3-D printed engine mounts down. As a result, the engine mounts became extremely weak and nearly all of them snapped on the first test.

“ That first test was a very big setback for me, but I also knew that if I didn’t fix the issue, the go-kart would never run again. This pushed me to embrace failure by taking off the broken pieces and redesigning them. The second test was a success. “I think that not only has this journey been great for building my skills as a mechanic, but it also helped me realize that you move forward by making mistakes. They are not all bad, the important thing is to learn from them and prepare yourself.”

HARVEY MUDD COMPUTER SCIENCE: ‘All of the class is learning by doing’ Webb engages in partnerships with local colleges and cultural institutions that provide students with opportunities to pursue specialized interests. Perhaps the most long-standing is Webb’s computer science collaboration with longtime Harvey Mudd College Professor Zachary Dodds. Students who take Webb’s computer science class may join Dodds’ Introduction to Computer Science class as part of Mudd’s CLASS high-school outreach program.

“ The goal of HMC’s CLASS program is to provide a college experience for high school students who have the background to benefit from it,” Dodds said. “The context of joining students from all five Claremont Colleges for CS 5 at HMC is at least as important as the computing content.” Webb students engage with computing, computer science and computer programming as authors and designers of programs and software.

Once Zhang got the go-kart going, Webb celebrated his success with a victory lap party, in which he zipped around campus to the cheers of classmates and teachers.

“All of the class is learning by doing. Students write programs and compare their artifacts’ behavior with what they had envisioned. Many times, mismatches are small slips – or bugs. Especially exciting are the other mismatches – those in which computing-based exploration has helped refine or reshape a student’s original goal,” Dodds said.

Student interest sparked by the project inspired Kays to create a go-kart building option for Webb’s Unbounded Days in March.

The course culminates with a final project – a sizable application that expands upon a homework assignment. Building a 3-D simulation, implementing a text-based game (along with AI) and creating an evaluator of authorship similarity based on textual features – all of these are popular paths. Webb students who want to further their computing experience have continued in the CLASS program to take Computing for Inquiry or have opted to pursue independent projects of their own design.

Webb engages in partnerships with local colleges and cultural institutions that provide students with opportunities to pursue specialized interests.

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For example, Teja Reddy ’20 and Kush Arya ’20 took these paths. For their independent project, they explored learning approaches for strategic, two-player game AIs. They presented their work in a poster at the BigData 2019 conference in Los Angeles. Fiona Jiang ’22 took the introductory computing class during her junior year and is now working with Dodds on a more advanced course focused on improving user experiences on a streaming network.

“ This class made me realize I like computer science and that this is something I want to do in the future,” said Jiang, who applied lessons in her computer science courses to a project she submitted to the Regeneron Science Talent Search. She was named one of 300 scholars in the prestigious competition.

Read more about Jiang’s science talent search success on page 42.

ACTIVITIES, TEAMS: ‘Students are fully in charge’ Webb afternoon activities and academic teams allow students to pursue passions.

ROBOTICS Webb’s robotics program grew to three teams in 2021-22. Students practiced their builds after classes and competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge, an international robotics contest for high school students. “The robotics program provides a valuable opportunity for our students to engage with core engineering principles, work on a team and learn from other FTC teams,” said math and computer science teacher Carissa DeRanek, one of the program’s coaches. “Students are fully in charge of the engineering process. A new game is released at the start of each school year, and they need to work together to design, prototype and test their robot.”

MUSEUM RESEARCH As part of Webb’s curriculum, students may enroll in museum research courses through the Alf Museum –

including an advanced class, in which students co-author paleontology research papers for publication in peerreviewed journals.

Read more about Webb’s student research projects on page 47. The museum also provides an afternoon activity in which students assist in every facet of its operations, including fossil prep, maintaining exhibits and outreach. Students can identify and complete specific projects of special interest. “Students not only learn techniques for conservation of fossils – they learn these techniques from real experts in the field, on real fossils,” Museum Director Dr. Andy Farke said. “It’s not just a class assignment – the dinosaur bone they glue together will end up in a museum collection and may even be published in scientific literature.”

DEBATE Webb offers an afternoon debate program to help train novices in debate formats, argument skills and how judging works as well as fielding a debate team that competes across the region year-round. “In the process of coaching debate, I have seen students diving deep into ethical quandaries, poking at fuzzy moral boundaries, learning what it takes to present an idea concisely and clearly, accepting defeat and celebrating spontaneous, creative leaps of thought,” said debate coach Elizabeth Cantwell, who also chairs Webb’s Humanities/ English Department. “Students in the debate program don’t just learn how to argue. They also learn how to communicate thoughtfully, rationally and effectively – and often become more informed citizens of a school, local and global community as a result.”

SCIENCE FAIR RESEARCH LAB Webb’s Science Fair Research Lab allows students to pursue projects that spark their interest, whether or not they align with class content. Students research and pitch projects that they may end up entering into the Los Angeles County Science and Engineering Fair or The Archer School STEM Fair. In 2021-22, projects ranged from training ladybugs and testing rocket fuel to creating radical chemical reactions. “This program embodies the Alf Method and unbounded thinking,” said Dr. Nicole Windmon, one of two science teachers who advise and support the student researchers.

Read more about the Science Fair Research Lab on Page 39.

Webb afternoon activities and academic teams allow students to pursue passions.

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Teaching Duo Tackles Business Idea Webb students aren’t the only ones who benefit from the schools’ focus on unbounded thinking.

Rick Duque, Webb School of California dean of students and humanities teacher, enjoys a larger-than-life presence on the Webb campus. The 6’6’’ former Pomona-Pitzer basketball forward has a penchant for hearty greetings and a practice of giving his full attention to whomever he’s speaking with. Duque also has a passion for making beef jerky, sharing his creations with friends across the campus for nearly a decade.

“ Rick was spending years making jerky and just spreading joy to the community,” said Ken Rosenfeld, Webb’s dean of campus life and a fellow humanities teacher. “Every time I’d have it, I’d come up to him and tell him, ‘you should sell this.’ ” At first, Duque balked – which surprised his friends given that he teaches a class called Stories & Strategies of Entrepreneurs. “I teach my students to think in an unbounded fashion, but this was different,” he said. “I don’t have a business background; I just make jerky at my house.” But Duque didn’t completely dismiss the idea. Instead, he gave it some thought and eventually went back to Rosenfeld in early 2021 to ask him to partner on the project. Rosenfeld, who has also taught the entrepreneurism class, is no stranger to launching enterprises. He ran a catering company for 10 years, a swim-and-dive program, a boba delivery service and served as a marketing consultant, web designer, personal trainer and nutrition coach.

Within a day or two, they had a name: Hammered Jerky – because it is thin, crispy and hammered with flavor, inspired by a kind of beef jerky common in New Mexico, Duque’s home state. Rosenfeld began playing with logos. Then, they connected with Webb parent Tony Kan, who founded an artisan beef jerky company in Rancho Cucamonga in March 2020. They toured his factory and peppered him with questions. After that, it was back to the kitchen to refine the recipe and ensure it could be mass produced. “Rick and I played around quite a bit – trying different curing methods, curing ingredients and refining our product to where we were getting consistently strong feedback,” Rosenfeld said. They developed two flavors – OG and Spicy. “The OG is fresh,” Rosenfeld said. “We use a lot of seeds in it to get these pops of flavors. There’s a real brightness and real freshness. The Spicy has a sriracha element, a strong hint of garlic, some sweetness. There’s a gentle warmth that comes later, so you get the flavor first and then the warmth hits.” Since both have full-time jobs, they’ve been working during breaks and on weekends. Now, the duo is almost ready to take it to the next level: forming their corporation, finding a manufacturer and planning sales. Hammered Jerky could be ready for market as soon as summer. “I never understood why it took so long for people to get their stuff off the ground, and now I 100 percent understand why it takes people years,” Duque said.

Meanwhile, the students in Duque’s entrepreneurism class are benefiting.

Because both teachers tend to jump full tilt into something once a decision is made, they immediately went into total startup mode.

“Now I’m in the thick of it,” Duque said. “It gives me more experience and a deeper understanding to share with the students.”

“ This is our opportunity to live what it is we preach and show courage in areas where we encourage others to be bold in their actions,” Duque said.

One of the main lessons? “ Keep hammering away, let’s figure it out. There are going to be setbacks,” he said. “Correction isn’t criticism.”

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Centennial Campaign Gathers Momentum As Webb approaches its centennial, school leaders are celebrating the legacy of founders Thompson and Vivian Webb by intensifying their focus on transformative changes designed to ensure Webb continues to grow as a global leader in unbounded education. Those efforts begin with a $200 million Centennial Campaign launched publicly on October 23, 2021 with a landmark future estate gift of at least $100 million – among the four largest gifts ever given to an independent high school and the most ever given to one west of the Mississippi.

“The unprecedented support for our Centennial Campaign will enable us to dramatically expand access to the very best students regardless of financial circumstance, as well as to deepen and strengthen our unique program of unbounded education,” Head of Schools Taylor B. Stockdale said.

The donor, an alumnus who wishes to remain anonymous, is making the gift to honor his parents for their wisdom and sacrifices in sending him to Webb, and as a recognition for Webb’s indelible impact on his life.

Webb’s unparalleled approach fosters an entrepreneurial spirit that creates scholars with a rich array of perspectives and goals. The program draws on experiential learning, unique partnerships and a location in the heart of the cultural, academic and environmental riches of Southern California.

UNPRECEDENTED SUPPORT In addition to the historic gift, Webb’s supporters have contributed more than $80 million to the campaign, including the largest-ever cash gift – $8.4 million from the estate of the late Wayne “Skip” Hanson ’59, who often referred to Webb as his home. Hanson’s gift also brought the total value of Webb’s endowment to about $60 million as of December 31, 2021 – more than double the endowment’s level just nine years ago.

The philosophy encompasses in-depth studies in all disciplines driven by the passions and knowledge of Webb’s expert teachers. For example, students unearth fossils during Alf Museum trips, conduct original research and author scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals. In making the $100 million gift, the alumni donor traced Webb’s potent impact to this extraordinary academic focus.

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“

Centennial Campaign Gathers Momentum

hen great teachers share experiences and exchange ideas, the invaluable art of teaching becomes electric. This energy attracts the best and most imaginative students eager to be challenged, both by their teachers and by each other,” the donor said. “In turn, these students go on to become inspired graduates coveted by the world’s best colleges and universities. And, more importantly, students get exposed to enough of what the world has to offer that they are able to find the place – be it a niche or an arena – where they can make their mark. Webb then truly becomes a place where the opportunities are boundless.”

THE LANDMARK DONATION WILL SERVE THREE PURPOSES: •L everage the schools’ location by creating new partnerships enabling Webb students to be actively involved with the many educational, cultural and service institutions in the greater Los Angeles area

“ I am astounded by the donor’s generosity and excited by this gift’s promise to transform the lives of Webb students and teachers,” Dahler said. SCHOLARSHIPS Similar to the anonymous donor’s transformative gift, Hanson’s gift will be used to significantly strengthen Webb’s generous scholarship program. “Skip Hanson was a beloved member of the Webb community who was dedicated to supporting our mission as a global leader in unbounded education,” Stockdale said. “Skip’s generosity and legacy are immense and will be felt for generations to come.” In 1990, Hanson, his brother, Robert M. Hanson ’62, and their father, Wayne A. Hanson, created the Bertha M. Lynch Principes Scholarship Fund in memory of their maternal grandmother. The scholarship goes to students with financial need, academic excellence, admirable qualities of character, demonstrated leadership potential and the ability to contribute positively to the spirit and life of the Webb community. As Hanson’s health began to fail in 2018, he and his wife, Sharon, outlined this significant estate gift to provide aid for generations of Bertha M. Lynch Scholars. Hanson recognized that providing access to the most qualified students, regardless of financial capability, was central to Webb’s mission.

•A ttract, nurture and retain exceptional, life-changing teachers, and •E nsure that a curious, high-energy, kind and hardworking student body is enrolled regardless of financial circumstance Jim Dahler, who has been teaching at Webb for 34 years, said the campus community serves as an extended family that supports students long after they graduate.

Wayne “Skip” Hanson ’59

“ This remarkable class has individually and collectively transformed Webb,” Chief Advancement Officer Bob Fass said. “In the years to come, scores of future alumni will have gained access to a Webb education because of these individuals and their generosity. It is incredibly inspiring.”

The size of Hanson’s gift wasn’t originally known. In 2019, after Hanson’s death, his wife estimated the gift at just over $6 million. It wasn’t until her death in 2021 that the full extent of the gift became clear. Coupled with Hanson’s previous support, the gift makes Hanson the single-largest contributor to endowed scholarships at Webb. Following the public launch of the Centennial Campaign, Hanson’s classmate, Timothy Moore ’59, announced a $3 million planned gift. Moore was inspired to document a bequest that will create a financial aid program specifically for first-year students entering The Webb Schools. This inspiration came from Moore’s classmate, John Rogers ’59, who created the Mary Stuart Rogers Endowed Scholarship Fund that supports students in their sophomore, junior and senior years. Rogers has also made a substantial planned gift for scholarship endowment in the form of a charitable lead trust, which began distributions in 2021, eventually adding $3 million over the next five years for additional scholarship support. Webb and the Alf Museum also received gifts from Jim Hall ’59 and the late Dan Ketchum ’59 totaling $1 million.

Younger alumni are also giving generously to support financial aid at Webb. Alumni Council member Sameer Dholakia ’91 and his wife, Laura, made a substantial multiyear campaign pledge of $350,000 to expand their family’s scholarship fund which, in turn, motivated his brother and Webb Board Chair Sanjay Dholakia ’87 and his wife, Melissa Barnes Dholakia ’87, to commit additional funds. Alvin Hung ’93 recently established a new scholarship fund inspired, in part, by Michael Chang ’92 and Chang’s father, Milton. “These gifts are representative of the life-changing impact that Webb has on our students,” Stockdale said. “Together, they will provide critical, immediate support for our mission as well as funds to sustain and expand on that mission in the decades to come.”

Centennial Celebration A celebration of the yearlong centennial of The Webb Schools and the historic Centennial Campaign will take place during Alumni Weekend in October 2022. The campaign, The Next 100, will continue through June 30, 2025. Visit www.webb100.org for more information.

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NEWS FROM

The Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology

Peccary Trips Return Nearly 90 years of tradition continued when the Webb School of California and Vivian Webb School classes of 2024 and 2025 traveled to the Mojave Desert for fossil-hunting adventures known as Peccary Trips. From simple beginnings with Ray Alf and a handful of students in 1936, generations of Webbies have experienced fossil collecting near Barstow. The trips – on hiatus in 2020-21 because of COVID-19 – featured the Class of 2025 taking a traditional ninth-grade excursion in October 2021 followed by a make-up trip for the Class of 2024 in spring. During the overnight experiences, students learned how to collect fossils, got to know their fellow classmates and explored the night skies with Webb’s telescopes. Students discovered fossil horse teeth, camel bones and a nearly complete horse lower jaw.

They also applied knowledge learned in Webb’s Evolutionary Biology class, getting to see concepts such as stratigraphic superposition in person. The fossils, which are collected under permit from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, are prepared by students and added to the Alf Museum’s permanent collection for research and educational purposes.

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continuing into STEM studies in college and for their careers. Meachen was nominated for the Alf Award by a colleague. The award includes an honorarium of $1,000.

“These students get training that they wouldn’t normally get in a high school classroom, which makes them more scientifically literate to better understand what’s going on in their world,” Meachen said during her acceptance speech at the virtual Peccary Dinner. “Julie Meachen sets a high bar for research achievements, and I am always excited to see her science on everything from cave fossils in Wyoming to ancient wolf puppies,” Alf Museum Director Dr. Andy Farke said. “Her integration of high school students into this research process is so important, not only to produce more science, but also to foster scientific thinking in future leaders.”

Paleontologist Dr. Julie Meachen recognized as Alf Award recipient Dr. Julie Meachen, a world renowned expert on Ice Age animals, was recognized at the 2021 Peccary Dinner as the seventh recipient of the Raymond M. Alf Award for Excellence in Paleontological Research and Education. The annual award honors a paleontologist who has made major contributions both in original scientific research as well as in education and outreach at the K-12 levels. A professor at Des Moines University, Meachen has significantly advanced understanding of many extinct carnivores, ranging from dire wolves to sabertoothed cats. Additionally, she has mentored high school students from her area in original scientific research, with many of the students

Summer Peccary Trip Sees Success After a year hiatus, a crew of Webb students and faculty joined the Alf Museum for the 2021 Summer Peccary Trip. During the two-week adventure in Wyoming, students camped in the amazing outdoors of the American West, explored Yellowstone National Park, visited famous fossil museums and discovered thrilling new traces of longvanished life. Paleontological explorations focused on Cretaceousaged rocks in western Wyoming, from about 90 million to 66 million years old. The first major stop was near Cody. A preliminary trip in 2019 identified some rocks in the Mesaverde Formation, roughly equivalent in age and paleoenvironment to previous museum field areas in southern Utah. The rocks outside Cody have not been extensively explored by other paleontologists, so they present opportunities for important discoveries.

During their time in the Cody area, the peccary crew collected remains ranging from tyrannosaur teeth to turtle shells. After a week near Cody, the crew turned south to collect a turtle shell from near Rock Springs. The fossil was discovered by several students on the 2019 trip, but there wasn’t time to collect it then. The 2021 crew hiked to the site with hammers and chisels, carefully extricating the fossil embedded within a 50-pound block of sandstone. The site was over a mile and a half from the nearest road, so it took teamwork and muscle to get the extinct turtle back to the vehicle. For many of the students, it was their first time visiting Wyoming. In addition to fossil collecting, the group also took time to experience Yellowstone National Park, as well as the hot springs in Thermopolis. Sightings of pronghorn, bison and elk made for a memorable trip. Additionally, after

a year of pandemic closures, this was the first major inperson Webb experience for many of the younger students. It provided an important opportunity for them to learn Webb traditions and bond with their fellow Webbies. Since the return from Wyoming, fossils collected during the trip have been cleaned by student volunteers and museum staff. Students in the museum afternoon volunteer activity are sorting through matrix for small fossils, and others are cleaning and stabilizing a dinosaur leg bone and turtle shells. The most surprising discovery happened as the turtle from near Rock Springs was cleaned. Initially thought to only be a partial shell, careful work by preparator Jared Heuck uncovered a nearly complete set of limbs and tail! It is probably one of the most complete fossils yet found in rocks of that age from that part of Wyoming. This and other fossils from the 2021 Summer Peccary Trip are being studied by students in the Advanced Studies in Paleontology class.

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Museum Research Updates The collection is the core of the Alf Museum, driving research by museum staff, Webb students and outside researchers. The Advanced Studies in Paleontology class continues to be a major engine of scientific productivity for the museum – the only institution in the world that has a major paleontology collection on a high school campus. After a career spanning 30 years at Webb, Director Emeritus Dr. Don Lofgren is wrapping up long-running projects with students. Many of the specimens under study were collected on decades worth of Peccary Trips in the Barstow Formation of Southern California as well as several areas in Montana. Specific projects include Eocene and Oligocene lizards and snakes from Montana and a new species of fossil mammal from the Goler Formation of California, among others. Many of the projects were on track to be submitted for publication in spring 2022, all with student and alumni co-authors.

Webb students on the trip included members of the Webb School of California and Vivian Webb School classes of 2024 (Emily Berg, Emily Black, Aiperi Bush, Camile Casper, Ray Kan, Fia Lin, Taya Sibichenkova), 2023 (Emilia Bordage, Valeria Gonzalez, Aidan Helgeson, Isabella Saeedy, Julia Tyck, Zac Wang) and 2022 (Logan Causley, Nathan Choi, Joseph Ferrari, David Hastings, Emma Holliday, Yvonne Kan, Blake Suttner). They were joined by Webb faculty Will Allan, Kristen Brown, Carissa DeRanek and Linda Silva, in addition to museum paleontologists Dr. Andy Farke, Billie Guerrero, Jared Heuck and Bailey Jorgensen. All fieldwork was completed under permit from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management-Wyoming. The fossils are accessioned at the Alf Museum. The museum plans to return to Wyoming for its 2022 Summer Peccary Trip.

Read more about Webb’s 2021-22 student paleontology research projects on page 47. Museum Director Dr. Andy Farke has set a primary research focus on fossils collected during the 2021 Summer Peccary Trip to Wyoming. Students are working on fossil turtles, birds, dinosaurs and sharks to identify the specimens and compare them with discoveries from other areas. Additionally, Farke recently co-authored a paper with Canadian paleontologist Rachel Nottrodt, who documented unusually excellent preservation of the ankle region in an ornithomimid (ostrich dinosaur). The fossil was collected over 20 years ago in southern Utah by a team that included Webb students. The research is published in the peerreviewed journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

Learn more about Webb’s paleontology program.

TikTok: Natural History in a Minute Sharing stories about the natural and ancient world is all part of the game for natural history museums. The Alf Museum is no different, starting all the way back in the days of Ray Alf sharing stories “from the stars to civilizations.” With the growing world of digital media, sharing stories with our audience has never been easier, but no less important. This is especially true now, during a pandemic that has unfortunately limited in-person story telling. Since the start of the pandemic, the Alf Museum has been at the forefront of creating fun and engaging digital avenues for audiences to learn about paleontology. These audiences find us everywhere from Fossil Friday Chats on our YouTube channel to fossil photos on our Instagram feed. There was one place, though, that we hesitated to tread, and that was TikTok. At first glance, this newer social media site may seem like a place for younger millennials and “zoomers” to dance to the latest trends or vlog about their lives. But, it’s far more than that. TikTok has become a hub for storytellers to share their stories to millions of people around the globe. Its accessibility has allowed for so many to open their phone to learn about different cultures, rising artists, and even how to best clean their house. Once that potential was realized, the Alf Museum team knew that it would be another great place to share stories from the world of paleontology.

Since uploading our first TikTok, we have gained a small, but dedicated (and growing!) following of learners, curiosity seekers and fossil enthusiasts. Our Fossil Friday videos have helped to share amazing specimens and discoveries from our collection and, in turn, have brought us many fantastic questions from our followers that we are more than happy to answer in our Museum Q&A videos. There have even been some more fun videos where we show the lighter side of paleontology. All are usually watchable in a minute or less! TikTok has been another fantastic foray into digital media for the Alf Museum team. Being able to engage with our audience in a new and exciting way has brought a renewed joy to us as science storytellers. We love to provide avenues for knowledge seekers and the curious to find answers to their questions, and we can’t wait to share more stories from the world of paleontology.

Find us on TikTok as @alfmuseum and give us a follow .

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Winter Dance Show Celebrates Webb’s Centennial with Alumni Support

Webb presented its Winter Dance Show 2022 on February 4 and 5 on the steps of the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology.

Entitled “Centum,” in honor of Webb’s Centennial Celebration, the show choreographically referenced hallmarks of Webb’s history, mission and unbounded philosophy. Using contemporary dance influence, the show thematically explored past, present and future, considering the nature of perspective and progress. This year’s show featured music from Webb alumni Felicity Doyle ’04, Summer Swee-Singh ’07, Jarel Hill ’08, Nathan Turczan ’09, Ben Davis ’11 and Drew Hersch ’19, movement video from Andrew Waas ’92, Bailey Scherer ’16 and Christina Dong ’18, as well as text from students Madeline Lilley ’22, Nicholas Lee ’22 and Hunter Lange ’22. Webb’s dance program is led by Dean of Faculty Michael Szanyi.

“ I was interested in doing something that celebrated this historic moment in Webb’s history, as well as more broadly considering the nature of memory and reflection and the passage of time and how that can be a springboard for new perspective and new opportunities and new futures,” Szanyi said. “I wanted to incorporate many aspects of Webb. So choreographically, there were phrases and pieces that use the mission statement and there was a section where you can see the chapel and museum being built.” Szanyi included alumni to honor their part in getting Webb to this moment. “I reached out to several of them and had wonderful conversations about dance and art and music and they all shared pieces that we could use for the show,” he said. “In some cases, I choreographed to their music — trying to both listen to what the music was telling me, as well as considering how it would fit into the larger narrative we were creating. And, in some cases, senior dance students got to choreograph the music. This was a real treat!”

Scan to watch the show.

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Webb Dives into ‘Sense and Sensibility’ Webb staged a fast and witty adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility” in November 2021 based on Kate Hamill’s highly praised take on the Jane Austen novel. In this version, Austen’s well-loved characters move through the story at a brisk pace – scenes merge and meld into one another as each actor assumes several different roles within the play, often within the same scene!

All the set pieces were on wheels, which allowed Webb’s actors to move in moments between between the drawing room, leafy woods and a dinner party.

Scan to watch the play on YouTube.

Students Provide Holiday Classics at Candlelight Concert Set on Centennial Field, Webb’s annual Candlelight Concert in December 2021 offered a program of holiday music classics performed by students in the sinfonia class, which includes strings, woodwinds and percussion ensembles, as well as the Honors Chamber Singers.

Numbers included “Let It Snow,” Pachelbel’s Canon in D, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, the first movement of Mozart’s Divertimento in F Major, K. 138, “Maharaja,” “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies,” “Greensleeves,” “Carol of the Bells,” “The Ash Grove,” “Ó Meu Menino,” “The Holly and the Ivy,” “Sweeter Still,” a mashup of the Twelve Days of Christmas, selections of classical favorites and a medley of tunes from recent Pixar films.

Scan to watch the concert on YouTube.

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An Exploration of Science Claudia Yang ’25 and Saira Bhagat ’25 explored how to train ladybugs. Bill Sun ’24 measured the impact of fertilizer runoff on algae in ponds. Andrew Barrantes ’25 designed a rocket propelled by magnesium oxide. And Garry Zhang ’24 extended the range of a chemistry substrate reagent. “The most fun or exciting aspect of this experiment is discovering that ladybugs can form a short-term learned behavior after the first trained attempt,” she said. “The most challenging aspect is finding out the best stimuli which are harmless and effective and choosing the optimal training method.” After training with a fragrance/diffuser, the bugs began to navigate the maze independently. But repeated exposure to the stimulus had a declining effect. Welcome to Webb’s Science Fair Research Lab, an afterschool activity in which students pursue their interests wherever they may go. “Students are building their own instruction, pursuing ideas that interest them,” said Dr. Nicole Windmon, one of two science teachers who oversee the program. “They are not chained to what happens in the classroom.” Students start the 12-week program by conducting research about their proposed projects and then pitch their plans to Windmon and her co-teacher, Science Department Chair Dr. Lisa Nacionales. Windmon works with students focused on chemistry, physics and engineering. Nacionales takes those working in biology, biochemistry and biotechnology. The class, first offered in 2019-20, is offered each winter and is capped at 15 students. Students may work on their projects for pure enjoyment or prepare a project for entry in the Los Angeles County Science and Engineering Fair or The Archer School STEM Fair. Yang said the idea for her project came from a YouTube video in which ladybugs were trained to follow a red pen. She and Baghat decided to try other stimuli to help the insects navigate a maze.

“We discovered that the fragrance/diffuser would excite the ladybugs at first, but after being exposed for a relatively long time, the ladybugs would become numb and lethargic,” she said. Zhang’s project goes beyond even the advanced topics handled by Windmon’s organic chemistry class – which he has yet to take – and was so engaging that she is considering modifying her course focus based on his findings. In full technical terms, he extended the applicable substrate range for Fenton’s reagent in carbon-carbon coupling. He said he got the idea while reading scientific papers about the use of Fenton’s reagent to create carbon-carbon bonds. The actual experiment was demanding – especially in the time required. “Doing the experiment and designing it was incredibly fun,” he said. “I learned a lot. In addition to learning more about the field, I built up experience in doing lab protocols, exploring new ones, and learned how to plan my experiments and organize the time more efficiently, and generally just how to do research better.” Photo courtesy of El Espejo

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webbtoday FACULTY THE WEBB SCHOOLS

Artist, World Languages Expert, Librarian Receive 2021 Perry Awards The Webb Schools honored art teacher Jackie Leishman, world languages teacher Joseph Vincent and assistant librarian Melissa Mani with Perry Awards on October 8, 2021 for their dedicated service to students. The awards are named for longtime Webb teacher Les Perry and his wife, Barbara. The duo served Webb from 1946 to 1976 in an array of roles. Les served as athletic director, head football coach, head basketball coach, head baseball coach, advisor to the Block W Club, math teacher and assistant headmaster under Steve Longley and Fred Hooper. Barbara was a committed dorm parent, providing students with much needed support. “For 100 years, The Webb schools have remained steadfast to the standards of distinguished academic and athletic achievement, complemented by a dedication to principles of unwavering ethical behavior and personal responsibility,” Head of Schools Taylor B. Stockdale said. “These are the ideals upon which the school has been founded, ideals which have been embodied by Les and Barbara Perry.” Perry Awards can be used for a variety of purposes: sabbatical support, study abroad, conference attendance, research, continuing education and more.

Jackie Leishman For Jackie Leishman, 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 personal work addressing climate change. Leishman 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 will continue 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.

Joseph Vincent 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 summer 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 deliberative and detailed class blocks.

Jackie Leishman )

Joseph Vincent ,

Outside of the classroom, Vincent 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 will allow 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.

Melissa Mani Melissa Mani is perhaps the ultimate utility player at Webb, providing support in our library, substituting in classrooms and championing students as an advisor and advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion. As Webb’s assistant librarian, her multifaceted skill set ranges from running an independent study in 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. Mani guides students with empathy, care and compassion. The reality is that no task is too large or too small for Mani, and she handles each of them with professionalism and grace. Mani 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 Mani *

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Craftsman Receives Staff Distinguished Service Award Webb craftsman Mario Rodriguez was named the 2021 recipient of the Joann Robinson Staff Distinguished Service Award on October 8, 2021 in recognition of his dedicated service to The Webb Schools. Rodriguez joined Webb in 1988 – just weeks before the schools were rocked by a windstorm, fire and evacuation. His performance during those crises led to his first commendation.

“Your performance both during the windstorm, fire and evacuation was excellent,” said Janet Peddy, Webb’s director of finance, planning and operations. “Your calmness and diligence set a standard for students and faculty alike. And so it has been for the past 33 years. In a variety of roles, Mario has diligently and calmly been taking care of the Webb community.”

Over the 33 years, Rodriguez has shifted jobs from groundskeeper to mechanic, welder and now craftsman. “Mario is multi-skilled and lends his talents wherever needed,” Peddy said. “You can always count on him to be there, day or night, whatever the crisis.”

Vivian Webb Student Named Science Talent Search Scholar Vivian Webb student Fiona Jiang ’22 has been named a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar 2022, among just 300 students from 185 high schools across the U.S. recognized for their brilliant entries in the nation’s oldest science competition. The prestigious competition, staged by the Society for Science and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, counts Nobel Prize winners and MacArthur Grant winners among its alumni. More than 1,800 students enter, 300 are named scholars and 40 are finalists.

“I was really shocked because I did not expect to be named as a scholar, knowing that all of the submitted projects were so amazing,” she said. “This award means a lot to me because it is a recognition of my potential in STEM fields as well as of my project.” Jiang’s project was titled “Characterizing Decades of Technological Advances with Graph Neural Networks: An Innovation Network Perspective.” In it, she analyzes 7 million patents issued by the U.S. Patent Office from 1976 to 2020 to detect patterns in innovation.

She built an algorithm to examine the patterns, finding clusters of innovation among specific disciplines and related fields, a type of “innovation network” previously described in peer-reviewed research on economics.

The partnership allows Webb students to take an entry-level computer science class at the college. Jiang took that course her junior year and has since progressed to more advanced instruction at the college.

“Using this computational effort, we proved this spillover effect occurred,” she said.

At Webb, Jiang is a boarding student, a dorm prefect, a member of the junior varsity girls tennis team and president of the Filmmaking Club.

What’s more, her work suggests the patterns can be used as a predictive tool to see a pathway of future discoveries, Jiang said. Jiang said she has been intrigued by innovation since participating in a summer program focused on launching startups before her junior year. “I want to understand how innovation happens,” she said. “Is it something new that comes out of nowhere or is it something you can quantify?”

In crafting her project, Jiang drew on her experiences in Webb’s computer science class as well as Webb’s partnership with Harvey Mudd College faculty in computer science.

She has been accepted on early decision to the University of Pennsylvania and plans to continue her work there as part of the Rajendra and Neera Singh Program in Networked and Social Systems Engineering, the world’s first program to integrate disciplines to design and analyze complex networks, from the internet to commerce, social media to power grids. “We are immensely proud of Fiona, and we know this is just one of many honors to come,” Head of Schools Taylor B. Stockdale said. “Fiona’s work in the talent search – and indeed, her work at Webb in general – is emblematic of the kind of unbounded thinking Webb seeks to inspire in our students.”

Read more about Webb’s computer science partnership on page 20.

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Students Selected for California Honor Bands Huang plays percussion, Zhang and Xu the clarinet and Kim the violin. Participation in the CAIS program is open to students in grades eight through 12 who receive a recommendation from their music teacher. In 2020, more than 250 students from 17 schools across Southern California took part in this event. Four Webb students were chosen to perform in regional honors bands in 2022. Annie Huang ’24, Garry Zhang ’24 and Izzy Kim ’24 have been chosen for the 2022 California Association of Independent Schools honor band, orchestra and choir ensembles. Hanbo Xu ’25 was chosen to perform with the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association’s High School Band.

Webb has participated in the program for nine years. The ensembles traditionally perform at the annual Southern Section CAIS Honors Music Festival. The band and orchestra association draws from more than 1,000 schools across Southern California. Xu previously performed twice as principal clarinet in the organization’s middle school honor band. The group performed in April at Santa Monica High School.

Seniors Win National Merit Scholarships The National Merit Scholarship Corp. has recognized two students in the Class of 2022 for their outstanding performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test taken in fall 2020. Josephine Burdekin and Caroline Metz learned in March 2022 that they were named National Merit Scholars, receiving $2,500 each in scholarships from the NMSC.

The competition includes 1.5 million students who enter by taking the PSAT. In spring 2021, NMSC selected about 50,000 top performers. Of those, about 34,000 were honored in fall 2021 as Commended Students and about 16,000 as Semifinalists. In February 2022, NMSC named just over 15,000 Finalists, of whom about 7,500 are chosen between March and midJune as National Merit Scholars. They receive scholarships from NMSC, corporations and colleges.

webbtoday HONORS THE WEBB SCHOOLS

Webb Canyon Chronicle Receives Prestigious Gold Crown Award Webb’s student publication, the Webb Canyon Chronicle, has been named a recipient of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s prestigious Gold Crown Award in recognition of its overall excellence. The award is the international organization’s highest honor for student media. The review examined every element of Webb’s digital publication in 2020-21, from editorials to graphics, articles to images, podcasts to video. “We worked really, really hard for this award, and it feels great to get it,” WCC Public Editor Bianca Arteaga ’22 said. Arteaga said WCC editors reviewed feedback from previous submissions, including calls for more editorials and increased news coverage. Student editors intensified training of the staff and revamped all elements of the digital publication.

“ We did a lot of research, took inspiration from the New York Times and made a lot of changes,” she said. “It takes a lot of time to put out each issue, but it’s a really fun job and we all love it.”

In addition to Arteaga, the publication’s staff is led by Editorin-Chief Cathy Wang ’22, Editor-in-Chief Sunny Yu ’22 and Chief Copy Editor Leann Shu ’22.

“ I couldn’t be prouder of these students and all they’ve accomplished,” Dzula said. “This award represents a very significant achievement for a student media organization, and they’ve more than earned the accolade.” The press association presented the Gold Crown Award at its 98th annual Scholastic Convention in March.

In 2021-22, the Chronicle covered issues ranging from COVID-19 to Webb’s Unbounded Days program, from school debates to diversity conferences. Editorials addressed such issues as school shootings, ethnic studies and the SAT, among many other topics. The site included videos and a podcast. Webb’s journalism program is led by teachers Dr. Mark Dzula and Maureen O’Brien. More than 30 students are engaged in creating each issue, which they work on as part of an afternoon activity as well as through academic courses.

Read the Webb Canyon Chronicle.

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Peccary Scholars Tackle 2021-22 Projects

Some 30 Webb students tackled paleontological research topics ranging from turtles and birds to sharks, carnivorous mammals and, of course, dinosaurs in 2021-22. Alf Museum Director Dr. Andy Farke introduced the students as Rogers Peccary Scholars during the 2021 Peccary Society Dinner on October 23, 2021. Rogers Peccary Scholars, supported by the Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation, conduct original research into discoveries made by the Alf Museum during student-centered fossil-hunting trips. The students include those in their first and second year of Advanced Studies in Paleontology, a course offered only at Webb. About 50 papers authored by Webb students through the program have been published in peer-reviewed journals. “These students have demonstrated sustained dedication to paleontology,” Farke said. “They are discovering new knowledge.”

PROJECTS FIRST-YEAR ADVANCED STUDIES STUDENTS Emilia Bordage ’23 – sauropod bone development Logan Causley ’22 – theropods, Mesaverde Formation Elizabeth Chai ’23 – turtles, Mesaverde Formation Clarence Deng ’23 – sharks, Mesaverde Formation Andy Fu ’23 – hadrosaur, Mesaverde Formation Valeria Gonzalez ’23 – turtles, Mesaverde Formation Aidan Helgeson ’23 – turtles, Lance Formation Daniel Hu ’23 – Hesperornis, Mesaverde Formation Pierre Sun ’23 – Hesperornis, Mesaverde Formation Zachary Wang ’23 – Hesperonis, Mesaverde Formation Terrence Wu ’23 – turtles, Mesaverde Formation Samuel Zeiden ’23 – sharks, Mesaverde Formation SECOND-YEAR ADVANCED STUDIES STUDENTS Richard Alrachid ’22 – first known skull of the multituberculate Neoliotomus Josephine Burdekin ’22 – first record of the lizard Aciprion formosum, Montana Mikey Chai, ’22 – first record of the lizard Aciprion formosum, Montana Nathan Choi ’22 – a partial antelope skeleton, Barstow Formation, California Christopher Chung ’22 – the first known skull of the multituberculate Neoliotomus Joseph Ferrari ’22 – Parectypodus mckennai, a new species of multituberculate, Goler Formation, California Emma Holliday ’22 – new records of marsupials and rodents, Gravelly Range, Montana Rachel Hong ’22 – an articulated foot and jaw of Aleurodon, Barstow Formation, California Yvonne Kan ’22 – Parectypodus mckennai, a new species of multituberculate, Goler Formation, California Alexander Kong ’22 – new records of Eocene mammals, Sage Creek Basin, Montana Nicholas Lee ’22 – new records of Eocene mammals, Sage Creek Basin, Montana Catherine Li ’22 – the first known skull of the multituberculate Neoliotomus Laura Li ’22 – new records of Eocene mammals, Sage Creek Basin, Montana William Li ’22 – a nearly complete camel skeleton, Barstow Formation, California Caroline Metz ’22 – two new specimens of the rare carnivore Palaeogale, Montana Allison Paik ’22 – two new specimens of the rare carnivore Palaeogale, Montana Hank Sun ’22 – new records of marsupials and rodents, Gravelly Range, Montana Blake Suttner ’22 – two new specimens of the rare carnivore Palaeogale, Montana Jonathan Yu ’22 – new records of Eocene mammals, Sage Creek Basin, Montana

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webbtodayATHLETICS THE WEBB SCHOOLS

VWS Varsity Soccer Scores First-ever State Championship

Vivian Webb School’s 2021-22 varsity soccer team celebrated an extraordinary season of record-setting accomplishments, winning its first-ever CIF Southern Section title and its firstever state championship. The team posted an undefeated season, going 8-0 in San Joaquin League play and 20-0 overall. “It’s been such an unbelievable ride,” coach Malick Mbengue said. “To finish a season undefeated is the stuff of legends, and for us to accomplish it in such a fashion, in front of our home fans and share the joy with this community is beyond amazing. I am incredibly proud of the team. Individually and collectively, they were great.” Mbengue, who was named coach of the year, said the Gauls focus on possession soccer, working the ball from player to player, using multiple passes to make their opponents chase the ball. This keeps Webb in control of the game’s pace and opens opportunities for scoring.

Webb only allowed 19 goals while scoring 102. Webb faced its strongest competition from Arrowhead Christian Academy of Redlands, which the team defeated in both the Southern Section and Southern California Regional Championship title matches. In each game – the first under sunny skies and the second amid a downpour – Webb edged Arrowhead 3-2. Helping the team was a strong roster of returning players and a host of excellent freshmen.

athletics & afternoon activities. “This team did not need any luck and showed throughout the season they were one of the best teams in all of Southern California. With over 500 high schools just in the Southern Section, winning titles is a rare and amazing accomplishment.” Cook said the team had great chemistry. “We genuinely enjoy being around one another, whether on the field or not,” she said. “We hang out outside of practice and with everyone it is always a good time. It seems like we are always laughing!”

Abbey Cook ’23 led the team with 46 goals and 27 assists and Taren Duffy ’22 had 28 goals and 16 assists. Goalkeepers Noe Chock ’23 and Sienna Gomez ’24 combined for nine shutouts.

Cook said she hopes the team’s victory sends a broader message about Webb athletics.

“It is often said it takes a little bit of luck and timing to win a championship,” said Stephen Wishek, Webb’s director of

“It felt good to make history not only for Vivian Webb School, but Webb in general. My hope is that this win encourages more student athletes to come to Webb.”

ROSTER Abbey Cook ’23 (captain), Taren Duffy ’22 (captain), Caroline Metz ’22 (captain), Reece Ollivierre ’23 (captain), Eva Annabi ’23, Noe Chock ’23, Olivia Cooke ’24, Taylor Crawford ’23, Ava Darby ’25, Lauren Duffy ’25, Ella Garcia ’25, Sienna Gomez ’24, Valeria Gonzalez ’23, Emma Holliday ’22, Jasmine Beseth ’25, Dorothy Ma ’25, Kaitlyn Metz ’25, Reagan Ollivierre ’24, Julia Tyck ’23, Paige West ’22, Elizabeth Whitaker ’25

50 Congratulations to the VWS soccer team on a webbtoday ATHLETICS remarkable season! SPRING 202 2 WEBB MAGA ZINE

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webbtoday ATHLETICS THE WEBB SCHOOLS

3 Webb Athletes Commit to College Programs Three student-athletes from the Class of 2022 committed to play intercollegiate athletics in 2022-23. Savanna Cespedes, Kevin Ren and Bradyn Wishek will continue their academic pursuits and play their respective sports at an impressive group of colleges and universities. Savanna Cespedes, Pomona College, Volleyball Savanna Cespedes, a member of Webb’s 2019 CIF state playoff qualifying team, has committed to study and play volleyball at NCAA Division-III Pomona College in Claremont. Cespedes, a four-year member of the Webb volleyball program, has been a mainstay for the program at setter and an integral part of the team’s recent success. Cespedes intends to major in neuroscience while at Pomona with an eye toward a medical career.

Kevin Ren, Darmouth College, Swimming and Diving Kevin Ren, a four-year member of the Webb swimming and diving program, has committed to study and swim at NCAA Division-I Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Ren has been a multiple event league champion throughout his time at Webb. In 2021, he was the CIF-SS Division 3 champion in the 100 yard breaststroke, an accomplishment he aims to repeat in 2022. Ren intends to major in biomechanical engineering at Dartmouth.

Bradyn Wishek, Grinnell College, Baseball Bradyn Wishek, a four-year varsity athlete in both baseball and football, has committed to study and play baseball at NCAA Division-III Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. Wishek was a member of the 2019 league champion and CIF No. 1 seeded Webb baseball team and has started for

three seasons as a first baseman and outfielder with the Webb baseball program. In football, Bradyn was an allleague 1st team honoree this season, starting at both center and linebacker. Wishek is interested in studying political science and psychology at Grinnell with an eye toward law. “Having the ability to compete in college athletics at any level is a true accomplishment,” said Director of Athletics and Afternoon Activities Stephen Wishek, who is Bradyn Wishek’s father. “It is a testament to the work these young people have done to create these opportunities. Also, I would like to recognize all our teachers, counselors, coaches and administrators for their support of athletics overall.”

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webbtodayLEADERSHIP THE WEBB SCHOOLS

John Choi Director of Equity

Building Community Webb’s speaker series is part of a tapestry of programs designed to celebrate diversity and foster a sense of belonging.

Why do we tell stories? The answer lies in the power of storytelling to build bridges, to deepen understanding of our similarities and differences, even to heal. For groups that have suffered trauma generationally, sharing stories can help storytellers understand their role and purpose in the world. In keeping with this idea, Webb has conducted a series of storytelling events this year in which students, faculty and staff have shared their unique journeys with identity. Not only do the events offer insight into the rich diversity of our own community, but they also support our theme of Building Community: Centering Belonging. One of our Webb storytellers relayed the challenging experience of immigrating to the U.S. soon after 9/11 as a Muslim. Two presenters talked about the pain of coming out to their respective families. For all three, this was a moment for catharsis that provided an opportunity for their audience to connect. Many speakers shared tales of how their perspective on their identity changed over time or was shaped by family experiences. Isabella Llorens ’22 told how she identified as a dancer in her childhood – highly competitive, driven to train constantly and feeling her worth was dependent on her performance. Through the love of her family, she was able to find worth in herself beyond being a dancer. At the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in 2019, Llorens rediscovered her ethnic heritage after meeting so many students of color and the first-ever other Creole person outside of her relatives. Xander Kong ’22 spoke about his identity as a musician and how learning to harmonize chords on his guitar serves as a metaphor for how he weaves his Chinese and Korean backgrounds into a fluid tapestry of his identity.

Art teacher and BIPOC Residential Advisor Dr. Ardina Greco relayed how her Italian American father moved from Ithaca, N.Y., to Southern California in the 1960s and how her Mexican American mother grew up on a dairy farm in Artesia, Calif. In the 1950s, her mother attended an all-white school, where she had to contend with discrimination. Alf Museum Collections Manager and Outreach Coordinator Gabriel-Philip Santos talked about the pressure of having to meet the expectations of an Asian stereotype in college and career and how he later found himself in adulthood living his best life, exemplified by a local TED-X presentation he gave about his love for paleontology while in a Jedi uniform. Storytelling facilitates connection. For some, stories serve as mirrors reflecting a similar experience to their own. For others, they are windows into a new world view. What has been wonderful, is that after every storytelling event, audience members stick around to talk to the storyteller because they discover common ground or because they want to know more about a narrative unlike their own. Storytelling also helps us all see one another as human. Listening to stories provides a lens through which we see beyond the high school student, the art teacher, the staff member and into our multiple layers of identity. Storytelling honors our ancestors, our family, friends and teachers – all those who advocate, sacrifice or care for us through our life’s journey. It gives us a chance to acknowledge that we didn’t get where we are today without them. Through healing, connection, shared humanity and honoring relationships, our stories draw us together intimately and authentically and, ultimately, foster a deep sense of belonging.

John Choi is The Webb Schools’ director of equity, leading efforts to strengthen Webb’s campus community.

STUDENTS EXPLORE ISSUES OF IDENTITY AT DEI CONFERENCE

PARTNERSHIP AIMS TO BOOST STUDENT DIVERSITY

Six students and 11 faculty and staff attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference and the People of Color Conference, two conferences conducted concurrently by the National Association of Independent Schools during the week of November 29, 2021.

The Webb Schools formed a new partnership in 2022 aimed at boosting opportunities for admission and academic success for underserved students of color.

This is the largest contingent of adults ever attending from Webb, and our six student delegates were selected from a large application pool. The conference was conducted online with more than 2,000 students and 6,000 educators nationwide. The six delegates spent the week at a local rental home to debrief and bond with one another. The house provided a space conducive to reflection on the each day’s activities and discussion of their racial identities and topics of equity and justice in independent schools. Student comments included “It was life-changing,” “I felt so affirmed,” “It was amazing to see so many other people who looked like me and shared my life experience,” “I felt like I could fully be who I am,” and “In just a few days, I felt I made some really good friends I will never forget.”

Students and adults were treated to amazing speakers, including journalist and executive producer Soledad O’Brien, and over 50 workshop leaders who took attendees on journeys of identity, history, culture and equity. Our Webb students and adults experienced powerful moments of affinity and heard the message repeated, “You are beautiful, deserving and powerful.”

The schools have signed an agreement with Private School Axis, a nonprofit founded in 2020 to drive diversity, equity and inclusion at Los Angeles area independent schools. The organization helps families navigate the application process and supports students during the transition to independent school and throughout the academic year.

“ This partnership will help to accelerate The Webb Schools’ efforts to provide admission to a diverse group of extraordinary students both from this region and around the world,” Associate Head of Schools Dr. Theresa Smith said. “We are excited to begin working with Private School Axis.” Private School Axis is led by Founder and Executive Director Collette Bowers Zinn, a fourth-generation educator, trained litigator and co-host of the podcast eRACED, which looks at the intersection of race, culture and education. The Webb Schools are among the most diverse of U.S. independent schools. Webb provides nearly $6 million in annual scholarships and nearly 60 percent of U.S. students hail from communities of color. The Private School Axis partnership is one of several Webb affiliations aimed at boosting diversity, equity and inclusion. For admission and student support, these include A Better Chance, Gender Spectrum, Independent School Alliance, Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, SEEDS, Oliver Scholars and Young Eisner Scholars. For staff and faculty recruitment and support, partners include Nemnet Minority Recruiting, So CAL POCIS and the Southern California Diversity Recruiting Fair.

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webbtodayGIVING THE WEBB SCHOOLS

Community Rallies to Support Diversity Grant The Webb community came together to help secure a $100,000 grant supporting diversity, equity and inclusion from the prestigious E.E. Ford Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to improving secondary education by supporting U.S. independent schools. Since its founding in 1957, it has awarded more than $125 million to more than 900 schools. The Webb grant, announced in March 2021, was fulfilled in January 2022 after the schools successfully raised more than $100,000 in matching funds. “We are deeply indebted to the E.E. Ford Foundation and our community of supporters for ensuring that Webb continues to grow and improve as an institution in service to our students,” Head of Schools Taylor B. Stockdale said.

While parents, faculty, staff and friends rallied to bolster this initiative, no group showed up in greater numbers than Webb’s wonderful alumni. Alumni from across the decades helped secure the grant by making early matching and leadership gifts and by participating at levels that were meaningful to them. Standout alumni include David Loo ’79, Lance Williams ’97 and Bob Connolly ’89, who kicked things off with generous contributions during Giving Day 2021. As the grant match deadline approached, the Class of 1970, led by Jim Hawkins, Joe Thomas, Larry Ashton, Nat Forbes and Mickey Novak, stepped in to rally their classmates to raise the remaining funds.

E.E. Ford Foundation Executive Director John Gulla, in an email acknowledging the broad support Webb received in raising matching funds to secure the grant, said the Foundation’s team was impressed because “this reflects the community’s commitment to the goals of the initiative.” The grant will help fund Webb’s Director of Equity Office as well as programs and initiatives to boost community understanding and services centered on diversity, equity and inclusion. These include working with consultants and facilitators, such as the Glasgow Group, to inspire and guide the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students and parents. To achieve the goals presented in the grant proposal, Webb established affiliations to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion. This is Webb’s eighth and largest E.E. Ford grant. Previous grants, received from 1974 to 2005, helped to establish a Paleontology for Educators program, boost classroom technology, endow professional development for teachers, support construction of a library, endow scholarships and help fund construction of faculty homes.

Vivian Webb School

ANNIVERSARY

VIVIAN WEBB SCHOOL ALUMNAE: A TRADITION OF GIVING BACK Vivian Webb School marked the 40th anniversary of the school’s founding on August 5, 2021 with a virtual celebration. A diverse, talented and dedicated panel of alumnae speakers from each decade spoke of the profound impact that a Vivian Webb School education had on them. In addition to gifting Webb their time and talents as mentors, reunion class agents and board members, VWS alumnae have also contributed significant gifts to ensure the lasting legacy of Vivian Webb School. Dana Su Lee ’84 was part of the first VWS class of “pioneers” when the school was founded in 1981. Lee supported the school during the Fulfilling Our Promise campaign at the leadership level and is one of the most loyal VWS donors with 28 years of giving history. Jan Mitchell Johnson ’86 declared her legacy gift intentions for Webb in 2019. “I am choosing to give to Webb because Webb gave so much to me,” Johnson said. ”My intention is that my gift gives other wide-eyed, passionate students the futures they deserve.” Jenna Gambaro ’95 serves as a Webb trustee and is part of the Hastings Society with 23 years of consecutive giving history. Gambaro supports Webb through a blended giving approach that includes gifts to The Webb Fund and including Webb in a bequest. She works closely with advancement staff and other key volunteers as the captain of a Centennial Campaign committee dedicated to the fundraising priority of Transforming Our Campus Home. Lexington Henn ’09 was an avid student member of the Peccary Society and a mainstay at the annual Peccary Dinner and on international peccary trips to Mongolia and Peru. In 2021, Henn joined the Alf Museum Board of Trustees. Her 13 years of giving history to both The Webb Fund and the museum represents the capacity and momentum that our young alumni are able to bring to Webb’s second century of excellence. All these gifts from the VWS community help support and sustain the motto of Sapientia Amicitia Atque Honor.

ALF MUSEUM PECCARY DINNER BREAKS FUNDRAISING RECORDS Over 160 guests were treated to a dynamic program and social hour during the Alf Museum’s 29th annual Peccary Society Dinner, held virtually on October 22, 2021. Thanks to the generous support of sponsors and guests, the event broke all previous fundraising records, bringing in over $215,000 for the museum’s annual budget, which supports every aspect of the institution, from student field research and fossil preparation, to community outreach and virtual tour production. Museum endowment giving also grew in fall 2021, thanks in large part to two significant gifts from museum trustees Terry Baganz and Jim Hall ’59. Terry and Bruce Baganz established the Olive W. and Bruce P. Baganz Fund for Geology in November. This gift will provide funding for museum staff professional development in geology, field work, geology-based research and much more. Jim Hall ’59 and his wife, Jean, documented an estate gift in the form of a retained life estate, gifting their vacation home to support endowment at the Alf Museum and The Webb Schools. This extraordinary gift will be split between the Hall Family Scholarship Fund and the Donald L. Lofgren Endowed Director’s Chair. For more information on how you can support the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, contact Danielle Gordon at dgordon@webb.org or (909) 482-5267.

29th Annual Peccary Dinner CLICK HERE TO ENTER

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�2& with Shyla Watson ’11

by Jessica Rice ’12

A HALF MINUTES

Celebrity Strategy Manager and Books Editor at BuzzFeed Ask Shyla Watson ’11 what her title is at BuzzFeed, and she’ll tell you it’s a mouthful. But it doesn’t come even close to summing up what she does for the media giant. Watson drives the strategy for celebrity content on BuzzFeed.com, edits articles, manages two teams, runs an email newsletter focused on Black culture, serves as a books editor, helps oversee editorial standards, hosts a pop culture podcast and occasionally writes articles of her own. Before stepping into her current role as a celebrity strategy manager, she worked as a writer and editor for BuzzFeed and other companies creating celebrity content and meeting the likes of Michael B. Jordan, Jake Gyllenhaal and the cast of Bridgerton. Here, she reflects on her new role and shares her perspective of the media today.

Q&A

You’ve been a writer and editor for BuzzFeed for five years. What led you to your new role? I really think it was the change in social climate. With all of the protests following the death of George Floyd, BuzzFeed took a hard look at itself as a company and asked, ‘What are we doing for diversity? Are we part of the

problem?’ When they realized that they had a few shortcomings, they created my role and several others. It felt great to work at a company that actually took a look internally and made changes. Being in the media, you have a responsibility to consider, ‘How are we putting this information out there into the world?’ My role was a fix for that.

Has your role evolved since you started? From the beginning, it was a lot of teaching people how to unlearn certain behaviors and putting new systems in place. Now that some of those systems are running smoothly, I don’t have to be as hands-on. We are still trying to diversify our coverage. We’re looking at shows and films that promote people

art we love, be it TV, film, or music. Knowing what, if any, aspects of their lives artists brought to a project enhances our understanding of it. But ultimately, I think the world of celebrity is entertainment. While they may influence popular culture, the weight of their impact isn’t the same as political figures or cultural icons so we can be invested in their lives without it affecting our own.

who are of a minority group, whether they be of a different race, ability or size. It’s so important to me that we give those people a platform.

What has been the biggest shift from working as a writer and editor? Working as a writer and editor was such a solitary experience. With this role, I work with teams across the company to help implement our new strategy, and I’ve learned so many things. I can look at numerical data, and I did not do well in Ms. Wilsdon’s* class! I didn’t know that I could look at something like writing in an analytical way. I always thought when you write you look at words and that’s it. That turned out not to be true, and that was a really great thing for me. * Diane Wilsdon was a math teacher at Webb from 1984 to 2014.

What are your thoughts about the current media landscape? I think that the media is changing. Media used to consist of newspapers, magazines and, later, online outlets – places like BuzzFeed. Now, I think people are getting their news from the people, and it doesn’t even have to be hard-hitting news. That’s an opportunity. You can have a unique experience, share your story on TikTok, and then that becomes newsworthy. I love that aspect of it. It’s so much more personal.

Do you think social media has been a contributing factor? I believe that social media is media. It’s really changed the landscape. I honestly think that outlets, even like BuzzFeed, are going to struggle to catch up. I think the best way for them to stay

Tl;dr Reading celebrity news is fun!

in the game is by being authentic and showcasing a new group of people.

How are those changes playing out in the celebrity news space? Growing up, celebrities were never approachable. Paparazzi hunted them down and harassed them with questions – and they still do. But now you have celebrities sharing pictures of their pets, of themselves in pajamas on Instagram and TikTok, showcasing what they’re like with their families. It’s not just this glamorous thing, they’re much more authentic and accessible.

Why do you think people love reading and watching celebrity news? You know, I think it’s a combination of things. There’s definitely the glamour aspect – following people who are living these privileged lives, wearing gorgeous clothes, traveling to exotic places. Even though they’re real people with real problems, their lifestyle is different so it’s a peek into another world that many of us will never experience. Then it’s also a way for us as fans to form a deeper connection to the

With all of the celebrity interviews that you’ve done over the years, what are your favorite memories? Gosh, I remember being at a puppy interview junket with Sophie Turner for X-Men. She was obsessed with this dog, and she literally FaceTimed Joe Jonas to beg and ask him if they could adopt it. It’s been a really cool five years.

Do you have any advice for Webb students? Two things. First, try everything that Webb has to offer. Webb is a place where you can fail because someone’s going to be there to pick you up. You should try to fail, see what’s out there, what you like and what you don’t. Get as much experience as you can. Cherish those special moments, because you’re not going to get them again. My second thing would be to stay in touch with people. Whether it’s with former students or teachers, the relationships you make are so special, and they should be fostered. It might take a bit of extra work, but it’s definitely worth it. Some answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Jessica Rice ’12 is a user experience copywriter at Endpoint. She graduated cum laude from Colgate University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and political science.

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“

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Arran Shea ’95 Arran Shea is palpably proud to be a pilot. He loves the exhilaration of flying, the responsibility of leading a crew and the joy he is able to bring to others. This pride is part and parcel of the profession, he said. by Abigail Johnson Hess ’12

ow do you know you’re talking to a pilot?” Shea asked with a disarming chuckle. “Because they’ll tell you.” But his path to becoming the captain of a 79-seat CRJ-900 airplane was not always direct, and he says that his time at Webb was key to his trajectory.

“ Webb ingrained in me grit,” Shea said. “And today, I’m a pretty darn lucky dude. I get to do a job that I love. And I really look forward to going to work every day.” Born in Ghana, Shea grew up in Saudi Arabia and visited some 70 countries before he joined the Webb community at the beginning of his sophomore year. Shea knew one other student before he joined Webb: Alan Daveline ’95. Their first day of classes at Webb took place on the day of Shea’s 16th birthday in 1992 and they both graduated on the day of Daveline’s 18th birthday in 1995. To this day, the friends remain in contact. Despite his strong friendships with classmates like Daveline, Shea says his transition to Webb was at times difficult. At Webb, he found the classes academically strenuous but also found friendship and support for his learning disability, dyslexia. He also

learned what roles, responsibilities and experiences excited him most. During his senior year, Shea served as the prefect of MacLeod Hall and took museum studies taught by Dr. Don Lofgren, the former director of the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology. After graduating, Shea went on a Peccary Trip that instilled in him “a great love of the great outdoors.” “I tried to play every sport that I could but I wasn’t really all that good,” Shea said with his distinctive laugh. “And I wasn’t the best student at Webb. I was the only one of our whole entire class that went to a community college.” After graduating from Webb, Shea attended Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore., which provided him additional tools to cope with his severe dyslexia. Shea transferred to the University of Oregon in 1997 and graduated in 2000. Then, he went back to Lane Community College for aviation school and began the long process of earning the necessary credentials to become a pilot.

“ I have always wanted to be a pilot, and so I enrolled in flight school right after I graduated from college,” Shea said. “If I had been a little bit smarter and realized what I was going to do after my senior year, I would have gone to an aviation college right off the bat. However, it took a little bit longer.” He explained that pilots must earn several certificates before they can fly passengers.

Abigail Johnson “AJ” Hess ’12 is a video/audio lead at Robinhood, a financial services company, where she oversees multimedia production, including the company’s Snacks newsletter and podcast. To stay up to date on her work, you can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her newsletter.

“ One time, I had an engine lose all oil on me coming into Houston and I had to shut it down. My crew and I landed the aircraft on only one engine and declared an emergency,” he remembered.

“You have one for a private pilot’s license. Then you have one for what we call an ‘instrument rating,’ which means you can land the plane in foul weather. And the next one is a commercial rating for a single engine airplane, which means you can actually be paid to fly people, places and things,” Shea said. “You have to log 250 hours for all of these levels.” Shea graduated from flight school in 2002, shortly after the September 11 attacks. With fewer people flying, airlines cut back on hiring commercial pilots and Shea had to pivot. He studied for, and passed, the exam to become a certified flight instructor. After being unable to find any flight instructor positions, Shea took a job loading and unloading planes at San Diego International Airport. Working “the ramp was humbling” and “money was tight,” Shea said, but he kept his sights on the sky. In 2007, Shea

finally began training other pilots. He worked as an instructor for five years.

“ I worked so hard as a flight instructor, but it was one of the most rewarding things that I’ve ever done,” Shea said. “I loved teaching people how to fly. In fact, when I retire, because you can no longer be an airline pilot after the age of 65, I’m going to go back to it.” Since teaching, Shea has flown routes across the country, including routes with stressful, dangerous and difficult flying conditions such as thunderstorms, ice and snow. “But quite frankly, no one pays me for blue skies and smooth air,” Shea said. For instance, Shea was once forced to land an aircraft without an engine.

“We had trained for this kind of emergency, so it was not a big event, but I’m not gonna lie, that will get your adrenaline going. I told my passengers ‘We have a mechanical issue. We are diverting to an airport with a longer runway,’ and they never knew that we shut down an engine. In fact, they got off the plane and their biggest concern was ‘Where’s my luggage?’ Basically, at the end of my career, if nobody knows my name, I’ve done it correctly.”

On January 11, Shea and his wife, Barbra, welcomed their first child, Charlotte. “I’m 45. I may be late to the parenthood party, but I’m here,” he said. Shea’s advice for any Webbies interested in becoming a pilot, is to foster the kind of perseverance he gained at Webb.

“Life sometimes pulls no punches, but are you going to get up? Or are you going to give up? I hope you don’t give up quite frankly, because it’s worth it.”

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Alumni Weekend 2021: A Weekend to Remember

More than 300 alumni, faculty, parents and friends tuned in for Alumni Weekend 2021 on October 22 and 23. The virtual celebration offered a mix of traditional Alumni Weekend events as well as some new offerings.

29TH ANNUAL PECCARY SOCIETY DINNER ) + The weekend kicked off on Friday, October 22 with the 29th annual Peccary Society Dinner. Guests were welcomed on to the virtual steps of the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology for a one-hour special program. Museum Director Dr. Andy Farke shared the latest Alf Museum projects and celebrated the 2021 recipient of the Alf Award, Dr. Julie Meachen, who is researching climate impacts on ice age mammals. The museum also honored Director Emeritus Dr. Don Lofgren, who stepped down as director after 30 years with the museum. Following the program, attendees joined a social hour on Zoom to catch up with one another and share some of their favorite Peccary memories.

ALUMNI WEEKEND * On Saturday, October 23, guests enjoyed a mix of traditional and new programming, adjusted for the virtual format. Attendees arrived on the virtual Webb campus in front of Hooper Community Center and made their way into the virtual Liu/Cheung Theater. The day began with a virtual tour of the Alf Museum with Director Dr. Andy Farke. Then a panel on DEI Allyship was hosted by the Alumni Office, with alumni guests sharing their insights and observations about diversity, equity and inclusion allyship both at their current professional settings and as it pertained to their time at Webb. Moderated by Jennifer Ishiguro ’91, the panel featured Dr. Christina Mercer McGinley ’84, Dr. Lydia Charles ’86, Dr. Rahmi Mowjood ’90 and Kane Willis ’11. The Rev. Bill Ripley ’60 led an alumni chapel service in the afternoon that included a chapel talk by Joe Thomas ’70, a reading by Jarasa Kanok ’96 and a remembrance of classmates who are no longer with us. Throughout the day, attendees were able to watch a virtual dorm crawl through their favorite homes away from home, including a first look into the newly renovated Appleby Dorm. Also available for viewing was a look inside the remodeled and upgraded Hooper Community Center with Director of Finance, Planning and Operations Janet Peddy and Dean of Campus Life Ken Rosenfeld.

CENTENNIAL YEARS CELEBRATION ,* Scan to watch the recorded events and more on our Webb Alumni YouTube channel.

Scan for more information about the campaign and transformative gift.

The weekend culminated in The Centennial Years Opening Celebration when Webb announced a historic estate gift of at least $100 million from an anonymous donor and launched the $200 million Centennial Campaign aimed at three pillars: open Webb to the world, foster academic innovation through unbounded thinking and academic partnerships and transform our campus home. The evening concluded with a Zoom social hour and celebratory toast to “The Next 100.”

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FAMILY DAY 2021: WEBB IS THRIVING * Webb welcomed parents and family members from across the globe for Family Day 2021 on October 8, celebrating the return to in-person instruction and Webb’s residential program in 2021-22 after more than a year rocked by pandemic-driven disruptions. Head of Schools Taylor B. Stockdale captured the sense of momentum and vigor that has characterized Webb’s return. “Webb, in our 100th year, is indeed thriving,” Stockdale told families. “Our admissions have never been stronger, our academic program, never more dynamic, engaging and relevant. Our museum is truly world class and offers our students unparalleled opportunities for studying life on our planet. Our faculty and staff, never stronger and our leadership on the board, never more thoughtful and generous.” After the Head of Schools update, the community celebrated Webb teachers, staff and coaches at the Perry Awards luncheon on Centennial Field. Next, attendees joined information sessions that included “Making the Most of Your Webb Years,” “College and Beyond,” “Go Unbounded!” and “Academic Support and Resources.” A student art exhibit in Hooper Community Center, Webb volleyball and football games and a social gathering completed the event.

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Events & Highlights

Be sure to keep your email updated with the Alumni Office to hear about upcoming events. Contact us at alumni@webb.org to update your contact information.

LOS ANGELES HOLIDAY PARTY , + The tradition of the Los Angeles Webb Holiday Party continued as more than 140 members of the Webb community gathered at The Langham Huntington in Pasadena on December 15, 2021. The holiday party welcomed alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends of Webb to celebrate the season together.

PARENT HOLIDAY CARD MAILING , Webb parents gathered on a chilly Saturday morning in December to help spread some holiday cheer. About 25 volunteers came together on Centennial Field to sip coffee, snack on holiday goodies and, most importantly, write holiday cards to all Webb families. The cards were designed by Webb Fine Art students Petrina Ong ’24, Jason Wang ’24, and David Ma ’25. For more information on how you can get involved at Webb, email parents@webb.org.

Head of Schools Taylor B. Stockdale addressed the crowd with a message about the resiliency of the Webb community and how we continue to support our students with their efforts. Dr. Jamila Everett, director of admission & financial aid, spoke about the incoming class of prospective students and the record-breaking year we had in applications. Guests also heard from Hector Martinez, dean of college guidance, on the great success of the Webb seniors on their early acceptances. The Webb Advancement staff was thrilled to welcome alumni from the classes of 1960 to 2021 alongside current and past parents and other members of the Webb community from across Southern California.

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JUNIOR CAREER EVENING:

Alumni Return to Share Their Experiences The Webb Alumni Council, in conjunction with the Advancement Office, hosted Junior

Career Evening on Sunday, February 20. This event welcomes alumni back to campus to speak about their professional and educational journeys.

After the sessions, students gathered outside Price Dining Hall to enjoy cookies and cocoa and continue their conversations with the alumni speakers, while honing their networking skills. Faculty and staff also stopped by to thank the alumni for volunteering. Many thanks to Kathy Fredrich ’02 for representing the Alumni Council and to each of our alumni speakers.

MARKETING Ed Lin ’93, Principal at Joystick Ventures Grace Um ’08, Executive Director, Global Paid & Media Analytics at Lionsgate To kick off the evening, Kathy Fredrich ’02, Alumni Council president, welcomed the junior class in Liu/Cheung Theater, introduced alumni speakers and provided a few pointers for the students to make the most of their time that evening. Four sessions were led by alumni in their respective industries; each student participated in two. The Start-Up Culture session featured Jeff Cripe ’08 and James Chang ’04, who discussed their journeys into startups and how to navigate the highs and lows. Students were advised not to worry about their college major, to start a business sooner than later and that there is no substitute for effort and energy. Grace Um ’08 and Ed Lin ’93 led the Marketing session, giving students a peek into both gaming and entertainment marketing. Students were encouraged to “find their why” when choosing their career and enjoying what they do. As often happens with marketing events, students enjoyed receiving promotional items from recent movies and television series for their participation. In Digital Entertainment, Shyla Watson ’11 and Cameron Lutz ’11 gave students a look into managing celebrities, working on major media platforms and what the educational needs are to be successful in their fields. Dr. Robert Hanna ’04 and Dr. Lisette Farve ’04 discussed their careers in Medical and Veterinary Sciences. They spoke about their paths through college and medical school and what previous experiences are helpful in pursuing a medical or veterinary career. They also spoke about picking the best medical field for a student’s personality and lifestyle choice.

DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT Cameron Lutz ’11, SVP Strategic Marketing & Content Innovation at Range Media Partners Shyla Watson ’11, Celebrity Strategy Manager & Books Editor at Buzzfeed

MEDICAL & VETERINARY SCIENCES Lisette Farve ’04, Veterinarian at Banfield Pet Hospital Robert Hanna ’04, Oral Surgeon

START-UP CULTURE James Chang ’04, Owner & CEO of Ace Alarm Jeff Cripe ’08, Founder & CEO of Cargo and CEO of Ara Labs

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1950 Hans Lehmann

recently finished writing a book. In his memoir, Blessed & Zany, scheduled for May 2022, Hans recounts the numerous blessings he received throughout his life, intermixed with his penchant for following a zany path. Included are stories about Webb, college, the U.S. Army, work, play, mischief and more. “A fascinating, humorous and insightful romp through a blessed and zany life.” �

1960 Bill Ripley had lunch with Dick Walker, his Webb Spanish teacher in Claremont. Bill tells us “it was a 62-year reunion in the making!” 2

1981 In early 2021, Jonathon Congdon, co-founder and

1993 The Hon. Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong

president of the fitness program Beachbody, helped navigate the growth of the company with a threeway merger of Beachbody Company Group LLC, Myx Fitness Holdings LLC and Forest Road Acquisition Corp. Now called Beachbody Company, Inc., it began public trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 28, 2021. Jon will continue to lead the Openfit live digital streaming platform, which is owned by Beachbody, of which he remains president.

was nominated to the federal bench by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 17, 2021. Maame – valedictorian of her Vivian Webb School class – served as a Los Angeles Superior Court judge from 2016 to 2021. Previously, she had been vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of the Millennium Challenge Corporation as well as serving for eight years in key roles at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Dr. Angele Fauchier 1983 Christopher Riggio is enjoying living in the North Cascades. He had a close call this past summer when two large wildfires burned close by. He wishes everyone the best of health during this uncertain time.

1986 Jerry Chang and Patrick Ma ’87 met up for lunch in Vancouver. Great to see Webbies connecting around the world! 4

1969 Randall Lewis received

an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from CSUSB for his impressive 50-year career in the real estate industry as well as his extensive community leadership and service.

1970 Larry Ashton caught up with Dr. Don Lofgren and former dean of WSC Randall Holdridge in Tucson, Ariz., in September 2021. Doc retires in June 2022 after more than 30 years at the Alf Museum. 3 6

1992 Brett Kennedy, manager of the Robotics Section of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was part of a team of experts that developed a ventilator in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The machine, called Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally, or VITAL, was developed in just 37 days before the license was offered to companies for manufacturing. Over 100 companies worldwide applied for a license, 29 of which were granted. VITAL is now being used in hospitals in Brazil and use authorizations are being pursued in a number of other countries, including India, Mexico and Armenia, as well as the United States.

married Staff Sgt. Jay Watt in the mountains of Colorado in August 2021. Webb alumni in attendance were the Rev. Mark Schultz and Dr. Sonia Sabnis ’94. Angele is a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Jay is a flight medic in the U.S. Army as well as a firefighter. 5

1994 Max Nelson welcomed baby girl Violet James Nelson on August 24.

1995 Arran Shea welcomed baby girl Charlotte Foster Shea on January 11. To read more about Arran’s career as a pilot, check out his alumni profile on page 58.

1996 Joe Adler along with his sister, Caroline Adler Morales ’00, and her family visited the Alf Museum in fall 2021 and enjoyed a tour with Dr. Don Lofgren. 6

VWS ALUMNAE AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS FELLOWSHIP Christina Dong ’18 was selected as a member of The Brooke Owens Fellowship Class of 2022, a nationally acclaimed nonprofit program recognizing exceptional undergraduate women and other gender minorities with space and aviation internships, senior mentorship and a lifelong professional network. Dong is a Pomona College student majoring in physics and dance. The Class of 2022 marks the sixth class of “Brookie” Fellows. This year’s fellows were selected from the Fellowship’s most competitive application year. More than 1,000 promising and talented students applied worldwide, from Ivy League

1999 Sonal Sura Girgis is a radiation oncologist in New York working to revolutionize the traditional approach to care for cancer patients through her new venture Genesis Care.

2000 Kelly Smith Fayne was promoted to partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in San Francisco and was recognized by the Global Competition Review as a finalist for 2020 Lawyer of the Year, under 40.

2001 Bobby Bedi married Laura Job on August 14 in Lake Tahoe. Webbies in attendance included the groom’s brother and best man, Robbie Bedi ’98, ceremony officiant Preston Clarke ’98, groomsman Ankush Sharma ’98 and Ryan Riddle ’98, Rick Clarke ’63 and Jaswinder Grover ’82. 7 Elissa Seto welcomed baby girl Rowan Zhen Seto Flynn in January 2022. Rowan joins big sister Kirin Sum who is thrilled to have a baby sister. 8

2002 Yu-En Chien recently became a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty in Brea, Calif.

universities, major research universities, historically black colleges and universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges and major international universities. Fifty-one Fellows were selected through a competitive application process involving written and creative submissions, interviews with the Fellowship’s leadership team and its network and interviews with 36 leading aerospace employers from across multiple sectors in the US aerospace industry. The Fellows were selected based on their commitment to their communities, standout creative abilities, record of leadership, incredible talent and their desire to pursue a career in aerospace. Dong will work at HawkEye360 in Herndon, Va., after graduation. Hawkeye 360 is a geospatial analytics company that operates a first-of-its-kind commercial satellite constellation to identify, process, and map radio frequency emissions. Congratulations, Christina!

2003 Christina Kon and her husband, John Sang ’00, welcomed a new baby boy, Theodore, in March 2021.

2004 Will Habos and his wife Meghan welcomed baby boy Otis in December 2021. �0

2005 Jessica Anand Gupta welcomed her second daughter, Avya, on April 7, 2021. Big sister Ahna is overjoyed, and Jess and her husband, Parag, exhausted. Jess continues to live in San Francisco and run her own company focused on supporting expecting and new moms. 11

Timothy Tow and his family enjoyed visiting the Alf Museum and touring Webb’s campus in November 2021. Tim tells us he is looking forward to his 20th reunion as part of the Centennial Celebration. 9

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Emily Hammett and her husband, Tom, welcomed baby Tommy Jr., or “TJ” in 2021. 12

2007 Jessica Dholakia 12

married Andy Varshneya on November 21, 2021 in Laguna Niguel. Many Webbies were in attendance including Ravnyssa Verma and her husband, Angad, Faisal Yaqub and his wife, Yasmin, Riley Lewis, Raahi Sheth, Aviana D’Souza and her husband, Jon, Alyssa Leppla and her husband, Nick, Matt Tan, Diana Zhu ’08, Harason Horowitz ’02, Noor Kalkat ’09, and Will Habos ’04 and his wife, Meghan. 13 14

2008 Phillip Chen completed his master’s degree at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business this past year. He is senior director of marketing at Salesforce in San Francisco. 15 Congratulations to Dr. Bethany Geleris for earning her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the University of California, San Francisco! She is a pediatric nurse practitioner at UCSF Medical Center as well as working on solutions for nurse burnout nationwide. 16

Jonathan Jaw and his wife, Cindy, welcomed baby boy Jackson in the spring of 2021. 17 It was great to have Johnson Lightfoote back on campus in October 2021 for a visit. He reconnected with faculty members Rick Duque and Ken Rosenfeld. Classmate Lexus Beaman gave him a tour of the renovated Hooper Community Center. 18

Nishtha Patel married Tejash Desai on June 5, 2021 at South Coast Winery in Temecula, Calif. Webbies in attendance included Neil Patel ’02 and classmates Lexus Beaman, Phillip Chen, Mollie Mackenzie and Lisa Valera. 19 20 Gabe Romero and his wife, Max, welcomed a baby girl, Marais Reilly Romero, on December 4, 2021 in Seoul, South Korea. The new parents felt incredibly lucky to have Gabe’s parents make the trek from Southern California to stay with them for a few weeks. 21

Grace Um married JK Kim on November 14, 2021 in Temecula, Calif. The bridal party was filled with Webbies, including co-maids of honor Lexus Beaman and Diana Zhu, with the bride’s sister Diane Um ’17 serving as a bridesmaid. Matt Tan ’07 was also in attendance. 22

Lauren Herndon is teaching 2011 Emily Stewart married Lance Han on August 28, 2021. The wedding took place at Seminary Hill in Callicoon, N.Y. There were several Webbies in attendance, including Kyle Smith ’12 and bridesmaids Elena Scott-Kakures, Summer Yoast, Natalee Cruz ’12, and the bride’s sister Katie Stewart ’17. Andy Dahlstrom and Hilary Dahlstrom P ’15, ’16, ’20 were also there, and Hilary made the wedding cake. Emily’s brother, Allen Stewart ’14, officiated the wedding. 23 2013 Daniel Hernandez returned to campus in October 2021 to speak at WSC chapel. His message included the importance of his Webb education, playing basketball with Rick Duque as coach and his personal connections at Webb. 24

eighth-grade science at a charter school in Brooklyn, NY.

Ashlynn Ramos married Blake Martin on September 18, 2021 at Cardinal Village Resort in Aspendell, Calif. Ashylnn tells us “it was a beautiful wedding and celebration. Weather was perfect and sunny (lucky, as mountain weather is unpredictable). We had an early afternoon ceremony followed by lawn games, cocktails and charcuterie. We concluded with dinner and dancing outdoors surrounded by aspen trees and a gorgeous mountainscape. Blake and I have been together for over six years and have been enjoying this new chapter of our relationship. We bought our first home together in 2021 and currently live in Ventura, Calif., with our two dogs. Blake is a Damien

HS alum, Class of 2012. We met through mutual high school friends in 2013.” Madison Henn was the maid of honor. Taylor Schulze was a bridesmaid. Brendan Ramos ’12, Lexington Henn ’09, Chauncy Henn ’11, Keelan Henn ’15, Joseph Shaver, Aaron Digiamarino and Jordan Veiga, and Megan Blomberg ’15 were in attendance as well. 25 In 2020, Yu Shae Wang joined the blockchain tech company Ripple as a senior data scientist. “I entered a space entirely new to me, and I’m so glad I did that. Data science is underutilized in the blockchain industry. Building/testing new frameworks and methods alongside the best team has been a truly humbling and amazing journey.”

JACK WILLIAMS ’60 ON LEARNING TO FLY AND EXPERIENCING THE WORLD

“I arrived late to the freedom and utility of general aviation, starting flying lessons at the tender age of 47 in 1989. It was humbling that my very patient basic and instrument instructors were the age of our children. I asked one, ‘Does

your mother know you’re doing this?’ Flight school rule of thumb, for every hour of flight instruction in the plane, count on two hours hitting the books on FAA rules and regulations, airspace, weather, airframe and powerplant, medical requirements, the physics of flight, etc. Flying isn’t a physical exercise, it’s a mental one. You don’t muscle an aircraft as much as lead it to do what you want. In other words, your job is to stay ahead of it. I’ve now logged 4,000+ hours of personal and business flying, viewing the country from a most fabulous vantage point. Flight adds an invaluable third dimension to experiencing our world. Now retired, the goals are to stay healthy, on top of the mental game and current with the latest regulations, airspace changes and technologies. The FAA has rules (lots of them) regarding currency of flight, which justifies the ‘hundred-dollar breakfast’ flyouts several of us do each week, weather permitting. There are good cafes, many with outdoor seating, at almost every Southern California airport.” – Jack Williams ’60

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Alumni Profile Kyle Smith ’12 is the social media programmer for emerging platforms and audiences at the National Football League. In this role, Smith finds ways for the league to intersect with fashion, culture, social media and the community in engaging and informative ways. What started as a passion project on Instagram has taken him all the way to the Super Bowl. His career has been full of pivots. After styling the likes of Justin Bieber and Sarah Paulson, Smith went back to school at Cal Poly Pomona and earned a degree in art history. He utilized his studies to discuss politics, particularly the Arab Spring protests, and their effect on fashion in real time, an area few had explored. Through this research, he noticed that Spongebob Squarepants became a popular character among Arab youth during the protests. They connected with the cartoon, his positive attitude and relatively average day-to-day life. Jeremy Scott debuted a collection at New York Fashion Week inspired by the Arab Spring, including leopard-print veils and dresses made of fabric with machine gun imagery. This then inspired Scott to design an entire show for fashion house Moschino featuring Spongebobthemed outfits, having learned of their unlikely linkage.

When the pandemic hit and everything came to a halt, so did his job. After being laid off, Smith styled for Amazon and designed merchandise for Fleetwood Mac. When the 2021 NFL season began, he decided to relaunch his Instagram account to continue posting and creating content.

“Who would have thought I have a degree in streetwear and Spongebob Squarepants? But I do. What do I do with this?” Smith reflected.

Within the league when asked about his favorite team, Smith responds, “I am here for the players. I root for the coolest players who care about stuff outside of football.”

He juggled various fashion jobs styling for commercials and catalogs but was unsure what he wanted to do for the long term. In 2019, the NFL was hiring for a styling position for the NFL Network.

He wants to shine a light on a diverse group of players and talk about fashion in a way that a fashion person would appreciate.

“I had never watched football in my whole life and still have never really seen a game,” Smith said. After being hired, he learned a lot about football culture. He saw that players walked into every game wearing interesting outfits and yet no one commented or talked about them. He “went rogue” and created an Instagram account where he posted about player fashion, who they were wearing and potential meanings behind their choices. He quickly received messages from players supporting his work and thanking him for noticing their ‘fits.

“Since high school, I’ve had this poster that says, ‘Smart had one good idea and that idea was stupid.’ I wanted to make so much content they couldn’t ignore me,” Smith said. Players continued to like his work and he gained followers. After “going stupid” for a few weeks, he added some strategy. On LinkedIn, he searched for everyone who worked in social media at the NFL and followed them on Instagram. Within 15 minutes, a vice president of social media messaged Smith inquiring if he was working for anyone. Within a matter of weeks, Smith was offered a job. “I was hired for a job I made up. They had never hired for this position before,” Smith said. The role was as an emerging platform strategist to help the NFL reach new fans with varying interests. “They know I’ve never watched football and they kind of love that.”

“The players hire stylists, which shows that they are interested in their fashion choices. Why not celebrate it? If they care, then we should, too.… This is such an easy way to be interested in these players and be interested in what matters to them.” During the 2020 season and the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, players were showing their support through their clothes. “Players would wear things such as a beautifully knit sweater with Breonna Taylor’s face on it, and that is such an easy way to talk about fashion and lean into something deeper and heavier in an

newsnotes THE WEBB SCHOOLS

approachable way. And then we can maybe talk about some serious issues. Imagine a world where players are free to wear crazy outfits and we can talk about it in a cool way and have a wider audience see that there are people out there who are into fashion and sports,” Smith said. He continues to work toward this goal by partnering with others who have different perspectives for opportunities that he creates within the NFL. And you can’t talk about the NFL without mentioning its biggest event: the Super Bowl. For Super Bowl LVI, Smith was integral in the creation of NFL Origins, a streetwear collaboration with the host city – an effort he plans to continue next year in Glendale, Ariz. They partnered with four Los Angeles-based streetwear brands to create merchandise using the NFL and Super Bowl logos. Smith is conscious of finding ways to give back to the communities that are giving so much to host these large events. Smith is enjoying what he is doing and wants to see where it takes him. “I want to continue figuring out how to bring cool cultural moments to the NFL,” he said. During his days at Webb, he considers the time spent with Emily Stewart ’11 in after-school art as hugely formative for his career. They would spend their free time doing photoshoots and working on projects that sparked joy. “When you are working on things that interest you, it doesn’t feel like work,” he said. The products of those afternoon photoshoots filled his first portfolio. “When you make time in your already busy schedule to do what you love, you will be rewarded somehow,” Smith said. “Whether it’s just emotionally fulfilling, or you get a job at the NFL. Go for the things that bring you joy. One way or another, it will pay off.”

2016 William Liu has been accepted into the UCLA physics doctorate program. He completed his undergrad at UC Berkeley.

Akua McLeod graduated from Stanford with her B.S. in electrical engineering in 2021 and is working on her Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University. Akua is studying engineering and public policy, while researching energy poverty.

2017 Julian Diepenbrock is in his first year of the University of Wyoming’s Ph.D. program in paleontology. Julian, who earned a Bachelor of Science in geology from the University of Arizona in 2021, is focusing his research on sauropods. 26

Simon Dawson is a junior at Washington University, majoring in microbiology with a minor in psychology. Simon plans to attend medical school after graduation. He spent more than a month shadowing doctors in the summer of 2021 and plans on doing it again this coming summer. Simon is working in a campus microbiology lab where he is working on a microorganism called Dictyostelium discoideum. He is a shift captain in a volunteer group called Campus Kitchen that collects food that would be thrown out and prepares and donates it to a local homeless shelter and middle school. Simon also joined the club wrestling team. He is pictured here with his lab group. 28

2019 Juliana Base is attending UC Riverside, where she is double majoring in biology and geology. She also tried out (and made) UCR’s track and field team, focusing on throwing, and is officially now a Division 1 athlete. “At the moment my best event is the discus throw but I’m learning other events as well! I’m having a great time!” She also reports, “My little brother James is applying for Webb to be an incoming freshman this year and I’m so excited for him and the prospect of coming back on campus to watch his achievements and growth!” 27

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newsnotes THE WEBB SCHOOLS

Woosuk Kang is studying computer science at the University of Michigan and is contemplating minoring in electrical engineering. This summer, he will be working at Bank of America as a software engineer intern in Chicago. Caitlyn Ossa, a junior

at Scripps College, is completing her last year at Scripps before transferring to another institution for the final two years of her 3-2 engineering program. She is part of Mudd Advanced Rocketry Club, the Society of Women Engineers and is working for the Lab for Autonomous and Intelligent Robotics. She is also in the Equestrian Club. 29

Linda Wu is a junior at Rice University, double majoring in women & gender studies and psychology, minoring in biochemistry and cell biology and pursuing a Spanish language certificate. This summer she will be studying abroad in Pamplona, Spain, and hopes to apply to medical school either in 2022 or 2023. Linda also has been enjoying her time working at Rice’s Women’s Resource Center, spending time with a club called the Patient Discharge Initiative and “making the most of the time I have left with the community I’ve found at Rice.”

2020 Ariel Benjamin is loving her first year at Smith College! She joined the student-run theater group on campus, Duct Tape Productions, and got to play Berthe in Pippin for the fall show. She also got a job working at Smith’s 24-hour makerspace, the “Design Thinking Initiative,” where she gets to lead arts and crafts workshops for students and help manage art installations on campus. Ashley Fu is a sophomore at Georgetown University, intending to major in economics and minor in Spanish and business studies. “I really enjoy life in DC!” At school, she is involved with the studentrun marketing agency and a nonprofit consulting group called DCivitas. She also sings with an a cappella group called Superfood (pictured) and is the vice president at the Chinese Students & Scholars Association. “For now, I plan to go into marketing after graduation, either going back to China or exploring jobs in New York City.” 30

Sabrina (Brie) LapreeChavez is majoring in animal behavior at Bucknell University and is on the prevet track. Brie is involved with the campus GSA and botany club. She also works in the primate lab where she gets to train Capuchin monkeys to use a computer program to measure how their stress levels impact their attention span. Two of the monkeys, Nigel and Norman, are pictured. Brie plans to work with the campus baboons and squirrel monkeys to help train them for vet visits. 31 32

Last year, Victoria Romero was a freshman on Pepperdine University’s women’s soccer team. She played in all 12 games and scored one goal. In April, she was named to the West Coast Conference Freshman Team. 33

2021 Amy Zhong is majoring in computer science at Harvey Mudd. She tutors and grades computer science and quantum information courses in her free time. Amy also codes for an underwater robotics club, photographs for the school magazine and is part of the 5C Sailing Club leadership.

Pat ’65 and Mary Stroop enjoyed catching up with Head of Schools

Taylor B. Stockdale in Annapolis, Md. They visited the Naval Academy and saw the statue of Taylor’s father, Vice Admiral James Stockdale. Pat’s father was also a celebrated admiral, which gave him and Taylor much to talk about.

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The Healing Power of the Arts For many of us, comfort in uncertain times can be found in the arts. Both as creators and consumers, art has the power to heal. This has never been truer than today as we are bombarded with news surrounding the pandemic and its myriad effects.

Webb alumni who have dedicated their lives to the arts share their experiences. Karen Greene Robinson ’88 – an arts education specialist with the Los Angeles Unified School District – majored in African American Studies with a focus on Black theater at UC Berkeley and experienced the power of theater in giving voice to communities, cultures and causes. “In Maslow‘s Hierarchy of Needs, after we move past the basic requirements for food, shelter and safety, we see the importance of belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization; all of these are found in artistic endeavors,” Robinson said. Robinson said her work as a fellow for Arena Stage’s social outreach theater, Living Stage Theatre Company, put her on a path to self-actualization. “There I came to understand theater as a healing art. Living Stage worked with men and women in prison, with teen moms, special needs students and their local elementary. People were transformed as old wounds were surfaced and healed or they were simply given the grace to exist in a space where their thoughts, feelings and experiences were validated,” she said. This formed the philosophical roots of her work with students today.

Original art by Ragni Agarwal ’99

“I am committed to starting the next generation down the path using the arts to become the best version of themselves,” she said.

“ I create bold, beautiful images that are reflective of the dark and the light inside each of us.”⁣ – Ragni Agarwal ’99

Artist Ragni Agarwal ’99 views art as a path to freedom through self-expression. “Driven by a pop art aesthetic and bold colors, mental health, body (dis)illusions and self-destructive thoughts and behaviors are the focus of my work,” Agarwal said. “I create bold, beautiful images that are reflective of the dark and the light inside each of us.”⁣ Agarwal said she doesn’t believe in societal pressures or definitions of beauty; through her work, she is a part of the counterculture redressing this issue. “I believe in the inclusion and the celebration of all types of beauty, especially those underrepresented in pop culture,” she said. “Art is whatever you want it to be. If you have something creative to say, say it and don’t be afraid of what anyone thinks about it. Chances are someone will undoubtedly resonate with your story.”

Leo Crean ’12 is an independent music teacher in Washington. “I get to use my guitar and my voice to teach children how to be musical and how to interact with music in meaningful ways,” Crean said. “My journey with music has taught me that I don’t need to be a renowned artist to enjoy music. For most of my life, I felt that I needed to aim to be a famous rockstar in order to fully enjoy it. In reality, practicing and performing music has provided me with many opportunities, including reaching my goals, being vulnerable with others, facing anxiety and doubt and, most importantly, having fun!”

Kevin Kumar ’92 founded the nonprofit music organization Salastina Music Society to connect and heal through live musical performance and has continued to put community first since the onset of the pandemic. “Two years ago, we began holding free interactive weekly events online, and a wonderful community has formed because of the regularity of these ‘happy hours.’ Together we affirm, on a weekly basis, what is extraordinary about humanity through music,” Kumar said. “It’s healing for everyone involved, and the community element strengthens the healing conviction that we all have unlimited potential to appreciate and create meaning and beauty. As we near 100 Happy Hours, we’ve stumbled into realizing that an artistic enterprise’s highest goal is community building.”

“ Together we affirm, on a weekly basis, what is extraordinary about humanity through music.” – Kevin Kumar ’92

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In Memoriam FORMER TRUSTEE Former Webb Trustee NANCY COFFIN passed away on March 30, 2020. Nancy is the mother and grandmother of 12 graduates of The Webb Schools, including sons Michael ’69 and Mark Wray ’72. As a Webb parent, she served as president of the Affiliates and often filled in at first base or tight end in pick-up sports games on the lower field. In 1969, Nancy established the Coffin Fund to provide scholarship support to Webb students. She devoted much of her time to community service, working with the Assistance League and hospice care facilities. She served as a board member of the Oregon Institute of Technology Foundation for several years and co-chaired the scholarship committee. Nancy is survived by her six children, 16 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren, who were the recipients of her many great gifts of love and guidance.

1938 We learned that ARNOLD GROSSBERG passed away on August 15, 2021. The family held a small service in his memory.

1944 RAY W. SANDERS died August 16, 2021 in Santa Monica at the age of 94. Family members were at his side. Ray is survived by his three children, four grandchildren and his brother. While at Webb, he earned top marks in trigonometry and chemistry and was an outstanding musician, particularly on the violin. He also played tennis and was an avid short-wave radio fan. After graduating from Webb, Ray served in the U.S. Navy. He then graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics and a master’s in electrical engineering. He married Sally in 1957 and together they raised their family in Los Angeles. In his career as an engineer and entrepreneur, Ray developed innovative telecommunication systems at ITT-Gilfillan and Space General Corporation, including a radar system for the first U.S. space vehicle sent to Mars. In 1969, he founded Tran Telecommunications Corporation, which became a highly successful maker of digital

data communication networks. Later, he cofounded Nucleus International, a relational database startup. Later in his career, he patented a novel synchronized network system to improve the speed and efficiency of data transmission.

1948 We recently learned of the death of PETER N. POTTER.

1951 RONALD M. JONHSON passed away on January 28, 2021.

1952 We recently learned of the passing of JOSEPH S. PATRICK on January 28, 2012. During his time at Webb, he enjoyed playing football and tennis, naming Les Perry as “an inspiring coach.” Joe served in the Army before earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from UC Berkeley and a master’s in sociology from Washington University. He went on to be an instructor of economics and sociology at Modesto College, Merced College and Diablo College, where he taught for 35 years. He also owned a golf store for many decades that his younger son took over when he retired.

1953 KENDALL “KEN” THURSTON passed away on October 26, 2021. He is survived by his wife, Helen, sisters Ann and Jill, three children, five grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren. During his time at Webb, Ken was active on the dance committee, in the drama club, radio club and choir and wrote for the Blue & Gold. He was also made a member of the Quill and Scroll. After graduating from Webb, he studied economics at Pomona College. He served in the National Guard, U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve. Ken met his future wife, Helen, at Lazy H Ranch in Pauma Valley, Calif., a special place for them both. Ken and Helen went on to have three children – Juli, Tom and David. A devout Christian, Ken was active in local church leadership. He was an EMT and member of Vallecito Volunteer

Fire Department. After retiring from a career in real estate appraisal, he spent his time reading large volumes of books and entertaining friends with his famous wit.

1954 We recently learned of the passing of JOHN H. DECKER on September 23, 2017 in Cumming, Georgia.

1956 DONALD R. “SANDY” KERR passed away on December 6, 2017 after a lengthy illness. He was a psychotherapist, professor and educator of clinical psychology at Florida State University as well as the holder of a doctorate in mathematics. Sandy is survived by his loving wife and soulmate of 50 years, Jessie, sister Karen, daughter Linda, grandsons Ethan and Sam, niece Lisa and nephew Michael, as well as his many friends and colleagues.

1957 JAMES L. “JIM” BARDEN passed away at his home on Bluff Point, Keuka Lake on January 5, 2014. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Patricia, daughter Charissa, sons Paul and John, sister Anne and six grandchildren. Jim was a member of the founding Class of 1961 at Harvey Mudd College and a mechanical engineer by training. He enjoyed a 37-year career in engineering and manufacturing at General Electric and Xerox Corporation. Much of his free time was spent woodworking and “tinkering” in the workshop or tending to maintenance of the family cottage. He was also an avid sailor. JOHN J. RENAKER, JR. passed away on September 25, 2020. He is survived by his wife, Freya, daughter Freya, Jr., son ERIC ’78, two grandchildren and three siblings. After leaving Webb, Jim attended UCLA and went into the ceramic manufacturing business. A lover of the outdoors and the sea, Jim was happiest when traveling or fishing on his boat, the Skip Along.

77 77

A celebration of life We recently learned of the passing of LEONARD SKELTON on December 7, 2019 in San Clemente, Calif.

1958 EDMOND K. “NED” WYNN passed away on December 20, 2020. He is survived by brother Tracy, half-sisters Schuyler, Hilda and Winnie and niece Jessica. During his time at Webb, Ned was active in several extracurricular activities, including soccer, track, drama club, drama committee and dance committee. He was an associate editor of El Espejo and editor of both the Blue & Gold and Sage, Webb’s literary magazine. Ned followed in his family’s show business footsteps and became an actor and screenwriter. He appeared in small roles in a handful of films. He, his father and grandfather worked together in multiple films. He penned screenplays for movies, telefilms and television. He also co-wrote a song that Frank Sinatra recorded in the 1960s. In 1990, he published an autobiography, “We Will Always Live in Beverly Hills,” detailing what it was like being raised in Hollywood.

1961 COURTLAN C. HAZELTON died on January 29, 2021. At Webb, Court held a place of leadership and distinction. He served as treasurer of his freshman class, vice president as a sophomore and junior and was elected secretary-treasurer his senior year. He played football, basketball and tennis, and was chairman of El Espejo, a contributor to the Blue & Gold and held CSF honors. After Webb, he attended Cornell followed by the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a master’s degree in economics. He joined the U.S. Air Force and traveled the world flying various aircraft. He retired at the rank of full colonel. He and his wife, Linda, settled in Texas, where he worked in asset management before managing investments for a select group of private clients. Court also enjoyed a variety of interests, including the outdoors, opera and history.

1968

1981

ROBERT J. “BOB” SLOSS passed away on May 23, 2021. He is survived by his wife, Dusky, and his children Gabrielle, Andrew and Daniel. At Webb, Bob played soccer and captained the B squad of the basketball team. After Webb, he attended Rutgers University and joined the family business, Connor Spring Co. His career with Connor spanned more than 50 years, and he held positions of increasing responsibility, including manufacturing operations, sales and marketing. He established Connor’s first offshore manufacturing and distribution facility in Singapore. Bob went on to become CEO and chairman of the Board of Directors before his retirement in March 2021.

CURT SCHEU passed away on September 4, 2020. Curt is survived by his wife, Donna, daughters Kendall and RAEGAN ’18, son CURTIS JR. ’16 and brother CRAIG ’79. Curt attended Webb for his freshman and sophomore years before going on to graduate from Claremont High School. While at Webb, Curt was active in the math club and was a member of the El Espejo staff. Curt attended and graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a major in business and minor in government contracts and real estate. He was a jack of all trades; there was nothing Curt could not fix, improve or customize. Curt worked with R&D Fasteners and Scheu Manufacturing for many years, ingeniously testing the integrity of large bolts, such as those used by NASA. He always said it was a perfect job – dressed in what looked like a space suit as protection from extreme heat, in a small lab, blowing things up. With a lifelong wish to be an astronaut, Curt was always looking toward the stars and working toward making his life and the lives of those around him that much greater.

DEREK L. WELTON passed away on August 4, 2021, after a long battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, Lynda, son Jason, daughters Theresa and Lisa, four siblings, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Derek attended Webb through his junior year where he noted “the intense academics honed my mind.” He returned to Northern California for his senior year and graduated from Eureka High School. Derek moved to Alaska, where he was hired into Anchorage Telephone Utility and worked there for 20 years. He was promoted through various positions, ranging from an apprentice to a principal engineer. In 1990, he moved into management, serving in a variety of roles in operations and engineering, culminating in a division manager role. Derek loved and was most proud of his leadership and mentoring work. In 1995, Derek joined GCI, where he worked until retiring in February 2021. He called this his “second home” where he made many deep and lasting friendships. He completed his career at GCI working with law and corporate advocacy.

1970 We recently learned of the passing of JOLYON “JAY” WELCH on July 1, 2018.

1988 EZRA R. HENDREN passed away on June 4, 2021. He is survived by his wife, Kayhla, children Joseph and McKayhla, his sister and his mother. Ezra was active in sports, especially soccer, which he played during his time at Webb. He also loved running and cycling and enjoyed creative writing. This love of writing manifested later in life as he became a published author of three books under the pseudonym E. Reid Ross. Ezra served in the military and later had a career with the Baltimore Police Department. He eventually became a freelance writer with many published articles. He was well-known for his quick wit and comedic relief.

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The Final Word By Rahmi Mowjood, DO ’90 Being Champions of Hope

I have a patient who is dying of multiple sclerosis. He is bedridden and unable to care for himself without the assistance of others. I have never seen him in my office – his visits with me have been either by phone or via video. He emails me daily and has high expectations with regard to his care. It is often very difficult to find ways to help him without him getting frustrated or angry. Why is he behaving this way, I wondered? Maybe much of his behavior is driven by fear. Understandable, as he is living with a terminal diagnosis, one that is slowly wearing away his ability to function. Of course he is going to be more direct and demanding – he doesn’t have time to mess around. Dealing with the bureaucracy of medicine can be maddening for those of us who are healthy – imagine being sick and having to cut through all the red tape just to get a nurse to come home and take care of your bed sores or check your breathing. It can be a very scary process. I decided to lean into his care. My staff and I started to reach out to him daily, being proactive instead of reactive. We interface with his case manager regularly and we work to better coordinate his care. Most importantly, we keep him as involved and appraised about all things related to his health. This approach has proven to soften his stance, and he has accepted our efforts to partner in his care. In essence, we have worked to give him hope. While there is still so much that is out of his control, we have managed

his fear and allowed him to feel in control, even if it is only a small amount. The famous 19th century Russian writer, playwright and physician Anton Chekov once remarked, “Even in Siberia there is happiness.” In the bleakest of conditions, where the outlook can look most dire, he observed that people still had hope. This quote resonates with me today, over 100 years later. After practicing medicine for over 20 years, I care for the sick and infirm, and I work to keep the healthy, well, healthy. In the end, however, what I do is champion hope as I fight off fear. Fear comes in many forms – fear of the unknown, be it a terminal cancer diagnosis, the expectations of a pregnant mother, or a loved one worried about giving COVID to an elderly parent. I combat fear with hope – hope that all will go well with the prescribed chemotherapy; that my patient will be an amazing mother; and that parents will be safe because their children are taking the necessary precautions to ensure their well-being.

We have all had a taste of fear over the past few years. The pandemic our world has lived through has doled out a strong prescription of uncertainty to all of us, in some shape or form, and it has been a challenge. This level of fear has been overwhelming, keeping us from our loved ones and isolating some of us for inordinate stretches of time. This fear has been anxiety-inducing, making us question all that we took for granted – going out to eat, enjoying the company of others, even raising an eyebrow at a slight cough. This fear has been life-changing for some of us, as we have struggled with our own personal beliefs and choices, and for some, struggled to accept the loss of loved ones due to this pandemic. It has been hard to maintain hope during these years. I have found myself telling patients, friends, family members and my Webb family to remain vigilant, that in time, this will pass. But it is hard to do that when you can’t see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes even the act of hoping is dangerous, as it often ends in disappointment. Remember how we all felt as the Delta variant started to die down? Life was returning to normal, gatherings were being organized, masks were being discarded, only to be faced with Omicron and a forced return back to the way of life that made us afraid of the air we breathe. In the face of this, I challenge all of us to maintain hope and to be warriors against fear. Even in the face of the darkest of odds, we have found areas of illumination and light that have been profound and meaningful. Take a step back and reflect – by working from home, maybe we have strengthened our familial bonds. By being separated from our loved ones, we have cherished our reunions even more, and our hugs have been tighter than before. By working together for the betterment of our community, we have made humanity closer and have made our differences less obvious. Of course, having this mindset is not easy, and at times it can be taxing and emotionally treacherous. Expectations driven by hope can often go unfulfilled. One step forward

“ Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free.” may actually end with two steps back. This was sometimes the case over the past few years at Webb, where the hope of easing mask mandates or travel restrictions was tempered by the reality presented by the Medical Advisory Board. Our advice was always followed by a call for patience. Leading with hope sometimes means being patient, firmly waiting out the feelings of fear in anticipation of something better further down the line. This is what it means to be a champion of hope. It is a life I have lived for my patients day in and day out, and it is what gives my job meaning and purpose every time I am faced with a difficult situation presented by a patient. It is an undertaking I gladly share with my fellow members of Webb’s Medical Advisory Board, as we have navigated our Webb community through unknown waters brought on by this pandemic. As a movie aficionado and pop culture geek, I am reminded of one of my favorite movies as I write this. In “The Shawshank Redemption,” the movie tagline is, “fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free.” That’s a great movie line, but it’s hard to live by in the real world – but it’s not impossible. Hope is the best thing to hold on to in the face of all that life throws at us. In the end, it is our hope that will give us the light we need to survive, no matter how dark it seems to be. Be champions of hope, always.

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Andy Farke, Ph.D. Director, Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology Bob Fass Chief Advancement Officer

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Rogers and Moore, pictured above alongside Skip Hanson,

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HONORARY TRUSTEES William Chiu Robert Hefner ’53 Pak Fu King Ming Chung Liu Col. John Rogers ’59 (Ret.) Yafei Yuan

LIFE TRUSTEES Anne G. Earhart Sherwood C. Kingsley ’58 John (Dick) R. Lynas ’55 Douglas F. Myles Michael O. Woodburne, Ph.D.

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From the Head of Schools