SPRING 2019
CONTENTS CONTRIBUTORS Executive Editors Liz Ball Emilie Henry
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Managing Editor Erin Dentmon Production Manager Jennifer Liu Editorial Staff Justin Abraham Christy Oglesby
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Stacie Davis Rapson ’83 Caroline Rothschild Contributors Jane Lauderdale Armstrong ’74 Brooke Boothby Elizabeth Loyd Burdette ’00 Keith Evans Ann Giornelli ’10 Pamela Nye Ali Gray Prickett ’05 Katie Trainor Bailey Ward Susan Ayres Watson ’83 Art Direction & Design Green Gate Marketing Photography Dennis Carter Clyde Click Gemshots Billy Howard Matthew Spaulding Paul Ward Matthew Warren Student, faculty, staff, and parent photographers The Lewis H. Beck Archives at Westminster Printing Perfect Image
FEATURES
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A Campus That Leads
See how Westminster’s spaces are evolving as we embrace our future.
20 Alumni Shaping the World Around Us From a Middle Eastern library to metro Atlanta neighborhoods, these Wildcats create environments where people love to eat, pray, live, and work.
30 Seven Places Wildcats Have Left Their Paw Prints When students learn off campus, the physical spaces they encounter become important teachers.
30 DEPARTMENTS 2 From the President 38 Faculty and Staff 40 New Trustees 42 Wildcat Den 46 Wildcat Tracks 54 Westminster Fund Volunteers 56 Alumni News 67 Class Notes COMMENTS TO THE EDITOR: Please address postal correspondence to: Liz Ball Director of Marketing and Communications Westminster 1424 West Paces Ferry Road, NW Atlanta, Georgia 30327 Email: lizball@westminster.net Phone: 404-609-6259 Please direct Class Notes submissions to the Office of Alumni Engagement: classnews@westminster.net For change-of-address requests: advservices@westminster.net
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Friends, “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.”
for his country—he also had the eye of a designer.
This widely quoted insight about architecture came not from an architect, but from a journalist turned politician. On October 28, 1943, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill addressed the Members of Parliament to argue for the rebuilding of the House of Commons Chamber in the Palace of Westminster, which had been destroyed by a German bombing in 1941. His speech was a defense of the idea that spaces and communities exist in a symbiotic relationship to one another. One of the preeminent statesmen of the 20th century not only possessed the mind of a philosopher and a heartfelt love
Churchill explained the importance of two key elements of design for the rebuilt chamber. First, he said it should be oblong rather than semicircular, as the oblong arrangement would require a member to cross the floor if he wished to change party affiliation, rather than being able to shade his position by moving through gradations from left to right. Churchill observed the semicircular arrangement had proven “fatal to parliamentary government” in other countries. Second, he argued the chamber should not have enough seats for all its members. Churchill noted the chamber would be nine-tenths empty for many of its debates, and a full-sized space would detract from the conversational style and verbal jousting necessary for a parliamentary system to work. He recognized the urgency and intimacy—the close quarters—required by this political process, as well as the trade-offs needed to reflect this philosophy. In his view, crowded conditions would positively influence the nation’s most important debates. Like the House of Commons, we shape our campus and, if we do a good job, it shapes our lives together in many ways we can envision and in others we might never have imagined. Our buildings and the spaces inside them reflect our values and what we believe about teaching, learning, and the ties that bind us together. If we understand collaboration as a
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prerequisite for engaged learning, how do our spaces enable and promote it? And, if building a close and inclusive campus community of students, faculty, and staff is essential to the unique character of the Westminster experience, where do we gather? Serendipitously encounter one another? Offer hospitality to our broader community? These questions and others of equal consequence have guided our planning for the future of our campus and the design of our classrooms and hallways, quads, and commons. We share Churchill’s conviction: our buildings shape us. Our spaces matter. And because they matter, we have thought carefully about them, accounting for our history, our values, and our aspirations. Who knew we would find common cause with a midcentury leader of that “other Westminster?” Our campus is a living resource and evidence of the generous sacrifice of past generations. It requires our faithful stewardship to ensure this campus serves current and future Wildcats as effectively as it has those of past generations. The journey will shape us in exciting new ways—I hope you will join us as we get started! Best wishes,
Keith Evans President
ADMINISTRATION
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
EMERITUS TRUSTEES
Keith A. Evans President
Joel T. Murphy ’76, Chair Elizabeth Kilcullen Blake, Vice Chair Rosalind G. Brewer Samuel G. Candler William Clarkson IV Harold A. Dawson Jr. ’82 Michael J. Egan ’74 Jason Fritz Rebecca Olson Gupta Rand Glenn Hagen ’95 Scott D. Hawkins Katharine W. Kelley ’82 Stephen S. Lanier ’96 Janet M. Lavine Sukai Liu David M. Love ’90 Lisa Olivetti McGahan R. Brand Morgan ’94 Floyd C. Newton III ’73 Thomas Noonan Rahul Patel William T. Plybon Kelly A. Regal B. Clayton Rolader ’72 Louise S. Sams ’75 Stephen L. Schoen ’80 S. Stephen Selig ’61 Jeffrey P. Small Jr. ’85 Steven D. Smith Jay Yadav
James S. Balloun Betsy Barge Birkholz ’69 Lisa Borders ’75 James E. Bostic Jr. David E. Boyd Peter M. Candler ’60 Richard W. Courts II ’55 Ann Draughon Cousins Suzanne LeCraw Cox ’71 Joseph M. Craver F. T. Davis Jr. ’56 Virginia Gaines Dearborn ’56 W. Douglas Ellis Jr. Joseph W. Hamilton Jr. Allen S. Hardin Thomas D. Hills ’62 Ronald P. Hogan Barbara Benson Howell W. Stell Huie L. Phillip Humann M. Hill Jeffries Jr. ’73 E. Cody Laird Jr. George H. Lane III J. Hicks Lanier ’58 Dennis M. Love ’74 Gay McLawhorn Love Carolyn Cody McClatchey ’65 Terence F. McGuirk Larry L. Prince* Olga Goizueta Rawls ’73 Margaret Conant Reiser ’73 John W. Rooker ’56 Kenneth S. Taratus L. Barry Teague John A. Wallace D. Scott Weimer James B. Williams George B. Wirth
Toni Boyd Vice President for Finance and Operations Tim Downes Director of Athletics Emilie Henry Vice President for Institutional Advancement Jim Justice Dean of Academics and Curriculum Whit McKnight Head of Lower School Marjorie Dixon Mitchell ’82 Director of Enrollment Management Danette Morton Head of Middle School Thad Persons ’88 Dean of Faculty Bob Ryshke Executive Director, Center for Teaching Cindy Trask Head of Upper School
WESTMINSTER FUND REPRESENTATIVE Allen S. Moseley ’87 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION REPRESENTATIVE Susan Ayres Watson ’83
*deceased
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A CAMPUS THAT LEADS:
EVOLVING SPACES TO EMBRACE OUR FUTURE BY ERIN DENTMON CREATIVE SERVICES AND PUBLICATIONS MANAGER 4 | Spring 2019
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UBBLING AND TRICKLING INTO TANKS AND PONDS, FLOWING WATER LURES ANYONE WHO PASSES BY ON THE BOTTOM FLOOR OF ROBINSON HALL. Although the sound summons you,
it’s the 15 aquariums housing sherbet-colored fish that immediately demand your attention in the glass room. Minnowsized orchid-tinged fish with silver bellies bolt through their tank. In separate aquariums, fish the color of Hawaiian Punch, orange creamsicles, and cornflower blue crayons drift and dart. It’s a unique sight on a high school campus. Even more unique is how the space creates opportunities for students to dive into long-term, multi-faceted research projects. Armed with visions of dynamic student research and a Center for Teaching grant, science teachers Courtney Cox and Nicole Justice created an underwater breeding ground for tropical fish in the Rooker Greenhouse. The new aquaponics lab enables students to study life cycles, genetics, water quality, and the symbiotic way nature’s systems work.
Left: In the Rooker Greenhouse’s aquaponics lab, tanks of neon fish open up possibilities that grow students’ critical thinking and research skills, helping them develop a solid foundation for whatever career paths they choose.
Whether these students go into careers discovering solutions to water pollution or not isn’t the point. In this space, they can dive in, make mistakes, and carry out a long-term project they simply can’t do on the back counter of a classroom over the course of an academic unit that lasts a few weeks. Our spaces matter. Spaces are teachers. They can be game changers. Spaces that ignite imaginations and catalyze curiosity are essential for meeting the aspirations of our bright, motivated, curious students.
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Westminster Center will sit at the head of the historic quad. Serving as the heart of campus life, the revitalized quad will foster community and encourage productive interactions between students and faculty throughout the school day.
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TRADITION MEETS CURIOSITY
The strategic plan that has guided Westminster since 2012, For College and for Life, plainly calls for spaces that eliminate barriers between our students and learning experiences that set the stage for a lifetime of leadership. To fulfill that key piece of the strategic plan, school leaders including alumni, students, a dedicated faculty cohort, trustees, and administrators embarked on a multiyear comprehensive campus planning process that included research, data collection, analysis, benchmarking, and visioning. Most importantly, this process included wide-ranging conversations with a broad cross-section of the Westminster community about how our campus can continue to fuel a community that thrives on a unique student experience and leadership in academic excellence. So what will these new spaces look like? They’ll be uniquely Westminster. Renovated buildings will retain their historic facades, and new construction will carry forth the brick-and-limestone aesthetic established at our founding. “We found a campus steeped in tradition and students overflowing with curiosity—we want to make architecture that respects and honors both,” says Tomas Rossant, Design
Partner at Ennead Architects, the firm the School has retained for designing the spaces that will catapult our campus into the future. “With Ennead, we found this incredible sense of wanting to understand the School and express our core values, things that are important to us, in the campus renewal process,” says Westminster President Keith Evans. “We aren’t getting buildings that are designed to be trophies for the architect, we aren’t getting buildings designed according to what happens at another institution. We’re going to have buildings that are expressions of Westminster.” Our campus transformation will include a renovation of Campbell Hall, a new 28,000-square-foot Upper School academic building adjacent to Campbell Hall, the creation of a community plaza at Alfred E. Thompson Stadium and other stadium upgrades, and a new building at the head of the quad designed to welcome the world, Westminster Center.
CORRIDOR NO MORE
Campbell Hall has served our students, first as the Boys School, and as the home to academic subjects of all stripes in years since, for more than 60 years. When this building rose from the pine forest in 1953, the “double-loaded corridor” design
OUR CAMPUS PLAN In creating our campus plan, we have been guided by our history and committed to our founding values of defining academic excellence, creating a unique student experience, and serving Atlanta and the world. Each new campus space has been designed to enhance what makes Westminster special already. To learn more, visit westminster.net/campus-plan.
with rows of classrooms on either side of a locker-lined hallway gave students and faculty an efficient place for discussions and the transfer of knowledge. But the world is different now. The ways students learn and teachers teach have evolved. Teachers take the role of “guide on the side,” ushering students through learning experiences that build their muscles in problem solving, critical thinking, and creative ideation—capacities they’ll need as leaders in work and society in the 21st century. Our original Upper School buildings weren’t designed for this kind of teaching and learning. A thorough renovation of Campbell Hall will elevate this beloved building into a hub for the kind of learning that will prepare Wildcats to lead in whatever paths they choose. Larger, light-filled classrooms inside Campbell Hall will give students space to spread out no matter what they’re working on—from wholeclass debates about the relevance of Shakespeare to producing documentaries about the Holy Land in small groups. A new 28,000-square-foot academic building will be connected to Campbell Hall by a window-lined walkway. In this building, connection is the name of the game—spaces have been designed so students can connect with each other, their teachers, and the things they’re learning.
Three clear themes emerged during the process and are built into every project:
1 2 3
BUILDING COMMUNITY STRENGTHENING CONNECTIONS LEARNING AND LEADERSHIP ON DISPLAY
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This atrium of the new Upper School academic building is one of many areas where students will be able to come together for activities ranging from studying to socializing.
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ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURE Our new Upper School academic building and Westminster Center are designed to live in aesthetic harmony with the rest of campus. They’ll be predominantly brick with limestone accents, echoing other buildings on campus. But these buildings are built for today with an eye toward the undefined future that is around the corner. Working with Ennead Architects, these new spaces have a modern design that still feels at home among our beloved halls.
CREATING, NOT CONSUMING
Inside this new Upper School building, the Catalyst STEAM Lab will be a place students become creators instead of consumers. Imagine students not just using virtual reality as a learning tool but creating their own worlds in virtual reality. “As our students prepare for college and their careers, this lab will provide them with the tools and support that they need to become the world’s next generation of creative problem solvers,” says Upper School English teacher Dr. Stephen Addcox, part of the envisioning team for STEAM integration in the Upper School. As one of the teachers of the JanTerm course “Campuses and Communities,” Stephen has seen how creating gives students exciting new challenges. “Students learn best when their imagination and curiosity drive them to become active participants in creating and presenting new ideas,” he says. Moving from consumption to creation transforms the way students learn. Look no further than the Middle School’s Innovation Space for proof. “Kids go way beyond what they are capable of in a regular classroom when they’re in the Innovation Space, because
if they need a saw to create something they’re envisioning, they can use a saw,” says Middle School STEAM teacher Kelly Weininger. “You can’t do that without that space. There’s so much creativity. It’s not about pushing kids into working hard; they build amazing things because they want to see if they can.” The Innovation Space, a malleable workshop in Clarkson Hall with rows and rows of hand tools, a laser cutter, sewing machines, a variety of saws and drills, and towering stacks of scrap wood, cardboard, and other building materials, is a hub for students to learn more deeply about any subject they might be studying. For some students, it’s a place to learn the Spanish words for “chop,” “pour,” and “stir” as they make smoothies and practice verb conjugation. For others, it’s a place to think about what a country’s flag means while building one from reclaimed wood. When Theron Boozer ’23 began Middle School, he knew he enjoyed solving problems, but the Innovation Space opened up a new world for him—it’s where he spends most of his free time now, whether he’s building a robot with the Middle School WiredCats robotics team or using a simple computer (a Raspberry Pi) to practice coding on his own.
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Whether robots, wood carvings, or smoothie recipes are the order of the day, the Middle School’s Innovation Space has the square footage, flexible layout, and abundance of tools students need to bring what they’re learning in class to life in creative ways. Since opening in 2015, the lab has brought a new energy to all parts of the academic experience.
Added in fall 2018, new areas for group study in a former pass-through hallway give Middle School students more options for where and how to learn.
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From the first time he used the lab to create a diorama of the setting of The Outsiders in sixth grade English, Theron says he’s loved the freedom he has when he’s asked to create something. “You get to decide what to do. It’s a very hands-on experience. You have to figure out what that town looks like and do the research,” he explains. “You have to know the details to accomplish that end task— that’s a better incentive for me to really learn those things.”
COLLISION COURSE
students can study independently. In the dining area, the place a student grabs a quick snack before rehearsal for the musical doubles as a place he might gather with the rest of the Service Corps and plan out a community engagement event for the entire Upper School. Places for students to sit down together—whether they’re cracking open their books or setting them aside for a moment—are already fostering connections in places people used to merely pass through.
A casual 100-seat dining area in the new building, along with outdoor seating, will complement Malone Dining Hall and relieve crowding with grab-and-go dining options for the Upper School community. This area plus social and study spaces throughout the building almost guarantee students and teachers will have “productive collisions”—those happenstance moments when you run into someone, start chatting, and happen upon a brilliant idea (or at least an interesting tidbit).
Tables and chairs positioned in front of floor-to-ceiling whiteboards in a wide hallway on the upper floor of Clarkson Hall are a new favorite spot for group work among Middle Schoolers. Because the rolling chairs, half-moon tables, and new carpeting invite students to sit down and get comfortable, more of the Middle School’s square footage is open for learning. And gone is the silence that filled the hallway when classes are meeting—the hall is full of the chatter of adolescents.
In spaces designed to connect people and ideas, as much learning can happen outside the classroom as inside. With informal counter seating, two students can meet up during a free period and finesse their argument for a debate. In nooks with cozy armchairs and plentiful natural light,
“These areas have given us more options for where and how our students learn,” says Head of Middle School Danette Morton. “As students use these spaces, they begin to see the whole campus as a learning platform, not just the four walls of a classroom.”
EAT! PLAY! WIN!
Whether you were cheering your friends to victory at a state championship game or wiping tears from your eyes as the last scene of Titanic wrapped up in Kellett Theatre, you likely have powerful memories of gathering with other Wildcats as a community. Likewise, you can probably think back to more than a few times you felt the power of your Wildcat family cheering you on. Westminster’s community is special. There’s no doubt. Spaces that enable students, parents, alumni, and friends to all gather together strengthen our ties even more. A new community plaza planned for Alfred E. Thompson Stadium will give Wildcats a new place to join up in Wildcat spirit. The plaza, which will stretch along the top of the stadium’s home stands, will feature ample room for events before athletic contests and any other time an outdoor gathering space is needed. Inside the stadium, a renovation will bring improved accessibility, seating, and concession and restroom areas. Wildcat fans and visitors will benefit from the ease-of-use of these new amenities while attending athletic events—the stadium improvements will help Westminster give a warm welcome to people who come to our campus from all over the state.
“ W E’RE BUILDING FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS WHO HAVE ALREADY EMBRACED A NEW WAY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING—NOW THEY ARE READY FOR THE SPACES TO DO IT IN. EVERYONE ON CAMPUS IS EAGER TO GET STARTED.” — President Keith Evans WESTMINSTER | 11
A breezeway will connect the renovated Campbell Hall to a new academic building, lending natural light and casual seating to both and giving students and faculty more places to connect with one another.
PARK IT HERE
Parking challenges at Westminster are no secret. To make the entire on-campus experience easier, we will address our parking issues as we renovate and construct buildings. A parking deck near the current visitor parking area will increase Westminster’s parking capacity by more than 200 spots.
COME KNOCK ON OUR DOOR
Westminster has been a school of and for Atlanta since our founding days. From leading the standard of academic excellence in the city to engaging the city through JanTerm, the Glenn Institute, and countless other programs, our footprint in 12 | Spring 2019
Atlanta is distinctive. Students learn lessons on field trips that can’t be duplicated on campus. But there’s great value in inviting the world to our home, too. Thousands of people visit our campus every year for conferences, events, and as classroom guests. We welcome the world with open arms—in spirit. Physically, navigating campus can feel like an insurmountable challenge the first time you drive through the gates. If you know where to look, you can find Wildcats interacting with the outside world all over campus. Upper Schoolers in an Ethics of Aging class host panels of senior citizens in the basement of Pressly Hall to hear their perspectives on getting older. Eighth graders in our ServeATL
class welcome visitors from Food Security for America and the Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice to their classroom as they learn about how to make a difference in the city and the world. Westminster Center, a new building planned for the head of Westminster’s historic quad, will welcome the world to campus and be a hub for students to connect with and learn from visitors from outside the Westminster community. With ample event space, Westminster Center will be a home for receptions and for pre-performance functions after a performing arts venue is completed in a later construction phase. Giving our partners from around the city and the world a warm welcome
A new Upper School academic building situated between Campbell Hall and Alfred E. Thompson Stadium will empower students to learn in new, deeper ways.
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A community plaza that will stretch across the top of the of Alfred E. Thompson Stadium will be a A community plaza thathome will stands stretch across the top of the gathering spot during athletic contests and other times home stands of Alfred E. Thompson an outdoor spaceStadium is needed.will be a
gathering spot during athletic contests and other times an outdoor space is needed.
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Westminster Center will welcome the world to campus and put leadership on display as a home for events, conferences, and visitors. The building will be situated near Askew and Robinson Halls. Adams Gate will move further away from the center of the quad to accommodate the new building and continue to serve as the pedestrian entryway to campus.
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is a statement that their presence matters to us. Conference space tells the city we want to be an active part of civic life however possible— through our programming and the impact of our alumni, of course, but also through our physical spaces. The arms of the School that interact most often with the world outside of Westminster—like the Glenn Institute, Odyssey, and the Center for Teaching—will call Westminster Center their home. Juxtaposing these offices with classrooms and spaces for seminars and events creates an atmosphere where students and professionals can connect with one another on our campus. When students in Westminster Center’s classrooms see technology CEOs, founders of nonprofits, creative professionals, government officials, and leaders from any other sector imaginable, inspiration is bound to strike. Leadership will be on display every day. As soon as any community partner walks through Adams Gate and into Westminster Center, they’ll see the School as a leader. Westminster
Center is not only a place for us to welcome the world in—it’s a place to tell the world our story.
not only live in the moment, but to anticipate and recognize the future— an exciting future that is almost here.”
FUTURE FORWARD
Construction on Campbell Hall and the new Upper School building begin this summer thanks to the early generosity of key Westminster donors.
As the campus community prepares for these new spaces, the excitement is palpable. Teachers’ eyes light up when they envision how their students will learn in new ways, discover new things, and grow in ways these spaces will make possible. As students are asked to think about their own learning and the places that make it possible, they’re realizing that spaces designed for the ways they learn will empower them to go even further than they can right now.
It is an exciting time to be a Wildcat. Our upcoming campus transformation is a giant step forward in continuing to lead in everything we do. Our whole community will need to come together to make it a reality. We think Dr. Pressly and our founders would be proud of where we’re going, and we hope you are, too.
“The vision and support of our incredible community positions us well to build these buildings. New learning spaces will fulfill the potential of innovative programs like JanTerm, and they will encourage more collaboration, discussion, and problem-based learning,” says Head of Upper School Cindy Trask. “Being at Westminster at this point in time requires faculty and students to
“WHERE WE ARE TODAY REPRESENTS FOUR YEARS OF WORK INVOLVING STAKEHOLDERS FROM ALL PARTS OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SCHOOL LEADERS, ENGAGED FACULTY, AND A TEAM OF EXTRAORDINARY CONSULTANTS HAVE COME TOGETHER TO DEVELOP A PLAN THAT CREATES SPACES FOR THE GENERATIONS AHEAD WHILE REMAINING DEDICATED TO OUR HISTORIC COMMITMENTS. CURRENT AND FUTURE WILDCATS WILL BE PROUD TO INHERIT THIS RE-IMAGINED CAMPUS.”
— Joel Murphy ’76, Chair, Board of Trustees
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Being a school of and for Atlanta is an important part of Westminster’s identity. In Westminster Center, students will have ample opportunity to meet and interact with leaders of all stripes from the city and beyond.
Inside Westminster Center, large open spaces will be able to accommodate a variety of functions from lectures given by guest speakers to alumni gatherings or professional conferences.
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CAMPUS PLANNING TIMELINE Our upcoming building projects have been years in the making, starting with the finalization of our strategic plan in 2012. Here’s an overview of the steps that have led us this far and our anticipated construction timeline:
1. MAY 2012
5. FALL 2017
Board of Trustees approves a new strategic plan, For College and for Life.
School leaders and architects develop a timeline for campus improvements. Faculty begin to refine plans for how the new buildings will be used.
2. SUMMER 2016
6. FALL 2018
The campus planning process begins.
1
2 2016
3. FALL 2016
The Board of Trustees approves construction plans. The School community continues to refine details.
5 3
Campbell Hall, new academic building, and Community Plaza are anticipated to open.
6
2017
2018
4
Focus groups of trustees, faculty, administration, alumni, and students begin meeting.
9. FALL 2020
9 2019
7. SUMMER 2019
7
Construction begins on Campbell Hall, new academic building, and Community Plaza.
4. JANUARY 2017
The Board of Trustees approves priorities and direction for the campus plan.
2020
8
2021
10
10. JANUARY 2021
Westminster Center is anticipated to open.
8. SUMMER 2020
Construction begins on Westminster Center.
“THIS VISION WILL COME TO FRUITION THROUGH THE GENEROSITY OF OUR COMMUNITY, JUST AS THE GENEROSITY OF EARLIER GENERATIONS CREATED THE UNIQUE WESTMINSTER EXPERIENCE WE ENJOY TODAY.” — President Keith Evans WESTMINSTER | 19
David Butler ’81
Al Goodgame ’67
Alumni Shaping the World Around Us By Christy Oglesby, Web Development and Strategy Manager
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Laura Baird ’00
Hank Houser ’86
FROM DOHA TO DUNWOODY, Westminster alumni reshape environments to change how people live, work, play, and worship. Using the skills and habits they say they developed then sharpened here on West Paces Ferry Road—like problem-solving, relentless tenacity, innovation, confidence, and writing (yes, there was a shoutout to Frank Finsthwait’s lessons on composition)—these expert architects break ground and connect communities. Discover how these Wildcats used landscaping, placemaking, urban planning, and renovation to transform and preserve the world around them.
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When Al Goodgame ’67 began work on the Marietta Square in the 1980s, the area was sleepy at best. Now, crowds flock to events like the annual Fourth of July celebration or to eat and shop along the square. More than physical beauty, Al’s landscape designs created a place where people want to spend their time.
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Alumni Shaping the World Around Us Al Goodgame ’67
Timeless Square Launched Financial Boom PSSST! HERE’S THE BACKSTORY of the planting of tens of
thousands of tulips adorning Post Apartments. Imaginative. Never done before. Literally groundbreaking. So it’s no surprise that a Wildcat, Al Goodgame ’67, played a role in the innovation. Al was a landscape architect for Planners and Engineers, the design firm for Post Properties, Inc. The property giant bought pricey newspaper ads every Sunday. “We came up with the idea that if they spent that money on tulips people would be talking about (the apartments) instead of just throwing the paper in the trash,” Al recalls with a glint in his eyes that gives away just how much he still enjoys this tale. “By glory, it worked! It spread from the apartment market into the office market and then all over the southeast.” Besides trailblazing for Post, Al’s landscape design unified the 80 individual units of the Paces West Condominiums that sprang from the massive Hugh Hodgson estate on West Paces Ferry Road behind Blue Ridge Grill. He also crafted the grading plans for Cobb Galleria. “I’d
never dealt with a multi-story parking garage before,” he says about the project that morphed into a megaton math problem. “I had to balance the dirt we cut. You had to make sure you didn’t haul anything off or bring anything in.” He’s most fond of his Marietta Square work. “It’s my very favorite because, over time, it’s held up and been improved and maintained,” Al says. In the ’80s, the square was a haven for day laborers and residents of a nearby shelter, recalls David Beam, deputy chief of the Marietta City Police Department. Not anymore. Just as tulips-as-marketing swept across the region, Al’s work in the square proliferated like financial kudzu. It launched the transformation of a semi-seedy area bereft of commerce into a booming section of the city. There’s a 100 percent business occupancy rate, David says. “The landscaping created this wonderful place that people wanted to go,” says Bill Bruton, Marietta’s city manager. “It set the tone and standard for downtown. If space becomes available, it is gone immediately.”
Bill credits the square’s bandstand, fountain, and broad walkways with engendering a weekly farmers’ market, art exhibits, festivals, concerts, 5K races, two theatre companies, and the conversion of a dilapidated theatre into a playhouse. The city later widened sidewalks for outdoor dining, which has created a cafe atmosphere on the square’s perimeter. “It’s all centered on that wonderful green space we have in the middle of our town,” Bill says. ‘We love it, and we thank Al for being a part of it.” Al credits Westminster for his success. Pat Rudolph, his advisor, helped him select an occupation. “I loved plants and design. I started describing what I was interested in, and Pat says, ‘Oh! You want to be a landscape architect!’ He knew what that was because his father had been a landscape architect at Biltmore Estates,” Al says. And there’s something else. “Westminster gives people a sense of confidence because teachers think the students can do anything.” You know, like megaton math problems.
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Nearly two decades ago, David Butler ’81 created a master plan for Atlanta’s Castleberry Hill neighborhood that made sure the area retained its historic charm and included pedestrian-friendly streets. His latest project in the neighborhood is giving an old building a new use as a retail-and-restaurant space on Walker Street.
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Alumni Shaping the World Around Us David Butler ’81
Masterful Plan Protects Castleberry Hill’s Past and Future THE AROMA OF TAMARIND SHRIMP from No Mas! Cantina floats over Castleberry Hill as you enjoy the neighborhood’s monthly Art Stroll. You chatter excitedly with your date about Besharat Gallery’s permanent collection of Steve McCurry photographs. The shiraz from the tasting at Wine Shoe, or the moonlight, causes an iridescent flicker in your mate’s eyes. Flirtatiously, you remark that they remind you of the famed stare McCurry captured with his hypnotizing Afghan Girl, on display at Besharat. Notably absent is the dense stench of carbon dioxide from Atlanta traffic whirring 70 feet above your head. David Butler ’81 pointed out that such a structure would introduce horns and exhaust, ruining your David Butler ’81 vino-and-hors d’oeuvre-induced trance. Castleberry Hill Neighborhood: Master Plan, the roadmap David wrote in partnership with the Castleberry Hill Neighborhood Association in 2000, argued against the state proposal for moving 70,000 people and their cars to the interstate as quickly as possible. Michael Dobbins, who was then Atlanta’s commissioner for the Department of Planning, Development, and Neighborhood Conservation, asked David to assess the transpor-
tation plan’s effects on Castleberry Hill as part of the master plan for the area. Politicians were about to move forward with that overpass—until David provided a three-dimensional analysis of the Department of Transportation sketches. “I was able to describe it, and people realized that it was one of those Spaghetti Junction things that would take parcels out of development and destroy pedestrian connectivity,” David says. His evaluation preserved land for the farm-to-skin spa, galleries, music studios, artisan welders, eateries, and wine shop that fill the neighborhood bordered by Northside Drive, Ted Turner Drive, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, McDaniel Street, and Interstate 20. David’s work also spared the community from possible future threats. The master plan secured historic landmark designation for the neighborhood that developed in the 1800s, and the city adopted his recommendation to prohibit businesses such as retail liquor stores, gas stations, or adult entertainment establishments in Castleberry Hill. A number of firms competed for the master plan contract, but “David’s work stood out,” says Michael, who was surprised by the product. “The reality is that very few architects would have planning or urban design experience. It’s unusual for an architect to put forward something that
has the global and comprehensive components that his work had.” But lunch with this Wildcat reveals such a plan would be inherent for the man who majored in biology and compares veins and arteries to air conditioning functionality and who minored in English and drizzled a bit of Horace in his master plan. After writing the master plan, David worked on Castleberry Hill projects with the late real estate icon and former Westminster Trustee Herman J. Russell, ushering the neighborhood’s conversion from lots filled with castoff sofas and burned cars to the home of art strolls. Just about the time you’re reading this, he should be finishing his favorite project. He’s completing it for the Russell family and fellow Wildcats, Donata Russell Ross ’77, Jerome Russell ’80, and Michael Russell ’82. It adheres to his plan that encourages “adaptive re-use” of historic buildings instead of demolition. Painstakingly, masons are fortifying original bricks to construct an al fresco restaurant and six retail spaces. Nineteen years later, with elements of David’s roadmap incorporated into recently published plans for Atlanta’s nearby Gulch and the start of renovations of the CSX railroad building on Spring Street, his work has something in common with that of alum Al Goodgame. It’s stood the test of time.
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A new chapel built by Hank Houser ’86’s firm, Houser Walker Architecture, reflects the historic character of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia, while updating the church for a modern worship experience. By mirroring architectural details from the sanctuary, like the ceiling (above right), in new spaces, each element of the extensive renovation, remodel, and construction Hank designed feels like “part of the family.”
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Alumni Shaping the World Around Us Hank Houser ’86
Public Spaces Feed Architect’s Need For Challenge WHEN HANK HOUSER ’86 DECIDED TO LEAVE A LARGE ARCHITECTURE FIRM that had a solid and profitable business model, he was clear that he and his partner did not want the shampoo approach to design. There would be no “lather, rinse, repeat” for him or for Greg Walker. Many architecture firms select a speciality such as “houses, labs, historic preservation, and they do it again and again and again and get more efficient at it,” Hank says. “But that’s just not what we were interested in. We like solving puzzles. So we intentionally try to do as wide a variety of work as we can.” Hank and his partner chose to design public buildings such as churches, museums, and libraries for Hank Houser ’86 the custom challenges they offer, he says. “We believe good design flows from an open-minded process that values empathy, research, authenticity, unifying concepts, and meticulous attention to detail.” That approach allowed Houser Walker Architecture to deliver customized solutions for congregants at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia. Members of the 176-yearold church felt intrinsically attached to its history and historic building.
The congregation recognized the need for modernization, but members didn’t want substantial changes to the worship space. During the course of four years, Hank’s firm erected a three-story administrative space, expanded the narthex, or lobby, from 100 square feet to 1,000 square feet, added a chapel, made the campus accessible for people with mobility limitations, installed a meditation labyrinth, and built a columbarium for urns of deceased members. To accomplish it all, Hank had to simultaneously preserve the past and embrace the future. “You have people who don’t like change,” says Melissa Fulcher, Emmanuel’s director of administration and a 20-year member. Congregants’ “main concern was keeping the historic feel of the church, because that’s where people’s hearts were.” Adhering to federal best practices, Houser Walker honored the past by not duplicating it. “The people who make the rules about the way to deal with historic buildings say, ‘If it’s old, preserve it and protect it,’” Hank explains, “but don’t pretend that the new stuff is old stuff. The architecture should be authentic to its history and the time it was built.”
floors. The new one, stone. Jagged Elberton granite resembling the rough side of a mountain covers the old building’s exterior. Smooth Elberton shrouds the new structure. “We use similar materials. The idea is that it shares a DNA so it seems like a grandchild,” Hank says. “You can see that the new one is part of the family.” Original doubters “rave” about the changes, Melissa says. “It’s just all a connection, and that’s what we wanted.” Accolades extend to renovations in the original building, of which the congregation felt most protective. “They wanted it to feel like it has always felt,” Hank says. But it doesn’t, exactly. It’s better. Sleek gray stone replaced warped wooden floors while cove lighting illuminates the refinished ceiling. “It’s been a wonderful transformation,” says Sally Peters, an Emmanuel member. “I have gone to this church for 30 years, and I had never seen the ceiling.”
Compatible, but differentiated, the expanded narthex couples 1843 to today. The old sanctuary has wooden
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Laura Baird ’00 spent more than a decade working throughout Europe and the Middle East as an architect who specialized in using architectural thinking to solve non-architectural problems like creating a sense of calm in an office or increasing productivity. She says this building, the Qatar National Library in Doha, is one of her favorite projects.
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Alumni Shaping the World Around Us Laura Baird ’00
“Natural” Architect Embraces Unconventional Requests CLASS OF 2000 WILDCAT LAURA BAIRD’S MASTERS DEGREE DESIGNATES SHE’S AN ARCHITECT, but her assignments suggest she’s something else. Hoboken, New Jersey, needed waterproofing. Another client wanted “something,” had no idea what, just for “things to be better.” The European Union aspired to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent by 2050. Then there were the hundreds of merchants along China’s Zhongshan Road in Ningbo. Seven million people used the thoroughfare each day, but that traffic wasn’t turning into transactions. If you’re thinking that those tasks seem more like jobs for a contractor, mind reader, environmentalist, or marketer, you’re right. Unless it’s Laura. She specializes in using “architectural thinking to solve non-architectural problems.” That’s a real Laura Baird ’00 thing. And it’s crazy cool how she and her colleagues at frog accomplish that. (Yes, frog uses a lowercase “f” because a capital letter would be way too conventional for a company that avoids the ordinary.)
“We’re not a traditional architecture firm. We are about placemaking and designing around behavior,” Laura says from the global company’s Austin, Texas, office. That means something as quantitative as designing to increase employee productivity by 20 percent, as emotive as creating space that promotes a sense of calm, and as predictive as developing space to accommodate employee needs and behaviors in 2029. Her firm accomplishes feats like these by putting listening and observing on steroids. Multi-disciplinary teams from frog swarm the client’s space, doing all design research in the field. “We collect thousands and thousands of observations, and we create a war room with each observation on an individual Post-It note,” Laura explains. “We affinity map the ones that have a relationship, and those level up to a theme.” That sense-making process leads to design ideas that get tested and measured for effectiveness to ensure clients get what they need.
up in terms of discipline, rigor, and having the ability to find the right answer. It also just gave me general curiosity,” she says. “Had I gone to a different high school, I would have come out feeling a lot less curious about things.” Norman Askins, the architect who redesigned the president’s home at Westminster, has witnessed Laura’s inquisitive nature. She interned in his office the summer after her freshman year at Duke when she lost interest in her pre-med track and wondered about life as an architect. “She had a passion about learning and life,” recalls Norman. “I gave her stuff to do and she, just like a duck, jumped in the water and swam. She was a natural. It was kind of like it was in her soul all along.”
Laura’s work, she says, is the perfect amalgamation of her public policy degree from Duke University, the masters in architecture she earned at Rice University, and her diploma from Westminster. “I talk a lot about how much fun my job is and how interesting my industry is, but it is hard work. Westminster really set me
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Seven Places Wildcats Have Left Their Paw Prints by Justin Abraham Digital and Media Strategies Manager
W
hen Wildcats head off campus, their eyes are opened to new relationships and cultures. But the physical spaces they explore can be just as important. Whether students are designing a treehouse, building a home, or observing how public art takes a city from good to great, they’re inspired when they interact with the physical world in Atlanta and beyond. Wildcats aren’t just learning in different spaces. They’re learning from them.
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Hatching New Ideas at the Hub @ the High The Hub @ the High—located underneath the High Museum of Art across from MARTA’s Arts Center Station in bustling midtown Atlanta—is a new space hatched from a collaboration between Westminster administrators and High Museum executives. “We met with Westminster to talk about a partnership and what we could do with a classroom with no walls that’s connected to the community and to the world,” says Virginia Shearer, the museum’s education director. Since the space was conceptualized, students and teachers have brainstormed the design and use of the room with the High’s other partner schools. Providing the flexibility of space and schedule for Wildcats to cultivate new ideas, the High has high hopes the Hub will “function to tackle big projects, discover new solutions, and foster radical collaboration between faculty, students, and museum partners,” Virginia says. Since January, classes including Musical Theater History, as well as groups of faculty and staff, have utilized the space to unlock new learning opportunities.
What unlocks innovation is understanding things as creative platforms. Time works that way, and space can work that way—together they can unlock incredible things.
— Jim Justice
Dean of Academics and Curriculum
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I think the purpose of Westminster participating in Habitat is to get involved in our community— not only to build a good reputation for ourselves but to really have a positive impact on our city.
— Will DeWalt ’20
Building Homes for More Than a Quarter of a Century For nearly three decades, Westminster students have constructed homes across Atlanta through Habitat for Humanity. The project is a schoolwide effort— every student from pre-first through 12th grade is involved in fundraising for the construction. While building, Wildcats connect with students from other metro Atlanta schools, volunteers, laborers, and the homeowners themselves. “There is a lot of conversation from students that you may not hear in the halls,” says Upper School Director of Civic Engagement Meghan James. “Their eyes are open
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to the world around them, and they’re open to living in others’ experiences. It’s interesting to see students find commonalities between themselves and others, and sometimes that makes up for the differences between us.” In November 2018, students helped hand over a house to a new homeowner for the 27th time. “It was awesome to actually hear from the homeowner. When she brought her family up and talked to us, I realized how much everything we did meant, and I felt like I made a nice contribution,” says Will DeWalt ’20.
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Solving Problems through Innovative Design In the “Innovation Space: Campuses and Communities” JanTerm course, students took it upon themselves to cultivate creative solutions for unused spaces. “At its core, the class focused on how space affects a community and the types of activities that can affect a space,” says Visual Arts Department Chair Ben Steele, who worked alongside math teacher Robin-Lynn Clemmons and English teacher Dr. Stephen Addcox to challenge students to offer innovative proposals for how Westminster and other communities could use space more effectively. Students traveled to New York City to learn how Ennead Architects designs and transforms buildings to match the needs of schools, businesses, and communities worldwide. Using virtual reality software for their final project, students reimagined the basement of Askew Hall with plans that included quiet study pods, a recreation room, and common gathering areas.
Working with the architects at Ennead in New York City taught me that design is fluid. The free-flowing nature of the design process showed me that it’s okay to start out with an extremely vague idea because you are often surrounded by peers who can expand upon the simplest of ideas to make them complex and beautiful.
— Ansley McNeel ’19
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A field trip to see tiny homes helps students to understand the question, ‘What do you need to live?’ They start to grasp the concept of a pretty small space and how to maximize living in that space.
— Sue Davenport
Lower School Design Thinking teacher
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Thinking Differently About Tiny Living Third graders might not travel internationally, but they spend several weeks in the classroom learning all about Guatemala through a special social studies unit. They expand their learning in Design Thinking, where the students see a model of a typical 400-squarefoot Guatemalan home and are asked to design the interior to fit an entire family. “The students build props to answer the question, ‘How can we maximize space for a Guatemalan family living in a small home?’” says Sue Davenport, Lower School Design Thinking teacher. The class travels to SCADpads in midtown Atlanta to see how Savannah College of Art and Design students transformed three parking spots into homes—each measuring only 135 square feet. The students see designs that maximize both form and function—drawers built into stairs, lofted sleeping areas, and dishware hanging by magnets on the wall—and use those observations to shape their understanding of a small space and Guatemalan homes.
When Truly Living Well said they wanted a living space for learning and fun, I didn’t really know what they meant by learning. I thought maybe teaching about different plants or animals, but really it’s about educating you about your food choices, your community, and yourself.
— Caroline Dickey ’22
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Constructing a New Space for Truly Living Well Students continue to make their mark on the Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture in Atlanta’s West End neighborhood as construction on their multi-year treehouse project nears completion. Middle School Art & Architecture students designed and have begun constructing a venue for Truly Living Well to educate visitors about sustainability. Since its inception three years ago, the treehouse project has provided students with an opportunity to work with and serve a local institution. “That’s the great thing about this course—there is a real client with a real need,” says Director of the Middle School Innovation Space Tim Shabanowitz. “Students have to stay
engaged and appease the client and find creative solutions to problems.” Though the design and construction of a treehouse was the main objective, the partnership between Westminster and Truly Living Well has opened students up to a new community in Atlanta. “I didn’t realize how much Truly Living Well and this space could bring a community together,” says Caroline Dickey ’22. “It educates the community in natural urban agriculture, but that’s more than just growing fruits and vegetables. They invite people to come together and make the world a better place for us and the community.”
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Creating Community One City at a Time For nearly a decade, juniors and seniors have gathered throughout the school year to build community through creativity. The Creating Community cohort learns about and engages with public spaces to discover “how they’re intentionally designed to bring people together with the goal of creating a sense of community. They see how it works and also hasn’t worked in some instances,” says Daniel Searl, who co-leads the group with fellow Upper School faculty members Sabrina Johnson and Ben Steele. Students travel to
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both local art installations and international events to witness how art transforms a city and draws people together with the hopes of bringing that creative spirit to Westminster. Recently, the group sought inspiration by participating in the Atlanta BeltLine’s lantern parade and traveling to outdoor art events like EXPO in Chicago, Nuit Blanche in Toronto, and Art Basel in Miami to see firsthand how those cities’ streets, plazas, and building facades are reimagined with artwork that brings people together.
Visiting these community events shows us artwork imposed on a space. It’s an experience where you gain an appreciation for different audiences, arts, and communities that come together.
— Ben Steele
Visual Arts Department Chair
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Crafting Homes and Relationships in Guatemala On the surface, the twice-yearly Westminster trips to Guatemala allow Upper School students to construct homes for families living in poverty and practice conversational Spanish. But ask anyone who’s traveled with one of the contingents, and they’ll tell you the trip is so much more than that. “With Guatemala, we have the opportunity to build a new home, but really, it’s the kickstarter to bringing Westminster students, From Houses to Homes workers, and the family together,” says Daniel Searl, Upper School faculty member and Guatemala Global Education director. “It goes from being about the bricks and mortar to being all about the people and the relationship with one another.” In addition to building homes, students and teachers join Guatemalan children at school and on the soccer field, building relationships directly with the families. “We all become one family, and we love that,” says Judy Baker, executive director of From Houses to Homes, Westminster’s partner in Guatemala for constructing homes. “It fosters the emotional connection that is much more fulfilling than just providing a home for someone.”
Visiting a country such as Guatemala allowed me to see that while we often focus on the most material aspects of a house, we forget that without a family, there is no home. Our Guatemalan family helped out as much as they could and taught us what it meant to work hard for the ones you love.
— Collier Ballard ’19
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Retired Athletic Director Bob Ward with his son, Wright Ward ’03, and his oldest grandson, Kaison Ward.
Catching Up with Retired Faculty by Jane Lauderdale Armstrong ’74
THE YEAR WAS 1972.
Bob Ward was overseeing recreation at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta when he received a phone call from Westminster’s ever-persuasive William Pressly. “I really think you would fit well here,” Dr. Pressly said. Thinking he might return to ministry after a couple of years, Bob was open to the offer. Never could he have anticipated that a “couple of years” would become a three-decade career at Westminster that included teaching, coaching, and spending 18 years at the helm of Westminster’s athletics program. An Atlanta native, Bob attended the University of Georgia and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, after graduating from Sylvan Hills High School. He returned to Atlanta to join the staff at 38 | Spring 2019
his childhood church, Capitol View Baptist, and later at Second Ponce de Leon. It was there that he met a number of Westminster families who alerted Dr. Pressly to Bob’s effective leadership and knack for connecting with youth. Bob taught classes in history, English, and Bible in both the Junior and Senior Highs. Certainly, Bob excelled in the classroom as a teacher of Old and New Testament, but the real magic took place on the playing field and the court. During Bob’s time as seventh grade football coach, one of his early teams allowed no points the entire season. Their success was a preview of things to come—that team later became the 1978 football state champions! Bob served as assistant varsity basketball coach under Sam Van
Leer and later took over as head coach. Bob scheduled his teams to play highly competitive opponents early in the season—like Lakeshore High School (later Westlake), where he faced a formidable coach: Rusty Hudson. The tough competition challenged the players. It also introduced Bob to the man who would eventually succeed him. When Harry Lloyd decided to step back from the athletic director position to focus on coaching baseball, President Donn Gaebelein and High School Principal Charlie Breithaupt asked Bob to take over. Bob remembers being a bit hesitant and recalls Donn saying, “Well, I’m not going to make you take it, but it will put some more groceries on your table.” When Bob shared Donn’s offer with his wife, Marcia (whom he
FACULTY AND STAFF met at Westminster), she looked at him and said: “Bob, we can use some more groceries!” A well-respected coach in her own right, Marcia headed up both varsity girls volleyball and basketball. In 2008, she became the first woman to be inducted into the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. With Marcia’s support and encouragement, Bob served as athletic director from 1982 to 2000. When he assumed the position, Westminster fielded 32 teams. By the time he stepped down, that number had soared to 73. The rapid expansion, particularly in women’s sports, placed enormous pressure on Westminster’s resources—facilities, transportation, and personnel. Initially, the athletics
Bob was instrumental in planning and designing the expansion of the gym, which reopened its doors in 2000, shortly after he retired. Bob steadfastly maintained that the job must be done right. For example, he insisted the weight room should serve multiple constituencies, arguing it was essential for the success of the program. Today, the Ellis Fitness Center is a hub of activity for the community. As strength and conditioning coach Bobby Hayes puts it: “Thanks to Bob’s attention to detail and insistence on the highest quality equipment, we are still able to serve every athlete on Westminster’s campus.” Bob’s legacy also continues in the excellent people he brought to the School, many of whom are still coaching today. Bob’s eye for
“THANKS TO BOB’S ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND INSISTENCE ON THE HIGHEST QUALITY EQUIPMENT, WE ARE STILL ABLE TO SERVE EVERY ATHLETE ON WESTMINSTER’S CAMPUS.”
— Bobby Hayes, Strength and Conditioning Coach
office consisted only of Bob, his capable secretary Mary DuPriest, and gym manager George McCreary. They were responsible for maintaining the athletic facilities and fields, managing budgets, scheduling practices and games, hiring coaches, and singlehandedly covering all events— without the aid of a computer! The School added an assistant director position during Bob’s last three years. Built in 1969, the original Turner Gym was quickly stretched to its maximum as the athletics program grew under Bob’s leadership. The addition of each new team increased the need for locker room space, practice courts, and office and equipment areas. To fit in all the necessary practices, teams came in at 6:00 a.m. and stayed late into the night. Sometimes they had to practice on alternate days.
spotting talented coaches is reflected in the fact Westminster has won the Director’s Cup from the Georgia Athletic Director’s Association in our classification for 18 of the past 19 years. Those who served under Bob describe his leadership style as encouraging, empowering, humorous, and loving. “His concern was about developing young people of integrity,” says longtime varsity girls cross country coach Amy Eubanks. “He believed that the rest will fall into place after that.” Reflecting on Bob’s offer to come to Westminster as the head varsity football coach, Gerry Romberg fondly says: “I have always been so very appreciative that Bob took a chance on hiring me in 1992. It was my goal to prove that he made the right decision. As a result, I have always
been highly motivated to do the best job I could for Westminster in general and for Bob specifically.” Since his retirement, Bob has volunteered with the Georgia Athletic Director’s Association, the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and the Georgia High School Athletic Association. Bob’s son, Wright Ward ’03, is the associate athletic director at Randolph School in Huntsville, Alabama, where he coaches football and basketball and is chair of the Middle School Physical Education Department. Wright, his wife Lauran, and son Kaison welcomed another son, baby Kohen, to the family in December 2018. Asked to reflect on the ways his father has been a mentor for him, Wright captured Bob’s influence this way: “No one embodies what it means to be a husband, a father, a teacher, or a coach more than my dad. He defines what it means to be selfless and humble, and when you look up the definition of a servant leader, you should find a picture of his face. When I look at what he did not just at Westminster, but for Westminster, it inspires me to do the same wherever I am.” Thousands of Wildcats have been inspired by Bob’s example. His accomplishments at the helm of the athletics office are merely a portion of his impact on the Wildcat nation.
Jane Lauderdale Armstrong ’74 is a lifelong Wildcat—alumna, teacher, and daughter of David Lauderdale, one of our School’s earliest faculty members. She combines her love for Westminster’s history and her penchant for the written word to write profiles about retired faculty members for each issue of Westminster Magazine.
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New Trustees Stephen Lanier ’96 P ’26, P ’30
by Stacie Davis Rapson ’83
Parent Engagement Manager
Janet Lavine P ’06, P ’10
Westminster’s Board of Trustees now has a former Central Intelligence Agency officer among its ranks! Alpha Omega Westminster alum Stephen Lanier ’96 brings a fascinating array of experience to our board, including his service in the CIA under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama providing strategic planning and tactical support for military and intelligence operations abroad. From 2005 to 2007, he was detailed to the National Counterterrorism Center.
Former Trustee Janet Lavine rejoins the board this year, bringing her extensive background in corporate finance and a broad portfolio of volunteer experience, including a term as PAWS President in 2005-06. Her year as PAWS President was very eventful, as the new Middle School building (now Clarkson Hall) was dedicated at the beginning of the year. Shortly thereafter, Janet helped welcome 19 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina into the School!
Stephen began his career as a securities analyst with Merrill Lynch in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and later spent seven years with Southern Company helping modernize our country’s electrical grid and shape energy policy. He stepped out on his own and co-founded Fremantle Capital in 2017, a private investment firm where he is managing partner.
Janet and her husband, Rick Williams, are parents of two Westminster alums, Adam Williams ’06 and David Williams ’10. As such, Janet knows the Westminster community well. She says she is excited to rejoin the board during a time of “forward-thinking leadership committed to developing future leaders of conscience.”
Stephen brings his breadth of private and public sector experience and strong financial management background to our board’s Finance, Advancement, and Campus Planning Committees. His international experience and MS from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service give him a global frame of reference for his work as a trustee. Perhaps even more importantly, he cites his “perspective as a parent of Lower School students” as one of the things he hopes to contribute through service on the board. Speaking of his family, Stephen met his wife, Landon, while earning his undergraduate degree (magna cum laude, no less) at Vanderbilt, and they have three children: fifth grader Hicks, Schenk School third grader Christopher, and first grader Caroline. Asked what Westminster and its mission mean to him, Stephen shares that he values his lifelong friendships and bonds to a community that “promotes service to others, fosters intellectual curiosity, and is never satisfied with the status quo.” He is excited to join the board at a time when Westminster is “developing young people to serve, shape, and lead our rapidlychanging future.” As a lifelong servant leader himself, Stephen is uniquely qualified to help us do just that. FUN FACT A yellow Lab, Axel, rounds out the Lanier family.
Janet, who holds a BA in government from Cornell University and an MBA in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, will serve on the Finance Committee as well as the Christian Mission Committee. As the retired treasurer of leading media conglomerate Cox Enterprises, Janet shares that she tries to “bring a practical finance perspective to the challenging financial issues that Westminster wrestles with every day.” Janet’s current role as president of The Temple, Atlanta’s oldest and most diverse synagogue, helps her bring a unique perspective to the Christian Mission Committee, where she says her voice as a non-Christian is always respected. FUN FACT Janet collects snow globes from around the world. Her collection boasts more than 700 unduplicated festive spheres.
Sukai Liu P ’18, P ’22
Sukai Liu’s life is filled with music...he’s just not the one making it! Sukai is married to renowned concert pianist and piano professor Dr. Ginger Chen and is father to two highly decorated and accomplished violinists, Phoebe ’18 and Tobias ’22. Sukai, an engineer and international businessman by training, is an avid supporter of the musical arts, serving on the boards of both the Atlanta and DeKalb Symphony Orchestras—but he leaves the performing to his talented family. Sukai is founder and president of Visor Alternative Investments LLC, which provides global access to alternative investment strategies. A Chartered Financial Analyst who holds a BS in electrical engineering and
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NEW TRUSTEES actuarial science and a master’s degree in international business from the University of South Carolina, Sukai has more than 30 years of experience in capital markets and global trading. As a new member of Westminster’s Board of Trustees, Sukai serves on both the Finance and Investment Committees and shares his expertise to help Westminster “continue its mission to be the best educational institution it can be, and to make lifelong and life-changing impacts on our students and the community.” Indeed, Westminster’s mission means a great deal to Sukai. “I am grateful to know my children and all the Westminster students have the most intellectually challenging education in the most nurturing environment. They are provided with the most resources and best teaching to help them achieve their goals,” he says. As Westminster moves into the future, Sukai is pleased that the School has “the leadership and vision not to just rest on our laurels, but to firmly uphold our traditions while boldly moving forward with new initiatives, new programs, and new thinking.” FUN FACT Sukai jokes that he is a full-time Uber driver since he spends so much time on the road commuting between his home in Johns Creek and Westminster!
Louise “Weezie” Sams ’75 She’s a Wildcat, a Tiger, and a proven leader. Returning to the board this year is class of 1975 alumna Louise Sams, who was also recently elected chair of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University. Louise serves as executive vice president and general counsel for Turner Broadcasting System, overseeing the company’s staff of 110 lawyers located around the globe. After graduating from Westminster, Louise earned a BA at Princeton, graduating magna cum laude, and a juris doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. She began her law career at White & Case in New York and moved to TBS in 1993. While building her professional reputation, Louise made time to give back to the institutions for which she cares deeply. In addition to her roles at Westminster and Princeton, Louise serves on the boards of the High Museum of Art, the Woodruff Arts Center, and Meals on Wheels Atlanta. Both professionally and philanthropically, Louise has frequently been recognized for her myriad accomplishments. She was named by Business to Business magazine as one of the most influential businesswomen in Atlanta, and National Law Journal named her among the 50 most influential women lawyers in America. In 2014, she received Westminster’s Distinguished Alumni Award,
and she was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement honor in the Corporate Counsel Awards presented by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Of her days as a Wildcat, Louise shares: “I have gratitude for my years at Westminster—I learned a lot; I had wonderful friends; and I was prepared for college, both academically and emotionally.” She is particularly interested and encouraged to see how Westminster has changed since she attended, and how the School is adapting its teaching and its classrooms to better prepare its students for today’s ever-changing world. She will bring her many talents to the board’s Finance Committee. When Louise is not devoting her spare time to the many worthy organizations she supports, she and her husband enjoy travel, running, and collecting art and wine. She is married to Jerome Grilhot, who was born in the South of France but has been in the United States for more than 25 years. FUN FACT Weezie’s husband is a former professional chef, so he handles the cooking at their Ansley Park home!
Stephen Schoen ’80
P ’05, P ’07, P ’10, P ’12, P ’26
New Trustee Stephen Schoen is President and Chief Executive Officer of Schoen Insulation Services, Inc., (SIS) which he founded with his father in 1989. Through the years, the company has grown by focusing on offering world-class service and quality combined with low pricing. Thirty years later, SIS still holds to its founding principles and is the preeminent non-metallic machine shop in the United States. A 1984 graduate of Furman University, Stephen began his career with First National Bank of Atlanta as a management trainee. He broadened his skill set in subsequent industrial sales and marketing positions at Complete Reading and General Electric. Stephen brings his business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit to the Campus Planning and Finance Committees of Westminster’s Board of Trustees, as well as his perspective as an alumnus and the father of five Wildcats, including four Westminster graduates and a current fifth grader, Will. Stephen and his wife, Melanie, are active at Buckhead Church and are dedicated to Westminster’s Christian mission. Stephen has also served on the boards of Habitat for Humanity of North Central Georgia and Mount Vernon Presbyterian School. FUN FACT Stephen shares that his passions are “serving my family, God, my business, Habitat for Humanity, and trying to play golf more than three times per year.”
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Wildcat Den
Fall/Winter 2018-19 Sports Round-Up By Katie Trainor Assistant Director of Athletics
The Wildcats once again dominated Georgia High School Association Class AAA in the fall and winter of 2018-19. Every varsity team made it into their respective state competitions at the end of the regular season. In the postseason, the Cats picked up state championships in cross country and swimming and diving and made significant runs in football and volleyball.
Girls Cross Country The Sisterhood are state champions once again! Naima Turbes ’19 led the Wildcats to the finish line and was the Class AAA individual state champion. The Cats had three other runners—Janie Cooper ’22, Olivia Tordella ’20, and Katherine Vuckovic ’20—in the top ten. This was the program’s fifth consecutive title, its 31st overall, and the 23rd for head coach Amy Eubanks. Following the state championship, Naima won the Georgia Meet of Champions, competing against the top runners from every high school classification in the state.
Boys Cross Country The Wildcats clinched the state championship for the second year in a row, claiming the program’s 27th state title! Led by coach Joe Tribble, the team had three top 10 finishers: Peter Huff ’19, Zachary Roe ’20, and Will Wallace ’19. The Cats averaged a course time of 17:02.11 and finished 40 points ahead of runner-up Lovett. Following the season, Zachary and Peter earned Atlanta Track Club AllMetro Honors for their performances.
Softball Two big wins over Lovett and Pace catapulted the Wildcats into the state tournament for the seventh season in a row. Led by Region 5-AAA co-Player of the Year Jenna Brown ’21, the Wildcats had four additional All-Region honorees: Cecie Bassett ’19, Kate Carson ’19, Julia Rhee ’21, and Elle Shores ’21. In his final season coaching softball, coach Brent McGuire celebrated his 175th career win with a 3-2 victory against Southwest DeKalb High School.
Volleyball The VolleyCats finished the season as the state runner-up after a close loss to Pace in the championship match. The Wildcats had a 34-11 record—the program’s highest win percentage in
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the past decade. Mary Emily Morgan ’21, who was named both the Class AAA and area co-MVP, and four additional players garnered postseason honors: Chloe Emch ’21, Elena Karas ’21, Maggie McSwain ’19, and Betsy Moore ’20. Chloe, Maggie, Grayson Bradley ’20, and Claire Zhou ’20 collectively set five new individual statistical records.
Football The Wildcats were tough to beat on the road during the regular season, earning a 4-1 away record that propelled them into the state tournament. The Cats won two playoff games on the road, with decisive victories over Jefferson County High School and Greater Atlanta Christian School. In the quarterfinals, the team lost to Peach County High School. The Wildcats were led by Class AAA all-state honorees quarterback Parks Harber ’20 and kicker Charlie Ham ’19. Westminster also had six players who earned all-region honors: Ben Allen ’19, Will Hallmark ’20, Charlie, John O. Izlar ’19, Badger Warner ’19, and Paul Weathington ’20.
Wrestling The Wildcat wrestlers had a strong season with new head coach L.B. Joel ’09 at the helm of the program. A highlight of the season included the team’s firstplace finish at the North Cobb Warrior Invitational. Three teammates—Matthew Cha ’20, Charlie Dourron ’19, and Lowell Jones ’21—qualified for the Class AAA state championship, where they represented the Wildcats in the 132-pound, 170-pound, and 182-pound classes, respectively.
Boys Squash Boys squash ended the season ranked in the top five nationally! Two teams represented Westminster in Divisions II and IV at the US High School Squash National Championships in Hartford, Connecticut. Both teams had successful tournaments as the Division II team finished fifth and the Division IV team finished third. Earlier in the season, the girls and boys teams hosted Baylor School and McCallie School for the first high school interscholastic squash match in Atlanta.
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Gerry Romberg – 200 wins Head football coach Gerry Romberg clinched his 200th career win during the 2018 season, solidifying him as the winningest high school football coach in Atlanta. Coach Romberg is one of just 10 active football coaches in Georgia to reach 200 wins. He began coaching the football program in 1992. The 2018 season was his 27th season overseeing the program; he has a career record of 205-117. Under his direction, the program has seen tremendous success in recent years: since 2007, Coach Romberg has led the Wildcats to the state playoffs every season. He and the Wildcats have won seven region championships and one state championship.
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Wildcat Den
Girls Squash
Boys Basketball
The girls squash program had another strong season and earned a top-ten finish at the US High School Squash National Championships in Hartford, Connecticut. The team competed in Division III and won the consolation bracket with a 5-2 win over Episcopal Academy. The girls team finished the year ranked ninth in the nation.
The Wildcats returned to the postseason in 2019 after a strong performance in the Region 5-AAA tournament, where they finished in third place. The team’s success continued in the state tournament as they defeated host and higher seed Jefferson High School 53-50 in the first round to earn a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. The Wildcats battled a talented Dawson County squad but came up short of advancing to the state quarterfinals. Carter Oesterling ’19 and Cameron Foster ’20 earned AllRegion honors for their performances. Though the team will graduate six seniors, the future is bright for the Cats, who will have a lot of returning talent.
Boys Swimming and Diving The Wildcats earned their second consecutive and 26th overall state swimming and diving championship! Westminster won the state meet in convincing fashion, earning 572 points, which was more than 350 points higher than runner-up Calhoun High School. Grady Thomas ’19 led the divers with a second-place finish in the A-AAA 1-meter diving competition. The swimmers won gold three times after dominating the relay races. The team of Miles Clayton ’22, Saavan Shah ’22, Daniel Barra ’20, and Cole Hinkes ’20 won the state title in the 200-yard medley relay. Connor Hinkes ’20, Donovan Mitchell ’19, Cole, and Grayson Harralson ’19 finished first in the 200-yard freestyle relay and earned All-American distinction. The final gold came in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Grayson, Peter Bernot ’20, Dylan Vroon ’19, and Connor broke the Westminster record and earned AllAmerican distinction.
Girls Swimming and Diving The girls swimming and diving team has once again won the state championship! The program picked up its 23rd championship with a decisive victory at the state meet. The team won with 445 points, nearly 200 points ahead of runnerup Greater Atlanta Christian. Gigi Johnson ’22 paced the Wildcats as she earned two individual state titles in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke. Gigi’s individual medley swim broke the Westminster record and garnered All-American distinction. The relay team of Gigi, Samantha Bertschi ’21, Annie Jardina ’22, and Eliza Normark ’19 won gold in both the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays, earning All-American honors in each race.
Girls Basketball
Led by leading scorer and rebounder Henrietta Wright ’20, highlights of the Wildcats’ season included an overtime win against North Cobb Christian School (40-39) and a buzzer beater that propelled the Cats over Girls Preparatory School (34-33), avenging an 18-point loss to the GPS Bruisers just three weeks earlier. Three players—Beth Anderson ’19, Ella Freeman ’22, and Henrietta—received All-Region honors. Next season looks promising as 10 players will return to lead the program.
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Wildcat Tracks
Just Keep Swimming Olympic swimmer Naomy Grand’Pierre swung by the Lower School this fall to talk with students about perseverance and staying calm during competitions. Naomy was the first female Olympic swimmer in Haitian history and won a gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Countries Championships.
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION HONORS DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING What do former First Lady Michelle Obama and Director of College Counseling Steve Frappier have in common? They are both recipients of the Excellence in Education Award from the National Association for College Admission Counseling! Given since 1983, the award recognizes “those who have improved the field of education and the way students are served.”
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WILDCAT TRACKS
All the World’s a Stage for Wildcats Kellett Theatre was full of drama, songs, and laughs during the fall semester as the Upper School presented 44 Plays for 44 Presidents and Fiddler on the Roof and the Middle School put on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
STUDENTS LIGHT UP THE BELTLINE As the sun set over Atlanta one Saturday in September, Upper School students and faculty in the Creating Community cohort gathered to participate in the annual Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade. The parade from Old Fourth Ward to Piedmont Park features hundreds of homemade lanterns and draws thousands of spectators! The students and teachers meet regularly during the school year to visit local and international public art installations to see how art cultivates community. See page 36 for more about the group.
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WILDCAT TRACKS
A Bewitching Time at the Halloween Parade Lower School students and teachers showed off their costumes during the annual Halloween Parade on the quad. Following the parade, first graders carved pumpkins with their dads and special friends.
GODS AND GODDESSES AND MYTHICAL CREATURES, OH MY! The fifth graders wowed teachers, parents, and students with their costumes and knowledge of Greek mythology during their parade and living museum on the quad.
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WILDCAT TRACKS
We’re All in This Together! Students from every division came together for an all-school pep rally in November to recognize our students’ incredible accomplishments in all areas of campus life, from athletics to performing arts! The pre-firsters helped lead the student body in a rousing rendition of the School’s alma mater.
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WILDCAT TRACKS
BECOMING TOMORROW’S LEADERS TODAY Middle School students participated in several retreats this year to grow as leaders at school and in the community. At the beginning of the year, students and their advisors traveled to one of six spots in north Georgia for leadership activities like tubing and kayaking. The Middle School’s leadership councils—Chapel Council, Admissions Ambassadors, and Honor Council, just to name a few—came together as a group in September to work on their initiatives for the school year. In October, eighth graders traveled overnight to Nantahala Outdoor Center for team-building exercises.
Wildcats Celebrate Day of the Dead Spreading Christmas Cheer One Gift at a Time It was all smiles at the 12th annual Alternative Gift Fair! Dozens of student and community organizations sold one-of-a-kind gifts to raise money for local nonprofits at this event hosted by the Glenn Institute and PAWS.
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Lower, Middle, and Upper School students set up an altar for the Atlanta History Center’s annual Día de los Muertos festival. Their altar was awarded first place!
WILDCAT TRACKS
To Infinity (Mirrors) and Love Hall! Inspired by the High Museum’s Infinity Mirrors exhibit, pre-first students created their own version of artist Yayoi Kusama’s dot room in the Smythe Gambrell Library for their fellow Lower Schoolers to make their mark.
Wildcats Honored for Philanthropic Work Daven Yadav ’20, Anup Bottu ’20, and Zander Kassabian ’20 were recognized on Atlanta INtown magazine’s list of “20 Under 20” for 2019. The trio started Science to Action Road Trips, a nonprofit that offers experiential learning opportunities to metro Atlanta students. Anup, Daven, and Zander have organized field trips to Sky Zone and iFly so students can connect math and science to fun activities. In addition, five Westminster students received honorable mention for their work in the community: Baird Kazazian ’19, Jessica Lao ’19, Albert Liang ’19, Brooke Stevens ’20, and Aaron Yu ’21. Visit westminster.net/magazine to read about these students’ extraordinary philanthropic work.
Seniors and Teachers Clash on the Court They probably won’t make it to the NBA anytime soon, but the seniors and faculty faced off in a basketball game that drew a standing-room-only crowd. In case you’re wondering, the seniors won the game.
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WILDCAT TRACKS
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN AN UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT? The Academic Quiz Team—David Goetze ’20, Muskaan Gupta ’21, Jessica Lao ’19, Alejandro Lim ’19, and Cole Walker ’19—swept the 29th annual Walton Academic Challenge tournament with a 9-0 record. Walton High School’s Academic Challenge is annually one of the most competitive tournaments in Georgia and features some of the strongest teams from metro Atlanta. Westminster’s A Team and B Team competed at the tournament; members of both are pictured.
Could you make the team? Try answering one of last year’s Academic Quiz Team questions:
This planet shrinks about two centimeters per year due to the KelvinHelmholtz mechanism. The “Greek” and “Trojan” camps are at this planet’s L4 and L5 Lagrange points, respectively. This planet’s tidal interactions make one of its moons the most volcanically active body in the solar system. This planet’s gravity tore apart comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Name this planet orbited by Io and the other Galilean moons. answer: Jupiter
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WILDCAT TRACKS
Seniors Recognized by National Merit Scholarship Program The National Merit Scholarship Program recently honored 55 members of the Class of 2019. They are among the 50,000 highest-scoring students (out of 1.6 million students nationwide) who took the PSAT in their junior year. Twentyone seniors were selected as semifinalists for the 64th annual National Merit Scholarship Competition, and 34 seniors received letters of commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise.
For a full list of students recognized, visit westminster.net/magazine.
Inventors and Scientists in the Making Eighth graders amazed students and parents alike at their annual science fair. Students presented on a number of ideas including wind turbines and aquaponics.
Robotics Teams Take a “Bite” Out of the Competition The Lower School’s two robotics teams took top honors at the FIRST LEGO League regional tournament. Out of 36 participating teams, the BITE team finished first overall! Team CLAW won the tournament’s Spirit Award, which is given to a group that has a fun team environment, a positive attitude, and constant team support and cheering.
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Thank You,
Westminster Fund Volunteers Westminster’s distinctive experiences and opportunities propel bright students to mine their curiosity, expand their vision, and discover their purpose. Gifts to The Westminster Fund affect every student and faculty member and extend to communities around the world as our Westminster students love challenge and grow to lead change. Volunteers play a pivotal role in the success of The Westminster Fund, strengthening connections within and igniting the generosity of the entire Westminster community.
Campaign Leadership Lisa McGahan, Trustee Chair Denise and Vern Hendrix ’80, Parent Giving Chairs Anne and Tim Irwin, Grandparent Chairs Allen Moseley ’87, Alumni Giving Chair
Alumni Volunteers 1971 Nancy Reeves Mansfield 1980 Ken Celecia Ladd Jones Margaret Payne McGranahan 1981 Henry Quillian 1983 Patton Bethea Fowler 1985 Tillman Douglas David Quillian 1986 George Bevington Laura Rains Draper Greg Hagood 1987 Kendall Butterworth Steve Kraus Matt Norman 1988 Stuart Wright Kronauge 1990 Cinda Koets Boomershine Rand Knight Harrison Roberts John Wheeler 1991 Jared Ripps 1992 Brian Adams Justin Dillon David Overend Jessica Golden Royko
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1993 Devon McElwee Corrigan Jason Goode 1995 Neale Fisher Michael Hill Mary Dickinson Trammell Stephanie McClelland Walstad 1996 Margaux Hanes Brown Holly Golson Bryan Dana Massih Giacone Jeff Hindman Theron McLarty Jeff Perry Jim Stewart 1997 Bobby Rashad Jones Stephanie Wilson Kokabi Niki Walker McCann Alden Rivers Potts Jim Thompson 1998 Wade Rakes Mimi Scaljon Ernie Wetzler Anna Margaret Griffin Woods 2000 Maren Mooney Alvarez King Davidson Katherine Thomas Jacques Madison Kitchens Collier McRae Carrie Ratliff Tanja Vlahinich Sorrentino Daisy Kraft Starr 2001 Mary Jacob Rankin Harris Jennifer White Hocutt Natalie Bolch Morhous Ellen Persons Drew Spears John Thornton 2002 Allie McSwain Byrd Martha Candler Cox
Kristin Simmons Ferguson Jana Dopson Illston Melanie Isbill Alex Kaufman Lee Peifer Ellen Richter 2003 Catherine Humann Callaway Elizabeth “Oz” Oswald 2005 George Akers Laura Dopson Almquist Nick DuPuis 2006 Margaret Mansfield Ale Samiyyah Ali Jack Izard Kate Lunati 2007 Stephanie Newton Bedard Chris Bellaire Heather Karellas Steven Menendez Jill Reid Ben Woodall 2008 Caroline Cordle Helen Harris Maggie Allen Philpotts 2010 Davis Butner Bennett Gillogly Amanda Newton 2011 Haley DuPre Sarah Grady Michael Thomas 2012 Dray Ensor Natalie Newton
Parent Volunteers
Leadership Giving Committee Claire Parker and Ibrez Bandukwala JoEllyn and Scott Bass Jen and Paul Bennecke
Kelly and Mike Bernot Marcy and Mitch Braselton Ingrid Baker and Michael Chlopek Kappy Kellett deButts ’94 and William deButts Courtney and Brian Deitz Kathleen and Paul Eidbo Lisa and David Foshee Marie and Chris Graham Lisa and Dan Kennedy Blake and Chris Kopecky Ashley and Prescott Miller Maryna and Charles Murdock Kim Nelson Musierowicz ’93 and Martin Musierowicz Chris and Jim Pirouz Kelly and Toby Regal Michele and Jim Reiner Michelle and Benton Routh Renee and Greg Sgrosso ’86 Julia Gray Smith ’91 and Steve Smith Holly and Randy Street Jennifer and David Tetrick Kristin and Court Thomas ’90 Kari and Duncan Wells 12th Grade Julia and Keith Jernigan Julie and Randy Bassett Kerri and David Clark Katie and Jay Dillon ’86 Lisa and David Foshee Sheri Greene Kim Maziar Hockstein ’88 and Ken Hockstein Lacey and Bill Jordan Betsy and Haig Kazazian Natalie and Michael McNeel Sandy and Mike Schmalt Sally and John Seeds Heather and Michael Turton Charlita Stephens-Walker and Steven Walker ’84 Tanya and Leslie Zacks 11th Grade Jennifer and Coty Rosenblath Hope and Chris Arbery
Alumni from all classes and parents of students across the School volunteer with The Westminster Fund. Annual events are one way we celebrate their dedication and commitment.
“Serving as a Class Agent is a great way to reconnect with classmates and give back to our wonderful alma mater. One of the most rewarding things for me has been working together with the other volunteers from my class to try to reach a goal together. We tend to get a little healthy competition going between the classes that brings everyone together in a fun way!” — Mary Dickinson Trammell ’95 on volunteering for The Westminster Fund
Margaret and David Brackett Debbie and Anel Diaz Farah and Nabeel Hafeez Wimberly Shinall McPhail ’91 and Richard McPhail Maria-Claudia and Alex Palacios Karen and Fentress Seagroves 10th Grade Elizabeth and Scott Bertschi Hollye and Geoffrey Gavin Lacey and Bill Jordan Sonia and Gerry Mize Nancy and Jim Pavur Amy and Murray Reavis 9th Grade Kimberly and David Greaves Michelle and Greg Anderson Julie and Jake Fleming Millar Effinger Freeman ’89 and Matt Freeman Mary Ayres and Richard Griggs Krista and Don Johnson Julie and Billy Levine ’88 Patti and Chip Ramsey Natalie and Tripp Solomon ’86 Becca and Andrew Stephenson ’92 8th Grade Jennifer and Eric Hanson
Julie and Rich Hall Julie Kruger McNulty ’89 and Tim McNulty Stacy and Bryan Piedad Myra and Brent Stamps 7th Grade Anne and Charlie Henn ’91 Lisa and Randy Alexander Molly Pinkerton Caine ’88 and Matt Caine April and Brian Crow Marie and Andy Edler Juliet Asher-Golden ’82 and Mike Golden ’82 Beth and Teague Hunter ’91 Kathryn and Doug Mandel Lynn and Charlie Morgan Christine and David Qullian ’85 Jenn and Boykin Robinson Alison and Matt Yungwirth 6th Grade Emi Shaffer Gragnani ’95 and Michael Gragnani Michelle and Greg Anderson Kristin and Bill Buhay Katherine and Jim Chapman ’85 Shruti Singal and Ajeet Dhingra Mary Elizabeth and Louis Gump
Bliss and Steve Stone 5th Grade Michelle and Benton Routh Windsor and Bo Adams Ashley and Lloyd Bell Millay and Bill Chappell Laura Kibler Crim ’95 and Clay Crim Kappy Kellett deButts ’94 and William deButts Gabriela Olivo-Goss and Ryan Goss Kristen and Lee Hunter ’90 Huma and Syed Ishaqui Jessica and Mike Maguire Hamid Montazeri Jeannie and Bennett Sands Jennifer and Brian Schumacher 4th Grade Carolyn and Joe Patterson Ashley and Shawn Hall Jessica Pardi and Bobby Lanier Brittany and Harrison Roberts ’90 Shannon and Jeff Sugarman ’91 3rd Grade Irina and Chris Fofiu Sarah Brannon Dozier ’92 and Martin Dozier Jay and Melvin Jones Rachel and Jay Mepani
Jenn and Boykin Robinson 2nd Grade Hania and Jay Poole Lizzie and Lyle Ross Heather and Tedd Sellers 1st Grade Monica and John Coughlin Mina and Mo Jooma Margaret Casey Kirkland ’95 and Chris Kirkland Brittany and Harrison Roberts ’90 Teresa and Spencer Shell Ashley and Gary Whitehurst Pre-First Grade Elisabeth League Irwin ’97 and Jim Irwin ’97 Sue and Rob Barger Maggie McCune Fuller ’98 and Ross Fuller ’96 Anne Muller Weaver ’97 and Price Weaver *Grade Chairs are listed in bold
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Alumni News Dear Alumni,
students rather than the all-knowing force at the head of the classroom.
As Westminster quickly approaches its 70th birthday in 2021, the School remains focused on its educational mission to prepare students for college and for life. As the world evolves, so must this preparation. Research on the brain and a greater understanding of how students best learn has led to the knowledge that the design of a learning space can have a significant effect on student success.
And yet, while the needs of the students and the dynamics of the classroom may be changing, Westminster’s mission is steadfast. The learning experiences our students have— and the spaces where they have them—are catalysts for developing them into new types of thinkers, doers, and leaders who make significant positive contributions to our world. Both students and alumni continue inspiring Westminster to grow and evolve as one of the nation’s leading independent schools.
When we recall our own classroom memories, they typically come from the point of view of a student sitting in a desk with a teacher at the front of the room. Today, classrooms are becoming much more inviting and engaging—soft seating options, areas for collaboration, more vibrant colors, and classes meeting in spaces that aren’t even “rooms” at all! Outdoor spaces and window-filled hallways allow environments that are more student-centric and experiential in nature. In these spaces, the teacher becomes a learning facilitator who works alongside
In the midst of changes, the Westminster experience—the “wholesome intensity” referenced by founding President Dr. William L. Pressly—stays the same. I recently spoke to a fourth grader who could not stop talking about being part of the WCAT broadcast crew. She was gushing about how she literally got to touch and feel and use the camera equipment in a real studio. She was not just being taught; she was learning. Her imagination was ignited. She was empowered. I invite each of you to return to campus anytime. While memories will rush back and familiar surroundings will bring emotions from years past, you will be inspired as you witness young, bright minds being challenged and nurtured to become tomorrow’s leaders. That’s the Wildcat way! Susan Ayres Watson ’83 Alumni Board President
2018-19 ALUMNI GOVERNING BOARD Members of Westminster’s Alumni Governing Board serve alumni around the globe to foster lifelong relationships within the Wildcat community through engagement in the life of our School and support for Westminster’s goals and aspirations. Susan Ayres Watson ’83 President
Anna Driver Wick ’95
Sarah Hawkins Warren ’00 President-Elect
Dominique Holloman ’97
Allen Moseley ’87 Alumni Giving Chair
Chris Suh ’95 Walter McClelland ’97 Wade Rakes ’98
Wab Kadaba ’87 Recording Secretary
Andrew Blaisdell ’99
Susie Soper ’64
Beau Allen ’05
Ellen Hale Jones ’81
Hannah Grady Jones ’08
Billy Levine ’88
John Jones ’74 Honorary Member and Board Historian
Charlie Henn ’91 Bianca Camac Bell ’94
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Kennedy Hicks ’01
2018-19 Alumni Governing Board
ALUMNI NEWS
2018-19 YOUNG ALUMNI COUNCIL The Young Alumni Council meets four times a year to organize and plan several events to engage the young alumni population. Nellie Black Brewer ’04 Beau Allen ’05* Mary Lowell Downing Pettit ’06 John Gray Seiler ’06 Katie Sturniolo Cruce ’07 Hannah Grady Jones ’08* Matt Lunati ’08 Ross Conway ’09 Ross Erskine ’10
Kealy Hartman ’10 Saharsh Chordia ’11 Chapman Wilkinson ’12 Grace Caswell ’13 Emma Reifenberger ’14 Adam Sanders ’14 * Denotes Co-Chair and Alumni Board Member 2018-19 Young Alumni Council
2018-19 STUDENT ALUMNI COUNCIL The Student Alumni Council, which launched in 2018 as part of the Alumni Strategic Plan, enhances opportunities for student-alumni interaction on campus, in communities, and online. Members educate fellow students about the tradition of philanthropy, enhance the student experience through alumni interactions, and support alumni initiatives and programming. Beth Anderson ’19 Sreya Atmuri ’19* Collier Ballard ’19 Caroline Clark ’19 Zoë Grace Hargrove ’19 Nance Hill ’19* Marion Kronauge ’19
Jack Minson ’19 Trey Parikh ’19 Grady Thomas ’19 Annie Ballard ’20 Trevor Jones ’20 Telissa Reynolds ’20
Want to get involved? If you are interested in volunteering, networking, and socializing with Westminster alumni as a part of an alumni leadership group, please contact the Office of Alumni Engagement at alumni@westminster.net.
*Denotes Co-Chair
The Young Alumni Council hosted the annual fall Young Alumni Happy Hour at Fado Irish Pub on September 20, 2018.
The Alumni Governing Board and the Young Alumni Council kicked off the holiday season with a party at the President’s Home on December 11, 2018.
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ALUMNI NEWS
Events Grandparents and Special Friends Day
October 19, 2018 More than 600 grandparents and special friends gathered in Love Hall Friday, October 19, 2018, for Lower School Grandparents and Special Friends Day. Guests enjoyed student-led tours of classrooms, the library, and the playground.
Tim and Anne Irwin, Westminster Fund Grandparent Chairs, celebrate Grandparents and Special Friends Day with their family: Jim Irwin ’97 and Elisabeth League Irwin ’97 and their children, Darby ’31 and Drew ’28.
Bill McClatchey ’66 watches as his granddaughter, Catherine Gituku ’31, shows him her school work.
Pressly Dinner October 3, 2018
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Members of Westminster’s Pressly Leadership Society honor the vision of our founding president, Dr. William L. Pressly. Their leadership and philanthropy are the catalysts that inspire opportunities for all current and future Wildcats. Each year, Westminster celebrates and honors these members at the Pressly Dinner, which was hosted October 3, 2018, at the Atlanta History Center.
Blaise Warren, Sarah Hawkins Warren ’00, and Studie and Zach Young ’68 together at the Pressly Dinner
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Carolyn Weaver, Sidney and Don Childress, and Nishan Fernando, all parents of ninth graders, catch up at the Pressly Dinner.
ALUMNI NEWS Homecoming
October 12, 2018 Westminster’s famous fried chicken dinner continues to be a favorite alumni tradition during Homecoming Weekend. More than 300 alumni and Westminster families gathered Friday, October 12, 2018, in Malone Dining Hall for the signature dish before heading to Fritz Orr Field to cheer on the Wildcats football team.
Katie Long Laney ’03, Chad Laney ’95, and daughter Caroline catch up with Robert Nash (famous for his original Westminster fried chicken recipe) during Homecoming weekend.
A photo booth at the Alumni Fried Chicken Dinner was a huge hit for Wildcats of all ages.
Breithaupt Athletic Hall of Fame Induction
October 13, 2018 The Saturday of Homecoming Weekend, six Wildcats joined the Breithaupt Athletic Hall of Fame surrounded by their families, friends, classmates, and coaches.
HOMECOMING WEEKEND
Layne Brodie ’08 (swimming), Scoot Dimon ’70 (coach), L.B. Joel ’09 (wrestling, track and field), Miray Seward ’10 (track and field), Dr. Alexandra Sawicki ’00 (cross country), and Harrison Butker ’13 (football, basketball, soccer; not pictured) make up the newest class of inductees.
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ALUMNI NEWS
Halloween Parade
October 31, 2018 Ghosts, ghouls, and baseball players! Each fall, Westminster’s traditional Halloween Parade brings smiles to the faces of faculty, staff, and alumni who watch as our youngest Wildcats proudly parade through campus.
Handel’s Messiah
College Holiday Lunch
December 21, 2018 More than 150 college-age alumni returned to campus for the College Holiday Lunch. Alumni enjoyed seeing old classmates, catching up with faculty, and playing Westminster trivia over a Willy’s lunch in Malone Dining Hall.
HOLIDAYS AT WESTMINSTER
December 21, 2018 Alumni, parents, and friends of Westminster came together for the annual performance of Handel’s Messiah in McCain Chapel. More than 40 alumni joined students on stage for this year’s performance.
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ALUMNI NEWS
Sandwiches for Atlanta November 10, 2018 Young alumni gathered with PAWS volunteers and current Wildcats in Malone Dining Hall to make more than 2,000 sandwiches for Crossroads Community Ministries, an organization that helps feed people who are homeless in metro Atlanta.
Beyond the Gates
November 14, 2018 At the twice-yearly Beyond the Gates program, alumni, parents, and friends are invited to learn from and network with distinguished members of the Westminster community who have become leaders in their professions “Beyond the Gates” of Westminster. The fall event featured alumni in the entertainment industry.
“THE ARTS ALLOW PEOPLE THE ABILITY TO ESCAPE AND STILL BE CONNECTED WITH OTHER PEOPLE. ARTS MATTER.” —S huler Hensley ’86 on what he’s learned With Charlie Henn ’91 as moderator, Thomas Fowlkes ’91, Caryn Mamrack Hsu ’91, Adam Koplan ’91, and Shuler Hensley ’86 provided a behind-thescenes look at Atlanta’s performing arts and film scene.
during his career as an actor and director
Shark Tank
December 7, 2018 Chris Suh ’95, Dominique Holloman ’97, Henry Grady ’80, Billy Levine ’88, and Allen Moseley ’87 served as “sharks” in the Innovation Space this fall, judging business presentations for eighth graders in the Economics for Entrepreneurs course.
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ALUMNI NEWS
Chapters Westminster’s alumni chapters bring alumni of all ages and experiences together in their local communities. Strengthen your lifelong connections to Westminster as a chapter member through volunteering, networking, and socializing with fellow Wildcats. All alumni living in the metro New York City, Washington, DC, or San Francisco areas are welcome at chapter events!
NEW YORK CITY Established in 2016 500+ alumni Chapter Co-Presidents Ryland McClendon ’03 and Fielding Kidd Jamieson ’07 Connect by emailing: nycalumni@westminster.net
The New York City alumni chapter hosted a reception at the Harvard Club of New York City on September 27, 2018.
HERE’S HOW TO JOIN: 1. Update your contact information by emailing alumni@westminster.net. 2. Reach out to the alumni chapter near you. 3. Connect!
ALUMNI NEWS
WASHINGTON, DC Established in 2017 265+ alumni Chapter Co-Presidents Katie Plomgren Lavelle ’99 and Charlie Sherman ’11 Connect by emailing: dcalumni@westminster.net
Alumni in the Washington, DC area toured the United States Supreme Court Building on February 8, 2019.
To mark the Christmas holiday through service, the Washington, DC alumni chapter laid wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery on December 15, 2018.
SAN FRANCISCO Established in 2018 250+ alumni Chapter Co-Presidents Julia Hamilton Trost ’01 and Wes French ’07 Connect by emailing: sfalumni@westminster.net
San Francisco alumni joined together for a reception at The Hidden Vine Wine Bar on February 7, 2019.
Each of our alumni chapters gathers annually when an Atlanta sports team is in town. Our San Francisco alumni watched the Braves take on the Giants at AT&T Park on September 11, 2018.
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School Days: Then and Now Looking through the archives, one of the most enjoyable things to see is the evolution of Westminster’s campus (and those of our predecessor schools). While the physical campus and buildings have changed over time to meet the needs of students in an evolving world, student experiences like sports, studying, and friendships are universal.
If you have photos or stories to share about your experiences at Washington Seminary, North Avenue Presbyterian School, or Westminster, please contact archivist Pamela Nye at archives@westminster.net.
Academics
Washington Seminary, 1928
Westminster, circa 1991
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NAPS library, 1930
Study groups have always been a common sight on campus. At NAPS and Washington Seminary, students took their studies seriously to prepare for college, something that wasn’t universal among girls’ schools at the time. In 1928, Washington Seminary even highlighted its unusual outdoor classrooms in the school catalog. The 1930 catalog of NAPS illustrated students hard at work in the library. At Westminster, the assignments have changed through the decades, but students still huddle all over campus to learn together.
ALUMNI NEWS Student Life The community of a school is just as important as the academics—for many alumni, campus was a second home of sorts while they were enrolled at Westminster. The students of Washington Seminary and NAPS also felt close ties to their campuses and enjoyed socializing outside the classroom. The outdoor courtyard on Peachtree Street was a favorite gathering place for NAPS students. Roller skating was a popular activity among Washington Seminary students. At Westminster, “The Hut” was first a privilege enjoyed by those in good academic standing, which became another incentive to do well in school. The Hut was located in a wooded setting where Pressly Hall now sits. In 1988, students began spending time outside of class in the new Parker Campus Center in Broyles Arts Center.
NAPS campus, 1930
Washington Seminary campus, 1945
The Hut, 1962
Parker Campus Center, undated
Athletics
NAPS swim team, 1933
Swimmers under “the bubble,” undated
Washington Seminary swim team, 1953
Swimming and diving is one of the original sports at Westminster; Washington Seminary and NAPS both had their own swim teams. Until the Fred J. Turner Gymnasium was built and opened in the 1969-70 school year (pictured in action in its first year), Westminster did not have an indoor pool on campus. Teams would train at the pool at Emory University, the pool at the Northside YMCA, or the outdoor pool at the Fritz Orr Summer Camp, covered by “the bubble.”
Turner Gym, circa 1970
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Pillars of Generosity The newly launched Columns Society is the pinnacle of philanthropy at Westminster, recognizing benefactors whose investment in the School equals or exceeds $1 million. The society honors alumni, parents, and friends whose generosity has allowed Westminster to provide transformative educational experiences and grow leaders for Atlanta, the nation, and the world. Westminster had the distinct privilege to celebrate the 24 charter members of The Columns Society and members of The Cornerstone Society—those who have included Westminster in their estate plans—during a dinner at the President’s Home in November. These friends of the School preserve and enhance the Westminster experience for current and future Wildcats. We are immensely grateful for their leadership.
To learn more about The Columns Society and The Cornerstone Society, please visit westminster.planmygift.org or contact Lauren Flores at (404) 609-6438.
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Class News 1950
Gayle Richards Rice writes: “Still enjoying living for 25 years in the mountains of North Georgia. My family of four children has grown to considerable size—12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren—I call that blessed!”
1954
The family of Julia McCullough Shivers is deeply grateful to all of her friends, family, and classmates who made gifts in her memory. These gifts will support need-based financial aid through The Westminster Fund, helping ensure the Westminster experience is available to all students, regardless of means.
Eedee Henderson Adams ’54, Helene Mewborn ’53, Rose Villines Nordyck ’53, Beth Black ’54, and Beth Turk Stockton ’54 caught up at a luncheon on campus.
1955
Frances Robinson Huber writes: “At 80, I am still a full-time farmer— raising forest red hogs, grass-fed cattle, and, with two of my children, organic hops. Who would have ever thought?!”
1967
Pete Bentley writes: “We love living in St. Augustine! The town has a great vibe and a great live music scene. I play music and have made two CDs since we’ve been here; number three will come next year.”
1975
Cliff Davenport, Wesley Dobbs, Bland Byrne, John Lochridge, Steve Shepherd, David Gray, Steve White, Jesse Sasser, Jimmy Hanger, David Chalmers, Bob Jameson, Lex Jolley, and Grant Wilmer enjoyed the annual Class of 1970 boys lunch at Lassiter’s.
Tim McDowell recently published a literary novel, It’s a Hell of a Thing, available in paperback on Amazon and digitally on Kindle, Nook, and iPad. Until 2004, Tim practiced law but was disabled that year due to a brain injury. Much of his book deals with the trauma of a brain injury.
1979
Cathy Dick Blake writes: “Greetings, fellow ’79ers! My husband and I have recently relocated to coastal Georgia to a place called Harris Neck, with two greyhounds and a horse in tow! You will find us on
Members from the Class of 1973 gathered at Cross Creek Cafe during Westminster’s Homecoming Weekend in October.
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Class News the map between Savannah and St. Simon’s Island. Only minutes from a 3,000-acre national wildlife refuge, our house, ‘Moonpie,’ faces a salt marsh that leads to a river that runs toward barrier islands and finally meets the ocean. It’s beautiful here, and the sunshine and milder winter temperatures have been a welcome change. This area is not new to me. Starting in the 1960s, every holiday, my entire family would pack up and vacation on the Golden Isles. My grandparents moved to the area in the 1940s, and we still have family property near Brunswick. I guess that renders me a boomerang! I look forward to reconnecting with Westminster alumni, so please don’t be a stranger. I look forward to seeing you again at our reunion!”
Christina Pak Hanratty ’85 pictured with daughter Kelly Shannon Hanratty ’19. Both served as Head Editor of the Lynx during their senior year at Westminster.
1980
Claire Hochmuth Lohmann writes: “I have moved for the last time (of 18 moves). My husband has retired after 43 years in the German army, and we now live permanently in my family home in the southwest corner of France, on the Basque coast. We have spent our life savings renovating our nearly 400-year-old house, and I opened a bed and breakfast on January 1! To all alumni and friends traveling in the area, my website, still under construction, is Aitabaita.com (password is Guest).”
Jessica Freeman ’04 and Peter MacKenzie ’02 both sang at Westminster Abbey with their church choir in summer 2018.
1985
Christina Pak Hanratty writes: “My daughter, Kelly Shannon Hanratty ’19, serves as Head Editor of the 2019 Lynx. As the Head Editor during my senior year (1985), she is following in her mother’s footsteps!”
1998
Steve Ferguson and Arnett Mumford ’00 attended the Centennial Wood Badge Pilot Course organized by the Boy Scouts of America at Bert Adams Scout Camp in Covington, Georgia, in November
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Lucy Blair Isenberg (daughter of Maggie Gallant Isenberg ’97) and Kate Cloud Mervis (daughter of Lindsey Cloud Mervis ’97) were born 10 days apart to moms who have been best friends since sixth grade at Westminster.
CLASS NEWS
2018. This course provides advanced training for today’s Scout leaders. Both Steve and Arnett are Eagle Scouts— Arnett is on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Area Council and a former Southwest Atlanta District Chairman, and Steve is an Assistant Cubmaster at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church, where his son is a Tiger Scout.
2002
Peter MacKenzie writes: “This summer, Jessica Freeman ’04 and I sang in Westminster Abbey with the chancel choir of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church.”
2003
Lane Holby, his wife Addie, and their two children, Keller, 3, and Will, 1, moved back to Atlanta in September 2018. Lane is working as corporate counsel at InterContinental Hotels Group.
Especially now that my wife, Valerie, and I live in Oregon, I hope to see some past and present Wildcats out on the course. Victory.”
2009
Pierson Bridges Thornton writes, “John Thornton ’01 and I welcomed Patrick Reaves writes, “In December our first child, John Persons Thornton 2018, I qualified for my first US III, in September! John was delivered Olympic Team Trials in the marathon. by Dr. Laura Dopson Almquist ’05. The race will take place in Atlanta Our delivery room was full of Wildcats!” February 29, 2020, where the top three runners in the men’s and women’s races will earn spots on Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics.
The Woods and Crosier Families: A Mother-Daughter Tradition of Volunteerism Classmates Lara Satterthwaite Woods and Ashley Miller Crosier have volunteered as committee members for almost every Class of 1979 reunion. “We love getting together for any excuse we can,” Lara says. “A lot of my closest friends to this day are people connected to our class. Even if I wasn’t as close with them at Westminster, our lives have become intertwined.” While they always love the chance to get together with classmates, this year’s Reunion Weekend is particularly special. “Lara and I are immensely lucky to have children in the same reunion cycle,” Ashley shares. “So, for the first time, we get to see all their cute young friends at Reunion Weekend and spend time with our classmates and our daughters at the same time!”
Their daughters, Sarah Crosier Kaplan and Emily Woods, both credit their mothers’ example for their decision to volunteer on the Class of 2009’s 10th Reunion Committee. “Seeing my mom’s involvement with Westminster over the years showed me the importance of giving back,” Sarah explains. Emily’s mother showed her the same example: “She made it sound so fun!” Emily says, adding: “As much as this reunion is about our class, I think it’s really special to show up for the people who’ve gone before us. It feels like a privilege to be able to carry on that legacy of alumni support throughout the generations.” – Ann Giornelli ’10
Lara Satterthwaite Woods ’79, Emily Woods ’09, Sarah Crosier Kaplan ’09, Ashley Miller Crosier ’79
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Class News 2014
Michael He writes, “With a stroke of good luck, we had a small Westminster reunion this fall in Shanghai at the world’s largest Starbucks! Jose Luna ’11, who works at Delta Shanghai, Ramsey Fahs ’14, who is a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and I (Northern Light Venture Capital in Menlo Park, California) had a great time catching up!” Luke Johnson is a first-year medical student at Medical College of Augusta, and twin brother Jake Johnson ’14 works at Georgia Pacific in Atlanta. Hayley Price writes: “At the beginning of 2019, I became the owner of Straight to Art in Charleston, a collaboration between artists and art lovers that provides studio management and gallery services to local and regional emerging artists. The company serves as a studio management company and online gallery, focusing on keeping client’s artwork flowing and organized to generate more sales, providing them with more time to get back in the studio, and assisting in further connecting them with their community.”
Ramsey Fahs ’14, Jose Luna ’11, and Michael He ’14 met up in Shanghai in the fall.
Wildcats from the Classes of 2015 and 2016 reconnected at the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill vs. University of Virginia football game in Charlottesville on October 27, 2018.
2015
Over the summer, Jamal Strickland, along with 30 fellow University of Michigan students, climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain on the African continent, as part of an intense leadership development course led by Scott DeRue, the Edward J. Frey Dean of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at Michigan. Jamal writes: “It was definitely the hardest, most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life!”
Jamal Strickland ’15 summited Mount Kilimanjaro as part of a leadership development course.
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CLASS NEWS
Jim Stewart ’96: Pursuing a Passion Project with Wildcat Friends When Jim Stewart ’96 decided to pursue his dream of conserving south Georgia’s longleaf pine forests, the cardiologist knew exactly who to call. “When I set out to follow my passion, the first place I naturally looked for inspiration, expertise, and advice were my Westminster connections,” he remarks. Jim, his 1996 classmates Collin West, Michael Richardson, and Adam Ganz, and his brother, Matt Stewart ’02, purchased property together in Laurens County in hopes of profitably restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem. Jim says his business partnership is just one example of how Westminster alumni have been invaluable in his life. Despite having attended both Harvard and Yale in his path to become a physician, Jim says Westminster actually provided the most important education he received: “I am incredibly proud to be a Westminster
alum. The School helped my classmates and me become well-rounded adults who are prepared for life by giving us both guidance and challenges.” An interventional cardiologist at Emory University and father of four young children with his wife, Amy, Jim remains committed to supporting Westminster as a volunteer and donor. “I am dedicated to helping ensure that the School remains the same extraordinary place for generations of future students who will enrich Atlanta,” he says. Even more than the unique education Westminster afforded, the enduring friendships with his fellow alumni inspire him to give back. – Elizabeth Loyd Burdette ’00
Jim Stewart ’96 during a prescribed burn on the longleaf pine farm he purchased with his brother and three classmates
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CLASS NEWS
Samiyyah Ali ’06: Lifelong Ambition Leads to Supreme Court Clerkship Samiyyah Ali ’06 decided she wanted to be a lawyer in elementary school. “From a very young age, I was energized by the idea of advocacy and how I could use this passion to contribute to the community,” Samiyyah says. She never knew this aspiration would lead her to be part of the highest level of justice—clerking for the Supreme Court of the United States. Samiyyah’s primary duties include prepping Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor for oral arguments, helping draft decisions, and reviewing petitions. When facing the stacks of petitions that await her (the Supreme Court receives 7,000 annually and only hears 80), Samiyyah utilizes the critical thinking, organization, and study skills she developed at Westminster. The value of her Westminster experience, though, extends far beyond academics, she explains: “Westminster brought a feeling of worth and value to me as a person. It prepared me for a lifetime of engaged and meaningful citizenship.”
Samiyyah appreciates the many ways Westminster continues inspiring students to pursue their passions. “I am so grateful for Westminster and for all the things that they are doing for the students and the community,” she says. “It’s one thing that I had a great experience and that I can think back to it every day fondly, but it’s inspiring to see how the School is developing and rolling with the times. It feels like a continuing honor to be a part of the Westminster community.” Once she completes her clerkship with Justice Sotomayor, Samiyyah hopes to move into private practice and eventually government service, either for the State of Georgia or the United States. – Caroline Rothschild
Samiyyah Ali ’06 is serving as a clerk for US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
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CLASS NEWS
Congratulations to the Classes of 1995 and 2010! Congratulations to the Class of 1995 and the Class of 2010, who won the Make Your Mark Challenge by reaching the highest class participation in giving to The Westminster Fund.
Retired Faculty
Retired faculty had a great time catching up over the holidays!
Faith and George Lamplugh, Mary and Eddie DuPriest, Merrilyn Eastham, Robert Nash, Stan Moor, Julie Black Boggs ’69 and Wade Boggs, Toni Parker, and Anne and Dave Drake ’61 enjoyed reminiscing over lunch at Pero’s Pizza & Pasta.
Stan Moor, Merrilyn Eastham, Craig Schwall ’81, Dave Drake ’61, Hazel Cochran, Rob Larmore, and Woodrow Barnes celebrated the holidays at Marietta Country Club’s Christmas luncheon.
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NEWS The deadline for Class News for the fall 2019 issue of Westminster Magazine is July 12, 2019. Please submit Class News at westminster.net/classnews.
You may also send class news to: Westminster Attention: Class News 1424 West Paces Ferry Road, NW Atlanta, GA 30327 or email: classnews@westminster.net
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Marriages Congratulations to all Wildcats who are celebrating recent weddings! 1990
Carole Hollingsworth and Calvin Canedy, September 14, 2018
Caroline Rawls and Matt Strumph, October 6, 2018
2009
Kathryn Mullen and Blake Watts, April 28, 2018
Catherine Smith ’11 and Ben Bondurant, October 6, 2018 Margaret Abernathy and Ross Conway, October 20, 2018
2006
2010
1999
Katherine Price and Michael Crosby, October 7, 2018
Brittany Whitmore and Rishav Kohli, July 7, 2018
2011
2007
Molly Doran and Matthieu Garat, June 30, 2018 Amy Brubaker and Steven Menendez, October 6, 2018
2008
Isoline Northcutt and Nelson Abels, April 28, 2018
2.
Brittany Whitmore and Rishav Kohli ’06
Catherine Smith and Ben Bondurant ’09, October 6, 2018
2013
Mallory Lyles and Olamilekan Akinsomisoye, September 8, 2018
Community, Faculty, and Staff Allison Zacks (Lower School faculty) and Taylor Zacks, December 12, 2018
1
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1.
Kathryn Mullen ’99 and Blake Watts
Jennifer Laminack and Andy Davenport, September 22, 2018
Natalie Murphy and Will Hewlett, September 22, 2018
Correction: Rebecca Kahn ’09 and Rahul Nayak were married June 23, 2018. We regret a spelling error in the Fall/Winter 2018 issue.
2
4
3.
Molly Doran ’07 and Matthieu Garat
4.
Amy Brubaker and Steven Menendez ’07
5.
Jennifer Laminack and Andy Davenport ’06 on their wedding day with family members including Mark Davenport ’08, Sue Davenport (Lower School faculty), Pete Davenport (Middle School faculty), and Emily Davenport Fieg ’03
6. Wildcats celebrate the marriage of Natalie Murphy ’06 and Will Hewlett
3 5
6
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7
8
10
11
MARRIAGES
7.
Isoline Northcutt ’08 and Nelson Abels
8.
Margaret Abernathy and Ross Conway ’09
9.
Catherine Smith ’11 and Ben Bondurant ’09
10.
Caroline Rawls ’08 and Matt Strumph
11.
Allison Zacks (Lower School faculty) and Taylor Zacks
12.
Mallory Lyles ’13 and Olamilekan Akinsomisoye
13.
Katherine Price ’10 and Michael Crosby
9
12
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Births and Adoptions Welcome to the Wildcat family, new additions! 1992
Abigail Vance “Abby Vance” Hays Hutchison, October 22, 2017, daughter of Mary Beth Farr Hutchison and David Hutchison
1999
Russell Benjamin Dyer, August 11, 2018, son of Allison Strueber Dyer and Jesse Dyer
Smith Andrews Henritze, August 2, 2018, daughter of Courtney Fog Henritze and Tyler Henritze Reid Michael Smith, December 28, 2018, son of Leah and Brian Smith
2000
Thomas Austin Poole, August 31, 2018, son of Alison Holby Poole and Jonathan Poole Mateo Marcel Roland, January 25, 2019, son of Caroline Saudek and David Roland Vasen Lucy Day Summers, September 11, 2017, daughter of Laura and Trammell Summers
2001
Hailey Marie Morhous, August 24, 2018, daughter of Natalie Bolch Morhous and Hunter Morhous
Christopher Carlile Rollins Jr., August 31, 2018, son of Lizzie and Christopher Rollins Christopher Corbitt Stewart, July 19, 2018, son of Catherine Overend Stewart and Peter Stewart John Persons Thornton III, September 20, 2018, son of Pierson Bridges Thornton ’09 and John Thornton
2002
Sam William Fenton, June 27, 2018, son of Casey and David Fenton
Lucy James MacKenzie, September 24, 2018, daughter of Katie and Peter MacKenzie
“Lucie Cole” Austin Meythaler, September 14, 2018, daughter of Marion Hickman Meythaler and Nick Meythaler Griffin Dever Prickett, September 27, 2018, son of Ali Gray Prickett ’05 and Clay Prickett Holden Robert Spaht, December 13, 2018, son of Julia Woodward Spaht and Carlos Spaht Charles “Charlie” Richard Sturtz, September 6, 2018, son of Charlotte Marie DuPre Sturtz and Jonathan Sturtz Ella Lee Taylor, January 4, 2019, daughter of Leslie and Rodney Taylor Eliza Austell Vavrichek, December 6, 2017, daughter of Emily Nolan Vavrichek and David Vavrichek Charles “Charlie” Richardson Yates IV, October 16, 2018, son of Lane and Charlie Yates
2003
McCamy “Mac” Goble Bryant, August 15, 2018, son of Laura Clappier Bryant ’04 and Wat Bryant Carter Thomas Cronk, January 4, 2019, son of Ashley Rapson Cronk and Adam Cronk Elizabeth “Lanier” Edwards, December 14, 2018, daughter of Emily and Clayton Edwards John William “Will” Haley III, August 11, 2018, son of Michelle and John Haley Richard “Rhodes” Turnipseed, July 26, 2018, son of Laura and Ben Turnipseed Jamie Zhou Weinstein, January 6, 2019, son of Julie Zhou and Jeremy Weinstein
2004
McCamy “Mac” Goble Bryant, August 15, 2018, son of Laura Clappier Bryant and Wat Bryant ’03
Joseph Wolf Hammer, October 6, 2018, son of Katie Egan Hammer and Markus Hammer Kaitlyn Rachel Hill, July 7, 2018, daughter of Katherine Bell Hill and Matt Hill Margaret Hamilton Snoddy, April 5, 2018, daughter of Mary Charles and Mark Snoddy Wesley Samuel Williams, January 20, 2019, son of Madeleine Houser Williams and Wesley Williams
2005
Ryan English Beacham, August 30, 2018, son of Laura and Ben Beacham
Alden Ward Caswell, October 22, 2018, son of Maggie Woodward Caswell and Tyler Caswell Paul Bertram Fraim, October 19, 2018, son of Brent Ellis Fraim and Richard Fraim Griffin Dever Prickett, September 27, 2018, son of Ali Gray Prickett and Clay Prickett ’02
2006
Caroline Story Ale, January 29, 2019, daughter of Margaret Mansfield Ale and John Ale
Harold “Driver” Edward Maude IV, July 22, 2018, son of Missy McGuirk Maude and Tug Maude William Downing Pettit, December 21, 2018, son of Mary Lowell Downing Pettit and Gil Pettit
2007
Mary Marshall Wood, October 3, 2018, daughter of Anne Collier Reid Wood and Skip Wood Charles “Charlie” Benjamin Woodall IV, January 15, 2019, son of Kara and Ben Woodall
2008
Avery Wells Holby, October 27, 2018, daughter of Mary McGuirk Holby and Neil Holby WESTMINSTER | 77
BIRTHS AND ADOPTIONS
Emmett Alexander Stowe, July 29, 2018, son of Dessie Woodall Stowe and Jordan Stowe Scott Van Torrez, July 20, 2018, son of Madeline Swayze Torrez and Cooper Torrez
2009
John Persons Thornton III, September 20, 2018, son of Pierson Bridges Thornton and John Thornton ’01
2010
Dorothy Grace May, November 4, 2018, daughter of Caki Swayze May and Nelson May Gustave “Gus” Philip Morgan V, September 26, 2018, son of Louise Cook Morgan and Gus Morgan
2012
James Augustine Butker, January 27, 2019, son of Isabelle Tehrani Butker and Harrison Butker ’13
Ezekiel Oluwamayowa Oluwatobi Akinsomisoye, December 22, 2018, son of Mallory Lyles Akinsomisoye and Olamilekan Akinsomisoye
1.
Community, Faculty, and Staff
Reid Michael Smith, son of Leah and Brian Smith ’99
Patrick Michael Kay II, January, 29, 2019, son of Joanna Kay (athletics staff) and Patrick Kay Mika Austin Mullen, June 28, 2018, son of Tavia Mullen (admissions staff) and Matthew Mullen Aiden Mazeen Porbandarwala, November 3, 2018, Shazeen Porbandarwala (Middle School faculty) and Mazeen Porbandarwala Rhett Anderson Roberts, July 28, 2018, Kaci Roberts (Middle School faculty) and Michael Roberts
Abigail Vance “Abby Vance” Hays Hutchison, daughter of Mary Beth Farr Hutchison ’92 and David Hutchison
2. 3.
Russell Benjamin Dyer, son of Allison Strueber Dyer ’99 and Jesse Dyer, pictured with big brother Andy
4.
Thomas Austin Poole, son of Alison Holby Poole ’00 and Jonathan Poole, pictured with big sister Hannah
5.
Mateo Marcel Roland, son of Caroline Saudek ’00 and David Roland Vasen
6.
Smith Andrews Henritze, daughter of Courtney Fog Henritze and Tyler Henritze ’99
3
2013
James Augustine Butker, January 27, 2019, son of Isabelle Tehrani Butker ’12 and Harrison Butker
1
2
6 4
4 5
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7
10
7.
9
11
Lucy Day Summers, daughter of Laura and Trammell Summers ’00
8.
Natalie Bolch Morhous ’01 and Hunter Morhous with son Wills and infant daughter Hailey Marie Morhous
9.
Christopher Corbitt Stewart, son of Catherine Overend Stewart ’01 and Peter Stewart
10.
Christopher Carlile Rollins Jr., son of Lizzie and Christopher Rollins ’01
11.
Eliza Austell Vavrichek with her big sister Lily, daughters of Emily Nolan Vavrichek ’02 and David Vavrichek
13
12.
John Persons Thornton III, son of Pierson Bridges Thornton ’09 and John Thornton ’01
13.
12
Holden Robert Spaht, son of Julia Woodward Spaht ’02 and Carlos Spaht, pictured with proud big sisters Cappa and Virginia
14.
Lucy James MacKenzie, daughter of Katie and Peter MacKenzie ’02
15.
“Lucie Cole” Austin Meythaler, daughter of Marion Hickman Meythaler ’02 and Nick Meythaler
16.
Charles Richard “Charlie” Sturtz, son of Charlotte Marie DuPre Sturtz ’02 and Jonathan Sturtz, pictured with big brother Paul, 4, and big sister Sarah Cate, 2
14
15
16
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18
BIRTHS AND ADOPTIONS
17.
Ella Lee Taylor, daughter of Leslie and Rodney Taylor ’02
18.
17
Carter Thomas Cronk, son of Ashley Rapson Cronk ’03 and Adam Cronk
19.
Griffin Dever Prickett, son of Ali Gray Prickett ’05 and Clay Prickett ’02
20.
Elizabeth “Lanier” Edwards pictured with big sister Amelia, daughters of Emily and Clayton Edwards ’03
21.
Charles “Charlie” Richardson Yates IV, son of Lane and Charlie Yates ’02
22.
McCamy “Mac” Goble Bryant, son of Laura Clappier Bryant ’04 and Wat Bryant ’03
23.
John William “Will” Haley III, son of Michelle and John Haley ’03
20
19
24.
Alden Ward Caswell, son of Maggie Woodward Caswell ’05 and Tyler Caswell
17
25.
Margaret Hamilton Snoddy, daughter of Mary Charles and Mark Snoddy ’04, pictured with big sister Sadie
26.
Ryan English Beacham, son of Laura and Ben Beacham ’05
27.
Wesley Samuel Williams, son of Madeleine Houser Williams ’04 and Wesley Williams
21
28.
Caroline Story Ale, daughter of Margaret Mansfield Ale ’06 and John Ale
29.
Paul Bertram Fraim, son of Brent Ellis Fraim ’05 and Richard Fraim
30.
23
Joseph Wolf Hammer, son of Katie Egan Hammer ’04 and Markus Hammer
31.
Jamie Zhou Weinstein, son of Julie Zhou ’03 and Jeremy Weinstein
32.
Kaitlyn Rachel Hill, daughter of Katherine Bell Hill ’04 and Matt Hill
33.
Richard “Rhodes” Turnipseed, son of Laura and Ben Turnipseed ’03
34.
Harold “Driver” Edward Maude IV, son of Missy McGuirk Maude ’06 and Tug Maude
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24
25
26
27 28
29
30
31
34
32 33
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35
BIRTHS AND ADOPTIONS
35.
William Downing Pettit, son of Mary Lowell Downing Pettit ’06 and Gil Pettit
36.
Dorothy Grace May, daughter of Caki Swayze May ’10 and Nelson May ’10
37.
Mary Marshall Wood, daughter of Anne Collier Reid Wood ’07 and Skip Wood
38.
Charles “Charlie” Benjamin Woodall IV, son of Kara and Ben Woodall ’07
39.
Avery Wells Holby, daughter of Mary McGuirk Holby ’08 and Neil Holby ’08
40.
Gustave “Gus” Philip Morgan V, son of Louise Cook Morgan ’10 and Gus Morgan
41.
Ezekiel Oluwamayowa Oluwatobi Akinsomisoye, son of Mallory Lyles Akinsomisoye ’13 and Olamilekan Akinsomisoye
42.
Emmett Alexander Stowe, July 29, 2018, son of Dessie Woodall Stowe ’08 and Jordan Stowe
43.
James Augustine Butker, son of Isabelle Tehrani Butker ’12 and Harrison Butker ’13
44.
Mika Austin Mullen with parents Tavia Mullen (admissions staff) and Matthew Mullen
45.
Rhett Anderson Roberts with parents Kaci Roberts (Middle School faculty) and Michael Roberts
46.
Aiden Mazeen Porbandarwala, son of Shazeen Porbandarwala (Middle School faculty) and Mazeen Porbandarwala
47.
Patrick Michael Kay II, son of Joanna Kay (athletics staff) and Patrick Kay
37 36
38
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40
41
42
44
43
45
46
47
In Memoriam We extend our deepest sympathy to the members of the Westminster community who have lost a loved one. NAPS Alumnae 1945
Betty Whitaker Kelly Ashendorf, August 29, 2018
1948
Betty Jo “Dodie” Hammond Bowen, January 11, 2019
NAPS Families Norma Jean Prater, September 3, 2018, sister of Anne Prater Hill Barfield NAPS ’51
1953
1976
Westminster Alumni
1984
Caroline “Cary” Minnich Lide, January 8, 2019
1953
Gail Lee Wood Irvin, February 1, 2019 Norma Jean Prater, September 3, 2018 Mary Louise Cofer Stark, July 22, 2018
1955
Washington Seminary Alumnae
Marjorie Hagel Gregory, October 14, 2018 Mildred “Bootsie” Griffin Hansen, November 28, 2018 Ellen Peniston Rafeedie, October 22, 2018
1937
1956
1939
1957
1941
1959
1942
1960
James Harold Shepherd Sr., December 10, 2018, husband of Alana Smith Shepherd NAPS ’47
Nan Schwab Pendergrast, December 17, 2018 Lillian Roberts Deakins Wyant, January 9, 2019 Austina “Tina” Will Norris, September 2, 2018 Jane Houston Kollock McCall, January 31, 2019
1944
Margaret “Peggy” Sheffield Martin, October 7, 2018
1948
Barbara Watkins (Proctor Woodruff) Lee, January 20, 2019
1950
Elizabeth Thompson Watson, February 19, 2018
1951
Shirley Bondurant Moore Harvey, February 4, 2019
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William “Bill” Giltner Vance, September 13, 2018 Marion Phillips Bahin, October 15, 2018 Laura Sauls Wallace, January 17, 2019 Patricia Jones Friedl, December 25, 2018 George Weyman McCarty III, January 18, 2019
1963
Sally Bows Hammond, March 12, 2018
1964
Paul Frederick Brown IV, July 30, 2018
1969
David “Dave” John Frazier, December 18, 2018
1975
Elizabeth “Betty” Bentley Watson, February 5, 2019
Jarrett LaFayette Davis IV, September 17, 2018 Michael “Mike” James Wilmot, October 12, 2017
1989
Lisa Diahann Howe, May 10, 2017 Charles Andrew Bevington, July 5, 2018
Westminster Families Kathleen Capano Bekkers, October 6, 2018, mother of Charlotte Farley ’14, Annabel Farley ’16, and McKenna Bekkers ’26 Kay Minkovitz Beynart, June 12, 2018, mother of Jennifer Beynart Pachus ’86 and Dan Beynart ’91 Charles Andrew Bevington, July 5, 2018, husband of Miranda “Randi” Tumlin Bevington ’89 and brother of Mit Bevington ’70, Rickey Bevington ’71, George Bevington ’86, Mary Laurence Bevington ’86, Christian Bevington ’87, and Justin Bevington ’90 Laura Walker Bond, September 1, 2018, mother of Laura Bond Barker ’80 and Henry Bond ’83 Gloria Thomas Borders, August 20, 2018, mother of Lisa Borders ’75, Billy Borders ’77, Julie Borders ’79, and Eric Borders ’81 James “Jim” Henry Bratton Jr., January 6, 2019, father of Susan Bratton McGonigle ’82, Jim Bratton ’84, and Margaret Bratton Schilling ’87 William “Billy” Russell Bridges Jr., October 7, 2018, father of Kathryn Bridges Miller ’74, William Bridges ’76, Elwyn Bridges ’79, Walter Bridges ’82, and Mary Kate Bridges Hewes ’86
IN MEMORIAM
Brenda Ferguson Brodie (retired staff), February 7, 2019, mother of Kyle Brodie ’03 and Layne Brodie ’08 James “Jim” Hubert Coil III, December 29, 2018, father of Jake Coil ’06 Michael Clark Crawford, September 7, 2018, husband of Betsy Akers Crawford ’66 and father of Michael Crawford ’90 and Scott Crawford ’93 Jarrett LaFayette Davis IV, September 17, 2018, brother of Bryan Davis ’79 Doris Dixon, January 8, 2019, mother of Marjorie Dixon Mitchell ’82 (admissions staff) Debbie Weeks Felker, December 24, 2018, wife of Ric Felker ’72 and mother of Allison Felker Hedgcloth ’03 David “Dave” John Frazier, December 18, 2018, brother of John Frazier ’74 and Tim Frazier ’75 Sally Bows Hammond, March 12, 2018, sister of David Bows ’59 Mildred “Bootsie” Griffin Hansen, November 28, 2018, mother of Paige Hansen ’85 and John Hansen ’89 Lisa Diahann Howe, May 10, 2017, sister of Bill Howe ’94 Donna Hauck Izlar, January 23, 2019, mother of Bill Izlar ’71, Paul Izlar ’75, and Donna Izlar Reavely ’82 John “Jack” Joseph Kelleher III, July 17, 2017, husband of Necia Knight Kelleher ’59 Joseph “Joe” Choate League Jr., September 24, 2018, father of Elisabeth League Irwin ’97 Barbara Watkins (Proctor Woodruff) Lee, January 20, 2019, mother of Robert Proctor ’75, Richard Proctor ’80, and Evelyn Proctor Sandefur ’82
Brooks Smith Lide Jr., December 20, 2018, father of Brooks Lide ’75, Caroline Lide Ketchum ’78, and Courtney Lide Dickey ’83 Caroline “Cary” Minnich Lide, January 8, 2019, mother of Brooks Lide ’75, Caroline Lide Ketchum ’78, and Courtney Lide Dickey ’83 Ella Lee Freed Lowrey, July 19, 2018, mother of Loretta Lowrey ’72 and Haynie “Trixie” Lowrey Wheeler ’74 Ian MacFarlane, September 2, 2018, husband of Dot MacFarlane (retired faculty) and father of Jennifer MacFarlane ’75, Meredith MacFarlane Rose ’76, Cathy MacFarlane Harrison ’78, and David MacFarlane ’80 Margaret “Peggy” Sheffield Martin, October 7, 2018, mother of Tom Martin ’67 and David Martin ’72 George Weyman McCarty III, January 18, 2019, brother of Perry McCarty ’61 and Rucker McCarty ’66 and father of Erin McCarty Mason ’89 Martin Moran, October 31, 2018, husband of Harriet Cotten Moran ’56 and father of Todd Moran ’84 and Crawford Moran ’86 Edman Dewey Norris Jr., December 13, 2018, husband of Gloria Bryant Norris ’53 and stepfather of Emily Early Kehrberg ’82 Nan Schwab Pendergrast, December 17, 2018, mother of Jill Pendergrast MacGlaflin ’59, John Pendergrast ’60, Nan Pendergrast Marshall ’63, Mark Pendergrast ’66, Blair Pendergrast Vickery ’70, Scott Pendergrast ’72, and Craig Pendergrast ’77 John “Jack” Morgan Pinkerton, November 17, 2018, father of Molly Pinkerton Caine ’88
Robert M. “Bob” Sims (retired faculty), February 1, 2019, father of Kevin Sims ’75 and Griff Sims ’77 Charles Calvin Upshaw, January 10, 2019, father of Charles Upshaw ’74, Elizabeth Upshaw Chambliss ’77, Carol Upshaw Swayze ’79, and Ellen Upshaw Allison ’81 William “Bill” Giltner Vance, September 13, 2018, husband of Lucy Carpenter Vance ’61 and father of Alec Vance ’88, William Vance ’90, and Carolyn Vance Gordon ’91 Laura Sauls Wallace, January 17, 2019, mother of John Wallace Jr. ’85 and Michael Wallace ’91 Elizabeth “Betty” Bentley Watson, February 5, 2019, sister of Jim Bentley ’77 and Sam Bentley ’81 Michael “Mike” James Wilmot, October 12, 2017, brother of Tiffany Wilmot-LeBleu ’81 Lillian Roberts Deakins Wyant, January 9, 2019, mother of Lillian Deakins Clarke ’67 and Dorothy Deakins Chandler ’69
Community, Faculty, and Staff Brenda Ferguson Brodie (retired staff), February 7, 2019 Clifton B. Moor, October 8, 2018, stepfather of Andrea Corley (Center for Teaching staff) Ian MacFarlane, September 2, 2018, husband of Dot MacFarlane (retired faculty) Doris Dixon, January 8, 2019, mother of Marjorie Dixon Mitchell ’82 (admissions staff) Robert M. “Bob” Sims (retired faculty), February 1, 2019
James Harold Shepherd Sr., December 10, 2018, father of James Shepherd ’69
WESTMINSTER | 85
Emmett Wright, one of Westminster’s earliest faculty members, was known for encouraging lively debate in his history classes. Whether in one of these debates, while rushing toward deadline for the latest issue of the Bi-Line, or welcoming exchange students from Argentina into Spanish class, Campbell Hall is a place where many Wildcats have stretched themselves to think critically about the world—something that has set Westminster apart from its early days.
86 | Spring 2019