UPrep Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1 by UPrep Magazine

VOL. 1 NO. 1

UPrep

FALL–WINTER 2016–17

MAGAZINE

Preparing Our Students for What’s Next PG. 4

PG. 7

PG. 12

PG. 30

STUDENTS TAKE THE LEAD

PUMAS IN THE ARTS Profile of Fine Arts Teacher Ty Talbot

ALUMNI NEWS Profile of Cory Potts ’05

IN EVERY ISSUE 3

Message from Matt Levinson

Athletic News

Head of School

16 UPrep Happenings

22 News Bites

WEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU:

Alums, please share your updates with us via email:

Alumni News

classnotes@universityprep.org

Editorial comments can be sent to:

UPrep Class Notes

editor@universityprep.org COVER PHOTO:

Don Mason Photography

OUR MISSION

University Prep is committed to developing each student’s potential to become an intellectually courageous, socially responsible citizen of the world.

FEATURES 4

Preparing Our Students for What’s Next

Students Take the Lead

Pumas in the Arts

By Lisa Kennedy

UPREP MAGAZINE

HEAD OF SCHOOL

Matt Levinson DIRECTOR OF UPPER SCHOOL, ASSISTANT HEAD

Ken Jaffe DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE SCHOOL

Marianne Picha ACADEMIC DEAN

Richard Kassissieh CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Susan Lansverk

BOARD OF TRUSTEES David Beitel, President Catherine Allchin Christopher Bown Mark Britton Geoff Buscher Bill Campbell Charisse Cowan-Pitre Katie Davis Laura Domoto

Rita Egrari Carl Faucher Jason Froggatt ’87 Terry Froggatt Mark Horn Patricia Landy Kate Marks Yuval Neeman Shahina Piyarali

Tori Ragen Cheryl Scott Abhi Sheth ’96 Paula Simon ’99 Patricia Washington Susie Wu Matt Levinson ex officio

DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT

Paul Rudnick DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Terri Nakamura

PARENT COUNCIL

DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY

PRESIDENT –

Shavette McGhee

UPPER SCHOOL VICE PRESIDENT –

DIRECTOR OF ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT

Kathy Mitchell O’Neal

M AG A Z I NE PUBLISHER | DESIGNER

Terri Nakamura EDITOR

Lisa Kennedy WRITERS | CONTRIBUTORS

Toby Cattolico, Lisa Kennedy, Matt Levinson, Shavette McGhee, Lindsay Metcalfe, Rebecca Moe, Andrea Moore, Terri Nakamura, Marianne Picha, Paul Rudnick, Linda Smith, Marianne Tatom

Laura Domoto Ann Eickerman Shelly Ogden Sage

MIDDLE SCHOOL VICE PRESIDENT –

– David Higley – Michelle Brot PAST EXECUTIVE – Brooks Romano ADVANCEMENT LIAISON - Margie Duckstad PARENTS FOR DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY – Manjusha Deo GOVERNANCE - Joanna Bargeron PARENT EDUCATION – Lisa Bontje, Bonnie Tilghman, Tiffany Werner PARENTS FOR THE ARTS – Anindita Mitra, Missy Stern SPORTS BOOSTERS – Michelle Brot, Will Kilbourne, Maya Ting, Jennifer Zell 12TH GRADE REPS – Nobuko Akashi-Reed, Mindy Cohen, Gloria Huang, Chris Schubert 11TH GRADE REPS – Belinda Buscher, Manisha Chainani, Kathryn Greenberg 10TH GRADE REPS – Kaylene Anderson, Kathleen Rossbach, Mandira Virmani 9TH GRADE REPS – Kelly Arron, Joanna Beitel, Katherine Burk 8TH GRADE REPS – Robin Freeman, Sarah Pohlmann, Cydney Webster 7TH GRADE REPS – Charlene Kletzly, Stephanie Standifer, Teresa Tippett 6TH GRADE REPS – Alexa Crawford, Tracy Pozil, Heidi Yamada TREASURER SECRETARY

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Lisa Bontje, Lisa Kennedy, Don Mason, Terri Nakamura © 2017 University Prep 8000 25th Avenue NE Seattle, WA 98115 206.525.2714 www.universityprep.org UPrep Magazine is published twice yearly by the Communications Office at University Prep. We welcome your comments. 2 UPREP MAGAZINE

Parent Council President Laura Domoto with cross-country athletes

Message from the Head of School

Dear UPrep Families, In Thomas Friedman’s new book Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations, he writes, “Indeed, as the world becomes more interdependent and complex, it becomes more vital than ever to widen your aperture to synthesize more perspectives.” Our Next Generation Learning Initiative seeks to do exactly that: open and broaden our students’ ability to see, hear, learn and make sense of a world accelerating at a rate unseen for centuries, according to Friedman. As he explains: “So many aspects of our societies, workplaces, and geopolitics are being reshaped and need to be reimagined.” Who else is there to reimagine the world than our students who will inherit and lead the next generation of change? Our students need to learn how to “think without a box,” and to do this successfully, “it involves bringing into your analysis as many relevant people, processes, disciplines, organizations, and technologies as possible—factors that are often kept separate or excluded together,” Friedman writes. Taken as a whole, our Next Generation Learning Initiative threads together a framework for our students to make greater meaning of an increasingly “interdependent and complex” world. We have identified three lenses through which our students can gain the skills to further deepen their understanding of people, perspectives, and systems: (1) Social and Emotional Learning, (2) Social Justice and Educational Equity, and (3) Interdisciplinary Learning. Underpinning these three focus areas is a commitment to developing, growing, and championing student agency: the ability of students to take an optimistic view of their power to make meaningful, positive change in their communities and the world through entrepreneurial, creative thinking, and problem solving. Friedman outlines the essential skills that will be critical for future success: “So, at a minimum, our educational systems must be retooled to maximize these needed skills and attributes: strong fundamentals in writing, reading, coding, and math; creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration; grit, self-motivation, and lifelong learning habits; and entrepreneurship and improvisation—at every level.” Many of the skills Friedman highlights are already interwoven into our program or emphasized in our future planning. To be clear, our Next Generation Learning Initiative builds on the

Matt Levinson, Head of School

robust foundation of skills and habits of mind that have been a hallmark of University Prep’s commitment to academic excellence since its inception in 1976. Fortunately, we do not need to retool our program to match the needs of the future; instead, we need to commit to evolve our program to keep pace with the rapid acceleration hitting every facet of society. As we have said, our teachers play the most critical role in our mission of preparing our students to become intellectually courageous, socially responsible citizens of the world. Our ongoing commitment to their professional growth and development through our nationally recognized Individualized Teacher Improvement Plan, along with reducing teaching loads to ensure that our teachers have the capacity to continuously improve, with collaboration as a core value, is critical to our ability to fulfill our mission. At the end of the day, the enduring relationships between students and teachers serve as the cornerstone upon which our entire program is built. Friedman shares the findings of a 2014 Gallup poll of college graduates regarding what helped them be prepared to be successful. The answer: having had a teacher “who cared about them as a person or having had a mentor who encouraged their goals and dreams.” At UPrep, we make sure this happens for each of our students, and we could not be more committed to helping each student reach his or her potential in our program. In this newly designed publication, I hope you enjoy reading about the many inspiring stories and examples of extraordinary teaching and learning that highlight our Next Generation Learning Initiative.

Matt Levinson Head of School UPREP MAGAZINE

The Social Entrepreneurship class assembling Uboxes for shipment 4 UPREP MAGAZINE

Preparing Our Students for What’s Next By Lisa Kennedy

University Prep’s Strategic Plan 2020 was developed with the intent to deepen, strengthen and enhance the educational experience to best prepare our students for the demands of the 21st century. The Next Generation Learning Initiative, one of the three pillars of our new strategic plan, is already taking shape on many different fronts inside and outside of our school walls. The U Lab The U Lab, a virtual—and eventually a physical—learning space, is designed to enhance innovative education and give students more interdisciplinary opportunities to “drive” in the areas of research, advocacy and entrepreneurship while building closer connections with the Seattle community. This year, the focus is on senior projects and presentations, a pilot student-run class, and independent study. Senior LaunchPad This fall, a group of 14 students and their teachers put their heads together to revamp the end of senior year. In October, the committee put forth a proposal to the Academic Council that all seniors engage in a two-week experience at the end of this school year, to be called LaunchPad. As just one element of student-directed learning activities, all seniors will be going off campus this spring to participate in a project of their own, engaging with the greater Seattle community. This experience will speak to their personal passions; to their professional, vocational, or academic curiosities; and/or, to a new challenge in an environment

beyond the UPrep campus. Each senior will receive support from a UPrep faculty/staff LaunchPad coordinator as well as a non-UPrep mentor. They will document their off-campus experiences and share with the UPrep community at Senior Presentation Night. It was decided to implement LaunchPad Students Chloe Smith and Allison this spring so that current Bunker deliver a Ubox to the students could benefit from UPrep Communications Office the changes. “We have been part of the conversation about lots of ways to make the school better, but most of the things won’t happen until we’re gone. So we want this to be for our class!” said senior Nikhil Deo, a member of the focus group. “The goal is for seniors to embark on an adventure that will help them bridge the gap between high school and college,” says Brian Gonzales, coordinator of the LaunchPad Committee. UPREP MAGAZINE

Social Entrepreneurship Class When the first student-run class at UPrep began to meet this fall, its participants found themselves facing questions that went beyond creating a social venture. Who was going to take attendance and talk to students who missed class or were tardy? How were they going to deal with mid-semester comments usually written by the teacher? What did they want to learn and how were they going to be assessed? As class advisor Brian Gonzales reminded them one morning early in the semester, as a student-run class, it was up to them to set up protocols and figure out how to do all of the things that the teacher normally does! It was quite an awakening for students in a brand-new, groundbreaking class that revolves around coming up with ideas for a social venture, agreeing on one, and then developing it. Credit for starting the class goes to senior Isaac Selby, who pitched his inspiring idea to the Academic Council last year. It was met with enthusiasm and approved, and 13 students signed up for the fall course. Early in the semester, students established the criteria that could help them decide on a product to develop: is there a need for it, does it effectively address a social need, and

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can we do it? Within a few more sessions, the students had voted to develop care packages to send to university students, with a free package given away to homeless individuals for each one purchased. Bringing their vision to reality turned out to be a lot more complex than they anticipated. But using the city of Seattle as a learning space, they worked with the school, UPrep parents, networks of friends, and universities in the area to create Ubox. Steps included establishing a business structure, asking the UPrep administrative team for a $750 loan to purchase some initial materials, creating a logo and a website, approaching local businesses for donations, seeking orders from the UPrep community and through UW, and assembling and delivering the boxes. The student care packages reached the recipients mid-December, while the boxes for the homeless will be distributed in 2017 by Sleepless in Seattle. Lessons learned? Senior Joel Meyers, Ubox’s chief operating officer, says: “The challenge throughout has been to make this both a class and a business. We had to play catch-up with the administrative aspects, but things really came together.” As far as the class itself, the biggest issue was

miscommunication. Not everyone really understood how to use Slack (the social media app they used among themselves) and not everyone checked it regularly. The biggest take-away, from Joel’s perspective, is to make sure that the students who sign up for the class really understand what they are getting into and that they need to be self-directed. “The class met my expectations in terms of providing students with exploratory, open-ended learning,” says Isaac Selby, Ubox chief executive officer. As a member of the U Lab Committee, he is also looking at the class to refine the model and inform decisions about future student-run classes at UPrep. “Other programs focus on skill sets and competencies,” says Gonzales. “Ours is totally student driven and is truly a unique vehicle for promoting student agency. With little to no traditional structure, our students have started a business going from concept to operation.” Not only did they repay the $750 loan, they actually made a small profit that will be donated to Sleepless in Seattle. n Student agency in action in the Social Entrepreneurship class, a student-led initiative proposed by senior Isaac Selby

Students Take the Lead By Lisa Kennedy

Around the school, evidence of student agency is proliferating, both individually and as an outcome of direct programming. Here is a sampling.

n Middle School, more attention is being given to fostering responsible leadership and creating opportunities for students to follow their passions. At the club fair this fall, all but 4 of the 24 student clubs were student created. Recently, sixth graders Claire Renschler and Sayre Burwell set up a meeting with Assistant Director of Middle School Kyle Lawhead to discuss their interest in a program called DC Bully Busters, with a focus on educating and advocating against bullying in schools. As a result of their initiative, they will present about the program at assembly and all students will have an opportunity to write letters to stop bullying in schools. Dekker Moe â&#x20AC;&#x2122;22 initiated the idea of streaming athletic contests from the Pumadome, and then figured out how to live-stream home volleyball games! UPREP MAGAZINE

John Higley, Alex O’Brien, Jake Zikan and Doran Cao working on robotics in the Maker Space

This fall several athletic games were live-streamed on Periscope via the Athletics Department’s Twitter feed, and Dekker plans to stream the UPrep basketball games this winter. One family commented, “Please pass along a huge thank you from us to Dekker! It was the first time my parents have ever gotten to see their granddaughters play volleyball. Totally amazing and so appreciated!” Check out our Athletics Department’s Twitter feed: @UPrep_Athletics. New to the Maker Space this year are lab space managers, nine Middle and Upper School students who volunteered for the position, including Katherine Kang ’23, Andrew Bell ’22, Julian Allchin ’21, Aidan McHugh ’21, Ben Tratt ’20, Thomas Nielsen ’19, Anna Brandt ’19, David Kahn ’17, and Aisse Torres ’17. They are organizing projects, brainstorming about future programming, and developing tutorials for student use. The space is attracting a growing number of students, who come in at lunch and after school to follow their passions, work on unstructured projects, or participate in weekly workshops. The Maker Space (currently constrained by both space and resources) also helps support classes and clubs with meeting space, tools, and expertise. In Upper School, Charlie Cobb ’17, who is president of the Associated Student Body (ASB) this year, took it 8 UPREP MAGAZINE

upon himself this past summer to “digitize” the Lower Commons. He developed a proposal and then worked with the IT Department to create a monitor that shows the daily schedule, as well as club meetings and other events (pictured right). Charlie has also changed the structure of the ASB, creating committees The daily monitor for each major event, and delegating responsibility. He monitors progress via Slack and has expanded the use of social media such as Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube to visually document UPrep student life. “My end goal,” says Charlie, “ is to cultivate leaders.” Zack Beitel ’17, right, is working with the Enrollment Office on social media outreach projects, and is curating some projects to highlight student voices during the enrollment process. He worked on ads and posted on Instagram and Snapchat during the fall

Zack Beitel

FIND UPREP ON SOCIAL MEDIA

University Prep-Seattle

@university_prep

University_Prep

@uprep_athletics

uprep_Athletics

@weareuprep

weareuprep

WeAreUPrep

Open Houses. He also recruited 20 students to be members of a social media team oriented toward attracting new students. Working with Outreach Specialist Nikia Washington in the Enrollment Office, Zack has helped develop strategies for content creation. In November, 15 students from the history class, “War and Peace,” organized and presented the Veterans’ Day assembly. They had two goals in mind: honoring the men and women who served, and deepening our understanding of the challenges veterans face once they return home. The result was a moving and educational assembly that left the audience with some positive thoughts on how to start breaching the civilian/military divide. A group of students active in social justice issues (including Aisse Torres ’17, Tseion Amare ’18, Saymirah Cornelius-McClam ’17, and Julie Xu ’17, below) took the initiative to meet with the administration last year about what they felt were a lack of diverse perspectives in Upper School history classes. The students reviewed a list of history electives and collected data, and then met with Head of School Matt Levinson and the History Department. The department, which had cut back some of its elective offerings as a result of the new Civics class requirement (a new Washington State law now mandates Civics for graduation), had already been working on how to incorporate a broader range of viewpoints. “We had been talking about ways to restore the content on race, diversity and immigration, and their input was both timely and valuable,” says Department Head Karen Natorp Anderson. This year, history students can take a survey class or choose one of four electives (two offered each semester). “We want to provide more student choice

Students Aisse Torres, Tseion Amare, Saymirah Cornelius-McClam, and Julie Xu take the initiative to broaden diversity offerings at UPrep. UPREP MAGAZINE

Students brainstorm in the Maker Space with teacher Emma Anderson (center)

and agency within the requirements, and the students’ input helped make it happen,” says Natorp Anderson. This fall, another group of students passionate about social justice—including Mimi Zekaryas ’20, Ximena Perez Rivero ’19, Zubin Abraham-Ahmed ’18, Tseion Amare ’18, Saymirah Cornelius McClam ’17, Aisse Torres ’17, Mya Johnson ’19, and Hanan Sherka ’19 initiated a brand-new collaboration with some local independent and public schools in the pursuit of social justice. Entitled “Design Your Future,” the event was held during a non-school day in October, with the intent of building long-term social and activist ties within the city of Seattle. Associate Director of Diversity and Community Pedro Cordoba helped the students create time and space

to come together. Students from UPrep, Rainier Beach, Cleveland, Overlake, Bush, and Garfield participated, engaging in activities called open space, world café, and harvest with the help of facilitators from Overlake and Bush. The attendees subsequently created a chat group and developed a proposal to set up an exchange between UPrep and Rainier Beach High School, with each group visiting for three days, and working with each school’s schedule. The goal is to explore different educational practices, systems and classroom environments, and ultimately fulfill the UPrep mission with students increasing their cultural competence and social responsibility. The UPrep students presented to the administration in December, and the exchange is now in the works. n

Adam Shego, Rihan Delora and Joey Sniezek gather in the Diversity and Community Office. 10 UPREP MAGAZINE

SPOTLIGHT ON

Allison Bunker ’18 Juniors Melanie Stone and Allison Bunker

llison Bunker ’18 embodies the very essence of student agency. Back when she was in 8th grade, her Capstone Project focused on hunger and malnutrition in Tanzania. By the end of the project, she says, “I still felt that my job wasn’t done.” Her research had convinced her that world hunger was solvable, and she continued to ponder the problem. “This generation has to do better. I couldn’t walk away, so I decided to give it my attention.” But how to make it happen? The first step was a year of “ideation” in which she let concepts and ideas float around before pitching them to her parents. She settled on an app-based platform, and sought feedback from a number of people. This summer, Allison took a two-week class on Social Problem Solving in the 21st Century at the Harvard Entrepreneurship Program, where

she connected with individuals involved in start-ups and acquired some basic business knowledge. She and her class partner chose to focus on Allison’s idea and on an app called Make Change, which would make giving easier, eliminate barriers to entry, and accept small donations. Along with a third partner, they joined Social Venture Partners to move toward implementing their idea. Participants received professional coaching and could enter a competition to win funding to get their product up and running. Allison and her team (the other two members attend schools in Boston and Singapore) spent hundreds of hours developing their idea. Ultimately, they were selected to make a five-minute pitch at the Fast Pitch Student Competition in Seattle. As the only Seattle resident, Allison was selected to deliver the pitch. She sailed

through the first two levels of the competition, before being eliminated in the third round. As a semifinalist, her team had a poster at the finals. They haven’t let up on their efforts. They finished their logo, and are working on their business plan, designing the user interface of their app, and networking with the goal of building the first prototype. What has Allison learned while developing the non-profit? A ton, on many different levels, she says. How helpful it is to work with a great coach. How hard it is to let go of ideas you have labored on for hours. How emotional an experience it is, beyond all the hard work. And how well prepared she has been with presentation skills at UPrep! As a member of the Student Entrepreneurship class, Allison is adding to her experience and further refining her skills with an eye to the future. n UPREP MAGAZINE

Ty Talbot, Fine Arts teacher 12 UPREP MAGAZINE

y Talbot has been teaching at UPrep since 2004, first teaching Middle School science for two years before switching over to fine arts. He has served on the University Prep Board of Trustees as the faculty representative and been head of the Fine Arts Department for the past three years. Talbot championed fine arts classes becoming pass/fail four years ago, and in keeping with the department’s mission, he encourages students to take risks and trusts them to follow their muse. Valuing process over product, he makes a point of meeting students where they are. Thanks to the small classes at UPrep, Talbot is able to develop one-on-one tutorial relationships with his students, who look upon his class as a place where they can explore their creativity with few restraints. Last spring, Talbot received a huge honor when he was selected as one of 12 arts educators from across the United States for the 2016–17 Art21 Educators Program. His interest in Art21 dates back to 2011, when he attended a session about it at the National Arts Educators Conference. “I heard artist and educator Joe Fusaro speak, and thought, I want this guy to be my mentor.” Talbot has used Art21 guides and films in his classes, and last year decided to go ahead and apply to the highly selective program, never thinking for a minute that he would be chosen. The year-long intensive, professional development opportunity supports K–12 educators in any subject area who are interested in bringing contemporary art, artists, and themes into their classroom teaching. This summer, Talbot participated in a week-long institute in New York City where participants designed and developed curriculum, watched and talked about films, visited museums and galleries, and heard from artists and other educators. “It was 16-hour days hanging out with the

PUMAS IN THE ARTS

TY TALBOT By Lisa Kennedy

best art teachers in the country, including artists who had been profiled on the Art21 PBS show,” he says. “The next steps,” Talbot wrote in his blog, “are to really open up the curriculum, ask big questions, and keep asking them—and putting it to my students to do the same... I have the opportunity to really try out some ideas, push them into new areas, and start the year with a different approach. These are areas that are uncomfortable for my students—ambiguity, writing, documentation, open-ended divergent thinking. These areas also require me to really rethink the fundamental approach I’ve had for a long time.” In the first assignment of the year, Talbot encouraged his students to “talk more / make less,” with a heavy emphasis on personal reflection, writing, typology tests, and other activities. Entitled, “Make America Great Again,” the assignment was based on the work of Kara Walker, a major contemporary artist with a show at the Bellevue Art Museum that the students visited as a class. The result was a body of extraordinary work that reflected on the students’ views on race in America. As the year progresses, expect Talbot to push the envelope, challenging his students to think deeply before they create. n

Middle School murals in progress in Art Foundations class

UPREP MAGAZINE

PUMAS IN THE ARTS

Avalon Hester’s Broadway Turn By Lisa Kennedy

valon Hester ’19 has been doodling since she was a toddler, but stopped drawing in middle school, felled by her perfectionism. “At some point it just stopped being fun and I decided I hated art,” she says. Avalon’s passion was reignited in 9th grade when she switched to UPrep and enrolled in Ty Talbot’s multimedia class. “Mr. Talbot has a connection with every student, and he always emphasizes more than anything that we should explore and play,” she says. “I also love the range of artists that he exposed us to; it really opened up my world. Also, he always found something cool about every student’s work.” Avalon has taken two art classes every semester at UPrep, and her favorite form of expression is portraiture. This past summer, she created portraits on dry erase boards around her mom’s workplace, and soon demand was flowing from all parts of the Amazon campus. Then came her 16th-birthday present— a trip to New York to see the musical Hamilton. Avalon and her mom had talked about doing a sidewalk chalk portrait of actor Lin-Manuel Miranda in front of the theater on the day of the performance, but quickly discovered that it would not be allowed. She settled on drawing a huge 90” x 48”

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portrait of him using oil sticks on poster board directly across from the theater. Avalon spent five hours sketching, attracting huge media attention—including local TV,

Avalon Hester

the Wall Street Journal, PBS, the New York Times, Variety, and Playbill. “I didn’t realize that people were going to watch me, and it got really weird!” she says. She had to leave her portrait outside as the play was about to begin, at which point a young woman offered to babysit it, ultimately bringing it into the theater when it started to rain.

the stage, and eventually to the cast party after the show. It then hung in the theater for several months, before being auctioned off to benefit Broadway Cares and AIDS research. Gregory Haney, a dancer in Hamilton, purchased the piece. “This was my proudest moment,” says Avalon. Her mom sees a direct relationship between her daughter’s new confidence and her teachers: “Avalon is exuberant, enriched, curious, brave, responsible, and kind,” she writes. “I attribute this degree of development to her time at UPrep.” While Avalon loves all of school—especially the humanities—she says that what she loves most about UPrep is the close relationships she has with her teachers. “They are all so dialed in to every single kid!” This fall, Avalon explored a new artistic side and played the role of a farmer’s wife in UPrep’s production of The Music Man. She is also passionate about debate, and interested in the law. With her newfound fearlessness, and the encouragement of her teachers, who knows what the future holds. n

Read about how Avalon’s art made it on stage at the end of the perfomance in an article by Joe Gambino in Playbill: www.playbill.

At the end of the play, with the full cast present, Avalon’s art was brought onto

com/article/what-was-it-like-outside-therichard-rodgers-theatre-last-night

UPREP MAGAZINE

UPREP HAPPENINGS

Summer Recharge Lets Faculty Follow Their Bliss

t University Prep, nobody models lifelong learning more than our faculty in support of our students. This past summer, through the generosity of an anonymous donor, UPrep was able to introduce the Summer Recharge Program, which sent seven faculty members across the globe to Thailand, India, Canada, Cuba, California, and Massachusetts. Next year, our generous donor is extending the program to ten or more individuals, and the UPrep staff became eligible to apply as well.

English teacher Eric Huff went to Baan Sanpraw, a small village in Thailand, to volunteer at the Baan Kru Nee School. He and his wife Alyssa brought more than 90 books and workbooks, study tests, puppets, and games. During his three weeks at the school, he was able to model different teaching methods and explain the reasoning and goals behind them. “I will never forget my time in the village. I also hope these students will never forget that we came to their village and we saw who they were—real people of absolute value and potential,” says Huff.

Spanish teacher Alma Spanish teacher Elena Tello Andrade helped out at the traveled to Cuba to continue Otter Program in Monterey, her study of drumming and CA, for children of migrant to understand the merging of workers, and then traveled by African and Spanish rhythms RV with her family to visit in the island’s culture. “I was area farms. “It was a humbling so lucky to take drum lessons experience for me to volunteer with the great musician Otto at the Otter Program, and to Santana Selis. I also loved to reflect on my childhood when Eric and Alyssa Huff (l-r: center) in Thailand experience being Cuban I went to a similar summer by following in their ways—using taxis, shopping at the school in Eastern Washington. It moved me so much that I market—and having conversations with people. These am considering the idea of teaching next summer in Eastern conversations opened up little windows into their daily Washington at a summer migrant school,” says Andrade. lives,” says Tello. Mathematics teacher Meghan Shortell went to India to English teacher Judy Ghavamian wanted two weeks at a pursue her passion for practicing and teaching yoga. “I quiet retreat to write a play appropriate for secondary school teach yoga here at UPrep, at Corepower, and at Echo Glen audiences about the growing problem of drug abuse. “I am Children’s Center (a youth prison in Snoqualmie, WA), so grateful to the patron who made this experience possible. and I was constantly challenged to reframe my thoughts The support motivated me to write a play and helped me and perceptions as I experienced different aspects of life in realize this dream of mine,” says Ghavamian. India. It was an incredibly transformative experience for me as a traveler, a teacher, and a global citizen,” she says. And finally, computer science teacher Emma Anderson went to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, NY, and to the Chemistry teacher Mikayla Patella-Buckley went to Institute for Nonprofit News in Boston, MA, to pursue her Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada to experience field passions for birding and data science. Throughout, she kept research and track wolves in the Canadian Rockies. “This her classroom in mind, “hoping to gain more ideas about was the first time in my life that chemistry-indoor-teacher how to integrate computational data analysis into my classes, Mikayla was able to be outdoor-bushwhacking-field-biologist especially as it relates to social justice.” n Mikayla, and IT WAS AWESOME,” she enthuses. 16 UPREP MAGAZINE

ARTS

& EVENTS

THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING GREAT GOING ON AT UPREP... From Music Day and Open Houses, to Cultural Night, Grandparents’ Day, the Upper School musical, The Music Man, and the Middle School play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream! Check universityprep.org/calendar for events. n

Fabulous Music Day solo by Middle School vocalist, Brandon Rosenberg

Alma Andrade and family

Hanan Sherka, Dayna Rogers-Gonzalez and Eunices Avila at Cultural Night

A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Jude Roach and Rona Eslamy

Emma Anderson

Mikayla Patella-Buckley The Music Man cast performs “76 Trombones.”

UPREP MAGAZINE

PUMA FUND— A SCHOOL RECORD!

UPREP HAPPENINGS

Mental Health at UPrep Is in the Forefront By Andrea Moore and Lindsay Metcalfe, School Counselors

Prep has continued its partnership with Forefront in the Schools, carrying forward the school’s commitment to mental health and preventing suicide. This year, several new initiatives have been rolled out, involving students, school employees, and families. One of Forefront’s primary goals is to provide training that equips members of the UPrep community with skills to recognize warning signs of suicide and reach out to someone who is struggling. In November, all faculty and staff (as well as some coaches and Liddane tutors) received this training, led by faculty members of the Forefront Committee. All 9th grade students are receiving information on suicide prevention in Health class. A parent-toparent training took place in January and 85 parents attended. It was led by UPrep parent Andrea Durbin.

Lindsay Metcalfe

Andrea Moore

Upper School students have been presented with the opportunity to receive training and pass their knowledge along as peer educators. Students are particularly well placed to identify someone experiencing a mental health crisis, since adolescents often confide in their peers first. More than 10 percent of Upper School students submitted an application to be a peer educator; a team of 14 students, representing all 4 grades, was selected. Their training and presentations will begin in the second semester. If you’re interested in learning more about UPrep’s work with Forefront, please don’t hesitate to contact us. n

RESOURCES COUNSELING:

www.universityprep.org/student-life/counseling FOREFRONT:

www.intheforefront.org

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e are proud to announce that our Puma Fund campaign was an incredible success! And it’s all because of YOU, the UPrep parent community. As you know, this is the first year we condensed our fundraising efforts into the fall, and our community really came through! In a few short months, we raised $671,510 and achieved an overall parent participation of 82 percent. That is a school record! A special shout-out goes to the 8th grade for leading the pack! A HUGE thank-you goes to our co-chairs, Jeanne Gunsolus and Don Paterson, and Caroline and Brad Probst, for heading up this campaign and for leading a team of fantastic class agents. Without all of our wonderful volunteers, this result would not have been possible. We also want to thank the 23 generous families who provided the funds for our match incentive. Another HUGE thank-you goes to all our donors. If you made a gift to the Puma Fund this year, we are truly grateful for your support. You have helped make our community stronger and helped touch each and every student at UPrep.

If you have been planning to join us but just haven’t quite made your gift yet, THERE’S STILL TIME! You may donate any amount online at www.universityprep.org/ support-u-prep/puma-fund to participate. You can join your fellow parents and help raise your class participation number even higher! n

By Paul Rudnick, Director of Advancement

Cele

It’s Great to Be 40!

reU eA Pr

ation

s you are well aware, 2016 marked University Prep’s 40th year. The vision of our seven founders continues to guide us today. We are a school that provides an inspiring education, where students are expected to dig deep, where extraordinary relationships between students and teachers endure, and where an inclusive community embraces every student. The strength of our community is on display every day when you see parents partnering with us to put on events and to serve on committees to improve the educational experience at UPrep. This year, we have an unprecedented amount of volunteers and we are incredibly humbled by the generous time commitment by parents.

celebration, entitled #WeAreUPrep, at the Seattle Art Museum. This event is an opportunity to spend time with other parents and alumni, and to enjoy art while supporting our school. Again this year, we will be raising money for our Financial Aid Endowment so that we can continue to fulfill our mission! To register, visit our website at: weareuprep.org/celebration2017. For more information, contact us: events@universityprep.org or 206.832.1107. We hope to see you there! n

This year’s Puma Fund campaign has already been the most successful in our history, raising more than $670,000 with 100 percent participation from faculty, staff, our Board of Trustees, and our Alumni Board. And our family participation is already at an all-time high of 82 percent! This galvanizes our community and helps us accomplish our mission of equity, access, and inclusion for all our students. We strongly encourage everyone to join our all-school March 10

Since the end of the Puma Fund campaign, we received even more gifts and currently have raised $671,510 and reached 82 percent participation overall. We appreciate your support! The graph shows participation by class. We could not have achieved this without the generous support from all of you.

UPREP MAGAZINE

UPREP HAPPENINGS

Faculty and Student Leaders Represent UPrep in Atlanta By Shavette McGhee, Director of Diversity and Community

n early December, 6 students along with 11 faculty and staff members attended the annual joint National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference (PoCC), and Student Diversity and Leadership Conference (SDLC) in Atlanta, Georgia. PoCC embodies the NAIS commitment to equity and justice in teaching and learning, and its mission is to provide a safe space for leadership, professional development, and networking for people of color and allies of all backgrounds in independent schools. This year’s theme was, “Advancing Human and Civil Rights—Fulfilling the Dream Together,” and the conference included

general sessions with keynote speakers, dozens of workshops, and extensive affinity group work. Four UPrep faculty and staff members presented (see the topics they addressed on page 21). While UPrep faculty and staff attended PoCC, the Upper School students attended SDLC, a multiracial, multicultural gathering of student leaders from across the country. SDLC focuses on self-reflecting, forming allies, and building community. This year’s theme was, “Dreaming Out Loud: Waking Up to a New Era of Civil Rights,” and students worked to develop cross-cultural communication skills while learning about effective strategies for social justice. UPrep students will be “bringing it back” for both their peers in the Upper School and students in the Middle School in early spring. For the first time this year, the Diversity and Community Office partnered with the College Counseling Office to arrive early in Atlanta so that the SDLC participants could visit area colleges. They visited three historically black colleges and universities, including Clark Atlanta, Spelman, an all-women’s college, and Morehouse, an all-men’s college. Alumni Syade Shields ’14 took the students on the tour at Morehouse and told the group that UPrep had taught him a lot of useful tools, especially how to study. Then the group headed to Emory University and Agnes Scott College, where they met with two UPrep alumnae, Anling Kaplan ’15 and Yaninna Sharpley-Travis ’15.

UPrep students Zubin Abraham-Ahmed, Nikhil Deo, Brittany Carter, Saymirah Cornelius-McClam, Morgan DeLancy, Kathia Vivar-Acevedo visit Emory University. 20 UPREP MAGAZINE

The conference location changes each year, but UPrep’s goal is to continue pairing the conference with visits to colleges of interest within reach. n

New Diversity Mission Statement RIGHT BEFORE THE WINTER BREAK, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved a new Diversity Mission Statement, crafted by the Board’s Diversity and Community Committee, which is comprised of board members, faculty, staff and students. The statement reads:

DIVERSITY MISSION University Prep’s mission compels us to train and educate the next generation of leaders who will create impact and change in an interdependent, complex, and global community. Our students need to see, hear, and understand the diversity of people, perspectives, and points of view around them and the world they will lead in the years ahead. Essential to this proposition is the ability of our students to identify, analyze, and act on issues of equity, justice, and inclusion. Our world demands it. n

Recent Conference Presentations by Faculty and Staff UNIVERSITY PREP TEACHERS have a passion for educational excellence. This is demonstrated through active representation at professional conferences throughout the year. Here is a list of last fall’s activities. NWAIS EDUCATORS CONFERENCE—Jeff Gans, Ty Talbot, E-chieh Lin,

and Moses Rifkin on “Change Agents’ Guide to Integrating Social Justice into Curriculum” Moses Rifkin with Villa Academy and Seattle Academy on “Introduction to Social Justice and STEM” Emma Anderson with Villa Academy and Lake Washington Girls Middle School on “Social Justice and STEM in Practice” Dana Bettinger with Evergreen School and Lake Washington Girls Middle School on “MindSWell in Education—Educators’ Consortium on Mindfulness, Social-Emotional Learning, and Wellness” Dana Bettinger with Anthony McGrann from Epiphany School on “Whose Voice Is Missing from This Story? Teaching Social Justice Through Narrative” Jeff Tillinghast with Open Window School and Evergreen School on “Making and Makerspaces as Curricular Activities” SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators)—Shelly Ellis on

“Cooperative and Team Building Activities” (at SHAPE Oregon) and on “Problem Solving and Team Building Dynamics” and “Fun Formative Assessments Focused with Technology” (at SHAPE Washington) WASHINGTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION SCHOOL DIVISION CONFERENCE—

Anne Bingham on “Book Arts in Makerspaces” and at British Columbia Teacher Librarians Conference on “Rembrandt and the Llama: Helping Students Use Digital Images” WHIDBEY INSTITUTE RETREATON TEACHING IN AN AGE OF CLIMATE CONSEQUENCES —Christina Serkowski on “Timescales” NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION AREA CONFERENCE—

Moses Rifkin on “Science Teaching for Social Justice” AMERICAN COUNCIL ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ANNUAL CONVENTION—Elena Tello and Ciara McGrath on “¡No más!:

Integrating Topics of Social Justice in the Spanish Curriculum” NAIS PEOPLE OF COLOR CONFERENCE—Richard Kassissieh and

E-chieh Lin on “What About the Content? Revising Curricula for Educational Equity Through Human and Civil Rights” Elena Tello and Ciara McGrath on “¡No más! Integrating Topics of Social Justice into the High School Spanish Classroom” n

UPREP MAGAZINE

NEWS BITES

A New Schedule UPrep’s “New Models of Time” begins Fall 2017

new weekly schedule and academic calendar represents the culmination of 16 months of research, school visits, community focus groups and surveys, professional development days, extensive work by a research+design team, and the help of an independent school management consultant. The new schedule will enhance our academic program and strengthen the student’s educational experience. The purpose of the proposed change is to improve focus through longer, more in-depth class periods, reduce student stress, and support student ownership of the learning process. Next fall, University Prep will continue with the current semester model and calendar year, but with modifications to the daily schedule. The seven periods will start at 8:30 a.m. and all classes will be 70 minutes in length and rotate over seven days in a predictable manner. The day will include both community time and an advisory check-in. Over the coming months, the administration will refine the details of the new schedule, which in coming years will eventually include three-week intensive terms with a single course. n

Music in the City UPREP’S JAZZ PROGRAM took its winter concert, Jazz Extravaganza, into the city with a performance open to the public at The Royal Room in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood. It’s another step in UPrep’s efforts to extend the classroom into Seattle. n

Student Services AS PART OF NEXT GENERATION Learning, UPrep is working to develop Social Emotional Learning practices schoolwide. Training will be given to anyone working with students, and parent education programming will also be offered. The practice of SEL encompasses strategies to support students as they build resiliency, manage stress, develop empathy, clarify their personal values, and make responsible decisions.

New Models of Teaching TEACHERS AND PROGRAM directors have traveled to more than a dozen schools across the country to see various new models of teaching and learning in action.

Middle School Exchange THE MIDDLE SCHOOL has enjoyed a fruitful exchange with Santa Fe Prep, in Santa Fe, NM, for the past four years. This year for the first time, four Upper School alums of the Santa Fe trips will be on Upper School Global Link trips. Applications for the 2017-18 school year will be available in the fall.

Expanded Summer Programming

Sophomore James McCormick performing at The Royal Room 22 UPREP MAGAZINE

UPREP WILL BE OFFERING a threeweek Summer Bridge for Middle and Upper School students in August, emphasizing English, math, and science. Separate enrichment classes will be offered for both divisions during the month of July. Check them out at www.universityprep.org/ student-life/summer-programs. n

UPrep Dives Further into Global Online Academy

ince 2015, UPrep has partnered with Global Online Academy (GOA) to build the vision of future learning, which takes place across disciplines, cultures, and time zones; gives our students many added opportunities for electives that speak to their individual passions; and better prepares them for college by taking on independent learning. In our second year of offering these online electives, 15 students are taking a GOA class. This fall, mathematics teacher David Peabody became the first member of our faculty to teach an David Peabody Skypes with a student. online class.

his online students is petitioning a member of Congress to clean up the Missouri River. The outlook for the future? More UPrep teachers trying their hand at teaching a GOA class and more students taking advantage of a new kind of learning space. n

Exchange Student from Colombia Returns “Home” to UPrep

aria Paola Jaramillo Barios, who attended UPrep in the fall of 2007 as part of our partnership with the Colegio San Jose in Barranquilla, Colombia, returned this fall to campus for the first time. She bubbled over with enthusiasm as she visited the Global Programs Office. While a student here, Maria Paola was hosted by Upper School Director Ken Jaffe’s family. His son Will was a student at UPrep at the time—and she now considers him her brother and the Jaffes her second parents. “I’m so happy to be here and finally say thank you to all who made it possible for me to come here,” she said. As she reflected on her stay, she said that she was

“Power: Redressing Inequity Through Data” is the subject, and his students are from Miami, Cleveland, Kansas City, San Francisco, and Jakarta. Evaluations of students revolve around specific GOA competencies, which include: collaboration; cultural awareness; curation/creation of content relevant to world issues; reflection on and responsibility for learning in an open forum; independent learning; and digital literacy. Peabody was attracted to the class because it combined math with social justice and advocacy. “Traditional math misses a lot of opportunities to teach students to be real-world literate, so this really gets me fired up,” he says. His class uses Skype and video, and Peabody is now also using video in his regular UPrep classes. “This generation is excited about making change, and this type of learning teaches students to substantiate their claims, be heard, and make traction on issues they care about.” To wit, one of

only 14 at the time, and that it took a while for the significance of the experience to register. Now she knows not to take anything for granted and to take advantage of every day. “I learned so much about cultural differences, and I still keep in touch with all of my friends. This experience will change your life!” she concluded. Maria Paola earned a degree in engineering, and after working for Schlumberger, is taking some time to travel around Colombia and write a travel blog. n UPREP MAGAZINE

ATHLETIC NEWS By Rebecca Moe, Director of Athletics

Varsity Boys Tennis One of the highlights of the fall was the success of our Varsity Boys Tennis. As a team, they won the Emerald City League Championship and were undefeated this fall. And on October 22, they won the district team title as well! Coaches David Doud and Sam Thomsen ’11 were awarded Coaches of the Year honors by their league colleagues. At the league/ district tournament, Jack Katzman ’17 won the singles championship and hopes to earn a third singles state championship in Yakima next May, which would be his third year in a row. In doubles, Christian Keaunui ’18 and Jasen Mansfield ’18 won the doubles championship and doubles team Josh Wah-Blumberg ’17 and Wilson Mosier ’18 finished second. The Pumas are looking strong with enough team entries to compete for the team championship, something that has not been done since 2009. n

Upper School Girls Soccer

Upper School Ultimate Frisbee

Middle School Girls Basketball

Boys Varsity Tennis team, league and district champs

Middle School Cross Country

24 UPREP MAGAZINE

coach Bill Sauvage, and is continuing to instill the values of team work, competitiveness, and sportsmanship. In addition, both boys’ and girls’ programs have alumni on their coaching staff, Raija Sanford ’07 and Nico Stevens ’09, which speaks highly to the community our coaches have actively created in the last several years!

Upper School Boys Varsity Basketball with Coach Brooks, center

UPrep Basketball— One Community University Prep’s Girls and Boys Basketball teams have had a long-standing commitment to working together, sharing space, and supporting each other at home and on the road. That begins with our leaders, Kyle Lawhead and AJ Brooks. Head Coach Lawhead is in his 12th season, his 8th as coach of Girls Varsity Basketball. Lawhead is one of the longest-serving coaches in the Emerald City League. He has won two league championships and taken the Pumas to the state regionals in 2013 and 2014. This year there was a change in leadership in the boys program and AJ Brooks is now leading the varsity team into the 2016–17 season. Coach Brooks is building on the foundation established by former

Upper School Girls Varsity Basketball with Coach Lawhead, center

A goal for any department is to make sure that coaches are collegial and respectful. At UPrep we are fortunate this happens naturally, but our coaches also work hard at modeling collaboration among themselves and with their players. While Lawhead and Brooks have their individual team obligations, they also see the value in supporting each other in game strategy and practice planning. Ultimately, they are both working for the same thing—to lead their team and program, and ensure that the students fine-tune their skills, work hard, and compete at the league, district, and even state level. Our school values—respect, responsibility, and integrity—always stay at the forefront. An enduring tradition for our two basketball programs has been attending the DeSales Holiday Tournament in Walla Walla, WA, over winter break. Both teams have made the trip since 2010. It not only builds individual teams, it builds our basketball community of players, families, and coaches. Our basketball program from Middle School through Upper School has created several traditions that have become part of the season—Winter Pumafest, Tailgate Tacos, Half Court Hot Shot, Moe’s Munchies, the Walla Walla trip, and Senior Night. Students and families look forward to these unique UPrep basketball events, and they give the younger Pumas something to look forward to and the alumni something to look back on! n UPREP MAGAZINE

ALUMNI NEWS

Alumni Weekend 2016 In keeping with tradition, many UPrep alumni gathered in July for our annual Alumni Weekend and, once again, it was a great success! We kicked off the weekend Friday, with a fantastic afternoon of baseball at Safeco Field. Nearly 100 alums and guests enjoyed sunshine and delicious food and drinks while watching the Mariners take on the Houston Astros. And it just so happened that it was Fedora Night! On Saturday, the party continued on the UPrep campus and was also very well attended by alums of all ages. One of the highlights was the faculty band, made up of our very own Alec Duxbury, Jeff Tillinghast, and Carl Faucher. The Classes of 1986, 1996, 2006, and 2011 each celebrated their reunions by catching up with old friends, touring the school, visiting with faculty, and enjoying dinner in town. Many alums commented on how wonderful it was to reconnect with former classmates and friends. Planning has already begun for our next alumni weekend, July 21 and 22, 2017. Be sure to watch for more details! n

left: Thaddaeus Gregory ’11 and Moses Rifkin

right: Alums of all ages visit with Jeanette Williams, former Assistant Head of School.

left: Alec Duxbury ’86 leading faculty band

right: Emma Landis ’08 and Joe Irwin ’04 and friends

left: Rachel Pesando ’96 and Kirk Davis ’84 and their families

Leah Raphael ’12 and Alise Lied ’12 26 UPREP MAGAZINE

Alumni Winter Party 2016

his year’s Alumni Winter Party was quite a success! At a wonderful new venue, Métier on Capitol Hill, we welcomed alumni spanning over 30 years! Young alums and longtime alums mingled to share stories with one another. Faculty members Alan Hargus, Dave Marshall, and Sarah Peterson were in attendance, making the evening that much more special. It is always fantastic to see our alumni represented in so many ways—university students, motorcycle enthusiasts, doctors, UPrep staff, and even current members of the UPrep Board of Trustees! n

Recent grads Kelly Pike ’12 and guest, Mia Dulude ’12, Sofia Dawson ’12, Matt Higgins ’10, and Kyle McEachran ’11, catching up at the Alumni Winter Party

Save the Dates: July 21 and 22, 2017 UPrep All-Alumni Weekend!

e are just beginning to plan this weekend! This year we have Mariners tickets reserved for Friday, July 21, when we will watch the M’s take on the Yankees. Enjoy complimentary food and beverages at the game too! On Saturday, July 22, we welcome all alumni back to campus for a party with live music in the afternoon. In the evening, reunion dinners will be held for the Classes of 1987, 1997, 2007, and 2012. Check the alumni events page for updates or email us at: alumni@universityprep.org. n

21 22

Rachel (Goodman) Moore ’05 and her husband Ryan with science teacher Alan Hargus, center

Alumni Living the Mission

our UPrep 2016 graduates are doing gap years overseas before starting their freshman year in college. Rachel Eaton is spending the year doing volunteer work in Israel. Matan Arad-Neeman is in Morocco studying Arabic through the U.S. Department of State’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth and blogging about his experiences. Annie Cohen and Kai Milici are both doing programs through Global Citizen Year in Senegal and Ecuador, respectively, and blogging as well. You can follow their fascinating progress: Matan Arad-Neeman’s blog: https://mataninalmaghreb.wordpress.com/ Annie Cohen’s blog: http://bit.ly/2jgewFI Kai Milici’s blog: http://bit.ly/2jFIBuS n

UPREP MAGAZINE

—UPREP CLASS NOTES— If you would like to make a submission for our Class Notes, please send to classnotes@universityprep.org

ALUMNA PROFILE

Andia Winslow ’00 was recently a speaker at #140CONF, a Twitter Conference in Los Angeles, CA, where she crossed paths with Terri Nakamura, UPrep’s director of communications. A Yale alumna and founder of The Fit Cycle, Andia is a professional golfer, a master-certified fitness professional, a TV personality, a voice-over artist, a National Parks Foundation ambassador, and a contributor to the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign. Her innovative fitness and wellness efforts have been reported by CNN, The New York Times, USA Today, SXSW, ESPN, Cosmopolitan, Oxygen, and Forbes, which called her work the “smartest, sexiest workout videos ever.” As an elite athlete, Andia trained with Olympic Hall of Fame Track and Field Coach Brooks Johnson and was invited to join the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation in preparation for the Winter Olympics. She is committed to encouraging youth and adults to maintain healthy and active lifestyles. You can follow her #MOVEment online at AndiaWinslow.com, TheFitCycle. com, and LegacyWorkout.com and on Twitter and Instagram @AndiaWinslow. n 28 UPREP MAGAZINE

—1989— Mike Kleiner ’89 writes to report that against all odds he survived the college beer binges, rugby games, and too-loud heavy metal concerts of his 20s. His brain and hearing remain mostly intact. He returned to Seattle in 2000. He met his beloved (and very patient) wife Julie in 2007. Mike and Julie both enjoy the challenges of running a small business (tax practice and interior design firm, respectively). They have one very lively son, Ben—all indications suggest a second-generation metalhead! As luck would have it, a number of Ben’s schoolmates have UPA alums for parents, including Katie Wenger, who is VERY persuasive at encouraging alumni to send in updates! If any alumni would like to get in touch with Mike, he can be reached at mbk54321@gmail.com.

—2003— Josh Finn ’03 lives in Berkeley, CA, with his wife, Leora Fridman. Josh recently had a fun weekend hanging

out with UPrep classmates Robin Gonterman, Jacob Lipson, and Carl Rubinstein when they visited the Bay Area. They went to Gogi Time all-youcan-eat Korean barbecue. Had it been 2003, they would have likely put Gogi Time out of business, but now that they’re all respectable adults they ate a relatively normal amount. The kimchee pancakes were particularly memorable. After that weekend, Josh found out that he really cannot party like he used to because he tried to go all night and was then out of commission for a week. Robin’s apartment in San Francisco apparently still has glitter all over it. Josh plays guitar in a ten-piece Balkan music ensemble. He’s loved learning new rhythms, melodies, and meters from his Bulgarian teacher, bandleader and world-renowned Balkan music virtuoso Rumen Shopov. His band, Merakl’i (roughly translates to “passion” in Bulgarian), has performed half a dozen times in the past year around the Bay Area. By day, Josh works at a solar company called SunPower, where he develops solar projects for businesses, schools, and

Josh Finn ’03 (second from the right) and friends gather in the Bay Area.

Erica, Harry ’03 and Odin Olswang

Harry Olswang ’03 writes: My wife Erica and I welcomed our baby boy, Odin Asher Olswang, on August 1. He loves rooting for the Huskies and hanging with his dog in our fixer-upper in the View Ridge neighborhood of Seattle. He’s been hitting up all the local resorts—Suncadia and Semiahmoo are two of his favorites!

—2004—

public agencies. Josh bikes 8.5 miles along the San Francisco Bay to and from work each day. On the side, Josh is currently organizing an initiative to get his company to donate solar panels to a Native American reservation in South Dakota. His wife Leora’s first book of poetry, My Fault, was published in 2016 by the Cleveland State University Press. She went on a book tour that took her around the country. Currently she is working on two more books, working as a consultant to nonprofits, and leading writing retreats. Josh reports that his sister Leah Finn ’05 moved to Berkeley this year with her boyfriend Will to attend the Haas School of Business at the University of California. She promises that she’ll buy Josh a sweet new car when she lands a slick important job. Josh is still driving the same green Subaru that he and Leah drove to UPA in the early 2000s. Josh plans to remain in the Bay Area until he cannot afford it anymore, or a huge earthquake wipes it all out, whichever comes first!

Katharine Durkee ’04 married Mark Cappo in a ceremony at Villa Academy July 30. Fellow UPrep alumni Will Teal, Shane Salk, Alicia (Strong) Currier, Anne (Johnson) Lamping and Toby Cattolico, all 2004 graduates, were on hand to celebrate. The couple enjoyed a dramatic honeymoon in Belize, complete with an emergency evacuation due to Hurricane Earl. Katharine has been at UPrep as the advancement events officer for almost three years and Mark recently began work at Level 3 Communications. The couple lives on Capitol Hill in Seattle. Toby Cattolico ’04 reports: I have returned to UPrep! In August, I joined the Advancement Office as stewardship and communication officer. I have also taken over all things alumni and work directly with classmate Katharine Durkee ’04. You may be able to figure out who recruited me. You’ve probably already received some sort of communication from me and if you haven’t, you likely will! So far it’s been wonderful to return on staff. I’ve been called upon to play trumpet for Music Day, sing in a barbershop quartet for the fall musical, The Music Man, assist in coaching a student on drums,

and help out with the winter concert. Besides all things music related, I now have an even greater appreciation for my time spent here as a student. To see, be a part of, and understand all that it takes to build the student experience at UPrep is unreal. There is a tremendous effort from faculty and staff alike to make it as rich as possible, both in and out of the classroom. They are deeply passionate and invested in the students they see every day.

Zoe Piontek with fiancé Toby Cattolico ’04

I would like to call upon my own classmates from 2004, friends from ’03, and all other alums to participate in the alumni life of UPrep. Let me know what you would like to see in the alumni program and please submit class notes! It’s easy to do so through classnotes@universityprep.org. You can always reach me at tcattolico@ universityprep.org.

—2005— Ian Gallaher ’05 writes: Since UPrep I graduated from Whitman College with a BA in biology. I then did prostate cancer research at the University of Washington before attending medical school there (graduated 2012). I’m completing my five-year residency in radiation UPREP MAGAZINE

—UPREP CLASS NOTES—

ALUMNUS PROFILE

Cory Potts ’05, remembers that his involvement in politics goes back to his junior year at UPrep, when he was volunteering for a state legislator and organized a school assembly that brought two Democrats, a Republican and a Libertarian together to discuss issues. Cory credits former UPrep history teacher Evan Hundley for his social activism, which is still going strong today. (Hundley left to become head of school at Explorer West in 2007.) “He tried to get us involved and show us that we could be vested in many issues even as high school students,” says Cory. Embodying UPrep ideals of socially responsible citizenship, Cory has dedicated his attention to issues surrounding homelessness since he was a student at UW and started working at the Defender Division of the King County Department of Public Defense. After graduating from college, Cory moved to Brussels to study criminology at Brussels Free University, where he wrote his master’s thesis in French. “All my French was from Karen Manarolla 30 UPREP MAGAZINE

and Pat Landy (long-time UPrep French teachers who are now both retired)!” says Cory. In Belgium, Cory became involved with a cooperative housing group that negotiated a covenant with the city to occupy an empty seven-story office tower. “Sixty people lived ten per floor, sharing bathrooms and kitchens with people from all over the world. We were entirely self-sufficient and ran everything through consensus.” The housing complex became a model that occupied a niche between housing ownership and leasing. Cory returned to Seattle last January and is once again employed by the Department of Public Defense, where he helps attorneys prepare for trial. During his lunch and spare time, he works with a community action group called Common Cents. He contacts owners of vacant houses (often companies waiting for demolition permits) to ask them whether their building could be used as temporary housing for low-income people. So far his efforts have not been met with much success, but Cory is not giving up. He is motivated by more than his desire to keep the homeless out of harm’s way. “I don’t want the city to become an unfriendly place, with housing only for high-income earners,” he says. Cory’s volunteer activities also include UPrep, where he has worked with the Mock Trial team since being on it himself when it was the top team in the state. “I love to instill in the kids the values of criminology, and bring to them the reality of the PD’s office,” he says. n

oncology at the University of Minnesota with anticipated graduation in June 2017. I’m actually in the middle of the job search process so I don’t know where I’ll end up next year. Radiation oncology is a small but important field of medicine that, along with medical and surgical oncology, provides a vital component of cancer therapy. I feel privileged to provide cancer care to my inspiring patients. It is very rewarding to develop lasting relationships during one of the most challenging times in their lives.

Ian Gallaher ’05

I also enjoy collaborating with talented colleagues in the other oncologic specialties, learning to use continually advancing technologies, and applying breaking clinical discoveries to relieve symptoms and cure cancer. I look forward to joining a radiation oncology practice that aligns with this approach to cancer care. Beyond school/work, I got married in 2012 at the end of med school. My wife, Megan Babin, is a speech therapist and was born in Louisiana, but moved to Gig Harbor during middle school. We have two cats and also foster kittens. I’m into craft beer and home brewing. We look forward to having

more time and money after I complete my training to pursue our love of travel and scuba diving! I’m still very close to a number of my classmates from UPrep. Sean O’Keefe ’05 writes: After wandering for many years, I’ve finally begun to settle down. After graduating from the University of Chicago in 2009, I spent six years in the nonprofit and humanitarian sectors in Seattle, Arkansas, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia. After receiving a master’s degree in 2016 from the Clinton School of Public Service in Arkansas, I recently began a new career in the tech industry. I am now a sales representative with Observa, the Seattle-based tech startup (www.observanow.com). Observa pays ordinary shoppers to send in-store snapshots of store shelves, which product manufacturers use to maximize retail sales. Most importantly, I married Hailing Xu, a 2015 UW grad and a specialist in bilingual and early childhood education. We are building a new

Michaud Savage ’06, center

Sean O’Keefe ’05 and his wife, Hailing Xu

on King FM’s Second Inversion Community Advisory Board.

—2007—

life together in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood.

—2006— Michaud Savage ’06 writes: I’m a musician based in Seattle. Recent projects have included a stint as a singer and orchestrator with the Seattle Rock Orchestra, performing a suite of vocal works at Town Hall as a part of the first annual Musicircus, and serving as guitar accompanist for soul singer Grace Love. Upcoming are a concert featuring original works for string quartet with guitar and contrabass, a March performance of rare 20th-century works for mixed chamber ensemble, a forthcoming release with The Berlin String Quartet, and continued artistic direction of the Ancient Present chamber orchestra. Every Thursday morning, you can find me at SeaTac Airport playing guitar for travelers (which was recently featured on King 5 News!). I have a private teaching studio, as well as a teaching position with Play at Work Now, providing music lessons in high-tech work environments. I sit on the board of the Seattle Composers Alliance and

Sam Spector ’07 writes: I am happy to say that I wound up in the career that I was pursuing since 8th grade at UPrep; I am a rabbi at Temple Judea, a large synagogue in the Los Angeles area, and absolutely love what I do. I am also a Lieutenant Junior Grade in the US Navy Reserves, where I serve in the Chaplain Corps. I have been really lucky to travel the world since I graduated, having backpacked to more than 40 countries. Best wishes to all.

—2009— Hattie Claire Andres ’09 is currently at the 5th Avenue Theatre for the 2016–17 season as their first Directing and Artistic Leadership Fellow. She is the resident assistant director for the season, so keep an eye out for her and give a wave if you attend a show! Hattie was recently featured in the program for the 5th’s production of The Little Memaid, where she gave a shout-out to her time at UPrep, including the production of Zanna, Don’t!, which she directed and produced with her Hattie Claire Andres ’09

UPREP MAGAZINE

—UPREP CLASS NOTES—

classmates in 2009. A passionate advocate for equity and inclusion in the arts, Hattie continues to work around town as a director, producer, teaching artist, and actor at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, and others. Meanwhile, The Young Americans’ Theatre Company, which she founded in 2008 with a grant from Parent Council, is going strong in its 10th season as the premiere youth-run theatre company in Seattle! Tara and Jamie Gorry ’10

—2010— Jamie Gorry ’10 was married on July 23 in Boston to Tara Nahill, now Tara Gorry! Isaac Madwed ’10 was in attendance and Ben Greer ’10 was a groomsman! Jamie is working at Tufts Medical in Watertown, MA. Tara is teaching at a private school. Jamie was accepted to Northwestern and will be moving to Chicago, IL, this fall to pursue an MBA.

predictions of what everyone would be doing in four years, and these too will not be opened until the eight-year reunion in 2020! Max Zaslove ’12 writes: Hi all! I just started at NBC Universal in August as a part of the East Coast Page Program. Living in Brooklyn, NY, and working at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in the heart of Manhattan has been a dream. After studying marketing and video production at Brandeis University, I have landed pretty much exactly where I want to be in order to pursue my true passion for video and media. The program is a one-year rotational and developmental program to give valuable experience and background while working within the many different arms of the company. I’ve just finished up the first three months (the ambassadorship portion of the program), where I was responsible for giving tours throughout the building as well as working in audience

coordination for The Tonight Show and Late Night with Seth Meyers. I’m now moving into my first rotation in the digital department for the Syfy channel, while simultaneously working positions on The Today Show and Saturday Night Live. I’m excited to continue this amazing journey learning new skills and making connections before I start applying to other jobs within the company at the end of my first year.

—2014— Lana Dziekonski ’14 was a volunteer this summer singing in the chorus for the English Masses at World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland. The event was attended by thousands of young adults from 180 countries. She was seen on the big screen at Tauron Stadium in Krakow. She also received a scholarship through the University of Texas to study French in Lyon for six weeks in May. Lana continues her studies at UT on a full academic scholarship. n

—2012— Ken Jaffe’s 2012 advisory is four years out of high school. Recent college graduates, they all came together recently for a reunion. They read predictions they had made for one another in 2012 and saved for the occasion. Then they made future 32 UPREP MAGAZINE

back row, l-r: Jessica Hanson (former Academic Dean), Tejal Angolkar, Taylor Carbary, Sarah Afromowitz, Ken Jaffe. front row, l-r: Orren Arad-Neeman, Jimmy Pabiniak, Max Zaslove, Will Marks, Colin Froines

STRATEGIC PLAN 2020 OUR FACILIT Y

Expanding our strengths to transform the learning experience

Part of our Strategic Plan is to optimize place and space and to enhance learning and our community. WE ARE n Actively pursuing the purchase of nearby facilities n Rethinking our existing spaces for increased flexibility and creativity n Continuing to promote technology innovation, increasing student agency and collaboration n Using Seattle as our learning laboratory to promote student agency through service

We invite you to follow us as the journey continues: www.universityprep.org/ who-we-are/strategic-plan.

Nonproft ORG US POSTAGE PAID SEATTLE, WA PERMIT NO. 1268

8000 25th Ave NE | Seattle, WA 98115

Please join us for our spring celebration

#WeAreUPrep

To fund UPrep’s Financial Aid Endowment

Visit: weareuprep.org/celebration2017 Email: events@universityprep.org Phone: 206.832.1107

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Cele

What: Raise the paddle for #WeAreUPrep When: March 10, 2017; 7 p.m. Where: Seattle Art Museum Why: Financial Aid Endowment

reU eA Pr

You’re invited to a fun-filled evening for the entire UPrep community. We hope to see you there!

March 10, 2017

ation