Tower Hill Bulletin - Fall 2020 by Tower Hill School

Tower Hill Bulletin Fall 2020

COMMUNITY CONNECTION Lessons learned during TowerHill@Home Alumni fighting the pandemic Tower Hillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100th Graduation

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE Teresa Messmore Director of Communications and Marketing Amy Wolf Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing Kirk Smith Marketing Specialist ADVANCEMENT OFFICE Kristin Mumford Director of Advancement and Enrollment Management Melissa Pizarro Associate Director of Advancement Matthew Twyman III ’88 Director of Alumni Relations and Associate Director of Admission Heather Weymouth Lowry ’97 Director of the Annual Fund Linda Ogden Administrative Assistant PHOTOGRAPHY Kirk Smith, Lead Photographer Josh Boughner Erwin Chen ’20 Emma Liao ’22 Michele McCauley Teresa Messmore Amy Wolf LAYOUT Amy Wolf The Tower Hill Bulletin magazine is published twice annually to share how alumni, faculty, staff and students embody the school’s motto Multa Bene Facta, Many Things Done Well. Send Class Notes to thsalumni@towerhill.org with a high-resolution photo. TOWER HILL SCHOOL 2813 W. 17th Street Wilmington, DE 19806 302-575-0550 | towerhill.org HEAD OF SCHOOL Elizabeth C. Speers 2020-2021 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Eric Johnson, M.D., Chair Benjamin du Pont ’82, Vice Chair Jack Flynn, M.D., ’81, Secretary Marna Whittington, Ph.D., Treasurer Suzanne Ashley Kimberly Wright Cassidy, Ph.D. Régis de Ramel Robert DeSantis Heather Richards Evans ’80 W. Whitfield Gardner ’81 Laird Hayward ’02 Henry Mellon Catherine Miller David Nowland ’85 Lisa A. Olson ’76 Kenneth A. Simpler Isabella Speakman Timon ’92 Genelle Trader ’70 Carmen Wallace ’93 Gina Ward Earl Ball, Ed.D., Emeritus

Tower Hill School does not discriminate in its educational, admissions and personnel programs and policies or activities on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, religion or religious creed, sexual orientation, gender identity and/ or expression, disability or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law. 2

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Tower Hill BULLETIN FALL 2020

IN THIS ISSUE 6 TowerHill@Home

TEACHERS ADVANCE STUDENT LEARNING IN QUICK PIVOT TO DISTANCE EDUCATION

32 Social Justice

THE TOWER HILL COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO NATIONWIDE CALL FOR ACTION

50 Alumni Fighting the Pandemic HILLERS COMBAT COVID-19 ON MULTIPLE FRONTS

73 Donor Honor Roll

GENEROUS SUPPORT LIFTS ANNUAL FUND PAST $1 MILLION GOAL FOR SECOND TIME

On the Cover

Tower Hillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s socially distanced Graduation recognizing the Class of 2020 was held on June 6. Read more on page 36. Photo by Amy Wolf. On these pages, teachers wave goodbye at the Middle School Drive-Through Farewell in June. Photo by Kirk Smith. Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

From the HEAD OF SCHOOL Dear Tower Hill community, Tower Hill’s 2019-2020 academic year will be remembered as historic, bookended by the Centennial celebration in the fall and TowerHill@Home, our response to the pandemic, in the spring. As our country grapples with the pandemic, the call to reckon and rid our communities of institutional racism and the upcoming election, the role of teachers and school communities like Tower Hill have never been more important. We must cultivate hope, optimism and perseverance and model unity. Faculty, staff, students, parents and alumni have continued to respond to these challenges with incredible strength and resilience. This issue of the Bulletin documents Tower Hill’s response to the pandemic and to the school’s commitment to stand firmly against systemic racism and injustice. We are proud to have engaged alumni who are making a difference alongside us in both of these realms. We can all take pride in the ways Tower Hill rallied together to address the crisis, shifting to remote learning during spring break, reimagining time-honored traditions while physically apart and reconvening our seniors for the school’s 100th Graduation (and first held with social distancing). Our faculty moved mountains, always putting students first and demonstrating the innovation, academic rigor, connection and creativity for which Tower Hill is known. Students rose to the occasion, adjusting to many a Zoom class and bringing a song or smile when we needed it most. We likely all know someone who has been affected by the virus, and our hearts go out to those among us who have lost friends or loved ones during this difficult time. Perhaps we can find some comfort in knowing that Tower Hill alumni are helping combat COVID-19 on many fronts. As highlighted in this issue, they are heroically treating patients, advancing medical research and attending to the well-being of others. They model bravery and community impact for all of us, providing inspiration to persevere amid ongoing uncertainty. They inspire us and sustain our hope. Courage, adaptability and resilience are life lessons learned at Tower Hill, upon which we will surely rely as we begin the new school year. We have put health and safety front and center in every aspect of our Return to Campus Plan (found at towerhill.org/return), which allows for socially distanced in-person and remote education while protecting the wellbeing of all students and employees. We have certainly learned that the Tower Hill community is so much more than our campus and the building in which we meet. Our strong community connection continued on despite the need to be remote last spring. This being said, we are truly excited to be together again in person, following social distance, health and safety guidelines. To this end, we are indeed fortunate to have the facilities and flexibility to offer this arrangement, and stay tuned for some creative ways we are using outdoor spaces and other unique areas on campus! Equally important to our preparedness for a safe return to school is our commitment to continue engaging in honest and open conversations to ensure schoolwide progress in the area of social justice. As last year drew to a close, students and faculty answered society’s call to confront racism and take purposeful action amid a backdrop of inequities evident during the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. As a country and as a school community, we must address systemic racism, and our Social Justice Task Force will ensure our Commitments Toward Social Justice progress in the coming weeks and months. This is a time of immense challenge for our school, our country and our world. Today’s students will long be affected by this pandemic like other historic events have shaped generations before them. No matter what, Tower Hill will provide our students with an extraordinary education and the grit to make a positive impact. We know their intellects, character and determination hold promise for us all. Thank you for joining Tower Hill as we commit to and embody our word for the year: unity! Let’s do this together with conviction, hope and love. Sincerely,

Elizabeth C. Speers Head of School 2

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

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What’s ONLINE

instagram.com/ towerhillschool

FRESHMAN BRIDGE PROGRAM 206 impressions, 7 likes This summer rising ninth graders joined faculty outdoors for activities and discussions about Upper School life as part of the Freshman Bridge Program.

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SEWING MASKS 91 likes In addition to sewing masks for family members, Mirel Margolin ’26 sewed 18 masks to donate to AI duPont Children’s Hospital.

PARENT BAND LESSONS 48 likes THS parents took band lessons from their children, learning how to play “Hot Cross Buns” on their instruments as part of a Middle School project with Mr. Scott Zeplin during TowerHill@ Home. Not so easy! #quarantinehobby

BOOK CHARACTER DAY 625 impressions, 3 likes Kindergarteners (and their teachers) dressed up as their favorite book characters in May. Can you guess who’s who?

COMMUNITY SERVICE 81 likes The Tower Hill community collected over 500 canned goods and many household items that were donated to Lutheran Community Services. The food drive was organized by third grade teacher Paula Hall and Assistant Head of School and Head of Middle School Art Hall.

GRAPHING CALCULATOR ART 714 impressions, 3 likes Students in Nicole Keith’s precalculus class created incredible drawings on graphing calculators using all of the functions they learned last year.

THS IN VIDEO...

FIRST DAY OF TOWERHILL@HOME 2,480 FACEBOOK VIEWS The first day of TowerHill@Home was a success thanks to our incredible teachers, students and parents!

CLASSROOM PETS 618 FACEBOOK VIEWS While campus was closed, our Lower School and science classroom pets were well taken care of, both on campus by our maintenance crew and at home by faculty and staff!

KINDERGARTEN SHOW AND TEACH 856 FACEBOOK VIEWS Show and Teach, a longstanding Tower Hill kindergarten activity, turned students into teachers — and continued even during distance learning! Students shared videos with classmates on how to do a cartwheel, practice martial arts, bake cookies and more.

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Fall 2020

Around SCHOOL STEM Signing Day

Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards

Sean Beberman ’20 and Katy Craft ’20 both won first place in the Harry Roberts Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards. The awards are presented annually by the DIAA based on students’ academic, athletic and leadership accomplishments. This was the first time first place was awarded to female and male student-athletes from the same school.

Kirit Minhas ’20 was selected as a STEM Signing Day honoree for his commitment to studying STEM in college. Minhas, who plans to study chemistry and environmental studies at Swarthmore College, was one of 20 Delaware high school seniors to be recognized at a virtual event on Tuesday, April 14. He was nominated by chemistry teacher Liz Brown, Ph.D.

Community Service Sean Beberman ’20, Olivia Sanchez ’20, Bella Mulford ’21 and Krish Malhotra ’21 received 2020 Governor’s Youth Volunteer Service Awards for exemplifying the spirit of volunteerism in Delaware. Beberman, Sanchez and Mulford received the award for their work with the Ronald McDonald House of Delaware’s Youth Leadership Council. Malhotra was recognized for his several volunteer service projects, including a winter coat drive for the Wilmington VA Homeless Veterans program, a backpack and school supply donation for children at the Reeds’ Refuge Center, and helping to plan a leadership conference for ninth graders with the Hugh O’Brian Community Leadership Workshop Committee.

Student Diversity Conference

The Arts

Six Upper School students, Tiffany Lynch-Faulkner ’21, Julian Jackson ’20, Wes Colley ’20, Katie Sullivan ’21, Kamaria “KK” Simms ’22 and Jalyn Miller ’22, along with faculty members Eduardo Silva and Carmen Martinez, attended the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) from Dec. 4-7. A multiracial, multicultural gathering of Upper School student leaders from across the U.S. and abroad, SDLC focuses on self-reflecting, forming allies and building community. The Tower Hill Vocal Ensemble won first place at the Easton Choral Arts Society High School Choral Competition. The group was selected as one of nine finalists after auditioning with more than 40 groups in October. The win came with a grand prize of $2,500 for the choral program. 4

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Reuse, Recycle

After learning about the threats of plastic in the ocean in Marine Biology, students chose an organism to research and create out of recycled materials. The class talked about how art can raise awareness to environmental issues (did you know there is six times more plastic than plankton in the ocean?). The projects were shared on Tower Hill’s Instagram account.

Home and School

Mock Trial

Frances E. Jensen, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania spoke to parents about the scientific differences between teenage and adult brains—and what the implications are for learning, impulsivity, substance use, sleep and more. The Home and School Association and the Parent Awareness Committee (a partnership with Tatnall and Wilmington Friends) brought this enlightening presentation to Tower Hill.

Youth Environmental Summit

Tower Hill’s mock trial team competed as one of 26 high school teams in the annual Mock Trial State Championship on Feb. 21 and 22. This year’s criminal case involved the alleged homicide of a competitor in a saddle bronc riding event at a rodeo. Destiny Smith ’20 won two best witness gavels, and Grace Diehl ’20 and Revati Iyengar ’22 each won a gavel for best attorney. Leo Malik ’23, Cassidy Malik ’20, Jay Mehta ’22, Allison Smolko ’22, Josie Adsett ’21, Selena Chen ’21, Dao Ho ’23, Jessica Ma ’21 and Chloe Sachs ’23 also participated. The team was coached by John Malik and Chip Sheridan ’03.

Diversity Conference On March 4, 16 Middle School students and three faculty members attended The Haverford School’s Middle School Diversity Conference. The focus of this year’s conference was on ways students can use their story as a path to inclusivity. This power of storytelling was modeled by the keynote speaker, Dr. Javier Ávila, a renowned poet, novelist and the 2016 Hispanic Leader of the Year. Students learned about how to engage in meaningful conversations with their peers. The students returned home with building blocks to work on a more inclusive school community.

Eleven Upper School students attended the first YES! Youth Environmental Summit at DelTech in Dover, Delaware, on Feb. 28. More than 250 students from 23 Delaware high schools attended the event intended to give students a voice on environmental issues such as climate change. The day included a keynote by the president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation as well as workshops with topics such as climate change, plastics and the ocean, impacts of food choices and fashion and the environment.

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

GOING VIRTUAL

2020 6

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

TOWERHILL@HOME

AN “UNPRECEDENTED” AND “HERCULEAN” PIVOT TO DISTANCE LEARNING BY ANDREA GLOWATZ, DEAN OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

2020 brought the world a new challenge. The coronavirus pandemic unfurled countless bouts of fear as we in the Wilmington area watched the everincreasing markers on the CDC map bleed together like Rorschach ink blots. Head of School Bessie Speers, Assistant Head of School for Academics/CIIO Anthony Pisapia and the entire administrative team could read the writing on the wall. We knew that we would need to find a way to ensure high quality educational continuity and connection should our community go into lockdown mode. And that we did! From March 31 until June 4, 2020, Tower Hill School took the COVID-19 bull by the horns and plunged into distance learning without abandonment. While some onlookers might have described this scenario as “building the ship while sailing it,” such a metaphor is a misnomer, and it disparages the time, commitment and talent of the faculty warriors who scrambled to adapt lessons while the masses scrambled to buy toilet paper. True to our mission, TowerHill@Home is yet another conduit to prepare our students for “full and creative engagement with a dynamic world.” A SUDDEN TRANSITION A process is the norm when it comes to academic initiatives, and sometimes it’s more than a process: It’s a measured and multi-step odyssey. By our very

nature, educators are planful, thorough and reflective. We take calculated risks only after engaging in discussion, drafting a detailed procedure and revising it ad nauseam with team effort. Additionally, once an initiative is launched, it often goes through several iterations before it is done and dusted. The inception of TowerHill@Home was conversely an abrupt and expeditious endeavor, nonetheless laced with care and courage. In an effort to be proactive, Anthony Pisapia, with his finger on the pulse of the pandemic and its implications, held several meetings with the faculty in early March to introduce video conferencing as a just-in-case alternative to brick and mortar learning. At that time, Governor John Carney had not yet ordered school closure, and teaching remotely was a Kafkaesque prospect that many of the faculty didn’t expect to realize. Tower Hill’s spring break began on March 13, and only a few days later, in consideration of the latest state mandates and recommendations, the school doors locked indefinitely to protect our community. The administrative team quickly finalized a plan to effectively move instruction online. Safety, equity and anxiety reduction were our first imperatives. We spoke with peer schools across the globe and gathered as much data as possible from those who were already in

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Faculty and students at their TowerHill@Home workstations.

the throes of their own @home programs. Vicarious reinforcement is a powerful mechanism, and we were fortunate to have relationships with schools and colleagues in Australia, Seattle and Florida, among other locations. Our tech team worked its magic in the server closet, setting up accounts, tending to security and synchronizing software. Division Heads negotiated schedules and tended to other tasks too numerous to mention. We gathered and organized resources for faculty, and we prepared transparent communications to parents, students and teachers. We were well aware that distance learning would bring limitations and opportunities, and we avowed to focus on the opportunities, knowing full well that an attitude of abundance in a time of sudden involuntary transition facilitates creative solutions and grace. We expected our move to online teaching and learning to be an invigorating mode—one that would be a welcome “reboot” of our strong program in all three divisions. We were correct. Dedicated, nimble and talented educators made distance learning a reality at Tower Hill. Pivoting to a different modality in a matter of days was a Herculean task. In that short pocket of time, Tower Hill faculty reconciled with the global emergency and the emotionality that accompanied it; some of them

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

found themselves or a loved one in a face-off with the virus, reckoning with the illness’s symptoms—all while hospital bed occupancy in the area increased exponentially. They attended countless Zoom training sessions and meetings, retooled their curricula, digitized documents and reimagined lesson delivery formats to transition from 3D instruction to 2D. They made arrangements with Facility Director John Tchinnis to safely re-enter the building during designated time slots so they could frenetically grab books, supplies, gadgets and other tools for their home classrooms. One teacher likened the mad rush to a “building-on-fire” emergency, causing her to discriminate among all of her valuable curriculum materials while an impatient clock ticked. When March 31 arrived, bleary-eyed teachers, dressed professionally from the waist up, greeted their students virtually after working tirelessly over the spring recess. Teachers’ smiles and reassurance eased students into what would be a new normal for the remainder of the academic year. THE GOALS OF DISTANCE LEARNING TowerHill@Home was established to ensure continuity, connection and community. The more we thought about these 3 Cs, the more it became evident that every aspect of distance learning hinged on “community,”

THE IMPACT OF DISTANCE LEARNING ON EDUCATION As President of the Student Government Association Thomas Zehner ’20 highlighted quite comically in his remarks at our socially distant yet strikingly beautiful Graduation ceremony, the word “unprecedented” has been our go-to, perhaps clichéd, term to describe this time in education. Imagine how different our school’s response to COVID-19 would have been if the pandemic had occurred 30 years ago, when a video conference was a futuristic, Jetsons-style fantasy. Now it is, thankfully, a reality for our students, enabling the aforementioned continuity, connection and community. Though the coronavirus pushed us into the mode, Tower Hill now has a means to—and experience with—implementing a remote learning format. The learning curve was simultaneously humbling and exhilarating, as students and teachers leveraged technology in unprecedented ways to teach, learn and reinvent the special programs we hold so dear. Lower School students put on theater productions and submitted photos of their math exercises from a distance. Middle School students took field trips and engaged in breakout room discussions from a distance. Upper School students, or our “quaranteens,” reimagined Tower Term, our week of experiential learning, from a distance. Analyzing their “quarantrends” and synthesizing a project that channeled their experiences into an artifact resulted in

earmarks for these extraordinary times. It’s interesting to consider the role technology has played during this crisis. Before COVID-19, technology was a tool in our schools. In the wake of COVID-19, technology became a foundation. Technology is what enabled our community to continue and connect, and now with our heightened repertoires, we are in a better position to use it as a tool each time we return to in-person learning.

TOWERHILL@HOME

our word of the year—for continuity and connection are naturally subsumed under community; there can be no continuity or connection without community. As we primed faculty for what was to come, Anthony Pisapia emphasized that “each interaction should be as precious and as vital as those times when we are faceto-face in the classroom.” That statement alone aptly summarizes our goals. For students, we teased out the three specific goals of the program: academic growth, continued student-teacher connection and ensuring a strong sense of community. Of course, lengthy discussions ensued about how to maintain rigor and ensure student learning outcomes were met. Teachers quickly came to understand that the only healthy way forward was to adapt instruction so that it targeted what students needed most at this historic crossroads. Lastly, there was an obvious, general, unspoken goal of distance learning that cannot be discounted. Remote instruction gave students access to the curriculum when a limiting factor, such as a global crisis, prevented them from accessing it directly. Flexibility and accountability were embedded in distance learning, and such qualities make up the foundation for lifelong learning.

Brick and mortar learning is indeed our preference. Physically being with one another activates the brain in profound ways. Educators have long since been of the mind that the best learning will never be done solely through the use of computer software. There’s a human element to learning; a laptop or tablet could never supplant the person-to-person interaction that is indigenous to the learning process. The future of education will certainly continue to employ the convenience of online platforms, applications and communications. We will surely continue to access data via our devices so that we can utilize, synthesize and think critically about that data. The future of education will also involve teachers, facilitators and classmates because we know empirically that learning is a social process. Relationships, individualized feedback and language pragmatics are what make us human. In the future of education, we can therefore expect to see hybrid models that combine the “brick” and “click.” As we have come to see, one mode only strengthens the other. The phrase “21st Century Education” refers to the core competencies that students must cultivate in school in order to develop the habits of mind needed for life. Educators often refer to these competencies as the 5 Cs: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity and cultural competency. Tower Hill School can now add continuity, connection and community to this mix. In a time of loss and isolation, the coronavirus lockdown brought us gains. Chair of the Board of Trustees Eric Johnson, M.D., asserted early on in this distance learning journey that the pandemic would bring us together more than it would keep us apart. I would add to this certainty that education has flourished more than it has languished, and going forward, we can expect movements for equitable access to the internet and curriculum initiatives that highlight information literacy. The pivot to distance learning is another feather in Tower Hill’s cap; faculty, students and parents alike showed their true mettle and can be proud. Yes, 2020 “went viral” very quickly, but our institution gets all As for being adaptable, agile and apt as we honored our mission.

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

WELLNESS TEAM PROVIDES SERVICES REMOTELY DURING TOWERHILL@HOME BY AMY CUDDY, PH.D., AND LAUREN LINEBACK, PSY.D.

The Wellness Center remained a “Haven for Hiller Health” throughout TowerHill@Home. While the method of delivery shifted to virtual meetings and engagement over a screen, the focus of students, parents and faculty members remained similar: continued attention on the social-emotional and academic well-being of students. While students were no longer able to spend their study halls doing work in the Wellness Center or drop in for a mint and quick chat en route to sports, connection and services remained in place. Like teachers, we found ourselves trying to determine a way to imitate in an online environment the same security and comfort that our physical space affords. In order to prepare for the transition, we met with the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children to identify best practices for remote work with students. We also met with other local independent school psychologists. While some aspects of our work were easier to replicate in this new medium, others were more challenging, and our summer was spent preparing for potential changes in the fall. A few examples of Wellness Center services that transitioned most easily to TowerHill@Home included: • Connecting with students at lunchtime via Middle School Lunch Bunches or Lower School Social Lunches • Lower and Middle School students took advantage of virtual Wellness Center “walk in” hours. • We reached out to students and families and provided check-ins in ongoing ways or as new needs were identified. One-on-one meetings with Lower, Middle and Upper School students and families continued or began via Zoom. • Twelfth grade Peer Leaders continued to meet with their ninth grade Peer Leadees; while it was not perfect, we learned from our growing pains, and changes will take place if TowerHill@Home resumes at any point next year. In preparation for the 2020-2021 school year, 24 eleventh grade students interviewed for the 2020-2021 Peer Leadership program.

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Amy Cuddy, Ph.D.

Lauren Lineback, Psy.D.

• Kindergarten students learned to identify and regulate their feelings during weekly lessons using the Kimochi’s Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program, a systematic curriculum that uses cuddly characters to identify emotions, behaviors and the relationship between them. • Lower School held its final Teaching Tuesday presentation with an expert in the field. We also held “Parenting through a Pandemic” for Tower Hill families. • We supported Division Heads during various meetings with parents to address the shift to online learning. • Student support teams remained in place: We met with teachers, parents and supporting professionals in order to assist students, and we worked with the Teaching and Learning Center to prepare for the second annual Tower Hill Educators (THE) Collaboratory. • An eleventh grade student created a Mental Health Club with oversight from the Wellness Center, and the student plans to continue this club next year. • We initiated a weekly gathering for teachers and staff titled “Supporting Student Stress” in order to allow them to identify and address specific challenges of helping students learn online. • We added a Wellness Center section to the weekly TowerHill@Home communication.

new routines that included moving, eating well, finding fun things to do, sleeping well, creating, enjoying, being and breathing. As the school year drew to a close, we provided resources as students, parents and the entire community pondered the reality of a physically distant summer and ways to manage during an ongoing pandemic. Our summer was spent beginning to reflect on the potential for post traumatic growth, which is the possibility of positive change and development that can evolve from challenge. Our hope is that, as a community, we can retain the “silver linings” of this historic experience and emerge stronger and more compassionate.

TOWERHILL@HOME

At the heart of these endeavors was an effort to advance and sustain the ongoing mission of the Wellness Center, which is to support the emotional growth and mental health of all of our students. During TowerHill@Home, specific challenges that students faced included missing in-person time with friends and conducting their lives over screens. When most of one’s existence is lived through the same platform, it can feel tedious and confusing. While some students found this way of life to be easier, others needed to to adapt and find new ways to maintain motivation and avoid distraction as many of their favorite parts of the day—sports, clubs, lunch, playground/hallway time—were stripped away. Much of our work focused on helping students to establish

The Wellness team collaborates directly with students, families and faculty to lessen the impact of social-emotional difficulties on daily life for students. The goals are to identify specific needs, to plan for student support and to determine the appropriate level of intervention that is required, so that all students may function to the best of their capability. Helping students to develop positive habits of self-care and a true sense of self-awareness are also part of this process. The Wellness Center is a structural and symbolic hub for community well-being at Tower Hill. Literally tagged as “A Haven for Hiller Health,” the Wellness Center is committed to the mission of supporting the emotional growth and mental health of all of our students.

The Wellness Center is also focused on the proactive establishment of healthy life patterns through teaching, programming and parent education. Collectively, these endeavors allow our students to cope as needed and thrive when possible.

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Fall 2020

Tower Tot teachers James Erhardt and Marina Attix conduct a virtual lesson on â&#x20AC;&#x153;sports dayâ&#x20AC;? during spirit week in May.

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

THE JOYS AND CHALLENGES OF TEACHING 3-YEAR-OLDS REMOTELY BY MARINA ATTIX, LOWER SCHOOL FACULTY

I am often asked what it’s like to teach the “little ones” on Zoom, and my favorite answer is: “It’s a bit like herding kittens! You just have to start teaching and hope some of them follow you.” It’s the leap of faith a mother duck takes when she starts swimming away, hoping her ducklings follow her lead. Fortunately, we had seven months of in-person expectations and procedures established before we shifted to remote learning. Families logged in to our Zoom classroom twice a day for a total of 45 minutes, and they were unmuted during our classroom sessions. We had a high rate of participation with children sharing evidence of learning and completing various at-home activities. I found the key to effective virtual teaching, as with inperson classroom teaching, was to provide high quality, engaging experiences for the children both on and off the screen. When we first began remote learning in late March, we used familiar songs, routines and lessons. The children were elated to see their teachers and classmates. They were eager to share their thoughts and belongings, something they didn’t have the ability to share during our time in the physical classroom. Behind the scenes, I would prepare for each class over and over in my head and on paper, trying to minimize screen time for our littlest learners while making sure we were preparing them for the future. Like herding cats, any little distraction, such as when someone walks through a student’s room or a noise from someone’s house blares through the speaker, makes it hard to stay on track. And just like that, we are discussing something that wasn’t part of our plan. As our online classroom became more familiar and accepted, I realized we had to shake things up every day to keep the children excited to come back for more. We searched the Tower Hill community for anybody willing to come and spend 15 minutes with our Tots. Head of Lower School Ms. Miller and Head of School Mrs. Speers popped into class a few times. Theater teacher Miss Marlowe artfully merged flowers and dance in a spectacular performance, and Mr. Speers was able to teach us about the Tower Hill bees while we were studying insects. I also enlisted my daughters, Ariane ’15 and Elena ’18, to answer questions about being lifeguards. When we had exhausted the usual suspects, we started dressing up and teaching as our “cousins.” My “cousin,” Sally Pearl the Science Girl, appeared to conduct an experiment

with the class as well as my co-teacher, Mr. Erhardt’s, “cousin,” Farmer Fred, who showed the children how he plants evergreen saplings on his Christmas tree farm. To enhance our study of flowers, I gathered spring flowers from my yard in order to create a “flower shop” as my Zoom background. Juggling all this craziness helped keep the curious cats moving in the right direction.

TOWERHILL@HOME

HERDING KITTENS

When the visitors’ “magic” wore off, we began using class pictures to teach. Math lessons are much more exciting when you are counting your friends rather than circles or squares. Similarities and differences are easy to find in each other and sharing memories while looking at photos makes conversation much more interesting. I can easily say everyone’s favorite part of our morning meeting was Treasure Pack, our version of Show and Tell where only one person brings a “treasure” to share with the class. Since the children couldn’t take home the true Treasure Pack, as we do in school, it was endearing how they would bring their treasure inside a bag, preferably a green Tower Hill bag. After they had their chance to give their friends clues, they would share their treasure and answer questions. As with most of our daily routines, Treasure Pack begins with a song to prepare for the activity and ends with a song in which we pick the next lucky friend to receive the Treasure Pack. I would then scrunch up the Treasure Pack and pretend to throw it to them through the screen. Before the children were familiar with this ritual, the child on the receiving end would look around for the bag, believing it to be somewhere on their floor. They quickly caught on to our fun and pretended to catch the Treasure Pack on their end of the screen. Herding cats, or teaching 3- and 4-year-olds on Zoom, may appear as an impossible task; however, for me, our daily meetings turned out to be a silver lining during a pandemic. All in all, teaching the little ones online via Zoom was, to say the least, entertaining. We had several bloopers during our time online, including my husband, who, in an attempt to not disturb my class, crawled across our kitchen floor behind me to get his keys not knowing that he was in clear view. As with all teaching, we are taught to be flexible and embrace whatever comes your way, even if you are asked to herd kittens! Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

LABS AT HOME

THE IMPORTANCE OF PERFORMING SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS EVEN REMOTELY BY AMY WOLF, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

In April, fifth graders in Luisa Sawyer’s science class were given a simple assignment: Go get a flower.

to science class, these hands-on activities are an integral part of the learning process.

Sawyer told her students they would be doing a dissection, and initially they thought she was joking. How would they be able to do a dissection from home?

By doing lab projects, students are able to make their own mistakes or make their own successes—and learn from them.

The activity—dissecting a flower and learning about all the parts—was part of the fifth grade’s reproduction and life cycles unit as a lab conducted every year. Normally, each student uses the same type of flower, but this year during remote learning, students had to bring their own. “The cool part about that is that not everyone is going to pick the same flower,” Sawyer said. “I personally had a tulip, which was in season at the time. I pulled it from my garden. Other kids said that their parents went to the grocery store and got a flower. Some kids live close to a park and were able to get a flower from there. It was actually more interesting for everyone to have a unique flower.” Like the flower dissection lab, all labs and handson science activities had to change a bit in order to be done from home. But skipping them altogether simply wasn’t an option, according to Science Department Chair Tim Weymouth. When it comes

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“They are collecting data, they’re analyzing the data and they’re concluding things on their own or with their peers and teams, versus just watching a video or just reading a text and getting straight to the answers,” Weymouth said. “The sorts of investigations we did—you can’t find a perfect answer online; it was up to the student to draw their conclusion, and that’s still exciting.” In sixth grade, students conducted static electricity and sound labs at home. For each experiment, students were given a list of about eight different activities—all using household materials—so they could choose which activities they did based on what materials they had on hand, giving students more choice and flexibility. “One thing that’s kind of cool is that we purposely design a lot of our labs to use household materials so that the students can recreate them at their homes during the regular school year to show their families the different experiments,” Middle School science

on opportunities to learn, they are constructing their understanding, and that type of learning is what really moves students along on their learning journey. That’s why hands-on is really important.”

Lab science was also an important part of the TowerHill@Home experience for Upper School students.

One key part of labs is that it bridges scientific knowledge to real world scenarios. In fact, doing these labs at home with materials that students see and use every day may have made that bridge even clearer.

In chemistry class, Liz Brown, Ph.D., gave live demonstrations and had students complete online lab simulations. For the simulations, students could manipulate computer-generated images of a lab setup, virtually weighing out solutes and solvents in a beaker to test predictions. When those types of virtual labs weren’t available, Brown would either present the data to her students and have them draw conclusions or she would record herself doing the lab. “Especially in chemistry, it’s essential that students are doing some sort of lab work, even if that’s not in a traditional lab,” Brown said. “Even though students couldn’t do these experiments with their own hands, they were telling me how to do it, and that was as good a proxy as we could come up with under the circumstances.”

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teacher Mary Hobbs Taylor ’09 said. “It’s good that we purposely design our labs that way because naturally a lot of our labs already used household materials.”

“I think one of the cool benefits of science is that science is studying the world around them,” Taylor said. “Sometimes when you do an experiment in the classroom, it’s hard to transfer that to your real life. But when you’re actually doing it in your own house with materials that you have around the house, it shows that science really is all around us and is applicable to everyday life. I think that was a really cool part about TowerHill@Home.”

In Lower School, science teacher Nancy Tate did demonstrations with her students, followed by instructions for students to do the activities on their own. In pre-K, students made their own bubble solution using three different kinds of soap mixed with water, and students had to guess which one would make the best bubbles. After watching Tate do the demonstration, students went off to make their own solutions. In first grade, students went on a “field trip” by watching the webcams on the San Diego Zoo’s website, using a checklist to look for specific things, like animals with feathers, animals with a pouch and animals that live only in trees. In second grade, students learned about bridge building and were then tasked with building their own bridge. “When students put their hands on materials and try to make it work the way they want to, they are literally constructing their learning,” Tate said. “Instead of me just telling them what will happen if you have a bridge with only supports at the end and you put weight in the middle, when they make it and they see what happens, they are able to figure out what they need to do. When students have hands-

Top to bottom: Lower School science teacher Nancy Tate demonstrates how to create bubble solutions to prekindergarten students; a sixth grader tests his Rube Goldberg machine.

Watch videos at towerhill.org/bulletin

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ONLINE ADMISSIONS NAVIGATING THE ADMISSION PROCESS VIRTUALLY BY AMY BICKHART, DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE AND LOWER SCHOOL ADMISSION

The 2020-2021 Tower Hill Admission season was off and running. The fall saw record attendance at Open Houses, a strong applicant pool and impressive first round enrollments. We were primed to continue our Admission efforts into the spring, but instead, COVID-19 attempted to stop us in our tracks. Just as our students and teachers quickly pivoted to remote learning, the Admission Office went virtual. Without hesitation we laid out a plan to continue our efforts to welcome, in the same personalized manner, prospective families to Tower Hill.

with our visitors via Zoom. The one-on-one visit with families is vital to our efforts as it allows us to create a personalized experience for each visitor. The virtual tour did just that. We were able to guide the tour just as though they were physically on campus. Depending on a familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grade level interest, we might stroll through the preschool wing, pop into a Middle School English class or delve into the Upper School arts program while exploring the Music Building, theater and art studios all the while engaging in conversation and questions.

Even with the pandemic upon us, the interest from families, locally and abroad, continued throughout the spring, which meant that we needed to find a way to continue the on-campus tour. After taking extensive video of the school and editing it into an iMovie, we were able to schedule virtual tours

Aside from the tour, one of the most important steps for our applicants is the classroom visit. TowerHill@Home allowed them that opportunity. Visitors in all Divisions were welcomed into Zoom classrooms where they joined in Morning Meetings, class instruction,

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TOWERHILL@HOME Prospective families were able to take guided virtual tours throughout the spring, allowing them to view the campus and classrooms while at home.

breakout rooms and more. The response to the visits was overwhelmingly positive. For example, after spending the day in a Lower School Zoom classroom, a recently enrolled student stated, “It was great! I loved the breakout rooms! It was the best day and I can’t wait to go to Tower Hill!” Not only did our visitors take advantage of the educational classroom visits, they also took part in our community events such as “Cooking with Mrs. Sardo.” In addition to class visits, wherein an applicant can get a feel for the classroom and curriculum, another significant part of an applicant’s day is the chance to meet and talk with faculty and students. The interpersonal relationships are just as critical to prospective students as are academics; therefore, it was essential that we connect the applicants with our faculty and current students. Zoom interviews were scheduled, wherein classroom teachers, Head Class Advisors, Division Heads and students met and talked with our visitors. As with TowerHill@ Home, the virtual interview was a game changer;

a family relocating to the area shared that “after looking at all of the other schools, Tower Hill was the clear winner.” They based their decision on “the obvious passion the teachers have for teaching, the care that the teachers demonstrated during the conversation with their daughter, and how expressive, open and inclusive the girls were with her.” As we reflect on the required changeover to virtual Admissions, the success seen with spring enrollment encapsulates what has always been the strength of Tower Hill: the education we offer and the connection between faculty and students. No matter what curve the pandemic threw at us and the change it required of us when working with interested families, Tower Hill did not waver. The virtual world of Admissions allowed us to look beyond the traditional ways of operating, and what we found were opportunities that before we may not have been able to offer. Now there is nothing to stop Tower Hill from reaching the homes of families, no matter where they reside.

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Community Connections

Even while physically apart, the Tower Hill community came together for various online events—fun for parents, teachers and students of all ages!

COOKING CLASSES

Director of Auxiliary Programs Cindy Sardo, author of Cooking’s Cool, hosted weekly virtual cooking classes throughout TowerHill@ Home, making everything from little lasagnas, to cinnamon bread, to fruity kabobs and more.

GARDENING

Lower School science teacher Nancy Tate and student guests shared tips for growing plants and flowers during spring. They explored unusual varieties of veggies, gave practical advice on gardening with materials on hand as containers and heard what students were growing. In one class, Tate taught students how to create a miniature garden with just a few supplies and how to make it tell a story.

WEEKLY MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION Director of Mindfulness Andrea Sarko hosted a mid-week mindfulness and meditation practice every Wednesday throughout TowerHill@Home. Watch a video about the benefits of mindfulness and meditation at towerhill.org/bulletin.

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VIRTUAL TOUR OF HAYWARD HOUSE

Students, parents and faculty members were invited to take an inside and outside virtual tour of Tower Hill’s Head’s House with Head of School Bessie Speers and her husband, Rev. Tom Speers.

GUITAR WITH MRS. BUSH

Lower School music teacher Sara Bush shared a beginning guitar lesson with budding guitarists via Zoom. Students learned two “baby chords” and used them to selfaccompany a few simple songs.

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BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

Tower Hill students, faculty and parents with April and May birthdays were invited to join Head of School Bessie Speers for a cupcake and to blow out birthday candles.

HBCU PANEL DISCUSSION

This year, the HBCU Mix & Mingle was conducted virtually. Students and parents had the opportunity to meet college representatives, students and graduates from some of the top HBCUs for an in-depth discussion about the advantages of attending historically black colleges and universities. The Virtual Mix & Mingle provided awareness for students and families of the importance of the HBCU college experience. The event was sponsored by PAATH (Parents of African Americans at Tower Hill).

GREEN + WHITE MILE CHALLENGE

The entire Tower Hill community logged their walking, running and biking miles for the Green + White Mile Challenge, tracking fitness, strength and might while social distancing. Together, the school community walked 16,160 miles, the equivalent of 616 marathons or walking coast to coast 5.7 times. Logo design by Claire Zhou ’26.

PRINTMAKING WITH MRS. CHESSON

Lower School Art Teacher Jane Chesson hosted a printmaking class using materials students already had in their homes. They made a print together with recycled styrofoam and brainstormed other raw materials that can be used for printmaking.

CAKE DECORATING CONTEST

Students designed dazzling springtime cakes for the very first THS Cake Decorating Contest. The rules were simple: Bake a two-layer cake of your favorite flavor. Because the judges couldn’t taste the cakes, they had to get creative, judging based on neatness, “spring”-iness, use of detail and accessory use. The results looked delicious.

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QUEEN AND QUARANTINE UPPER SCHOOL MUSICIANS PERFORM “SOMEBODY TO LOVE” BY BEN DU PONT ’20, REECE RATLIFF ’21 AND JOE ZAKIELARZ ’20

What can you do to keep spirits high when a pandemic turns the world on its head? That’s exactly the question Tower Hill physics teacher Tom Hoch set out to answer when he proposed the idea for a student-led music video of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” Enlisting our help, Mr. Hoch called together the Tower Hill Vocal Ensemble and a number of instrumentalists in the Upper School to collaborate on what he dubbed “a special project.” Over the course of four days, Mr. Hoch gathered with us on nightly Zoom calls to discuss his plan for the project. After finding sheet music for all of the vocal parts, Reece sat down to designate parts and mark up everyone’s scores. Everyone spent two days learning their parts and then recorded themselves playing or singing along with the original track. There was no need for professional equipment—everyone recorded on their iPhone or smartphone cameras. After we received everyone’s submissions, we began the long process of editing the audio and video separately. The first step was to compile everyone’s submissions in a Google Drive folder. Joe then

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separated the audios from the videos using an online tool and forwarded them to Ben, who began the process of lining them up to the official track. Working late into the night and into the following afternoon, Ben ran the vocals through FL Studio, an audio editing software, before shipping them off to Joe to be further mixed and mastered. Meanwhile, Joe began editing the video using a program called DaVinci Resolve, a free video editing software. While still going to a full day of online classes, he poured many hours of work into splicing the videos around the screen and lining them up with the official audio. That evening, Joe relished the final step of sandwiching the video and the audio together. Once completed, Mr. Hoch premiered the video to the Upper School during Morning Meeting. After garnering support from students and faculty alike, Joe posted the video to his YouTube channel. With additional support from a writeup in Town Square Delaware, the video racked up over 10,000 views in just a few days.

In addition to the three of us, the musicians included Will Zong ’20, Lina Zhu ’20, Claire Dignazio ’21, Katie Sullivan ’21, Olivia Langlois ’21, Jade Harnish ’21, Billy Nunn ’21, Miguel Soares ’21, Keally Rohrbacher ’21, John Koenig ’21, Sarah Gano ’22, Rachael Morrison ’22, Rebecca Hankins ’22, Ally Valentine ’23 and Charles Habgood ’23. Although creating and producing the video in under a week was strenuous and at times stressful, the overwhelmingly positive response from the Tower Hill and Wilmington communities made the hard work worth it. The project shows what the Tower Hill community can accomplish even when forced to be apart.

A few weeks into distance learning, Head of Upper School Megan Cover asked the faculty to take over Morning Meeting, and I agreed to do it. I had been toying with a couple other ideas, but then I heard the song “Somebody to Love” on the radio, and there were a couple lines in the song—“I just gotta get out of this prison cell, Someday I’m gonna be free”—that just resonated with me, and I sensed that was the way a lot of people at school were feeling at the time. Most of the people in the video are in my physics class, and I could imagine all these different students singing or playing different parts of the song. That’s how I got the idea in my head.

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BEHIND THE MUSIC

That was on a Monday, and then Megan got back to me and said she wanted me to go that Friday. So we had four or five days to put this whole thing together. I emailed Ben du Pont ’20, Reece Ratliff ’21, Joe Zakielarz ’20, Will Zong ’20 and Claire Dignazio ’21, and we got a Zoom call together to see if this is something they’d be interested in doing. They were a little hesitant at first. It’s a big project and we only had a couple of days. But that’s the role of the teacher—I encouraged them that they could do it. Given the people involved, I knew we had the skills to do it. I knew that Joe Zakielarz and Ben du Pont had a lot of experience with music production. Once I played the song for them and they could visualize the finished product, they pretty much took over. We met about four times throughout the process to go over what needed to be done and assign people different roles, and over four evenings, they did a tremendous job, and it came together really nicely. I would say Reece, Joe and Ben spent about 30 or 40 hours in one week from start to finish.

Joe Zakielarz ’20

Watch the video at towerhill.org/queencover

Most of the students were somewhat familiar with the song. Will Zong had never heard of the song, but he learned the entire piano score in one night. Reece Ratliff doesn’t ordinarily play the bass, but he picked it up and learned his part in one night. Joe Zakielarz worked out the entire guitar solo in two nights. I knew this was an enormous undertaking. If you’re familiar with the song at all, you know that the back-up singing is a lot. There are a lot of people singing, and it needed to be powerful. But when you get these kind of people involved, there’s nothing they can’t do. So I had high expectations going in, but I think they may have even exceeded my expectations. The students all pulled together to make this happen, and it was such a wonderful experience for me to witness this as a teacher. —Tom Hoch, Upper School physics Tower Hill Bulletin

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Celebrating Athletic Achievements While the spring 2020 sports season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tower Hill and schools around the state celebrated spring athletes and the Class of 2020 in creative ways!

BLUE-GOLD ALL-STAR FOOTBALL GAME

Isaiah Brown ’20 was named to the Blue-Gold All-Star Football Game roster. The game, which showcases 72 of the state's top high school senior football players, is typically the last event in a year-long fundraising effort for the DFRC to support its mission to enrich the lives of Delawareans with intellectual disABILITIES. Although the 2020 game was canceled, the participants were still honored and received jerseys.

TOP ATHLETES IN DELAWARE SPRING SPORTS

Several Tower Hill athletes were named to Delaware Online’s lists of top spring-sport athletes in Delaware. Congratulations to Annie Malatesta ’21 (#4 on the list), Gracie Bailer ’20 (#7, pictured), Bella Gattuso ’22 (#15) and Nicole Crivelli ’21 (#25) on the girls’ lacrosse team; Emma Peddrick ’20 (#17), Caitlin Smith ’23 (#27) and Isabelle Kowal ’20 (#29) on the girls’ soccer team; and Michael Gilbert ’20 (#17) on the baseball team.

TOP 50 MOMENTS IN HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

The DIAA girls’ swimming state championship was #4 on Delaware Online’s list of the top 50 games in Delaware high school sports in the 2019-2020 school year. Tower Hill, Ursuline, Newark Charter and Padua all had a chance to win going into the meet’s final race, the 400-yard freestyle relay. Hillers Brooke Griffin ’23, Sydney DeBaecke ’22, Kayley Knackstedt ’22 and Lainey Mullins ’23 won the race, giving Tower Hill its first swimming state title in Hiller history. Mullins was also named High School All-American in 100 and 200 meter freestyle for the 2019-2020 season, placing her among the top 100 swimmers in each event. 22

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FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

On Friday, April 24, schools around the state operated their stadium and facility lights for 20 minutes and 20 seconds (pictured)—recognizing the Class of 2020, which had its senior spring seasons impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was streamed on Facebook live. Watch at towerhill.org/bulletin.

eSPORTS

Last spring, Tower Hill Upper School students had an opportunity to participate in the launch of a pilot eSport Gaming Club, which was established to bring students together for a fun and competitive experience while social distancing. Tower Hill launched a partnership with Futures First Gaming, an organization headed by Stephen Sye ’93. Sye’s team has created a program that connects eSports and workforce development content to develop a curriculum across a variety of learning environments. He and his team believe this will change the way in which we integrate STEAM education with workforce sectors and industries in order to attract more students. The launch of the pilot was a success, and Tower Hill eSports Club will continue to foster a gaming community. In May, Jason Roux ’20 participated in a virtual, celebratory signing with Rutgers Esports at Rutgers University—similar to a Division III school signing and is not affiliated with the Rutgers University Athletic Department but rather the Rutgers eSports Program. ESports are growing in popularity at the collegiate level, presenting new opportunities to compete for students.

HALL OF FAME

BASEBALL COACH BILLY CANNON INDUCTED INTO DELAWARE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME Head baseball coach Billy Cannon was inducted into the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame in June. Cannon coached at Tower Hill for 20 years, earning a 227-133 record, winning 10 Independent Conference titles and reaching 10 state tournaments. He was the state coach of the year in 2013. As a Brandywine High grad, he was first-team AllState designated hitter as a senior in 1985 and also a standout left-handed pitcher. He went on to become an All-American pitcher at Wilmington College (now Wilmington University) and appeared in two NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) World Series. Cannon had a successful 25-year career in the Delaware Semi-Pro League, winning a title with Brandywine in 1989 and three others as a playermanager with Gildea’s Raiders, Gildea’s Stars and the Duffie Lions.

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VIRTUAL FORUM

AUTHOR OF "ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: MY YEAR IN A WOMEN'S PRISON" SHARES INSIGHTS WITH UPPER SCHOOL STUDENTS BY AMY WOLF, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, posed a question for Upper School students: What does 650% represent? While some students had their guesses, no one knew the surprising answer: The incarceration rate for women in the U.S. has increased 650% over the last 40 years. “You’re probably thinking, ‘Wow, how did I miss this female crime wave? There must have been a total outbreak in crime committed by women.’ And that’s not the case,” Kerman said during her presentation, which took place via Zoom. “During this time period of this incredible explosion of the incarceration of women, there was not a crime wave. Women are overwhelmingly incarcerated for low-level offenses; two-thirds of women are incarcerated for a nonviolent offense.” Kerman, who was indicted on charges of money laundering in the late ’90s, shared her story—the story

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that inspired the popular Netflix show Orange is the New Black—with Upper School students as part of the Forum Speaker Series on Thursday, April 2. The Forum was established in 1998 by the Rappolt family in honor of their children Gabrielle ’93, Sarah ’96 and Bill ’99, and in recognition of the dedication, scholarship and professionalism of the Tower Hill faculty. In February 2004, more than a decade after she committed her crime, Kerman arrived at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, to begin her sentence. She was put into general population with hundreds of other women, many of whom came up to her and asked if she had toothpaste, if she needed shower shoes and if she would like a cup of instant coffee. The kindness surprised her. The federal bureau of prisons does not give inmates shampoo, soap, toothpaste or any of the things needed to survive on a daily basis, so it was one of the

“We very intentionally build prisons and jails in this country to be harshly punitive and extremely difficult places for people to survive, and yet people will find a way to bring some sort of personality and their own sense of individuality and humanity into things, no matter how harsh we make those places,” Kerman said. Hannah Zhou ’22 was also surprised to hear about the initial kindness Kerman experienced.

past few decades despite no increase in crime,” Charles Habgood ’23 said. “I also thought it was respectable how she took complete responsibility for her illegal action and understood the consequences.” Kerman currently works as a communications consultant with nonprofits and other organizations working in the public interest. Most recently, she has been working with other advocates to reduce overcrowded prison populations in an effort to flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections.

“Her anecdote about how the other women in the prison treated her so kindly surprised me and changed my perception of the prison atmosphere,” Zhou said. “Generally, this was very inspiring because I could see how one person can make a change if they choose to take action on injustice.”

“We are working very hard to try to save lives and also to try to flatten the curve, because it is not possible to keep a COVID-19 outbreak behind prison walls,” Kerman said. “It will spread to the outside community when prison workers go in and out of the prison, and also, the sickest prisoners are going to have to be taken out of the prisons into hospitals, which are already overburdened.”

When Kerman came home from prison in 2005, she found that almost every person she knew wanted to hear about her experience. She decided to write the book, hoping that if she did it the right way that somebody would read the book who would not otherwise read a book about prison.

Kerman said she is grateful that she is able to use her voice to bring change to the U.S. criminal justice system by educating people on prison conditions, shedding light on inequality in the criminal justice system and showing compassion for those convicted of crimes and their families.

“The United States incarcerates more of its own people than any other nation in the world by far,” Kerman said. “And I thought that if we were going to be the most incarcerated nation in human history, more people should know about it, and more people should think about it and have more accurate information. I really hoped that someone would come away from the book with a more realistic and accurate idea of who is in prison in this country and what really happens to people behind the wire.”

In her memoir, she wrote, “Every human being makes mistakes and does things they’re not proud of. They can be everyday or they can be catastrophic. And the unfortunate truth of being human is that we all have moments of indifference to other people’s suffering. To me that’s the central thing that allows crime to happen.”

Toward the end of her presentation, Kerman shared some staggering statistics: 48,000 children are incarcerated in the U.S., some as young as 8 years old; the percentage of people who are 55 and older in prison increased by more than 300% between 2000 and 2016; and crime rates in America have been declining steadily since the early 1990s and are at record lows. “I appreciated how Ms. Kerman integrated the relevant statistics into her presentation, and it was interesting to see how much the percentage of incarcerated women has increased in the

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last things she expected on her first day in prison to experience kindness at the hands of the other women who were there, yet that is exactly what happened.

Celebrating the

FORUM

SPEAKER SERIES The Tower Hill community thanks the Rappolts for the legacy of remarkable speakers over 22 years. The 2019-2020 Forum, the student-selected theme of which was Personal Perspectives on Justice and Incarceration in America, included speakers Jason Flom of the Innocence Project and Piper Kerman. Tower Hill Bulletin

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ARTFUL SOLUTIONS

FACULTY SHOW NO LACK OF CREATIVITY TEACHING ART OUTSIDE THE STUDIO BY TERESA MESSMORE, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Molding a piece of clay, gliding an oil pastel over paper, dipping a photograph into a chemical bath … The tactile nature and novel tools of visual art are often enough to spark interest in the subject, especially for young learners eager to try hands-on activities. But what to do when these engaging supplies are locked out of reach at school? That’s when things really get creative. Tower Hill’s Visual Art Department found ways to continue art education during TowerHill@Home despite no guarantee that basic tools of the trade were at a students’ fingertips. Textbooks, worksheets and instruments could be hastily sent home with students before spring break and the stay-at-home order; art supplies could not. “When we first started to process the new situation, we were faced with some challenges—logistical challenges and also the way we approach teaching,” Visual Art Department Chair John Bartlett said. “We as a department had a lot to figure out, but I think in general we had a lot of fun with it.” For Lower School students, Jane Chesson taught live lessons via Zoom by grade—like other homeroom and special teachers—and drew on her prior experience teaching online. Art was built into the weekly schedule by grade, encouraged as a creative outlet but optional 26

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for students struggling with their overall volume of screen time. Chesson made one online Padlet board to post creativity challenges, assignments and features about famous artists, and another to share student work created at home so peers could share feedback, as they would have done in person. “Kids are remarkably resilient and flexible and naturally creative, and the second they realized that they could share their artwork with one another, artwork started popping up,” Chesson said in a video interview posted at towerhill.org/bulletin. “So there’s definitely no lack of creativity at home.” The Middle School phased in the arts during distance learning, with classes gaining momentum over time. Ceramics and woodshop presented particular challenges due to lack of equipment, so teachers focused on the fundamentals of three-dimensional design and called on students to improvise with items found around the house. Teachers gave students challenges such as creating a sculpture out of objects found in nature in the spirit of environmentalist, sculptor and photographer Andy Goldworthy, or making blind contour drawings of famous paintings like American Gothic and the Mona Lisa without looking at their papers or lifting their pencils. Middle Schoolers drew thoughtful graduation cards for the Tower Hill Class of 2020. Much of the

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output, from a Star Wars Millennium Falcon sculpture meticulously created out of cardboard to a swirling assemblage of landscaping rocks, was documented by faculty member Torrey Kist on the @tower_hill_art Instagram account. “It was a combination of sculpture and photography, and they were able to do a lot of drawing projects also,” Bartlett said. “But not so much painting or papier-mâché or ceramics. Some kids have the materials to do that stuff, but they had to make sure that the kids that didn’t still had a fun and meaningful experience.” Upper School students were equally resourceful in their creative expression, using delivery and cereal boxes to fabricate cardboard name cut-outs, fruit and vegetables to fashion Eiffel Towers and sailboats, and pinecones and flowers to make landscapes. Photography and digital media had some advantages in taking place outside of the school building. Classes would gather via Zoom for discussion of artists, art movements, history and graphic design, and then take time to work on individual projects. Erwin Chen ’20, for example, documented unconventional perspectives on suburban life in Hockessin during the pandemic, novel to his experience having grown up in the vast city of Nanjing in China. Another international student, Emma Liao ’22, photographed her journey home Guangzhou, China, amid the pandemic, the results of which are included in the pages of this Bulletin. Studio art students found that they had extra free time during the stay-at-home order to dedicate to

preparing portfolios for college applications, and some Upper School students used art for their Tower Term assignment of documenting personal experiences connected to the pandemic. By the end of the school year, an explosion of creativity was unleashed and channeled through compilation videos, social media and a Flickr album to share with the broader school community. The art teachers organized a Nature Arts Festival, including art, music and poetry, that garnered hundreds of submissions from all three divisions. A Senior Art Show of work compiled from throughout the school year was created by Bartlett with piano accompaniment by Will Zong ’20, honoring seniors Gabby Jackson ’20, Richie Pierce ’20, Umar Aulia ’20 and Erwin Chen ’20. Ultimately, as was the case in countless examples among Tower Hill’s entire faculty schoolwide, it was the creativity and flexibility of teachers that empowered art to continue under difficult and unconventional circumstances. Trial and error, collaboration, colleague encouragement and talent of teachers who are very, very good at what they do advanced student learning and generated unexpected, fresh ideas. “Everything we did will be valuable going forward in the regular classroom, too,” Bartlett said. “Limitations can really be a catalyst for coming up with new stuff.”

Watch videos at towerhill.org/bulletin

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AFTER THE PANDEMIC: AN AWAKENING CITY

TOWER TERM PROJECT CAPTURES REOPENING OF GUANGZHOU, CHINA BY EMMA LIAO â&#x20AC;&#x2122;22

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the globe, my parents urged me to travel home from the U.S. Because of the pandemic, passengers, the flight crew and the airport staff all attempted to prevent further spread of the virus by wearing masks and even full protective suits.

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After getting out of the two-week quarantine, I was shocked by the people on the streets. Everyone was wearing masks, and yet nothing seemed peculiar. I gradually adjusted to the mask-wearing as well, submitting to the fear of another COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

I also took a trip to the hospital to take photos. Hospitals are definitely not the best places to be for people during a pandemic, but I was curious to see how hospitals are recovering from the COVID-19 crisis.

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Although I still avoided going out, there were occasions— such as grocery shopping— that forced me to be in contact with the public. As a photographer, I cherished these opportunities to experience such a different way of life after the pandemic and sought to document these scenes for us and the younger generations to remember.

As a durian lover, I focused on the individuals’ facial expressions and emotions when they were picking the durians. Even though everything seemed normal, the masks on their faces bore the mark of the COVID-19 pandemic. The people with the durians seem both ordinary and exotic.

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Some high schools and colleges were reopening their campuses and welcoming their students with the shifting policy (half of the class attends in the morning and the other half in the afternoon, all while staying a meter apart from each other in school). The streets were getting crowded again before and after school hours, and the shops and restaurants were filled with customers.

The purpose of photography is not always for visual pleasure, but also for communication. Just like writing, photographers find beauty in their own eyes and convey messages through photos. Documentary photographs are used to educate people, preserving evidence of what has happened in the past using realistic and powerful imagesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;making the event immortal and forever remembered by people. Photographs warn individuals of the detrimental effects that stem from COVID-19 and inform the future generations to be cautious not to repeat the same mistakes again. Tower Hill Bulletin

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CALL TO ACTION

NATIONAL DISCUSSION ABOUT RACISM INSPIRES SOCIAL ACTIVISM BY TERESA MESSMORE, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

As the school year drew to a close, Tower Hill students were finishing final projects and assessments, and seniors were looking forward to their Graduation. At the same time, many were also learning about George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis through their social media feeds and watching footage of the demonstrations erupting around the country.

among the responses. Many sought ways to effectively counter racism in their community.

“This week our academic year will draw to a close, and we will do all we can to celebrate achievements, milestones and the Class of 2020,” Head of School Bessie Speers wrote to the Tower Hill community on June 1. “However, we would be doing ourselves and our school community a disservice not to acknowledge and reckon with the very real agony, pain and frustration that many of us are feeling right now.”

Community Conversations are one of many new initiatives introduced through Tower Hill’s Social Justice Program over the past five years, when Connor’s schoolwide position was introduced. Upper, Middle and Lower School all have programming for faculty and students, examples including:

Director of Social Justice Dyann Connor organized two forums via Zoom for students and faculty to discuss personal reactions to the national news. The first was for the Delaware Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Practitioners Group, which Connor organized three years ago for local educators, with numerous Tower Hill faculty and staff members joining the meeting. Educators expressed their anger and sadness, as well as the challenges of teaching while simultaneously processing current events.

• • • •

The following day, Connor and alumnae Alexis Wrease ’17, Camryn Allen ’17, Ashleigh Brady ’17 and Safiya Miller ’18 and current student Emani Larkin ’23 led students in a Community Conversation, a format introduced in the Upper School several years ago to provide time for discussion of topics under national debate. Participants were asked to share how they were feeling. Exhausted, overwhelmed, angry and afraid were

“If you sit in silence, nothing’s ever going to come from this,” Sam DuPree ’21 said. “But if you speak up, change will come. It’s going to come, but only if you use your voice.”

•

Outside speakers for assemblies about diversity and inclusion Facilitated discussions during the school day Professional development and training for faculty Anti-bias literature curriculum in Lower School Parent groups supporting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and organizing events

Tower Hill shared its Commitments Toward Social Justice with the Tower Hill community on June 23, which include expanding diversity training, reinforcing accountability, ensuring support systems, ensuring equity in hiring and compensation and reviewing curriculum (see page 35). The school has formed a Social Justice Task Force to oversee ongoing progress in the areas outlined and research additional best practices for anti-racism in schools. Young people around their country are using their voices to share painful experiences with racism on social media, including Tower Hill alumni and

STUDENT-ATHLETES ORGANIZE VIRTUAL EVENT FOR JUSTICE #climbHillstogether originated when two student-athletes wanted to educate their local community through athletics. Athletics bring all cultures and backgrounds together in a powerful way. Two months after the passing of George Floyd, on July 25, 2020, we called on our local community to participate. We asked people to participate by walking, running, biking or swimming 8.46 miles or doing yoga for 8:46 minutes, and to send a reflective video explaining what their action plan is for meaningful change in our community or reflecting on the injustice surrounding us.

We are also challenging neighboring schools in our area to join. The purpose of this activity is to reflect, learn and speak up for justice. Because education is the main goal of having students engage athletically, a resource page emphasized the importance of listening and learning. We are strongly encouraging student-athletes to use their talents, voices and actions to stand united as we #climbHillstogether, and we intend to continue this effort into the 2020-2021 school year. —Zippy Morrison ’23 and Caitlin Smith ’23 Artwork on opposite pageTower by Emani Larkin ’23 Hill Bulletin

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students. Groups of alumni wrote letters to the administration adding ideas on how to address racism at Tower Hill, and Task Force members are engaging alumni in conversations. Connor and Director of Alumni Relations Matt Twyman ’88 organized a second round of discussion forums in July and August for alumni, students, parents and employees. “Culture change is hard work, but essential for healthy and vibrant schools,” Speers and Board Chair Eric T. Johnson, M.D., wrote in a message to the school community in July. “Tower Hill’s Strategic Plan includes building an engaged and diverse community as a core tenet, and our school culture has improved in a variety of ways. However, we will never rest on our laurels, especially in the area of racial equity and social justice. We cannot rest until our school community is a place where every student can leave at the end of the day with their full humanity intact.”

READ MORE The following titles are among many recommended by Tower Hill’s Equity and Inclusion Coordinators. Learn more about Tower Hill’s Social Justice Program at towerhill.org/socialjustice

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo 34

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COMMITMENTS TOWARD SOCIAL JUSTICE Tower Hill’s mission is to “prepare students from diverse backgrounds for full and creative engagement with a dynamic world.” On June 23, Head of School Bessie Speers, Director of Social Justice Dyann Connor and Board Chair Eric T. Johnson, M.D., shared the following Commitments Toward Social Justice with the Tower Hill community, stating, “We are proud of the progress Tower Hill has made in recent years; however, we are clear that we have ongoing work to do.”

Expanding diversity training Tower Hill’s board of trustees, administration, faculty and staff will continue to participate in ongoing diversity and anti-racist training. The school will take a leadership position in facilitating local and regional social justice workshops and conferences, collaborating with other schools and organizations. Reinforcing accountability and ensuring support systems Tower Hill’s administration will make sure lines of communication are clear and open so that students, faculty, parents and alumni can find individual and collective support, including voicing concerns that result in appropriate follow up. Ensuring equity in hiring and compensation Tower Hill will be proactive and steadfast in hiring faculty of color, establishing a faculty fellow position that will be filled by an African American teacher. Our Director of Social Justice will continue to serve as Dean of Recruitment and Hiring, as we build a diverse pool of candidates during the hiring process. Faculty and staff will be trained in interviewing protocols and made aware of the role implicit bias can play in attracting, hiring and retaining faculty of color. In addition, Tower Hill will continue to review salary equity and retention success.

Reviewing our curriculum Tower Hill will review curriculum in all three divisions to ensure diverse authors and perspectives in historical and contemporary content, providing students with opportunities to examine experiences both similar to and different from their own. Focusing on admission and community outreach Tower Hill reaffirms our 2016 Strategic Plan objective to “build and engage a diverse and inclusive community.” This includes socio-economic diversity through continued investment in financial aid so that qualified students can attend Tower Hill. Meaningful academic and service learning opportunities through engaging with a broad external community will help Tower Hill to truly be a school of Wilmington and the world. Continually investing in our Social Justice Program Tower Hill’s Social Justice Program has expanded opportunities for students in all three divisions to learn about and discuss race, gender, religion, culture, sexual orientation, age and other aspects of identity. Equity and Inclusion Coordinators in each division will continue to work closely with the Director of Social Justice to foster dialogue, facilitate training, assess curriculum and educate students. Parent affinity groups supporting diversity (DISTINCT) and African American families (PAATH) will continue to support the school’s mission and goals in advancing social justice efforts at Tower Hill.

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GRADUATION EXCERPTS FROM THE 100TH COMMENCEMENT SPEECHES JUNE 6, 2020

“You are a particularly talented, diverse, funloving and resilient class. You have shown Tower Hill what it is to be resilient, maintain a positive attitude through adversity and to persevere. You are a class that will forever be remembered as raising the bar on innovation at Tower Hill. You have shown us that Tower Hill is so much more than our facilities, buildings and classrooms. You have lived our word for the year—community—in profound and extraordinary ways.” —Elizabeth C. Speers, Head of School

“People have said that this pandemic is our generational struggle, but I choose to look at it as an opportunity to learn in a new way. We are all about to embark on a new journey that no one before us has ever experienced, and it brings a new meaning to the word adaptability.” —Thomas Zehner ’20, Student Government Association President

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“Thank you, Class of 2020. Each one of you has changed me for the better, pushing me to be more open-minded, more diligent in my teaching practice, more compassionate as an advisor, and more aware of the challenges facing the next generation.” —Elizabeth A. Brown, Ph.D., Chemistry Teacher and Director of STEM Initiatives

“We need you. You’re ready, but we need your minds, your heart, your thoughtfulness, your concern, your love, and we need it, the country needs it, the community needs it.” —Eric T. Johnson, M.D., Chair, Board of Trustees “While our birth and upbringing are beyond our control—and it’s important to recognize the privilege we have to attend such an amazing school—defining ourselves falls on our own shoulders. Even when you think you’ve made a wrong choice, make it into the right one. We are all a tiny piece of this big, big universe, and sometimes that can make us feel very small. But as nothing, you can become anything.” —Jessica Chen ’20, Class of 2020 Elected Speaker

Opposite from top: Ben du Pont performs “How Can I Keep From Singing” at Graduation; members of the Class of 2020 process onto DeGroat Field; Head of School Bessie Speers applauds the Class of 2020; Student Government Association President Thomas Zehner shares his remarks. Above from top: An aerial view of the socially distant Graduation ceremony held on DeGroat Field. Photo by Josh Boughner; Liz Brown, Ph.D., Upper School chemistry teacher and Director of STEM Initiatives, shares words of wisdom with the Class of 2020; Board Chair Eric Johnson, M.D., addresses the graduating class; Class of 2020 elected speaker Jessica Chen addresses her fellow classmates; Destiny Smith lines up for Graduation.

VIDEO EXTRA

Watch the 2020 Graduation at towerhill.org/graduation

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CLASS of 2020 JAMES ALLEN Howard University

KYLA ALLEN Occidental College

UMAR AULIA Princeton University

ERWIN CHEN New York University

JESSICA CHEN Duke University

NEEHIL CHRISTIAN Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

JENNIFER CLEARY University of Virginia

DALLAS CROWLEY Elon University

RILEY CUDDY The College of William & Mary

GRACE DIEHL University of Delaware

Sewanee: The University of the South

MICHAEL GILBERT University of Delaware

ANNA PAISLEY GRAY Cornell University

SARAH GREENBERG Wake Forest University

MARIE FREEBERY 38 Tower Hill Bulletin University of Delaware

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AIDAN DONOHO

GRACE BAILER Pennsylvania State University

SEAN BEBERMAN Vanderbilt University

BLAINE BOYDEN Wake Forest University

ISAIAH BROWN Franklin & Marshall College

MAGGIE COULTER University of Delaware

KATHRYN COVER Washington and Lee University

KATY CRAFT Vanderbilt University

DAKOTA CROWLEY The University of Arizona

VERONICA DOUGHERTY University of Notre Dame

BEN DU PONT Harvard College

DYLAN EVANS Wake Forest University

BAILY FALLER University of Virginia

JEWEL GUO University of California San Diego

LENA HAMMOD Rutgers University

PETER HARRIS Tulane University

Saint Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s University

COLIN HODGSON Tower Hill Bulletin Fall 2020 39

GABRIELLE JACKSON American University

JULIAN JACKSON Delaware State University

VARDAY JACOBS Temple University

BARRON JONES University of California San Diego

KIRIT MINHAS Swarthmore College

GRACE NESTOR Clemson University

EMMA PEDDRICK Davidson College

CHARLOTTE PEIPHER College of Charleston

ELLIOT REESE North Carolina State University

JASON ROUX Rutgers University

OLIVIA SANCHEZ Villanova University

HARRY SARIDAKIS Colgate University

MARIE STACK Towson University

PETER TIMON University of Michigan

WILLIAM TOGO Drexel University

DESTINY SMITH Tower Hill Bulletin Cornell University

Fall 2020

ALEXANDRA KIMBIRIS University of Tampa

ISABELLE KOWAL University of Pennsylvania

TIM LUNGER Lehigh University

CASSIDY MALIK Rollins College

RICHARD PIERCE Temple University

YASH PRASHAR Johns Hopkins University

ALEXANDER RACAPE Bowdoin College

MICK RATHBONE Xavier University

SANDER SARIDAKIS Washington and Lee University

BEN SCHILTZ Haverford College

WILL SCHLERF Rollins College

ISABEL SHEPHERD Georgetown University

OLIVIA UKNIS The University of Alabama

NEEL VADDI Elon University

AVANI VASUDEVAN New York University

Tower Hill Bulletin NOAH WANG Fall 2020

Georgia Institute of Technology

HEIDI WINTERS University of Pittsburgh

MARKUS WITTREICH Purdue University

JOSEPH ZAKIELARZ Duke University

THOMAS ZEHNER Davidson College

AUSTIN ZHOU Tulane University

LINA ZHU Boston University

WILL ZONG Boston University

SARAH ZUNGAILIA Washington and Lee University

U.S. PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR UMAR AULIA ’20 NAMED ONE OF 161 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS Umar Aulia ’20 was named a 2020 United States Presidential Scholar. The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects 161 scholars annually based on their academic success, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership and demonstrated commitment to high ideals. Being named a United States Presidential Scholar is one of the highest honors the Nation can bestow upon a graduating high school senior. Of the 3.6 million students who graduated from high school in 2020, more than 5,300 candidates qualified for the awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT or ACT exams. “I am incredibly grateful to President Trump, Secretary DeVos and the White House Commission for recognizing me with this immense honor,” said Aulia, who will attend Princeton University in the 42

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fall. “I also owe much appreciation to the entire Tower Hill community—but most especially to the innumerable influential teachers, coaches, classmates and lifelong friends I have had the privilege of meeting during my four years at THS.” The 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars are comprised of one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large, 20 scholars in the arts and 20 scholars in career and technical education. Since 1983, each Presidential Scholar has been offered the opportunity to name his or her most influential teacher. The teacher chosen for recognition by Aulia was Upper School physics teacher Tom Hoch. In previous years, Presidential Scholars and their honored teachers have been recognized at a special ceremony at the

White House, where each Scholar is presented the Presidential Scholars Medallion by the U.S. Secretary of Education. The Presidential Scholars Class of 2020, as well as their honored teachers, will be recognized for their outstanding achievement as public health circumstances permit.

RECOGNITION

CUM LAUDE INDUCTION

Seniors inducted at the end of their junior year: Sean Beberman Katelyn Craft Benjamin du Pont Isabelle Kowal Isabel Shepherd Noah Wang Joseph Zakielarz Seniors inducted at the Senior Awards Ceremony: Jessica Chen Veronica Dougherty Baily Faller Anna Paisley Gray Kirit Minhas Yash Prashar Alexander Racape

Global Certificate Scholars Kathryn Cover Katelyn Craft Riley Cuddy Grace Diehl Baily Faller Anna Paisley Gray Sarah Greenberg Harry Saridakis Isabel Shepherd Class of 1966 “Of Wilmington and the World” Award Destiny Smith

Haon Award in Art Richard Pierce Erwin Chen

William J. Carveth Music Award Jessica Chen Certificate of Honor — Benjamin du Pont

David E. Scherer Dramatics Award Barron Jones

The Tower Hill School Community Service Award Katelyn Craft Baily Faller

Hugh Atkins Award in English Kirit Minhas Laurel Society Jessica Chen Kirit Minhas Algard Mathematics Award Yash Prashar Noah Wang Joseph Zakielarz Certificate of Honor — Isabelle Kowal Frank C. Ashby Language Award Baily Faller Certificate of Honor — Benjamin du Pont Certificate of Honor — Isabelle Kowal

P. Edward Hughes History Award Veronica Dougherty Certificate of Honor — Benjamin du Pont Katherine Ann Darnell Certificate of Honor — Baily Faller Multa Bene Facta Award Certificate of Honor — Thomas Zehner Claire Dignazio Olivia Langlois Oliver Crichton Science Award Katelyn Craft Certificate of Honor — Benjamin du Pont

National Merit Semifinalists Benjamin du Pont Yash Prashar These students placed among the top 1 percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program competition. National Merit Commended Students Umar Aulia Erwin Chen Jessica Chen Jennifer Cleary Katelyn Craft Veronica Dougherty Dylan Evans Baily Faller Anna Paisley Gray Kirit Minhas Emma Peddrick Isabel Shepherd Peter Timon Joseph Zakielarz Austin Zhou

Tower Hill School Athletics Awards Jennifer Cleary Michael Gilbert Certificate of Honor — Grace Bailer Certificate of Honor — Isaiah Brown Certificate of Honor — Katelyn Craft Certificate of Honor — Varday Jacobs Certificate of Honor — Isabelle Kowal Certificate of Honor — Emma Peddrick Certificate of Honor — Richard Pierce Spiller Achievement Award Erwin Chen Trustees’ Award for Academic Excellence Benjamin du Pont Isabelle Kowal Joseph Zakielarz Alison Arsht Leadership Award Thomas Zehner Trustees’ Award for Service Baily Faller

U.S. Presidential Scholar Umar Aulia Selected by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, this student is among the 161 scholars selected from the 3.6 million students graduating from U.S. high schools this year. U.S. Presidential Scholar Semifinalists Umar Aulia Jessica Chen U.S. Presidential Scholar Candidates Umar Aulia Jessica Chen Benjamin du Pont Dylan Evans Peter Timon Noah Wang Selected by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, these students are among the 5,300 candidates selected from the 3.6 million students graduating from U.S. high schools this year.

These students placed among the top 5 percent of more than 1.5 million who entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program competition.

PARENT RECOGNITION The following parents were recognized for having accumulated 20 or more “student years” at Tower Hill School. Their last Tower Hill student graduated with the Class of 2020. Mr. and Mrs. Steve Boyden – 56 years Steve and Michelle Coulter – 28 years Mr. William H. Lunger ’87 and Mrs. Kathryn B. Lunger – 28 years Mr. and Mrs. Mark W. Peipher – 26 years Mr. and Mrs. Barton Reese – 28 years Mrs. Kelle Doherty Sanchez ’89 and Mr. Christopher G. Sanchez – 28 years Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Saridakis – 52 years Mrs. Rosemary Stack – 48 years Mr. Thomas C. Stack – 48 years Mr. and Mrs. Gerhard R. Wittreich – 28 years Tower Hill Bulletin

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In the Zoom screenshot above, Aidan Donoho ’20 introduces his father, Christopher Donoho ’87, as the keynote speaker at the Alumni Council Virtual Gathering.

VIRTUAL SENIOR GATHERING

CHRIS DONOHO ’87 SHARES ADVICE AT ALUMNI COUNCIL SENIOR GATHERING At the Alumni Council Virtual Gathering on May 6, keynote speaker Christopher Donoho ’87 addressed the Class of 2020. Donoho is the global head of business restructuring and insolvency at Hogan Lovells law firm. My original presentation was about being your best self and living your best life, and I’m going to talk about that, and it’s going to segue hopefully naturally into what I now really want to talk about, which is resilience. For those of you who have perfect grades and are going to win all the awards at Graduation, congratulations. That’s awesome. That’s cool. But this speech isn’t for you. This speech is for the rest of you, which is most of you, the people who don’t get recognized and may feel like maybe sometimes you feel like you don’t matter at Tower Hill. Like many seniors, you may have stopped caring a while ago. You probably have senioritis. You probably just want to be done with this whole dinner and this whole thing, be done with high school, and maybe this guy can just be done talking and we can move on. So I was you. I was that guy. I didn’t win academic awards. Ever. Zero. I got none. I didn’t exactly walk out of Tower Hill on some kind of red carpet. But I’m here to tell you that your education from Tower Hill has prepared you for life in ways that you don’t

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even realize. You had to work pretty hard, some of the time or a lot of the time. You had teachers constantly watching you making sure that you were participating and getting involved. You got exposed to whole new ideas and new ways of thinking. And so believe it or not, you’re leaving high school very prepared academically for what happens next. When you go to college, you’ll be ready. Your classes aren’t going to be as hard as you think. You’re there. Know that going in. Many of your college classmates—they won’t be as ready as you, and they’re going to struggle. Trust me, take advantage of that. Be confident in your ability. The second piece I want to talk to you about is the social piece. And that’s a little more tricky. That transition to college is more difficult, and it may be made even more difficult by this current environment. It’s a challenge. You’re coming from Delaware, also known as “Dela—where?” When I started college, I was asked by someone in my new freshman dorm where I was from, and I answered, “Delaware.” She grabbed me by the hand—which you were allowed to

do back then—she ran me down the hall, down the stairs and down the hall to another room, and she exclaimed to another friend, “See, I told you it wasn’t true. This guy is actually from Delaware.” So that was awkward. That was a rough start. That did not make me feel awesome and welcomed. I was really unprepared for life outside of Delaware. My freshman year I was kind of lost. I was lonely sometimes. I didn’t really get involved in things. I kind of waited for things to come to me. Don’t do that. Jump in. Get involved right away. You’re super smart. You’re super capable. You’ve been trained really well, but you may lack some confidence. You may not feel important. You may not have been an “award winner.” You may be shy or self-conscious. But don’t be that version of yourself. Take that Tower Hill education and dive in. It wasn’t until my own sophomore year that I made a true friend and for me things changed completely. That friend can be honest with you, the one who can help you bring out your best person. Maybe you’ve met that person; maybe you haven’t. But they exist. I remember right after I met my friend, I hadn’t cut my hair in a long time, and I tried to have a longer look before it all went away. He stopped me in the middle of the main green and said quite loudly in front of a lot of people, “Donoho, you’re a good looking guy. You look ridiculous. Go get a haircut.” So from there I immediately went and got my hair cut, but that’s a true friend. From there we became best friends. He brought out the best in me. We ran the on-campus bar together. We led the crowd at the ice hockey teams in cheers. We had impromptu dance parties in the middle of the road with passersby. We went to Ben and Jerry’s on Tuesdays. We had food jousting in the cafeteria. We had debates about music. We had impromptu trips to nearby colleges. We were having fun. We were confident. We were living our best lives. So I would implore you to find that person in your life, and be that person for someone else. So what if you weren’t the top of your class in high school? In college, no one cares. It doesn’t matter. Your life actually starts now, and your Tower Hill experience was just a warm-up. You’ve done everything you need to do. You’re ready, awards or not. So go out and live your best life. Great things will happen to you if you do. So that was my speech up until the pandemic. I felt like that was a pretty good start. But it didn’t feel like it captured the moment. So I want to segue that and talk to you about resilience.

Resilience is the ability to overcome adversity and difficult times, to hang in there when things get tough and other people are falling down around you. This is a skill that I’ve developed over time, and I implore you to work at being resilient. At no point in your lives has this ever been more true than during this pandemic. For me, this pandemic isn’t the hardest thing I’ve had to overcome. Not even really by a mile. And I want you to know that unfortunately this won’t be the hardest thing that you ever have to overcome in your life, either. But you’ll get through it. I want you to embrace this time and make the very most of it. Let it shape you, but don’t let it define you. Be resilient and move forward. When I graduated from college, I had friends and I had developed confidence, but one thing I didn’t have was a job. So I fulfilled a promise I had made to a friend from Tower Hill, and I grabbed a backpack, bought a roundtrip ticket to Europe and off I went for six weeks with about $500. It was a defining experience. I learned how to sleep on a train. I was accosted in Rome. I was threatened by pickpocketers in France. I was approached in Portugal by so many drug dealers I lost count. I was searched by screaming armed soldiers in Yugoslavia three days before what turned out to be civil war broke out and the country was shattered forever. That was not an easy trip, but I came away a stronger person. When I got home and found out I’d been accepted into law school only two days before class was to start, did I shrug that off? Nope. I packed my car, drove 12 hours, slept on the couch of a Tower Hill basketball teammate and went to my first day of orientation. I took the chance. I started my first job at a law firm and a mentor told me I could go there, but I’d never make partner at that firm. But I hung in there, I made a name for myself, and eight years later I did make partner. Resilience, right? At my second firm, I was the new guy. Some of the old people wanted me gone because they were afraid for their own jobs. At my first review I was given absolutely the worst review I’ve ever received. I was given no particular encouragement to stay at my job. But I believed in myself, and I saw that they were the ones who were wrong and uninformed. Since then, all those people who gave me those reviews, they retired or they’ve been forced out of the firm, and I run our global practice. That’s resilience. Had I left in

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frustration, I may have never had the chances that I’ve been fortunate enough to experience. Resilience is something you always have to have with you. It can get called on at any time. Remember that friend I was talking about? The one from college who taught me to be my best self? Four years after we graduated, while he was driving, he was killed in a head-on collision with a truck caused by someone driving recklessly on the other side of the road. My best friend, gone at age 25. But that’s not my only tragedy I’ve had to overcome with resilience. I’ve held both of my parents’ hands as they’ve died. On 9/11, I watched both planes hit the Twin Towers from the deck of a ferry just inside the seaport right in front of those buildings. I saw people jumping from the Towers to avoid burning to death. Terrible, terrible things I have seen and I’ve experienced. But those don’t define me. They don’t hold me back. They’ve just been events in my life that I’ve had to overcome with resilience.

“My Tower Hill friends and community have always been a system of support for me. Know that this group of people, not just the students but everyone in this virtual room—your teachers, the alumni council, your fellow alums—will be there to help you along the way.” This for many of you, I hope, is your first test in life. It’s scary. It’s a once every hundred years event that happens to be during your senior year of high school. But this will not define you. It is how you respond to this that will shape your life. Will you learn lessons from this, like the importance of family, who your true friends are, how fragile the world really is? How will you emerge from this? Will you be resilient and

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spring forward? In planning for this presentation, I went to look to see what others have said on this subject. By far the best was J.K. Rowling’s presentation at Harvard’s graduation in 2008 about failure and overcoming. She talked about being so poor after college she couldn’t get any lower. But actually that time in her life without a job gave her the time she needed and the focus to be able to write the books she had always imagined. And I would say they turned out O.K. So from this time of crisis, what’s going to be your Harry Potter achievement? Are you going to embrace the good things that you have? Are you going to appreciate the special opportunities you’ve been given in life and take that special part of you forward? Or are you going to feel sorry for yourself, spend all day in your pajamas watching videos of cats falling off refrigerators and wish this was just all over? Be resilient. Embrace this tragedy. I want to leave you with this important thought. It’s okay to feel sad and happy at the same time. That’s really okay. I was devastated to lose my friend, but his guidance and energy are still with me. I was so fortunate to have great parents and learn so much from them, even if they aren’t here today. I also found great joys during 9/11. I remember coming home that morning, picking up my daughter from school and thinking how lucky I am to be alive and see her. Learn from this. Take it all with you as you go forward to college, and be your best self. See how I looped this back to the first part? Be resilient when the next hurdles in life confront you. And they will. And know that awards or not, the Tower Hill community will always be there for you. As one of my life idols, Winston Churchill, remarked—and it wouldn’t be a high school speech without one of those quotes from a historical figure— “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” My Tower Hill friends and community have always been a system of support for me, and I urge you to keep going through this hell, but know that this group of people, not just the students but everyone in this virtual room—your teachers, the alumni council, your fellow alums—will be there to help you along the way.

MOVING UP DAYâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;JUNE 4

Tower Hill recognized the eighth grade class at the annual Moving Up Day ceremony, which was held virtually this year. In addition to the three awards presented, Head of Middle School Paul Capodanno noted the many talents of the eighth grade as a class. Congratulations to the Class of 2024!

ZoĂŤ Heifetz received the Tower Hill Humanitarian Award, given to the eighth grader who, in the opinion of his or her classmates, has been the best friend to all. Isabela McIntosh received the Alumni Association Achievement Award for demonstrating particular growth in citizenship and scholarship. Olivia Kushkin received the Cecile M. Buckles Award, given to the eighth grade student who best exemplifies enthusiasm, effort, cooperation and energetic involvement.

VIDEO EXTRA

Watch the Moving Up Day Ceremony at towerhill.org/bulletin Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

ACADEMICS PIZZA FRACTIONS What better way to learn fractions than with pizza? Second graders used what they learned in math class to design their own pizzas with the perfect distribution of toppings.

FOREIGN POLICY SIMULATION Upper Schoolers in U.S. Government and Politics courses participated in a student-led online foreign policy simulation. They were organized into teams, representing different stakeholders in the United States and the world. HISTORY DEBATE Upper School students in Tara Fletcher’s “Inventions that Changed the World” history class debated via Zoom the topic of whether the U.S. should apologize for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. The debate allowed for peer interaction, technology use and presentation practice—all particularly valuable in a distance learning environment.

WHEEL OF THEODORUS Students in Beth Anderson’s eighth grade algebra classes constructed their own Wheels of Theodorus, spirals composed of contiguous right triangles. They then colored and illustrated the wheels to resemble something in the real world or to create a unique design, demonstrating how math and art coexist.

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SCHOOL LIFE

WASHINGTON, D.C., VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP Led by Middle School teacher Luisa Sawyer, seventh graders “visited” Washington, D.C., in April. Students studied different monuments and locations in D.C. and shared their facts throughout the virtual tour.

STATE FAIR PROJECT In March, fifth graders helped second graders begin research for their State Fair, a project that teaches time management, art, reading, social studies, public speaking and more.

GREEK MYTHOLOGY Sixth graders studied Greek mythology and performed a series of short plays based on Greek myths that they reimagined and wrote themselves, shortly before TowerHill@ Home began.

THIRD GRADE SMALL BUSINESSES Third graders used math skills to create their own small businesses—everything from restaurants to pet shops to retail stores—applying the math skills they learned this year to real life scenarios. Since Tower Hill’s word of the year is community, students donated a fraction of their profits back to the community, with many students choosing to give back to essential workers.

Watch videos at towerhill.org/bulletin

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Fall 2020

TOWER HILL ALUMNI and the COVID-19 Pandemic Interviews by Amy Wolf, Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing

When alumni are asked what they think of when they think of their alma mater, the first answer for many is Multa Bene Facta, Many Things Done Well. They talk about how their teachers and classes provided them with a well-rounded education and the tools needed to be successful in college and in their careers. When searching for alumni who have been combating the COVID-19 pandemicâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in multiple waysâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;there was no shortage of Multa Bene Facta. Alumni spanning the decades have been making strides in biomedical research, providing exceptional care in hospitals, managing grocery stores during times of panic and product shortage, and so much more. In the following pages, read about how Tower Hill alumni are making an impact during these unprecedented times.

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GERARD BALTAZAR, D.O., ’98

Gerard Baltazar, D.O., ’98 is a trauma and intensive care surgeon at NYU Langone Health. On the COVID frontline since his neighborhood in New Rochelle became an American pandemic epicenter, Baltazar has treated and performed medical research for critically-ill COVID patients at multiple centers. By sharing his experience from the frontline in a series of webinars, he aims to encourage understanding and positivity in the wake of a world-altering tragedy. What does your job currently entail, and how has your role shifted due to COVID-19? I’m a trauma surgeon and surgical intensive care doctor, so my normal schedule is to cover general surgery that comes through the emergency room, trauma cases that come in through the trauma bay and the intensive care unit for surgical patients. What changed was—first of all, trauma continued. The trauma center never closed, so we were still seeing bad trauma cases from falls, assaults, car accidents and that sort of thing, although at a much lower scale; as everything did, it slowed down. We also covered multiple COVID ICUs, and we covered the one ICU that was non-COVID. Everything changed except for the trauma stuff. The trauma continued with the regular schedule, but in terms of ICU care, it depended on the week. What was it like making that change so quickly? It was really hard. Especially initially, no one had any idea what this disease was or how

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we were supposed to approach treating it, what the best method was—we didn’t know that. And we didn’t know what our risk was, either. So on top of feeling unarmed to fight this thing, we also were highly stressed about our own safety and security and our families’ safety and security. Tell me about your research related to COVID-19. We looked at a couple things. The main project that we submitted for publication is on alternative ventilator strategies. Initially based on the information coming out of China and some trickling out of Europe, the idea was to get the patients on the ventilators right away and then treat them as if they had something called ARDS, or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, which is a phenomenon we often see in patients with infection. That did not seem to make sense to my team, probably because we have a different practice pattern than pulmonologists, who tend to see more of a standard patient with pneumonia or lung disease. We see a wider range. We’re

seeing surgical patients and trauma patients who maybe had a shotgun wound to the chest, and we treat them with a ventilator in a different way than someone who had pneumonia would get treated. And when this disease started to present as not your typical ARDS, not your typical pneumonia— in fact, atypical pneumonia—our impression was that some of the tools that we developed as surgical intensivists, because of treating surgical patients and trauma patients, we felt that using a different strategy, something called APRV, Airway Pressure Release Ventilation, might be more appropriate for this type of disease. APRV is a way to allow more of the lung to be accessed while allowing the patient to breathe on their own, to put it simply. It allowed us to, based on our data, decrease the amount of sedation and painkillers we need to use to keep the patients comfortable. We were able to get better oxygenation of the patients, and their lung injuries seem to get better as well. And we also used less blood pressure medication and we no longer needed to prone patients as frequently. It’s still in the

We’re also looking at how COVID-19 affects surgical and trauma outcomes. Our hospital is part of COVIDSurge, a tool that hospital administrators and public health officials can use to estimate the surge in demand for hospital-based services during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it clearly shows that patients who have COVID prior to operation, right around the operation or some days after—they do worse, mostly from a pulmonary respective. And they also have a higher mortality rate. That being the case, the idea of doing elective operations has to be rethought and treated much more carefully. Emergency surgeries are emergency surgeries—that’s my specialty—we have to do it if we have to do it. But since we also do some components of elective surgeries, we have to be much more cautious when we’re doing those. Is it absolutely necessary? Is it absolutely necessary now? Those are ideas we’re still looking at from every level.

One more thing I’m researching is using osteopathic manipulation, or manual treatments, to help patients recover from COVID. The last time there was a pandemic of this size was 1918-1919, the Spanish influenza pandemic. During that time, osteopathic manipulation treatment, or OMT, was associated with improved survival of patients who suffered from Spanish influenza. It’s interesting because at the time, there was no vaccine and there were no antivirals available. It’s the same situation we’re in now. And what osteopathic manipulation treatment does for patients, in 1918 and presently, is it actually augments their inherent ability to heal. So I’m trying to get that project off the ground. What was it like being in New Rochelle, the new pandemic epicenter? In January and February, we were just like normal people. We were all wondering, maybe it’ll hit here. If it’s going to hit someplace it’s going to hit New York; we’re an international city. We’re following the news like everybody else, we’re having some meetings within the hospital, and then all of a sudden it hits. But not only does it hit in New York City, it hits my

neighbor who lives a mile and a half down the road. Then all of a sudden there’s a containment area in my neighborhood, and then the national guard is driving around the neighborhood, and it was shocking and really put us on our heels. My wife and I became very concerned, and we were locking down our family before the lockdown even happened. We took our daughter out of school. If you can imagine what it’s like for people who are not in any hotspot right now thinking why this is a big deal, we were in the epicenter of the epicenter, so it was a huge deal from the very beginning. There was a lot of anxiety and frustration. My hospital was actually the first hospital on Long Island to have a COVID patient, so then I was wondering, did I get it, did I bring it here, am I bringing it around—all those kinds of feelings came up because it happened so fast and so intensely right in our backyard. And at the time, no one knew what this disease was.

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very early stages, but it’s fascinating that the approach that was initially adopted, to treat it like your typical ARDS, may not be the best approach. You have to be creative and draw on our various talents to try to treat something the world had never seen before.

Baltazar discussed his experiences with the Tower Hill community in a live Virtual Tower Talk in June. Watch a recording of his presentation at towerhill.org/alumni.

PAULA JANSSEN ’91

Paula Janssen ’91, the general manager of Janssen’s Market in Greenville, Delaware, describes the changes the grocery store has made to its daily operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing guidelines. In what ways did Janssen’s change its daily operations due to COVID-19? A lot of our customers are elderly—just the area that we’re in—and their safety is our biggest concern, so we started curbside grocery pickup. That’s been the biggest change to the business—that we are keeping about half our customers out of the store by pushing them to call in, give us their grocery order and then we deliver it to their vehicle. That’s been our biggest change. What are some other changes Janssen’s has made? We’ve adopted a lot of safe shopping practices within the store. We have oneway aisles, and we have markings on the floor to help you remember to stay a safe distance away from other customers. We’re managing the number of customers within the store, and the biggest way we’ve done that is by moving most people—at least half our customers—to the curbside

pickup. We’re managing to make sure there’s a low number of customers in the store at any particular time so we don’t have overcrowding. The other thing is just trying to get products on the shelves. That’s been a very big challenge during this time. The supply chain was really upended by all the panic that happened in March, and it hasn’t come back 100% yet. We’re having to source products from places we never have before and just be flexible and open to buying differently than we ever have before. Is there anything you’d like to share with fellow alumni? I would just ask people that, when they go to their grocery store, wherever that is—I know alumni are spread all around the country—thank the front line employees, because they are all really putting themselves out there so that everybody else can stay home. It’s a challenge right

Paula Janssen, left, pictured with her parents, Eileen and Joseph Janssen, Jr.

now, and they’re doing their best and they’re doing great. I’m so appreciative of our team here and would hope that everybody would thank the people around them too in their lives that are putting themselves out there.

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questions related to how best to distribute scarce resources. These decisions may be guided by existing policy and the data, but employing a framework for ethical decision-making can help public health officials to make decisions when the regulations are vague or the data is incomplete.

KORY TROTT, J.D., M.P.H., ’07

There are also ethical questions that arise in the research that is being done around an emergency response. Those questions might include prioritizing research projects. For example, communities that are heavily impacted might seem like the best populations to study, but human research protections programs may have to determine if the proposed research can be done without adding an inappropriate amount of additional stress or stigma to those populations.

Kory Trott, J.D., M.P.H., ’07, Director of the Research Integrity and Consultation Program at Virginia Tech, has been leading responsible conduct of research training for university researchers working on COVID-19. Is there any research being conducted at Virginia Tech related to COVID-19? What is your role in that? Yes, we do have a growing portfolio of research related to COVID-19 to help the response and the state of Virginia. Depending on the nature of that research, there may be training requirements related to the responsible conduct of research. In particular if a research project is funded by the NIH, NSF or the USDA/NIFA the research team is required to complete a minimum of eight hours for responsible conduct of research training. I organize and deliver the lectures that help our researchers satisfy their training requirements so that they can do their important research on COVID-19 responsibly and ethically. What does that training include? There are many topics that responsible conduct of research training is recommended to cover: human subjects research and the regulations involved with that; the care of animals and research—a lot of these initial trials and initial research takes places with animals, but there’s a robust body of law and regulations and ethics that governs research with animals, and that is covered in the training; there’s also a component of that training that covers conflicts of interest, to make sure our researchers are objective in the work they do, that they aren’t having outside influences dictate the science or dictate the conclusions they reach, and that’s critically important to the work we do; data management, to make sure that we are storing and sharing the research data responsibly; we also work with the mentors and mentees so they know their responsibilities— mentorship is a big part of training young researchers, so we want to make sure that all of our mentors are going to be responsible and caring mentors; and the last two are authorship, so once we’re done with the research, we can communicate it in an effective and ethical way to the public; and then peer review and the importance of having peer review in science so that we can make sure our work has been validated or reviewed by other experts in the field. What are some ethical issues that could come up when it comes to finding a COVID-19 vaccine or treatment? While ethical issues arise in all walks of life, they are especially apparent when working at a public agency during an emergency response. I’m no longer with the CDC, but one ethical issue that might arise during this type of emergency is the equitable distribution of resources. Whether it be personal protective equipment (PPE) or a vaccine, which is of course yet to be developed, there might be more demand than there is supply. As a result, public health officials may have to grapple with challenging

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LOUISA ROSE ’19

Louisa Rose ’19, a student at Lafayette College, created GO COVID CONNECT, a free online tutoring site, as a way to give back to her community as students are adjusting to online learning. Rose attended Tower Hill pre-K through ninth grade before attending boarding school. What is GO COVID CONNECT? GO COVID CONNECT is a free online tutoring program where college students are paired with elementary and middle school students. It’s not just traditional tutoring, whether you need help in math or English, but it’s also a mentorship program and helps bring a little bit of social interaction via the virtual platform as well. If a full-time working parent, for example, needs some help during the day or needs someone to read to their kid, the tutor can also do that. It’s a great way for us college students to give back to our communities as well. How does the platform work? Tutors and students sign up and are matched based on times they’re available and subject compatibility, so this is a matching platform. Why did you decide to create the platform? I realized when I came home from school I had so much more time on my hands. At school I’m involved with academics, athletics, clubs and social life, and I came home and it was just academics—and I’m still talking

Who does the platform benefit? This platform benefits both college students and the younger students who are being tutored. Just from the social interaction standpoint it benefits everyone—I think we humans need social interaction, and meeting new people is always good. And for the college student, it gives you a purpose while you’re stuck at home—it gives you a reason to wake up in the morning that’s not just your academics. And for the younger students, it gives them a mentor to look up to that extends past just the academics.

Why did you decide to make the platform free? There are no other free platforms like it that are active. I don’t see a value in having to pay for this right now; I don’t think that makes sense. This is just simply to help people out. I think that’s all that matters right now. I think that people have enough on their plates, financially at least. And it was pretty much free for me to set up; the only cost was my time, and the only benefit I’m looking for is to do some good in the world in a time when people are surrounded by negativity.

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with my friends but I’m not seeing them in person—and I realized I had all this time on my hands and I didn’t quite know what to do with it. I realized that if I had all this time, then so do all of my friends, and I thought that if we are going to some of the top institutions in the country and we have been taught by some of the best professors—why not share that knowledge with other people? I know that converting to online is very stressful for a lot of people, and I’m sure teachers were overwhelmed because they were given a short notice with all this. If we can help to ease their burden in any way then why shouldn’t we do this?

HEIDI JOHNSON DAVIS ’01

Heidi Johnson Davis ’01, a nursing education specialist for the Penn Medicine health system, has been supporting staff who have been redeployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also joined a COVID-19 Telehealth Project, serving patients diagnosed with the novel coronavirus who are well enough to be managed at home. What does your job currently entail, and how has your job changed? I have worked as a nursing education specialist for the Penn Medicine health system for the past eight years. I oversaw the orientation of new hires to the nursing department, maintained the nursing policies and procedures, and developed/implemented/evaluated programs to promote the professional development of nursing staff. In the past month, my priorities have changed to support staff who have been redeployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our hospitals have seen a major decrease in surgical volume and an increased need for critical care. As educators, we have had to quickly create and offer education to nurses working in different areas of the hospital. This is challenging because our stance on operationalizing recommendations for personal protective equipment (PPE) and various other procedures are changing hour by hour. We have had to negotiate multiple priorities and limitations: patient safety, staff safety, inventory scarcity, anxiety vs. science and public perception. As leaders, we have had to role model professionalism, flexibility, calm confidence and a commitment to evidence-based decisions. We have also needed to care for ourselves in order to promote endurance and longevity, not knowing how long this crisis will last. What does a typical work day look like? There is no such thing as a typical day because every day and night are different due to the rapidly changing nature of this crisis. However, my days have been spent teaching staff proper ways to don and doff PPE, skills needed in medical-surgical or critical care areas, the rationale for “droplet precautions” vs. “airborne precautions” when caring for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, creating flyers and powerpoint presentations, listening to anxious staff members and directing them toward reputable sources of information based in strong evidence, onboarding new staff and brainstorming creative solutions to the onslaught of new challenges faced by our health system.

My work just underwent a significant change as I too was redeployed. In a matter of a few days, I have had to pivot from eight years as a nurse educator to the world of virtual home healthcare. As of April 18, I joined a COVID-19 Telehealth Project, serving patients diagnosed with this novel coronavirus who are well enough to be managed at home. This position has required a brisk climb up a steep learning curve, acquiring new technology and skills to provide virtual nursing care to patients in their homes. In some ways, although I am working remotely, I feel closer to the bedside than I have in years, and I am grateful to directly support those suffering amidst this crisis. Who knows how my career will evolve now that I have joined an initiative at the grassroots level that may mark a transformation in healthcare as we know it. I remain grateful that my profession offers such a variety of career paths, each offering new skill sets and opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives. How did THS help prepare you for dealing with a crisis or dealing with the unexpected? Tower Hill’s motto attests to the insistence of a well-rounded student. Academic rigor accompanies the expectation of athletic participation, socio-emotional development and contributions to one’s community. Well-rounded students make well-rounded employees, and in turn well-rounded citizens. When facing adversity, giving up is not an option. I still expect to be the best nurse I can be, the best mother I can be, the best member of my community I can be, while also caring for my own needs. Tower Hill has shaped who I am, how I work and how I engage the world around me—not “even” in a crisis but especially in crisis.

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What has the response been to the website? Overall the response has been quite positive. The site has generated more than 50,000 hits and has been featured on several major news outlets. We have learned that the public is looking for easily digestible information from experts whose only objectives are to keep the community alive and well.

BARBARA EDMONDS ’13

Barbara Edmonds ’13 created the “Pandemic Prospectives Project,” a website and archive designed to store and celebrate future primary sources.

JOSE TORRADAS, M.D., ’01

ER physician Jose Torradas, M.D., ’01 and his colleagues created COVID19@Home, a free guide developed for the general public and geared toward those who have COVID or COVID-like symptoms and are managing their symptoms at home. Torradas produced many of the materials in Spanish to help with outreach to the Latinx community. What does your job currently entail, and how has your role changed due to COVID-19? Emergency medicine (EM) doctors work almost exclusively in emergency departments (also known as ERs), which means that no one ever makes an appointment to see us. Chances are that if you’re meeting an ER doctor at their job, you or someone you know is having a pretty rough day. Recently our specialty has been thrust into the spotlight as front-liners with some of the highest exposure rates to COVID-19. Outside of the ER, I have also been doing telemedicine work including COVID-19 screening and urgent care evaluations. The use of technology to connect with patients across the country has boomed during the pandemic, and it represents an exciting new frontier in the healthcare space, particularly in under-served communities. What is COVID19@Home? Why did you decide to create this website? COVID19@Home is a free guide developed for the general public and geared toward those who have COVID or COVID-like symptoms and are managing their symptoms at home. The toolkit provides information on self-care tips including breathing exercises, red flags for when to seek emergency care and also has a section for caregivers. The project is a collaborative effort between several EM physicians including myself, ACEP (American College of Emergency Physicians) and The Learning Agency. The idea for this website came from our internal polling that found that one in three respondents was lacking basic understanding in regard to the management of COVID-19. We felt a public service obligation to forego the politicization of the pandemic and to provide the community with a comprehensive and bias-free toolkit for patients and their families.

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What is the Pandemic Perspectives Project? The Pandemic Perspectives Project (PPP) is the child of a conversation I had with my mother over the phone at the beginning of quarantine. We were chatting about the long-term historic implications of the virus, and how this is most certainly going to be a touchpoint in our country’s (and our world’s) history. As someone with a Ph.D. in cancer research, my mother is well versed and mentioned how truly invaluable first-person primary sources are in research of any kind. In historical research, people immediately think of things like letters or newspapers for primary source information. But look at museums! There are almost infinite ways to gain insight into the daily lives and experiences of people in the past. Art, music, writing … Those categories are extremely wide; in them you can find everything from fashion to woodworking, lullabies to symphonies, epics to Post-It notes! And all of it is important. PPP aims to preserve and celebrate everything and anything that captures what life is like during this incredible time. What inspired you to create this website/archive? Thinking back to my time at Tower Hill, one of my favorite projects involved an infamous primary source, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Obviously as a diary, it is evident why it is such an important source. But what makes it truly remarkable is just how normal Anne seems at times. She talks about boys, and menstruation, and fighting with her mother. This isn’t a carefully crafted account of dates and battles, but rather a small piece of the soul of a seemingly random

How did your Tower Hill experience prepare you for your career and for this project? One of the single most important lessons that I learned

at Tower Hill was that there is never one way to tackle a problem (well, maybe in math…). No one person’s perspective is the “right” perspective. That has allowed me not only to bring different aspects to my professional life, but my creative life as well. If you’re willing and able to think outside the box, or even ditch the box entirely, you will always find a way to be happier, and better in your endeavors. With this project, I had a loose idea of what I wanted, but was unsure how to bring it to life. With a little help from my friends, and a lot of leaps of faith, I built a website for the first time, created a way to submit and display art, and launched PPP. There is really no limit to what the human mind is capable of, and that’s worth celebrating.

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teenager. Despite this, it is, rightly, one of the most important texts of the 20th century. The same goes for today; whether you are a professional author or a teenager learning from home, your voice is important. There is a common phrase, “History is written by the victors.” What that has led to is a severe lack of information about many cultures, peoples and classes, whose lives would have provided context that was just as important (if not more so) as the monarchs and generals. I want to help in any way I can to bring together the thoughts and feelings of as many diverse subjects as possible.

JILL SHOTZBERGER ’00

Jill Shotzberger ’00 works for Genentech, a global biotechnology company on the forefront of developing and manufacturing both pharmaceuticals as well as diagnostics for use in the COVID response. She serves as lead counsel for the Government Affairs division of Genentech, where she advises the executive team and participates in engagement with the government in response to the pandemic, including work with Congress, the emergency response departments (FEMA, CDC, BARDA), FDA and the White House to expedite the development of treatments and ensure there is adequate supply of medicines and diagnostics for the millions of patients in need. What is Genentech, and what is your role there? We are a large international biotechnology company, and traditionally we have a wide portfolio of medicines that are focused on oncology, rheumatology and neurology issues. Early on in the COVID crisis, the two main areas that our company has been focused on are developing quick diagnostic tests that can be leveraged at mass scale and looking at our medical portfolio to assess if we might have treatment options that could be available to treat those who have COVID symptoms. So almost immediately we had several candidates of medicine that needed to be investigated, and I think the key part of this is that people are anxious for treatments for COVID, but what’s most important is that these treatments are scientifically backed. At a breakneck pace—faster than I’ve ever seen in my career—we have started several clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness of a few medicines for COVID treatments, and these are happening around the globe. We’ve also been working with the government to help figure out how we can get medicines to the patients who need them most. It’s been a challenge to reach so many patients so quickly who are in dire need of treatment options,

and having an international supply chain, where we are used to distributing medicine quickly, we’ve really been working with the government to help them understand some of those pain points where improvements can be made for the future, so that’s pretty exciting as well. What has work been like since the start of the pandemic? No day is really quite the same. I work with the FDA to get approval for clinical trials, so that we can test our medicines. I meet with CDC, FEMA and BARDA, some of the agencies that are handling direct response, to discuss how we can get our medicines to the critical hotspots that need it most. A good portion of my job is interacting with government agencies to identify how we can help facilitate medicines and diagnostics tests to people who need them. The legal background that I have also allows me to advise my company on the unique legal challenges that are presented by a national emergency. There’s a whole set of law that deals with national emergency situations and the flexibility the government has to have in those scenarios. It’s been a crash course in the legal implications and business flexibility to respond in a pandemic and how we can navigate those laws that are rarely ever triggered.

Everything is moving at a faster pace, which is great for the development of medicines overall because knowing now that we can set up clinical trials in weeks instead of months is going to hopefully allow us to do that for other treatments in the future. It’s also very much forcing a new kind of partnership between private companies and the federal and state governments, knowing that no one can go it alone, we’ve really had to work together and bridge what could be gaps in the past to work toward a common goal. It’s fast, furious and a lot of operating in the gray, but that’s what makes it an exciting time.

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DAVID HINDIN, M.D., ’02

David Hindin, M.D., ’02, a surgeon and fellow in Stanford’s Biodesign Innovation Fellowship, shifted his focus from working on a vascular surgery project to identifying problems and working on solutions relating to COVID-19. What is the Biodesign Innovation Fellowship? The Biodesign fellowship itself is an academic program at Stanford designed to train new generations of leaders in health technology. The boots on the ground reality of what they do is to train you in a process that Stanford’s developed over the years—a way to find areas in the healthcare space where there’s an unmet need, matched with a decentlysized market, favorable IP landscape, etc. Some incredible companies have already been formed by alums of the program, many of which began with technology that was created during their time in the fellowship. Several of these startups have gone on to IPO, and even more were later acquired by major companies in the health tech space. Stanford tracks the patient-facing impact of Biodesignformed technologies, and as of several years ago they had quantified that more than a million patients have already been helped by technology created out of the fellowship. For me, it was like my dream program—a way to combine all the things I loved about medicine with everything I loved about creativity and innovation. It’s been a full-time fellowship, so for the year, the clinical part of my life has been scaled back: A few weeknights each month and one 24hour weekend shift a month, I work as a pool surgeon in the Kaiser Permanente system, covering emergency surgery needs. I’m mainly doing that to keep my skills sharp. The Biodesign Fellowship itself is split into segments throughout the year. In the beginning of the year, we spent a lot of time getting immersed in the clinical space to see what seemed like interesting unmet needs to us, and then as the year went on, we were brought through the process of how to generate ideas, how to create a prototype, how to test concepts, how to create a solid marketing plan and how to strategize a regulatory pathway to get through the FDA. The course of the year has gone from learning about the clinical states that we’re working on to learning the

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Biodesign process, and then putting it into practice—you’re trained as you go through the process and start building prototypes. How has your work changed due to COVID-19? One of the obvious ways that it’s changed is that there’s a whole new ocean of needs out there. My teammate and I had been working on a design for a vascular surgery device to treat patients at risk of needing an amputation, and even though it was such a promising project, we’re now starting to pivot a bit and put more of our attention into COVID needs. Basically the process that I described to you, we’re repeating for COVID. My teammate and I have been recreating what we did over the course of the year: we’ve given ourselves about three weeks to generate a list of all the problems that we find, and then begin to rank these based on what seems like the biggest opportunity. Once we get to that point, we’ll spend a few weeks working on different concepts and technologies, and then we’ll begin looking into the regulatory pathway. We’re basically doing everything that we learned to do in the fellowship, but applying it in a sprint format to COVID. What stage of that process are you in now? We’re in what we call “needs finding.” There are SO many unmet needs. But when you run a Google search for “Coronavirus problems” and

“Coronavirus needs,” a few of the more surface level needs and issues keep popping up: the issue of healthcare providers not having enough PPE, the question of how to deal with aerosolized virus, and the question of measuring and determining antibody response. That’s all surface level stuff that is broadly recognized, so part of what we’re applying from the Biodesign approach is taking it a step further. For instance, where PPE is concerned, we recognize that the supply chain is going to catch up sooner or later, so the question then becomes, what needs are still going to be there, even once people have all the PPE that they need? We’ve learned from watching the Ebola epidemic that a huge number of healthcare providers contaminate themselves in the process of taking off their PPE: one study found nearly 70% of providers who have a typical amount of training contaminated themselves when removing PPE—the majority doing so twice during a single episode of removal. It’s incredibly hard not to get contaminated when removing a respirator or taking gloves off. And unless done perfectly with our existing PPE, this poses a real threat of infection of the provider through contamination. I’m not sure that’s going to be the particular need that we pursue, but to me, it’s such an interesting example of the Biodesign process at work. It teaches you to peel off the layers of the onion and look a couple steps deeper to see what the real problem is that needs to be solved.

What has it been like pivoting your work so quickly and drastically? It’s definitely been a challenge to pump the brakes and restart, but it’s also exciting. It’s kind of like you suddenly have all the tools to do something you’ve been training to do, and now you’re thrown into the real world to put it into play.

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What are the next steps? My teammate and I are working to narrow down to the most interesting and most pressing opportunity. We’re placing a priority on solutions that would take six months or less, as opposed to a complicated ventilator, for instance, that might have a years-long regulatory pathway. So in terms of next steps, we’re trying to give ourselves a pretty quick timeframe to start getting some concepts on paper and prototypes out in the world.

SABRINA DU PONT LANGENEGGER ’00

Sabrina du Pont Langenegger ’00 is the owner of La Cerise, a small business that offers curated beauty and skincare gift boxes. Since the start of the pandemic, she has been giving back to healthcare workers by donating self care boxes. What does La Cerise do? Why did you decide to create this business? La Cerise is a curated beauty and skincare gift box service. I am essentially a personal shopper for skincare and beauty products in that I am providing a service for my clients to cherry pick (hence the name) the best products for their needs, goals, preferences and lifestyles. I ask detailed questions, and I personalize each box. I am somewhat of a product junkie and skincare guru. I love aesthetics, and I read about all the latest procedures and dermatological breakthroughs. I’m constantly trying new things. I found that my friends, family and clients were constantly coming to me for skincare advice and product recommendations, so this seemed like a natural extension of something I really enjoy. It also allows me to use my personal shopping and client service skills that I have honed as a personal stylist. What has it been like running a small business during this time? I launched La Cerise at the end of February and had just taken on the start-up costs of a website, packaging materials, marketing and product right before COVID-19 hit, so it was not exactly perfect timing! At first I felt very vulnerable, especially given that my business is based on a discretionary expenditure. However, I have to say that I was so grateful to have had this new venture to dive into and work at during this uncertain time. It really helped me to stay focused and sane with so much craziness in the world and two kids home from school, all while being housebound. I quickly realized that people needed self care during quarantine more than ever with the heightened stress, as well as the fact that they were unable to get out to their hair salon, nail salon, facial

appointments, etc. So in that sense it worked out well. Why did you decide to donate self care boxes to healthcare workers? A good friend of ours here in Charleston is a respiratory therapist and has been a nurse for over 30 years. She is high risk because of her age and the fact that she has asthma, so I was constantly worrying about her and wanted to do something special for her. It expanded from there, as I realized how much sacrifice our healthcare workers are making, the incredible risks that they are taking and the type of conditions that they are having to work in. It seemed like a good way for me to be able to utilize my skill set and keep my new small business busy in order to give back. My goal is just to show appreciation to those who are caring for others on the front lines and perhaps provide them with a bit of stress relief. My self care packages include things like bubble bath, candles, hand cream, lip balm, face masks, etc. ... basically products that can help people to unwind and pamper themselves a bit! What has the response been to these self care boxes? The self care box has quickly become a favorite on my website. It has been exceedingly popular for people to treat themselves to, or to send to a loved one during this trying time. I think people need a pick-me-up, and “happy mail” is a great way to do that. In addition, the donated gifts that I’ve distributed to local healthcare workers here in Charleston have been really well received, and I have gotten so much appreciation. My nurse friend who I mentioned before has been the one to help me distribute them to nurses and doctors at local hospitals who are in the thick of it treating COVID patients, and she said she feels like Santa Claus when she

hands them out! Their notes and posts on social media after they’ve received a donated gift mean the world to me. Since I was absorbing the cost of packaging materials and products myself, I knew that I needed to offset my expenses as a new small business to make this sustainable, so I started taking donations almost right away. So many people have contributed toward La Cerise self care gifts, which has been wonderful. I was also fortunate to be featured by our local Live 5 News, which helped to spread the word throughout the community. I also reached out to various skincare and beauty brands seeking donated products toward my initiative so that I could continue to send more and more gifts and reach as many people as possible. I was lucky to get several large brands to collaborate with me like Ilia, Mario Badescu, Philip B, Kind Lips, Fitglow Beauty and Kari Gran. As the effort grew, I also started to accept nominations on my social media for deserving healthcare workers all over the country. I have now sent boxes to many different states. I just love doing it, and it’s really gratifying.

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Fall 2020

ANN MARIE GAMBLE ’03

Nurse practitioner Ann Marie Gamble ’03, far right, pictured with Megan Mills Jones ’03, has been fighting COVID-19 in the Emergency Department at Union Hospital in Elkton, Maryland. What does your job look like now? Actually, things have slowed down for us because people are appropriately staying away from the ERs. To see a patient, you now put on an N95 mask, you put a surgical mask on over that, we have goggles on, we have a face shield and then gloves. Usually we would go into a room without anything but a pair of gloves on. Like many people, we’re reusing a lot of the PPE like our N95s and our surgical masks. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, what was a day typically like at work? Usually it’s pretty busy—you’re just trying to get from one patient to the next. Usually the waiting room is packed and we might have people in the hallways, but now because people are staying away from the ER, some of which is good and some of which is bad, it’s different. We don’t really have a waiting room full of people. We do have a big tent outside, so the people who are coming in well enough but with COVID-like symptoms— fever, dry cough, muscle aches—they’re being filtered through a tent outside, so they’re not even going into the hospital. Inside the hospital, things have slowed down. There’s no elective surgeries, and people aren’t coming to the hospital for

regular appointments, so the rest of the hospital is pretty slow. Was that expected? We were kind of expecting things to slow down initially. They’re starting to pick up now. All the cities got hit pretty hard, and we are definitely a more suburban/rural area, so I think we’re going to see it later. It has slowed down. They’ve cut some of our shifts, and they’ve cut some hours because the volume is not there. Some of that is probably because people come in for small complaints like sore throats, stuff like that, but then you worry about the people who are really sick and they’re afraid to come to the ER.

SANDY PETTIT DURGIN ’80

Sandy Pettit Durgin ’80 is the trauma program director at Crozer Chester Medical Center in Pennsylvania, where she is taking care of COVID-19 patients at least four days per week.

How has your job been impacted by COVID-19? My current position requires me to oversee the trauma program and ensure quality patient care for our trauma patients. I monitor adherence of the trauma providers to our practice guidelines and ensure that we comply fully with the standards of the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation. I also assist with surgical research and hospital quality committees.

What does a typical work day look like? Typically, I get to work before 7 a.m. and go home after 5 p.m. I attend trauma morning report, which is the backbone of our performance improvement efforts. Trauma performance improvement is a critical review of patient care to reduce variances in practice by the team, identifying concurrent issues and monitoring patient outcomes. Quality trauma care is a team effort.

Currently, I am supporting nurses on our COVID-19 patient units, at least three days per week. These duties include assisting patient care, obtaining supplies and acting as a resource for the staff nurses. I am rotating to both evening and night shifts, as well as weekends. The two remaining days of the week, I help COVID units ensure that their needs are met on a system level.

What are some moments of positivity you’ve witnessed over the past couple of months? Health care providers are concerned with promoting the best possible outcomes for patients. We are truly coming together to support each other now, while patient care is more challenging than we have ever experienced. Our critical care nurses are using new care delivery models creatively. At times, it takes

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five nurses to move one patient from back to abdomen, akin to the most complex choreography. Nurses are using iPads to help family members and physicians talk with patients. Our patients are grateful for the quality care they have received and that brings joy to the nursing and ancillary teammates.

Teamwork is a skill that THS does emphasize on both the athletic field and in the classroom. I couldn’t get through a shift without a good team around me. Everyone works together to coordinate care and relieve one another when the masks become too unbearable. When a patient issue arises, a group problem-solving session ensues and the issue gets resolved. THS did emphasize problem solving to understand a science experiment or a group project, and that remains a skill that is extremely relevant. Is there anything else you’d like to add? This virus will be with us until we have an effective vaccine. Even with a vaccine, there will still be people who get this disease as no vaccine is 100% effective. The health care system in Delaware and Southeastern Pennsylvania was able to maintain a stable workforce and bed availability so thankfully, difficult ethical decisions have not needed to be made yet. This fall and winter will be even more challenging for health care institutions because of seasonal increase in flu and pneumonia on top of COVID-19. We all need to work together and follow CDC guidelines to decrease the next pandemic wave and ensure hospitals do not become overcrowded. So, wash your hands, wear a mask and keep your distance in order to avoid becoming a COVID-19 statistic.

BLAIR WARDENBURG FOSBURGH, M.D., ’82

Blair Wardenburg Fosburgh, M.D., ’82 is a general internist at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Medical Director of Internal Medicine Associates, a large academic primary care practice located at the hospital. How has your job changed due to COVID-19? In my normal life, I see patients three days a week, I supervise residents in clinic one day a week and I am the medical director of my primary care practice, so I spend a lot of time thinking about how we can do things better in terms of running the practice. I do some work related to our electronic medical record and have a small role in quality and safety for primary care. I have a number of different hats that I wear. My week is very varied.

ALUMNI

How did your THS experience prepare you for your career? How did THS help prepare you for dealing with a crisis or dealing with the unexpected? It is difficult to say how THS prepared me for this pandemic. While it would be easy to say that I learned critical thinking skills at THS, these patient care challenges couldn’t be anticipated. Patients with COVID-19 are more profoundly ill than most of us have ever experienced. Many of us are used to having several extremely unstable patients in a large ICU or ED at one time, but not an entire unit! Also, more than eight hours in an N95 mask with another mask over it, gowns, goggles and scrub caps are extremely hot and exhausting.

What’s changed is, at the beginning, we had very few patients in the office, and we’ve been doing a lot of virtual work. So from an administrative standpoint, we had to turn around practice operations completely, basically on a dime. We had to figure out immediately how to enable staff to work from home, because public transportation is on weekend hours, and we have plenty of staff who have medical issues where traveling on public transportation would be an issue. As an example, in a part of our practice where we would normally have four front desk staff, we’d have one or two in the office and one or two at home. Because there weren’t any patients coming in, people were able to do much of what they were doing from home. But we had to make sure they had computers. We had to make sure that they could call a patient from their phone and not have it reveal their cell phone number—you have to use an app that allows you to make a call so it looks like it’s coming from the office. Then we had to figure it all out from the clinician standpoint. The role whose job has changed the least is our nurses, because they have continued to get a million calls and questions through the patient portal. In terms of the physicians, most of us just switched to doing outreach calls to patients. We’ve all been sort of dabbling in telehealth, but the hospital had to get it up and running quickly, and we all had to figure out schedules of people who would be doing phone calls and who would be in the office for emergencies. We couldn’t have patients coming into the clinic with respiratory symptoms, so very quickly the hospital had to set up separate respiratory clinics where people who had respiratory symptoms would go to be seen and get tested, and then we would follow up. People with COVID can feel okay for a while and then feel worse, so it’s important to keep following them over time. So we had to put in place a system where people would call people every few days basically until they were well. And there were some patients who we were concerned about who we would be calling on a daily basis. We had to establish schedules for this. Many of the doctors in our practice do other things as well—some of those things were on hold, some of them weren’t—so we couldn’t all be responsible for calling patients. Over time, we had to develop a schedule. What has the telehealth experience been like? We do a lot of phone work already. And the difference between a telemedicine visit and a phone call is that with a telehealth visit there would, in theory, be a copay because it’s replacing an in-person visit, but most healthcare insurers are waiving that right now. The difference is that this is a block of time that is set aside for this person. If I’m calling back quickly in between one thing and another, I’m going to be a little distracted, possibly. But if this is a set visit: A, I have that time available for you, and B, most of the time I’ve prepared ahead of time. When I have a schedule, I prepare ahead of time and think about what needs to happen. That’s just telehealth in general, but then there’s the video component, and the video component adds a lot more than you would think. Especially in a time when we’re doing so much phone work, it’s really nice to see people’s faces, and you can get a lot of information from people’s facial expressions and body language, or even do parts of a physical exam— for example asking someone to show me how high they can lift their arm up. It’s been surprising how much you can manage over telehealth, and if there’s one silver lining to this whole thing it’s that telehealth will now be here to stay. And I think for many patients, for many visits that we do, you don’t have to be in person. And the fact that insurers are now hopefully going to recognize that this is a valid method of “seeing your doctor” will be a good thing. Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

TREATING SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TWO ALUMNI SHARE HOW THEIR WORK TREATING SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER HAS CHANGED DUE TO COVID-19 AND SOCIAL DISTANCING BY ALEX DENSTMAN ’00 AND KYARA PANULA BECK ’00

In our field, the opposite of addiction is not recovery, as some may think. The opposite of addiction is connection. During a pandemic or any other time of national distress, connection in a consistent, stable form is threatened, and isolation tends to take over. Much of that is a prerogative in the form of self-preservation, like the social media accounts of families playing board games and staying safe inside their homes. However, for the populations with which we work, isolation can be a baseline, worsened by forced lockdowns, joblessness, homelessness, hopelessness and the cravings that go along with loss. We work in a field specializing in co-occurring disorders—when someone has a substance use disorder coupled with one or more mental health diagnoses. Alex is the senior vice president and chief growth officer of a community-based residential and outpatient organization, and Kyara provides clinical counseling as a mental health clinical supervisor in a correctional facility for male offenders reentering society, as well as the newly reintegrated.

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On any given day, our professional worlds have moments of intersection and divergence, but living through a pandemic unites us in many ways as we prioritize connection, stability and safety more than ever. When COVID-19 became a headline, the correctional facility had already implemented mandatory temperature checks for all entering staff. Masks and gloves became part of everyone’s uniform. Handwashing stations and alcohol-free hand sanitizer seemed to magically appear in all corners, and we were instructed to minimize contact with each other and clients while employing a written correspondence protocol to supplement the six to eight hours of groups per day. Due to the arrangement of residential units, it quickly became imperative to reduce any health risk among the offenders, instating social distancing, moving staff offsite and halting family visits. The vulnerable population I serve lives with cooccurring disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar I and II and schizophrenia spectrum and

Directives became comprehensive as the weeks went on, and working under Commissioner DeMatteis, respective bureaus and facility leadership, I was tasked with writing the first distance therapy procedure for Community Corrections. My focus was on the commitment to motivating clients toward prosocial connection and away from their history of emotional impulsivity, especially with this acutely increased fear. Hope was reinforced daily through new structure and stability as life in the community changed rapidly. Clients were able to group via telehealth methods while social distancing, had individual sessions and mental health visits through phone or video conference, and attended virtual AA/NA, Bible study, chapel and other self-help groups. Our community aftercare population, the final level of care offered by the program, also benefited from phone conferences and the wide world of apps such as Sober Grid and their own group chats to encourage connection. In Maryland, the Ashley Addiction Treatment staff also vowed to not close or limit services. If anything, the need for substance use disorder treatment has grown in recent months as people try to cope with anxiety, grief and various forms of displacement. Ashley instituted similar health and safety protocols and emphasized the mitigation strategies found in most workplaces such as universal masking, physical distancing, hand hygiene and self-monitoring for symptoms. The staff is screened daily for symptoms and have their temperature checked before entering the campus, and the same policies and procedures which have been enacted in healthcare settings like hospitals have been implemented at Ashley. All new patients at their residential facility admit to a stabilization unit which includes COVID-19 testing and up to five days of close monitoring by Ashley’s medical staff. Our outpatient locations moved all their clinical services to telehealth and all alumni and family support services are now held virtually.

encouraged to remain positive and find the silver linings throughout this process. Both clinical and operational applications have been expanded by this experience, and parts of our COVID-19 response have led to new implementations under which the clients and patients ultimately benefit. Many of our programming changes will remain intact even after the threat of this illness lessens. Amazingly, clients and patients at both sites have found meaning within the changes, commenting how the pandemic has pushed them toward motivation for change in a way they never expected.

ALUMNI

personality disorders in addition to irrational thought patterns that create and reinforce criminal addictive thinking. Their reintegration into society is itself a public health focus, thus therapeutic care remained a high priority in order to maintain self-awareness, accountability and realistic, critical thought in the face of uncertainties created by COVID-19.

“People who work in the treatment field are wellequipped to respond to a pandemic like coronavirus because substance use disorders are just that—a pandemic, a disease that exists on a broad scale.” People who work in the treatment field are well-equipped to respond to a pandemic like coronavirus because substance use disorders are just that—a pandemic, a disease that exists on a broad scale. We are flexible and patient and take missteps not as failures, but as new lessons learned. As different as these treatment settings may seem, the common thread has been our commitment to prioritize the health and safety of the staff and treatment populations in even the most uncertain of times. Our mantra continues hope, as we tell our clients and patients every day: be safe, welcome change, find meaning and stay connected.

The staff at the respective facilities were

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Fall 2020

BLACK HOLES: THE UNIVERSE’S BIGGEST SUBWOOFERS

Image: Vecteezy.com

Will Zakielarz ’22 was honored as a runner-up in the inaugural New York Times STEM Writing Contest. The New York Times STEM Writing Contest challenged students in high school to explain or delve into inquiry around a STEM concept that shapes the way we live our lives. Students were allowed 500 words to describe their chosen topic in a way that was both scientifically accurate and nuanced but also digestible for a general audience. The paper received 1,618 entries on topics ranging from medicine to astronomy, psychology, chemistry, biology and physics. Forty-four students were honored for their work, including eight winners and 14 runners-up. Below is his essay. If you have ever seen a science fiction movie, you second, these waves have a period of 10 million may recognize black holes as a terrifying place of years. Researchers have decided that the note is 57 no return. With their immense gravitational pull, octaves lower than the middle-C on a piano and even light can’t escape. Black holes, the universe’s estimated to be a B flat. We, as humans, will never destructive phenomena that warp spacetime, don’t be able to hear this pitch due to our biological emit anything—or do they? limitations; however, the knowledge about black holes’ behavior can help us understand greater Studies from the early 2000s tell us that sound concepts about the universe. waves can actually come from these dark behemoths. But if nothing can escape one, how Researchers believe this discovery will lend insight can sound? The truth is that black holes indirectly on the formation of stars and their respective send off waves, affecting their environment rather galaxies; previously, scientists didn’t know why the than the matter that enters it. In 2003, NASA’s gas in the Perseus cluster hadn’t cooled over 10 Chandra X-ray Observatory recorded pressure billion years and formed stars. We now understand waves coming from the Perseus cluster of galaxies, that the waves from black holes are eventually 250 million light years away. This cluster was a absorbed as heat, keeping the gas hot. While the prime target because of the easy-to-detect x-rays sound of a black hole probably won’t be used in any coming from it. There, a massive black hole creates music, it’s extremely useful to further comprehend oscillations that travel through the gas cloud the nature of star creation and even the theory around it. The recorded sound is “the lowest note of relativity, which encompasses theories about in the universe,” according to Dr. Andrew Fabian, gravitation and its relationship to other forces of an x-ray astronomer. While the lowest note a nature. Scientists are now directing their efforts to human can hear has a period (or the time needed gas clusters similar to the Perseus one in order to for a complete vibration) of one-twentieth of a gather more data on these inaudible waves.

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Fall 2020

SCHOOL LIFE

GIRLS IN STEM

G7 SUMMIT ENCOURAGES GIRLS TO EXPLORE STEM FIELDS BY TERESA MESSMORE, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

It’s a Saturday morning in early March, and classrooms in the Math and Science Center are busy with activity. In one, students are devising a quicker way to put on surgical gloves. In another, they are applying computer programming principles to the construction of a LEGO house. Elsewhere they are extracting pigments from spinach in a chemistry lab. The students are all girls, and the projects are part of the inaugural TH-G7 Summit—a one-day conference designed to inspire young women to lead and engage in math, science, engineering, medicine, politics, computer science and business. “Once they’re involved at a young age, then it will morph into high school and college and out into the real world,” Katy Craft ’20 said. “It’s definitely important to get it in young girls’ minds that STEM is for girls, too. It’s not just for guys.” Craft was motivated to organize the summit for fellow students after attending a Perry Initiative program exposing high school girls to engineering and orthopedic surgery, fields traditionally dominated by men. She formed a committee with classmates Nicole Crivelli ’21 and Siena Sysko ’21 and several faculty members to enlist professionals to speak on campus and offer handson activities for girls in grades 7 through 12. Participants explored computer science, asked questions of female scientists, practiced public speaking and tried their hands at medical devices. Middle School girls combined into groups with older students, gaining a preview of their high school classes would be like. “I wanted to learn more about different career paths, because I’m kind of confused on what career I want to go into when I’m older,” Nicole Neal ’25 said. “I wanted to get knowledge of all the different things that I could choose.” A group from Temple Prosthetics and Orthotics, founded by alumna Morgan Rollins ’17, had the girls try a variety of activities like tying their shoes with one hand behind their back to demonstrate what it is like to need a prosthetic device, and then exhibited their most recent design of an affordable,

customizable myo-electric prosthetic. Emerson McCauley ’17, who now studies mechanical engineering, co-led mechanical engineering sessions with one of her professors, Jenni Buckley, Ph.D., and Hita Kambhamettu ’18 spoke to the girls about her experiences in math and information systems classes at Carnegie Mellon. “I think this is great, because women do have a lot to bring to the table,” McCauley said. The March 7 summit began with a keynote address from Sarah McBride, National Press Secretary of the Human Rights Campaign, who championed the message of the value of a female voice, ideas and presence in all arenas, especially at a young age. Participants then broke into groups for hands-on sessions led by Tower Hill alumni and parents. “Last spring, I attended a Girls in STEM conference, where a presenter cited a study that asked students if they wanted to be engineers,” Math Department Chair Noreen Jordan said. “Girls were twice as likely as boys to say no. But when they were asked if they would like to design a safe water system, or use DNA to solve a crime, the girls answered yes. The TH-G7 Summit was indeed a collaborative project where our female students and teachers designed the day to exhibit, spark interest and inspire young women to think about and pursue college majors and careers in STEM-related fields. There was a great vibe and a lot of energy from all those involved in the day.”

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Fall 2020

EARTH DAY

Students in each division celebrated Earth Day on April 22. Upper School students went on a scavenger hunt, searching for items like squirrels, birds and wildflowers; Middle School students made origami trees and earths; and kindergarteners made forts, castles, bird feeders and more using only recycled materials.

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Fall 2020

SCHOOL LIFE

TOWER DAY

Students in each division celebrated Tower Day on April 29 by taking a break from their screens and spending some time outdoors. Lower Schoolers (and faculty members!) spent the morning creating their own towers or recreating their favorite spot on campus.

FIELD DAY

For the 98th Field Day, the Lower and Middle Schools gathered via Zoom to reflect on the spirit of this community event, engage in a little friendly competition and celebrate tradition—even if in a virtual format! Thank you to the Physical Education Department and student captains Layna Gerhard ’24, Michael Dignazio ’24, Robby Saunders ’24 and Olivia Kushkin ’24.

Watch a video at towerhill.org/bulletin 68

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SCHOOL LIFE

NEW TRUSTEES

Suzanne Ashley is an attorney and the former Special Adviser and Senior Counsel to the Director of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as a former associate in the white collar criminal and congressional investigations practice groups at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, D.C. Since leaving government service, she founded CrowdFair, Inc. to connect women and minority-owned startups with early stage capital through crowdfunding. Ashley is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She served on the board of trustees at Capitol Hill Day School and the Board of Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts. She and her husband Nicolas Jafarieh moved to Wilmington in 2018, and their three children—Luke ’27, Beck ’29 and Anya ’31— attend Tower Hill. She co-chaired Tower Hill’s DISTINCT Home and School committee and joined the Advancement Committee in January 2020. The Hon. Kenneth A. Simpler is an owner of Delaware-based Seaboard Hotels, a developer and manager of hotel and resort properties in Delaware, North Carolina and Florida. Simpler served as Delaware’s State Treasurer from 2015 to 2018. Prior to holding public office, he was a managing director at Citadel, LLC, where he oversaw the firm’s private investment business unit and served on the firm’s worldwide investment committee. He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in political economy and earned an M.B.A. and J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago. He recently completed a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Delaware. He has served on the board of directors of Draper Holdings, the parent company of WBOC and Fox 21, and the finance committee of Beebe Healthcare. He and his wife, Liz, are the parents of Blakeley ’15, Gillian ’18 (who left for St. Andrew’s) and Emmett ’21. Genelle Trader ’70 is a consultant, executive coach and former marketing executive at Silicon Valley technology companies. Trader was the first African American to attend Tower Hill and one of two African-American students to graduate in 1970. Her 25 years in the corporate arena included nine years at Sun Microsystems as worldwide director of marketing for SunExpress, senior director of the Workstation Products Group and selection by the Product Group president to lead a major global change initiative. She went on to found her own consulting and executive coaching firm and in 2013 joined Right Management, which provides executive and leadership coaching to Fortune 500 companies. She earned a bachelor’s of science in mathematics from Tufts University and an M.S. in management from MIT. She has served on the boards of the National Park Foundation’s African American Experience Fund, the HistoryMakers, Serviam Girls Academy and The Links, Incorporated.

Thank You

Ellen Jamison Kullman ’74 concluded her service on Tower Hill’s board of trustees in June, having been appointed in 2007 and serving as vice chair from 2010 to 2019. She also chaired the compensation committee from 2018-2020 and was on multiple committees throughout her trustee tenure. Kullman is the CEO of the 3D printing company Carbon and is the former chief executive officer of DuPont. In addition to being a Tower Hill alum herself, Kullman’s three children— Maggie ’08, David ’12 and Stephen ’12—are graduates of Tower Hill. “Ellen’s support of Tower Hill has made a tremendous impact on our students and school,” Head of School Bessie Speers said. “Her leadership, vision and philanthropy have been transformational, and I am personally appreciative of her mentorship. We look forward to celebrating her and her family’s legacy with the opening of Kullman Commons when we can convene in person with the Kullman family.” Charles Elson completed his term on Tower Hill’s board of trustees in June, having been appointed in 2008. Elson is the director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware and a leading authority on corporate governance. His two children—Caroline ’18 and Chip ’21—are Hillers, and Caroline is currently attending Harvard University. “Charles’ expertise on the board has been incredibly valuable to Tower Hill,” Speers said. “Charles cares deeply about education, and Tower Hill in particular. We are grateful for his steadfast leadership over the last 12 years as a board member and all the ways the Elson family welcomed the Speers family to Wilmington when we first moved here.”

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well wishes PAUL CAPODANNO

HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL DEPARTS TOWER HILL AFTER 12 YEARS

The 2019-2020 school year was Mr. Cap’s final year at Tower Hill. During his 12-year tenure, he developed and enhanced the Summer at Tower Hill program, resurrected the varsity basketball program and through his vision and leadership, greatly influenced the Middle School as head of the division over the past eight years. Mr. Cap’s leadership style on the court and in the Middle School hallways is that of a leader-as-coach. He knows how to motivate and get the most out of his team. It has always been a model in which he gives support and guidance, helping his team learn how to adapt to constantly changing environments by unleashing fresh energy, innovation and commitment. Fresh energy. Paul Capodanno brought fresh energy to the Middle School with his hands-on approach. He was always “in it” with students, families and teachers. Every morning, Mr. Cap would sit at the top of the Middle School stairway across from his office, greeting students as they arrived up the steps. He was always one of the first to arrive at school. Fifth and sixth graders would often see Mr. Cap as they

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prepared to head down to gym class each day, waiting at the bottom of the Middle School stairway to toss a ball to the children while he reminded them to slow down and take their time on the way to the gym. At lunch, one would find Mr. Cap waiting at the entrance of the lunch room talking with teachers and students. During lunch, Cap never sat. He would typically like to stand by the salad bar talking to those who passed by, answering the most important questions for a Middle Schooler: “Hey Mr. Cap, whose fro-yo day is today?” “Mr. Cap, can our grade sit outside today?” or “Can we please have a dress down day on Friday, Mr. Cap?” He was quite savvy answering those questions for the kids! Those students who may not have had a chance to see Mr. Cap enough during the day would usually stop by his office on their way out to the practice fields or to pick-up line to say goodbye and to ask for a piece of candy. Everyone knew Mr. Cap always had candy! That enormous “Mr. Cap bowl” in his office might be filled to the top, overflowing with hard candies on a Monday, but with the way the kids (and teachers) visited each day, that bowl needed a number of refills during the week. Mr. Cap loved to celebrate the students’ accomplishments, birthdays and talents; he was their number one cheerleader. But his most critical conversations in front of the students always emphasized character, responsibility and respect. His passion rubbed off on those who surrounded him. Innovation. Technology may not be Cap’s forte, yet he knew how to get things started and could encourage those around him to be flexible to try something new. Not an easy task, but a necessary one in today’s ever changing environments. A highly skilled and effective leader, Cap always listened, adapted and made compromises. He was called on to make difficult decisions, and sometimes he needed to be the referee in key situations. As any sports fan would know, anytime there is a close contest, the expectation is that the referee is going to make the right call. In middle school life, there are some tough calls that needed to be made, like dress code, disciplinary issues, new schedules (eight new schedules to be exact),

Commitment. This is Cap’s most defining trait. As any competitive athlete and team player knows, commitment to your team goes a long way. Cap was at all of the concerts, the games, the performances and the competitions; everyone who knows him could see the dedication he put into the things that matter most: the kids. Cap has always been committed to following through, and that quality is what those who follow his lead can always see in his words and actions. He wants what is best for each member of the team and cares deeply about making decisions that are in the best interest of the children. The real test of Cap’s

commitment is action and not mere talk. Words are easy to say, but it is much harder to live them out each day. Throughout his tenure, Cap has been committed, supportive and dedicated to the Middle School.

SCHOOL LIFE

Bring-Your-Own-Device policies, report systems and schedule conflicts. Cap handled the tough calls equitably, with a fair and judicious approach. He moved the Middle School forward for the better over his eight years leading the division and made improvements for students, families and teachers.

Thank you, Cap, for your energy, innovation and commitment to all of us. The entire Middle School wishes you all the best on your new journey, which we hope includes plenty of exercise, rounds of golf, some basketball games, a few vacations to Myrtle Beach, time well spent with your sons, Paul and Andrew, and some nice, long walks with your wife, “Peaches.” Thank you for everything, Cap! We will greatly miss you in the Middle School at Tower Hill! —Paul Mulvena and the Middle School faculty

CARL WISMER

MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH TEACHER RETIRES AFTER 36 YEARS While reminiscing with him earlier this week about our long professional journey together, Carl, in typical fashion, made it clear to me that I should keep the comments that I am going to share today very brief. And though I will try my best, I’m not sure how one compresses a 36-year journey into a few brief sentences. And if truth be told, our first interactions together actually slightly precede his arrival as a fulltime faculty member at Tower Hill in the fall of 1984, since we first met back in the early ’80s when both of us were coaching cross country and track while Carl was at A.I. Dupont High School. Carl’s early coaching days also included a part-time stint in the baseball program at Tower Hill, meaning he was a known commodity to some in the Tower Hill community. So, when a Middle School math position opened up, Carl became one to whom the school could reach out, and it has been our great fortune over these many years that he accepted the offer that came his way. As most of you know, Carl has worn a number of important hats during his Tower Hill tenure. In addition to being an invaluable member of the Middle School math faculty whose flexibility with teaching assignments allowed his talents to be used where

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well wishes needed, he was also for many years a successful three-season coach at both the Middle School and Upper School levels. In addition, he has tackled various administrative responsibilities over the years, including a stint as Assistant Head of Middle School. However, most importantly for me were his many years serving as both Middle School math coordinator and the overseer of the Middle School schedule. Carl actually moved into his role as math coordinator shortly before I was appointed department chair in 1992. The input and support that Carl provided me during my years as department chair were invaluable. His knowledge of the Middle School program as a whole, his understanding of the needs and wishes of his Middle School colleagues, his ability to read the pulse of the students, and his tactful yet firm approach with anxious and at times demanding parents were key elements in creating a successful math program. Carl was an incredibly effective first line of defense, and I always knew I could reach out to him to help trouble shoot whenever a tough situation needed to be addressed. It was also my good fortune when Carl was asked many years back to oversee the Middle School schedule work. He became my critical partner in helping to coordinate the development of the school’s academic schedule and to ensure that the pieces across all divisions were properly fitting together. In addition, for the last 15 years, he has spent countless hours working to understand the nuances and idiosyncracies of TowerNet, and he has played a key role in creating effective ways for faculty to apply its various components to their classwork. The final, and most important, point to make about Carl’s time at Tower Hill is to recognize the

incredible impact that he has had on the myriad of students with whom he has worked. It is not unusual to hear Upper School students talk fondly of their time spent in Carl’s classes. Often they have shared the ideas Mr. Wismer taught them, applying them to the mathematics they were currently studying. In addition, many continued to organize their homework notebooks and work through their various assignments using the approaches taught them by Carl. I can also speak to the positive impact he has had on Tower Hill students from personal experience, as Carl is one of the few Tower Hill faculty members who taught all three of my children. And as I found out this past weekend when asking them about their recollections of Mr. Wismer, all could share memorable stories about their time in his class, the activities they engaged in, the lessons that they learned and the moments he encouraged and supported them. In closing, my one regret is that I am unable this afternoon to be standing on the porch of Hayward House with Carl by my side as I share my thoughts. It will be strange not seeing him in Room 203 next year, and I will miss our occasional informal chats about all things Tower Hill, as well as our time during the summer working to have everything in place so that the next school year gets off to a smooth start. But for all of us who have worked with him over the years, we are grateful for having had Carl as a colleague, a mentor and a trustworthy friend. Fortunately, he will not be far away, so hopefully he will be a frequent visitor. Carl, we send you off with best wishes for a wonderful retirement and our heartfelt thanks for all you have meant to Tower Hill. —Jack Smith, Upper School math

FAREWELL TO LONGTIME DINING STAFF MEMBERS RONNIE HANBY AND MARIE SPAIN Ronnie Hanby and Marie Spain, who worked in Tower Hill’s Dining Room for 46 and 34 years respectively, announced their retirements this summer. Spain joined Tower Hill as a cook, known for her cheesesteaks, sloppy joes, stuffed shells and signature salads. Hanby started her Tower Hill career on the maintenance crew in 1974, and two years later she switched over to the kitchen staff. Both began with the intent of moving on to other positions, but grew to love the work and the students. “I think the major thing I will miss most of all will be my interaction with ‘my’ Tower Hill children, whom I love like my own,” Hanby said. “Please tell them that ‘Miss Ronnie’ will truly miss them, but they will forever be in my prayers.” Ronnie Spain 72 Hanby Tower Hill Bulletin Marie Fall 2020

2019-2020

Donor Honor Roll

On behalf of the students, families, faculty and staff at Tower Hill School, thank you. Your generous gifts make a difference in the lives of our students.

Dear Tower Hill supporters, Thank you for your support of Tower Hill School during our Centennial year. The 2019-2020 Donor Honor Roll comprises Tower Hill alumni, parents, former parents, grandparents, trustees, faculty and staff who contributed to the successful fundraising year for both the Tower Hill 100 Centennial Campaign and the Tower Hill Annual Fund, which surpassed its $1 million dollar goal for the second consecutive year. Thanks to your generosity, we invested in our students, faculty and programs at the highest level, ensuring Tower Hill’s tradition of educational excellence continues into a second century, even amid tremendous challenges. I would also like to extend sincere appreciation to all of Tower Hill’s dedicated volunteers: the Advancement Committee; the Honorary, Steering and Decades Centennial Committees; the Alumni Council; Annual Fund parent captains; alumni class agents; Home and School; and Green and White. We are so grateful for your time, enthusiasm and tremendous efforts for the benefit of Tower Hill School, especially during Centennial. This is an important and pivotal time in Tower Hill’s history, and your philanthropic support continues to make the remarkable happen for this extraordinary school. Thank you so much for your generosity and belief in Tower Hill School. With heartfelt gratitude,

Kristin B. Mumford Director of Advancement and Enrollment Management

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Fall 2020

YOUR IMPACT—THANK YOU TOWER HILL 100 CENTENNIAL CAMPAIGN UPDATE

$12,813,350

Total raised toward our Tower Hill 100 Centennial Campaign goal of $19.19 million

$3,204,277

Total giving in 2019-2020, including gifts made to the Tower Hill 100 Centennial Campaign

Annual Fund

$1,044,573

Total raised for the Annual Fund—largest amount raised in THS history “The Annual Fund is enhancing, not just subsidizing, which I think is critical. You think of innovation, the strategic plan that’s been communicated across the board, and the opportunities for the future … that’s what is exciting for donors to support.” —Bill Daiger, former Tower Hill grandparent and former trustee

100%

1,137

$920

157

Tower Hill students who benefit from your gift to the Annual Fund

Average gift size per donor this year, up 17% from last year

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Total donors who gave to the Annual Fund

New donors who gave to the Annual Fund

540

Tower Hill alumni who gave to the Annual Fund

81%

Class of 2020 parents leading the way for Annual Fund participation

DONORS BY GIVING CIRCLE ALL FUNDS INCLUDING THE ANNUAL FUND JULY 1, 2019–JUNE 30, 2020 Cornerstone Circle $50,000+ Anonymous (1) CSP Family Foundation Mr. & Mrs. William H. Daiger, Jr. David F. du Pont ’52 Trust* Mr. & Mrs. Joseph DeSantis Mr. Benjamin F. du Pont ’82 & Mrs. Laura Lemole du Pont Ellice & Rosa McDonald Foundation Mr. & Mrs. E. Thomas Harvey III Mrs. Loring Weaver Knott ’08 Mrs. Ellen Jamison Kullman ’74 & Mr. Michael E. Kullman Mrs. Logan Weaver Read ’10 Mr. & Mrs. David M. Shepherd Mr. & Mrs. John P. Sheppard The Laffey-McHugh Foundation The Starrett Foundation Mrs. Isabella Speakman Timon ’92 & Mr. Philip C. Timon Mr. Rodman Ward III ’83 & Mrs. Gina Farabaugh Ward Mr. & Mrs. Thomas D. Whittington, Jr. Multa Bene Facta Circle $25,000-$49,999 Mrs. Elizabeth Prince de Ramel Mr. Régis A. de Ramel Dr. John M. Flynn ’81 & Mrs. Mary Flynn Dr. & Mrs. Eric T. Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Thomas S. Johnson Dr. Kris A. Kowal & Dr. Wen Liu Mr. & Mrs. Henry C. S. Mellon Dr. & Mrs. Nisheeth R. Patel Mrs. Susan Hill Ward ’54 & Mr. Rodman Ward, Jr. Founders’ Circle $15,000 - $24,999 Anonymous (1) Robert & Suzanne DeSantis Mr. W. Whitfield Gardner ’81 & Mrs. Cynthia H. Gardner Mr. Bradford L. Hayward ’04 Mr. Laird R. Hayward ’02 Mr. Pierre duP. Hayward ’66 & Mrs. Martina Combs Hayward Mr. Samuel I. duP. Hyland ’89 Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Pettinaro Mrs. Stephanie du P. Bredin Speakman ’64 Tower Hill Fellow $10,000 - $14,999 Mrs. Stacey H. Bacchieri Mrs. William A. Bours III* Dr. G. Mark Bussard ’90 Mr. Christopher R. Donoho III ’87 & Mrs. Erica Reedy Donoho Ambassador & Mrs. Edward E. Elson Heather Richards Evans ’80 Mrs. Beverly Wild Finch ’59 Mr. & Mrs. Richard E. Franta Ms. Elizabeth A. Garrigues ’45* Mr. Adam Gould & Ms. Nicholle R. Taylor Mr. & Mrs. Timothy J. Langlois Mr. James W. Morris ’73 Mr. & Mrs. Michael R. Nestor

Mrs. Sumitra Patel Ms. Christine Kane Plant ’69 Mr. & Mrs. J. Mathieu Plumb Mr. & Mrs. Scott A. Smith Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Steiner THS Alumni Council Mr. Randolph W. Urmston ’62 Trustees’ Circle $5,000 - $9,999 Anonymous (1) Mr. Ashley R. Altschuler ’90 and Mrs. Shoshana M. Altschuler Mr. Nicolas Jafarieh and Ms. Suzanne E. Ashley Mr. Robert M. Bird III ’62 Mrs. Georgina Miller Bissell ’38* Mrs. Joan Ross Bolling ’47 Mr. Eric J. Brinsfield and Dr. Martha Lynn Brinsfield Mr. John Buonocore, Jr. Dr. Christopher D. Casscells ’71 and Mrs. Susan Warren Casscells Dr. Kimberly Wright Cassidy and Mr. Bart Cassidy Dr. Anthony L. Cucuzzella Mrs. Nickie Julian Currie ’90 Mr. Charles J. Durante ’69 and Mrs. Janice F. Durante Mrs. Amanda Walker Friz ’92 and Mr. Robert W. Friz Mrs. Joan Fairman Gummey ’61 and Mr. Charles F. Gummey, Jr. Mrs. Nancy L. Hayward ’60 Drs. Robert and Rachel Heinle Mr. Donald N. Isken Mr. Michael A. Jenkins ’80 and Mrs. Ann Kallfelz Jenkins ’80 Mr. Timothy L. Jones ’85 and Mrs. Hillary Jones Mr. Robert J. Krapf ’69 and Mrs. Jean A. Krapf Mr. Jeffrey Liu ’84 Mr. Whitney M. Maroney ’87 and Mrs. Katharine Fisher Maroney Mrs. Antonia Bredin Massie ’73 Mr. and Mrs. Jay R. Miller Mr. David T. Nowland ’85 and Mrs. Cathleen C. Nowland Ms. Lisa A. Olson ’76 and Mr. Roger S. Hillas, Jr. Mr. Charles F. Richards, Jr. ’55 and Mrs. Pamela Richards Ms. Elizabeth H. Richardson Dr. Christopher J. Saunders ’80 and Mrs. Alice M. Saunders Mr. and Mrs. Rodger D. Smith II The Rev. and Mrs. Thomas G. Speers III The Windfall Foundation THS Home & School Association Mr. Matthew T. Twyman III ’88 and Mrs. Carmen Morris Twyman Mrs. Susan Wood Waesco ’90 and Mr. Kevin M. Waesco Mr. Carmen M. Wallace ’93 St. Amour Society $2,500 - $4,999 Mr. and Mrs. Vincent T. Abessinio Mr. and Mrs. John G. Aird Dr. and Mrs. Sung Ho Bae Mr. Richard Bender and Ms. Alison Frost Mr. and Mrs. Lewis S. Black, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Bland Mr. and Mrs. Steve Boyden Mr. Todd Buonocore ’87 and Dr. Allison D. Kolody Buonocore Mrs. Carroll Morgan Carpenter ’59 Dr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Conaty III Dr. Anthony R. Cucuzzella ’82 and Mrs. Lucinda Cole Cucuzzella Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Delle Donne

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Mr. Irénée du Pont, Jr. ’38 and Mrs. Barbara du Pont Easton Choral Arts Society, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Elson Dr. David M. Fink and Dr. Maria E. Soler Mr. Michael J. Flynn ’91 and Mrs. Melissa W. Flynn ’91 Dr. John Gavenonis and Dr. Sara C. Gavenonis Mrs. Patricia Hompe Gibson Mr. Michael L. Hershey ’56 Mr. Liang Huang and Ms. Di Yang Mr. and Mrs. M. Roy Jackson Dr. Mehdi Jadali and Dr. Bahareh Assadi Dr. Eric D. Kalish and Mrs. Holly L. Kalish Mr. and Mrs. Theodore A. Kittila Mr. C. Ronald Maroney ’59 and Mrs. Eleanor Silliman Maroney Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin W. Messmore Dr. Munish Pahwa and Dr. Anjala Pahwa Mr. Anthony J. Salva ’94 and Mrs. Mandy J. Salva Mr. H. Rodney Scott ’66 and Mrs. Andrea Martz Scott Judy and Joseph Setting Mr. Robert M. Silliman, Jr. ’96 and Mrs. Kelly Silliman Mr. and Mrs. David A. Soleye Dr. John D. Statler ’86 Mr. William A. Sturm and Mrs. Maria Borrero Goizueta The Philadelphia Contributionship Mr. Edward J. Tucker and Mrs. Gaozhen Hang Ms. Anne A. Verplanck ’76 Mr. and Mrs. William L. Wallace Mr. David N. Williams ’53 and Mrs. Elisabeth O’Hear Williams Mrs. Marilyn Morrow Woodhouse ’49 1919 Society $1,919 - $2,499 Anonymous (1) Mr. Michael A. Alvarez ’06 and Mrs. Natalie Alvarez Mr. Randolph Barton, Jr. ’59 and Mrs. Margaret Barton Dr. William W. Beck, Jr. ’57 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Bickhart Dr. and Mrs. Drew A. Brady Mr. Tarik Haskins and The Hon. Natalie J. Haskins Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Hewes IV Dr. Charles L. Hobbs ’65 and Mrs. Sandra K. Hobbs Mr. Douglas R. Jamieson ’73 Mrs. Ann Lunger Jones ’58 Ms. Aleni M. Pappas ’96 and Mr. Anthony G. Kyriakakis Mrs. Zoë S. Pappas Ms. Tucker T. Pierson ’93 and Mr. Travis J. Elliott Mr. Anthony R. Pisapia and Dr. Allison M. Pisapia Mr. and Mrs. Andrew R. Remming Mr. Peter E. Rothschild ’92 Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Saunders Mr. and Mrs. Todd C. Schiltz Ms. H. Donnan Sharp ’56 Dr. and Mrs. Anthony W. Villare Mrs. Carla A. Wasniewski Mr. John L. Williams ’94 Dr. Jinsong Zhang and Dr. Huijun Wang Head of School’s Circle $1,000 - $1,918 Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Allen Mr. Roger W. Arrington ’66 and Mrs. Anne Hobbs Arrington ’67 Mr. and Mrs. J. Scott Bailer Mr. and Mrs. Perry S. Beberman Dr. Laurence H. Beck ’58 Dr. and Mrs. Sean M. Bidic

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Mrs. Eva Cambre Bisso ’91 Mr. and Mrs. William Black Dr. and Mrs. Leif-Erik Bohman Mr. and Mrs. Peter M. Bradshaw, Jr. Mrs. Anne M. Brinsfield Mrs. Alisha Wayman Bryson ’91 Mr. Lalor Burdick ’58 Mr. David H. Burt ’76 and Mrs. Audrey Whiteside Burt ’78 Dr. Gordon A. Bussard ’61 and Mrs. Patricia Margraf Bussard Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Caffrey Mr. Naxin Cai and Ms. Xiaoming Ma Ms. Ellen Cannon ’72 Mr. W. Timothy Cashman III ’79 The Hon. Michael N. Castle ’57 and Mrs. Jane D. Castle Mr. Jian J. Chen and Ms. Hongxia K. Gao Mr. and Mrs. Matthew B. Chesman Mr. and Mrs. M. Blake Cleary Steve and Michelle Coulter Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cover Mr. and Mrs. Martin Coyne Mr. and Mrs. Stephen B. Craft Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Crouch Ms. Louise E. Cummings-Lewis Mrs. Sarah Crittenden D’Alonzo ’74 and Mr. William F. D’Alonzo Ms. Laura de Ramel Mrs. Tenley I. de Ramel Mr. and Mrs. Henry E. I. du Pont II Mr. Thère du Pont II ’84 and Ms. Darla Pomeroy Mrs. Grace du Pont Engbring ’76 Mr. Marcelo E. Fasano and Mrs. Maria Julieta Casanova First Stop Friday Mr. C. Barr Flinn ’79 and Mrs. Grier B. Flinn Dr. and Mrs. Churchill C. Franklin Mr. and Mrs. Alexander K. Garnick Dr. and Mrs. David J. Gaz Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Gessner, Jr. Mr. Kekin Ghelani and Dr. Dimple Maun Dr. Mona Yezdani Gillen ’01 and Mr. Peter W. Gillen Mrs. Karen Abrams Graham ’76 and Mr. Homer E. Graham III Mrs. Katherine Carol Hughes Halpern ’75 and Mr. John D. Halpern Mrs. Julie R. Harnish Mr. Verne C. Harnish Mrs. Penelope Harris Mr. John V. W. Harvey Mr. Scott T. Hattersley Mr. and Mrs. Arthur P. Helmick Mr. and Mrs. James L. Holzman Mr. Scott L. Hunter ’72 Mrs. Deanna P. Hynansky Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Janssen, Jr. Dr. Matthew Jordan and Dr. Trisha Jordan Mr. Richard R. Joyce ’61 Mr. Adam Kalamchi ’01 Dr. and Mrs. Ali Kalamchi Mrs. Tiffany A. Kator Steele Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Keith Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Kenney Mr. Lawrance Kimmel ’97 Mr. and Mrs. Trevor M. Koenig, Sr. Mr. Johnny Korn and Dr. Jennifer Creed Dr. Wei Chen and Dr. Chengyu Liu Mr. Tao Luo and Ms. Wei Xu Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Martelli Mrs. Diana Wardenburg Maxmin ’55 Mr. Albert J. McCrery IV ’00 and Mrs. Megan C. McCrery Mrs. Mary Lunger McKay ’66 Mrs. Gale Pierson McNish ’61 and Mr. Douglas McNish

Benefactors’ Circle $500 - $999 Anonymous (1) Mrs. Fleming McCoy Ackermann ’90 Mrs. Sylvia Dent Aerenson ’89 and Mr. Robert Aerenson Mrs. Marjorie E. Altergott Mr. Kurt M. Anstreicher ’74 Mr. and Mrs. Robert V. Behr Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Bemis Mrs. Ann Elliott Blanchard ’60 Dr. and Mrs. Howard Borin Mr. Chadd E. Boulden ’97 Mr. Brooks J. Bowen ’67 Mr. and Mrs. Christopher P. Cadou Mr. R.R.M. Carpenter III ’58 and Mrs. Stephanie Conklin Carpenter ’58 Dr. and Mrs. John J. Chabalko Mr. Richard S. Cobb and Mrs. Kathleen Kreusch-Cobb Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Conaty IV Mr. and Mrs. Richard F. Corroon II Mr. Christopher M. Cresswell ’97 Dr. Amy Cuddy and Mr. Brian Cuddy Mr. Warren H. Dean ’75 and Mrs. Elizabeth Dean Mrs. Andrea I. Debold

Mr. Matthew D. Dinneen ’02 Dr. Robert C. Director ’67 and Mrs. Deborah Director Mr. Clarence E. DiSabatino III Mr. Richard A. Dobbs ’60 and Mrs. Yolande Brown Dobbs ’62 Mrs. Alice Warner Donaghy ’58 Dr. Deepak Doraiswamy and Dr. Kelly Ann Hunter Doraiswamy Mr. Willis H. du Pont ’54 Mr. John S. Edinger, Jr. ’78 and Mrs. Laurie Edinger Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Faller Mr. Gerrit A. Fedele and Dr. Vickie T. Fedele Dr. and Mrs. John R. S. Fisher Mr. K. Cole Flickinger ’94 and Mrs. Tonya Norris Flickinger Mr. Andrew Y. Fong ’99 Mrs. Lisa Harrington Foote ’72 and Mr. George B. Foote, Jr. Mrs. Kim F. Fortunato Dr. and Mrs. John W. Freebery, Jr. Mrs. Sara Casscells Fry ’05 Mrs. Alice Kitchel Fulweiler ’72 and Mr. Peter C. Fulweiler Mr. Millard G. Gamble IV ’61 Ms. Patricia Gallagher Gastaud ’63 Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Giacco Mrs. Caroline Glaeseman Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Glowatz Mr. and Mrs. Camilo J. Gopez Mrs. Michele du Pont Goss ’59 Mr. Marc L. Greenberg ’81 and Mrs. Nancy Ann Greenberg Mrs. Eleanor L. Gregory Mr. and Mrs. Chad E. Groves Mrs. Mary Grover Hagan ’81 and Mr. David B. Hagan Mr. Thomas J. Hanna ’91 and Dr. Lynne A. Hanna Mrs. Margaret Thouron Harrell ’60 and Mr. Paul H. Harrell, Jr. Mrs. Judith Carpenter Herdeg ’57 and Mr. John A. Herdeg Ms. Lauren B. Hoelzer, Esq. ’97 Mr. Joseph C. Hoopes, Jr. ’61 and Mrs. Lesley Bissell Hoopes ’64 Mr. and Mrs. Kerry T. Hoopes Mrs. B. Holliday Hoopes Hudimac ’73 Ms. Paula S. Janssen ’91 Mrs. Ellet Kidd Jones Mr. Richard I.G. Jones, Jr. ’83 and Mrs. Ashley Allen Jones Mr. and Mrs. Jason Jowers Mr. Philip D. Laird III ’65 Mrs. Cynthia Lewis LaMothe ’58 Dr. Lauren S. Lineback and Mr. Brian R. Selander Mr. Yao-Bin Liu and Ms. Jing Wang Mrs. Kathleen Joyce Lofstedt ’63 Mrs. Alice Flaherty Long ’65 and Mr. John R. Long Ms. Patricia E. Marshall Mr. Jonathan H. Marvel ’65 Mr. and Mrs. Albert J. McCrery III Mrs. Jane Edwards McKinstry ’53 Ms. Elizabeth J. Mongan ’06 Drs. George and Alexia Moutsatsos Dr. Anil Nabha ’93 Dr. and Mrs. Jason E. Nace Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Newswanger Mr. John T. Oglesby III and Ms. Kathleen L. Guare Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Pankow Mrs. Monica Patel Mr. William T. Pease ’69 Dr. and Mrs. Morris Peterzell Mr. John C. Pierson III ’87 and Mrs. Heather R.B. Pierson Mrs. Lee Leonard Podolsky ’85 and Mr. Andrew J. Podolsky Mrs. Carol Raiber Powell ’76 Mr. Edward I. Richards ’90 Mrs. Jane Savage Riley ’74 Mrs. Deborah Komins Ross ’89 Mr. Michael D. Sachs ’86 and Mrs. Robin P. Sachs Mr. Thomas L. Savage ’78

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Fall 2020

HONOR ROLL

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Messmore Ms. Susan Miller Mr. and Mrs. Karl T. Molin II Mr. and Mrs. Mark Mumford Mr. Frank H. Nickel, Jr. Mr. Henry E. Nickle ‘76 and Mrs. Anne Nickle Mr. and Mrs. Pawel L. Okenczyc Mr. and Mrs. John E. Osborn P.S. du Pont IV Trust Mr. C. Dimitri D. Pappas ‘93 and Mrs. Stephanie M. Pappas Mr. Madhusudhan Pudipeddi and Ms. Sujata Swaminathan Mr. and Mrs. Srinivas M. Raju Mr. and Mrs. Matthew T. Rice Mr. Thomas B. Rice and Mrs. Cynthia M. Mahaffey-Rice Mr. Robert S. Richards ‘52 Mr. John E. Riegel, Jr. ‘90 and Mrs. Amanda Golding Riegel ‘94 Mr. and Mrs. Blake K. Rohrbacher Mr. and Mrs. Andrew C. Rose Mrs. Beth Carney Salter ‘82 and Mr. Dennis M. Salter Dr. Jonathan H. Salvin and Dr. Karen J. Lefrak Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey M. Schlerf Mr. Thomas M. Schorn Mr. H. Wesley Schwandt ‘86 and Mrs. Michelle A. Schwandt Mr. Hao Sha and Ms. Feng Qiu Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Siegfried, Jr. The Hon. and Mrs. Kenneth A. Simpler Mrs. Alice Woodcock Smith ‘59 Dr. Andrew D. Sparks ‘91 and Mrs. Laura Q. Permut Sparks ‘93 Mrs. Rosemary Stack Mr. and Mrs. Michael Sullivan Dr. Ernest F. Tark III ‘73 Mr. Yu Tian Ms. Genelle S. Trader ‘70 Dr. and Mrs. Marc E. Uknis Mrs. Andrea Trippitelli Valentine ‘89 and Mr. John Valentine Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Vanni Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Vella Dr. Philip L. Verplanck ‘77 Mrs. M. Abbigail Keller Wagner ‘93 and Mr. Benjamin B. Wagner Mr. Charles Warner III ‘49 Mr. James B.D.E. Weisbrod ‘63 Mr. H. Alex Wise ‘64 and Mrs. Wendy Ward Wise ‘68 Mr. and Mrs. Hong Jun Zhao

Mr. and Mrs. H. Murray Sawyer, Jr. Ms. Mary Beth Searles ’87 Dr. and Mrs. Timothy J. Shickley Mr. Henry H. Silliman, Jr. ’52* and Mrs. Marion T. Silliman Mr. and Mrs. Christopher P. Simon Mr. Randy Singer ’68 and Mrs. Jane Beacom Singer Dr. Jorge M. Soares and Dr. Elizabeth B. Bayley Mr. Richard Stetson II ’81 Mr. Major N. Travers III ’62 Ms. Katherine S. Ward ’62 Dr. Ellis A. Wasson Ms. Elizabeth A. Way ’79 Mr. Daniel P. Weinstein ’92 Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Welshmer Mr. Charles M. Weymouth ’56 Mrs. Bonnie S. White Mrs. Jane K. Wood Dr. Creighton B. Wright ’57 Mr. Wenoao Yang and Mrs. Ji Jin Drs. Khaja and Vijaya Yezdani Forever Green Circle $100-$499 Anonymous (1) Mrs. Lauren Arrington Abecassis ’05 Mr. Henry H. Abernathy, Jr. ’62 and Mrs. Pamela Mendolia Abernathy ’62 Dr. Anisha A. Abraham ’86 Mr. and Mrs. Oorial C. Abraham Mrs. Lindsay Phelps Hobbs Acevedo ’95 Mr. and Mrs. Brian L. Adderley, Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Roger A. Akin Dr. and Mrs. Aristides C. Alevizatos AmazonSmile Foundation Ms. Grace E. Anderson Mrs. Margaretta Stabler Andrews ’75 Mr. Richard B. Angiullo and Ms. Holly A. Lissner Mrs. Elizabeth Montaigne Applegate ’79 and Mr. Robert R. Applegate Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Armstrong Mrs. Tracey Dulick Armstrong ’85 Mr. Christopher J. Arntzen ’88 Dr. Zahid Aslam and Dr. Maryam Awan Mr. and Mrs. Randall M. Attix Mr. Carl Backman ’85 Dr. Anthony Bahinski and Mrs. Patricia A. DeFeo Dr. Jun Bai and Dr. Xiaolan Song Mrs. Sally Beck Baker ’62 Dr. and Mrs. Earl J. Ball III Mrs. Judith Cain Ballard ’57 Mrs. Ann Kaiser Ballinger ’86 Mr. Robert A. Bank ’78 Mr. James S. Barnhill ’88 Mr. Douglas R. Barr, Jr. Mrs. Elizabeth Bynum Barr ’83 Judge and Mrs. J. Albert Barsamian Mr. Joseph M. Barsky III ’67 Mr. and Mrs. David R. Batman Mr. Richard H. Bayard ’67 and Mrs. Josephine M. Bayard Mr. and Mrs. Samuel S. Beard Mr. and Mrs. Matt Belger Mr. and Mrs. Hamid Belkadi Mrs. Margaret Moyer Bennett ’57 Mrs. Erica Bickhart Berger ’08 Dr. Erica Edell Bernfeld ’92 Mr. Lewis S. Black III ’95 Ms. Dianne Metzger Blane ’62 Mr. David C. Blickenstaff ’86 Mrs. Rebecca R. Blickenstaff

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Mr. and Mrs. Luke H. Borda, Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Keith A. Boulden Nicholas V. L. Brokaw, Ph.D. ’66 Mrs. Ellen Flaherty Brothers ’68 and Mr. Joseph A. Brothers Mr. Kenneth Brown and Ms. Kerry King-Brown Mrs. Margaret Savage Brownell ’75 Mr. and Mrs. William M. Burris III Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Bush Mr. Christopher W. Byrne ’74 Mr. Andrew A. Cadot ’63 and Mrs. Lindsey Cadot Mr. and Mrs. Peter Cappelli, Jr. Lt. Col. Michal Carlson, USMC ’89 Ms. Laura E. Carpenter ’11 Mrs. Anne-Louise Baker Carroll ’47 Dr. and Mrs. Charles G. Case, Sr. Ms. Anne Casscells ’76 Mr. Christopher W. Casscells ’02 Mrs. Catherine Owens Castello ’01 Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Cercena Dr. SreeDevi Chandrasekhar and Dr. HK Chandrasekhar Dr. Xudong Cheng and Ms. Lin Qian Ms. Jane S. Chesson and Mr. Joel E. Saufley Marc Chevrier, M.D., Ph.D. ’84 Mrs. Ann Sawyer Chilton ’85 and Mr. Edmund R. Chilton Mr. Jimmy C. Chong ’96 Dr. Cantwell Clark V ’73 Mr. Andrew T. Cloud ’99 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Cloud Mr. Barrett J. Cobb ’69 Michael Cohen, Ph.D. ’76 Mr. T. Glenn Coleman ’87 Mrs. Courtney Collier-Beyer ’82 and Dr. Bradley D. Beyer Dr. Karyn L. Collier Mrs. Theresa F. Collurafici Mr. and Mrs. Brian B. Conaty Mr. Peter Conn ’91 Mr. and Mrs. Hank Connor Mr. James E. Conover, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Michael Considine The Hon. and Mrs. Richard R. Cooch, Sr. Mr. Barry N. Cornwall ’63 and Mrs. Deborah Handloff Cornwall ’64 Ms. Selene Costello Mrs. William A. Cover Mr. and Mrs. Scott Craig Mr. and Mrs. Peter Crivelli Mrs. Ruth M. Cromwell Mrs. Lucianne C. Cuddy Dr. Dave R. Cundiff ’70 Dr. Edward L. Cussler, Jr. ’57 Mrs. Katie Arrington D’Emilio ’97 and Mr. Matthew P. D’Emilio Ms. Lisa D. Daudon ’75 Mrs. Sheryl Jacobs Davidson ’86 Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Davis Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Davoli Mr. and Mrs. Derrick M. Deadwyler, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. DeBaecke Mr. Alex D. DeDominicis and Ms. Darlene Pence Dr. and Mrs. Gregory W. DeMeo Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. DeMuth Dr. and Mrs. Renato P. DeSantis Mr. Robert L. Dewey ’71 Mrs. Doris Harvey Dickerson ’47 Dr. Michael A. Dignazio and Dr. Allison B. Evans Mr. Corbin R. Director ’03 Mr. Stanley M. Diver ’74 and Mrs. Martha Allin Diver Dr. Kaynan Doctor and Dr. Tabassum F. Ali Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Donlon Mrs. Audrey F. Donohue

Mr. Edward H. Hawfield ’66 Mr. LaMontz M. Hayman ’87 and Ms. Renee Sumter-Hayman Mr. and Mrs. Chris Heck Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Heflin III Dr. Richard L. Hehir Ms. Meghann L. Helmick ’00 Mr. Peter Hentschel ’61 The Hon. and Mrs. Jerome O. Herlihy Mr. William L. Hewes, Jr. ’40 Dr. and Mrs. Robert L. Hickok, Jr. Mr. Justin M. Hicks ’09 Mr. Thomas Hoch Mrs. Kristin C. Hodgson Mr. Mark A. Hodgson Mrs. Sharon S. Hodgson Mr. and Mrs. David P. Hogan Mr. and Mrs. John F. Holloway Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Houston Dr. Kenneth L. Howe ’82 Mr. John A. Hughes ’78 Mr. D. Stephen Hyde ’59 and Mrs. Sally Hyde Mrs. Alma B. Jackson Drs. Eric V. and Cheryl A. Jackson Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Jeanson Ms. Elizabeth A. Jenkins ’79 Mr. Guoqian Jiang and Ms. Chengyu Huang Ms. Sydney Robertson Jimenez ’60 Dr. D. Randolph Johnson ’60 Ms. Devin M. Johnson ’97 Mrs. Hilary C. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Jerry A. Johnson Mr. Alexis C. Jolly ’01 Dr. Robert C.W. Jones, Jr. ’63 Mr. John D. Jornlin ’76 and Mrs. Janet S. Jornlin Dr. Jeesang Jung and Mrs. Hyeyoung Kim Mr. William D. Kahn and Ms. Jane A. Irving Dr. Lalitha Kambhamettu Mr. Stephanos Karakasidis ’96 Mr. and Mrs. John R. Keim Dr. John D. Kelly IV ’75 Mr. Robert T. Kennedy ’61 Mrs. Mary Ellen Jornlin Keyes ’71 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kim Drs. George and Beatriz Kimbiris Mr. and Mrs. Robert King Dr. and Mrs. Lazarus M. Kirifides Mr. and Mrs. Donald Kirtley Mr. William L. Kitchel III ’77 and Mrs. Elizabeth M. Kitchel Ms. C. Victoria Kitchell ’57 Mr. Robert L. Kline III ’77 Mr. Lawrence Knotts ’73 Mr. Shane N. Kramer ’92 Mr. Jeffrey A. Kreshtool ’73 Mrs. Katherine Chinn Kristol ’59 and Mr. Daniel M. Kristol Mr. and Mrs. Bret Kroeger Mrs. Edna S. Kulda Mr. and Mrs. Mark A. Kurtz Mr. Douglas H. Lagarde ’80 Mr. H. Scott Laird ’67 Miss Tillie Page Laird ’63 Mr. Gerald Lamborn Mr. William O. LaMotte III ’61 Mr. David C. Larned, Jr. ’95 Mr. David L. Larson ’74 Mr. and Mrs. Ted Lauzen Ms. Carolyn B. Law ’86 Mrs. Deborah S. Layton Mr. Leslie Leach and Dr. Kathleen Leach

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

HONOR ROLL

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel A. Dougherty Mrs. Linda Lagarde Drapeau ’78 Mr. Lammot du Pont III ’50 Mrs. Katharine McCoy Dubow ’00 Ms. Belinda DuPree Dr. Laurence J. Durante ’71 Ms. Lauren A. C. Easton ’01 Ms. Jane Edell ’96 Mr. John S. Edinger III ’11 Mrs. Laurie Edinger Ms. Lindsey A. Edinger ’09 Dr. Jesse M. Ehrenfeld ’96 Mr. Jim L. Ehret ’75 Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Eliot Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Elton Dr. Emmanuel J. Esaka and Dr. Agnes F. Esaka Ms. Deborah L. Esayian ’80 Mr. and Mrs. Ted S. Evans III Mr. Thomas B. Evans III ’81 Mr. Craig F. Everhart ’70 Mrs. Dorothy A. Faller The Hon. and Mrs. Joseph J. Farnan, Jr. Mr. Ronald S. Felix ’62 Mr. Wendell Fenton ’57 and Mrs. Jeannie W. Fenton Mrs. Elizabeth Hoopes Field ’63 Mr. Malcolm M. Fleming ’61 Mr. Daniel B. Flynn ’89 and Mrs. Amy Flynn Ms. Kathryn F. Fortunato ’02 Dr. Blair Wardenburg Fosburgh ’82 Ms. Mary W. Foulk ’87 Ms. Elise Bayard Franklin ’97 Ms. Kathryn Franklin Mrs. Janay Freebery and Mr. Robert Bruce Hannah Ms. Mary Candler Fulweiler ’02 Mr. Scott H. Gakenheimer ’82 Mr. and Mrs. T. Patrick Gamble Mr. Robert F. Gardner ’84 Mr. David S. Gee ’72 Mr. and Mrs. Guido Geerts Dr. Dana S. Ger ’89 Mr. Christopher Getman ’59 Dr. Abdelghani Ghazli and Ms. Imane Chichane Mr. and Mrs. George F. Gianforcaro II Mr. John M. Gibson ’38* Mrs. Tucker Ranken Giddens ’67 and Mr. Howard R. Giddens, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Michael S. Gilbert, Sr. Mrs. Carolyn Thelander Gittelson ’47 Ms. Donna Gleason Mr. and Mrs. Timothy B. Golding Mrs. Julie R. Goldston Mr. and Mrs. Tomas Gordon Mr. and Mrs. William J. Gore Dr. Sharon Wiggill Gould ’79 Mrs. Caroline Stetson Goulding ’87 Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore Grande Mrs. Victoria Maxmin Gravuer ’86 Mr. J. David Gray and Dr. Eugenia M.G. Gray Dr. Francis M. Green ’47 Mr. and Mrs. Matthew M. Greenberg Mr. Teagan J. Gregory ’05 and Ms. Michelle L. Ma ’05 Mr. and Mrs. Vincent J. Grillo, Jr. Ms. Lee Rumsey Haga ’65 Dr. James N. Haine Mr. and Mrs. Anthony P. Hankins Ms. Josephine Harney Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Harris, Jr. Dr. Richard T. Hart ’71 Mr. and Mrs. Denison H. Hatch, Jr.

Ms. Phyllis Lefrak Mr. Jay Russell Lewis ’01 Dr. and Mrs. George P. Liarakos Mr. Garrison du Pont Lickle ’72 Mr. and Mrs. Bing Lin Mrs. Sandra Loving Linder ’58 Mrs. Julia Johnson Lindquist ’58 Mr. and Mrs. Donald Lineback Mr. John A. Lockwood ’60 Mr. William H. Lockwood, Jr. ’57 Mr. and Mrs. Anestis J. Logothetis Mr. Thomas M. Lopez ’61 Dr. John P. Lorand ’54 Dr. Jonathan H. Lovell* Mrs. Robert S. Lovett Dr. and Mrs. George Lowry Mrs. Heather Weymouth Lowry ’97 and Mr. Matthew M. Lowry Mr. Anthony W. Lunger ’89 and Mrs. Jennifer Barsema Lunger Mr. H. David Lunger ’62 and Mrs. Gerrie A. Lunger Mr. William H. Lunger ’87 and Mrs. Kathryn B. Lunger Mr. Knut H. Lykke ’57 Mr. Malcolm P. MacDougall, Jr. ’63 Mr. Barton L. Mackey, Jr. ’78 and Mrs. Jennifer M. Mackey Ms. Emily M. Mackey ’09 Mr. and Mrs. Christopher J. Malatesta Mr. John S. Malik and Ms. Diane Batoff Mr. William H. Marmion, Jr. ’60 Dr. John W. Maroney ’76 Mrs. Ann Traumann Marsden ’84 Mr. Ralph D. Marshall II and Dr. Stefanie Marshall Mrs. Anjali Rao Martin ’91 Ms. Carmen Martinez Mrs. Katie Cavanagh Maslow ’61 Mrs. Bobbette A. Mason Mr. Benedict Mathu and Ms. Miriam Ndola Mr. Patrick F. Matthews ’86 Mrs. Sandra Jellinghaus McClellan ’53 Mr. Robert C. McCoy ’54 and Mrs. Elizabeth McCoy Mr. Thomas F. McCoy ’62 Ms. Judith F. McGeorge ’73 Mr. Sean P. McGuinness ’72 Mr. and Mrs. Matthew B. McGuire Dr. Shauna B. McIntosh Mr. Sean M. McKenna ’78 Mrs. Kristin McKenney Dr. and Mrs. Rakesh H. Mehta Mrs. Robin Chamberlin Milburn ’75 Mrs. Linda Mitchell Ms. Martha R. Mitchell Mr. Monty Montague ’55 and Mrs. Barb Moore Montague ’56 Ms. Eda Ross Montgomery Mr. and Mrs. Eric J. Monzo Mrs. Jennie L. Moore Mrs. Molly Goeller Moretti ’97 and Mr. Alan A. Moretti Ms. Alexandra Vest Morris Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Morris, Jr. Mr. Owen Morris III Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Morrison Ms. Alice H. Morse II ’66 Ms. Deborah M. Moyer Mr. and Mrs. Richard Mumford Dr. Harry R. Neilson III Kim Smith Nelkin ’72 Ms. Elizabeth A. Nickle ’02 Mr. Scott C. Nickle ’07 Mrs. Pamela Jennings Norton ’01 Ms. Barbara Noseworthy Mr. and Mrs. Edward T. Novak

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Mr. Misael Gonzalez and Ms. Megan O’Neill Mr. Robert A. Oldach ’72 Mr. and Mrs. Donald G. Oren Mr. John H. Orr ’70 Mr. and Mrs. Brian Orsetti Mrs. Gail H. Ostergaard Mr. and Mrs. Donald R. Palmer Mr. and Mrs. Amruthbhai Patel Mr. and Mrs. Milan S. Patel Mr. R. Paul Peddrick ’84 and Mrs. Monica R. Peddrick Mr. and Mrs. Mark W. Peipher Dr. and Mrs. Robert Penna Mr. Edmund R. Pennock ’67 and Mrs. Carole Cates Pennock ’67 Mrs. Amy Porter Peoples ’51 Mr. J. James Perkins Dr. and Mrs. Michael B. Peters, Jr. Mrs. Madalyn Schultz Petit and Mr. George D. Petit Dr. Raymond W. Petrunich and Mrs. Judith R. Ventura Mr. and Mrs. Doug C. Phaup Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Pierce Mr. and Mrs. Michael Pietlock Mr. and Mrs. Derek A. Pizarro Ms. Anne Rickards Poskitt ’89 Dr. Lee Moffett Preininger ’98 and Mr. Jeffrey R. Preininger Mrs. Elizabeth Johnston Preston ’44 Mrs. Caroline Gee Prezzano ’97 Mr. William L. Prickett ’81 Mr. and Mrs. Spencer J. Qualls Mrs. Nicole E. Rafferty Mrs. Frances G. Randolph Dr. Lawrence Rasero, Jr. Mr. Lawrence J. Rasero III ’87 Mrs. Lindy Savage Recht ’71 Mr. and Mrs. Barton Reese Mrs. Carolyn Lewis Richmond ’58 Dr. and Mrs. Charles R. Rickards Ms. Jessica Ritchie Mrs. Janet Abernathy Robertson ’61 Mr. William S. Robertson III ’58 Ms. Diane L. Rohman Ms. Rhonda L. Rombach Mr. Anton H. Rosenthal and Ms. Ruth E. Ganister Mr. and Mrs. Angelo J. Rossi, Jr. Mrs. Jane Richards Roth ’52 Mr. Jeffrey L. Rothschild ’89 Mr. and Mrs. Richard R. Roux Mr. Walter S. Rowland, Sr. ’57 and Mrs. Beverley Wellford Rowland ’56 Ms. H. Cheryl Rusten ’73 Dr. Jeff Rutledge and Dr. Jane C. Rutledge Mr. and Mrs. Randal F. Sackovich Mrs. Kelle Doherty Sanchez ’89 and Mr. Christopher G. Sanchez Ms. Cynthia Sardo Mr. and Mrs. Roland Sarko Dr. David E. Saunders Mrs. Janet Saunders Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey A. Sawyer, Jr. Mrs. Judith Eastburn Sawyer ’55 Mr. and Mrs. Stephan G. Schlobach Mr. H. Konrad Schuermann ’59 Mr. and Mrs. William M. Scott III Mr. and Mrs. James W. Semple Dr. Robert J. Sepelyak Mr. and Mrs. Kevin M. Severance Mr. John W. Shackleton, Jr. ’63 The Rev. Alfred R. Shands III ’46 Mr. and Mrs. Chester E. Sharrar Mr. and Mrs. Chester E. Sharrar II Mr. C. Russell H. Shearer

Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph R. Wagner The Rev. Donald B. Wahlig ’81 Ms. Moira E. Walker ’80 Dr. Michael Wang Mr. and Mrs. Yushan Wang Mr. H. Eric Wanner ’59 Ms. Kathryn R. Warner Mr. David B. Warren ’55 Mr. Robert S. Watson ’81 and Mrs. Christine H. Watson Mr. Nathaniel A. Webster ’94 Mr. Gregory J. Weinig ’89 Dr. Daniel L. Weintraub ’76 Mrs. Mary Jane Weldin Mr. Michael Weller Mr. B. Randolph Wellford, Jr. ’75 Dr. Jane C. Wells ’73 Mrs. Patricia T. Wells Ms. Agnes F. S. Werbe ’13 Mr. and Mrs. Martin L. Werde Mr. William Werde and Ms. Heather C. Moore Dr. Katharine Lopez Weymouth ’94 and Mr. Timothy B. Weymouth Weymouth, Swayze & Corroon Insurance, Inc. Dr. and Mrs. Robert A. White Mrs. Roberta Bussard Whiting ’65 and Mr. William B. Whiting Ms. Sarah I. Whittington ’00 and Mr. Tanard E. Nixon Mr. James J. Wild ’57 Mr. Joseph D.C. Wilson III ’64 and Mrs. Sarah W. Wilson Mr. Michael T. Wilson ’03 Mr. and Mrs. Jay Winchell Dr. Tarra Boulden Winchell ’01 and Mr. Kevin M. Winchell Mr. Ian W. Wogan and Dr. Saima S. Khan Mrs. Lisa Cronin Wohl ’60 Mr. William T. Wood III ’86 Mrs. Corbin T.B. Pierson Woods ’89 Mr. James H. Worth ’51 Mr. Norris P. Wright, Jr. ’92 Tianyi Yang Ms. Madelyn Baetz Yelton ’71 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Zakielarz IV Mr. and Mrs. Zachary A. Zehner Mr. Xin Zhou and Ms. Leah Yang Dr. Jie Zhu and Dr. Weiping Wang Mr. Yu Zhu and Ms. Lei Zheng Mrs. Elise du Pont Zoller ’76 Mrs. Jennifer Zuck

HONOR ROLL

Mr. Alden K. Sherman ’73 Ms. Jill M. Shotzberger ’00 Mr. Ryan H. Simonton ’15 Mr. Andrew A. Smith, Sr. ’59 and Mrs. Sarah C. Smith Dr. Andrew A. Smith III ’87 Mr. Curtis R. Smith, Jr. ’99 Ms. Eleanor E. Smith ’11 Mrs. Jennifer Novak Smith ’02 Mrs. Melva Carveth Smith ’72 and Mr. Jack Smith Mr. and Mrs. Rodger D. Smith Judge Thomas P. Smith ’60 Wade H. B. Smith, Ph.D. ’62 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Smolko Mr. Mark J. Smolko ’93 and Mrs. Jennifer Geddes Smolko ’93 Mr. Geoffrey R. Snelling, Jr. ’81 Mr. Merwin A. Soash ’58 Mr. and Mrs. Michael M. Socha Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey F. Somers Dr. William Sommers and Ms. Kathryn E. Lee Mrs. Susan S. Speers Mrs. Alexis Altschuler Spikes ’87 Mr. W. Halsey Spruance ’56 and Mrs. Gretchen Vosters Spruance Mr. W. L. Stabler III ’71 Mrs. Katherine M. Stack Mr. Thomas C. Stack Mr. Stanley R. Stager III ’58 Mr. Hunt Stockwell ’58 Mr. and Mrs. Gordon F. Stone Mrs. Isabel G. Strasser Mr. and Mrs. Jea P. Street Mr. Jea P. Street, Jr. ’95 and Mrs. Lisa M. Street Mrs. Barbara Dawson Streuli ’60 Mr. and Mrs. James Strickland Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Stroud Mr. David H. Sugimoto and Dr. Hye-Shin Kim Mr. and Mrs. Patrick M. Sullivan Mr. James E. Szymanski Mr. and Mrs. Carlton H. Tappan Mr. Andrew P. Taylor ’76 and Mrs. Robin L. Taylor Mr. John E.T. Taylor ’76 and Mrs. Susan T. Taylor Mr. John B. Tepe, Jr. ’65 Dr. Susan B. Thayer ’59 Mr. Douglas A. Thomas ’79 Dr. and Mrs. J. Stark Thompson Mr. D. McCarty Thornton IV ’65 Mrs. Gillian T. Timon Mrs. Cynthia du Pont Tobias ’68 and Mr. Terrence A. Tobias Mr. James A. Togo and Mrs. Judith C. Prosser Ms. Kazuko Togo Mrs. Lindsay Wise Tonderys ’96 Mrs. Sara Toner Mr. and Mrs. Jason E. Toy Mr. Pierre C. Trepagnier ’65 Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Trippitelli Mr. Donald P. Truesdell, Jr. and Mrs. Jill M. Angstadt-Truesdell Ms. Tracey D. Twyman ’85 Mrs. Margaret Cist Ughetta ’78 The Rev. Richard L. Ullman ’57 Mr. and Mrs. Brian T. Urbanek Dr. Thomas H. Valk ’65 Mr. and Mrs. W. Michael Van Sickle Mr. and Mrs. Sandeep Vasudevan Dr. Anthony W. Vattilana ’89 and Mrs. Patricia Conomon Vattilana Mrs. Eva L. Verplanck Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Vest Mrs. Lee Howard Vosters ’69 Mr. and Mrs. Bruce M. Vrana Mrs. Ann Beh Wagner ’78

Loyal Hillers’ Circle Up to $99 Anonymous (1) Ms. Ann K. Abernathy ’68 Mr. and Mrs. Christopher F. Aitken Mr. and Mrs. James L. Allen, Jr. James L. Allen III ’20 Kyla G. T. Allen ’20 Dr. Robert C. Allen and Dr. Ann E. Tiao Mr. William C. Amos ’67 and Mrs. Josephine Eccel Mrs. Lucinda Anderson Mr. and Mrs. Michael W. Ashbrook Mr. Patrick M. Ashley ’76 and Mrs. Ann Barlow Ashley ’79 Ms. Ariane E. Attix ’15 Ms. Elena B. Attix ’18 Mr. Richard C. Attix ’18 Umar A. Aulia ’20 Mr. Patrick B. Baetjer ’99 Ms. Grace H. Bailer ’20 Ms. Lisa H. Barsky ’70 and Mr. William Blauvelt Mr. John W. Bartlett and Ms. Abby N. Patterson

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Mrs. Sandra Low Beale ’59 Sean Beberman ’20 Ms. Nicole Becker Mr. Andrew J. Beckler ’87 Mr. R. Hugh F. Bender ’03 The Rev. James G. Birney III ’68 Mr. and Mrs. David L. Black Ms. Amanda Blackstone Mrs. Giselle Johnson Booker ’99 Mr. Luke H. Borda, Jr. ’15 Blaine M. Boyden ’20 Mrs. Tracey Bradley Ms. Ashleigh M. Brady ’17 Mrs. Emily Ernst Branscome ’51 Mrs. Marion Brinsfield Dr. William W. Bristowe Mr. Rory M. Britt ’18 Ms. E. Talley Brown ’81 Mrs. Heather Hering Brown ’78 Isaiah H. Brown ’20 Dr. Timothy J. Brown and Dr. Laura H. Brown Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Bryan Dr. Kevin M. Byrnes and Dr. Jing Bai Mrs. Elizabeth Glen Capone ’06 Mrs. Patricia Carlozzi Mr. Jeffrey A. Carney ’94 Jessica V. Chen Yiner “Erwin” Chen ’20 Neehil Christian ’20 Ms. Jennifer E. Cleary ’20 Mrs. Alison Cashman Contento ’84 Ms. Kasa Lowndes Cotugno ’61 Mr. Brendan R. Coulter ’17 Margaret K. Coulter ’20 Kathryn I. Cover ’20 Katelyn A. Craft ’20 Mrs. Vicki L. Crockett Dakota J. Crowley ’20 Dallas F. Crowley ’20 Riley R. Cuddy ’20 Ms. Mary Jane Conner Culbertson ’63 Mr. and Mrs. James C. Curtis Mrs. Holliday Trentman Day ’53 Derrick M. Deadwyler III ’21 Jaden M. Deadwyler ’27 Zachary Deadwyler ’29 Mr. Jehan R. deFonseka ’03 Ms. Caroline A. DeSantis ’15 Mr. John F. DeSantis ’19 Joseph S. DeSantis Ms. Lily E. DeSantis ’19 Mr. Peter A. DeSantis ’19 Sebastian DeSantis Ms. Grace E. Diehl ’20 Mr. Colby Dill, Jr. ’37 Aidan R. Donoho ’20 Ms. Donna K. Donoho Veronica M. Dougherty ’20 Benjamin F. du Pont, Jr. ’20 Mrs. Raisa Shulkov Dunton ’06 Mrs. Doranne F. Easler Mrs. Ellen Ellis Mr. Eric R. Epstein ’82 Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Erhardt, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. James Erhardt Dylan S. Evans ’20 Baily A. Faller ’20 Mrs. E. Brooke Bryan Farkas ’55

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Farnan III Ms. Karen D. Farquhar ’65 Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas K. Feil Mrs. Lauren Smith Finnical ’98 Mrs. Tara M. Fletcher Becket G. L. Flynn ’28 Charlotte C. G. Flynn ’28 Mrs. Sara Wohlken Foer ‘80 Rev. Katherine Franta Mr. and Mrs. Frederick S. Freibott Ms. Elizabeth M. Gaddis ’70 Mrs. Kathlyn R. Gamble ’07 Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas J. Ganc Ms. Anna M. Garonski ’19 Mrs. Sarah Cashman Gersky ’79 Michael R. Gilbert ’20 Mr. and Mrs. Paul J. Gillerlain Mrs. Gwendolyn Marrs Gillies ’93 and Mr. James T. Gillies Mr. Timothy W. Gordon ’82 and Mrs. Kathleen Cole Gordon Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Gouge Anna Paisley Gray ’20 Sarah R. Greenberg ’20 Mrs. Cameron S. Griffin Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Griffin Mr. and Mrs. Howard T. Guare Mrs. Elizabeth Levy Gula ’88 Chieh-Ju Guo ’20 Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Habgood Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Hall Lena Hammod ’20 Mrs. Nancy B. Harvey Hanna Ms. Bonnie L. Harper Peter D. Harris ’20 Mr. Shameem Hasan and Dr. Fawzia K. Hasan Mrs. Justine Neff Hawley ’63 Ms. Meg R. Haydon ’76 Ms. Victoria Healy Ms. Aileen D. Heiman ’00 Mr. George W. Helme IV Mrs. Jane Goldsborough Hinkson ’67 Dr. Irfan M. Hisamuddin and Dr. Laetitia N. C. Charrier Colin T. Hodgson ’20 Mr. R. Maurice Holden ’85 and Ms. Wooja Chung Holden Dr. Richard A. Holmes ’90 Mrs. Barbara A. Hoover Mrs. Catherine Sullivan Horner ’92 Mr. Michael W. Hyde ’87 Mrs. John E.D. Irving Gabrielle M. Jackson ’20 Julian M. Jackson II ’20 Mr. and Mrs. Varday Jacobs Mr. Varday Kyron Jacobs ’20 Ms. Amanda Jennings Ms. Elizabeth H. Jennings ’97 Mr. Alan T. Jewett and Dr. Marilyn K. Lynam Mr. Aidan D. Jones ’63 Deborah L. Jones, Ph.D. ’66 Mrs. Phyllis Coerver Jones ’57 Richard B. Jones ’20 Mr. Thomas N. Jones III ’66 Mr. and Mrs. Andrew W. Keim Mrs. Nicole M. Keith Ms. Kalee G. Kennedy ’15 Mr. Lee Kennedy and Mrs. Karen Frazier-Kennedy Dr. and Mrs. Peter B. Kettler Alexandra M. Kimbiris ’20 Dr. Jennifer Cloud King ’94 Mr. E. Scott Kirkpatrick ’59

HONOR ROLL

Dr. Kathryn Sepelyak Kirsch ’05 Ms. Janet Kline Isabelle Q. Kowal ’20 Mr. James H. Kramer ’62 and Mrs. Judith Kramer Mr. Jan J. Kratky Ms. Sandy Kroeber Ms. Margaret O. Kullman ’08 Mr. and Mrs. Seth Kushkin Mr. and Mrs. Tom M. Laskas Mr. and Mrs. Jerome R. Lewis Mrs. Irene du Pont Light ’63 and Mr. J. Thomas Light Mr. Robert W. Lockerman ’59 Mrs. Marian Brown Lorenz ’53 Mrs. Margaret P. Lounsbury ’37 Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Love Ms. Evelyn deHaven Lovett ’84 Dr. Pin Lu and Dr. Y. Lynn Wang Timothy R. Lunger ’20 Ms. A. Rosalind Lynam ’04 Ms. Faith A. Lyons ’12 Mr. and Mrs. Don MacLeod Ms. Lynn A. Mahaffy ’79 Ms. Nichole Marroni and Mr. Michael Gilbert Ms. Mary Jane Martin Mr. William C. Martin ’01 Mr. Steven T. Martinenza ’01 Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Martinez Dr. Nicholas H. Matlin Mrs. Gail Morris Mazzei ’74 Mrs. Elisabeth Webster McLane ’97 Mrs. Sharon Church McNabb ’66 Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Tyler Mercer Ms. Nancy Miller-Baiz Mr. and Mrs. Anwar L. Miller Kirit S. Minhas ’20 Dr. and Mrs. Sal Mistry Mr. Evan M. Mitchell ’13 Ms. Hollister L. Mitchell ’85 Ms. Natalie Moravek Mrs. Owen Morris, Jr. Mr. Robert C. Mosbrook ’56 Mr. Paul Mulvena Drs. Ananth and Sunanda Nabha Mr. Robert E. Naylor III ’82 Mrs. Neely Qualls Newcomb ’02 and Mr. Daniel H. Newcomb ’01 Mr. and Mrs. John E. Newlin III Mrs. Heather McClean Nickodem ’71 Mr. Charles B. Nutting ’06 Mr. and Mrs. Ryan O’Donnell Ms. Linda M. Ogden Ms. Nicole Synclaire Oglesby ’12 Mrs. Francesca W. Pabon Mr. Charles A. Page ’93 Ms. Miriam Pallant Mr. Roland C. Pamm ’74 Mr. and Mrs. Kumar Patel Mrs. Renis Siner Paton ’51 and Mr. William K. Paton Ms. Emma J. Peddrick ’20 Charlotte J. Peipher ’20 Mrs. Elin Peterson ’74 Mrs. Deborah Stewart Phillips ’74 Ms. Sarah W. Poston ’83 Mr. and Mrs. Donald Potter Yash Prashar ’20 Mr. Daniel J. Pratt and Ms. Amy Samperisi The Rev. Margaret Kay Pumphrey ’63 Mr. Charles E. Quimby ’17 Mr. and Mrs. Frederic J. Racapé

Ms. Marion Grover Radin ’80 Mr. Maurice Rapp Ms. Elizabeth Dougherty Raskob ’66 Mr. Brad Rathbone Mick Rathbone ’20 Elliot M. Reese ’20 Mr. Robert P. Reese III ’08 Mr. Douglas C. Roberts ’71 Mr. Mark W. Bristowe and Mrs. Julie A. Roca-Bristowe Jason P. Roux ’20 Mrs. Meriwether Hagerty Rumrill ’55 Mr. Stuart S. Rumsey ’76 Mrs. Virginia Scott Rutter ’70 Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Salvin Ms. Olivia L. Sanchez ’20 Alexander J. Saridakis ’20 Harrison A. Saridakis ’20 Mr. D. Curtis Saunders ’06 Ms. Luisa Sawyer Mr. Michael M. Sawyer ’75 Ms. Cheryl Saxton Benjamin C. Schiltz ’20 William B. Schlerf ’20 Mrs. Nancy Schomburg Mr. and Mrs. Andrew R. Scibilia Ms. Tasha A. Seago-Ramaly ’85 Dr. Bruce W. Shackleton ’65 Mrs. Shefali Shah Munshi and Mr. Mihir A. Munshi Mr. Charles W. Sharon III Mr. and Mrs. Robert Shaw Ella C. Shepherd ’22 Isabel M. Shepherd ’20 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Smigielski Ms. Allison P. Smith ’18 Destiny Smith ’20 Ms. Julia C. Smith ’18 Mrs. Louise Schoonover Smith ’59 Ginger Smith, Ph.D. ’66 Mr. Peter B. Smith ’14 Mr. Stuart E. Smith ’90 and Mrs. Karen G. Smith Mr. and Mrs. John A. Snyder Ms. Georgeanna M. Spagnolo Mr. Thomas G. Speers IV ’19 Mrs. Elizabeth McMillan Splaine ’86 Ms. Samantha M. Spruance Marie C. Stack ’20 Ms. Marjorie Bradford Stanford ’70 Dr. John R. Steinfeld ’60 Dr. and Mrs. Michael A. Stemniski Mr. George A. Stetson II Mrs. Helen Gunn Ruppe Stevenson ’73 Mrs. Jackie Stine and Mr. John Carragher Mr. Philip C. Strange ‘63 Mr. and Mrs. James D. Stroud Ms. Deborah Stuebing Mr. Tom M. Swartz ’68 Mrs. Alice Spruance Talbot ’62 Mrs. Mary Hobbs Taylor ’09 Mr. Ronaldo I. Tello and Ms. Maria N. Tello Bernabe Ms. Margaret C. Thomson ’71 Peter C. Timon ’20 William T. Togo ’20 Ms. Devin M. Tracy ’11 Ms. Marcia Layton Turner ’83 Mr. Robert T. Turner ’77 Olivia F. Uknis ’20 Mr. William R. Ushler Dr. and Mrs. Krishna Vaddi

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Avani Vasudevan ’20 Dr. Laura E. Vrana ’07 Ms. Hilary A. Walmsley ’79 Mr. Wayne Walters Fangzhou “Noah” Wang ’20 Mr. Min Wang and Mrs. Li Zheng Mrs. Patricia Attix Wanner ’59 Mr. and Mrs. D. Neil Washburn Mrs. Tracy Anne Graham Wenzinger ’86 Mr. and Mrs. Zachary F. Werde Mr. Andrew M. Weymouth ’98 Mrs. Carolyn T. Weymouth Danika White ’28 Mrs. Judith Herdeg Wilson ’80 Heidi E. Winters ’20 Mr. Carl G. Wismer, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Gerhard R. Wittreich Markus F. Wittreich ’20 Mrs. Amy Wolf Mr. and Mrs. Bing Wu Mr. Richard T. Wukasch ’68 Mr. and Mrs. Gary S. Yovanovich Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Zakielarz Joseph J. Zakielarz V ’20 Thomas E. Zehner ’20 Austin Zhou ’20 Lina Zhu ’20 Weiyu “Will” Zong ’20 Mrs. Louisa Jackson Zungailia ’81 and Mr. Thomas J. Zungailia Sarah E. Zungailia ’20 * deceased

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Thank you to our THS 100 investors who have committed $10,000 or more to the strategic priorities of the Centennial Campaign. Anonymous (4) Mr. Ashley R. Altschuler ’90 & Mrs. Shoshana M. Altschuler Anthony E. Weymouth Foundation, Inc. Mrs. Stacey H. Bacchieri Mr. & Mrs. Harry N. Baetjer III Mrs. Sally Beck Baker ’62 Dr. Laurence H. Beck ’58 Dr. William W. Beck, Jr. ’57 Mrs. William A. Bours III* Ms. Margaretta S. Brokaw ’95 Mr. Thomas C.T. Brokaw ’64 & Mrs. Margaretta Bredin Brokaw ’66 Mr. John Buonocore, Jr. Mr. Todd Buonocore ’87 & Dr. Allison D. Kolody Buonocore Dr. G. Mark Bussard ’90 Dr. Christopher D. Casscells ’71 & Mrs. Susan Warren Casscells CSP Family Foundation Dr. Anthony R. Cucuzzella ’82 & Mrs. Lucinda Cole Cucuzzella Ms. Louise E. Cummings-Lewis Mr. & Mrs. William H. Daiger, Jr. Mrs. Phoebe Brokaw Davidson ’97 & Mr. Charles B. Davidson Mr. Régis A. de Ramel Mr. & Mrs. Joseph DeSantis Robert & Suzanne DeSantis Mr. Christopher R. Donoho III ’87 & Mrs. Erica Reedy Donoho Mr. Benjamin F. du Pont ’82 & Mrs. Laura Lemole du Pont Mr. Charles J. Durante ’69 & Mrs. Janice F. Durante Ellice & Rosa McDonald Foundation Mrs. Beverly Wild Finch ’59 Dr. John M. Flynn ‘81 & Mrs. Mary Flynn Mrs. Amanda Walker Friz ’92 & Mr. Robert W. Friz Ms. Elizabeth A. Garrigues ’45* Mr. Adam Gould & Ms. Nicholle R. Taylor Mr. & Mrs. E. Thomas Harvey III Mr. Bradford L. Hayward ’04 Mr. Laird R. Hayward ’02

HONOR ROLL

Centennial Campaign Mr. Pierre duP. Hayward ’66 & Mrs. Martina Combs Hayward Drs. Robert & Rachel Heinle Dr. & Mrs. Eric T. Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Thomas S. Johnson Mrs. Loring Weaver Knott ’08 Dr. Kris A. Kowal & Dr. Wen Liu Mrs. Ellen Jamison Kullman ’74 & Mr. Michael E. Kullman The Laffey-McHugh Foundation Marmot Foundation, Inc. Mr. Whitney M. Maroney ’87 & Mrs. Katharine Fisher Maroney Mr. & Mrs. Henry C. S. Mellon Mr. James W. Morris ’73 Mr. David T. Nowland ’85 & Mrs. Cathleen C. Nowland Mrs. Sumitra Patel Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Pettinaro Ms. Christine Kane Plant ’69 Mrs. Logan Weaver Read ’10 Ms. Elizabeth H. Richardson Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Saridakis Dr. Christopher J. Saunders ’80 & Mrs. Alice M. Saunders Judy & Joseph Setting Mr. & Mrs. David M. Shepherd Mr. & Mrs. John P. Sheppard The Starrett Foundation Mrs. Edna M. Sutton* The Edward E. Ford Foundation THS Alumni Council THS FFAS Centennial Commitment Mrs. Isabella Speakman Timon ’92 & Mr. Philip C. Timon Mr. Randolph W. Urmston ’62 Mrs. Susan Wood Waesco ’90 & Mr. Kevin M. Waesco Mr. Carmen M. Wallace ’93 Mr. Rodman Ward III ’83 & Mrs. Gina Farabaugh Ward Mrs. Susan Hill Ward ’54 & Mr. Rodman Ward, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Thomas D. Whittington, Jr.

Tower Hill 100 provides a path forward to accomplishing goals identified in Tower Hill’s strategic plan. The campaign priorities are:

PEOPLE

Investing in Faculty Financial Aid and Affordability

PROGRAMS

Exhilarating Academic Program

PARTNERSHIPS

Building an Engaged and Diverse Community

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Back row: Director of Alumni Relations Matt Twyman ’88, Carmen Twyman, Wooja Holden, Robb Gardner ’83, Tony Garcia ’87, Mo Holden ’84 and Tracey Twyman ’85; Front row: Chris Holden ’01 and Board Chair Eric Johnson, M.D.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN SCHOLARS ENDOWMENT FUND REACHES $100,000 GOAL BY MELISSA PIZARRO, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT

In 2016, Matt Twyman ’88, now Director of Alumni Relations at Tower Hill, was at a crossroads in his career and paused to reflect on his successful educational and professional journey. “I thought much of the success I had was due in large part to the education and relationships I had established from my Tower Hill experience,” Twyman said. “I considered the sacrifice that my parents had made and the forethought they had to provide my sister (Tracey Twyman ’85) and me with the opportunity to attend Tower Hill. I thought about the struggles they had endured financially to make THS a reality for us.” Twyman had an idea and began the conversation with some close family and friends who were also fellow Tower Hill alumni: his sister Tracey Twyman ’85, Mo Holden ’85, Robb Gardner ’84, Monty Hayman ’87, Stephanie Hayman ’88, Tony Garcia ’87, Carmen Wallace ’93 and current Tower Hill parent Rochellda Adderley. They were all in agreement that while Tower Hill provided them all with unsurpassed educational opportunities, they came at a great price to their families. Many of their parents had to work two or more jobs in order to afford tuition, and carpooling and/or public transportation just to get to and from school were the norm—things they felt many of their classmates had taken for granted. “We wanted to give back and help provide opportunities for Black students—not a hand-out, but a hand up,” Twyman said. “We all understood and continue to understand that one of the greatest barriers to entry to Tower Hill is the financial requirement. We feel it is important to try and remove that barrier.”

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

A short time after their first conversation, Twyman and each member of the group he had assembled made a financial commitment to Tower Hill to establish the African-American Scholar Endowment Fund. Income from this endowment is intended to provide financial assistance for one or more African-American students entering Tower Hill in Grades 7 through 12 who demonstrate academic excellence and ambition with an aptitude in athletics and the arts. As the establishing group continued to reach out individually to family and friends to request additional support, the endowment continued to grow. In 2018, Monty Hayman ’87 coined the phrase, “$100,000 by 100,” and with that, the group had its challenge. They began to reach out to their extended network to grow the fund to $100,000 in honor of Tower Hill’s 100th birthday in September 2019, adding board chair Eric T. Johnson, M.D., and immediate past chair Michelle Shepherd to the list of fervent supporters. As of spring 2020, they had amassed 31 total donors to the fund and surpassed their $100,000 goal. To Twyman, however, the work is just beginning. “We are so grateful to all those who support our vision that we were able to achieve our goal and award funds this past year to a deserving student,” he said. “However, the more we raise, the more students we can impact with this generosity. In the spirit of ‘to whom much is given, much is expected’: We all benefited from others’ generosity, so we all want to be part of something bigger than ourselves—and that gives others who are qualified an opportunity to attend a premier institution. When you can give back, you should feel obligated to do so at whatever level you can.”

CLASS OF 1969

ESTABLISHES ENDOWED FUND HONORING UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT BY MELISSA PIZARRO, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT

The Class of 1969 was a transitional class, beginning its journey during an era of national consensus, graduating when all assumptions were in question. Through this tumult, the class grew into lives that made an enormous impact—in classrooms, examining rooms, courtrooms, board rooms, media, the arts, industry, the professions and public interest. They’ve helped others, in their work, in their families, and when no one was looking. According to Class of 1969 Reunion Chair Chuck Durante ’69, the ensuing half century has made them richer in mind and spirit. “When we were in 9th Grade, we voted to devote the proceeds of our year of managing Pooh Store to enable the school to purchase Charles Parks’ magnificent sculpture of the angel above the 1919 Auditorium, advancing the arts and adorning the school. Once again, we aim to help both society and Tower Hill,” Durante said. With their 50th Reunion and Tower Hill’s Centennial Celebration due to take place concurrently in September 2019, Durante approached the Advancement Office last summer with an idea for a class gift that would endure to benefit the school and the broader community: a gift in the form of an endowed Class of 1969 Scholarship Fund. Two other endowment funds at Tower Hill have been established by classes celebrating their 50th reunions. In 2007, the Class of 1957 established the Class of ’57 Financial Aid Fund “as a sign of our gratitude for the fine education, the friendships and other deep gifts we received at Tower Hill School near the start of our life’s journey,” according to the fund’s citation. In 2016 the Class of 1966 established the Class of ’66 “Of Wilmington and the World” Fund in honor of members of the Class of 1966 who were deceased at the time the award was established. Income from this endowment supports the “Of Wilmington and the World” Award which, as its citation states, “recognizes and honors a Tower Hill student in the Upper School who has demonstrated through superior academic work, extracurricular pursuits and a well-written essay, that he or she is an engaged citizen of the world, with a strong interest in and commitment to the world outside of Tower Hill.” Needless to say, with financial aid and affordability a top priority of the Tower Hill 100 Centennial Campaign, the Advancement Office was not only on board with Durante’s suggestion for a class gift, but actively joined in the solicitation effort.

As shared in an email to classmates to garner support for the project, “This fund would support a student who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend Tower Hill. In an era when tuition is forbidding, the school is more committed than ever before to economic and cultural diversity.” In the same email, he stated his confidence that their dollar goal “will soon be exceeded, and the fund will grow into a meaningful perpetual vehicle to provide opportunity for someone with talent and moxie, strengthening the school and its community.” Thanks to Durante’s tireless volunteer efforts and personally approaching classmates for gifts that would be their class’s legacy at Tower Hill, the Class of 1969 Scholarship Fund did exceed its goal this past spring. As the Fund met the minimum dollar requirement to be converted to endowment, it will now be a permanent, self-sustaining source of financial aid support for deserving students, offered annually in honor of the generous Class of 1969 and their 50th Reunion. The first student recipient of the Class of 1969 Scholarship Fund will be named next year. “Tower Hill needs to be accessible to students of all economic backgrounds,” Durante said. “It is incumbent on alumni from all classes to ensure this opportunity. The Class of 1969 is doing its part.” Additional gifts to the endowed Class of 1969 Scholarship Fund may be made at any time. For more information on how to donate, please contact a member of the Tower Hill Advancement team.

Members of the Class of 1969 at their 50th Reunion during Centennial Weekend in September 2019.

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

CLASS NOTES ’60s

’00s

’10s

1961 Mic Fleming retired and moved to Agios Nikolaos, a tiny fishing village on the Mani coast in Greece (winter population 300), in December 2019.

2002 Denison Hatch released his most recent detective novel, Terror Machine, a terrorism thriller with a sci-fi angle, again starring Jake Rivett, the elite NYPD Major Crimes Detective from his first two books in this continuing series. It’s a great read and available on Amazon or by visiting denisonhatch.com. In September, Hatch made a career change from the entertainment industry to an international law firm, Orrick.

2015 Andrew Pettit, who played lacrosse at Lehigh University, signed with Major League Lacrosse team the New York Lizards. Pettit finished his Tower Hill lacrosse career with school records for goals, assists and points. He was also a three-time first-team All-State selection, a two-time U.S. Lacrosse AllAmerican and the Delaware Boys Lacrosse Coaches Association Player of the Year in 2015.

1964 Stephen Davis recently published two new novellas in a series called “Conversations with a Snot-Nosed Kid,” available on Amazon and based on the latest physics theory that we are living in a computer simulation. According to astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, the Earth simulation was most likely created and is operated by “some snot-nosed kid sitting in front of his computer in the basement of his parents’ house in an alien civilization.” Davis recently located this “Kid” and these books are the transcripts of their Skype conversations. 1966 and 1976 John Maroney ’76 and Barbara Bours Brady ’66 met on a bike ride in Portland, Oregon. The two are members of a bicycle club. They got to talking, realized they were both from Delaware and found out they both went to Tower Hill.

’80s

1987 and 1988 In February, Tower Hill classmates and friends Nitin Rao ’87, Chris Donoho ’87, Andy Schmutz ’87, Mike Battaglia ’87, Larry Rasero ’87, Monty Hayman ’87 and Matt Twyman ’88 gathered at Chris Donoho ’87’s home to catch up!

2005 Erica Hatch is a psychiatry resident at the University of North Carolina, providing treatment to people with a wide range of mental illnesses. 2007 Alexandra Nielsen, a freelance photographer based in Melbourne, Australia, was recognized as a shortlisted finalist in the Australian Photography Awards Stories contest for her documentary photography series, The Backpacker.

2016 Abby Manning, a senior lacrosse player at Wesleyan, was off to a strong start to the 2020 season before the pandemic cut her lacrosse career short. She recently wrote a letter to Wesleyan University Women’s Lacrosse, expressing gratitude and perspective for her experiences as a student-athlete. 2019 Taeshawn Macklin and Levy Margolin, who both attend West Point, stopped by for a visit in March while home for spring break.

2009 Delaney Osborn, M.D., graduated from Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine and is a resident in family medicine at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.

’90s

1994 Catherine Begovic, M.D., will be one of four plastic surgeons starring in the new season of E! Network’s Dr. 90210 this fall.

Gregg Fink and his wife, Jennifer, adopted two boys, Kameron and Kalvin, who they had been fostering for over two years. They are now 5 and 4 years old, respectively, and bring their total count to six kids. 1997 Camille Williams Evans was recognized in the 2020 edition of Florida Trend’s Florida Legal Elite in the Banking & Financial category. The list of honorees represents just over 1% of active Florida Bar members.

1. Nitin Rao ’87, Chris Donoho ’87, Andy Schmutz ’87, Mike Battaglia ’87, Larry Rasero ’87, Monty Hayman ’87 and Matt Twyman ’88. 2. John Maroney ’76 and Barbara Bours Brady ’66. 3. Taeshawn Macklin ’19 and Levy Margolin ’19

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

FAMILIES

Anita Nabha ’97 had a baby girl, Islah Nabeel Razzaq-Nabha, on July 28. Twins Elizabeth Fortunato Asbill ’02 and Kathryn Fortunato Jakobson ’02 each welcomed a baby exactly one week apart. Asbill and her husband, Peter, welcomed Ruby Hope Asbill on July 15, and Jakobson and her husband, Nick, welcomed Johnny Fremont Jakobson on July 22 (pictured). Ashley Isken Zetlin ’08 married Zachary Zetlin on Oct. 5, 2019, at Greenville Country Club. Kathleen Batman Moody ’11 married Nicholas Moody on March 14, 2020, in Dallas, Texas. Pictured from left to right are Lawrence J. Rasero, III ’87, Amanda Girard ’11, Nicholas Moody, Kathleen Batman Moody ’11, Ellie Smith ’11 and Annie Hobbs ’11.

CONDOLENCES John M. Gibson ’38 on March 28, 2020

Rowena Heckert ’61 on Aug. 2, 2020

Georgina Miller Bissell ’38 on June 3, 2020

James Winder Laird ’64 on April 3, 2020

Margaret “Nancy” Nason Croft ’40 on June 26, 2020

Susan DuPont McConnell ’68 in March 2019

Joan Underwood Wallson ’45 on Feb. 2, 2020

Antonia “Toni” Bayard Phinney ’69 on July 14, 2020

Marguerite ‘Daisy’ Gubelmann Simonton ’46 on Feb. 6, 2020

Frank Jamison ’69 on June 5, 2020

Zenobia Smith Marriott ’60 on Feb. 5, 2020

Paul Carroll ’71 on Feb. 24, 2020

Debby Bye Kean ’61 on April 23, 2020; Kean was a former New Jersey first lady

Finley Benner Kipp ’97 on April 1, 2020 Michael Kaffenberger ’99 on July 15, 2020

IN MEMORIAM

ALUMNA AND FORMER FACULTY MEMBER JEAN JAMIESON LEWIS ’47 Jean Jamieson Lewis ’47, age 90, of Hockessin, Delaware, formerly of New Castle, Delaware, passed away Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 1, 1930, she was the daughter of the late William and Cathrine (Menzer) Jamieson. Jean was a graduate of Tower Hill School, where she captained the state championship field hockey team. She graduated from the University of Delaware, and afterward taught at Highlands Elementary School in Wilmington for 27 years, retiring in 1995. Jean belonged to Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional society for women educators. An avid Philadelphia sports fan, she could always be found cheering on her beloved teams. Jean was also a member of the Newark Church of Christ, where she was an active

volunteer at the Hope Dining Room and The People’s House. In addition to Jean’s parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Samuel Lewis; and brothers, William Jamieson and Richard Jamieson. She is survived by her son, James W. Morris ’73 and daughter-in-law Gail Mezey Morris of Piedmont, California; stepchildren, Bruce Lewis (Pauline Lewis), Leslie Lewis, Linda Lewis and Brent Lewis (Rex Yaniello); devoted grandchildren, Alexandra Morris and Katherine Morris; and step grandchildren, Samuel Lewis (Christine Lewis), Nicolas Brown (Deanna Brown) and Sarah Lewis. Jean is also survived by five great step children. Edna Johnson and Judith Stafford provided Jean many years of appreciated personal aid, and she had faithful friends in Dale Foster and Danita Gregory.

Send Class Notes to thsalumni@towerhill.org with a high-resolution photo. Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

PIONEER IN CANCER TREATMENT

REMEMBERING RENOWNED ONCOLOGIST JOSEPH H. BURCHENAL, M.D., ’30 Joseph H. Burchenal, M.D., ’30, a New York oncologist and the winner of the prestigious Lasker Medical Research award, was known for his pioneering work with drug treatments for leukemia and other kinds of cancer. He died on March 8, 2006, in an assisted-living center in Hanover, New Hampshire, at age 93. Before his five-decade-long career at what is now Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Burchenal was a student at Tower Hill. He came to Tower Hill in 1919 and left in 1927 to attend Phillips Exeter Academy, a boarding school in New Hampshire, before attending Princeton for his undergraduate degree and the University of Pennsylvania for medical school. Burchenal served as Chief of Infectious Disease at the Harvard Fifth General Hospital in Europe and Chief of Tropical Medicine at Walter Reed Hospital during World War II. In those days, the term chemotherapy was used primarily when identifying methods to treat malaria, syphilis and bacterial infections. In the late 1940s, Burchenal arrived at what is now the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. At the time, the primary therapies for cancer were surgery and radiation. In the ’50s, he and others experimented with pharmaceutical solutions and used them in pathbreaking clinical trials. One of the earliest successes in those trials involved the treatment of leukemia in children with the compound 6-mercaptopurine. Burchenal and other researchers found that the drug, which was taken orally, led to a high percentage of remissions, helping to build confidence in new drugs and chemotherapy in general. Results from the successful clinical trial were published in 1953 in the journal Blood. Today, the drug remains in use in combination with other drugs in treating acute leukemia. In the ’60s, Burchenal, who became chief of Sloan Kettering’s division of clinical chemotherapy,

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Photo courtesy of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

contributed to innovative treatments of cancer patients in Africa. Burchenal and others set out to establish a chemotherapeutic response to an aggressive tumor found in East African children. Burchenal collaborated with Herbert F. Oettgen, M.D., an oncologist and immunologist at Sloan Kettering, in testing several drugs, including cyclophosphamide, to combat Burkitt’s lymphoma, and he helped to develop treatments that led to remissions in two-thirds of patients and, in some cases, cures. In 1972, Burchenal received a Lasker Award for clinical medical research for his work in combating Burkitt’s lymphoma.

HOMECOMING & REUNION 2020 WILL BE HELD VIRTUALLY ON SATURDAY, OCT. 24

The annual Alumni Council meeting, which will include presentations of the Young Alumni and Distinguished Alumni Awards, will be held virtually the morning of Saturday, Oct. 24. Virtual chats with reunion classes (ending in 0 and 5) will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24. Stay tuned for details! Updates will be found at towerhill.org/homecoming.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE AND CELEBRATING CLASSES ENDING IN 0 AND 5 IN-PERSON IN THE FALL OF 2021.

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020

Tower Hill School 2813 West 17th Street Wilmington, DE 19806

Tower Hill Bulletin

Fall 2020