SUMMER/FALL 2018
Vermont Academy
Life
From VA to Oxford Caitlyn McDermott ’18
Honoring Nita Choukas, VA’s “Ambassador of Good Will” Catching up with Noah Shanok ‘93 and Scott Buckley ‘02
Vermont Academy BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Michael A. Choukas ’73, P ’94, Chair Ret. Col. Richard I. Stark Jr. ’74, Vice Chair Carrie Dunn ’91, Secretary Casey Cota ’89, P ’14, ’18, Treasurer Thomas Capasse P ’16 Patty Eppinger P ’20 Matthew Galanes David Holton ’68 Michael Horowitz P ’98 Amy Howard ’91 Reverend Peter Howe P ’07, ’10 Steven E. Karol ’72, Former Chair Lori Paprin P ’20 Lee H. Ryder Jr. ’90 Mark W. Smith ’87 S. Tylor Tregellas TRUSTEES EMERITI
Robert M. Campbell ’37, P ’65, ’68, ’70 (2), ’80, ’82 Michael Choukas Jr. ’46, P ’73 W. Eugene Hays Jr. ’55 Hugh W. Pearson ’54 HE ADMASTER EMERITUS | Michael Choukas Jr. ’46, P ’73
Vermont Academy Life has a new publishing schedule! The magazine will continue to come out twice a year, but we’ll be sending out the Summer/ Fall issue (the one you’re holding right now, or paging through online) in August to allow us to share spring photos and news about where the current year’s graduates are headed to college in the fall.
ALUMNI R EPR ESENTATIV ES | Andrew Ward ’93 PAR ENT R EPR ESENTATIV ES | Lori Paprin P ’20,
Wendy Kaplan P ’20 HE AD OF SCHOOL | Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara EDITOR & W RITER | Madeline Bergstrom CL ASS NOTES EDITOR | Liz Olmsted P ’15 DESIGNER | Jennifer Fleischmann PHOTOGR APHY | Maryann McArdle P ’94, ’96, ’02, ’06 , Madeline Bergstrom, Liz Olmsted P ’15, Jeff Woodward
Vermont Academy Life is published twice a year by Vermont Academy, Saxtons River, VT. The magazine reserves the right to edit all material that it accepts for publication. 802-869-6200 | V ER MONTACADEMY.ORG
Education for Life —One Student at a Time
Our Mission
By providing a supportive community and close, personal attention to its students, Vermont Academy develops confident, active learners and respectful citizens.
The Winter/Spring issue will come at at the start of April, which, as all of us who have ever lived in Vermont know, is too early to take the snow tires off—and just the right time for news of our fall and winter academics, activities, sports, and cold-weather traditions.
11 Dan Burmester & Amy (Nachajski) Burmester
6 Scott Buckley ’02
Contents 2
Head of School’s Letter
4
First Annual Diversity Conference
6
A Conversation with Scott Buckley ’02
9
Introducing Melanie Hoffmann
12 VA Students Chart Their Own Courses 14 A Tribute to Del Crouse
12 Independent Projects
17 Annual Fund Goal Met and Exceeded 18 Teaching, Learning, and Innovation 20 Welcoming Two New Hockey Coaches 22 Athletic Highlights 2017-18 26 A Year in the Life of Vermont Academy 28 Catching Up with Noah Shanok ’93 32 Our 2018 College Admissions Landscape 34 Wildcats: We Want to Know! 36 Wildcat Profile: Caitlyn McDermott ’18
18 New Role for Susan Schmitt
40 “Miracles of St. Anthony” by Caitlyn McDermott ’18 42 Class Notes 50 “A truly remarkable woman”: Nita Choukas 51 In Memoriam 52 Remembering Arnold Castagner We want to hear from you! Email feedback to valife@vermontacademy.org.
28 Noah Shanok ’93
49 Bruce Brown ’16 Heads to NBA
50 Nita Choukas
H E A D O F S C H O O L’ S L E T T E R
Jim Mooney, former head of school, speaks at Dr. Zaccara’s installation while she and Board Chair Mike Choukas ’73 look on
Dear Vermont Academy Family, Serving one’s first year as a new head of school might be compared to playing in a World Cup match. You are riveted, focused, energized. Time accelerates, and it is a full-immersion dance with intensity. After my first year, I now have so much more knowledge of our school culture, traditions, arts, athletics, and curricula than when I first started working at Vermont Academy.
Fueling the passions, creativity, and business minds of our young students is something we now want to achieve more overtly through internships, Capstone Projects, and interdisciplinary programming.
We have come a long way in one year. We are drafting a strategic plan, planning a capital campaign, refining our signature programs, and making campus improvements. With each endeavor, we ask, “How will this serve the students?” We are steadily defining our niche and connecting the programmatic facets of the VA experience so that they are distinct, true to our values, and clearly understood internally and externally. Excitement on campus is growing as our extraordinary new faculty and administrators arrive. I made some key hires this year to develop an Executive Council. The team includes Jeff Seaton (assistant head of school and CFO), Melanie Hoffmann (assistant head of school and director of external affairs), Sean Braziel (COO and head boys’ hockey coach), and Amanda Gilbert-Hodgson, who has been at VA for ten years and is now our dean of faculty. These four and Dave Hodgson, our senior director of admissions, form our strategic leadership group, and they meet with me weekly to turn strategies into operations. Our hockey program, theater department, and International Student Program are all under expert new leadership. On campus this summer, we hosted our second annual Global Leadership Symposium, bringing domestic and international students to VA for eighteen days of leadership training, cultural immersion, arts, athletics, and outdoor experiences. We doubled the size of the Symposium this year and enjoyed getting to know students from all over
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Dr. Zaccara (front, center) with the Class of 2018 at the end of her first year
the world. Campus work over the summer included a new second-floor bathroom in Alumni, two remodeled bathrooms in Sturtevant, and new washers and dryers in every dorm. We are focusing this fall on the beautification of the approach to campus. One facet of our strategic plan will involve finding ways to create dynamic partnerships with area businesses and artisans, including renting a space on Main Street in Saxtons River to serve as a STEM and robotics center, as well as a potential local workspace in these areas in the future. VA’s entrepreneurial DNA is strong, and a significant percentage—65 percent—of Vermont Academy graduates open their own businesses. Fueling the passions, creativity, and business minds of our young students is something we now want to achieve more overtly through internships, Capstone Projects, and interdisciplinary programming.
I am so thrilled to see the positive energy and excitement on campus.
In this wonderful issue of Vermont Academy Life, you will find alumni entrepreneurs (pg. 28), 2018 graduates and their lives at VA (pg. 36), and details about our Learning and the Brain initiative, school partnerships and apprenticeships, and curricular innovations (pg. 18). Our top two pieces of news are that our Annual Fund has broken recent records and is only topped by the earnings one decade ago; and that we have a 90% student retention rate going into the fall. These are good anchors for the future, and I am so thrilled to see the positive energy and excitement on campus. I hope that all in our Vermont Academy extended community enjoy a wonderful autumn and that you find a way to return to VA very soon to witness this next era of Vermont Academy Life. Warm Regards,
DR . J E N N I F E R L . Z AC C A R A ,
Head of School V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 3
Race, Privilege, and Community Building On Saturday, April 7, Vermont Academy hosted its first annual Vermont Academy Diversity Conference in honor of former head of school Michael Choukas Jr. ’46. The theme of this year’s conference was “Race, Privilege, and Community Building.” In future years, the conference will explore other diversity topics. Gould Academy, The Winchendon School, Stoneleigh-Burnham School, and The MacDuffie School all sent delegations to the conference. 4 | S U M M E R / FA L L 2 018
Bernard Stanley Hoyes ’70 and Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara at Leavitt House with one of Hoyes’s paintings. The evening before the conference, Hoyes presented the New England premiere of “Off the Street,” a 1968 documentary by Jere Michael about a summer arts camp at Vermont Academy. The camp was created by teachers from the Art Students League with the support of Vermont Academy’s then-head of school, Michael Choukas Jr., to provide opportunities to talented New York City high school students from diverse backgrounds. Hoyes was one of those students, and with Mr. Choukas’s support, he went on to enroll at Vermont Academy after the camp ended. He is now an internationally acclaimed artist.
Devin Goldstein ’19, right, with students from the other schools that attended
Cochaired by faculty members Ali O’Brien, Carly Fox, and Cynthia Murphy, the event was based on the Dalton Conference model and presented with the support of Casper Caldarola and Dalton’s planning committee members. The Dalton model is unique in that a Dalton Diversity Conference is attended by schools, not individuals, and each school sends a group or “pod” made up of faculty, administrators, students, alumni, parents, and members of the school’s board of trustees. Each school’s pod went home with plans for a diversity project to carry out during the next school year. N’Dia Riegler ’02 (née Parker-McWhorter) and Dr. Zaccara
Former Art Department Chair Mary Hepburn during lunch at the Conference
Dr. Nathaniel J. Williams, the conference’s keynote speaker, talking with a student at lunch. Dr. Williams is the author of nine books and was appointed as the Frederick Douglass Institute Scholar-in-Residence at Kutztown University in 2007.
Prophet Parker-McWhorter ’09 and Dr. Zaccara at the Diversity Conference. In the background is a work of art by Bernard Stanley Hoyes ’70.
Left to right: Patty Eppinger P ’20, a member of the Vermont Academy Board of Trustees; Shawn Durrett, dean of faculty at Stoneleigh-Burnham School; and Andrew Ward ’93, also a VA Trustee
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“That feeling of community” A CONVERSATION WITH
SCOTT BUCKLEY ’02 Last winter, W. Scott Buckley ’02 attended a Vermont Academy alumni event in Burlington, Vermont, where he reconnected with Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara, who is not only our head of school but was also Scott’s etymology and semantics teacher at a summer session at Phillips Andover in 2000, just before Scott came to Vermont Academy. “I probably have Dr. Zaccara to thank for my SAT scores for the verbal section, because of the Latin word roots that she taught,” Scott told Vermont Academy Life. In the spring of 2018, Scott visited campus to catch up more with Dr. Zaccara and to speak with this magazine about his experiences at VA. 6 | S U M M E R / FA L L 2 018
I came to Vermont Academy in 2001 as a postgraduate from West Virginia. My mom had just passed away the year before that, so it was a tumultuous time in my life, to say the least. Going to a boarding school—you just didn’t do that in the community I was from. I had done Hockey Night in Boston for a few years, and I was exploring the idea of playing in college. As it turns out, I was neither good enough nor smart enough to do both hockey and school. I started out on the varsity hockey team at VA, and then realized that the guys on the team were really incredible players, and that maybe I should stick with academics.
It turns out the error in understanding was on my end. Just because I hadn’t heard of it doesn’t mean that Middlebury was not, in fact, a wonderful and exciting place to go to school. In talking with Laura Frey, I decided to apply early decision to Middlebury. After I applied, I was getting on the bus for winter break, and I thought I’d check the mail one more time. I had a package from Middlebury—I had gotten in. I called my dad and told him. It was one of the only times I’ve heard my dad cry. He was so happy that I was able to get in. It’s one of those days you don’t forget, getting into your firstchoice school. He and my mom both were always extremely supportive of me academically and in life.
“ It really built a huge sense of community, having teachers and staff who took an interest in me and in my personal growth and development. I don’t think you’d find that at a bigger institution. That feeling of community gives you a strong base to be able to explore.” — SCOTT BUCKLEY VA meant that I discovered hockey was a wonderful game to play— and something I would leave to the guys that were really good at it. It also meant that I had an exposure to the idea that there were a multitude of colleges out there that I hadn’t thought about, and that I now had the possibility to actually attend, with all of VA’s support.
Life was moving forward; I was making good decisions. It was an incredible feeling, and I know I wouldn’t have gotten in without VA. I had applied to other colleges before VA, but none were a good fit for me. If it weren’t for VA, I absolutely wouldn’t have had the chance to go to Middlebury. I’m ever grateful for that opportunity.
I knew I wanted something more. I remember I was eating a blueberry muffin in Shep during Parents’ Weekend, and Jim Frey ’66 was talking to my dad about how he wanted me to help out in his physics class. He wanted me to do a physics project. My dad was like, “Scott? He’s not the best in math. Are we talking about the same person?” Jim said, “I want to push him a little more in physics.”
I needed a Plan B. I studied neuroscience as a pre-med at Middlebury. I was pretty sure I wanted to be an emergency room doctor. Then one day I was driving an ambulance for Middlebury Rescue as a volunteer, and a driver crossed left of center and hit the ambulance I was driving. The people in the back of the ambulance were severely injured, and the other driver was killed.
Coming up to VA from West Virginia, I knew I wanted something more. Bill Newman in Admissions talked to me about this school called Middlebury, and I thought to myself, “Great, I’ve come up to VA, and my plan was to work on my SATs, work on my grades, really boost my chances of getting into a great school. I’m putting in another year of school just to go to some college I’ve never heard of. I’m not going to get into a great school, after all this.”
I spent a lot of time in the hospital and recovering. I was in a wheelchair for a while. I still have plates and screws in my pelvis. After that I decided that I didn’t want to be a doctor. For me, the medical profession had lost the glistening artifice, the glow that I had thought was there. I had always wanted to help people, and I had thought being a doctor was the ultimate way to do that, so I needed a Plan B. V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 7
I decided to go into the environmental field. I did a summer internship for an environmental consulting and engineering firm in West Virginia. Then I got a job as a field technician and worked my way up to general manager of Vermont and New York for ENPRO Services.
I guess I didn’t realize what VA meant to my life. The small community here was super supportive for a person who wasn’t quite ready to jump into college. It allowed me another year of maturity. At the same time, I didn’t feel it was smothering.
“Man, these Northern people are crazy.” I have so many good memories of Vermont Academy. I loved John Bohannon’s class. We read about how to “get to yes” without giving in. We went to mock trial in Boston. I was a bright-eyed kid from West Virginia—I had no idea what the T was.
It really built a huge sense of community, having teachers and staff who took an interest in me and in my personal growth and development. I don’t think you’d find that at a bigger institution. That feeling of community gives you a strong base to be able to explore.
I took up cross-country skiing, and I explored the trails around the VA campus. It was just gorgeous. I knew I had come to the right place. There was a pie-eating and wood chopping contest up at Chivers. And we did this thing I’d never heard of called yoga. I thought, “Man these Northern people are crazy.” I remember telling my dad about it, and he had no concept of what I was talking about.
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Being able to look back with a different lens makes me a lot more appreciative that I was able to come to VA. I guess I didn’t realize what VA meant to my life till now. I wouldn’t have gone to Middlebury, I wouldn’t have met my wife. VA really changed my life. The wood chopping continues to this day. Here, students chop wood on the lawn during Earth Day 2018.
Introducing Melanie Hoffmann Assistant Head of School and Director of External Affairs
Vermont Academy is thrilled to introduce Melanie P. Hoffmann, our new assistant head of school and director of external affairs. She will lead our Advancement Office, including our Annual Fund, capital campaigns, and all other fundraising. Melanie and VA’s CFO Jeff Seaton will each serve Vermont Academy as assistant heads of school, helping Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara to steer the school strategically in collaboration with the other members of the newly formed Executive Council, which also includes Sean Braziel (our new chief operating officer and head boys’ hockey coach) and longtime faculty member Amanda Gilbert-Hodgson (newly appointed as dean of faculty).
V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 9
Melanie has been a fundraiser for nonprofits since 1993. She comes to Vermont Academy from The Pingry School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, where she was the director of institutional advancement. In 2016, The Pingry School completed and exceeded its six-year, $65 million campaign, raising $76.7 million. Melanie has raised more than $120 million for The Pingry School over the last 13 years.
FAMILIAR FACES
Some of Vermont Academy’s newest hires will already be familiar to many of you.
“ Her wisdom, wit, and high standards are qualities I greatly admire.” — DR. ZACCAR A “As soon as Melanie stepped into her interviews at Vermont Academy, we knew that we wanted to hire her,” said Dr. Zaccara. “Melanie is a go-getter who has a phenomenal track record of campaign work, annual fundraising, and major gift cultivation. She also has a gift for bringing an alumni community together and helping to build a Board. Her wisdom, wit, and high standards are qualities I greatly admire.” Prior to joining Pingry in 2005, Melanie was a senior consultant for Graham-Pelton Consulting and the director of development for the Save Ellis Island Foundation. She also worked at the Museum of the City of New York on their $50 million campaign and served as campaign manager for The Pingry School’s $44.5 million campaign from 1998-2000. She began her fundraising career at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. “I am thrilled to be a part of the VA community and look forward to contributing to its success under the leadership of Dr. Zaccara,” Melanie said. “VA’s future is bright; its rich history and strong parent and alumni community are among the reasons that my family and I decided to come to Vermont Academy. Additionally, we spend a portion of our summer vacation each year in Vermont, so I am excited to now spend all year here!” In July 2018, Melanie completed a Master in Education for School Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania. She previously received a bachelor’s degree in art history from Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. She and her husband of 20 years, Arthur, have two children, William and Nicholas, and two dogs, Elsa and Gilly.
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Alumnus Adrian Diaz ’14 1 is returning to Vermont Academy after earning a bachelor’s degree from Saint Michael’s College. While in college, he co-founded Hope Happens Here, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention in young athletes. He played for the Saint Michael’s College varsity soccer team for four years and was captain of the team for two years. He is a native of Spain. Adrian will teach Spanish, coach soccer, and work with our international students. “VA helped me become the person I am today,” Adrian told Vermont Academy Life. “I am excited to start this new journey with the family of Vermont Academy and give back to my community." Supervising Adrian in his capacity as international student liaison will be Cynthia Murphy, 2 the new coordinator of our International Student Program. Cynthia has taught in the music and English departments at Vermont Academy since 1987. In 2003, after receiving her TESOL certification from the School for International Training, she directed our International Student Program for ten years, developing it from 14 international students to over 60 students representing countries from all over the globe. In 2014-2016, she took a leave of absence from Vermont Academy to teach in Azerbaijan. She is now excited to return to heading up our International Student Program. Also helping Cynthia with our international students will be Yiyong “Richard” Feng, a native of China and a new addition to our Admissions Office.
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3 Along with VA history teacher Carly Fox, Cynthia will step into another new role this year as co-coordinator of the Vermont Academy Diversity and Inclusion Program. (Cynthia and Carly were two of the chairs of the first annual Vermont Academy Diversity Conference in April 2018; see article on pg. 4.) Daniel Burmester, 3 who taught theater at VA from 2008 to 2010, has come back to head our theater program. He will direct our plays, teach theater courses, oversee production, and run the technical theater program. During his eight-year absence from VA, Dan earned a master’s degree in theater education at Emerson College, served as production manager of Emerson Stage, and served as a full-time faculty member at Emerson College, teaching acting and theater theory. He is in his third year of a Ph.D. program in educational studies at Lesley University and is a practicing theater director, writer, and actor. “My first Vermont Academy experience was where I found my identity as a theater teacher and was the spark that sent me on a journey to gain a deeper understanding for the field of education,” Dan said. “I am grateful and elated to return to this place that is so crucial to my personal and professional journey. I will do all I can to ensure VA’s students and community are provided with a vibrant theater program where creativity and self-discovery thrive.”
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Amy Burmester (née Nachajski), 3 Dan’s wife, will serve as our per diem nurse. She has worked for the VNA Care Network, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Amy’s mother, Phyllis Davis, worked in VA’s Business Office for 14 years. “I have very fond memories of visiting her and felt lucky to be a part of a supportive, caring community of people,” Amy said. Amy herself has worn many hats at VA, including working in housekeeping over the summers when she was in high school and college, serving as a dorm parent in Sturtevant with Christine Armiger, helping Christine with Outdoor Programs, coaching cross-country skiing, running the school café, and helping out in the bookstore, College Counseling, and Admissions. Dan and Amy 4 met at Vermont Academy and were married at Mary Hepburn’s house. Finally, Amanda Gilbert-Hodgson, 5 longtime VA English teacher and class dean, shown here with her daughter Maggie Hodgson ’21, is now our dean of faculty and a member of Dr. Zaccara’s Executive Council. “Amanda was on the search committee when I was hired,” said Dr. Zaccara, “and I immediately saw her strengths: intelligence, balance, wisdom, professionalism, heart. Amanda's deep knowledge of Vermont Academy’s school culture and her master teacher capabilities have justifiably earned her the respect of her peers. She will be an important school leader as dean of faculty and as a member of the the Executive Council, and her role in helping that council to create a process for initiatives that our community can embrace is clear.” V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 11
VA Students Chart Their Own Courses INDEPENDENT PROJECTS 2017-18
From studying Renaissance art to filming a documentary about Islam, from experiments in music psychology to research on meat consumption, Vermont Academy students dove into their independent study projects last year. Among the many highlights were two plays written and directed by Miranda Fuller ’19, a journal of drawings and French text by Zoee Blossom ’19, and a set of music compositions by Qilong “Miks” Lai ’18.
Miranda presenting her two original plays, “The Path of Totality” and “Walk the Universe.” Both were performed at Vermont Academy’s annual Black Box Drama weekend in February.
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Will Svensson ’18 in “The Path of Totality”
Next year, VA will roll out a new program to provide even more support to students doing this kind of independent work. Faculty members Laura Frey and Thom Collins are the coordinators of the new Senior Capstone Projects. Seniors will have the opportunity to focus intently on a specific area of interest and include it in their college portfolio. Each Senior Capstone Project will include a 20- to 25-page research paper, 30 or more hours with an off-campus or on-campus mentor, and a 30-minute oral presentation. Eleven rising seniors have already proposed projects for next year. Zoee working on her journal. Laura Frey, head of the World Language department, oversaw this year-long upper-level French project. Zoee read “The Little Prince” in French and made a drawing for each chapter. She also watched French films and wrote an essay about each one, and she followed French current events.
Miks with Steve Cady, head of the Performing Arts department. Miks said of his project, “We did electronic music and design. Every week, I produced music using a program called GarageBand, and Mr. Cady gave me advice or taught me about music theory.” When he presented Miks with the O’Connor Music Award at the 2018 Baccalaureate Celebration, Mr. Cady said, “Miks has remarkable talent. His ability to hear music, decipher its patterns, and reproduce it on multiple instruments is exceptional… Miks has been a constant presence in my classroom and in music at Vermont Academy for four years.” Miks will attend the Hartt School at the University of Hartford this fall to study music.
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Making things
WORK A tribute to
DEL CROUSE on his retirement BY JEFF HARRINGTON ’87, P ’18, ’21
The year was 1984… The original Apple Macintosh personal computer went on sale. The Space Shuttle Discovery made its maiden flight. “Ghostbusters” was sweeping the theaters. Phil Collins topped the music charts. Ronald Reagan was elected President. Here at VA, the tennis courts were in the middle of campus on Alumni Field, and… Long Walk was an actual road. Horowitz, West Hill, and Chivers didn’t exist. Community Meeting was called “Morning Meeting” and was held on the second floor of Fuller Hall, where the Great Room is now. I was starting my sophomore year at VA.
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And in that same year, Wendel “Del” Crouse started his long career at Vermont Academy. Del was living in Saxtons River, in the “Stickney” house on the Westminster West Road, and was working as the minister of the Congregational church in downtown Saxtons River. He had recently graduated from a theological school in Boston and was an ordained minister. Cat Shepard (of the Shepard Lane Shepards) championed him coming to VA, and the headmaster, Peter Van de Water, hired him on as a part-time English teacher. By the time Del started at VA, Bob Long was the headmaster. Mr. Long advertised for a dorm parent, and when Del said he would do it, he asked Bob when he should start. Bob replied, “How about tonight?” Del spent the next five years in Jones 1 South, teaching English and coaching “scrub” soccer—what we called thirds soccer back in the old days. In 1989, he moved up to Davis House, and there he stayed for four more years. During this time he was teaching Junior and Senior Honors English—he even taught English to my brother, who attended VA right after I did. The summer of ’93 was a big year, as Del got married and moved into Roux Cottage, where he would live for the next eight years. Alumni from the 1990s and 2000s: you may be saying, “Okay, wait a minute… isn’t Del that guy in IT? It sounds like he was an English teacher, not a computer guy!” So, the next story goes something like this… On August 15, 1997, VA found itself unexpectedly in need of coverage for a number of classes just before the school year began. One was a “Computer Usage” course, and VA could find no one to teach it. The head of school at the time, Jim Mooney, knew Del tinkered with computers at home and hung out in the computer room a lot, so he offered the job to Del. Soon Del was a 50% Computer and 50% English teacher. In 2000, somehow Del ended up in charge of the yearbook. By his own admission, “it wasn’t a very good yearbook.” In 1999, the yearbook had been done by cutting and pasting pictures—with scissors and glue! For the 2000 yearbook, VA bought a digital camera and a scanner, and Del was appointed
So, what does Del Crouse do? A job in IT is one of those weird jobs where when everything works, no one really notices. The best indication that someone does their job well in IT is that things just work. Well, that is it in a nutshell: Del just plain excels at making things work. to learn how to use this “new tech” for the 2000 yearbook. Publishing has come a long way since then. Del then went on to spend hours and hours with the likes of Dave Robinson ’65, Franklin Geist, and Mark Payton, figuring out what to do during the Y2K adventure. Finally, in 2002, Del became a full-time member of the Computer Department and restructured his contract so that he worked summers, since he was actually already doing that. The Computer Room moved up to the second floor of Fuller Hall— where we are now—vacating Fuller 102, which had been the computer room for many years. Del kept teaching “Computer Usage” and added “Multimedia” as another offering. In 2004 Del moved to Brattleboro and in 2006, I arrived in the department. Together, over the last 12 years, Del and I built up the IT infrastructure to where it is today, including installing every single WiFi radio on campus. (This summer, I replaced them all again as we transitioned to yet another new WiFi system.) V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 15
Del Crouse, thank you for all of your years of hard work at Vermont Academy.
Del Crouse, Franklin Geist, David Robinson. Standing: Dept. Head Mark Payton
So, what does Del Crouse do? A job in IT is one of those weird jobs where when everything works, no one really notices. The best indication that someone does their job well in IT is that things just work. Well, that is it in a nutshell: Del just plain excels at making things work. Also, because of his retirement, we had to come up with a complete job description of almost everything he does—and it was a surprisingly long and technical description that was hard to fill. In July, however, we were pleased to welcome Michael Levock as our new network administrator. Mike came to us from The Greenwood School in Putney, Vermont, where he was the IT director. He has a wealth of IT experience and even shares Del’s dry wit. Letitia Milevskiy (our webmaster and the third member of the IT department) and I will certainly miss Del’s sense of humor, his expertise in grammar, his vast knowledge of classic books and Star Trek, his advice on home theater and TV technology, those packages that he always has sent to VA so his wife won’t know what he bought, those weekly fish stories about the fish that was THIS big, and many, many other things.
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Del Crouse, thank you for all of your years of hard work at Vermont Academy. If you have fond memories of Del Crouse—whether as your dorm parent, scrub soccer coach, English teacher, computer teacher, or IT wizard—please thank him for his decades of service by posting to our Gratitude Wall at vermontacademy.org/gratitude, where you can also find tributes to other VA faculty and staff.
English Department in 2000. L to R: Matt McGuirk, Amanda Gilbert (now Gilbert-Hodgson), Dorienne Cedeno, Peter Riegelman ’75, Lorna Schilling, Del Crouse, Jack Peters
FY18 ANNUAL FUND GOAL MET AND EXCEEDED! As the last gift check arrived in early July and the news of the final Annual Fund total was shared, it was as if the Mountain Day bell had been rung for those of us on campus. The same feeling of excitement was generated by closing our most successful Annual Fund in a decade, thanks to the generosity of our VA family. All of us at Vermont Academy wish to thank the 731 donors who made an impact on our students, faculty, and campus this year with gifts that totaled $660,544. We exceeded our goal of $600,000 by ten percent. On May 8, 2018, 224 donors, or nearly one-third of our donors, came together as part of our One Day for VA giving day. It was a day filled with memories of faculty who made a difference (see vermontacademy.org/gratitude), friendly class competitions, and gifts coming in from Hawaii, Maine, Washington, Florida, and more: As you read about our current students and recent graduates in these pages, know that there were 731 members of our broader VA community who stood behind them to help make their experience possible.
UPCOMING CHANGES
For the first time, and in keeping with best practice of many schools and universities, we will publish our 2018 Annual Fund report online later this fall. This is not only an easier way for you to access the report, but also allows us to make any necessary updates in real time. We will email access directions later this fall. While we have great respect for all government agencies, we also recognize the constraints of modern times. Our return envelopes with pre-paid postage are processed on a longer timeline than we would prefer for our donors and our school. Moving forward, we will ask all donors to help us save time and funds by
placing your own stamp on the envelopes so that we may put your gifts to work faster! Speaking of which, we are improving our online giving page as we speak! We want to be sure that you are able to easily access and navigate vermontacademy.org/giving from your phone, tablet, or desktop computer. Online giving saves time and is hassle-free—we hope more of our donors will begin to take advantage of it. We also now offer recurring giving, which means that you can schedule monthly or weekly gifts to maximize your annual gift to VA. Please consider a gift to this year’s Vermont Academy Annual Fund!
V E R M O N T AC A D E M Y | 17
TEACHING, LEARNING, and INNOVATION We are pleased to announce that Susan Schmitt has taken on an exciting new role at Vermont Academy. Vermont Academy Life spoke with Susan over the summer to find out what her new title will mean for her and for VA. Here, condensed and edited, are her remarks. “Dean of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation” is a position more commonly found at the college level than at high schools. I’m thrilled to share that it’s my new title at Vermont Academy. I love my work, but for the last three years of my five-year tenure here at VA, I haven’t had enough time to spend with teachers. This new role will get me back in the classroom, teaching at the faculty level. For me, that’s really exciting. That’s where my strengths are. Dr. Zaccara has now hired two assistant heads of school (Jeff Seaton and Melanie Hoffmann), a chief operating officer (Sean Braziel), and a dean of faculty (Amanda GilbertHodgson), and they will free me up to focus on getting innovative with our faculty. The dean of faculty will focus on hiring, orientation, evaluation, support, and mentoring
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of teachers. This will take much of the administrative work off my plate, so that I can do much more training of faculty on learning issues. We need to focus on 21st century skills: critical thinking, active learning, active reading skills, focused uses of technology, and adaptive tech for learning differences (LD) when appropriate.
Teaching That Works for All Students At Vermont Academy, about 30% of students now have differences in their learning profiles. This is very much in line with the increase in students with learning and attention issues at all schools. It’s essential that we teach in a way that works for all our students. Vermont Academy teachers have excellent content knowledge. My role is to give them instruction in pedagogy through examples and modeling.
That positive attitude—that openness to trying new and different things so that our students succeed and keep doing better—is a very prevalent attitude here that fosters success for our students. — SUSAN SCHMIT T
I help them build in scaffolding and differentiation, making their instruction accessible to everyone. I give them strategies for diverse learners and teach them about the newest developments in cognitive brain science. In addition to my work at VA, I teach one course a year in cognitive brain science at SUNY Empire State College. I have a B.A. in English literature, an M.A. in philosophy, an M.A. in communications, and a Ph.D. (ABD) in educational technology. My background in ed tech means that I can give our teachers the tools and strategies that work best for each student’s particular learning profile, whether they have an LD diagnosis or not.
Training the Teachers In my new role, I’ll be presenting concepts to our whole faculty throughout the year. Each concept will have a microcredentialing component. It’s a proficiency-based model for professional development, which is also a model some of our teachers will want to use with students. Administratively, we want to be focused on data-driven instruction and assessment, so that our teachers see that in action and can emulate it in their classrooms. The training is customizable based on the teacher’s level of experience. If I present to the whole faculty about a strategy— let’s say, jigsawing—master teachers will already know how to do it. They can go straight to the assessment, while newer teachers can dig into the models, both with me and online. I’ll provide them with face-to-face interaction, modeling, observation, and feedback. My approach is based on universal design, meaning that what works for students with LD will optimize the classroom experience for all students. When I present to faculty regarding approaches for LD, the teacher will use that to adapt their lessons for everyone in their class. For example, we use screencasting for students who need some reinforcement in auditory processing. It allows you to capture what you’re doing on screen with a voiceover, and toggle between seeing the presenter and the screen. That same screencasting technology is then used by our Global Programs teachers so that students abroad can access lectures remotely. Students without LD can benefit from the same great pedagogy as students with LD. After all, we all learn differently.
The Student Is in Charge At Vermont Academy, we make sure that we’re a good match for the kids we admit—that students can develop self-advocacy skills and that we can promise families success. We emulate the college experience at every turn, for all our students but specifically for students with LD. We educate the student about their diagnosis and learning profile, and we teach them how to access accommodations. We put the onus on the student to take responsibility, even at the 9th grade level. The student develops a sense of empowerment about their profile rather than a sense of objectification. The student chooses to enact the accommodation. The student is in charge. If a student has limited working memory, for example, that student may choose to use their accommodation only in assessments that require extreme memory recall. Our Learning Center sets up accommodations exactly as they are set up in college. We treat students like adults. It works, but it takes a lot of trust. We recognize that they’re high schoolers, and they aren’t going to get it right the first time—and that’s always okay. Our teachers are flexible.
Forming Partnerships In the coming years, I’ll also be working on forming strategic alliances with other nearby schools and colleges. We’d like to create reciprocal relationships that allow us to share resources, and to create opportunities to collaborate on professional development. We’re already working on piloting an afterschool robotics and mentoring program with one local school. We’ll also be forming partnerships with community members who can offer our students apprenticeships, as part of our new Senior Capstone Projects. (See related article on pg. 12.) We have an extremely intelligent and amenable faculty. They want training and strategies to cultivate success in students. They’re very open to suggestions and they crave feedback to help them become more effective in the classroom. We have wonderful students who are open to all sorts of instruction and differentiation. That positive attitude—that openness to trying new and different things so that our students succeed and keep doing better—is a very prevalent attitude here that fosters success for our students.
V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 19
Square to the Puck TWO NEW HOCKEY COACHES COME ON BOARD
On the heels
of our girls’ varsity hockey team’s NEPSAC and Lakes Region championships this year, Vermont Academy will continue to build a premier hockey program under the leadership of two new coaches, Sean Braziel and Christopher Ardito.
Girls’ Varsity Ice Hockey Head Coach Chris Ardito, Girls’ Varsity Assistant Coach Savanna Poole, Jack Vivian (world-renowned hockey rink developer and grandfather of incoming VA student Drew Naylor ’21), and Boys’ Varsity Head Coach Sean Braziel
Sean will coach our boys’ varsity hockey team and oversee recruitment and development opportunities for both the boys’ and girls’ teams. He will also serve as Vermont Academy’s chief operating officer, strengthening our internal systems at VA and ensuring that things run smoothly for students and parents. For the past four years, Sean served as the Men’s Hockey Olympic performance coach. During his time with Team USA, he won a gold medal at the 2017 World Junior Championships and a bronze medal at the 2018 World Juniors. Sean has served as the development coach at the U.S. National Team Development Program and at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, as well as serving as a consultant to the Detroit Red Wings during the NHL combine and draft. He has worked with some of the NHL’s best talent and is credited with the development of many of today’s college and NHL players. Sean is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel and career Intelligence Officer. He was director of intelligence plans and policy for the Marine Corps and chief of crisis operations at the CIA. He is a graduate of MIT’s International Affairs program and the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza business school and holds an M.S. in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University in Washington, D.C.
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“ As a hockey coach and head of the hockey program, Sean will build Vermont Academy into an even more successful hockey powerhouse.” —DR. JENNIFER L. ZACCARA
“Sean has the unique combination of being a strategic expert through his twentyone years in the Marines and the talent of building great hockey teams through his player development and player selection experience for the Olympics, the Worlds teams, and U18 and U20 teams,” said Head of School Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara. “How does one find such a combination of abilities? We are going to look to Sean to set up good systems, protocols, and results. He will help our Executive Council and Administrative Team to be our best selves and to ‘work smart.’ As a hockey coach and head of the hockey program, Sean will build Vermont Academy into an even more successful hockey powerhouse, in partnership with Chris Ardito.” Christopher Ardito has joined Vermont Academy as head girls’ varsity hockey coach and assistant director of admissions. Chris served most recently as an assistant and goal coach with Yale University varsity women’s hockey, as well as working as a partner and head instructor with Connecticut Crease, a private goalie training facility. “Chris was our top choice for this position,” said Dr. Zaccara, “and we are thrilled to have him join us. He had across-the-board support from our interview committee, from the girls on the team, and from Sean Braziel. As a key member of our Admissions team, Chris will be recruiting hockey players as well as athletes and all-around great students for Vermont Academy.” Chris’s network of connections on the college level through his coaching experience and his goalie training business, and Sean’s in the Olympic, U20, and Worlds Training arenas, will enable our girls to have strong support from the hockey program overall at Vermont Academy. “I am very excited to begin working with Chris,” said Savanna Poole, assistant girls’ varsity hockey coach. “I believe he brings a wealth of knowledge from his experience working with Yale as well as Connecticut Crease. Together we will be able to build upon this past season to continue Vermont Academy’s success on the ice.”
REMEMBERING BILL TORREY ’52
We were saddened to learn of the passing on May 2, 2018, of Bill Torrey ‘52. Bill was captain of the Vermont Academy hockey team (above, #10), played in two NCAA hockey championships at St. Lawrence University, and became one of the most accomplished executives in professional sports. He was awarded the Florence Sabin Distinguished Alumni Award in 1987. “Bill Torrey is a hockey icon,” said Sean Braziel. “His vision, ability to create winning teams, and contributions to our game reflect amazing perseverance and forethought. He will forever remain and be remembered as a Wildcat.”
Chris is a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, where he was the assistant coach and goal coach for the SCSU Ice Owls. The Ice Owls made the ACHA tournament in each of his first three years at a coach, making two regional appearances and one national appearance, including a single season record of 25-1 in 2011-12. In high school, he played for Notre Dame High of Fairfield, CT where he had a career GAA of 1.47, including a state-leading 1.25 during his junior year. He was named to the South-West Conference all-tournament team in 2004. He went on to play Junior Hockey for the Connecticut Lazers. V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 21
ATHLETIC Highlights
Vermont Academy had an amazing year on the field, in the rink, and on the court, including several historic victories for our girls’ teams.
Girls’ varsity lacrosse team members achieved many personal bests this year. We are proud of our athletes’ ability to rise above the score and play their hearts out. As we celebrate our many medals and wins this year, we remember that athletics at VA are not primarily about winning, but about building strength, health, team spirit, and lifelong leadership skills.
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I n the fall, Girls’ Varsity Soccer won the Class D NEPSAC championship.
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ne highlight of the Fall 2017 O Mountain Biking season was hosting the 11th annual Maple Leaf Classic.
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irls’ Nordic placed 1st at the G NEPSAC Sprint Relays and 3rd overall in NEPSAC, the best in 18 years.
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he Crew team took T the bronze in the New England Junior/ High School Regional Championship.
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irls’ Varsity Ice Hockey G earned their first-ever NEPSAC Tournament berth as the #2 seed— and won the NEPSAC Division 2 championship.
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reeski placed 3rd in Lakes Region F Slopestyle, and the team also won the first annual team video edit contest. Watch the video: bit.ly/ VAfreeski2017-18. Seen here: Jai Hunter ’21 backsliding a rainbow while training in Whistler over spring break.
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oys’ Varsity Hockey earned the B #8 seed in the NEPSAC Small School Tournament.
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irls’ Varsity Basketball earned the G #1 seed for the NEPSAC Class D Tournament and advanced to the NEPSAC finals.
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8 V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 25
SEPTEMBER
Wildcat Games
In the first week of school, the classes compete against each other in events like the slowest bike race, live-action Hungry Hippos, and best Vermont Academy Evening Song delivery.
These are just some of our many beloved traditions, which also include Pumpkin Run, Spirit Week, Cabaret, and the Candlelight Winter Concert.
MAY
Commencement
Another cohort of Wildcats is unleashed on the world!
APRIL
Earth Day Celebration
From the compost bins in Shep to the water bottle filling stations across campus, we celebrate Earth Day all year long. On one Thursday in April, though, we turn that celebration into a full-blown sustainability party.
MARCH
Decision Day for New Wildcats
The orange acceptance envelopes arrive on March 10, welcoming the next group of students into the VA community.
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A YEAR in VERMONT
OCTOBER
Mountain Day
The ringing of the Mountain Day bell one fall morning heralds the start of a day of picnicking, canoeing, and games.
NOVEMBER
Community Thanksgiving
Students and faculty dine together every week at both Formal Meal and Community Lunch. The last Community Lunch before Thanksgiving break is a turkey feast with all the trimmings.
the LIFE of ACADEMY
DECEMBER
Kurn Hattin Holiday Party
VA has a long relationship with Kurn Hattin, a home for at-risk children. Each December, our students dress up as elves and hand out carefully selected presents to each child. The dining hall chefs make mac ’n’ cheese, chicken nuggets, and decorate-your-own cookies with plenty of sprinkles.
JANUARY
24-Hour Play Festival
The playwrights arrive at 7 p.m. on Saturday and write all night. Early the next morning, the actors and directors start rehearsing. Sunday evening, half a dozen wild, wonderful new plays are performed!
FEBRUARY
Winter Carnival
Started in 1909, our Winter Carnival is the longest-running in the United States. But it never gets old! V E R M O N T AC A D E M Y | 2 7
FROM STRUGGLING STUDENT
CATCHING
TO SUCCESSFUL STARTUP MENTOR
UP WITH
Noah Shanok ’93 Noah in New Zealand in 2016
In 2007, when Noah Shanok ’93 created the podcast app Stitcher, he was way ahead of the curve.
“The company foresaw the power and potential of mobile internet when a Blackberry was the closest thing to a smartphone, and made a huge bet on it,” Paul Riismandel wrote in a 2015 Midroll article. “That kind of foresight led Stitcher also to see automotive connectivity on the horizon.”
Noah told Riismandel in 2015, “[W]hen the iPhone launched, we were very early to the App Store… and that’s when we started to see the early success.” Today, Stitcher is integrated into over 50 car
models and is one of the most popular ways to listen to podcasts. Time magazine listed it first in its 2018 list of “The 5 Best Podcast Apps for Android and iPhone.” 2 8 | S U M M E R / FA L L 2 018
Noah giving a talk about entrepreneurship at The Wharton School
Noah sold Stitcher in 2014, but that was not the end of his journey as an innovator and an entrepreneur. He now works in startup business development for Amazon Web Services, serving as a mentor to other entrepreneurs and founders alongside a team of other former CEOs of venture-backed companies. Noah spoke with Vermont Academy Life about how he has achieved success in work and in life, and what he learned at VA that set him on that path.
Noah’s Vermont Academy Experience Noah Shanok was not thriving at his New York City high school, to say the least. “Penny Riegelman, Peter’s sister, was the dean at my New York City day school, which, at the time, I was in the process of getting kicked out of,” Noah said. “I didn’t like New York, never went to class, and somehow managed to skirt by with a D in every one of my classes (which, Penny told my parents, showed some type of brilliance).” Penny knew that Noah had a passion for skiing, sparked after a family friend took him to the slopes as a bar mitzvah present. “I completely fell in love with skiing,” Noah said, “and I started getting interested in boarding schools in that context—I wanted to ski, and I needed to have more community and be out of the city.” Penny said that she would put in a good word with her brother Peter (pictured on pg. 16
Noah visiting with former VA nurse Susan Jewett in 2015
in Del Crouse profile) if Noah would swear that he would not get kicked out of Vermont Academy. “I swore,” said Noah, “and I took that very seriously. When I showed up to Vermont Academy, I felt like this was my chance to do things on my own.”
NOAH’S ADVICE FOR VA ENTREPRENEURS
“Take chances, take risks. Be out of your comfort zone. I had a ski coach who always said to us that if you’re not crashing, you’re not trying hard enough. Vermont Academy is a safe place to explore, to push yourself, and to find out what it feels like to fail and get up again, and learn from it, and improve—and that’s basically what life is, especially if you take an entrepreneurial path.”
When Noah arrived at VA, he didn’t know how to study. “I was street smart,” he said, “but I wasn’t sure if I was smart.” Required study hall sessions helped, and by his second term, Noah was added to John Bohannon’s honors history class. “That gave me a lot of confidence,” Noah said. “It just felt like there was really a village. There were a lot of teachers who were also your dorm parents and your advisors, and who were looking out for you.” John Bohannon, now retired from Vermont Academy, said recently of Noah, “He was a congenial, assertive, inquisitive student who got along well with his peers. I have fond memories of teaching him.” Noah connected with one teacher in particular: Shamus Daly. “I still call him every year on his birthday,” he said, “and it’s been 25 years since he was my teacher. I just talked to him two weeks ago.” Center, top: Chris Nostrand ‘93, Bill Bontecou ‘93, and Noah at VA’s prom Center, bottom: Noah mountain biking in Northern California in May 2018
V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 2 9
Noah and Bill Bontecou ‘93
Laura Frey, currently the chair of our World Language department, was in College Counseling at the time and helped Noah find the college that would be the best fit for him. “Noah was a kid who was perfect for Vermont Academy and Vermont Academy for him,” Laura said. “He was bright and adventurous and needed a safe place to grow up and into himself. The time I spent with Noah in the College Counseling office gave me the chance to observe his constant energy, innate intelligence, and an unusually calm management of his considerable ambition.” Noah stuck with his favorite winter sport while at VA, despite some challenges. “I tried so hard at skiing,” he said, “and I started so much later than my classmates. During my senior year, every week they would put up the board of who was on the varsity squad. I finally made it in the last position. I stood in front of the lineup list and just stared at it in amazement and pride.”
Davis House residents, 1993. First row: Noah, Bill Bontecou ‘93, Dave DalNegro ‘93. Second row: Jon Stempien ‘95, Hendrik Bonse-Geuking ‘95, J.R. Riker ‘93. Third row: Dorm parent Del Crouse (see story about Del’s recent retirement on pg. 14).
Bob Long was the head of school at the time and made a big impression on Noah. “Bob Long was really incredible and taught me a lot about leadership,” Noah said. “While my style is very different, I think I was a better CEO because of my experience with him.”
Senior Year Hijinks Bob Long’s leadership is not the only thing Noah remembers fondly about the headmaster: “We had this tradition that the seniors would sneak out at night a couple of weeks before graduation,” Noah said. “My friend Carson Simmons ’93 and I decided that we’d paint a big ‘93’ on the ski jump.
Noah and Chris Nostrand ‘93 in California during Chris’s recent visit
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“The scary thing about sneaking out at night was Bob Long. He’d be out there, dressed all in black, hunting students. There were these Rambo-like stories of him just materializing out of the shadows and tackling students. Keep in mind, too, he was around 5’ 6”, 160 lbs, and over 50 yrs old. Yet he commanded so much respect from us that the thought was pretty terrifying.
“So Carson and I were up there at about 3 a.m., and we’d finished the ‘9’ and were about to start the ‘3.’ As luck would have it, out of the shadows, Bob Long materialized and saw us. Carson, who was a remarkable athlete, pulled some kind of ninja move and peaced out. And the next thing I know, Bob Long is chasing me hard. He chased me through to the far end of the upper field, and I jumped in this swamp and didn’t hear him anymore. So, feeling proud of myself, I snuck back along the road and he got me. He was just waiting. And he was bone dry. “Well, the ski jump looked pretty silly with a ‘9’ painted on it all by itself. And I really wanted to finish it, but I couldn’t get caught again or I’d get kicked out. And Carson was too smart to risk it again after seeing what happened to me. So we went to Bob Long’s office and explained our predicament. He chuckled and said, ‘Well, gentlemen, you may have better luck tomorrow morning between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m.” And so Carson and I finished what we started.” Bob Long stepped down in 1993, the year Noah graduated. Noah was selected by his class to deliver their thank-you speech and gift to Mr. Long. “That was one of the proudest moments of my life,” Noah said. “I think Vermont Academy gave me structure, which was something I was missing,” he continued, “and structure is very important and underappreciated in the entrepreneurial world. It was also a safe place for me to take risks and push my boundaries, and to feel like it was okay because people had my back. It was a very important period of time for me as it related to what I ended up doing.”
The Path After VA Noah knew that he wanted to remain in the Northeast and attend a small liberal arts college after leaving VA. He went to Skidmore College, where he studied business. “I was always pretty entrepreneurial and knew that I wanted to start companies,” he said.
raising about $30 million from investors and growing Stitcher’s user base to several million. After he sold Stitcher in 2014, “I basically slept for a year,” he said. “I was exhausted. I was trying to figure out what to do next, and I found helping other entrepreneurs to be the most meaningful to me. That brought me to my current job at Amazon Web Services.”
L to R: Katie Schilling ‘93, Bill Bontecou ‘93, Bonnie Robertson ‘93, Noah, and Amy (Gleason) Gardner ‘93
After graduating from Skidmore, he decided to take the advice of a teacher and spend a few years on Wall Street learning finance. Never one to make the dull choice, Noah took the signing bonus that was intended to be used for a new wardrobe of business suits, and instead bought a motorcycle and spent the summer camping all over the United States and Canada by himself. Seeing the country on his own, he said, “was a pretty impactful experience.” As a young bond trader, Noah was successful, but he found the work “pretty soulless.” After his second-year bonus, he resigned and once again traveled the U.S., looking for a community that was as passionate about business startups as he was. He landed in San Francisco and was approached by some Stanford Business School graduates about starting a new kind of ticket company. That company turned out to be StubHub, now one of the largest ticketing platforms in the world, and Noah was its fifth employee. “I worked there a couple of years,” he said, “and that solidified for me how much I love startups and how much I love building things.” Noah recognized that two of StubHub’s founders were his age but had high-level business degrees—one from Harvard University and the other from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania—that had helped to open doors for them. This inspired him to pursue an M.B.A. of his own.
“Miraculously, I got into Wharton, and I spent my time working on business plans,” he said. “Vermont Academy helped to give me the toolkit to get the grades, even though I don’t work too well academically.” When he graduated from Wharton, he was the only one of his classmates who didn’t have a job. True to form, he created his own. First he worked in management consulting for a short time, and then he started a podcast “for fun.” “I hired a comedian,” he said, “and we were doing this podcast out of my house—like America’s Funniest Home Videos, but for audio. Angry ex-boyfriend voicemails, great maid of honor speeches, things like that. I recognized a much bigger opportunity and shift in the way that radio or audio was being consumed. I was an early adopter of streaming music services and thought there should be a similar thing for talk.” This led him to create Stitcher. It began as an iTunes plug-in, then became a web platform, and finally a mobile app. Noah ran the company for seven years,
Noah lives in San Francisco, rides his mountain bike frequently in Marin and Tahoe, and skis in Tahoe as often as he can, continuing the love of the sport that first brought him to Vermont Academy. “I love being outside in beautiful places,” he said, “and I love the speed and challenge of skiing. I started mountain biking for the same reasons.” Noah added, “I would like to thank my Grandma Dorothy, who paid for my education. And appreciated that I was a little meshugah (Yiddish for crazy). Vermont Academy is so meaningful to me. My memories of the people—my teachers and my friends—really shine. It always felt like it was a community. I felt protected, and everybody knew who I was, and people were loving and caring. That really helped me to grow as a person.”
Sources “Stitcher Founder Noah Shanok Foresaw the Power of Mobile Internet.” Paul Riismandel, Jan. 8, 2015. www.midroll.com/stitcher-founder-noahshanok-mobile-internet/ “The 5 Best Podcast Apps for Android and iPhone.” Lisa Eadicicco, Feb. 20, 2018. time.com/5136033/best-podcastapps-android-ios/
SHARE YOUR ENTREPRENEURSHIP STORY
Calling all Vermont Academy entrepreneurs, inventors, business startup founders, and creators of art, music, new technologies, and other innovations: we want to hear your stories! Share your entrepreneurship experiences at www.vermontacademy.org/innovate. We may end up featuring you in a future publication.
V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 31
WAY R I E H T ON
Our 2018 College Admission Landscape
This fall, Vermont Academy’s newest graduates will be arriving at colleges and universities across the United States, Canada, and the UK. Thanks to our phenomenal College Counseling team (Anne Atkins, Maryann McArdle, and Pauline O’Brien), the schools are not only excellent, but also well-matched to each student’s interests, talents, and temperament. Some of our students are going on to Ivies (Dartmouth), Seven Sisters schools (Smith), or other top-ranked small liberal arts colleges (Hamilton). Others are headed to some of the best large universities in the country, including UCLA, NYU, and the University of Chicago. Some are focusing on art (Parsons School of Design) or music (Hartt School), while others are going into STEM (Northeastern, UNH). One graduate is headed overseas to study psychology and linguistics at Oxford. (See profile of our Oxford-bound student, Caitlyn McDermott, on pg. 36.) Quite a few 2018 graduates have signed on to play varsity college sports, including Kofi Asante (soccer, Denison), Allison Buckley (basketball and soccer, Dean), Kevin Quirk (hockey, Lawrence), Kyra Rideout (basketball, Smith), Simi Shittu (basketball, Vanderbilt), and seven members of the girls’ varsity ice hockey team (below).
Lotti Odnoga ’18, center, signing her National Letter of Intent to play ice hockey at Dartmouth. She is surrounded by her Girls’ Varsity Hockey teammates and coaches, including six others who have signed to play college hockey, in bold. Back row, left to right: Holly Meredith ’18 (Manhattanville), Assistant Coach Savanna Poole, Madison Paydos ’18 (Utica), Gabrielle Wood ’20, Jordan Loya ’20, Chloe Aurard ’18 (Northeastern), Kristina Kaltunkova ’20 (Colgate), Sarah Jacobelli ’19, Caroline Keller ’20, Jazmyn Creamer ’21, Blanka Skodova ’18 (University of Vermont), former Head Coach Lisa Marshall, former Assistant Coach Matt Cloutier. Front row, left to right: Sydney Royce ’18 (Nichols), Klárá Jandušíková ’20, Maggie Hodgson ’21, and Sophie Streed ’19. (See article on pg. 20 introducing our new girls’ and boys’ varsity hockey coaches.) 32 | S U M M E R / FA L L 2 018
Front row, L to R: Ava Hill (Trinity), Dariel Echanis (Univ. of Rochester), Harry Mayer (Hamilton), Peiru “Mike” Li (UCLA). Second row, L to R: Kihoon Song (Purdue), Caitlyn McDermott (Oxford), Jamie Kuesel (Northeastern), Will Svensson (Northeastern), Chloé Aurard (Northeastern). Back row, L to R: Lotti Odnoga (Dartmouth), Simisola Shittu (Vanderbilt), Sebastijan Skoko (Univ. of Chicago), Thornton Scott (William & Mary).
WE ARE PROUD OF ALL OUR 2018 GRADS AS THEY HEAD OFF TO: Bentley University Bryant University Castleton University Champlain College College of William & Mary Dartmouth College Dean College Denison University Florida Institute of Technology Franklin & Marshall College Hamilton College The Hartt School at the University of Hartford
Hobart & William Smith Colleges Ithaca College Lawrence University Manhattan College Manhattanville College Merrimack College New York University Nichols College Northeastern University
Purdue University
University of Chicago
Quinnipiac University
University of Maine
St. Lawrence University
University of New Hampshire
Saint Michael’s College
University of Oxford
School of Visual Arts
University of Rhode Island
Simmons College
University of Rochester
Smith College
University of South Carolina
Suffolk University
University of Vermont
Trinity College (Hartford)
Utica College
Université de Sherbrooke
Vanderbilt University
Pace University (NYC campus)
University of California, Davis
Parsons School of Design at The New School
University of California, Los Angeles
Wentworth Institute of Technology Western New England University
Pennsylvania State University
V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 33
Wildcats: We Want to Know! WHAT DID YOU LEARN AT VERMONT ACADEMY THIS YEAR THAT CHANGED YOU?
ALLIE BUCKLEY ’18
LANCE ZHANG ’19
This year, my senior year, taught me to treat every moment like it was my last, because before I know it, it will be. Take no time, experience, opportunity, lesson, or relationship for granted during your time at Vermont Academy. I’m going to enter the next four years of my life with the same attitude, taking nothing for granted and appreciating the opportunity I’ve been given.
In the fall, I sought to challenge myself by joining the musical production while taking three AP courses. After suffering from some days of sleep deprivation or fatigue, I learned to plan my schedule. I was also delighted to notice when I started to take more action for a solution instead of complaining.
Hometown: Guilford, Vermont
One unexpected thing that happened this year: I conquered my fear of public speaking. I got asked to give the winter sports banquet speech and it was such an honor that I couldn’t say no!
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Hometown: Shanghai, China
One unexpected thing that happened this year: My experiences in the fall drove me to run for senior class copresident this spring. No matter the result, I will cherish this experience and apply it in future endeavors.
RIESE BIANCO ’20
LEIANNA ISAACS ’21
I learned the importance of community from my time here at VA. The relationships that I’ve built with so many people from so many different backgrounds changed my perspective on how big the world truly is, and made me cherish these relationships even more. My friend Museba ’19 is from Zambia. He told me about what his life was like back at home, and taught me about the language and the culture. It was very eye-opening to hear just how different some parts of the world are.
At VA this year I learned that losing was okay. Every day was about improving and getting better, whether it was during sports or in the classroom. Staff and students always made it a priority to have fun and encouraged you to be your best self in every aspect of your life.
Hometown: Ringoes, New Jersey
I will use this knowledge to help encourage others to try to meet and get to know new people from all different parts of the world.
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
I plan to have more confidence, and continue to learn from my mistakes, instead of dwelling on them.
One unexpected thing that happened this year: I learned to stay true to myself, and most importantly I finally felt comfortable with being me.
One unexpected thing that happened this year: I didn’t expect to make so many new friends.
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WILDCAT PROFILE: Caitlyn McDermott ’18 CAITLYN AT A GLANCE: Hometown: Charlestown, Massachusetts Years at VA: 2 Favorite VA memory: Opening night for The Addams Family. It was a great show with an awesome cast! Dining hall favorite: Taco day Favorite VA tradition: 24-Hour Play Festival Honors: Francis Parkman Writing Award winner, National Merit Commendation winner, two-time Curtis Writing Award winner, Cum Laude Society member, winner of twelve Scholastic Writing Awards (including a Gold Key for personal essay, two Silver Keys for poetry, and two Silver Keys for essays), Ford Improvement Prize winner, two-time Poetry Out Loud finalist at Vermont Academy, and 2018 Poetry Out Loud top-ten finalist in Vermont Activities: crew, theater performance, theater tech, vocal ensemble, tutoring in writing center, tour guide Plans for next year: Attending Oxford University
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It is obvious and facile to compare an intelligent young woman at a boarding school to Hermione Granger, but in the case of Caitlyn McDermott, the comparison is apt. Not only does Caitlyn’s intelligence easily match that of the brilliant heroine of the Harry Potter books, but she also shares Hermione’s bravery, dependability, and unusual ability to take more classes in a single term than would seem humanly possible. Hermione achieves the feat by using a Time-Turner, allowing her to take several classes simultaneously, but Caitlyn does it just by working incredibly hard, managing her time carefully— and not sleeping very much. “I slept seven hours last night!” she said brightly during her interview for this magazine, explaining that her usual allotment was more like four or five. In her senior year, she took seven courses in the fall, six in the winter, and seven in the spring. (Five is the typical number.)
A Serious Student Who Tries Everything A student of Spanish since age 3, Caitlyn found that Spanish didn’t fit into her full schedule in her junior year, so she picked up introductory Russian instead—and ended up in both Russian 3 and Spanish 4-5 the following year. “I’ll hopefully be adding more languages on to that in the coming years,” she says. “I really want to learn Arabic—and French, Italian, and German, which should be easier. I want to study Latin and Greek a little bit, because I never had the chance.” As she heads to Oxford University in the fall to study psychology and linguistics, it seems clear that Caitlyn will have these opportunities and more.
Her Russian teacher, Victoria Vinidiktova, said, “It doesn’t matter how difficult the lesson is or how tired she is, Caitlin puts maximum effort into learning new material. I am sure her knowledge of languages will help her to understand people and make the world a better place.” Languages are not Caitlyn’s only interest. In her two years at Vermont Academy, she was an actor, a writer, and a key member of the theater tech team. She did an independent study course on theater lighting design with Emily Dixon. “Ms. Dixon was really good at teaching us how to do things,” Caitlyn said, “rather than showing us or doing them for us. Almost everything we did was student-run.” Like all of Caitlyn’s teachers, Ms. Dixon spoke in superlatives when asked about her. “Caitlyn is, without a doubt, the most reliable student I have worked with,” Ms. Dixon said. “She volunteers to run community events and can troubleshoot any problem that arises in the theater. She understands that knowledge in all areas of the performing arts will make her a stronger artist.” V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 3 7
Steve Cady, chair of the Performing Arts department and a co-advisor on her second independent study, on music and psychology, said, “Caitlyn is one of the most dedicated, thoughtful, and enthusiastic members of the department. She is ever present and commits her skills to acting, singing, light focus, sound board operation, poetry, and all levels of technical theater.”
Unafraid of a Challenge Caitlyn didn’t shy away from subjects that didn’t come easily to her, either. For example, she took AP physics with Jim Frey. “I do like science and math,” she said, “but I’m not naturally good at it. Mr. Frey was always there to help me without giving me the answer, which is really hard to do with physics. And it made me enjoy that class when I was just kind of dreading it.”
Mr. Cady added, joking, “I would like her to consider a PG year at VA instead of her first year at Oxford University.”
Summing up her academic experience at Vermont Academy, Caitlyn said, “There’s this huge atmosphere of respect here, not just between students, or students to teachers, but from teachers to students as well. I’ve loved literally all of my teachers here, and they’ve all been amazing.”
Caitlyn’s other advisor on her independent study in music and psychology was Christy Catsos. Ms. Catsos said, “Caitlyn really shows how VA students can make their learning their own and delve deeply into areas of interest.” The ability to shape her own educational experience was one of the things that appealed most to Caitlyn about her time at Vermont Academy. “The whole system relies on responsibility, and the idea that what you want to get out of this, you’ll get out of it,” she said. “If you want to have really challenging academic experiences, you can do that. If you want to focus on arts or sports, you can do that. And you can do all three— you don’t have to box yourself in.”
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Another challenge she took on was an athletic one: joining the crew team. She initially took up crew at Vermont Academy as one way to connect with her father, who was a rower himself. Her father passed away when Caitlyn was just eight years old. “Crew was incredibly difficult,” she said, “but really rewarding. It’s the ultimate team sport. You connect with people so much, and it’s such a supportive team.”
A Writer Who Speaks Her Truth Another of Caitlyn’s favorite teachers at VA was English teacher and Writing Center director Jo Fuller. Caitlyn took Ms. Fuller’s AP English and senior English elective classes and worked as a tutor in the Writing Center. “Ms. Fuller really got me back into writing with a vengeance,” Caitlyn said. “I’ve always liked writing, but it was tapering off because I had so much to do. Then it became a big part of my life again. Ms. Fuller was always there to talk to and to get feedback on a piece of work that I was writing.” When awarding Caitlyn the Francis Parkman Writing Award at our 2018 baccalaureate ceremony, Ms. Fuller said: “What does this prolific and accomplished poet and essayist write about? Love, friendship, anxiety, bravery, grief. She is not afraid to try anything, and she’s not shy about volunteering. Her mojo manifests as reciting Shakespeare in class, performing operatic solos in our school cabaret, and cheerfully greeting her teachers in different languages.”
“ There’s this huge atmosphere of respect here, not just between students, or students to teachers, but from teachers to students as well.” Ms. Fuller added, “She is completely without malice, offering kindness, friendship, and understanding to every individual in the community.” Caitlyn explained why she chooses to share difficult experiences in her work as in the essay that follows this article, “Miracles of St. Anthony,” which won a Silver Key in the 2018 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. “I completely empathize with not wanting to share [personal details in one’s] writing,” she said, “but at the same time, as a society, we don’t talk about loss and grief, or anxiety and depression. It’s been my experience that as soon as I open up about my experiences with someone, they immediately have a story as well. I love being able to connect with people and show that this isn’t something we have to keep quiet.”
To the UK and Beyond Caitlyn is thrilled to be headed to Oxford University this fall. “My dad was from England and I’m a dual citizen, so I’m familiar with the country,” she said. Maryann McArdle of the College Counseling department said, “Working with Caitlyn on her college applications was an absolute pleasure. From the start, she had her heart set on studying in England and she carefully researched every step of the process on her own. When she received that ‘yes’ from Oxford, we were all understandably thrilled. but she was the catalyst behind her success.” It is fitting that she is heading overseas, because one of Caitlyn’s favorite things about Vermont Academy was interacting with international students. “I love how much our our community is international,” she said. “You get to see the whole world, and see different perspectives, instead of just seeing people exactly like ourselves.” In everything she does, Caitlyn applies the lens of linguistics and psychology, along with an insatiable interest in the world around her. “Every summer I volunteer at my old preschool,” she said. “The preschool has a lot of students whose parents have just moved here from overseas. Watching them learn a new language and culture so quickly is amazing. By the end of the summer, they’ll be running around with their friends and communicating fine.” Caitlyn is interested in working more with children in the future, but with so many interests and talents, it seems clear that this is just one of many goals she’ll pursue. Savanna Poole, one of Caitlyn’s dorm parents in Davis House last year, summed it up: “Caitlyn is an amazing young woman who truly exemplifies Vermont Academy.”
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MIRACLES OF ST. ANTHONY BY CAITLYN MCDERMOTT ’18
I don’t remember anything about the weather, or the season, or what else I had done that day. I was five years old, and my parents called a family meeting. My brother was two and a half years older and eager to prove it by getting to the living room first. By the time I hopped up on the red and white checked couch, everyone else was already seated. I squirmed around to get comfortable, then tried to sit with my feet on the ground like the rest of my family. They didn’t reach. I swung my feet back and forth a little, but stilled when I saw that Mom and Dad’s faces were solemn. “Kids,” my mom started, “Dad is sick.” I didn’t understand. The worst illness I had seen was the flu. Dad continued, “I have cancer. That means I’m pretty sick, and need to get medicine at the hospital, but I’m going to be okay.” I still didn’t really understand. I remember thinking that cancer was a funny sounding word. It doesn’t sound funny anymore. “The medicine is yucky, like the medicine you have to take when you get sick. It might make me look worse, but it will help.” “Of course it will help! Doctors always help.” I had a lot of faith in doctors. I had four grandparents and two aunts and two uncles and lots of cousins and everyone got better after they got sick. Dad was sick, but he would get better. Looking back, I see my parents’ sad smiles. They knew that people who were sick don’t always get better, but I was five years old and knew everything. The sky was blue, the grass was green, sick people got better. Looking back, I see it in the way they glanced at each other. Sick people don’t always get better. It was on the same couch, three years later, that I learned the truth. It was just me and my mom this time, no dad, no brother. My brother was upstairs. Dad was in the hospital. It had been three years of hope and beating the odds. Three years of chemo and surgery and remission. 4 0 | S U M M E R / FA L L 2 018
Three years of a sick person getting better. It was late January and there was some snow on the ground. Not a lot, but we hadn’t gone skiing in awhile, so I didn’t care much. We sat in the middle of the couch, where the sectional formed an L, a cocoon of pillows. Mom’s eyes were red. “You know that Dad got sick again.” I nodded. “The doctors found out that he won’t get better.” She took a deep breath. “Sweetheart, Dad is going to die.” I didn’t believe it. I wouldn’t believe it. I started to cry. “But I don’t want Daddy to die,” I sobbed as I launched myself into her arms. We were both crying now. There were no words of comfort that would help; my world was shattered. “He can’t! He can’t die. No.” I was firm in my denial. All Mom could do was rub my back and murmur that she was there. All I could think was why? Why him? Why my daddy? I cried until my throat was sore and no more tears slipped from my eyes. Mom stayed with me. I hadn’t seen Dad in a little while—I had school and he was unconscious most of the time, on painkillers and antibiotics and saline and everything that might make a difference. The next day, it seemed like a nightmare. I put it in the back of my head and didn’t
think about it because I didn’t want to think about it. I had a three-day weekend for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. My friend was staying over. Sick people got better. It was three days later, on Monday at eight in the morning, and the adults were talking in hushed whispers down the hall. Their faces were somber, but shocked, like something had happened that they couldn’t quite believe. Mom called my brother and I into her room and we all sat on the bed. Mario Kart was paused in the other room. She took a deep breath. She seemed to search for the words. “I know this will be unexpected. It happened so fast. Kids, Dad passed away.” Suddenly, it was real. It wasn’t a nightmare; Dad had died. Mom told us about Heaven, that he would always be with us, that he loved us more than anything in the world, but it all seemed to go in one ear and out the other. My crying was quiet, this time. A year later, the crying had stopped being continuous. I could smile without guilt, without feeling like I was betraying my dad. I tried to be happy, to have fun, to play games. Earlier, Mom had given me some coins so I could play in the hotel’s arcade. The coins were heavy in my hand. Eight quarters, enough for two attempts at the claw machine. There was an elephant inside, I had seen it earlier, and I had fallen in love with it. I skipped down the hotel hallway to the arcade, humming under my breath. My mom was in the lobby just down the hall and my brother had opted to stay in the room and watch TV. Outside, snow fell softly to the ground, promising a good day of skiing the next day. The room was empty. I slid four coins, one after another, into the slot. The control board lit up as I bit my tongue in concentration. The claw
descended and missed the elephant by a hair. I stamped my foot. Four more coins into the machine. This time, I caught the stuffed animal and it rose into the air, then slipped just seconds before dropping into the prize bin. I huffed. “Once more,” I said to myself. I walked back to Mom and she deposited four more coins into my hand with a fond smile. “Last time, okay?” she said, “It’s almost bedtime.” I nodded absently and skipped back to my game. The room was still empty and arcade music played quietly from the ceiling. As I prepared to feed a coin into the claw game, I gasped in horror. The elephant was gone. Tears gathered in my eyes and I took a deep breath to calm myself. Recently, I had learned the prayer of Saint Anthony, patron saint of lost things. Anthony was my dad’s name, and today was the first anniversary of his passing away. I closed my eyes. “Dear Saint Anthony, please come around, something has been lost and must be found.” I crossed myself and took another breath. There was no point in trying the claw machine again, as there was nothing I wanted in it now. There was a racing game, though, and I walked over. As I sat on the seat and grasped the wheel, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. My eyes widened with wonder and I scrambled out of the chair. There, on the floor between the claw machine and the racing game, was the elephant. It was sitting as if carefully arranged, not
just thrown onto the floor. I reached out and stroked the soft fur. I looked around and saw no one. I had only been gone for a minute or two in order to get more coins from Mom, and had seen no one in the hallway. It was like magic. I snatched the elephant up and ran down the corridor to the lobby. “Mom!” I cried, “Look!” “You did it!” she said. I shook my head. “No! It was gone so I tried a different game and I found it on the floor! There was no one else around so can I keep it? Please?” She told me we had to check one more time, in case someone won it and then forgot it in the arcade. As we walked down the corridor, hand in hand, I told her that no one forgot it; Dad won it for me and left it where I would find it. I told her that I prayed to him when I saw it was gone. She looked around and, seeing no one, said I could keep it. I held it tight and smiled. My mom had told me that Dad was still watching, still with us, but I hadn’t believed her. Now I did. “Thank you,” I whispered softly. I still have that elephant, almost ten years later. It has lived in my room, next to the Build-A-Bear I made for my dad, the one with his hospital band around its wrist, since I found it in the first of many miniature miracles on the anniversary of my dad passing away or on his birthday. They range from the seemingly unexplainable, like my elephant, to the almost coincidental, like how anything I get from a vending machine on his birthday has a Twix fall down with it, or in its place. They remind me that my dad is still my guardian angel, looking down from above, and that he still loves me. Even as my memories fade with time, these moments keep him in my heart, where he will remain.
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CL ASS NOTES
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SAVE THE DATE FOR REUNION WEEKEND 2018:
September 21-23, 2018 CLASS OF 1943
CLASS OF 1983
CLASS OF 1948
CLASS OF 1988
CLASS OF 1953
CLASS OF 1993
CLASS OF 1958
CLASS OF 1998
CLASS OF 1963
CLASS OF 2003
CLASS OF 1968
CLASS OF 2008
CLASS OF 1973
CLASS OF 2013
75th Reunion
70th Reunion 65th Reunion
60th Reunion 55th Reunion
50th Reunion 45th Reunion
Larry Cole ’51 shared that on February 8, he attended a ceremony at Joint Base Cape Cod, at which time the Massachusetts Army National Guard was to receive an award from the Army for its success in conducting vital military training while protecting the environment of Camp Edwards. To his surprise, he was presented the Commander’s Award for Public Service for meritorious service on the Camp Edwards Community Advisory Council from 2002 to 2017. A veteran of the Korean War, he was active in veterans’ issues. For many years he volunteered to drive disabled veterans to appointments and served on several committees. In April, he was chosen to be the honorary relay team captain in the 2018 Boston Marathon. Kat Szmit ‘86, a reporter for the Cape Cod Chronicle, covered his athletic achievements in a recent article (bit.ly/ larrycole). An avid hockey player and then runner since his days at VA, Mr. Cole runs about 45 races a year. On behalf of the Class of 1953, Class Representative George Welles ‘53 extends congratulations to VA ‘68 on the occasion of their 50th Reunion. The “Old Guard” classes extend a most hearty welcome to you as you join our venerable company. Our congratulations too, to VA ‘93 on your 25th reunion and to VA ‘08 on your 10th reunion. 2018 also marks
35th Reunion
30th Reunion 25th Reunion
20th Reunion 15th Reunion
10th Reunion 5th Reunion
CLASS OF 1978 40th Reunion
the 50th anniversary of the first VA Reunion Weekend. Hip! Hip! Hooray! Finally, we join a host of others in extending our heartfelt thanks to the 731 donors who contributed to the 2018 Vermont Academy Annual Fund and blasting through the $600,000 goal to exceed it by 10%. What an incredible vote of confidence in Dr. Jennifer Zaccara, our head of school, in her first year at the helm. The WILDCAT is roaring once again. Bruce Hamon ’62: I retired nine years ago and since have been paying it forward with my therapy/service dog, 12-year-old yellow Lab Hannah, helping children who have reading issues. Additionally, we were one of 34 pet therapy teams that went to MIT shortly after the Boston Marathon bombing to comfort students there who had lost their school police officer. As the pet therapy work has slowed down due to Hannah’s age, I have taken to Uber/Lyft driving for fun and profit. I am also a beekeeper with some 38 years of fun experience. I recently (2015) left my beloved New England, after about 70 years, to reside close to my son and his family near Richmond, Virginia. I love spending time with two of my four grandchildren as well as my beekeeping hobby.
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custom home builder six years ago, I started participating in senior Olympics, throwing the javelin, which I first did in my sophomore year at Vermont Academy under Coach Angus Black and then continued with the track and field team at UConn. I certainly don’t throw as far as then, but it’s great incentive to stay in shape, and I’ve met some wonderful folks from all over the world. I believe every state holds a senior Olympic event, and it’s not just limited to track & field, so I would encourage everyone to think about participating (see photo). Hope the foliage is at its peak for the reunion! Jim Bunce ‘66: I retired in 2016 after a three-year assignment in Adelaide, South Australia, and 26 years working for Lockheed Martin. Tom Inglehart ’72: I sold my business several years ago. Now I’m doing what I’ve always enjoyed: building wooden boats, rowing, and bike riding. Alison Hussey Cummings ’79: Shout out to all Class of ’79. Hope all is well in your worlds! I’m staying busy with skiing and real estate, doing both in the Stratton Mountain area. I am sure someone reading this skis at Stratton—give me a call—I would love to make some runs with you! Rich Bohman ’63 participating in the Huntsman Senior World Games in St. George, Utah, held each October. He went on to win his age group (70-74). Currently ranked #3 in the world (70-74) so far in 2018, based on winning the Arizona Senior Olympics in January. Rich notes he will most likely move down the “ladder” as more senior Olympic meets take place around the world.
Rich Bohman ’63: My wife, Nancy, and I live in the charming community of Tubac, Arizona, which is about 45 miles south of Tucson. Thanks to Russ Vogel’s initiative in taking over as our class representative, we have made plans to attend our 55th class reunion on September 21-23, 2018. I hope many of my classmates make this one as well. When I retired from my second career as a
Tim Heath ’79: I have been living in New York City since 1991. I never aimed to live here, but I got transferred here with the first company I worked with after graduating from Boston University and I never left. I live in Upper Manhattan and I work for the Riverside Park Conservancy, helping them manage their public tennis facilities in Riverside Park along the bank of the Hudson River. I enjoyed my time at VA and value the memories and the people I met. Hank Kimball ’79: We just held our 14th Annual JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) Hockey tournament. We had over 150 hockey players enjoying a day of fun on the ice and exceeded our goal of $14,000.
Hank Kimball ’79 hosts the 14th Annual JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) Hockey tournament.
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Kristin Terkelsen ’91: I am following in Amy Howard’s shoes by about three weeks and am also building my own home. Considering we were roommates sophomore year, I guess this is only natural! It is so great to see VA doing so many amazing things. It makes me wish I were a student again... without the homework! Patrick Shinoda ’01 writes: With pride, my wife Lee and I welcomed the birth of our third son, Liam, on July 17, 2017. Adding, to the clan, we now have Owen, who is 6 years old and in kindergarten, and Colin, a rambunctious 2 1/2 year old. I am currently working at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA, as a Heart & Vascular Critical Care Nurse and loving it. If you’re ever in the Springfield area, please look me up! Dan Weinger ‘02: My wife and I welcomed our first child, Rory Michael, on October 11. Rob Outtrim ’03: Heidi and I welcomed our first child on May 29, 2018, Brody Robert Outtrim.
Patrick Shinoda ’01 and family
Phil Marzelli ’09: Chef Phil recently had the spotlight on the Casa Luca (Washington, DC) Instagram. He was the executive sous chef at Kimpton Hotels prior to joining Casa Luca, where he says he loves working for Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants because of “the level of professionalism we all strive for to make our guests happy.”
Taylor Smoke ’05, Oran Horn ’14, and the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse team earned bronze in the 2018 FIL World Lacrosse Championship in Tel Aviv, Israel. Kai Jensen ‘17: Kai reported that he has partnered with a friend from home to start a hedge fund. TrueNorth Capital has had a few articles written about it on CNBC and Yahoo Finance. He cites his experience at VA as what led him to experiment and do it. Kai is currently a Vilas Scholar at St. Lawrence University.
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Daphne Cebek ’08 and Jack Aitken ’11 wed on May 12, 2018, in Málaga, Spain. Photo credit: Kyle John Photo (www.kylejohnphoto.com)
Lucian Fernandez ’10, Chaele Davis ’06, Taylor Smoke ’05, Konwatharani Jacobs ’08, Daphne Cebek ’08, Jack Aitken ’11, Chloe Cebek ’07, Calvin Stowell ’06, Hunter Wilcox ’11. Photo credit: Kyle John Photo (www.kylejohnphoto.com)
CLASS VOLUNTEERS ’40
’50
’55
’59
’45
’51
Don Scholl 1449 Clayton Rd. West Chester, PA 19382
’60
J. Whitney Brown 53 Conanicus Ave., Apt. 2G Jamestown, RI 02835-4806 whitleo621@cox.net Frank Jackson 120 Indian Trail Scituate, MA 02066-1028 fpjackson@comcast.net
’47
Bill Reoch PO Box 1184 Kennebunkport, ME 04046-1184
’48
Bob Taft 50 Timberpond Dr., Apt 3301 Peterborough, NH 03458 rtaft@ftfl-law.com
’49
Les Smith 1385 York Ave. #33B New York, NY 10021-3939 als1710@yahoo.com
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Bob Scholl 470 Park Road Ext. Middlebury, CT 06762-1603 scholllaw@sbcglobal.net Bob Anderson 345 Westbrook Rd. Saint Helena Island, SC 29920-3002 rbanders345@gmail.com
’53
George Welles 810 Monterossa Dr. Myrtle Beach, SC 29572 ghwelles@gmail.com
’54
Don Megathlin 925 Main St. PO Box 125 Cotuit, MA 02635 capemegathlins@verizon.net
Gene Hays 104 Cortland Ave. Winter Park, FL 32789-3926 intlfruit@aol.com
’56
Fred Nichols 23500 Cristo Rey Dr., Unit 302D Cupertino, CA 95014-6526 fnichols56@gmail.com
’58
Bud Lewis 125 River Birch Ln. Dalton, MA 01226-2106 buddy456@me.com Bob Luke 77 Hillside Ave. Florham Park, NJ 07932-2403 rdhl322@hotmail.com
Don McInnes PO Box 844 West Falmouth, MA 02574 dgmcin10@gmail.com Ron Stewart 919 Maumee Ave. Mansfield, OH 44906-2908 marqprint@aol.com Dan Brown 13 Foxborough Dr. Gilford, NH 03249-6873 danbrownnh@gmail.com Penn Lardner 20705 Meadow Dr. Sonoma, CA 95476 richardlardner@sbcglobal.net George Yeomans PO Box 33 106 Masquesatch Rd. Westport Pt., MA 02791 gyeomans106@yahoo.com
’61
John Anderson 304 Murphree St. Troy, AL 36081-2115 athtrain@troy.edu
’62
Dick Weeks 4242 N 119th St. Lafayette, CO 80026-9608 dick_weeks@hotmail.com Peter Flatow 3 Thomas Rd. Westport, CT 06880 flatowp@coknowledge.com
’63
Russell Vogel Antasari Residence #3 Jalan Haji Naim III Jakarta, Indonesia russjsi2009@gmail.com
’64
Toby Hoopes 109 Old Mill Ct. Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082 toho33@gmail.com
’65
Craig Baab 637 Cloverdale Rd. Montgomery, AL 36106 baablaw@aol.com Augustus Clement 4815 Rushford Pl. Colorado Springs, CO 80923-7517 voicedocbc@hotmail.com
’66
Rick Janis Riverbend Motorcoach Resort 5800 West Stage Rd. 80 #217 Labelle, FL 33935 rick.janis@gmail.com
’67
Whitney Gay 25 Arlington Rd, Bldg. 1, Apt. 3 Woburn, MA 01801 whitclaud@aol.com Rick Moulton PO Box 97 109 Moulton Dr. Huntington, VT 05462-0097 rwmjr@gmavt.net
’68
Rick Sacknoff 24 Buckman Dr. Lexington, MA 02421-5916 rsacknoff@yahoo.com
’69
Mark Russell 8 Sweet Fern Rd. Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107-2422 mark.russell@rbc.com John Hoder 95 Riverscape Ln. Tiverton, RI 02878-4747 john.hoder@yahoo.com
’70
Rich Patterson 5 Nibang Ave. Old Saybrook, CT 06475-3109 rpatterson@durhammfg.com Bernard Hoyes PO Box 961 Palm Springs, CA 92263 bernardhoyes@hotmail.com
’71
Thomas Hinman 50 Baston Rd. North Yarmouth, ME 04097-6412 thinman14@gmail.com Bud Wilkinson 227 Whetstone Rd. Harwinton, CT 06791 budw@ride-ct.com
’73
John Brucato 12 Whip O Will Ln. Milford, MA 01757-1558 jbrucato@gmail.com Charlie Gunn 119 Colby Hill Rd. Henniker, NH 03242 cgunn@tds.net
’74
William Reid 394 Walnut Rd. Putnam, CT 06260-2702 wbr655@yahoo.com
’76
Jim Bamman 2 Reeves Ave. Guilford, CT 06437-3349 jimbam@comcast.net Daniel Quartin 108 Carriage Hill Dr. Newington, CT 06111-2006 d_quartin@cox.net
’77
Sean Bersell 1213 N Maryland Ave. Glendale, CA 91207 va77@mindspring.com
’78
Emily Colson emcolson@gmail.com
’79
Peter Hamilton peterlhamilton@yahoo.com Jane Ogden 485 West St. Cornwall, VT 05753 janevermont@gmail.com Diane Wilder 807 Aubrey Ave. Ardmore, PA 19003 wilderfrancone@yahoo.com
’80
Ewing Buta 141 Oak Tree Dr. Canfield, OH 44406-9296 ebuta@advancedcaststone.com Lawrence Echanis 45 S. Main St. Selbyville, DE 19975-9664 echanis@mchsi.com Karen Galloway 885 County Rd. Walpole, NH 03608 kgallowayinchristianhollow@ gmail.com
’81
Kathryn Carver 75 Nice Way Colchester, VT 05446-2063 carverdan@myfairpoint.net Foster McKeon 10 Old Orchard Rd. Easton, CT 06612 foster374@aol.com
’82
Tom Oxholm 197 South Main St. Brattleboro, VT 05301 tcoxholm@gmail.com
’83
Keith Canning 126 Hersey St. Portland, ME 04103-4541 kcanning@me.com Daniel Dougherty 22 Shattuck St. Natick, MA 01760 dougherty.doc@gmail.com
Dora Sudarsky 2 Bay Ct. South Burlington, VT 05403-7852 dsudarsky@msn.com Scott McKeon 6 Cornwall Circle Wayne, PA 19087 scott.mckeon@chubb.com Adam Tschorn 6310 Maryland Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90048 atschorn@gmail.com
’84
Mark Culkin 823 Tequesta Dr. Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417-2134 mjculkin@verizon.net
’85
Charlie Schafer 41 Larchwood Ave. West Long Branch, NJ 07764-1711 Chris Stevens cstev118@aol.com Andy Bigelow 1457 W Carmen Ave. Chicago, IL 60640-2812 ajbigelow@hotmail.com
’87
Bill McCullough 5460 S. Jasmine St. Greenwood Village, CO 80111-1419 brmccullough@hollandhart.com Michelle Wells 232 West 74th St. #3B New York, NY 10023 michelle@hoxton7.com
’88
Charmion Handy PO Box 439 Saxtons River, VT 05154 charmion_handy@yahoo.com
’90
Mary Dean 2 Hanson Rd. Canton, CT, 06019-3726 hotmary@mail.com Jamison Gagnier 89 Norfield Rd. Weston, CT 06883-2214 jgagnier@me.com
C L A SS VO LU N T E E R S N E E D E D :
41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 46 | 52 | 57 | 72 | 75 | 86 | 89
V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 47
Afragola Jones 21 Maple St. Woodstock, VT 05091 anndanjones@gmail.com Lee Ryder 2361 S. Columbine St. Denver, CO 80210 lryder@univhousing.com
’91
Amy Howard PO Box 696 Walpole, NH 03608-0696 amyh294@gmail.com
’92
Betsy Adams 24 Central Ave. Rutland, VT 05701-4645 ReillyVT@yahoo.com Mark Engelke 88 Glenmere Dr. Chatham, NJ 07928 Markcengelke@aol.com
’93
Adam Garner 900 S. Lamar Blvd., Apt 203 Austin, TX 78704-1501 adam_k_garner@yahoo.com Noel Chipman 418 Mountain Rd. Concord, NH 03301 noelchipman1@gmail.com
’94
Betsy Parks PO Box 53 Manchester Center, VT 05255-0053 betsyparks21@gmail.com Meghan Giroux 9 Pleasant St. Bristol, VT 05443-1030 meghan.giroux@gmail.com
’95
Alie Johnson 1506 Keim Trail Saint Charles, IL 60174-5825 harmon2476@gmail.com Sarah Smith-Duffin Duffinboymom@gmail.com Erika Gustafson 34 Wedgemere Rd. Medford, MA 02155 gutentuf@hotmail.com
’96
Kirk Vaughan 7340 E Legacy Blvd., Unit A2007 Scottsdale, AZ 85255 kirk.vaughan@gmail.com
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’97
Erin Kennelly 4600 Burbank Dr., Apt 142 Baton Rouge, LA 70820-3212 ekennelly@gmail.com Aaron Walsh PO Box 385 Marlboro, VT 05344-0385 Sarah Weilbrenner Viteri 292 Jerusalem Rd. Cohasset, MA 02025-1109 sweilbrenner@gmail.com
’98
Kate Turner 112 Fairview St. NW Leesburg, VA 20176-2000 kathryn.abernethy@gmail.com Alex Law 2721 Black Oaks Ln. N. Plymouth, MN 55447 alexhlaw22@gmail.com
’99
Andrew & Alexandra Guard 246 Winch St. Framingham, MA 01701-3811 jandrewguard@gmail.com alexandraguard@gmail.com Kristin Dubak 561 California Rd. Bronxville, NY 10708-2310 kmdubak@gmail.com Matt Cotter 3 Locust Ln. East Sandwich, MA 02537-1422 capecotter11@gmail.com
’02
Rob Bergman 95 Settlers Dr. Hancock, ME 04640-3510 robergdawg@yahoo.com Amber DiPasquale 13685 Water Springs Ct. Centreville, VA 20121 ambermdipasquale@gmail.com
Katherine Dawes 204 Burning Tree Rd. Lutherville, MD 21093 katherinefdawes@gmail.com
John Penney 67 Morton St., Apt. 6B New York, NY 10014 jpenney3@gmail.com
Sarah Murrow 306 Newburg Ave. Catonsville, MD 21228-5854 sarah.ramian@gmail.com
’03
Andy Tyson 79 South Ave., Apt. 1 New Canaan, CT 06840 mr.andrew.tyson@gmail.com
’00
Grayson Holden 444 Rich St. Oakland, CA 94609-2513 grayson.holden@gmail.com Matthew Howarth, MA matthewjhowarth@yahoo.com Patience Baldwin 3926 Yates St. Denver, CO 80212-2213 patiencebaldwin@yahoo.com Jeannlis Sanchez tiatula973@gmail.com
’01
Corey Jaworski PO Box 1097 Quechee, VT 05059-1097 coreyejaworski@gmail.com Devin Finigan PO Box 193 Sedgwick, ME 04676 devineyre@hotmail.com
Christina Flood 47 Mechanic St. Apt. 3 Keene, NH 03431-3461 christinardowning@gmail.com Britton Inglehart 21857 Lake Ave. Wellesley Island, NY 13640-3155 binglehart@gmail.com Andrew Robinson 21 W. Hughes St. Baltimore, MD 21230-3843 andrewrobinson01@gmail.com Amy Olsen PO Box 2240 Pocono Pines, PA 18350-2240 amyvelte@gmail.com Eliza Cross elizacross@msn.com Kyle Nelligan 351 Tralee Rd. Wilmington, NC 28412 nellybelly33@gmail.com
’04
Ed Duess 2170 Century Park East #1010 Los Angeles CA, 90067 ed.duess@gmail.com Jean-Daniel Lussier
Hillary Talbot 3913 Westminster West Rd. Putney, VT 05346 hillarytalbot@gmail.com
’05
Laura Gage 2701 Calvert St. NW, Apt. 721 Washington, DC 20008 laura.krisch1@gmail.com Corbin Vreeland PO Box 1374 Bridgehampton, NY 11932 cvreeland@gmail.com Rob Harlow 23 Northwood Ave. West Springfield, MA 01089-1915 harlow.robert@gmail.com Lauren Zwicker 115 Jenny Ln. Brattleboro, VT 05301-8989 aluren4854@gmail.com
’06
Austin DeLonge austin.delonge@gmail.com Zach Jandl 39 Village Hill Ln. Huntington, VT 05462 zachjandl@gmail.com Calvin Stowell 389 North Rd. Sunapee, NH 03782-2932 cstowell@dosomething.org
’07
Cassie Howe 5A Half Moon Ln. London SE24 9JU United Kingdom cassandrahowe1@gmail.com Alexandra Moran 2620 Ramsey Dr. New Orleans, LA 70131-5238 sprtgrl1288@aol.com Kelli Morin 45 S Elliot Place, Apt. 1B Brooklyn, NY 11217-1287 kelli.morin@gmail.com Kait Schiro 63 Londonderry Dr. Greenwich, CT 06830-3508 kait.schiro@gmail.com Chelsea Chase 93 Butterfield Hill Rd. Perkinsville, VT 05151-9519 vcpcgroup@gmail.com
BRUCE BROWN ‘16 HEADS TO NBA In June, Bruce Brown ‘16, a three-year veteran of Vermont Academy’s boys’ varsity basketball team (seen here playing with the VA team in 2015-16), was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the 2018 NBA Draft. “I started coaching Bruce in the fall of 2014,” said Alex Popp, head coach of the VA team, “and I told him right away that he could change everything about Vermont Academy Basketball, including reaching the NBA. Ever since that conversation, our program has sent 24 student-athletes to play college basketball, 14 of those to compete at the Division I level.” Watch Bruce Brown’s career unfold by watching the Pistons play or by following @VtAcademyHoops on Twitter and Instagram for consistent updates.
’08
’11
’14
’09
Adam Hennick 109 Marie Curie Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC H9A3C5 hennick_13@hotmail.com
Molly Brennan PO Box 232 Walpole, NH 03608-0232 mbrennan1496@gmail.com
Paulina Borrego 339 W. 3rd St., Unit 2 Boston, MA 02127 paulinaborrego12@gmail.com Ashley Greenwood 13 Gaskill St. Mendon, MA 01756 greenwood.ashley.m@gmail.com
’10
Greg Jacobs 27 Densmore Dr. Essex Junction, VT 05452 g.t.jacobs202@gmail.com Ana Lundberg Brooke Wilcox 152 A Monument Hill Rd. Springfield, VT 05156-9468 bawilcox@vwc.edu Sophie Yingling PO Box 247 Truro, MA 02666 syinglin@umass.edu
Kelly Johnson 60 Orchard Dr. Eastham, MA 02642 45kelly.johnson71@gmail.com
’12
Shelby Johnson 6 Leominster Rd. PO Box 774 Sterling, MA 01564 shelby.johnson579@gmail.com Thomas Savoca 47 Circle Dr. Ridgefield, CT 06877 tsavoca1@gmail.com
’13
Sam Gillingham 40 Middle Rd. North Chittenden, VT 05763 sammyg001@aol.com Ashley Potofsky 40 S Emily St., Apt. 1 Pittsburgh, PA 15205 ashleypotofsky@gmail.com
Erik Nielsen 75 Wentworth Rd. Walpole, NH 03608 foshuga@gmail.com
’15
Eddie Miller 20 Maher Ave. Greenwich, CT 06830 kemill15@stlawu.edu John Scoby 5331 34th Ave. N. St. Petersburg, FL 33710 jscoby15@gmail.com George Atkins 21 Pine Crest Dr. Spofford, NH 03462 george.w.atkins.19@ dartmouth.edu
’16
J’Nisha Little 19 Bassett St. New Haven, CT 06511 littlejnisha@yahoo.com
Tanner Dalton 2500 Abeto Ct. Bakersfield, CA 93309 sniperdalton11@gmail.com
’17
Cara Linder 99 Simpson Brook Rd. Townshend, VT 05353 caraslinder@gmail.com Guy Piccolo 68 Eunice Ave. Fairfield, CT 06824 gpiccolo31@gmail.com
’18
Dariel Echanis PO Box 435 Saxtons River, VT 05154 dariel.echanis@gmail.com Ava Hill 1129 Middletown Rd. Andover, VT 05143 avahill2000@gmail.com Jamie Kuesel One Ford Lane Old Greenwich, CT 06870 jamiekueselemail@gmail.com
V E R M O N T AC A DE M Y | 49
“ The effects of her warm-hearted kindness, gracious support, and guidance in her capacity as wife of the headmaster will be, for a certainty, long-lasting.” — RON MCCLENTON ’74
“A truly remarkable woman”: Nita Choukas In the last issue of Vermont Academy Life, we recognized the passing on November 11, 2017, of Ms. Juanita “Nita” Crosby Choukas P ’73. Nita was the wife of former VA headmaster Michael Choukas Jr. ’46
and mother of Michael A. Choukas ’73, P ’94, who is the chair of our Board of Trustees.
On June 30, 2018, hundreds attended a celebration of Nita’s life,
held in the Nita Choukas Theater in the Horowitz Performing Arts Hall. Born September 9, 1930, Nita had a profound effect on the lives of countless Vermont Academy students, faculty, and staff.
“ A beautiful person in so many ways— loved to see that smile every day.” — MART Y HALL ’56
“ Nita Choukas was ever-present on the VA campus, exuding First Lady quality, confidence and class as an ‘ambassador’ of good will and encouragement to all who crossed her path. In addition, she was a true believer and staunch supporter of the arts, especially instrumental during my years on the Hilltop in promoting drama and helping to produce numerous theater productions. A truly remarkable woman, admired and respected by all who knew her.” — TOBY HOOPES ’64
“ Nita was a wonderful woman. She made everybody feel welcome and loved. As a black student at VA in 1967, she and her husband made us feel normal. What a great feeling at a tumultuous time. God bless you, Nita, because He knows who you were.” — CARL BANYARD ’70
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In Memoriam Vermont Academy extends its condolences to the families and friends of our alumni and friends who have passed away. This list includes updates reported by family members, newspapers, and other sources. To share news of deceased alumni and friends of Vermont Academy, please contact our Alumni Office at alumni@vermontacademy.org or PO Box 500, Saxtons River, Vermont 05154.
ALUMNI Mr. Charles P. Bailey ’48, 3/22/2018
Mr. Perry C. Maynard Jr. ’59, 2/17/2018
Mr. Jack F. Bates ’38, 7/16/2008
Mr. Paul W. Slosberg ’59, 3/11/2018
Mr. Theodore J. Capron ’42, 7/10/2017
Dr. George P. Sperry ’48, 12/3/2017
Mr. William Contini M.D. ’51, 8/18/2017
Mr. Richard H. Squire ’63, 11/21/2017
Mr. Charles A. Hastings Jr. ’49, 6/11/2018
Mr. Peter W. Stanley ’46, 5/23/2018
Mr. Todd A. Holloway ’95, 3/11/2017
Mr. William A. Torrey ’52, 5/2/2018
Mr. Michael J. Kowalczyk ’79, 11/3/2017
Mr. Charles H. Welling III ’72, 4/28/2017
Mr. Richard T. Leary ’50, 3/11/2018
Mr. William J. Wensley ’71, 1/16/2018
Mr. Alastair H. MacDonald ’50, 10/31/2017
Mr. Chester S. Williams ’37, 11/7/2017
FRIENDS OF VERMONT AC ADEMY Mr. William W. Badger, 7/1/2018, former faculty member (1965-67) Mr. Allan Berggren, 2/21/2018, father of trustee Carrie Berggren Dunn ’91 Mr. William P. Herbert, 4/23/2018, husband of former trustee Anne Herbert and father of Jeremy Herbert ’99 Mr. Frank P. Lussier, 4/15/2018, father of Jarrod Lussier ’95 and Justin Lussier ’95
V E R M O N T AC A D E M Y | 51
Remembering Arnold Castagner We reported in the last issue of Vermont Academy Life on the passing of Mr. Arnold D. Castagner, beloved former history teacher, baseball and basketball coach, and dorm parent. Arnie passed away peacefully on October 31, 2017, in White River Junction, Vermont, at the age of 89. As promised in the previous issue of this magazine, here are some remembrances of Arnie.
“ Mr. Castagner could be described as the mouse that roared, or the bark that is worse than the bite. He was a relatively small individual, a bundle of energy who kept everyone in line, but you always knew he cared deeply. He loved his Chevy Impalas, which were never allowed to get dirty. With all the washing in back of Jones Hall, it is a wonder there was any paint left when he left for his regular trade-in.” — DOUG CR ANSHAW ’66
“ AC was at the top of my list. He was my dorm master my junior year, when I was a proctor; he was my basketball coach junior and senior years; and I took U.S. history from him, which he made fun and interesting. However, my best memory was the many two-on-two basketball matches we had with him afternoons after practice. These were where we really got to see Arnie’s true competitive nature. Many were the evenings we had to go two out of three to resolve the match.” — G. DAVID KOEPF ’64
“ Mr. Castagner and Mr. Brodine were my mentors while I attended Vermont Academy. In fact, I would not have succeeded without their kind and patient advice and admonition. May they rest in peace.” — PETER SHAMBO ’72
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“ We contribute to the Annual Fund for two reasons. First, we recognize that tuition doesn’t cover the full cost of an excellent education. But more importantly, we support Vermont Academy because we are excited to be part of this caring, inclusive community. It was the perfect choice for our daughter!” — PAT T Y EPPINGER P ’20
Patty, right, with Lauren Eppinger ‘20 before Lauren’s first VA prom, Spring 2018
“ I was blessed to have had two extraordinary years at VA, providing me with lasting friendships and enduring memories. For me, and I’m certain for many alumni, giving is a wonderful way of saying, ‘Thank you, VA!’ Twelve percent alumni participation, though an improvement from other years, is still well below what’s needed. Participation is what counts most. So it’s ‘all hands on deck’ time, my fellow alumni.” — REV. GEORGE H. WELLES JR. ’53
Left to right: George Welles ’53, Symir Torrence ’19, and Deng Adiang ’19
The Vermont Academy Annual Fund Please make your gift by using the envelope provided or online at vermontacademy.org/giving
NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PO Box 500, Saxtons R iver, V T 05154
PAID WHT RIV JCT VT PERMIT 86
Reunion 2018 SEPTEMBER 21-23
Join in! What could be better than a fall day in Vermont, celebrating with your classmates, cheering on our Wildcats, and ending the day with a farm-to-table banquet? Stay for the Sunday Brunch featuring our own maple syrup and burn it off at our Alumni Soccer game. For more information and to register, visit www. vermontacademy.org/reunion