Westminster Magazine Fall/Winter 2022 - Transformative Teaching

Our community’s collective support empowers our faculty to provide a learning experience unlike any other and develop leaders of conscience, giving every student the limitless opportunities and experiences that define a Westminster education. The School’s innovative courses, energizing learning environment, inclusive community, arts offerings, athletics, and more empower today’s students to start their leadership journeys now and become citizens who effect real change.

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FALL/WINTER 2022 CONTENTS

CONTRIBUTORS

Executive Editors

Liz Ball

Emilie Henry

Managing Editor

Kathleen Poe Ross ’01

Production Manager

Marisa Crissey

Art Directors

Alyssa Henderson

Molly Morris

Editorial Staff

Allie Doheny

Alyssa Henderson

Contributors

President Keith Evans

Jane Lauderdale Armstrong ’74

Lauren Flores

Wab Kadaba ’87

Rosa Kim ’21

Mallory McKenzie

Pamela Nye

Brandi Tant

Katie Trainor

Regina Wood

Art Direction & Design

Green Gate Marketing

Photography

Alyssa Henderson

Paul Ward

Matthew Warren

Student, faculty, staff, and parent photographers

The Lewis H. Beck Archives at Westminster

Printing

Perfect Image

FEATURES

12 Embracing a New Era in the Classroom

Teachers today find themselves in the middle of a changing educational landscape. What does this new era in education look like at Westminster, and how are our faculty meeting the challenges that come with it?

22 Faculty Forum: Teachers in Their Own Words

Being an educator isn’t for the faint of heart. We spoke to teachers from all across the School to learn more about what drew them to the profession, why they teach at Westminster, and what keeps them engaged.

36 Philanthropy Update

Support for the 2021–22 Westminster Fund led to another record-breaking fundraising year. Read more about the impact of this generosity on our campus.

DEPARTMENTS

2 From the President

4 Wildcat Tracks

10 New Leaders

38 Wildcat Den

42 Faculty and Staff

54 Looking Back

56 Class of 2022

68 Alumni News

76 Class News

STAY CONNECTED

Address comments to Liz Ball, Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications, at lizball@westminster.net.

Submit class news items online at westminster.net/classnews.

Change your address or update your contact information online at westminster.net/updateyourinfo.

Dear Westminster Community,

Can you recall a time when teachers have been in the headlines more than in the past few years? The news of disruption and turbulence seems to keep coming: transitions from in-person to virtual teaching and back again and again, unimaginably tragic incidents of school violence, shouting matches over what is in the curriculum and how it is taught, and, most recently, a nationwide student mental health crisis that has stretched teachers’ responsibilities in yet another direction.

These challenges face a profession that, in many cases, did not have the option to work from home. Teachers also had few opportunities to create new patterns of work-life balance or ensure the safeguards to personal health that were possible for many workers in these last twoplus years. Add to these dynamics the adjacent challenges of shifting parent expectations and significant disruption across the higher

education landscape, and it’s easy to understand how teachers might find themselves feeling disoriented. At this juncture in this message, I would like nothing more than to say, “However, none of that impacted our faculty at Westminster.” But that would not be true. To be sure, we are insulated in some ways by category or degree from the effects of some of these headline-making shifts and trends. In other ways, Westminster teachers have felt demands on their stamina and resilience that have been common to teachers everywhere. And in some cases, they have faced unique demands resulting from the high altitude of expectations at Westminster.

Through it all, several factors made and continue to make a difference for us:

•Like our students, our faculty are chosen because they are motivated by challenge. They have heroically taken on the adversity of the past few years with a sense of dedication and single-mindedness. That does not mean that it has been easy, but, as in most difficult circumstances, mindset is everything. Our teachers have been highly adaptable and relentlessly optimistic.

•Our community of support— parents, alumni, friends—has been ever faithful and has exceeded past markers of generosity and encouragement. The Westminster model has always relied on being a partner and member of this school community, not simply transacting an exchange

of tuition for learning. This foundation has been invaluable to sustaining our faculty.

•Long before the current headlines, our faculty embraced exciting and growth-oriented initiatives designed to produce leaders of conscience for our community and world. This is inspiring work to engage in each day, and none of it was put on pause for these recent disruptions. We are still focused on creating a diverse and inclusive community that translates seismic shifts in our world—like the ever-expanding digital revolution—into learning experiences that will equip and prepare our students to lead. Good work is indeed a privilege and offers its own kind of sustenance in the midst of other challenges.

It is this last point that is the main subject of our cover story. We hope to reacquaint you with a faculty that still embodies Dr. Pressly’s notion of excellence as “working at the edge of one’s ability, until personal limits are stretched and extended.” They bring ample energy and courage to the journey, and the results of their dedication are visible in each Westminster student and alum. I am proud to call them my colleagues and blessed to witness daily what a gift they are to our children.

Onward,

Keith Evans President

ADMINISTRATION

Keith A. Evans President

Toni Boyd Vice President for Finance and Operations

Frank Brown ’04 Director of DEI and Community Engagement

Tim Downes Director of Athletics

Lauren DuPriest Head of Lower School

Emilie Henry Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Jim Justice Dean of Academics and Curriculum

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

Chanley Small ’87 Head of Upper School

Torrey Williams Chief Information Officer

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Katharine W. Kelley ’82, Chair

Allison Bolch Moran ’86, Vice Chair

Marilyn S. Black

Elizabeth Kilcullen Blake

J. Donald Childress

David D. Cummings

Clare H. Draper IV

Michael J. Egan ’74

Rand Glenn Hagen ’95

Jack N. Halpern ’67

Scott D. Hawkins

Angela Hsu

Ira L. Jackson ’83

Stephen S. Lanier ’96

Janet M. Lavine

David M. Love ’90

Lisa Olivetti McGahan

Richard V. McPhail III

R. Brand Morgan ’94

Joel T. Murphy ’76

Floyd C. Newton III ’73

Rahul Patel

Leslie D. Patterson

William T. Plybon

Kelly A. Regal

Natosha Reid Rice

Louise Scott Sams ’75

S. Stephen Selig ’61

Jeffrey P. Small Jr. ’85

C. Austin Stephens ’93

Timothy P. Tassopoulos

Dana Weeks Ugwonali

D. Scott Weimer

PRESIDENT

Keith A. Evans

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION REPRESENTATIVE

Wab Kadaba ’87

EMERITUS TRUSTEES

James S. Balloun

Betsy Barge Birkholz ’69

Lisa Borders ’75

James E. Bostic Jr.

David E. Boyd

Peter M. Candler ’60

Samuel G. Candler

Richard W. Courts II ’55

Ann Draughon Cousins

Suzanne LeCraw Cox ’71

Joseph M. Craver

F. T. Davis Jr. ’56

Harold A. Dawson ’82

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.

J. Hicks Lanier ’58

Dennis M. Love ’74

Carolyn Cody McClatchey ’65

Terence F. McGuirk

Olga Goizueta Rawls ’73

Margaret Conant Reiser ’73

B. Clayton Rolader ’72

John W. Rooker ’56

L. Barry Teague

John A. Wallace

James B. Williams

George B. Wirth

Wildcat Tracks

With restrictions fading and traditions reemerging, activities kept campus humming last spring. While we celebrated milestones and continued to welcome alumni and new families to campus, some Wildcats turned their gaze back to global travel, leaving their tracks throughout the city of Atlanta and around the world.

Second Grade Living Museum

Our creative second grade students shared the stories, triumphs, and challenges of prominent and beloved figures in history, music, sports, science, medicine, art, and more during the Living Museum in Barge Commons.

Service

first Saturday in April, Westminster students, faculty, community members came together for the first-ever Day of Service. More than 570 people from the community volunteered during this event, which was possible by partnerships between the Glenn Institute Philanthropy and Service Learning, PAWS, and 36 area nonprofits. At the end of the Day of Service, Wildcats had packed more than 2,000 disaster health kits, donated 49 pints of blood, and assembled more than 1,100 meal kits, among other activities.

Everybody Cooks!

Wildcats in the Lower School celebrated the cultures and cuisines of their community at the Everybody Cooks Potluck Supper at the Summer Camp. Inspired by Norah Dooley’s 1991 children’s book Everybody Cooks Rice, which introduces children to the cooking traditions of a variety of cultures, this annual event brings Lower School families together for an evening of fun and sharing their favorite recipes.

Democracy in Action

The eighth grade Democracy in Action class participated in an immersive learning experience: Acting as justices, attorneys, and clerks of the court, students conducted a mock trial on a Fourth Amendment issue—and they held it in the actual Supreme Court of Georgia. While they were there, Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren ’00 dropped by to visit with her fellow Westminster Wildcats.

Fundance Film Festival

Lights! Camera! Action! Fourth grade students walked the red carpet in Barge Commons at the Fundance Film Festival, where their team-created short documentary films about nonprofits of their choosing were screened for an audience of their peers and parents.

Launched in 2006, Fundance is a special project that brings together social issues, persuasive and descriptive writing, responsibility, organization, collaborative thinking, developing empathy, and, of course, teamwork. It’s also a fantastic example of how our teachers develop projects designed to expand students’ minds individually, collaboratively, and across disciplines.

Christian Emphasis Week

Westminster’s annual Christian Emphasis Week is a time to reflect, celebrate, and be inspired by Christian teachings and values—and last spring, it also lined up with Holy Week. Each division designed activities and events throughout the week to go along with their selected Bible passage and theme:

• Lower School — Proverbs 17:17 | “A friend loves at all times”

• Middle School — 1 Corinthians 13 | All you need is love

• Upper School — Luke 2:52 | The School motto: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

WILDCATS AROUND THE WORLD!

JanTerm 2022

The Upper School kicked off the second semester of the 2021–22 school year with the return of JanTerm! With additional precautions in place, our students were able to travel across and out of the country again, using this three-week immersive learning experience to engage wholeheartedly with the world beyond Westminster’s gates. International JanTerm courses for 2022 saw Wildcats traveling to England and Poland.

Building with the GuatCats

The GuatCats weren’t able to travel to Guatemala during JanTerm 2022 as originally planned, but they finally made the trip in May. Westminster students served the community in Aldea Los Corrales and built four new homes in partnership with From Houses to Homes, an organization that supports families with homes, education, and healthcare. The four homes built on this trip bring Westminster’s total to 60 homes built with From Houses to Homes!

CaminoCats Pilgrimage

Last summer, the CaminoCats arrived in Santiago de Compostela after five days of walking 115 kilometers— more than 70 miles—along the Way of St. James, a historic pilgrimage across northern Spain. This new Westminster global program is an opportunity for our Upper School students to reflect, connect, be present, and walk in the footsteps of pilgrims who have made this same journey for centuries.

Singing Across England

The Ensemble’s 2022 tour took the choir to England for spring break. The group toured the cities of London and Oxford, visited Shakespeare’s birthplace, and saw the Gerald Coke Handel Collection at the Foundling Museum, where they had close encounters with some of George Frideric Handel’s manuscripts and scores to Messiah

Physics Field Day

Catapults and rockets and solar ovens, oh my! Ninth grade physics students gathered at the Summer Camp for Physics Field Day in April. Students worked together on various physics projects, including building pinhole cameras, constructing solar ovens to cook s’mores, and erecting catapults. Throughout the day, students gathered data and analyzed the effectiveness of their handiwork that brought classroom lessons to life.

Welcome, New Wildcats!

Introducing MayATL

The Middle School closed out the 2021–22 school year with its first-ever MayATL. MayATL is a short academic term—two weeks—in which students have the opportunity to take a focused, immersive elective designed to engage their curiosity and connect them to the broader Atlanta community.

During MayATL, our Middle Schoolers could be found biking on the Beltline, connecting with NASA scientists, performing and recording original music, and much more. Turn to page 20 to read more about MayATL.

There was an explosion of school spirit on campus last spring as we welcomed the newest members of the Wildcat Nation at our family parade event!

Extracurricular Achievements

Art & Writing Awards

Alex Wa ’24, Campbelle Searcy ’22, and Samanyu Ganesh ’26 received national Scholastic Art & Writing awards last spring. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards comprise the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7 through 12.

Chess Champ

In April, Arthur Guo ’24 won the 2022 National High School Chess Championship, beating out more than 1,060 students from 40 states.

Basketball Gold

Courtney Ogden ’23 and the 2022 USA Basketball U18 women’s national team won gold at the 2022 FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in June. Courtney was one of just 12 athletes nationwide to earn a spot on the roster.

Presidential Scholar Semifinalists

Rachel Doman ’22 and Stephen Shin ’22 were recognized as semifinalists for the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, which was established to honor the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors.

Lynx Dedication

Upper School history teachers John Monahan and Ana Maria Szolodko were honored with the 2022 Lynx yearbook dedication at an assembly in Turner Gym.

In a nod to the resilience of Wildcats young and old, the theme of the 2022 Lynx yearbook was “Onward,” a theme meant to “capture the beautiful harmony of positive change and valued tradition” at Westminster.

WiredCats at VEX Robotics World Championship

Sixteen Middle School students represented Westminster at the VEX Robotics World Championships—the world’s largest robotics tournament—in Dallas, Texas, last spring.

Three teams represented Westminster at the competition, which saw 500 teams from 40 countries. The teams competed for up to 12 hours a day during the competition. Congratulations to all of these WiredCats for their hard work, dedication, and accomplishments!

Can

These were our top Instagram posts of spring 2022!

you guess which one was shared the most?

New Leaders

At the start of this school year, Westminster welcomed two new leaders to campus who aren’t actually new to campus at all: Frank Brown ’04 became the School’ s first director of DEI and community engagement, and Adam Koplan ’91 P ’26 joined the faculty as director of performing arts.

Frank’s return to Westminster follows more than a decade of work focused on diversity-led initiatives in higher education and pre-K–12 schools. He comes to Westminster from Forsyth Country Day School in Lewisville, North Carolina, where he was director of diversity, inclusion, and outreach. As a member of that school’s administrative leadership, Frank was responsible for developing and executing the school’s strategic vision and implementing the action plan for DEI. Prior to that, he worked on curriculum development and implementation focused on cultural competence, targeted recruitment and retention programs, and international study programs. Frank completed a bachelor’s degree in sociology and an MBA at Wake Forest University. He and his wife, Renae Odom Brown ’04, moved back home to Atlanta last summer with their three children.

Adam rejoins the Westminster Performing Arts Department after 15 years as founding artistic director of The Flying Carpet Theatre Co., most recently. He ran the performance programs at the DreamYard Project in the Bronx for seven years prior to that, training and overseeing a dozen teaching artists in residencies in New York City public schools. His work as a director and playwright has been seen at venues including the Atlantic Theater, Lincoln Center, the Center for Puppetry Arts, and Theatrical Outfit. Adam studied at Swarthmore College, University of Washington, and École Jacques Lecoq in Paris. He is a proud member of the Writers Guild of America, East, and the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab. Here in Atlanta he is a guest contributor on arts and culture on WABE 90.1 FM and chairs the board at the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum.

At Westminster, Frank is tasked with building a sustainable framework for diversity, equity, and inclusion and

developing a schoolwide vision for belonging on behalf of every member of the Westminster community. Adam serves as a Lower School drama coach and interim performing arts chair in addition to his administrative work overseeing the Performing Arts Department in all divisions.

Adam and Frank sat down together with Westminster Magazine during their first weeks back on campus to reflect on their time here as students and look to the future as new leaders within the School.

How does it feel to return to Westminster in a leadership role?

Frank: It’s surreal, in a word. I’m not certain that I ever saw myself returning to Westminster in this capacity. But, you know, life’s not linear until you’re looking backwards and you begin to realize all of the experiences that prepared you for the next step. I suppose, in this respect, the line curved and made a complete 180.

Adam: When I took the job, I imagined that I’d spend the first few weeks mostly thinking about my own big life change: shifting from being a professional theater maker for the last few years back to being an arts educator. But what quickly began to occupy my thoughts was the general sense of mission about the School. I hadn’t fully taken on what it would be like to be inside an institution that has such a clear sense of purpose that filters into meeting after meeting and interaction after interaction.

Frank: I can’t overstate how much I take pride in having the opportunity to return to my alma mater and work in a capacity that’s not only going to impact students who are here today and families that are a part of our community now, but working toward the future progress of the School. This is a really exciting time to be at Westminster.

What are some memories that stand out for you from your time as Westminster students?

Adam: I am lucky to be back in the building that I have a lot of my happiest memories in, over in Broyles Arts Center. I probably did 11 plays while I was in high school, and the intensity of working on those so that we could have fabulous productions was part of it. But part of it was also the camaraderie of sitting around the green room and the cast parties and feeling like I have a place here. Nobody would say I was at the social epicenter of Westminster in those days, but I felt like I had a real crew. That was such an important part of feeling at home at Westminster for me.

Frank: I began here as a student in eighth grade. I remember the first thing that stood out to me was how friendly all of my classmates were, so welcoming. Second was the bond that I had with several of my teachers—in particular my eighth grade physical science teacher, Tad Mollenkamp. He was the first faculty member that took the time to see that, although I was excelling socially, I was

Adam Koplan ’91 and Frank Brown ’04

having some struggles academically making the transition, and he took the time to sit with me and learn about me. Those relationships are a cornerstone of the experience here.

What are some of the opportunities here that excite you about your role on campus?

Adam: Westminster is already a really special place for performing artists. There’s a lot of opportunity, there are a lot of resources, and there are really mature programs that have been built across 70 years. I have an opportunity to look at the big picture and the role of the performing arts at school in America right now. What kind of community do we want to be here at Westminster, and how do the performing arts add to that? I’m eager to deepen the notion of performing arts as a language of expression at Westminster and then listen closely to what people want to express and how that can make us a tighter community.

Frank: So much of what Adam said resonates with me, because we’re at this inflection point where part of the question that we’re asking ourselves is, “What kind of community do we want to be, and how do we get there?”

With something like diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, I look at the last almost three years of this pandemic, and I think about the opportunities that now exist to bring us back together, to build community, and to use our campus as a community center. There’s this neat opportunity to really tap into all of that and create what I think a lot of people have been longing for, especially over these last three years.

Adam: One of the things that was really hard about the COVID era was how much more alone time we spent. What an incredible opportunity it is to be here now as the performing arts and indeed all community activities reboot!

Frank: Hearing about your experience, Adam, which was different from mine in a lot of ways, leads me to this idea that there’s not a singular Westminster experience. We can have all of these wonderful opportunities that are almost a sampling—you can decide what to take

from it, what to contribute to it, but I think there’s going to be something for everyone that allows them to get what they need from this community. So for me, it’s about listening and learning what those needs are and continuing to work toward fulfilling those needs, wherever they may be.

How has Westminster changed since you were a student?

Frank: It’s actually my perspective that has changed, because a lot has remained the same over the years, you know? You walk on campus and you see many of the traditions that were part of your experience ongoing, whether it’s the various extracurricular opportunities or the little idiosyncrasies of the campus. But I think it takes some distance to truly appreciate what the aggregate of those experiences represents. Walking around the campus as a student, I don’t know that I truly appreciated all that this place had to offer.

Adam: I completely agree. It’s really hard to separate what is a change in my point of view from a change in Westminster. As a father, seeing what my daughter has experienced—the ways in which the locker commons in the Middle School encourage people to chat with each other and come together, the way that there are these thoughtful affinity groups— there are a lot of things here you could name that are about bringing people together in little communities and across communities that weren’t there when I was a student.

Frank: I get the sense that there is greater awareness to developing the whole self. And that’s both with students having a yearning to develop themselves beyond what their test scores or GPA might indicate to a college and the adults also taking a different look at things and saying, “Well, you know, this may be an English class, but let’s have a conversation about neuroscience and find that intersection where this is going to enrich the lives of my students.”

Adam: I think we’re in an interesting place where we’re sort of trying to balance that culture that is, in ways, embedded in Westminster’s DNA—the culture of “push” toward something better than you

thought you could ever accomplish—and also trying to look at things that used to be seen in purely competitive terms and realizing that not everything is a zero-sum game. That becomes especially true in my role in performing arts. We’re the “truth and beauty” folks; we’re the “mode of expression” folks. Nobody loses. We’re here to help people see the world through different lenses, and that’s not “I win, you lose.” But it can be a place where there is that signature Wildcat push. Trying to figure out how to get both of those is, I think, a very fun challenge as an educator.

What do you enjoy most about working with students?

Frank: For me, it’s about the wideeyed perspective that children have that sometimes we adults have lost. Children are always looking for why can’t this work and what opportunities exist versus adults coming in from the glass-half-empty perspective. They have that wonder and amazement. It’s invigorating for me as an educator to be in that space with young minds to both help facilitate that growth and be challenged as well; learning is a two-way street. I learn from the young people I’m interacting with whether in the classroom or on an athletic field.

Adam: During COVID I had more bandwidth for reflection about what the next chapter would be for me, and the thing I wanted most was something really tied to purpose and impact. As wonderful as the era of making plays had been for me, I kept thinking back to my time in the classroom and the impact that you can have across time, what that can represent in a young person’s life. In my case, it was so transformational. I’ve seen it in my students and peers: We all talk about these formative experiences, and a lot of them had to do with things that happened to us when we were around these ages—in the arts, especially. What an opportunity to come back here, of all places, and work toward that kind of impact.

Embracing a

in the in the in the

Embracing a new Era classroom Embracing a new Era classroom new Era classroom

By Kathleen Poe Ross ’01, Advancement Writer

about a week before winter exams, an Upper School class gathered in Barge Commons. As the students settled in on the soft modular seating in Blake Hall, President Keith Evans and English teacher and Upper School DEI Coordinator Sabrina Johnson arrived and joined their colleagues Tori Sparks and John Monahan, both grade chairs and history teachers, toward the front of the room. There were no desks, no laptops, no notebooks. The group of Upper Schoolers was there only to hear the perspectives of Keith and Sabrina on a topic they had been focused on all semester: how to foster civility while navigating difficult conversations.

The students who took part in this discussion are members of a newly formed program called the Civil Dialogue Fellows, which aims to help students cultivate skills to lead productive conversations when dealing with tough topics in their community, their country, and the world. This latest iteration of the Upper School Fellows program was created by Tori and John. After participating in a faculty Civil Dialogue Cohort led by Upper School Head Chanley Small, the two began thinking about how valuable a similar experience could be for their students.

“Everything in the adult world seems to be screaming at us that these are skill sets more people need, and the world would be a better place if they had them,” explains John. “While the course doesn’t guarantee that every conversation is going to go well, ideally these kids are going off to college or locker rooms or boardrooms and improving the civility of our debates.”

The fellows model first appeared in Westminster’s Upper School almost a decade ago, when English teacher Jen Dracos-Tice launched the Writing Fellows program. Each fellows course is a selective yearlong program for which students must apply, and each course combines leadership development with a specific area of academics and a charge to give back to the School community in some way. Over the past several years, fellows offerings have expanded into new areas of focus like innovation and civic engagement. The response to this latest incarnation has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Tori and John received more than twice the number of applications they anticipated for their inaugural cohort of the Civil Dialogue Fellows.

“One of the challenges we have—and it’s a good challenge—is that there’s a lot of demand for the program,” Tori says. “Being able to engage in civil dialogue is absolutely a necessary skill for everyone to have, especially as we see increased polarization in society. It’s okay to disagree, but it’s also important to have empathy for each other. It is our due diligence as educators to make sure students feel confident in their abilities to navigate those conversations at Westminster and when they leave our school.”

Throughout the hour, Keith and Sabrina answered a variety of questions posed by the group: How do you set boundaries with colleagues and with students? How do you separate your personal opinions from your professional responsibilities? How do you forgive and move on? Their answers were thoughtful and honest and offered the students a glimpse into the types of complex situations they too will navigate as they take on college and the working world in the coming years.

A few weeks earlier, the student fellows had the opportunity to put their learning into practice and lead Westminster’s Board of Trustees in a civil dialogue workshop. First, the students walked the trustees through some ground rules—core principles developed by the national civic initiative the Better Arguments Project: take winning off the table, prioritize relationships and listen passionately, pay attention to context, embrace vulnerability, and make room for transformation. Then, they split the board members into smaller groups and asked them to debate the question “Is a class on civil discourse valuable at Westminster?”

“One of the highlights of our board meetings is always when we have the opportunity to engage directly with Westminster’s students and hear what they are focused on,” says Westminster Board of

Trustees Chair Katharine Kelley ’82. “This meeting was especially engaging because we had a chance to participate in a student-led exercise patterned after the coursework of the Civil Dialogue Fellows class. With students leading our small-group discussions, we could see firsthand their wonderful talents at facilitating productive conversations and bringing out the best in the people around them for common good. We were so impressed with the students’ thoughtful approach, their desire to pursue this topic, and the fact that they see this as an important opportunity for growth. Learning how to find common ground and engaging in civil dialogue are skills that benefit learners of all ages. With these skills, our students will be positioned to lead in whatever arena they pursue—and our world will be the better for it.”

Students in the Civil Dialogue Fellows program meet weekly to learn how to facilitate respectful discourse and discussions on campus and beyond. Upper School history teachers John Monahan (right) and Tori Sparks lead the course.

“Being able to engage in civil dialogue is absolutely a necessary skill for everyone to have. ... It is our due diligence as educators to make sure students feel confident in their abilities to navigate those conversations at Westminster and when they leave the School.”

Throughout the rest of the year, more campus leaders will visit the Civil Dialogue Fellows to discuss how they handle all kinds of tough conversations, reinforcing that there are many ways to communicate effectively and respectfully. The students will continue the fieldwork of facilitating civil discourse and building trust in ever-widening circles of the community and a range of environments with friends, peers, and people they’ve never met. Their final project will task them to work with faculty members to orchestrate and lead a lunchtime dialogue with members of the Upper School community.

Experiential and collaborative opportunities like the Civil Dialogue Fellows program are increasingly becoming the norm for Westminster students as the types of skills they will need in college and beyond continue to evolve at a rapid pace. It is no longer enough to understand concepts and retain facts; leaders must be able to adapt, iterate, innovate, and unite people from varying perspectives. Improvements in classroom technology have also changed the game. The rise of one-to-one computing in schools, where each student has a dedicated, internet-connected device as a tool for classroom learning, has transformed test taking, textbooks, and even the architecture of educational institutions. This direct access to the wider world is unlike what any previous generation of students has experienced. Students feel a powerful sense of connection to their world and want to make a positive difference now, not just once they’ve left Westminster’s gates.

Today’s educators have the daunting responsibility of finding new ways to meet their students’ needs and help them make sense of this rapidly changing, increasingly volatile world. How they’ve managed to do so has been front-page news for the past few years, making headlines in print, online, and on the air around the world. Westminster’s teachers have understood this moment as a timely opportunity to elevate their craft and encourage their students to see the world in new ways as well as cultivate skills they will need as they progress through their academic and professional careers.

Mark Labouchere is an Upper School history teacher and innovation specialist who serves as head of innovation enrichment for faculty, helping colleagues bring engaging projects and

experiences into their classrooms. His home base for this work is the Roberto C. Goizueta Catalyst Lab in Hawkins Hall, which is outfitted with state-of-the-art tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, and virtual reality setups. Teachers are invited to come to the lab and leverage Mark’s expertise and the many tools at their disposal to develop new and innovative programs to bring curricular concepts to life for their students. The focus isn’t only on machines and devices, though—as pedagogy evolves alongside technology, Mark helps teachers incorporate new instructional approaches in their classrooms.

“Our teachers want to stay on the forefront. They’re asking, ‘What can we do? What’s different out there? The landscape of the educational

Mark Labouchere works with students and teachers in the Roberto C. Goizueta Catalyst Lab and helps lead the professional learning community (PLC) for faculty and staff dedicated to innovation.

an environment of possibility an environment of possibility an environment of possibility

world has changed—are we changing along with it in ways that are exciting and engaging for our students?’” Mark says. “My goal is to provide faculty members with venues where they can discover new ways of teaching and learn from one another.”

Teachers are also able to explore these and other questions by participating in professional learning communities, or PLCs. All faculty members take part in PLCs specific to the subjects and grade levels they teach, and additional interdisciplinary PLCs bring together teachers from various divisions and fields. Areas of focus range from earlyelementary literacy to physics to performing arts, and each PLC is led by faculty members who have expertise and a special interest in a particular aspect of the craft of teaching. Mark, for example, co-leads the Innovation PLC with Upper School visual arts teacher Ben Steele. Providing the time, tools, and space for teachers to hone their skills and explore new ideas and ways of teaching is a top priority of School leadership. Time for PLC meetings is intentionally incorporated into the school day to ensure teachers have dedicated time to talk about instruction, assessment, and curriculum built into their schedules.

experiential learning enabled her to share a lifelong passion with her students and the community.

Erin has loved to play and perform music her whole life, but it wasn’t until she was in her 30s that she wrote her first original song. When she did, a light bulb went on in her brain, illuminating how to incorporate her love for music making into her classroom: She could use music and the creative process of songwriting to teach language arts to her students.

“It didn’t take me long to figure out that the magic I felt the night I wrote my first original song is the same magic that third graders naturally have: openness, emotional vulnerability, creativity, and a willingness to try,” Erin says. “I thought, could we use songwriting within the classroom to explore creative writing, poetry, descriptive writing, and elements of figurative and vivid language?”

Erin brought this epiphany to her co-teacher, Mary Jarrell, and the rest of the third grade team to see if they thought it had potential. The answer was an emphatic yes—and from that first notion sprang more and more lessons, which eventually became the now beloved Lovestock music festival.

From pre-first to the Upper School, Westminster has programmatic structures like co-teaching and PLCs in place to encourage innovative teaching that can transform the classroom experience. Teachers are free to pursue big ideas and introduce new pathways of learning for the benefit of their students. For third grade teacher Erin Horner, the co-teaching model and the School’s support of innovative and

“My passion is not music—Erin had those ideas covered,” Mary says. “I have a different set of skills. When I saw her light up with this, I thought, ‘What can I do? What kind of skills can I bring to make it even better?’ We needed to make it a really meaningful experience for every kid.”

Erin focused on applying for a grant for curriculum development from the School and enlisted seasoned songwriters from Atlanta and Nashville to help the students shape their poetry into verses and choruses. Mary worked to tie in other concepts from the third grade

“The landscape of the educational world has changed— are we changing along with it in ways that are exciting and engaging for our students?”

The Lovestock music festival (top) debuted in November 2021 and quickly became a highlight of third grade. Teacher Erin Horner later gave a musical presentation to fellow faculty and staff on how the festival was developed.

Middle School students in the MayATL course “What is Art?” explored street art in some of Atlanta’s intown neighborhoods.

curriculum, helping Erin design a well-rounded unit as the festival took form. In collaboration with the rest of the third grade teaching team, they incorporated art, math, and community service by helping the students design a logo, make merchandise to sell at the festival, and learn about profits, nonprofits, grant writing, and fundraising.

The inaugural Lovestock music festival unfolded at Westminster’s Summer Camp on a crisp, sunny November morning in 2021. Tie-dye-clad students managed merch tables, selling buttons, posters, handmade keychains, and other wares to attendees to benefit the local nonprofit Songs For Kids. But the main attraction was a collection of performances by professional musicians debuting more than a dozen original songs written by third graders in the audience.

“We weren’t really thinking, ‘Let’s be innovative,’ but as we think about the unit and what the experience was for the kids, we can see that it touched on all the mindsets for innovation,” Erin says of the festival. For the young studentsturned-songwriters, this unforgettable capstone to weeks of work might be remembered as the greatest day of school ever, an experience both foundational and transformative in the lives of these 8- and 9-year-olds.

One of the primary responsibilities of any teacher is to ensure that their students progress successfully from one course to the next. But many teachers also take a much longer view, constantly assessing the skills their students will need long after they leave the classroom. For Mark Cutbirth, a 45-year veteran of Westminster’s Middle School Math Department, Excel spreadsheets and coding concepts are introduced early on in his classes because he knows how important those are to careers in business and tech, among others. He regularly checks in with former students about their math experiences in higher education and the workplace to make sure he’s always got an eye on what students will require to be successful once they leave his classroom and, ultimately, Westminster’s campus.

A few years ago, Mark noticed a group of students who were especially passionate about math and hungry for a challenge beyond what they were getting in the classroom and extracurricular opportunities. With those kids mind, he proposed developing a new series accelerated Middle School math classes.

“I went to [Middle School Head] Danette Morton, and I said, ‘It seems to me that we’re not serving that 10 to 15 percent of our population as well as we could be,’” Mark says. “Yes, we offer Math Counts for after school, but these kids would thrive in an even more advanced course track.”

With Danette’s blessing, Mark designed a targeted new track of courses for the Middle School called Math Advanced Concepts that effectively enables students who are passionate about math to move ahead of their grade level. While seventh graders usually take pre-algebra, Advanced Concepts students are learning accelerated algebra. Having studied algebra already, eighth grade Advanced Concepts students move on to accelerated geometry. Once they get to the Upper School, students on this track have a broader selection of math and science AP courses and electives open to them, which offers them a head start in college. This is playing out in real time, as the first class to have had the option of Math Advanced Concepts will graduate from the Upper School in 2023.

Going beyond the gates Going beyond the gates Going beyond the gates

One of the School’s most successful and creative program launches has been the Upper School’s JanTerm. The three-week immersive “minimester” takes the concept of experiential learning to a whole new level. Since 2015, teachers have created focused courses that empower students to spend the month of January diving deep into an area of interest while connecting with the broader community, whether within the Atlanta metro area or around the world.

The vision and work of the Upper School faculty in creating JanTerm proved deeply inspiring to their Middle School colleagues, who quickly began dreaming of how they could bring a similar experience to their students. In 2019, a group of teachers in the Middle School received the green light from School leadership to start shaping a program that would launch in the spring of 2020. Like so many plans that year, MayATL was delayed as COVID-19 swept across the globe. The planning cohort took advantage of the delay and further refined the concept, creating intriguing courses that encourage students to try something new.

Two years later, MayATL finally launched. In the last few weeks of the 2021–22 school year, Middle School students got to participate in classes like “So You Want to Be a Doctor,” which gave kids the opportunity to meet medical professionals in various fields to learn more about careers in medicine; “Get Your Glass On,” where students made stained glass creations in the Innovation Lab; and the selfexplanatory “I’d Rather Be Mountain Biking.” Many of these courses connected students with alumni experts near and far and took students off campus and out into the city.

“The Upper School is able to travel and engage kids all over the world, quite literally, and really slow down and be intensive with their study during JanTerm,” says Middle School math teacher Katie Argall, who is one of this year’s MayATL program coordinators. “In the Middle School, our thinking was, how do we create a really special, developmentally appropriate experience like that for middle schoolers that doesn’t take away from our packed academic schedule? How do we engage Atlanta in a greater way? How do we create a capstone experience for every child where they can get outside their comfort zone and explore in a safe environment for a week or two?”

Katie points out that MayATL is not something the Middle School has to offer to meet curricular goals, but it’s something the faculty has embraced as emblematic of the creative, inquisitive mindset they want to cultivate in their students and themselves. When students can put themselves in the shoes of a doctor or an artist or experiment with new technology, they both broaden their perspective and potentially zero in on passions that they may want to pursue further in the Upper School, in JanTerm, and beyond.

“Middle Schoolers are incredibly creative and brave, and the magic with them is that they are still cookies in the oven, not quite fully formed. Experiences like MayATL let us adjust the cook time or change the ingredients a little bit, because the students are still exploring their own passions and who they are,” Katie says. “I think the more we ask them to do that, the more curious and brave they’ll continue to be later on.”

“The students are still exploring their own passions and who they are. I think the more we ask them to do that, the more curious and brave they’ll continue to be later on.”

Before the start of each school year, faculty and staff gather for a luncheon where colleagues are recognized for their outstanding work. Turn to page 50 to learn who was honored in August 2022.

A new wave of creativity

A new wave of creativity

A new wave of creativity

Behind every outstanding program at Westminster is a teacher with a vision: a Math Department veteran delivering the challenge his students crave. A Lower School teacher bringing music into the classroom and inspiring a signature school event. An innovative thinker breaking down silos of departments and grade levels to foster more collaboration across the School. A school leader realizing the need for more agents of civil dialogue in the world and empowering teachers to do something about it. These projects, courses, experiences, and big ideas are clear reminders of the commitment Westminster’s educators have to their students and to academic excellence at Westminster.

It’s worth noting that Westminster’s teachers asked to take on new endeavors

It’s simply how their passion they do manifests. And in this landscape, programs like Civil

Dialogue Fellows and MayATL don’t replace the more conventional modes of learning and evaluation; rather, the new growth of experiential, collaborative learning and leadership adds depth and color to the existing terrain. Westminster’s faculty are leading the way through this transformative, post-pandemic moment, constantly refreshing curriculum and creating opportunities for their students to examine their lives more closely, then look beyond themselves and better understand the broader world.

From the most recent hire to the longesttenured teacher, Westminster’s faculty members are embracing the spirit of innovation and discovery that characterizes this new era in education. As has been the case since the School’s founding, Westminster’s teachers are restless for excellence. They remain ready to surpass limitations, always seeking to improve the classroom experience and deliver the knowledge and skills their students will need to lead powerful and positive change.

MayATL’s “Get Your Glass On” course saw Middle School students creating their own stained glass pieces in the Innovation Lab.

Westminster teachers in their own words

By Kathleen Poe Ross ’01

Photos by Alyssa Henderson

An exceptional faculty has been a cornerstone of the Westminster experience since the School’s earliest days. Seventy years in, that hasn’t changed. The past few years have been among the most challenging for educators–Westminster’s included–but teaching has never been an easy job, despite the old adages that suggest otherwise. What is it that draws teachers to the classroom, and what keeps them going, in the face of all the challenges the world may present? We asked teachers across various disciplines in all three divisions what drives them, what inspires them, and what helps them continue to grow and learn alongside their students year after year. These educators represent only a fraction of our talented faculty, but they reflect themes common to so many of our dedicated and beloved teachers.

Jack Morgan

UPPER SCHOOL ENGLISH | SINCE 1987

A mainstay of Westminster’s English Department for well over three decades now, Jack Morgan has worn many hats through the years. In addition to his teaching duties, Jack is assistant coach of the girls varsity basketball team and the self-described “informal musical joy coordinator” for the Upper School, creating opportunities for karaoke on the quad and open mic performances whenever he can. You can also hear Jack as the “voice of the Wildcats” on the PA for various sporting events or as an announcer and commentator for NFHS and WCAT broadcasts.

“My father, my mother, and the many other teachers and coaches whose intentional and deliberate lives made such a huge impact on my life and the lives of all their students inspired me to follow them into teaching and coaching.

“My favorite classes to teach are ninth grade and 12th grade English: the beginning of the intellectual journey in the Upper School and its culmination. I love to see the growth, to watch their amazing minds start to light up in new places, then to watch the light fill the spaces.”

“It never gets old. Each class is new. Each new year reveals four new patches of sacred ground, peopled by young, eager souls in search of meaning for their lives.

“My students have taught me how to learn new things that, at first, seem wholly alien and hostile to my experiences—primarily new technology—but I have applied their lessons to other areas of my life. Their ‘just click that and see what happens’ approach turns out to be a very effective way to learn.”

Victoria Frangoulis-Sloane

In her eight years at Westminster, Victoria Frangoulis-Sloane has taught homeroom, second and third grade science, second grade design thinking, and After School Kids! classes to Lower from all grades. The flexibility she’s found here is something she likes to model for her students as they learn to think outside the their earliest years here. As founder and co-lead of Love Team environmental cohort, Victoria is leading planning for a new pollinator garden at the Lower School.

“When I came to Westminster for an interview, I immediately recognized that we teach the whole child. There is time for socio-emotional learning, time to really dig into subject matter, and the concept of design thinking and fifth grade CATapult and leadership clubs blew my mind. I recognized that this school truly meant what they said in their mission about creating leaders of conscience. It’s not just a saying, but it’s truly what I feel we are doing here!

“I explain to my students that if we want to be people who want to make change in the world, then we need to be able to take different

perspectives when looking problems. We won’t be able old problems in the world about solving them in the same lots of other people have. to be able to think differently. Really deep understanding combined with innovation will be how real-world problems in the future. Lower School teachers that into our students when they’re in Love Hall.

“Working here has far exceeded any of the dreams I’ve had about being an educator. If I can imagine it, then I can then do it in my classroom. What a beautiful gift!”

FOURTH

GRADE | SINCE 2007

Ivy Carroll has taught second grade, fourth grade, and middle school during her 18 years working in education—16 of those at Westminster. This year, she has a fourth grade classroom with co-teacher David Mitchem. She loves working with fourth graders in particular, she says, because they have an excellent sense of humor and are unabashedly curious.

“Teaching is more like an art than a science. The world is changing so rapidly that our teaching styles must evolve to effectively prepare the children for life after Westminster. The children I teach today will enter a world where the skills necessary to succeed are different than in years past. I am grateful to teach at a school where rapid adaptation to changing pedagogy is encouraged and supported. Each year my classroom model has grown to emphasize more classroom movement, play, exploration, shared inquiry, and collaborative problem-solving. In all we do in our classroom, I stress collaboration as well as the formation of strong social and emotional skills.

Ivy Carroll David Mitchem

FOURTH

GRADE | SINCE 2021

“What I love about teaching at Westminster is the low student-to-teacher ratio. It is a gift to have time in the day to know and understand my students beyond just their academic abilities. I feel like I am a more impactful teacher when I know my students as individuals—when I know and I can connect to their likes and dislikes, personal experiences, hobbies, families, etc. I am also extremely grateful for my teaching partner, David Mitchem. The whole of our teaching together is definitely worth more than the sum of its parts.”

David Mitchem is in his second year teaching in Westminster’s Lower School, where he co-leads a fourth grade classroom with Ivy Carroll. Outside the classroom, he is an advisor to the Lower School Robotics Club and is working toward his master’s degree in elementary education, which he will finish this spring.

“I love all things history and originally wanted to be a high school history teacher. Instead, I chose to work with elementary-age students because I knew it was important for students to have a strong foundation. I wanted to give my students a firm academic and social foundation that would serve them well in all of their future pursuits. I also chose to work with elementary-age students because of the lack of representation of African American males in the elementary school setting. I wanted to be a face that many students may not always see at school. I wanted to be an example and an image of what is possible.

“I feel the true impact of a teacher is based more on the teacher’s approach to the craft and the finesse they

bring to the classroom each day. Anyone can pick up a textbook and learn about Piaget, Vygotsky, or any other educational theorist. What teachers do each day is about much more than remembering theory. It is like a refined dance that gets mastered over time. It takes a truly unique person with the right combination of skill, compassion, and joy to stand before children each day.

“When I first started teaching, I did not understand the magnitude of the connections with students. I was entering the profession to change their lives. Instead, they have changed mine in countless ways.”

Bo Na

MIDDLE SCHOOL ORCHESTRA | SINCE 2016

Bo Na teaches orchestra in the Middle School, where she also serves as the Asian Pacific American affinity group advisor. She moved from Korea to the U.S. in seventh grade—the same age as many of her students—with limited English skills and remembers how her teachers helped guide her through tough times. She hopes she can make a great impact on the lives of her students, as her teachers did on hers.

love teaching middle school students! I am very fortunate to teach sixth through eighth grade and that most of my students stay in orchestra for three years. When they come in sixth grade, they are the cutest! In seventh grade, they start to grow up a little more. By eighth grade, they turn into mature young adults. I love seeing them grow up and am grateful to be part their lives. The not-so-fun part is that almost all of them are taller than me by the eighth grade year!

“Each class and lesson plan is like a unique composition. Teachers and students have to work together to create a different moment of

learning each day, and every day is different. Some days can turn out to be the most beautiful learning moment, and some days might turn out to be the most challenging learning experience. But it’s OK; we all are part of this adventure of learning and growing together.

“The greatest joy is when I get to see the excited faces of my students when we perform together on stage. It’s a very rewarding moment. Learning to play an instrument and learning to perform a piece of music is a very challenging process. It’s amazing watching them take the first step to the finish line.”

Henrik Malmberg

UPPER SCHOOL PHYSICS AND ENGINEERING | SINCE 2015

Born and raised in Sweden, Upper School physics teacher Henrik Malmberg started his career working with young people through an outdoor education program similar to Outward Bound. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering in Sweden, he became a full-time ski, snowboard, and kayak instructor for students of all ages. When he moved to the United States in 2008, his career moved into the classroom. At Westminster, he teaches ninth grade physics and Introduction to Engineering and Innovation and coaches JV soccer.

“Teaching at Westminster is holistic, which aligns well with my lifelong passion for developing youth that led me to a career in teaching. I am myself motivated by challenge, which means that I believe that the process of learning is more than mastering course content. I recognize that physics may not be everyone’s favorite subject, but I think that everyone can enjoy learning physics and, through that learning process, develop skills that grow them as a person. Some of my students may not remember specific physics lessons or topics after they graduate, but I hope all my students will remember that they successfully tackled some really challenging things in physics class that they didn’t think they could.

“Like many other careers, teachers are never really done. Once we have mastered

the actual course content, there is always more to learn about how to package that content for someone else. Every student is different, which means a teacher never really fully masters the delivery. If a teacher feels like they’ve got it down, that probably means it’s time for them to take it apart and look for improvements or start something new!

“I love holding office hours because it gives me the opportunity to work with students individually and help them conquer their individual challenges. Westminster is a place that opens up an incredible number of avenues to engage and impact students. Each conversation at Westminster leads to another opportunity, and off you go!”

Sade Adetoro

MIDDLE SCHOOL ELECTIVES AND STEAM LAB | SINCE 2019

Sade Adetoro joined the Westminster faculty in 2019, bringing business acumen and even more innovation expertise to the Middle School team. With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business and a PhD in STEM education in progress, Sade teaches several eighth grade electives: coding, Future Cities, and economics, including the ever-popular Shark Tank unit. On top her classes, she acts as advisor to Bible Club, STEAM Council, Girls Who Tech, and Melanin Magic, the Middle School affinity group for Black girls.

“My career in teaching was inspired by my kindergarten and third grade teacher, Mrs. Ingram. She turned my life around, essentially. I hated being in school at that age; I wanted to be home with my mom. At the age of five, I was the youngest and would rather have been at home—Mrs. Ingram was the closest thing to that. She would read to

me during recess, and I soon began to read to her. I saw how much of a difference she made in my life through her firm yet nurturing approach. In third grade, I became an avid reader while in her class and became an avid writer and speller too. Her patience and style of teaching was what made me want to teach.

“The greatest challenge for me in my teaching career has to be wanting more, exploring more avenues in bringing the greatest learning content to my class. Education is evolving, and this presents opportunities to go deeper in challenging our students; I continue to grow professionally so my students get the best out of me.

“Working at Westminster is one of the best decisions I’ve made in my adult life. This is a community where everyone is actively eager to see the best in our students. I really pray that parents know that we are truly here for their children, and we pray for them, value them, and want them to fulfill their God-given potential in life.”

Stacy Chalmers

LOWER SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT | SINCE 2007

Stacy Chalmers works with all students in the Lower School as Love Hall’s civic engagement coordinator and teaches CATapult, a fifth grade leadership course. With a background in theater, Stacy also directs productions and does lighting design for the Westminster Players. Kids of all ages—and parents—may know Stacy from Westminster Summer Camp, where he has been director since 2016.

“I don’t think I ever imagined that I would be in a school like Westminster or have the variety of experiences with students I have been able to have here. I started my teaching career in a fourth grade classroom teaching English/language arts and science. At Westminster, I’ve taught science, computers, robotics, design thinking, philanthropy, leadership, and theater. Some days are very predictable, but almost none look like a traditional classroom experience.

“I’ve learned that students of all ages are more capable than people give them credit for, and part of my job is to convince others of this truth. I’ve learned that high school students and Lower School students aren’t so different when it comes to what they need from a teacher. I learned so many things from [retired colleague] Marlene Getzendanner that I could write a

book of just those things, and it would take multiple volumes. Often I learned the most from Marlene when she asked me a question and we worked together to find a solution, which may be the most important lesson I’ve learned at Westminster, because it is true for students as much as it is for me: One of the best ways to motivate someone to learn is to ask them to help you solve a real problem.

“A teacher’s life isn’t what you imagine it to be. The job doesn’t end at 3:30 every day or go on hold June to August, and it isn’t really about knowing your subject area (although that is also important). Being a teacher is about constantly understanding, predicting, and adapting to the always changing needs of 16 or 20 or 100 and sometimes more unique individuals. The best teachers do this and make it look easier than it is. I’m still working on it.”

Clark Meyer

MIDDLE SCHOOL ENGLISH | SINCE 1997

Clark Meyer came to Westminster after getting to know Upper School English teacher Jack Morgan when they were both leading summer trips for Moondance Adventures, a teen-oriented adventure travel company, and he’s been here ever since. With a background in outdoor education, Clark has taught numerous experiential summer programs over the years in addition to his primary subject of English. He spent 24 years on the varsity girls soccer coaching staff—14 as head coach—and recently stepped back to devote more time and energy to his teaching passions.

“I love the challenge of introducing modern kids to classic texts—for our eighth graders, it’s their first encounter with Shakespeare and Homer, and to see them overcome their initial nervousness and indifference is unceasingly fun and rewarding. Moreover, I’ve taught English 8 since I first came to Westminster, and my familiarity with the material and the students and the trajectory of the year gets me as close I will ever come to being a skilled jazz musician playing a cherished composition, confidently and joyously finding new ways to improvise and to inspire with each new group of students.

“As hard as it was, stepping back from soccer has given me time and space to devote to teaching passions I had to put on a relative

back burner once I became head coach. I came to Westminster from a background in outdoor education, and Westminster has afforded me marvelous opportunities over the years to explore and grow in terms of experiential and interdisciplinary teaching. ... I’ve always loved the can-do attitude and the support I’ve been given to try new things in my classroom and play to my own interests and instincts.

“Our students are amazingly interesting and enjoyable young people, and they go on remarkable journeys of learning and discovery and growth in our care. To see them prosper, to see them go forth confidently into bright and fruitful futures—there’s nothing more rewarding.”

Estefania Olid

UPPER SCHOOL SPANISH AND ENGLISH | SINCE 2011

With master’s degrees in both Spanish and English literature and a PhD in English rhetoric and composition, Estefania Olid teaches various English and Spanish classes across multiple Upper School grades. She also coordinates the independent studies program and is the advisor to the Red Cross Club this year.

“For me, being a teacher is my passion. Watching my teachers, both past and present, motivated me to become one myself. I’ve always felt the need to contribute to a community in meaningful ways, and teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs one could ask for.

“I feel like all of my classes bring something special to the table. In Spanish 6 Honors, for instance, we translate documents for the community, which is something that ties in with my overarching

principle of relating issues discussed in the classroom to real-life settings.

“One of my favorite things about working with Upper School students is that you get to see their growth at the end of the year, whether that pertains to critical thinking skills or enhancing their writing abilities or increasing their confidence in a classroom setting. As a teacher, I always strive to bring out the best in students. I’m always looking for ways to innovate in the classroom.”

Fry

MIDDLE SCHOOL PERFORMING ARTS | SINCE 2007

When Adam Fry came to Westminster 16 years ago with degrees in musical theater and music education, he taught choral music in the Middle and Upper Schools. After a few years, he moved fully into the Middle School and added theater classes to his course load, followed public speaking and filmmaking classes. “I love that I’m able to creative in so many ways,” he says. He directs the Middle School musical—a challenging undertaking every year—and serves as advisor to

“When I tell people I teach middle school, the reaction is usually the same: ‘Wow, what a tough age!’ I always counter saying that middle school is such a fun age. The students way and discover their passions. The growth eighth grade is nothing love seeing the students come into sixth grade wideand unsure and leave the eighth grade as confident young adults. This is particularly palpable in the performing arts. I have seen students in chorus who struggle to match pitch or phonate

properly become All-State singers and standout soloists by eighth grade.

“It took me a few years, but some of my colleagues told me that in order to be successful at my job, I needed to have fun. I was told to put myself into the shoes of a middle school student and think about how I can learn and enjoy the subject. Since I figured this out, I have not only been more successful at my job, but I have a blast. Laughter and smiles are contagious, especially from 11- to 14-year-olds! They can be a tough crowd to please, but once they trust you, they open up, and the fun begins.”

Michael Reese

UPPER SCHOOL VISUAL ARTS | SINCE 2016

Upper School visual arts teacher Michael Reese studied photography at SCAD, where one of his favorite professors told him he’d make a great teacher. He followed that suggestion and has been teaching art for the past 20 years. He’s been teaching at Westminster since 2016, and he’s also involved in the African American affinity groups, Anime Club, Sneaker Club, and Hip-Hop Club. He loves the community, faculty, and students here and says that they constantly push him to think differently and dream big.

“I love the minds and free thinking of my students. The students at this age aren’t jaded or afraid to make new discoveries.

I see teaching as an extension of my studio practice. It presents many of the same challenges under the umbrella of creative problem-solving. In art, the end goal is creative expression on paper or in your chosen medium. In the classroom, it’s the exchange of ideas and planting creative and intellectual seeds in the minds of our students. My greatest joy is the chance to teach my passion to students; I love what I do in

and out of the classroom.

“I’m looking forward to the continued unfolding of my busy art career and how it intersects with me teaching art to my Westminster students. Teachers wear many hats, and in many ways we become crucial entities in the intellectual and emotional development of our students as they prepare to become young adults going out into the world to make it a better place.”

Thank You!

Dear Friends,

Westminster’s strong tradition of philanthropy fuels our greatest aspirations, ensuring every student is afforded the opportunity to become all they were created to be. The significant investment and ongoing generosity of our community of supporters differentiate the Westminster experience in the day-to-day moments that shape each Wildcat’s future.

Gratefully,

Emilie Henry Vice President for Institutional Advancement

2021–2022 Philanthropy Highlights

$18,166,855

$1.2M $1.8M Westminster Fund Highlights

Generosity at Work

$4,856,518 Total dollars contributed

17 % 1,901 Students impacted

With $4.86 million contributed, the 2021–22 school year proved to be a record-breaker for The Westminster Fund!

The Westminster Fund—the School’s top financial priority each year—is essential to advancing every student and faculty experience, creating a distinct margin of excellence and opportunity. Every gift to The Westminster Fund, regardless of size, makes a significant and lasting impact in the lives of our students and teachers. We are grateful for a strong tradition of annual giving from the Westminster community that helps us meet student aspirations each and every day.

82% Tuition and programs

18% Philanthropy

Annual gifts to The Westminster Fund and income from The Westminster Endowment support the $9,100 difference between tuition and the cost to educate each Wildcat.

What Inspires Your Generosity?

“Westminster has been such a big part of my life, and I can’t imagine not supporting Westminster. I believe in its Christian mission and its caring for the whole child. I want the School to continue and prosper far into the future.”

SUZANNE

LECRAW COX ’71

“The School’s dedication to increasing diversity and inclusion inspires my support to this cause, which will encourage future generations to take care of each other and care for our planet. Let’s learn to love as we love to learn.”

EVEANNA DAURAY MANLEY ’86

“Our generosity is inspired by our deep gratitude for the opportunities and resources available to our children. From the dedication of the faculty to the plethora of activities during and after school to enrich students’ minds and bodies, Westminster continues to inspire our children to consider what’s possible for them. We believe giving back in the form of our time, knowledge, and/or resources is crucial to ensure our students and future graduates are also supported and empowered to bring their best selves to their education and society at large.”

MAHNAZ AND RAHIM CHARANIA P ’27 ’29

How Your Generosity Impacts the Wildcat Experience

“I try to exemplify leadership in all of my academic and extracurricular endeavors, with or without a title. Westminster has provided me with seemingly endless opportunities to grow in leadership ability, share my talents in a meaningful way, advocate for all members of the Wildcat Nation, and build a supportive, inclusive community that pushes everyone to be the best version of themselves. I know that generosity from supporters of Westminster allows for students like me to truly reap the benefits of all Westminster has to offer, and for that I am extremely grateful.”

WILDCAT, CLASS OF '23

“I will forever be grateful that I had the opportunity to be a Wildcat and will never take my time at Westminster for granted, because it truly shaped me into who I am today and, even more importantly, gave me a strong foundation for my future growth in college and beyond. I am eternally grateful for your generosity toward students like me and so appreciate all that you do to help preserve the exceptional qualities of the Westminster community.”

WILDCAT, CLASS OF '22

WILDCAT DEN

SPRING 2022 SPORTS

Boys Tennis

The Wildcats are state champions! This is the program’s 23rd title and second consecutive win. The team had a strong season defeating top teams in the region region and across across the nation. Big wins came came against the 7A, 6A, and 2A state state champions as well as against Sidwell Friends School in in Washington, DC, ranked No. 10 by the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) system. The team’s only loss of the season was was to the UTR No. 1 ranked team. Charlie Burdell ’24 was named GHSA Top Athlete of the Year.

Girls Tennis

The girls tennis program dominated in 2022, securing their 23rd state title—their second consecutive—and finishing the season undefeated. The team had a big win against Walton High School. Ann Wright Guerry ’22 finished her Wildcat tennis career undefeated as No. 1 in singles.

Boys Golf

The Wildcats are state champions again! The team won their fourth consecutive title and 12th in program history. Harris Barth ’22 took second place in the GHSA AAA individual state championship and earned all-state honors. William Love ’22 took fourth place in the GHSA AAA individual state championship, earned all-state honors, and was named GHSA Top Athlete of the Year and GHSA AAA Player of the Year. Price Miller ’22 and Matthew Young ’23 placed third and fourth, respectively, in the GHSA AAA individual state championship, and both earned all-state honors.

Girls Golf

The girls golf team had an amazing year and ended the season by finishing second in the state. Jessy Young ’25 won GHSA AAA state championship low medalist (first place), was named GHSA AAA Player of the Year, and earned all-state honors. Kyra Dube ’23 earned all-state honors.

Boys Track and Field

The Cats dominated in track and field again in 2022 and were crowned state champions for the second year in a row and the sixth time in program history. Matthew Fernando ’22 was named to the Atlanta Track Club Powerade All-Metro Team for the 1,600 meters. Matthew also won the state title in the boys 800-meter run and the boys 1,600-meter run. Wildcat relay runners Joseph Jacquot ’24, Willem Mandel ’24, Matthew Fernando ’22, and Jack Ramsey ’22 placed first in the boys 4x800-meter relay. Ten athletes earned all-state honors in a combined 19 events.

Girls Track and Field

The TrackCats are State Champions! The girls brought home the program’s fourth all-time state title, its first since 2013. Katherine Farr ’24 won the state title in the girls 100-meter dash ambulatory and the girls 200-meter dash ambulatory. Grace Smith ’24 finished first in the girls 100- and 300-meter hurdles. Palmer Walstad ’23 placed first in the girls 1,600-meter run. Wildcat relay runners Janie Cooper ’22, Cate Stevens ’22, Alexandra Lalli ’23, and Palmer Walstad ’23 finished first in the girls 4x800-meter relay. Seventeen athletes earned all-state honors in a combined 32 events.

Boys Lacrosse

The boys lacrosse team finished a standout season as the A-5A state runner-up. Hunter Wanamaker ’22, Aidan Wooley ’23, and Denton Shamburger ’22 all received first team all-state honors. Hunter and Aidan were named to the USA Lacrosse All-American team. Hunter and Rajan Kadaba ’22 were named to the USA Lacrosse All-Academic team.

Girls Lacrosse

The LaxCats had an excellent season and were A-5A state quarterfinalists with a record of 17–3. The squad earned the title of area champions and went undefeated in area play. Kaite Quigley ’24 earned all-state second team, all-area first team, and all-area Player of the Year honors. Carter Frieden ’23 earned all-state second team and all-area first team honors; Cate Collier ’25 earned all-state honorable mention and all-area first team honors. Cece Schrader ’24 and Ava Wagner ’22 were named to the all-area second team. Emmie Hunter ’24 and Carolyn Rendle ’23 received all-area honorable mentions.

Baseball

The BatCats made it to the first round of the state tournament. The team had nine region wins in a row during one stretch of the season, including a 4–2 victory over Greater Atlanta Christian School. Robert Clarke ’22, William May ’22, Bobby Yarbrough ’23, and Ryan Carr ’23 all earned first team all-region honors.

Gymnastics

The GymCats had a stellar year! The team qualified for the state tournament and went on to place third at the A-5A championship meet. The squad also won the gymnastics Battle of Buckhead, beating local rivals Pace Academy and the Lovett School.

Boys Soccer

The KickCats had a strong season that took them all the way to the semifinals of the state tournament. Edward Rendle ’22 earned all-state honors. Varsity Head Coach Scott Synder hit a big milestone as he earned his 400th career win.

Girls Soccer

The girls soccer team captured another state championship last spring, winning their seventh consecutive state title. Allie Ross ’23 was named GHSA Top Athlete of the Year and GHSA 3A Player of the Year. Allie and her teammates Henley Tippins ’22, Evelyn Shores ’23, and Kiera Staude ’23 were all selected to the Georgia High School Soccer Super XI team and earned all-state honors.

Rowing

The CrewCats’ junior girls 4+ (a boat with four rowers and a coxswain) qualified for the semifinals at the Stotesbury Cup in Pennsylvania, the largest and oldest scholastic regatta in the world. The team of Arden Ferro ’23, Claire Hunter ’23, Giulia Pacifici ’23, Sophie Latz ’24, and Grayson Giguere ’24 placed 16th in the time trial out of 50 boats from some of the best teams around the country. Unfortunately, the race was subsequently canceled due to weather, but it was a great final regatta for the Wildcats.

AN ALL-STAR YEAR!

Signing Day

Last spring, 31 seniors representing 14 sports signed letters of intent to continue in their sports in college. To date, more than 450 Wildcats have gone on to play their respective sports at the collegiate level.

MaxPreps

The Wildcats were ranked first in the nation as the best all-around high school sports program by MaxPreps. The Wildcats had 2,380 points in the MaxPreps Cup, outscoring the secondplace team by more than 250 points.

The MaxPreps Cup is designed to recognize and rank the top high school athletic programs in the country, with points awarded for state championships, state runner-up finishes, and national rankings. Points are weighted based on the popularity of the sport, participation numbers, the

Director’s Cup

Westminster was named the state’s most dominant athletics program—again! For the 21st time, the Wildcats brought home the Regions Bank Director’s Cup, an annual accolade that recognizes the athletics department that has excelled and shown superior performance in the 26 GHSA championship sports.

size of the state, the size of schools in a playoff division, and the number of teams participating in that playoff division.

During the 2021–22 school year, Westminster won 10 state championships: boys and girls cross country, boys and girls swimming and diving, boys golf, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls track and field, and girls soccer.

Westminster was ranked third in the nation in 2020–21 and previously won the MaxPreps Cup following the 2012–13 school year.

Faculty and Staff Farewells

Collectively, 2022’s retiring faculty and staff members have more than 250 years of experience teaching at Westminster, spanning all divisions and several fields and functions. These 10 retirees have helped shape the Westminster experience through the years for everyone from the youngest Wildcats in Love Hall to our Upper School performing arts students. Colleagues and friends gathered at a luncheon in the spring to honor their remarkable careers and wish them the best as they enter this next phase of their lives.

Linda Cherniavsky Director of Performing Arts, 34 years

Linda Cherniavsky served as both a catalyst and leader in the incredible growth of Westminster’s performing arts program over her 34 years at the School. In a career that started out building orchestras in all three divisions and eventually led to her role as director of performing arts, Linda helped to shape not only instrumental music but theater arts and choral music programs as well. When we recognize the breadth of participation across our whole school in the performing arts and appreciate the extraordinary quality of our students’ talent and creativity, we see Linda’s legacy at Westminster. Vision and hard work comprised just a few of the ingredients of Linda’s success over time. She is a musician’s musician, remaining active as a performer in the Atlanta Chamber Orchestra, Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, and the Atlanta Opera while teaching. This example of an accomplished, active artist leading and developing young talent as a teacher is where Linda made a particularly strong impact at Westminster. While we saw her most often conducting and playing, she made an equal contribution to guiding generations of Wildcat musicians. In addition to recognition at Westminster, including the Goizueta Foundation Professorship in 2010 and the Edward D. Smith Endowed Chair in 2015, Linda was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Strings Teachers Association (ASTA) in 2019. It is a rare accomplishment to excel across so many dimensions of artistic and academic achievement.

Linda concluded her career having led our students and faculty through a pandemic that could easily have derailed a program reliant on gathering large groups together and collecting audiences into enclosed spaces. Her creativity in not only keeping the performing arts at Westminster vibrant but offering this program as a balm to our community in the midst of isolation was a singular achievement. Linda enabled our program to emerge stronger and even more central to the life of our school community. For that, and for more than three decades of high-impact leadership, we offer our thanks and congratulations to Linda.

Pete Davenport Middle School Math Teacher, 43 years

When Pete Davenport started his Westminster career in 1979, Jimmy Carter was our nation’s president, the revolutionary notion of personal computing was just beginning to take hold, and the Boys and Girls schools at Westminster defined the Wildcat experience. In his final year before retirement, Pete managed a dynamic, cloud-based course management system (Schoology), coordinated the technology that now influences virtually every aspect of education, and taught in a fully transformed, coed Middle School.

Pete did more than witness the arc of history at Westminster—he participated in our School’s adaptations and transitions, distinguishing himself among highly talented colleagues. Pete was Westminster’s very first

Alumni Fellows Award recipient in 1982 and later received the Merrill Award (2001), the William A. Parker Exceptional Service Award (2007), the Bob Ward Catbackers Award (2009), and the Schoen Faculty Excellence Award (2011).

Forty-three years from the starting line, Pete’s career exemplifies how long-standing devotion to a place can keep it anchored in its values and history while meeting the challenges of the times. His steadfast commitment to our community and personal example of living faith have been a part of our fabric for more than four decades. It may never be the case that someone has “seen it all,” but Pete has seen a lot, and he has been an important influence in Westminster’s growth—whether from the front of a math classroom, on the sidelines of a basketball court, or at the controls of the technology that has revolutionized teaching and learning.

Sue Davenport Lower School Design Thinking Teacher, 31 years

A legacy that spans 31 years is a challenge to capture and catalog at retirement, especially when that legacy belongs to someone as multitalented and devoted to Westminster as Sue Davenport. Over more than three decades at Westminster, Sue was celebrated with some of our highest honors: the Judy Marine Colleague Award (2005), the William A. Parker Sr. Exceptional Service Award (2006), the Madison Cole Professorship (2008), the Davidson Family Professorship (2014), and the Julia and Hall Smith Chair of Christian Education (2019). None of these awards, however, completely reflects the difference that her talent, longevity, and devotion created in our school community. The scope of Sue’s impact ranges from her vision in integrating technology into teaching to pushing the boundaries of learning at Westminster forward as a design thinking pioneer to professional development opportunities delivered just when we needed them. The list goes on to include the musical gifts she shared with the Love Hall community each Friday morning and her commitment to our Christian mission though teaching Bible Values and contributing to Christian Emphasis Week.

Another way to think about Sue’s legacy is to imagine what will remind her colleagues of her in the years to come when they are at School, doing the work of Westminster, and she and Pete are enjoying their grandchildren. Sue made us better. She made us smarter and more proficient teachers, she made us a more innovative and creative School, and she lived out our values in a way that elevated our expectations for

ourselves and our community. Our success in fulfilling our mission and meeting the moment for our youngest learners will remind us of Sue and her impact here.

Judy Gale Middle School English Teacher, 26 years

Judy Gale arrived at Westminster in 1996 and quickly became an important influence in the lives of sixth and seventh graders both in the English classroom and well beyond. In 20 years as grade chair for sixth grade girls, she was a steady guide through the sometimes tumultuous transition from elementary to middle school. Judy’s retirement marks the conclusion to a career distinguished by excellence in teaching and mentoring; however, her most important legacy is the daily example of generous, abundant grace and unflagging optimism she has been for the entire Wildcat community.

Over the years, Judy was honored with multiple awards for her work, starting with her selection as Goizueta Faculty of Distinction in 2001, followed by the Merrill Award in 2002, the Alumni Fellows Award in 2004, the William A. Parker Sr. Mentoring Faculty Award in 2009, the Gwen Cleghorn Distinguished Chair in 2011, and the Schoen Faculty Excellence Award in 2019. Her impact extended beyond her roles as teacher and grade chair as she advised the Morning Prayer Group for 26 years and served as a Bible study leader. Judy embraced and lived out Westminster’s Christian mission, inspiring generations of students in their spiritual growth.

In the midst of this extraordinary Westminster career, Judy also served as advisor to the Ping Pong Club. If you ever heard her talk about this assignment, you know that her eyes lit up as she recounted the fellowship and fun our students found in this break from the academic routine of the day. The Ping Pong Club is a small thing that is really about a big thing: the contagious joy that is at the heart of everything Judy undertook during her career at Westminster. It is first among the many reasons we are grateful for her friendship and impact here.

Angela Jones Middle School History Teacher, 39 years

After a long and distinguished career at Westminster, Angela Jones retired at the end of the 2021–22 school year. Angela came to Westminster in 1983, and,

even given that long tenure, she seems to have made two careers worth of contributions to our School. Her teaching resume includes Seventh Grade History, Sixth Grade World Cultures, Upper School Civil Rights, the Summer Economics Institute, and even a stint in the Carlyle Fraser Library. Few faculty in Westminster’s history have offered such a range of contributions to our academic program.

Beyond academics, Angela assisted in our Admissions Office and helped support our scholars from A Better Chance. Angela was also a coach for our track and field team and served as the faculty advisor to the Middle School’s Track of the Cat newspaper.

Doing it all is one thing; doing it well is another. Angela’s talent and commitment was recognized early and often in her career at Westminster. In 1993, she was an Alumni Fellows Award recipient, and other recognitions soon followed: the 1998 Merrill Award, the 2011 William A. Parker Sr. Mentoring Faculty Award, and, in 2016, the Alex P. Gaines Professorship. Even these awards do not fully capture the remarkable breadth and influence of Angela’s career here. An important part of her impact is her role as a trailblazer: She was one of Westminster’s first, and for a time only, Black faculty members. Angela’s leadership was critical in our early steps and continued over time as we strived to become a more diverse and inclusive school community.

We offer our profound gratitude to Angela for her unique career and for her many and varied contributions to Westminster’s growth through an important time in our history. Angela has been a teacher, coach, advisor, role model, and leader of both conscience and consequence. We wish her every good thing as she looks forward to her next act in retirement.

Susan Gold Kahn ’77 Lower School Administration, 10 years

As an alum of Westminster, a parent to two alums, and an employee since 2012, Susan Kahn enters retirement having both a deep and broad connection to our School. She brought this history and a keen organizational genius to her work each day in the main office of Love Hall. Susan was not an organizer just for the sake of good order but rather to ensure that each of our youngest students was cared for and found a place in the Lower School. Her commitment to making Love Hall work smoothly—and the attention to detail that requires—was as much an expression of our values as her personal sense of compassion and ethic of service.

Susan’s daily mission extended beyond keeping all of the details straight. She was a key member of the Lower School’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team, extending our commitment to belonging to the array of perspectives and backgrounds that our families bring to us. In this effort, Susan’s intuitive understanding of Westminster was brought to bear in including all Wildcats, ensuring that our students were seen and embraced, enriching the Lower School experience.

Susan’s impact at Love Hall was recognized in 2014 when she received the Judy Marine Colleague Award—a short two years after her return to Westminster as a member of our staff. We wish her success in whatever she undertakes in the coming years as she departs Westminster having earned the affection and respect of her alma mater.

Terri Fry Kaplan ’76

Middle School Librarian, 16 years

Terri Kaplan’s successful leadership of the George Woodruff Library was honored multiple times during her tenure here. She was recognized with the 2013 William A. Parker Sr. Exceptional Service Award, the 2017 Schoen Faculty Excellence Award, and the 2020 Alumni Fellows Award. These honors recognized the fact that, as the Middle School head librarian, Terri created a vibrant center for academic life in Clarkson Hall. Her work amplified that of her colleagues in the classroom through both well-matched resources and information-literacy instruction. Our Middle School faculty knew they had a willing and energetic partner in Terri, whose success in creating a welcoming and dynamic space for students is a model for middle schools everywhere. But Terri’s leadership in our Middle School library is just part of her story. A Wildcat alum herself, she was in the first class of female students allowed to take physics at Westminster. She blazed a trail as an upper school math teacher, first at Phillips Exeter and later at Lovett. This portrait of a Renaissance scholar was started early in Terri’s career and did not stop at the boundaries of her academic pursuits. Terri embraced her calling as a connector and community builder, caring for her colleagues in tangible ways as she administered the Middle School Sunshine Fund and tapping into her creative instincts to organize the Middle School endof-year luncheon. Just as the Woodruff Library is at the center of Middle School teaching and learning, Terri herself has been at the heart of what binds the Clarkson Hall faculty and staff together.

Ron Martin Lower School Librarian, 18 years

In 2004, Ron Martin joined Westminster as Love Hall’s librarian. At his retirement, his career leading the work of libraries totaled more than four decades. Ron inspired a love of learning and nurtured lifelong curiosity and exploration in all Lower School Wildcats, from his first students to his last, who still visit the Smythe Gambrell Library. It takes only a little imagination to envision the impact that this early influence can have over a lifetime. In the course of his Westminster tenure, Ron was recognized with both the Judy Marine Colleague Award and the William A. Parker Exceptional Service Award. These awards and the more regular accolades of colleagues, students, and parents were due to Ron’s masterful storytelling, his encyclopedic knowledge of books for young readers, and his ability to create a library environment that immerses students in the joy of literature of all kinds. A visit to Smythe Gambrell immediately revealed his talent for creating worlds that draw in young readers and capture their imaginations. Ron’s second act in retirement reflects both his pursuits outside of Westminster and the breadth of his talents and interests. After the 2021–22 school year ended, he headed to Delaware to pursue his other career in antiques shows. Ron will be sorely missed at Westminster, but he has established a standard for our Lower School library that will serve our students and our School well into the future.

Yvonne Spiotta Lower School Administration, 18 years

Westminster’s youngest Wildcats always had an important ally and friend in Yvonne Spiotta. Starting in 2004, Yvonne was Love Hall’s front-door welcomer and chief problem solver as the administrative assistant to the head of the Lower School. She retired having served for nearly two decades with a helping hand and warm hospitality that shaped the Love Hall experience.

Yvonne is well known for being all in at the Lower School, but her connection to Westminster extends to two Wildcat alums (daughters Marguerite ’12, now a staff member herself, and Marianna ’17) and, of course, to her spouse, Robert, who led Lower School admissions until 2019. Westminster has been a family affair for Yvonne, leading

her to see each Love Hall student and parent similarly and form a sense of kinship and community in the dayto-day life of the Lower School. Her impact was formally recognized when she received the Schoen Award in 2015, but it was visible all of the time in the creative flair she brought to planning fun events for the faculty and staff.

Lower Schoolers just starting out were fortunate to have Yvonne on their side—as were the four Lower School heads who relied on her support and guidance. We are grateful for all Yvonne has meant to Westminster and congratulate her as she concludes her career at the School.

Nash Sultan Lower School Teacher, 19 years

Nash Sultan retired at the end of the 2021–22 school year after 19 years at Love Hall. Nash’s love for teaching, deeply rooted in Montessori philosophy, was abundantly evident throughout a career that spanned the Lower School experience. Nash taught first grade, science, and design thinking, cultivating the innovative spirit we now see in our students throughout Westminster. Nash’s excellence was recognized in her selection for the Bobo Award in 2014, but her work is recognizable any time a Westminster student uses mind, hands, and heart to learn. Nash’s influence, in other words, is everywhere.

World travel, visits with her children, AJ ’12 and Aliya ’16, and perhaps some substitute teaching at Westminster all await Nash in retirement. Her gift to Westminster was not only her example of forward-thinking teaching and learning but the uplifting impact of her warmth and care for her students and colleagues. Nash is counted among those faculty who helped build and sustain a culture of inclusion, respect, and care at Love Hall. She will be missed as much for this positive influence as for her creative teaching and leadership in learning.

Welcome, New Faculty!

We welcomed 39 new Wildcats to our faculty in August. These teachers, strategists, coaches, and leaders bring their adventurous spirits and vast career experience to the School. Read on to learn some fun facts about our newest faculty members.

MEGAN AILSHIE Lower School

PE

I am a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.

ZEENA AMMAR Upper School Biology

I speak three languages: Arabic, French, and English.

BERTILLE BELLON Middle School French and Spanish

One of my bucket list items is to visit Alaska and see polar bears.

JILL BOCHNIAK Middle School Math

I was named female athlete of the decade (’80s) in Maryland by the Baltimore Sun. I began my career at Westminster and am incredibly excited to return and blend my memories of Westminster in the ’90s with the growth since then.

CALEB BOONE Upper School Physics

I am a huge Trekkie. I have a very large collection of Star Trek memorabilia. I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting most of the actors and actresses; my favorite would have to be George Takei.

FRANK BROWN ’04 Director of DEI and Community Engagement

I am passionate about the art of customization and enjoy collecting shoes. Combining these two passions, and with additional time at the start of the pandemic, I constructed my first pair of shoes!

KATHLEEN BUKOWSKI Upper School Learning Strategist

I have flown across the Masai Mara National Reserve in a hot-air balloon.

KATIE CHRISTY ’15 Middle School PE and Athletics Coordinator

I love fossils: I have more than 1,000 shark teeth in my collection so far, including a 3.5-inch-long extinct great white tooth and an extinct big cat molar that is close to a million years old! I am an Alpha Omega Wildcat who graduated in 2015.

ELIZABETH HOGAN CLOSS ’10 Second Grade

I am an alum and graduated in 2010. My grandmother taught at Westminster 65 years ago. Westminster is like home!

ERIN COLEMAN Middle School Drama and Dance

I love making costumes! I own a small costume company, and I make costumes for plays and musicals for local schools.

NICOLE D’ANTONIO Upper School Spanish

I am fortunate to have started my bucket list at an early age! Some of my most memorable experiences include tango dancing in Argentina, hiking glaciers in Iceland, making mint tea in Marrakech, viewing dusk in the desert of Dubai, diving for fresh conch in the Caribbean, and swimming in Santorini.

ANNA KATE FOLEY Second Grade

I’ve run the Peachtree Road Race six times with my now (as of last summer) husband!

EMILY FUQUA ’13 Middle School Math

I have an identical twin sister, and we were both on the Westminster state championship cross country team in 2011.

DAVID GALE Middle School English

I married my seventh grade sweetheart. We dated in middle school for five glorious months. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out in seventh grade, and she ended things during recess. We reconnected 15 years later and got married. We now have two amazing children.

DELANCY CARMER HUTCHINSON ’88 Middle School Art

Traveling is one of my passions. It inspires me to seek out new places and provides a constant urge to continue learning. On my immediate bucket list are travels to Africa and Japan.

MICHAEL JACOBS Head Middle School Librarian

I love to repurpose old and weeded books and turn them into book art, sculptures, and installations.

ADAM KOPLAN ’91 Director of Performing Arts

I went to clown school in France and have worked as an off-Broadway assistant director. I am an alum, parent, and now faculty member of Westminster!

SARAH KOSSIS Middle School Math

In college, I served as the drum major of the University of Florida marching band. In 2012, I traveled with the Fightin’ Gator Marching Band to London, where we performed for the queen at the Olympics. It was during this trip that I also met Michelle Obama and David Beckham.

MARCELLA LINAHAN Upper School Physics

I was selected to fly on a NASA mission on an aircraft called SOFIA. On the mission, we traveled to the stratosphere, which technically demarcates the beginning of space. I have a very cool astronaut jacket as a result.

JAIME MAXEY Upper School Math

I really enjoy spending time in the Rocky Mountains—hiking, skiing, kayaking, etc. I would like to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro one day.

LIBBY MCCUTCHEN First Grade

My bucket list items include acting in a community play, narrating an audiobook, trying an adult gymnastics class, and visiting New Zealand.

SHANNON MCDONOUGH Middle School Spanish

I am very passionate about embroidery. It’s such a fun way to be creative.

SOPHIE MCNAULL Pre-First

When I was younger, I knew I wanted to be a teacher! In fourth grade, I bought my first lesson plan and grade book and would create lesson plans and hand out grades for my pretend students.

SASHA MILLS Lower School Learning Strategist

Since English is my second language, I never grasped idioms and will often mix them up—always makes for a good laugh!

CELIA PASHLEY Middle School Permanent Substitute

I grew up on a tropical island in the Indian Ocean called Reunion Island until I was 16 years old.

BLAIR PERRY Fourth Grade

I am the lead singer of a local rock/pop cover band in the Atlanta area, and I absolutely love how fun it is! I have also hitchhiked from Namibia through South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland up to Mozambique.

JANINE PERRY Upper School Biology

I met Jane Goodall at a fundraising event in high school and was inspired to start an ecology center at my school, which we dedicated to her when she later visited our school on a lecture tour. She played a significant role in my decision to pursue an environmental science degree in college.

MORGAN POTTS Middle School Learning Strategist

I love to garden from scratch–from picking out seeds from catalogs to planting and finally harvesting and cooking all of my homegrown veggies.

KIRA REID Upper School Language Arts

I enjoy organizing and creating colorful spaces.

CYBIL SATHER Middle School Visual Art

I enjoy working in my yard. I have a shade garden with bird feeders and an herb garden. I like to cultivate plants that are native to Georgia and provide food or shelter for animals.

BRIANNA SLONE Upper School Instrumental Music

I am passionate about music performance librarianship. I spent five months working in the music library at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

CHARLOTTE SMITH Middle School Math

A fun newfound hobby of mine is being a TV/movie extra. I’ve only been involved with three productions so far, but it is fascinating how much time and energy goes into one short scene. I can’t wait to do more!

TANJA VLAHINICH SORRENTINO ’00 Middle School Learning Strategist

In college, I studied abroad for a semester at the University of Oxford in England, which allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone, see beautiful and historic places, and cultivate new friendships and experiences. I even hopped over to Paris and practiced the French that I studied here at Westminster!

CLAUDIA STILLWAGON Upper School Science

I have my own embroidery and personalization business.

CAITLIN WILSON Upper School Environmental Science

I can speak Icelandic. I moved to Iceland to pursue a master’s in environmental science and wound up living there for more than a decade!

HANNAH WOODWARD ’10 Pre-First

I graduated from Westminster in 2010! In the initial stages of the pandemic, I taught myself hand embroidery and opened my own Etsy shop.

CHRISTIAN WOOLFOLK Second Grade

At the beginning of my journey as an educator, I taught English on Wotje Atoll in the Marshall Islands for a year through World Teach. While it was quite challenging at times (I slept in a tent on a dirt floor, among other lifestyle adjustments), this experience laid a firm foundation for my passion for teaching.

ZACH WROBLEWSKI Middle School History

I collect soccer scarves from everywhere I have traveled and currently own almost 50 scarves!

JOLI WU Upper School Orchestra

I am the principal violist at the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and a section member of the Atlanta Opera Orchestra. I perform regularly across the city with bands on tour and fellow musicians.

2022 Faculty and Staff Award Recipients

Our faculty and staff bring their best selves to help our students grow every day. Through endowed funds established by generous friends of Westminster, annual awards recognize faculty and staff excellence. We extend our congratulations to this year’s recipients and our heartfelt thanks to the donors who invest in our teachers, coaches, and staff members.

Alumni Fellows Award

Pia de Leon, Tony Souza, Nathan Vigil, Saundria Zomalt

The Bobo Family Award

Camille May

The Joseph and Amelia Craver Endowed Professorship

Tina Davis

The Mary DuPriest Award for Staff Excellence

Byron Logan, Wendy Sheats

The Goizueta Foundation Faculty of Distinction

Jason Maynard

The Math and Science Faculty of Excellence Professorship

Sandi White

The Alex P. Gaines Professorship

Katie Argall

Goizueta Foundation Professorship

Jack Morgan, Whitney Walters Woodward ’97

Goizueta Foundation Professorship in Spanish

Zeke Hoyos

The LeoDelle Lassiter Jolley Professorship

Tim Shabanowitz

The Kravet Family Faculty/Staff Award

Sade Adetoro

The LeCraw Family Professorship

Elizabeth Tozzer

The Alan Ashley Lewis Endowed Chair of Science

Christopher Allen

The William A. Parker Sr. Mentoring Faculty Award (7th Grade Student)

Bill Caldwell

The William A. Parker Sr. Mentoring Faculty Award (8th Grade Student)

Jamie Hemken

The William A. Parker Sr. Mentoring Faculty Award (9th Grade Student)

Jake Kazlow

The William A. Parker Sr. Mentoring Faculty Award (10th Grade Student)

Jaime Saunders

The William A. Parker Sr. Mentoring Faculty Award (11th Grade Student)

Tiffany Norman Boozer ’85

The William A. Parker Sr. Exceptional Service Award

Mike D’Andraia, Hartley Jeffries Glass ’02, Ami Kadaba, Gianna Schmidt

The Janet Aldridge and George Piercy Science Professorship

Gary Jones

The O. Wayne Rollins Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching

Val Causevic, Adam Fry, Anne-Sophie Hankla, Kamille Johnson Harless ’95, James Jessup, Shelly Linkon, Judith Maisonneuve, John Monahan, Annie Heller Salimi ’04

The Schoen Faculty Excellence Award

Alison Aitken, Tom Marine, Evan Munger

The Schoen Staff Excellence Award

Gwen Andrews

The Hal and Julia T. Smith Chair of Christian Education

Becky McKnight

The Wildcat Way Coaches Award

Katie Trainor Mailhot

The Wilson Family Professorship for the Lower School

Andrea Haan

The Emmett Wright Jr. Professorship

Christine Chen

Catching Up with Retired Faculty: Sally Finch

by Jane Lauderdale Armstrong ’74

When Sally Finch graduated from Emory in 1964, she first put her degree in history to work teaching at Druid Hills High School. Over the years, her career took several turns, ultimately bringing her to Westminster. Here, she broke new ground as she launched two summer programs that tapped the abundant resources of Atlanta for her students. She saw the entire city as her classroom and opened her students’ eyes to the potential it offered.

As a young teacher, Sally expanded her credentials by attending Georgia State University to take advantage of their program for economics teachers through the Georgia Council on Economic Education, which included workshops, curriculum, and the Stock Market Game. She thought the curriculum they offered was “first rate,” and she implemented it for her students at Druid Hills. Her time in the DeKalb County School District also introduced her to a young German teacher—her future husband, Bill Finch.

Sally and Bill lived next door to Martha Thurmond, then principal of Westminster’s Junior High School,

when their daughter, Catherine Finch Dixon ’89, started at Westminster. Keenly aware of Sally’s achievements in DCSD and her excellent reputation, Martha implored Sally to follow Catherine, and Sally joined the faculty in 1984 as a junior high and high school history and economics teacher.

“Mrs. Finch was one of my all-time favorite teachers. I took every class she taught and learned practical and academic skills. Her sense of humor and teaching style made class fun, and she had a way of making every student feel engaged and special. She is truly one of a kind!”

– Sally Rose Larson Barnes ’07

Sally fervently believed then—as she does now—that it is essential for all people to understand the comprehensive impact of economics on daily life and how a free market economy can effectively respond to real-world problems. Her desire to give students hands-on experience in the business world led her to launch the Summer Economics Institute at Westminster in 1985. This six-week work-study program afforded rising high school seniors

the opportunity to receive paid internships with businesses and professional service firms across the city—Coca-Cola, Georgia-Pacific, Printpack, Chick-fil-A, Habitat for Humanity, and the Salvation Army among them. The program rapidly grew to 50 internships each summer, and applicants came from schools throughout metro Atlanta. Participants met on Westminster’s campus for class one day a week and spent the remaining four days on the job.

Business leaders stepped up to offer internships, stipends, speakers, and site visits. Westminster alumni served on the advisory board, identifying sponsors and helping with interviews. Fellow faculty members pitched in with technology, transportation, and additional guidance. Thanks to this Wildcat team effort, Westminster’s Summer Economics Institute was the largest such program in the country, placing more than 500 students in internships, many of which led to future employment with those companies.

Sally’s next new program began in 2000, when Westminster alumnus Tom Glenn ’65 had a vision for empowering young people to serve their community through philanthropic engagement and established the Glenn Institute for Philanthropy and Service Learning at Westminster with his wife, Lou. They felt that philanthropy could and should be taught: its history, requirements, challenges, rewards, and potential. The result was another summer program called Philanthropy 101, with Sally and Director of Community Service Stan Moor at the helm. Then-President Bill Clarkson’s idea to pair Sally’s contacts in the business community with Stan’s knowledge of service organizations throughout the city proved to be the perfect match.

Open to rising Westminster juniors and seniors, Philanthropy 101 tapped into the School’s broad network of parents and alums and brought students face to face with nonprofits and foundations throughout the city. The course continues to thrive today, helping students explore the meaning and complexity of responsible giving through research and community engagement.

Sally underscores that Westminster has been blessed to have so many leaders across all areas of the city among our alumni and parent community. They have generously shared time, talent, and treasure with our students, preparing them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

“The legacy of Sally Finch’s passion for philanthropy education is evident in today’s Glenn Institute programs. Current Philanthropy 101 students become impactful and informed donors and decision makers from the building blocks that Sally and Stan Moor created in 2000.”

– Meghan James, director of the Glenn Institute

Marjorie Mitchell ’82, director of enrollment management, joined Westminster’s faculty in 2002 to head up admissions and teach economics with Sally. “Sally Finch was a master teacher, an amazing colleague, and the most supportive mentor this new teacher could have ever dreamed of having,” Marjorie says. “She used fun activities to help each student understand the power each of them possessed in making daily economic decisions or choices.

She took me under her wing when I joined the Econ 8 team and taught me everything I know about good teaching.”

Since her retirement in 2012, Sally has become an active volunteer at her church, the Cathedral of St. Philip. She also enjoys traveling with her family. This past summer, they went to Paris to celebrate the graduation of her granddaughter Caroline Dixon ’22. You can often spot Sally at Westminster athletics events cheering for her grandchildren Harrison ’24 and Sara ’25, proving the adage “Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat!”

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

Sally Finch with her daughter, Catherine Finch Dixon ’89

School Days: Teacher Tributes Across Campus

The importance of the faculty and administration of a school cannot be overstated. It takes remarkable leaders to create a unique curriculum and school experience for the students who attend. Both NAPS and Washington Seminary understood that and not only created a first-rate curriculum for those planning to attend college but also recruited some of the very best educators of the time. At Westminster today, many buildings, rooms, and other School landmarks and awards bear the names of prominent former teachers from Westminster and its predecessor schools. These are just a few of them.

By Pamela Nye, Director of Archives

NAPS

Thyrza Simonton Askew was the longest-serving principal at the North Avenue Presbyterian School (NAPS). Born in Alabama, she grew up in Atlanta and graduated with top honors from Girls High in 1897. She attended Agnes Scott for two years, left to teach in Atlanta Public Schools, and ultimately completed her bachelor’s degree at Cornell University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, in 1914.

In 1917, she was hired as the principal of NAPS and served in that capacity until the school found new life as The Westminster Schools in 1951; she then stayed for one more school year as a Westminster teacher. In the 1952 brochure “Westminster and Complete Education,” the Board of Trustees included their thanks to Miss Askew, noting that she was “most responsible for the high purpose of the school today.” Askew Hall, longtime home of the Girls School on Westminster’s campus, was named after her in 1953, and she was the guest of honor at the building’s cornerstone ceremony (pictured at left). Later, in the spring of 1960, the first Thyrza S. Askew Nobility Award— now called the Thyrza S. Askew Memorial Award—was presented at the Westminster Honors Day program. Today, the award is given to the junior girl who has contributed the most to all phases of school life, embodying nobility, service, leadership, devotion to ideals, dignity, and courage, in memory of Thyrza Askew.

Washington Seminary

Emma Byron Scott moved to Atlanta from Virginia in 1892 with her family when her aunt, Alice Chandler, purchased Washington Seminary, a girls school established in 1878 by relatives of George Washington. She graduated from Washington Seminary in 1893, and, in 1904, she and her brother, Llewellyn Davis Scott, took over the administration of the school after their aunt passed away. Under their leadership, the school increased the number of faculty and added academic departments, furthering the school’s original goal of providing students with smaller classes and highly educated faculty in order to create a full college preparatory school experience. After her brother died in 1929, “Miss Emma,” as she was affectionately known, continued to run the school until it merged with The Westminster Schools in 1953. Along with her administrative duties at Washington Seminary, she often taught classes in English, French, and Spanish in the earlier part of her career, having studied at the Sorbonne, at Harvard University, and in Madrid. She maintained the academic rigor of the school and ensured that the students had equal access to athletics and the arts so that the graduates would be “intelligent, able-bodied, and capable women,” according to the 1928 catalog. In 1954, Emma Scott was appointed a trustee of Westminster, and on October 30, 1955, the former Junior High Building was dedicated in her honor as Emma Byron Scott Hall.

Westminster

Frances Outler joined the faculty of Westminster in the fall of 1953, hired by Dr. Pressly to be a Latin and math teacher. A graduate of Wesleyan College, she had received her master’s degree from Emory and completed postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and Colorado College. Eventually she added English to her teaching portfolio, and after several years teaching English she was named chair of the department. In the fall of 1967, she took on the roles of alumni secretary and college counselor and served in this capacity until her retirement in 1973.

During her tenure at Westminster, she received a yearbook dedication in 1959 and was named Girls School star teacher in 1962 and 1967. Frances Outler founded the Westminster chapter of the Cum Laude Society in 1964 and compiled the school’s first academic profile in 1969. She also wrote the copy for the booklet The First Twenty Years at Westminster. In 1972, the first Frances Isabelle Outler Award was presented to a senior girl in honor of Miss Outler’s contributions to Westminster, and in 1985, Room 212 of Askew Hall was dedicated to her memory as The Frances Isabelle Outler Room.

In 1969, Ellen Fleming started her career at Westminster teaching a new course on Black history in the Girls High School. Five years later she added administrative duties to her teaching as the principal of the Girls Junior High School. From 1977 to 1986, she served as principal of the Girls High School, and, after a four-year stint at another school, settled into her position as principal of the Junior High School in 1990. Her final role at Westminster was to serve as acting president of the School for six months while Dr. William Clarkson, then president, was on sabbatical during the 2003–04 school year.

Ellen Fleming held a Bachelor of Arts in history, social studies, and secondary education from George Washington University and also attended the University of Virginia. She earned her Master of Education degree from Georgia State University. At Westminster, she was an iconic leader and a champion for the construction of Clarkson Hall—the School’s first building created specifically to meet the needs of young adolescents. On campus today, there are two spots where her name can be found: on the sundial, located between Askew and Pressly halls, donated by the Class of 1982, and on the Ellen E. Fleming Research Commons in the Carlyle Fraser Library in Pressly Hall, dedicated in 2015.

Congratulations, Class of 2022!

Special events celebrating the Class of 2022 began early in second semester as our seniors kicked off a countdown to the big day. The 100 days leading up to Commencement were filled with festivities, treats, and traditions for the soon-to-be graduates.

100 DAYS TO BECOME AN ALUM

SENIOR DOG DAY

To kick off 100 Days to Become an Alum, seniors enjoyed freshly baked cookies outside Hawkins Hall.

The week before Commencement, seniors who started at Westminster in elementary school returned to Love Hall for the Alpha Omega and Lower School Reunion.

ALPHA OMEGA AND LOWER SCHOOL REUNION

On Senior Dog Day, seniors brought their dog buddies to campus, making them honorary Wildcats for the day.

SENIOR COUNTDOWN AND MUDSLIDE

Senior Countdown marked the end of the last day of classes as seniors counted down to the final bell on Pressly Patio. From there, they headed to Broyles Field for the traditional mudslide down the hill.

SENIOR CELEBRATION

At Senior Celebration, seniors and their parents gathered on campus for dinner, live music, and a screening of the senior video.

CLASS OF 2022 SENIOR HONORS

Mira Srinivasa, Stephen Shin Valedictorians

Kristina Schaufele, Dean Cureton Salutatorians

Benjamin Sayers Forensics Award

Dean Cureton

Performing Arts Award—Band Award

Stephanie Visoso

Performing Arts Award—Frank Boggs Award for Outstanding Vocal Achievement

Margaret Williams, Walt James Performing Arts Award—Theatre Arts

Tobias Liu

Performing Arts Award—Norma Allen Gaebelein Orchestra Award

Michelle Liu

Visual Arts Award—Three-Dimensional Design

Noah Wahl

Visual Arts Award—Drawing and Painting

Alexa Wells

Visual Arts Award—Digital Imaging

Holden Staes, Janie Cooper Senior Athlete Award

Amelia Wright Goizueta Foundation Foreign Language Student Award (Latin)

Kathleen Hanratty Goizueta Foundation Foreign Language Student Award (French)

Hadley Foust Goizueta Foundation Foreign Language Student Award (Spanish)

Andrew Thompson

George R. Lamplugh Excellence in American History Award

Beatriz de Aristegui

Gwendolyn M. Cleghorn Award

Alex Latz

David T. Lauderdale Jr. Memorial Award

Charlotte Baugher, Matias Hernandez Arellano

Leila Mason Venable Eldridge Memorial Award

Mira Srinivasa, Stephen Shin

Robert M. Sims Math/Science Award

Ally McChesney

The Branham Award for Greatest Progress

Edward Rendle Berry Senior Award

Patrick Nagy Dean’s Award

William Maxwell, Sue Jackson

Vernon S. Broyles Jr. Christian Leadership Award

Caroline Blankenbecler

The President’s Volunteer Service Award

Henley Tippins Community Service Award

Reilly O’Neill, Annie Jardina Spirit Award

Alex Bacchetta, Ruthie Hay Croft Family Service and Fellowship Award

James Solomon Head of Upper School Award

Mykah Boye

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Cup

Eula Doele

Thyrza S. Askew Nobility Award

Campbelle Searcy

Judith A. Smith Citizenship Award

Hunter Wanamaker

James G. Patton Citizenship Award

Mary Claire Anderson

Frances Isabelle Outler Memorial Award

Tobias Liu

Richard L. Hull Memorial Award

Commencement

On Sunday, May 15, 2022, the Westminster Alumni Association officially welcomed the Class of 2022 to its ranks. Trustee Roz Brewer P ’13 ’21, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, addressed the soon-to-begraduates during the ceremony on Alice McCallie Pressly Plaza. The 2022 graduating class was the first to wear Westminster-green caps and gowns with green-and-white tassels for Commencement.

Mapping the Future

The Class of 2022 is enrolled at 84 U.S. colleges and universities across 30 states, including Hawaii. We look forward to watching these Wildcats continue their educational journeys, whether near or far!

0 STUDENTS

1 – 4 STUDENTS

5

–9 STUDENTS

10 –14 STUDENTS

15+ STUDENTS

STANFORD UNIVERSITY (3) SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE

ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (2) SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY (2)

TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (6)

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

HAWAI’I AT MĀNOA

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, BOULDER (2)

Ties That Bind

One of Westminster’s many cherished, long-standing traditions is the post-Commencement Ties That Bind photo for new Wildcat graduates and their family members who are also alumni of Westminster, Washington Seminary, or NAPS. See these generations of Wildcats come together to celebrate the Westminster ties that bind them together!

Nishka Bahl ’22, Ishta Bahl ’19

Betsy Hamilton Verner ’84, Jack Candler ’59, Charlotte Baugher ’22, Dorothy Candler Baugher ’88, Laura Candler Linen ’85

Robert Bernot ’22, Annie Bernot ’18, Peter Bernot ’20

Mykah Boye ’22, Christina Boye ’21

Jessica Dobresk Bradley ’92, Grace Bradley ’22, Rush Bradley ’92, Ann-Heather Bradley Toole ’87

Andrew Carpinella ’22, Lauren Carpinella ’18

Bert Chen ’92, Noah Chen ’22

Olivia Barrett ’18, Allison Barrett ’22

Ashley Hurt Bollwerk ’88, Charlie Bollwerk ’22, Charlie Hurt ’55

Price Carlton ’88, Eva Carlton ’22

Elena Chang ’93, Amy Chang Cureton ’88, Dean Cureton ’22, Brian Chang ’89

Thomas DeWalt ’18, Drew DeWalt ’22, Will DeWalt ’20

William Eidbo ’21, Thomas Eidbo ’22

Caroline Dixon ’22, Catherine Finch Dixon ’89

Curt Gill ’88, Jack Gill ’22, Joan Summers Gill ’60

Rachel Doman ’22, Josh Doman ’16

Katherine Goheen ’22, Aldyn Goheen ’21

John Guerry ’20, Ann Wright Guerry ’22

Christina Pak Hanratty ’85, Kathleen Hanratty ’22, Kelly Hanratty ’19

Nicholas Harvey ’82, Nicholas Harvey ’22, Dana Harvey ’16

Will Hay ’17, Ruthie Hay ’22, Zach Hay ’18

Eleanor Howell Effinger ’63, Laura Effinger Harris ’94, Ella Freeman ’22, Millar Effinger Freeman ’89

Christianna Doele ’20, Eula Doele ’22

Daisy Gryboski ’21, Kate Gryboski ’19, Allie Gryboski ’22, Christopher Gryboski ’20

Ansley Harralson ’16, Amelia Harralson ’22, Amy Redmond West ’85, Virginia Harralson ’22, Grayson Harralson ’19

Andrew Higley ’89, Alessandra Higley ’22

Max Hromis ’16, Sofi Hromis ’22

Alan Jernigan ’19, Katherine Jernigan ’22

Christopher Huang ’22, Christina Huang ’19

Michael Johnson ’19, Katherine Johnson ’22

Bradley Wheeler Kirsch ’85, Joe Jackson ’22, Molly Wheeler Jackson ’90, John Wheeler ’90

Wab Kadaba ’87, Rajan Kadaba ’22

Steve Pocalyko ’89, Alex Latz ’22, Jenny Pocalyko Latz ’91

Billy Levine ’88, Mia Levine ’22, Jessica Levine ’20 Dennis Love ’74, Maggie Love ’20, William Love ’22, David Love ’90, Cal Love Jennison ’76

Margaret Maxwell ’16, William Maxwell ’22, David Maxwell ’22, Elisabeth Maxwell ’18

Clara Johnson ’22, Michael Johnson ’87

Mary Susan Jackson Stacy ’73, Sue Jackson ’22, Holley Jackson ’21

Baird Kazazian ’19, Charlie Kazazian ’22, Laurel Kazazian ’17

Christine Liu ’17, Michelle Liu ’22

Nelson May ’10, William May ’22, Catherine Swayze May ’10

Jane Miller ’20, Virginia Miller ’22

Matthew Morrison ’91, Emma Morrison ’22

John Miller ’90, Price Miller ’22, Will Miller ’17

Godfrey Newton ’76, Natalie Newton ’12, McClain Newton ’13, Walton Newton ’22, Stephanie Newton Bedard ’07, Floyd Newton ’73

Sydney Moore ’22, Ian Moore ’19

Douglas Nichols ’18, Josephine Nichols ’22, Anne-Catherine Nichols ’20

Alessandra Nuñez ’12, Daniel Nuñez ’22

Grant Oesterling ’16, Kendall Oesterling ’22, Carter Oesterling ’19

Neil Poddar ’22, Kunal Poddar ’20

Joe Powers ’11, Julia Powers ’22, Jack Powers ’17, Jane Powers ’20

Helen Moseley ’22, Allen Moseley ’87

Eliza Miller ’17, Jackson Miller ’22

Khushi Niyyar ’22, Rhea Niyyar ’20

Brooks Platford ’22, Banks Platford ’19

Will Ragland ’22, Cate Ragland ’20

Evie Reardon ’19, Helen Reardon ’22, Robert Reardon ’89, Alison Reardon Murrah ’86

Chandler Searcy ’20, Campbelle Searcy ’22

Will Rogers ’22, Mary Louise Rogers ’20

Denton Shamburger ’88, Ella Shamburger ’18, Denton Shamburger ’22, Elizabeth Shamburger ’16

Justin Schaufele ’18, Kristina Schaufele ’22, Ryan Schaufele ’20

Mimi Solomon ’19, James Solomon ’22, Tripp Solomon ’86

Stephen Shin ’22, Rebecca Shin ’16

Mason Stephenson ’22, Andrew Stephenson ’92 Andrew Stevens ’20, Cate Stevens ’22

Anna Thompson ’19, Andrew Thompson ’22, Joe Thompson ’85

Katie Thompson ’22, Coleman Thompson ’20

Jordan Sgrosso ’22, Greg Sgrosso ’86

Isai Saucedo ’22, Abigail Saucedo ’19

Grace Staes ’18, Holden Staes ’22

Nikolas Symbas ’85, Helen Symbas ’22, Anne Compton Symbas ’04

William Turton ’19, Emma Turton ’22

Ashley Vincent ’22, Haley Vincent ’16

Taylor Mitchell Wright ’92, Amelia Wright ’22, Henrietta Wright ’20

Mark Wilkiemeyer ’90, Hayes Wilkiemeyer ’22

Van Zeiler ’91, Alexandra Zeiler ’22, Ashley Zeiler Hager ’86

Turner Woley ’20, Hayes Woley ’22, Rena Carragher Woley ’80, Rankin Woley ’16

Kate Zeising ’20, Jane Zeising ’22

Brad Cornett ’89, Katherine Yeoman ’22, Marlis Teem Cornett ’89

Margaret Williams ’22, Curtis Williams ’86

Front row: Zach Gill ’22, Katherine Yeoman ’22, Eva Carlton ’22, Mia Levine ’22, Denton Shamburger ’22, Charlie Bollwerk ’22, Dean Cureton ’22, Charlotte Baugher ’22 Back row: Curt Gill ’88, Price Carlton ’88, Billy Levine ’88, Denton Shamburger ’88, Ashley Hurt Bollwerk ’88, Amy Chang Cureton ’88, Dorothy Candler Baugher ’88 (Not pictured: Louise Teem Yeoman ’88)

Alumni News

Dear Alumni,

If you have been in the Atlanta area in the past year, I hope you have made time to visit campus and see the incredible transformation that has taken place. The surroundings that we have known and loved are refreshed and modernized, moving directly toward the state of the art. For those of you who have not had a chance to return to campus, the Alumni Governing Board will make an effort to bring as many of you back as we can. You will now find ample parking and Barge Commons, a beautiful new campus centerpiece complete with Guan Cafe, where you can grab a coffee and visit with others.

Our goal as an Alumni Governing Board has been to add value to the ever-evolving alumni community. In addition to promoting traditions and events such as homecoming and reunions, we also focus on connecting alumni who share common identities, interests, or industries. By way of example, we have taken concrete steps to advance networking and mentorship opportunities across our alumni base with initiatives such as WildcatsWork, where alumni can connect with one another around employment opportunities, and the LinkedIn Westminster Career Network. For our newest members, the Class of 2022, we hosted a variety of

events during the lead-up to Commencement— “100 days to become an alum”—to prepare them for life as they venture beyond the familiar gates of Westminster.

I was so proud to have a child in the Class of 2022, and I thank the School for everything it did to make the spring a very special time for the seniors. Having just witnessed this transition from Wildcat student to alumnus has allowed me to focus on how we can provide targeted programming and better welcome our newest members into this thriving alumni association.

All of this progress is the result of an ambitious strategic plan formulated and launched by the Alumni Governing Board in 2017. Now, a little more than five years later, we are proud to say we have accomplished the various goals set forth in that plan, despite the slight bump in the road that has been COVID-19. We’ve added to our roster of regional chapters, launched the Black Alumni Council, and engaged current students through the creation of a Student Alumni Council, among other highlights. As we look forward to the end of the 2022–23 academic year and beyond, you might wonder what to expect next. In addition to hosting events for a myriad of alumni groups from young alumni to Golden Wildcats, the School presented the inaugural Black Alumni Conference during Homecoming weekend. You’ll read more about that in the next issue of the magazine.

As we all know, civic leadership is one of the founding principles of our School. We are blessed with a pool of alumni who exhibit leadership of the highest caliber in virtually every discipline. In setting the stage for future strategic planning, we aim to ensure the Westminster Alumni Governing Board is reflective of the School’s incredible constituency. Stay tuned for more.

Go Cats!

Wab Kadaba ’87 President, Alumni Governing Board

Alumni Leadership

As leaders within our Alumni Association, the volunteer members of these boards and councils help fulfill Westminster’s alumni strategic plan and act as ambassadors for the School. Join us in thanking them for their service!

ALUMNI GOVERNING BOARD

Wab Kadaba ’87 President

Andrew Blaisdell ’99 President-Elect

Preston Moister ’99 Alumni Giving Chair

Caroline Rawls Strumph ’08 Recording Secretary

Susie Soper ’64

Bob Woodward ’67

Helen Funk McSwain ’70

David Martin ’72

Althea Broughton ’84

Kim Maziar Hockstein ’88

Charlie Henn ’91

Bianca Camac Bell ’94

Dominique I. H. Holloman ’97

Walter McClelland ’97

Qahir Madhany ’02

Charles Ralston ’02

Samiyyah Ali ’06

Fielding Kidd Jamieson ’07

Sarah Grady ’11 Young Alumni Council

John Jones ’74 Honorary Member and Board Historian

BLACK ALUMNI COUNCIL

Dominique I. H. Holloman ’97 Chair

Corliss Blount Denman ’73

Vic Bolton ’76

Ira Jackson ’83

Maria Elmore Harleston ’84

Andre Sulmers ’95 Recording Secretary

Lauren Duncan Griffey ’97

Bobby Rashad Jones ’97

Wade Rakes ’98

Jae Scarborough ’99

Matt Bland ’01

Ryland McClendon ’03

Sammiyah Ali ’06

Michael Russell ’12

Julian Mason ’18

Zoë Grace Hargrove ’19

YOUNG ALUMNI COUNCIL

Crawford Long ’09 Co-Chair

Sarah Grady ’11 Co-Chair

Franklin Sacha ’08

Bennett Gillogly ’10

Michael Russell ’12

Sam Barkin ’14

Chase Evans ’14

Maggie Borders ’15

R Matthews ’15

Ruwenne Moodley ’15

Cabell Zakas ’16

Jimmy Balloun ’17

Maia Perri ’17

Isabella Velarde ’18

Alumni Awards

Alumni Service Award

Millie Hudson Lathan ’59

An enthusiastic ambassador of Westminster since childhood, Millie Hudson Lathan has a long history of service to the School. As a frequent reunion committee member for the Class of 1959, Millie helped establish the Class of 1959 Scholarship Fund during their 50th reunion year; at their 60th reunion, she led the charge to ensure that her class’s ongoing support would fund a full scholarship. She and her husband, Bob, sent their three children to Westminster—Caroline LathanStiefel ’85, Stewart Lathan ’88, and Rob Lathan ’94—and are thrilled to now have a granddaughter in the Middle School. Millie’s siblings, Kathleen Hudson Rivers ’64 and Paul Hudson ’67, and some of her

nieces, nephews, and great-nieces are also Westminster Wildcats. A graduate of Wellesley College, Harvard University, and Emory University, Millie taught elementary school at Westminster and also worked in other fields such as finance, retail, and administration. In addition to her professional accomplishments, she is proud of her volunteer work, which has seen her serving as a High Museum docent, founding and chairing the board of the Cashiers Historical Society, and advocating for the decriminalization of alcoholism, among other things. Millie joyfully accepted this honor in the name of the Class of 1959.

The Alumni Service Award is presented annually to an alumnus who has given exceptional service to the School.

Jimmy Wright ’68, Millie Hudson Lathan ’59, Lisa Borders ’75, Alumni Governing Board President Wab Kadaba ’87, Westminster President Keith Evans

Distinguished Alumni Award

Westminster recognizes and honors outstanding personal, business, or professional achievements by alumni with the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Lisa Borders ’75

Lisa Borders has three decades of leadership experience, delivering results in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. She is the CEO of LMB Group, a management consultancy firm; hosts the podcast Enlightened; and recently chaired the Borders Commission, an independent panel chartered by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). Lisa was the inaugural president and CEO of TIME’S UP and is also former president of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Prior to the WNBA, Lisa led corporate impact as vice president of global community affairs at The Coca-Cola Company and chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation. Lisa also served as president of the Grady Health Foundation and as senior vice president of marketing and external affairs and foundation president with Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Cousins Properties Inc. She serves as a trustee of Duke University and a global director for Operation Hope. Lisa also currently serves as an independent trustee of Six Circles Trust at JPMorgan

Jimmy Wright ’68

Jimmy Wright is president of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation at the University of Virginia, a position he has held since 1985. Jimmy, a member of Westminster’s Breithaupt Athletic Hall of Fame in basketball, completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina, where he was a Morehead Scholar, and subsequently received a PhD from UNC in 1989. After college, Jimmy taught at Metairie Park Country Day School in Metairie, Louisiana; served as assistant headmaster and college admission director at The Heritage School in Newnan, Georgia; and then returned to Chapel Hill to be assistant director of the John Motley Morehead Foundation at UNC. After eight years helping lead UNC’s prestigious merit scholarship

and as an independent director for Lottery.com. Lisa earned a BA from Duke University and an MSHA from the University of Colorado.

program, now known as the Morehead-Cain, he moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, to lead the Jefferson Scholars Foundation—one of the top meritbased undergraduate scholarship programs in the country. Under his leadership, the Jefferson Scholars Foundation has expanded its scope to support graduate fellows in all disciplines and professorships that attract outstanding new faculty to UVA. In fall 2022, UVA welcomed the first class of Walentas Scholars, a new merit scholarship program for first-generation college students. Jimmy is a member of the Raven Society at UVA and has received the Raven Award—the society’s highest honor—in recognition of his service and contributions to the University of Virginia.

Commencement speaker Roz Brewer with Lisa Borders ’75

Alumni Events

Reunion Weekend April 29 & 30, 2022

More than 1,000 alumni and guests returned to campus for Westminster Reunion Weekend 2022! The Friday night Kickoff Party was a time of reconnecting with classmates and reminiscing on days at Westminster while enjoying food trucks on the quad and a DJ on Love Patio. During Saturday’s familyfriendly Lunch, Lounge, and Learn event, alumni explored Hawkins Hall, one of the newer spaces on campus, and participated in faculty-led innovation classes in the Catalyst Lab. MAC and WAC, the Upper School’s a cappella groups, performed during lunch while the Wildcat Spirit Group treated little Wildcats to face painting.

Westminster Black Alumni Experiences: The ’90s May 17, 2022

Westminster’s Black Alumni Council hosted a thought-provoking conversation with a panel of Black alumni who graduated in the 1990s and their parents. The panelists reflected on their experiences, how their time at Westminster impacted their lives, and ways their collective past can inspire a better future.

Principals’ Circle Celebration May 19, 2022

Westminster welcomed more than 200 community members from the Principals’ Circle donor level to the Hank Aaron Terrace at Truist Park, where they enjoyed a conversation between Keith Evans and Braves leaders and had the opportunity to take photos with the 2021 World Series trophy. The program centered on the Atlanta Braves’ journey to the World Series and the leadership stories that shaped the unforgettable 2021 season. President Keith Evans led a conversation with Terry McGuirk, chairman and CEO of Braves Holdings as well as Westminster emeritus trustee, grandparent, and past parent, and Alex Anthopoulos, general manager and president of baseball operations for the Atlanta Braves and Westminster parent.

Pictured L to R, front row: Dominique I. H. Holloman ’97, Mavelyn Bland P ’97 ’01, Kamille Johnson Harless ’95 P ’27 ’30

Back row: Bobby Rashad Jones ’97, Matt Bland ’01, Herb Bland P ’97 ’01, Alex Bland ’97, Rayford Davis ’93 P ’28 ’31

1951 Circle Celebration

May 24, 2022

In the spring, Westminster invited more than 500 community members to campus to celebrate and thank them for their donor commitment to the 1951 Circle and Young Alumni Leadership Societies.

San Francisco Chapter Event: Braves vs. Giants

September 13, 2022

Bay Area alums cheered on the Atlanta Braves—or, in some cases, the home team—at Oracle Park when the Braves came to town to take on the San Francisco Giants.

Pigskin Picnic

September 16, 2022

More than 2,000 community members converged on Broyles Field for the annual Pigskin Picnic before a home varsity football game. Parents, students, faculty, and staff enjoyed barbecue, Chick-fil-A, and time together as well as performances from MAC and WAC, the Jazz Band, and the junior varsity cheerleading squad.

Pressly Leadership Society Celebration

September 28, 2022

The Pressly Leadership Society Celebration is an opportunity for the School to connect with and celebrate Westminster’s most generous annual supporters who dedicated gifts of $5,000 or more during the school year. Members of the Pressly Leadership Society came together on campus at Barge Commons and heard from President Keith Evans as he recalled the generosity of Dr. Pressly and his lasting legacy on philanthropy at Westminster. Nearly 430 households comprise the 2021–22 Pressly Leadership Society, making it the largest membership yet.

Class Notes

From travel to making Wildcat connections to exciting career moves, the Wildcat Nation never sits still. Enjoy reading about what your fellow Wildcats have been up to! Be part of the fun—visit westminster.net/classnews to submit your updates for the next issue.

This issue reflects class news submitted on or before September 15, 2022.

1953

Gloria Bryant Norris writes, “In the 1980s, Norma Gaebelein, wife of then Westminster President Donn Gaebelein, came to my house for a meeting of the Atlanta Habersham Garden Club. She was not there 30 minutes before she came to me after seeing the large painting in my living room and wanted a promise that if I ever decided to let the painting go, I would give it to Westminster. When I moved from my house in spring 2021, I kept my longtime promise to Norma and gave the painting to our beloved Westminster. The oil painting tells the Biblical story of Jacob receiving his son’s colorful coat from Joseph’s brothers, who told their father that Joseph had been sold into slavery in Egypt. The painting, created in the early 1800s by Duval Camus, is titled ‘It Is My Son’s Coat.’ Before Norma passed away in late 2021, I wrote to her and told her the painting of our 40-yearold promise was at the school!” The painting now hangs on the main floor of the Carlyle Fraser Library in Pressly Hall.

1958

Shelley Quillian McLeod writes, “Last year I moved to High Springs, Florida, to be near my daughters Anna and Christine and their children. Son Scott and his boys live a few hours away on the Space Coast. We were all together in my new home for Thanksgiving 2021.”

1962

Benie Bruner Colvin writes, “From Thomaston, Maine, to the Class of ’62! The 2022 summer excitement here was the production of a musical written with daughter Benie and granddaughter Logan about Thomaston’s local Revolutionary hero, General Henry Knox. I wrote the script and Logan (15) and her mom wrote lyrics and melodies for 12 incredible songs. After polishing and

Memory Lane

editing for four years—Thank you, Miss Outler!—and COVID, the show played five packed performances in the local community theater. Should one be looking for the next Hamilton—but better—Count Me In is warmed up and ready to go!”

Nancy Rittelmeyer Perry has connected with Rebecca Dew, daughter-in-law of classmate Ada Lea Birnie, in Charleston, South Carolina. Nancy and Rebecca are doing collaborations of art, producing contemporary works. What a small world!

1966

Betsy Akers Crawford writes, “2020 was a big year for me, as I sold my family home of 40 years and renovated and moved to a townhouse. I love my new home!

Classmate Abi Wilkins Babcock helped me through the process. It was a great experience to work with her. Now I am enjoying more free time as I have almost retired from my stylist business. For fun I still enjoy cycling three times a week with my group, traveling to interesting places, playing pickleball, and learning mahjong. Also, I am looking forward to going to Africa and planning other adventures for 2023.”

Laurie Lea recently won a cash award with BeStillMedia.org. For the time being, she and Tom are straddling Pennsylvania, where they have a house, and Brooklyn, where she retains her studio. She has some of her sacramental art—a glass and neon sculpture from her “City on a Hill” series—in the Waterfall Mansion Gallery in New York City.

1967

Matt Cole was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington and Lee in recognition of outstanding

Revisiting the Westminster days of this year’s reunion classes

achievement and unselfish service to the not-for-profit community. For more than 20 years, Matt was executive head of development at Wesleyan School. In addition, Matt is involved in and serves or has served on other nonprofit boards, including Good Samaritan Health Center, Canterbury Court Retirement Center, Georgia Gwinnett College Foundation, Georgia Tech Scheller Business Advisory Board, and the George Marshall Foundation. Matt received his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

1968

Brad Hayes writes, “Great news from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. 150 Years of the Braves has been ‘passed on to the library for inclusion and is a fine addition to our collection.’ My book has been a three-year act of love for the Braves and the game of baseball. I’m often reminded of a quote by the famous soccer player Pele that is framed and sits on my desk: ‘Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all love of what you are doing.’ Visit our website to order: 150yearsofthebraves.com.”

In retirement after 35 years at the Baltimore Evening Sun and Sun—and 10 at the international NGO Catholic Relief Services—Mike Hill has become a certified guide at Antietam battlefield. He’d welcome any alumni interested in touring this beautifully preserved site of the bloodiest day in American military history that led to the Emancipation Proclamation.

1972

Heading into this new academic year, Suzy Goldberg and Malcolm Ryder are handing over their roles in the unique Wildcat Alumni Magazine project by invitation to other alumni. The digital-only magazine is all volunteer, produced by alumni for alumni, and is one of the only places where long-form interviews of alumni by each

Rooted in the Present Planning for the Future

It’s easy to include Westminster in your estate plans. In doing so, you are planting seeds of opportunity, empowering and investing in the growth of generations of Wildcats to come.

When you make a beneficiary designation in your retirement plan, IRA, insurance policy, or donor advised fund, your generosity has a lasting impact—without touching your income today. If you’re interested in learning more about these easy-to-do gift options or other ways to support the future of Westminster through planned giving, contact Lauren Flores at laurenflores@westminster.net

Thinking about estate planning can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

other are found, bringing a kaleidoscopic picture of the diversity of alumni experiences drawn in terms of personal culture and thought. The magazine’s 2021–22 staff was strongly represented by co-founders from the Class of ’73 as well. All alumni are invited to join future production; contact Malcolm, join at the magazine site, or visit the magazine’s Facebook group bearing the magazine’s name.

1973

Jeff Lewis was recently sworn in as a member of the Georgia Governor’s Film, Music, and Digital Entertainment Commission and is looking forward to helping Georgia grow this tremendous industry even stronger.

1974

Chris Schroder published a memoir in May 2022 that received a positive review from Atlanta JournalConstitution book critic Suzanne Van Atten as well as all five-star reviews on Amazon. The book begins with his first haircut and his Lynx photos from seventh grade—“best hair day ever”—and wanders through marriages, jobs, and parenthood with self-effacing humorous anecdotes about his baldness. Then in 2019, he accompanied his barber to Istanbul to undergo hair transplant surgery, leading to health discoveries that may have saved his life.

1975

Ted Forbes and his partner, Deborah, are joining the rapidly emerging population of climate change refugees. They just bought a summer cottage on the west side of Puget Sound, near Olympic National Park. They will spend May to October there and then return to Park City, Utah, for the winter.

Classmates MJ Young Thorne, Linda Marine Spock, Martha Topol Stolzer, and Margy Bowers Ayres had a mini reunion of the Westminster Girls Class of 1975 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in August 2022.

1976

Fran Phillips Decker writes, “I’m running for queen of Fantasy Fest, a huge eight-week fundraising effort involving fun events and contests for AH Monroe. Check out franforqueen.com!”

Cal Love Jennison writes, “After being away for 33 years, George and I finally moved ‘back home’ in September of 2021. Three of our kids have settled in Atlanta as well as our two grandsons (they were the real draw!), and since we were all alone up in Richmond, we decided it was time to come home. We’re happily settled on Rivers Road (Godfrey Newton lives up the street) and have had a wonderful year reconnecting with Westminster friends. Our door is always open!”

Jody Peskin writes, “Retired in June 2022, so still learning how to be a retiree! Working hard at both decluttering the house and doing home repairs and updates. Also enjoying keeping up with everyone and supporting Fran Phillips Decker for queen of Fantasy Fest! (It’s a Key West thing—go Fran!). Hope to start visiting friends soon!”

1977

Janice Edwards is excited that her award-winning show Janice Edwards TV: Bay Area Vista, which she launched on the local NBC station in 2002, is now celebrating its 20th year. In addition to being inducted into the Black Legends Hall of Fame Silicon Valley in 2019, Janice is co-author of Step into Your Brilliance, an international bestseller. Since the pandemic, she has expanded her production company (thejaniceedwards.com) to include executive and TED Talk content coaching. Janice is also an ordained minister who is a rotating teacher with “Kingdom Women” at her church.

1978

Former faculty member Dot MacFarlane recently welcomed her first great-grandchild, Allie Kate Adamson. Grandparents are Don and Cathy MacFarlane Harrison

1982

Mary Evelyn Nix Hollowell received a mini grant from Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program to support her Heroes of the Anti-Geoengineering Movement project. For more information on this global pollution problem, visit geoengineeringwatch.org.

1983

Beth Hall Thrasher and her husband Jason announce the opening of the ACE/FRANCISCO Gallery in

the Leathers Building in downtown Athens, Georgia (acefranciscogallery.com). Stop by if you’re in Athens!

1984

Tim Kuhlman sold his businesses and is attempting the “FIRE” lifestyle—financial independence, retire early. Tim traveled to Portugal, Spain, Monaco, France, Switzerland, and Italy this past summer.

1985

Martha Graves Marriott, Florida Ellis Huff, Stephanie Putter, and Cammy Bethea enjoyed The Music Man in New York City in late June 2022! They came from England (Martha), New York (Stephanie), Atlanta (Florida), and Tennessee (Cammy) to see classmate Shuler Hensley starring with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.

Christina Pak Hanratty and Gene Hanratty shared a photo of daughter Kathleen Hanratty ’22 with her classmate Helen Symbas ’22, daughter of Alice Symbas and fellow 1985 alum Nick Symbas

Tom Lamar writes, “Daughter Isabelle, 22, moved to Fairfax, California, recently, and I rooted in Mill Valley, California, with two small historic homes on a one-acre lot. I took over Black Mountain Ranch as executive director and joined MAHA Global as chief revenue officer in September. Hope y’all will come visit!”

Rob Spiegel writes, “Haven’t written in a long time. However, seeing Robert Haley recently brought back memories and the desire to hear what everyone else is doing. So ... I am a concierge medicine and palliative care physician. My hobby is scouting and backpacking. I was a scoutmaster for five years. I have climbed Mt. Rainier (did not summit), Grand Teton, and King’s Canyon Ranch. I hiked Philmont Scout Ranch twice, summiting Mt. Baldy both times. Next fall, I have plans to hike in Iceland with college classmates. We decided 12 years ago to do dangerous things for our midlife crisis rather than having new spouses and fast cars.”

1986

Jennifer Levine Hartz continues to enjoy the empty nest with her husband, Eric. She is still consulting to companies and families in corporate social responsibility and sustainability and family philanthropy.

Lezlee Peterzell-Bellanich writes, “September 10, 2022, will be two years since my husband, Capt. Rob, had his liver transplant at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. After living 18 years in Nyack, New York, we are planning to move full-time to our spiritual home in St. Augustine, Florida, right after our son, River, graduates high school in the spring of 2023. Our daughter, Skye, will enter high school in Florida. Our dinner yacht,

Royal Princess, is now chartering in Miami, Florida. Our new home will hopefully be a place where friends and family will come visit, so reach out! St. Augustine reminds me of my grandparents, who lived and raised their children (including my mom) in Mobile, Alabama. My mother, Becky, passed away on her 78th birthday, May 4, 2019, and my father, Marc, passed away January 13, 2021. Life is short and precious. We are making the most of our second chance! For more information about organ transplants and the book I wrote, please visit: www. lezlee.com.”

1989

Dr. Erin McCarty Mason is in her sixth year on faculty in the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services at Georgia State University after spending nine years at DePaul University in Chicago. Her primary appointment is with the school counseling master’s program training P–12 school counselors, many of whom are employed in the metro Atlanta area. She also advises doctoral students in the counselor education and practice program and will become the coordinator of the program beginning fall 2023.

1990

Rob Davis recently ran into fellow Wildcat alum Carter King ’05, frontman for Athens-based band the FutureBirds, while attending a FutureBirds concert in Milwaukee.

1991

Charlie Henn and his wife of 25 years celebrated their anniversary abroad.

1995

Jill Wener’s DEI consulting and anti-racism education company, Conscious Anti-Racism LLC, has signed on with Georgia Aquarium to create and implement their diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging strategy. She and her partner, Dr. Maiysha Clairborne, are thrilled to do this work in the Atlanta area.

1996

Lilly Miller Armstrong writes, “In April of 2021 I followed a lifelong passion and started a floral design studio. It hasn’t been easy juggling being a small-business owner, running a household, and caring for four children,

but in just over a year my work has introduced me to so many wonderful people, exposed me to a world of beauty, and brought a lot of joy to myself and others. I’m on Instagram at @mossomefloral—my first time ever on social media—so I would love to reconnect!”

1999

This spring Ian Aitken joined the University of Georgia as assistant director for residential programs and services. He’s looking forward to catching up with Wildcat alumni again! If you’re in the Athens area, email ian.aitken@uga.edu. UGA has a pretty good bookstore, too. Go Green, Go Cats and Go Dawgs!

Mary Catherine Millkey writes, “Millkey Way Pediatric Dentistry was voted best pediatric dentist in Buckhead! I treat patients from infancy through their teenage years. We are located in the West Paces Ferry Shopping Center right next to Westminster!”

Kimbrell Smith has been named head of school at Atlanta Girls’ School, Atlanta’s only nonsectarian allgirls independent school. Kimbrell has spent her career helping Atlanta’s students and independent schools in a variety of roles, most notably as the founder and owner of Teegarden Education Group for 10 years.

Carson Weitnauer started Uncommon Pursuit, a new ministry that strengthens faith in an online environment. You can connect with him at uncommonpursuit.net.

2000

Matt Pyles writes, “After over a decade working in the Atlanta commercial real estate industry, I am excited to share that I have joined Bankers Life as a financial advisor, where I enjoy working to assist individuals, families, and organizations with their financial planning needs.”

2001

Matt Bland writes, “This school year, I am working at Eagle’s Landing High School as both the world literature content lead and head wrestling coach! It has been an amazing transition after 10 years in education, and I am grateful for the challenges that lie ahead!”

In October of 2021, Scott Bostic was ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church. In July 2022, Scott

began serving as the pastor of Simpson-Hamline UMC in Washington, DC (pictured with his wife, Anna, and daughter, Brooklyn, after his ordination).

Krista Buckley bought a farm in Vermont! She recently started a new position as psychiatrist and assistant professor at the University of Vermont Medical Center, where she completed medical school and residency, and bought a 100-acre old dairy farm outside of town. She is looking forward to renovating it with her husband and three children, Georgia (7), Juniper (4), and Weston (2). There will be plenty of room for visitors!

Karen King has two little Wildcats now! Wesley Pizel is in third grade, and Erin Pizel started pre-first in August. Erin made a big splash her first day, in true Erin fashion: She and her friend Pennington Smith were the faces of the schoolwide Weekly Parent Update e-newsletter that went out on the first day of school! In September, thanks to her law firm’s relationship with Kaiser Permanente, Karen and friends took over the KP suite at Truist Park for a Braves game. The group included Westminster classmates Kathleen Poe Ross, Emily Hill Marvin, Liz Wiedemann Cohen, and Vicki Baggett Leonard

Stan Overby recently entered private practice as a criminal defense attorney in the upstate of South Carolina after 10 years as a prosecutor for Greenville and Anderson counties, South Carolina. He specializes in DUI defense and has handled numerous complex criminal matters. He lives in Greenville with his wife, Lindsey, and his daughters, Cameron (7), Allison (4), and Caroline (1).

Christopher Scally, MD, was appointed associate program director for the Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. MD Anderson is the No. 1 cancer center in the United States and graduates seven fellows per year from this highly competitive program. In addition to his leadership roles, Dr. Scally provides care for patients with complex/advanced cancers including soft tissue sarcoma and gastrointestinal cancers.

2004

Mia Catharine Mattioli was recognized by the University of Georgia’s 40 Under 40 program, which celebrates young UGA alumni leading the pack in their industries and communities. She currently works as an environmental engineer for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she studies water to detect disease.

2005

Brent Ellis Fraim’s business, Buckhead Printery, was recently featured on Fox 5 Atlanta. Brent uses antique printing methods and vintage letterpress and engraving machines to produce invitations and announcements

for her social stationery business, Dear Elouise. She does printing for others in the industry through Buckhead Printery as well.

2006

Justin Kappel, MD, MPH, has recently moved back to the Atlanta area and has joined Family Practice Center, a well-established primary care practice in Sandy Springs. He will be opening a new location on Peachtree Road across from Piedmont Hospital in 2023 that will offer comprehensive primary care, integrative medicine, and medical acupuncture services to patients ages 12 and older. He looks forward to serving the Buckhead and Wildcat communities!

2008

Hanna Hope and Alison Faux Short ’04 spent the last year working side by side in Emory’s Advancement and Alumni Engagement division. They traveled the world together, producing 30 events in 25 cities in eight months to roll out Emory’s new president and comprehensive fundraising campaign, with Hanna as director of events and Alison as director of campaign operations. Wildcats make the best friends and colleagues!

2010

Celia Quillian graduated valedictorian from her Evening MBA program at Emory’s Goizueta School of Business and was recently promoted in her product marketing role at Greenlight Financial.

2011

Sarah Grady writes, “My mom and I hiked Mount Kilimanjaro in June this year. Had to get a ‘Go Cats’ photo at the top!”

Shelby Grady premiered in the feature film Brutal Season at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, from September 29 to October 4. Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the United States, seeking to champion challenging and thought-provoking cinema and supporting film in its most provocative, groundbreaking, and underseen forms. Shelby produced and acted in the film.

2014

Adam Sanders was recently awarded second prize in a semiregional RuneScape tournament, an online multiplayer game.

2018

Truman Jones has been named the 148th team captain the Harvard football team. He is a senior premedical student with a major in biomedical engineering and a minor in African American studies. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.

Westminster football alumni reunited on the Ivy League field during the 2021 season. The UPenn at Harvard game brought UPenn athletes Isaiah “Zay” Malcome ’17 and Malcolm Strickland to match against Truman Jones at Harvard Stadium. Westminster teammates remain football family.

2019

Grant Barron finished an internship in December 2021 with U.S. Congressman Drew Ferguson, where David Sours ’97 is the current chief of staff.

REMEMBERING RAMBLER

August 13, 2008–September 19, 2022

Rambler Dimon was a staple of the Westminster community from 2008 until 2017, when his owner Scoot Dimon ’70 retired. Rambler was known for greeting students at Adams Gate in the morning, helping Mr. Dimon read to the first and second graders, making daily visits to the administrative offices, and attending every possible sporting event. He also starred in two plays: Upper School musical Legally Blonde in 2013 and Middle School musical Annie in 2015. Rambler sightings around campus would always put a smile on everyone’s faces, and he was beloved by students, faculty, staff, and parents alike. He passed away on September 19, 2022, at 14 years old, but he will be a Westminster legend forever!

– Ricky Dimon ’02

Marriages

Congratulations to all Wildcats celebrating recent marriages! The number to the left of each couple’s name corresponds to their photo on the facing page.

1975

Michelle Munson and Robbie Persons, July 19, 2022

1989

Frances Morton and Jeff White, October 2, 2021

2007

Brindar Kaun Sandhu and Marcus Strong, January 15, 2022

2008

Morgann Lyles and Keno Hagan, September 4, 2022

2009

Abby Cernosek and LB Joel (Upper School faculty), June 6, 2022

2010

Celia Quillian and Neil Bancherosmith, May 28, 2022

2011

Somer Woodall ’15 and Noel Hardin, August 17, 2022

Sydney Laseter ’12 and Dylan Jeffay, May 13, 2022

2012

Sydney Laseter and Dylan Jeffay ’11 May 13, 2022

Susie Alexander and Rivers Patterson, June 18, 2022

Katherine York ’13 and Andrew Steuer September 25, 2021

2013

Katherine York and Andrew Steuer ’12 September 25, 2021

Erika Redding and Christel Wekon-Kemeni, September 5, 2021

2014

Vitória Lombello and Thomas Desoutter, May 21, 2022

Madison Call and Joe Janeczko, October 9, 2021

2015

Somer Woodall and Noel Hardin ’11 August 17, 2022

Faculty & Staff

Victoria Frangoulis (Lower School faculty) and Ryan Sloane, June 18, 2022

Alyssa Huntt (staff) and Tyler Henderson, July 2, 2022

Births and Adoptions

Welcome to the Wildcat family, new additions! The number to the left of each announcement corresponds to the child’s photo on the facing page.

2000

Vienna Lee Scaife, December 1, 2021, daughter of Jillian Godfrey Scaife and Thomas Scaife

2001

Spencer Bruce Cohen, July 8, 2022, son of Liz Wiedemann Cohen and Blake Cohen

Charlotte Lawson Herlihy, April 22, 2022, daughter of Meg Tawes Herlihy and Reid Herlihy

John Royce Riggs, March 15, 2022, son of Emily and Brock Riggs

Julia Jade Selik, daughter of Cristina Kendall and Michael Selik

Isabella Rose Coventry, September 29, 2021, daughter of Noble Stafford and Ryan Coventry

2002

Jones Paul Fitzpatrick, February 9, 2022, son of Lindley Knight Fitzpatrick and Keith Fitzpatrick

Thomas Hunt McCullar, June 1, 2022, son of Meg Strother McCullar and Michael McCullar

Elizabeth Grace “Ellis” Meythaler, October 5, 2021, daughter of Marion Hickman Meythaler and Nick Meythaler

Sutton Elizabeth Stringer, December 30, 2021, daughter of Courtney and Ken Stringer

2003

James Rafael “Rafa” Bass, May 16, 2022, son of Sylvia Hobgood Bass and Scott Bass

Kinley Marlene Ward, June 24, 2022, daughter of Lauran and Wright Ward

Chloe Zhou Weinstein, August 5, 2021, daughter of Julie Zhou and Jeremy Weinstein

2004

Cameron Ann Dash, April 12, 2022, daughter of Emelie and Eliot Dash

Sienna Elizabeth Forquer, December 14, 2021, daughter of Danielle and Patrick Forquer

Annabel Mateer Hammer, March 14, 2022, daughter of Katie Egan Hammer and Markus Hammer

Ellington Morris Sangster, June 27, 2022, daughter of Amanda and Jonathan Sangster

Ryan Story Sigmund, November 3, 2021, son of Christina Story and Lukas Sigmund

2005

Randall Allen Caswell, February 21, 2022, son of Maggie Woodward Caswell and Tyler Caswell

Kailani Kim Eska, August 19, 2022, daughter of Katie Wanserski Eska and Brent Eska

Julia May Givens, May 4, 2022, daughter of Elisabeth Holby Givens and Jamey Givens

Edward Parmelee Robinson, June 8, 2022, son of Anna Edwards Robinson and Lewis Robinson

Oliver “Ollie” and Poppy Tulloch, January 25, 2022, son and daughter of Susie Fellows Tulloch and Ross Tulloch

2006

Mason Thomas Fox, February 1, 2022, son of Josie Farmer Fox and Devin Fox

Martha Elizabeth “Lily” Wilson, May 9, 2022, daughter of Martha and Charles Wilson

2007

Penny Durham Cruce, March 2, 2022, daughter of Katie Sturniolo Cruce and Bryan Cruce

John McQuillin Zimmerman, July 21, 2022, son of Kara and Caldwell Zimmerman

2008

Agnes Petra Jones, July 11, 2022, daughter of Hannah Grady Jones and Tram Jones.

William Allen Philpotts, July 19, 2022, son of Maggie Allen Philpotts and Jake Philpotts

Paul Herndon Reese, September 8, 2022, son of Annie Herndon Reese and Robbie Reese

2009

Katherine “Harper” Hays, April 5, 2021, daughter of Kelly York Hays and Lowell Hays

Louis Scott Uttley, September 1, 2022, son of Meg Buker Uttley and Benton Uttley

Perry Knight Vines, February 13, 2022, son of Katelyn and Stevie Vines

2010

Alice Catherine May, June 6, 2022, daughter of Caki Swayze May and Nelson May

Ellie Alexandra York, August 27, 2021, daughter of Kelsey and Jonathan York

Faculty & Staff

Everett James Fry, July 31, 2022, son of Allison Murphy and Adam Fry (Middle School faculty)

Brooke Marguerite Swint, June 9, 2022, daughter of Saundria Zomalt (Middle School faculty) and Taryrece Culberson-Swint

In Memoriam

We extend our deepest sympathy to the members of the Westminster community who have lost a loved one.

Washington Seminary Alumnae

1946

Betty Ferguson Willcox , May 18, 2022

1949

Edyth Kiser Shadburn, July 11, 2022

Mother of Lawson Shadburn ’74 and Sara Shadburn Chapman ’76

Lucile Mann Walker, March 27, 2022

Mother of Wade Channell ’74 and Tobey Channell Wodder ’75

1950

Tatty Matthews Howard , April 22, 2022

Mother of Bob Strickland ’74 and Doug Strickland ’76

1952

Mary Raine Creager, April 29, 2022

Betty Almond Travis, April 25, 2022

Westminster Alumni

1953

Alberta Brewer Cain, March 25, 2022

1956

Lyn Brown, January 23, 2022

Sister of Susan Brown ’66

Mason Lowance, September 15, 2022

Husband of Susan Coltrane Lowance WS ’51

1957

Susan White Mathis, August 31, 2022

1959

Tommy Rains, March 24, 2022

Brother of Margaret Rains Howell ’60 and father of Laura Rains Draper ’86 and Adair Rains Flowers ’89

1960

Sallie Simmons Fravel, July 22, 2020

Sister of Shelton Simmons ’62 and Ben Simmons ’67

Marilyn Goldsmith Hudgins, April 18, 2022

Sister of Elizabeth Goldsmith Motz ’60 and Metta

Goldsmith Johnson ’64 and mother of Matt Hudgins ’88

1965

Frank Garson II, January 12, 2022

Brother of Lynn Garson ’71

Nick Gibson, July 31, 2022

Sally Heiskell Lassiter, October 31, 2020

Sister of Andy Heiskell ’61, Jim Heiskell ’63, and Cyndie Heiskell ’70 and mother of Sarah Beth Lassiter Murphy ’93

Eleanor Garges Maxwell, June 3, 2022

Sister of Elizabeth Garges Izard ’77

1967

Gray McKenzie, October 29, 2021

Ben Simmons, December 7, 2021

Brother of Shelton Simmons ’62

1969

Bill Nix , October 27, 2021

1970

Rossie Ray Spell, February 8, 2022

Sister of Martha Jane Ray ’69 and Mark Ray ’75

1972

James Marks, December 29, 2020

1974

Donna Schneidewind Gilli, June 28, 2022

1979

Rajayne Gustafson Cordery, March 28, 2022

Sister of Tim Gustafson ’81

1988

Salil Dalvi, May 22, 2022

Jonathan Hanger, July 10, 2021

Brother of William Hanger ’84, Joshua Hanger ’93, Rebecca Hanger Smylie ’94, and Hannah Hanger Kennedy ’96

1989

Nils Thompson, February 16, 2022

2018

Reynolds Jennings, June 14, 2022

Son of Comer Jennings III ’78 and brother of Comer Jennings IV ’16

Westminster Community Members

Kate Brissette, February 14, 2022

Wife of Jim Brissette ’69 and mother of Alex Brissette ’02 and Ellie Brissette Kameen ’06

Scott Campbell Sr., August 30, 2022

Father of Scott Campbell Jr. ’77 and Ashley Campbell ’80

Joe Craver (emeritus trustee), June 2, 2022

Father of Bill Craver ’87

Mary Guloien Davis (former faculty), June 5, 2022

Mother of Philip Davis ’97 and Brian Davis ’01

Jim Dillon, February 23, 2022

Father of Laura Dillon Schmidt ’83, Jay Dillon ’86, and Chan Dillon ’89

India Dinkins Field, May 20, 2022

Sister of Evie Dinkins ’74 and mother of Katherine Bows

Taylor ’84 and Ivey Bows ’89

Jere Goldsmith IV, February 9, 2022

Father of Jere Goldsmith V ’77, Elizabeth Goldsmith

Musser ’78, and Glenn Goldsmith ’92

Donna Gude, May 24, 2022

Mother of Donna Gude Barwick ’71 and Doris Gude

Morrison ’73

Mary Harris (former staff), September 20, 2022

Rick Inman, August 7, 2022

Father of Brantley Inman ’00 and Ivey Inman ’03

Caroline Keenum, June 5, 2022

Wife of Patrick Keenum ’03

Verna Lopey, July 5, 2022

Grandmother and guardian of Lauren Duncan Griffey ’97

Frank Maranville (staff), September 13, 2022

Eleanor Stuart Pettit, August 17, 2022

Daughter of Mary Lowell Downing Pettit ’06

Wade Rakes, April 1, 2022

Father of Wade Rakes ’98

Frank Riggs, April 3, 2022

Father of Jennifer Riggs ’94 and Brock Riggs ’01

Al Sharis, April 28, 2022

Father of Wanda Sharis ’09, Farah Sharis ’11, and Sandy Sharis ’13

John Solms, June 2, 2022

Father of Katharine Solms Bryan ’03, John Solms ’08, and Stephen Solms ’14

Walter Sturdivant, March 3, 2022

Husband of Marion Gaines Sturdivant ’57 and father of Davis O’Keeffe ‘86

Jane White (retired faculty), August 29, 2022

John W. Winborne III, November 4, 2021

Husband of Haden Ridley Winborne ’65 and father of Annie Winborne Stoer ’95 and Lizzie Winborne

Piccolo ’95

Worth 1,000 Words

Each fall, the Visual Arts Department Department opens the school year year with a faculty show in Broyles Arts Center, putting the studio work of our talented art teachers from all three divisions of the School on display. Surrounded by ceramics, quilts, drawings, digital art, paintings, and more, “The Shape of Things to to Come,” by Upper School Visual Arts Department Chair Chair Ben Steele—a large-scale work composed of 35 discrete paintings of futuristic architecture, ruins, and and inventions—covered the entire back wall of Gaines Foyer.