The Blade Vol. 121, Issue 1 by Woodward Academy Student Publications

HIGHLIGHTING

Editor’s Note

he Blade has been a part of my life for longer than the 4 years I’ve been on staff. I remember when my sister, Nija Packer ‘18, would stay at school well past dark in W113 working on getting out an issue. Now, 2 classrooms and 2 advisor changes later, I’m putting out my first Blade issue as head editor. It’s a full-circle moment for me. But this issue isn’t about me. It’s actually about you. Students– the ones who lead and the ones who allow themselves to be led. In this issue, we take a look back at the leadership of Marcia Prewitt Spiller. We recognize the students who keep our athletic teams, art department, and clubs running. This issue also attempts to explore success and its many different interpretations by interviewing alumni who won the Most Likely to Succeed superlative. Another concept we attempted to define– The Woodward Way. What does it really mean and what does it look like in our day to day lives? With many more amazing pieces centered around the theme of leadership, this issue was created with our community in mind. Many of our staff are new to the publication and I am new to editing. We took a stab at this whole journalism thing and tried to create stories that would cut deep– as only a Blade can. - Maya Packer

Editors Editor in Chief Maya Packer ‘22 Butterknife Editor Elizabeth Yu ‘22

Staff Brooke Barrow ‘22 Sithini Chea ‘24 Marcus Gray ‘22 Francesca Henderson ‘23 Roman Holder ‘22 Neha Koganti ‘23 Hannah Marte ‘23 Kai Moore ‘22 Tito Oyewo ‘22 Thaomy Pham ‘22 The Blade is the student news publication of Woodward Academy. Fall 2021 Issue. Woodward Academy 1662 Rugby Ave. College Park, GA 30337

Contents Highlighting Recognizing Richardson

Let’s Go Clubbing

Saying Goodbye to A Leader of A Lifetime

Looks of Leadership

Ask A Leader: Fall Sports Seniors

Business Blueprint

Outlining Local Government, Large Decisions

Relevance vs. Respect

Most Likely to Succeed

Shades of Leadership

43 3

Local GOVERMENT Large Decisions Understanding the structure and importance, and power of our local municipal governments and the Atlanta mayoral election By Roman Holder

very four years we anticipate our major elections. We focus on the nationwide race for President. Depending on the timing, because of the difference in term length, we may vote on our Senators or House Representatives. It is always encouraged to participate in these major elections, but what about the systems around the corner and down the street: our city governments? This year, Atlanta’s mayoral elections are happening. With many candidates running for office, understanding who is running and the impact of the position is important. With terms lasting four years, this year’s election will have major implications on the day-to-day lives of not only the citizens of Atlanta but the hundred of thousands who come through the city whether it is to work, travel, visit or play. With the election’s arrival, it is pivotal to understand the workings of Atlanta’s city government. As citizens, voting or not voting, being informed allows for greater comprehension of community problems and their solutions.

the Importance of getting informed Simply put, knowledge is power. Having understanding and savviness of your local government allows for you to be aware of problems that may appear and be capable of addressing the pertinent issues. Local matters can range from the upkeep of local streets, the development of neighborhoods and business districts or the handling of COVID-19 in your city. For instance, say there is a trash problem in parks around your city and citizens asked for a solution to the littering problem from your city government. If you are not paying attention, your government could ignore you and your constituents’ complaints and the litter problem would continue. On the other hand, if you went to city council meetings or just paid attention to the local news, you could watch them and hold them accountable by further insisting on a resolution to the littering problem. Your government works for you as a citizen. No matter the position or level, these officials are

elected by the constituents of the community to represent them. You give them power. Keeping tabs on what they do and how they do it can help you in the long run. U.S. government teacher, Jill Bounds, expresses the importance of local governments and their impact on young people. “Local governments probably matter the most to younger people because it impacts their lives,” Bounds said.

Think of the things that you do on a daily basis. Your local city government has a major impact on day-to-day tasks and activities. Understanding what your local government affects in your life is important. “For example, most of you are getting [a] driver’s license,” Bounds said. “The laws that have to do with driving impact you. Who makes those laws? The local leaders.”

How to get informed “You [have] got to choose to pay attention,” Bounds said. “These local leaders are accessible. You gotta want to pay attention.” There are plenty of ways you can find out information in your community. Sources may be direct or indirect, but you have plenty of options to receive knowledge on your local government.

City Website Every city has an official website that includes everything you need to know. They are filled with information on what your officials are doing on the daily, how to contact them and where their offices are. Understanding how the government works is a crucial part of getting informed. Going to your city website allows you to get direct information about how your city government works. The website for the city of Atlanta is www.atlantaga.gov or you can scan this QR code:

NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS

Organizations such as the Atlanta JournalConstitution, “11Alive” and The Blade are examples of journalistic groups that are here to inform you about issues relating to your community. Whether it is a television broadcast, newspaper or magazine, having a trusted local source of your choice will help keep you aware.

WAYS TO GET INFORMED Social Media Social media is all about connection. Social media can allow you to connect with others in your community digitally and find out what is going on via digital word of mouth. Social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook provide a plethora of quick and instant information for you on the go. Along with swift communication, official government profiles will also connect you to the city website and contact information. Your officials have independent accounts as well. These accounts not only deliver rapid information, but sometimes offer more personal connections with those making major decisions in your community. Be cautious when you are using social media. Not every account and person is credible. As an individual, it is up to you to take the time to figure out what source is reliable and trustworthy. By following these accounts and pages, important information can pop up on your personal feed on the daily. 5

What to DO once you are informed You have taken the steps to become more vigilant and active in the municipal government of your community. Now you may be asking yourself, what do I do with this information? Easy-- get involved. Involving yourself in the issues surrounding municipal governments allows for you to become a person of power and authority. You have the ability to make a shift in your community.

Be proactive. Assume control of your life, voice, and liberty. You have the power to make a difference. If this is not for yourself, think of what you can do for others. Not everyone is going to step up and take the chance to invest themselves in community issues. By being involved in discussions and matters that affect others around you, you are doing your part to better your community.

How to get involved The opportunities for leadership and involvement in your community are endless. With a vast range of roles and responsibilities as citizens, you do not have to be the next Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. of Atlanta. You can do something lowkey or behind the scenes as well.

WAYS TO GET INvolved Vote Go vote. It is your right as an American citizen. Use it. Voting is your superpower to create change in your community. You have to be 18 years old to vote. However, if you are 17 and a half, you can register to vote. To register, go to https://georgia.gov/register-to-vote.

“Now, another thing is yes, you cannot vote right now if you’re not 18,” Bounds said. “However, there are so many different ways to participate in government, outside of voting.”

Join your local goverment Complete an internship. The Mayor’s office of Atlanta offers summer internships for teens where they get to shadow the mayor and learn about the Atlanta city government. Go work at the polls. If you are 16, you are able to work the polls in the state of Georgia. If you are paying attention, you will find that there often are elections going on at all different times whether it is for an official or a new law in your city. Join or trail a candidate’s campaign committee. Get the chance to understand the process of a campaign and really see the leaders for who they are.

Become an activist There are different levels to activism. You do not have to go speak in front of a large crowd. You can be behind the scenes working the jobs nobody pays attention to. For example, maybe you work a sign up table for an initiative for an organization or help transport supplies. Have conversations surrounding the important topics of your community. 6

Structure of the municipal government of atlanta The Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) lists guidelines on how cities run their government in their 2018 “Handbook for Georgia Mayors and Councilmembers.” Municipal government is another way to say city government. It includes information on the structure of municipal governments and how they generally operate. GMA discusses the purpose of the municipal governments. “A municipality’s elected officials act in

a policymaking role when they pass ordinances, resolutions, and formally adopted motions,” GMA said. Along with their purpose, they list the three types of municipal governments in Georgia, MayorCouncil (Strong Mayor), Form Mayor-Council (Weak Mayor) and Form Council-Manager. The city of Atlanta practices the Mayor-Council system, which is illustrated below along with the other two types of municipal governments in Georgia.

Recognizing Richardson: 8

Art by Isabella Orkin Emmanuel

eneath the blazing sun on the field behind Moss, the Color Guard practices with the Robert W. Woodruff Band Marching Band, translating their music into intricate choreography filled with the synchronized handling of flags. Periodically, the group lays their flags down on the grass for a short water break - sip and go. Without any shade on the field, members wipe off sweat and guzzle water, desperately trying to cool off. After two weeks of marching band camp, and then practice everyday after school under the sun, dissatisfaction stirs within the group. After receiving numerous complaints from the guard, Captain Samantha Grivno ‘22 spoke with the directors about taking longer, more frequent water breaks. “It’s really, really hard to kind of be the delegate for the people on the Guard but also be the delegate for the directors, and so I walk a very fine line to balance the two,” Grivno said. As captain, Grivno makes sure the group knows what to bring to practice and games and helps lead practice when necessary. Since freshman year, Grivno has always been eager to tackle the responsibilities of leadership. “It’s been a natural thing since my rookie year when I joined the Color Guard,” Grivno said. “Everyone would ask ‘Hey, what do we do,’ and I had to lead. I was literally leading without leading and I was brand new to the team.” Both upperclassmen and lowerclassmen follow leaders that they respect and admire for their confidence, energy, knowledge and abilities. And these leaders respect those who came before them. Grivno looks up to Color Guard Captain Kristin Abernathy ‘20 and her positivity. With her passion and energy, Arnae Caldwell ‘20 inspires current Dance Ensemble Captain Vashti Hobson ‘22, and Thespian Club President Alena Jones ‘22 admires Mady McCook ‘20’s confidence. “She knew everything; and even when she didn’t know everything, no one in Thespian Club knew,” Jones said. “She was the type of person that always gave a confident answer even if she had no idea what was going on.”

The Room Where It Happens by Elizabeth Yu 9

Within Richardson’s halls, Jones and her vice needed everyone to take shelter and stay calm.” president Amanda Reese ‘22 strive to create a friendAt games and competitions, Hall and Price-Cotly, engaging community through activities, like Theten conduct the band by dictating the tempo, tempo atre Day. Jones delegates work to Reese and her nine changes, cues and entrances. They act as a visual officers to connect with alumni, organize funds, and representation of the music and lead by example. publicize shows. “As a conductor, it is your In addition to preparing and responsibility to put more planning for meetings, both energy into the show as people “I want to have a seniors want to welcome others get more comfortable with it,” connection with into their community. Price-Cotten said. “So, I prac“If you want to join the tice at home. I practice on it all every single [club theater department, you can join the time” member], which the theater department,” Reese Behind the scenes, leaders ‘22 said. “If you want to join a prepare for meetings so they is sometimes show, you can do a show. We’re the confidence to address impossible, but I do have going to support you, and we’re problems. They practice until going to help you thrive.” my best to make sure they make the job look effortJones’ responsibilities exless. Sometimes during lunch, that I know every tend beyond organizing events Dance Ensemble Captain Hoband encouraging participation in single person’s name son walks to the dance barn to productions. She wants to build practice choreography. and grade.” a community and form relation“Sometimes I’ll remember ships. that we have practice and decide By forming connections, to go to the barn during lunch Jones makes students feel like they are seen, heard to practice choreography and figure out how to teach and valued. Creating a sense of belonging and securiit,” Hobson said. “How can I break it down? How do ty is essential, especially when managing large groups I make it easier for them to understand? I have never in times of crisis, like during a storm. respected teaching and teachers so much until I had to Dressed in neon, students packed the football become one myself. It’s really hard to teach and not stadium for the first game of the season only to be get frustrated.” herded inside due to lightning. After weeks of practice, the MarchAlena Jones leads a Theatre Club meeting, ing Band found themselves sitting addressing homecoming floats. on the polished wooden floors of Champions Gym instead of marching on the field, waiting for the storm to pass. A flurry of confusion engulfed Drum Major Maddy Hall ‘22 and Assistant Drum Major Amari Price-Cotten ‘22. “Whenever there is something unexpected that goes on, you are expected to answer the questions that the students ask you,” Price-Cotten said. “It was very hard for us because Maddy and I didn’t know what was going on with the storm, and communication gets fuzzy when emergencies happen. We just 10

Maddy Hall conducts the band during a home football game. Photo courtesy of Jordan Tovin.

Hobson and her co-captain Annie Davis ‘22 lead warm ups and stretches and teach choreography. Like Jones, Hobson also emphasizes team bonding and community building, like eating lunch together. She takes the time to get to know every member and leads with kindness. “I’m kind most of the time,” Hobson said. “I’m a welcoming, easy person to talk to, but there are times I need to be tough. I have expectations, and it’s hard to be an effective dance captain if you’re a pushover.” Like Hobson, the two Art Club presidents Vaishnavi Chennareddy ‘22 and Isabella Orkin Emmanuel ‘22 try to strike a balance between being friendly and maintaining order as they organize art projects for the community, like painting murals. “Isabella’s the bad cop, and I’m the good cop.” Chennareddy said. While Chennareddy focuses on organizing events, Orkin Emmanuel tackles the challenge of communicating with the student body. The division of responsibilities has proven to be an effective mode of leadership as Hall and Price-Cotten share a similar dynamic out on the marching band field. By striking this balance, these

leaders not only become more aware of their abilities but also have the opportunity to grow as individuals. “I’m sometimes a passive person because I like to do my own thing,” Hall said. But Amari has really helped me bring more of myself out to the band. I’m not as afraid as I used to be of telling them to do the right thing, which I’ve struggled with in the past. I always have led by example, so telling people what to do is new for me; and Amari really helped me with that, since she normally keeps everyone in line.” A common leadership strategy on campus is leading by example. Tucked away in room R162 in Richardson, members of String Machine sit in a semicircle surrounding a single chair in the center of the circle. Kai Moore ‘22 and Shristi Roy ‘24 occupy this seat, known as the first chair. “My job is to get the orchestra moving and to take that first step,” Moore said. With all eyes on her, Moore leads by example and sets the tone in the room; however, being in the first chair also has its challenges. This position, like many others, comes with the pressures of perfection. While Moore leads by example in String Ma11

“There’s always pressure to live up to the expectation of the first chair because you are branded as the best player in a sense because you got the top seat. There’s this expectation to not mess up.” chine, on the third floor of Richardson in room 363, Jordan Levit ‘23, Officer of the Bass Group in chorus last year, tries to pull everyone together. “The hardest part is keeping people engaged when everyone is kind of out of it or tired because it’s been a long day,” Levit said. Although Levit had an official position, he noticed

that people can lead even if they are not titled as a leader. “You don’t need to be an officer or anything,” Levit said. “If you just sing, you’re already doing your part; and that is good enough.” Nestled in a nook on the second floor of Richardson, Mary Chandler James ‘23 in the painting room also abides by this principle. James prepares supplies before class and stays after class to Mary Chandler James help clean up. Within the art works on her self community, she is respected portrait during class, inspired by her doubts because of her knowledge, not and insecurities. her title. “People will ask if I can help them,” James said. “There are some things, like color theory, that people know I’m good at so they will reach out for help. Even though they ask for help, I try to teach them and bring up concepts we learned to help lead them to the answer instead of just giving it to them.” On the other side of Richardson, the photography room is filled with sticky notes and labels, written by Jordan Tovin ‘22 to help students in photography mix chemicals in the dark room. Because of COVID, many students who took photography did not get to experience this part of the course and needed a little extra guidance in the Advanced Photography class. “The photography teacher asked me if I would be okay teaching and helping these kids out since they haven’t really

been in the darkroom before,” Tovin said. “They needed to know how to make the contact sheet, test strips, a print, and the chemicals by themselves and dilution ratios for individual chemicals.” When confronted with a problem, Tovin took the initiative and became part of the solution. Individuals like him find a space on campus to make a difference and to influence others. By creating collaborative communities, leaders who lead by example organize activities and create a fostering environment to produce creative masterpieces. At times, it can be difficult to strike a balance between being a friend and a leader, but these individuals have stepped up and succeeded. The leadership seen in the arts is the leadership that this school will show the rest of the world.

When Amari Price-Cotten is not conducting, she plays with the band on the field. Photo courtesy of Jordan Tovin

“The arts are something special because it’s human creation. It’s a chance to see the inner workings of an individual which I think is one of the most valuable things in life.” 13

Let’s Go Clubbing A Brief Look at Woodward Club Leaders By Tito Oyewo

hen you go to the Woodward website, the welcome page describes the Academy as “a special place with a unique culture where students are prepared for college and for life.” A way that Woodward prepares its students is teaching them how to be leaders, and that starts with clubs.

The Outdoors Club enjoys their lunch after a long day of skiing. Photo Courtesy of Thomas Freer

Parks is the leader of Enviornmental Awarness Club. Photo Courtesy of Nahdia Parks

Clubs and their student leaders are a major part of the Woodward community. In every club there are student leaders that help organize, create, and foster spaces where students can grow and cultivate as individuals. Organizations like Outdoors Club, Spirit Club, and Environmental Awareness Club are all vastly different groups but are all unified by strong students who lead in incredible ways. Some clubs are all about sharing a common interest like K-pop, cars and fashion. One of the larger interest clubs around campus is the Outdoors Club. “We want to foster a love for the outdoors,” said Thomas Freer ‘22, an officer of the Outdoors Club. The Outdoors Club is most popular for their 14

many exciting trips such as their ski and white water rafting trips. Students use these trips as experiences where they connect with their peers who share the same interests. “Fan Favorite is a ski trip. I know, it’s my favorite,” Freer said.

Spirit Club members works hard to prepare for an upcoming pep rally. Photo Courtesy of Roman Holder

In this case, the great outdoors. As a club officer, Freer works with the rest of his student officers to help coordinate these events for their peers. “I think it’s just an eye opening experience to go on these trips with people you don’t know, try to make new friends and experience new situations,” Freer said. In addition to being spaces where students share common interests and find community, clubs are also spaces where students come to learn, like the Environmental Awareness Club. Environmental Awareness Club is an organization that promotes awareness and learning of environmental issues. The members of the Environmental Awareness Club are taking charge and leading their peers into

works hard to ing pep rally. man Holder

“We would not be a school if we didn’t have clubs to grow our community.” helping the Academy become an eco-friendly campus. “We want to figure out ways to make our school fundamentally sustainable,” said Nahdia Parks ‘22, a co-president of the Environmental Awareness Club. The Environmental Awareness Club uses their opportunities and resources from the school, like

Thomas and his friends pose for a group picture while skiing. Photo Courtesy of Thomas Freer

the gardening materials in the greenhouse, to work towards their cause. “We have resources and you have to know when to use them and how to use them to make a change,” said Parks. Being a leader means more than just leading your club, it means leading within the student body. All clubs lead their community in different ways, but the Spirit Club demonstrates its expertise in this field every day. The Spirit Club builds enthusiasm and spirit for athletics, performing arts, and student life. They are overall a light for the school, constantly spreading their positive energy around the Academy. “We strive to bring positivity and joy to our student sections” said Lily Herold ‘22.

The Spirit Club is one of the larger clubs at school and has a unique background. In the beginning, the Spirit Club did not have any leaders, and they barely even had members. Herold, president of Spirit Club, recalls this memory when she talks about how she became president. “It was only 20 kids, so I started making

The Sprit Club leads the student section with vibrant themes, like neon. Photo Courtesy Jordan Tovin

posters and setting meetings and soon after, I became president,” said Herold. The Spirit Club has been growing exponentially larger, going from 20 to 107 kids. The club’s leadership skills have been portrayed in class group chats, on social media, and at school. The positivity being shown by the Spirit Club is a key quality of the “Woodward Way.” Each one of these clubs and their leaders help students form connections and bonds with their peers and their school. These clubs may be different in meaning, but they all have the same positive effect on the Woodward community. “We would not be a school if we didn’t have clubs to grow our community” said Herold.

Saying Goodbye To A Leader Of A Lifetime A Profile Piece on Senior Vice President Marcia Prewitt Spiller

or the past five decades, Marcia Prewitt Spiller has devoted herself to improving student life in the field of education. Now, as she prepares for her retirement, Spiller reminisces on her time as the Senior Vice President of Academic and Student Life. Before her arrival at Woodward, she served as the head of the Children’s School in Midtown Atlanta for 22 years, in addition to her position as the Chair of the Board of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). As the Senior Vice President of Academic and Student Life, Spiller’s responsibilities directly correspond with the oversight of a Woodward student’s everyday activities. From collaborating with the heads of departments throughout all five schools, to evaluating newly hired teachers and improving professional development, her daily workload is abundant, but she still makes time for her favorite part of the job- interacting with the students. “When I have the opportunity, I meet with student government [representatives],” said Spiller. “I go over and read a book with the younger grades. One time, they were interviewing me. They wanted to know about me and my job, which was really fun.” When it comes down to the logistics of her position, Spiller stresses the importance of establishing strong connections with her collaborators. To her, working with Dr. Stuart Gulley has always been the best aspect of her job. “Dr. Gulley is a very wise and compassionate person, which is one reason why I really have enjoyed working with him. He’s an excellent leader,

By Thaomy Pham [who] is not afraid to make hard decisions,” said Spiller. “He always seeks feedback from his senior staff, and we work very closely together.” Gulley recalls his first interactions with Spiller. At a few NAIS meetings, which they both attended as heads of independent schools, Gulley and Spiller got to know each other very well. Through each reunion, Gulley grew impressed with Spiller’s empathic, kind persona, which was held at such high regard by so many educators, not just locally but around the country.

“The way people dress is often a representation of who they are, and [Ms. Spiller] certainly does that in a very creative manner.” -Dr. Gulley His respect and admiration for her was just one of the many reasons why he sought her to fill the position as Vice President. As the two figureheads of the Academy, Gulley and Spiller share a special bond. Gulley remembers a distinct memory from 2014: Snowmageddon. “We sat right here in my office until 2 in the morning after we had released the buses at 1:30 that afternoon. The last bus had made it to the stop at that time, and we sat together not knowing what to do but to be voices of support for people who were calling in asking where their children were,” said Gulley.

With her time 1999-High School as Senior Vice PresiGraduation dent coming to an end, Gulley remarks 1972-Graduation about his right-hand from Fisk Univerwoman. sity “Her grace, her wit, and her 1989-2012 Head Of Children’s words are all things School that will be missed. I often tell her that 2009-2012 she is a work of art NAIS Board Chair because of the way she is stylish and the 2012-2022 Vice President of way she presents Woodward Academy herself,” said Gulley. Spiller has worked tediously throughout her tenure. Part of the many projects that she has overseen includes the revision of the curriculum and modification of the hair code, but her work in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion is among the most imperative in relation to the student body. “We’ve actually looked at the curriculum from Pre-Kindergarten to 12th Grade and aligned the skills [and] content so that it makes the best sense for the age and grade of our students,” Spiller said. Gulley further explained how intricate the revision process was. “Originally, there was not a great overlap between the curricula of the five schools. One of the charges I gave Ms. Spiller was to do a top-down review of all of our disciplines,” said Gulley. “The structure should be seamless throughout the years [for any student] whether they started in the primary school [or] Woodward North.” Within the last three years, the hair code, specifically for Upper School male students, has changed under the direction of Spiller. “Their hair [no longer] has to be above the collar. It just needs to be well-groomed and well-maintained,” said Spiller.

Additionally, “She guides with humor and invites Spiller has been integral collective growth. to the advancement of Her capacity to listen is the diversity, equity, and exceptional, and her eyes light inclusion(DEI) efforts up when something excites her- it is contagious!” especially in the wake -Jennifer Knox of the BlackatWoodward Instagram account from last summer. “She has been a key leader and partner with how we have navigated [all of the Woodward community responses] to provide a space that is more respectful and demonstrates greater appreciation for everyone, whatever their difference might be,” said Gulley. Jennifer Knox, the Spiller meets Congressman chair for EthiJohn Lewis and Baseball cal Leadership Great Hank Aaron at the NAIS Development, People of Color Conference emphasized in 2017. Photos Courtesy Of Marcia Spiller. Spiller’s impactful work in DEI efforts. “[The faculty Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] committee has evolved into a safe space for sharing personal stories. Marcia creates a space for these stories to be shared in a way that allows for members of our community to integrate parts of themselves that are often easier kept separate,” said Knox. Furthermore, she has “She knows how to make a dedeveloped an anticision. She knows when racism task force that to gather more information meets on a monthly and ponder on it. She has cultivated these qualities basis, which houses over the years” individuals who -Bryan Rutledge analyze current matters in addition to offering

insight and thought on how the Academy can improve as a whole to become as respectful as possible. Looking back at her years as a member of the Woodward community, Spiller mentions the annual graduations as her most memorable Academy tradition. “There’s someSpiller shares a graduation thing about every moment with Andrew Smith graduation that’s ‘20. just so special. I mean every single graduation. I tear up,”said Spiller. “One unique thing about Woodward graduations is that the speaker can be anyone. [Anyone] can submit a speech, and they can be chosen as a student speaker.” Spiller loves to go to the football games in addition to all the concerts such as the Winter and Spring Choir performances, but her favorites have to be the annual theater productions, especially the musicals. “Chicago was phenomenal, it is one of my favorites. I went to see it twice,” said Spiller. On some days, Spiller will stand outside and greet the students walking past the administration building on their way to class. She values her interactions with students significantly. Spiller has made a lasting impact on her collegues such as Ronda Zents, the Upper School Assistant Principal, who is grateful to have worked so closely with the “From Senior Vice President over the first time we the years. Zents met, I remember her gushes over Spiller’s calm, confident, personable demeanor, which I found very impressively capitivating. But she also has calm and collected that spunk. That fun-loving manner but recalls her nature of wanting to laugh, sing, and dance.” favorite memory with -Ronda Zents her colleague. “I was chaperoning once for [our] Student Diversity Leadership delegation at [the People of

Color Conference] when the choir started to perform, and anyone could join them,” said Zents. “And there was Ms. Spiller, on the stage singing with the choir. Just enjoying the moment.” Similarly, Bryan Rutledge, the director of College Counseling, admires Spiller’s great attributes and her constant encouragement towards her collegues and the Woodward community. “She inspires and supports me to do my job the way I want, in order for it grow in different directions,” said Rutledge. “She encourages [me] to be involved with students outside of college counseling. To be able to do that, and to be a writer, but also to be engaged in a variety of activities.” As a lifelong leader, Spiller’s personal leadership philosophy stems from being empathetic and kind. She highlights the significance of knowing how to be a good listener as well as advising and counseling others, both of which are among the best qualities she possesses. “If you are working with someone and see them struggling, being willing to say that [you have] been through the same experience and struggled as well is important. Spiller recieves the Distinguished Service Award from It shows that you Serving and Acrediting Indeare willing to help pendent Schools Conference [and] not just in 2019. [sit] by watching [others] struggle,” said Spiller. She believes that being a leader means to be well-respected and behave in a way where one earns that respect through work and dedication.

“ [Spiller] brings authenticity and sincerity to her work that allows for those present to feel more whole, accepted and heard.” -Jennifer Knox

Additionally, she points out that a leader has confidence in their abilities; they are not afraid to make difficult decisions as well as take feedback and utilize it to solve problems as quickly and efficiently as possible. “Woodward needs someone who’s a visionary, who can work with Gulley to really plan for the future of where we are at and what we want to be [as a school] in the next decade,” said Spiller. “Woodward needs someone who is smart, open and willing to work with others. [They should] understand the independent school climate, and most importantly not be afraid of hard work.” Throughout her life, Spiller proclaims that the lessons she has learned from others are the most important in addition to what her experiences have shown her. “Even though there have been several people in my life that I have admired and a couple I haven’t admired, I’ve learned a lot from them in terms of things I didn’t want to do and styles I didn’t want to adopt,” said Spiller. She credits her four years at Fisk University, a historically black college in Nashville, as the greatest growth of her life. Spiller emphasizes being confident in oneself, which is one thing she wishes occurred to her during her high school years. “I spent a lot of time trying to be something that I wasn’t when I was already enough,” said Spiller. “I wish I could have settled into myself a little bit sooner and focused on who I really am and just making myself the best me I could be.” Her advice to the student body remains constant with advice she would have given herself in her adolescent years.

“Do not let anyone else define you or your capabilities. Don’t be afraid to do hard things because you will learn regardless of whether you fail or succeed. Spiller, Chaplain K, and There is always guest speaker and alumnus Rev. Jonathan Chapman get a lesson,” said together for a quick snap. Spiller. As she looks forward to her retirement, Spiller is excited to spend more time with her family as a well-deserved extended vacation. She has previously traveled to France and London and wishes to cross Spain and Portugal off of her bucket list. The members of our admiistration, faculty, and staff will miss Spiller immensely. With her years at the Academy coming to a close, she hopes that her legacy as Senior Vice President has made a lasting impact on the faculty and student body. “My dad used to tell me that when you take a job, you should always work on leaving it better than [how] you found it,” said Spiller. “And I believe I did just that.”

Spiller and her family pose for a portrait.

RELEVANCE VS.

RESPECT What the Woodward Way Means to Our Community By Kai Moore

hat is the Woodward Way? Excellence, character and respect are the words that might come to mind when characterizing a Woodward student, but it doesn’t stop there. Our motto, “respecting ourselves, each other, and our world,” takes on a new meaning within every student and faculty member in the Woodward community. Though the saying has remained in the Woodward community for years, the question of its relevance both on and off of campus persists. As different cultures and social standards evolve in the world, they also evolve onto our campus and in student life. One value that the Upper School administration upholds consistently is the theme of respect, despite our many differences. Dr. Jonathan Merrill, the principal of the Upper School, strongly believes in maintaining a united community by respecting the people in his surroundings.

“[The Woodward Way] is definitely one of the things that I think about every day in my interactions with students and faculty,” Merrill said. “I always try to be very mindful about treating others the way that I would want to be treated and treating others with respect.” While respect is one of the key pillars that uphold the relationships between faculty and students, Merrill also understands the importance of the Woodward Way outside the confines of campus. As members of the Woodward community, actions of the students —and faculty— reflect not only themselves, but the school they attend as well. “We all have a vested interest in making this community the best it can be,” Merrill said. “And that means not only how we act, but how we portray ourselves to those outside of Woodward.” Each year, the Upper School administration picks a theme for the upcoming year. Two years ago, the theme was “All In.” For the 2021-22 school year, the 21

theme is “Stronger Together,” a reminder of unity within our school despite the polarization of our society. The goal with these themes, according to Dr. Merrill, is to reinforce the concept of the Woodward Way and what it means to be a part of a community. Luke Underwood, the Dean of Students, views the Woodward Way from a disciplinary perspective. Having dealt with matters regarding student life for several years, he acknowledges the importance of compassion within the student body. “I would rather teach consideration and kindness than just punish one infraction,” Underwood said. “Really, I just wish for us as a community to look outside of what our personal needs or wants are.” The Woodward Way, in the view of the administration, means more than just respect– it also represents the actions of the Upper School student body. Whether it’s at a football game, a service project, or even an occasion off of campus, everyone has an opportunity to exemplify Woodward’s motto. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mask-wearing and remote schooling limited the feeling of unity on campus. Now, with slightly reduced COVID protocols, all students are back on campus and able to appreciate their community. Dean Underwood’s duty to the Woodward Way is as simple as a kind smile in the mornings while he checks the Magnus App. “I think we’re trending in the right direction,”

Reduced COVID restrictions allow Dean Underwood to see faces while he checks students’ Magnus Apps every morning. morning. 22

Underwood said. “I’ve seen a new appreciation for opportunities, a new appreciation for being together. There’s a new kindness when you do see faces in the mornings.” According to Underwood, more opportunities to be together as a community have enhanced the sensation of being “Stronger Together.” “[The Woodward Way] should be the human way,” Underwood said. From a student perspective, however, the Woodward Way tends not to be regarded as highly. At times, there is a struggle with what respect means to the newer generation. Riya Sachdeva ‘22 understands this struggle. “Some people are often really cynical of mission statements because it’s coming from a place of authority,” Sachdeva said. “[Students] are averse to listening to adults with strict rules.” While the Woodward Way seems strict, it is still important to student’s social lives. Sachdeva believes that respect and compassion are key factors in reconciling social and cultural differences, making the Woodward Way more beneficial than ever. “People associate mottos with rigidness and rules, but respect is honestly just being nice to other people from different backgrounds,” Sachdeva said. “The Woodward Way is really just something we should always be doing.” Nevertheless, the relevance of the Woodward Way varies from student to student. Jaelynn Baker ‘22 believes that the motto is overrated. “I don’t think [the Woodward Way] is relevant because it’s just words,” Baker said. “It’s not a system being enforced.” Though the statement is not a fixed rule, administrators expect the principle to be observed regardless. When it is not, there are consequences. Students ignored the values of the Woodward Way at a football

“[The Woodward Way] should be the human way.” - Dean Underwood

Upper School students use social media to connect with their peers. game against rival team, Marist, when Upper School students yelled inappropriate chants and threw objects from the student section. Michael Tye ‘22 recognizes the implications that the behavior from the football game has for the school’s public image. “It was very classless,” Tye said. “It didn’t represent our school and the values that we supposedly strive for.” Additionally, after a rise in disciplinary infractions regarding inappropriate social media activity, the notion of a motto encouraging respect has begun to seem less realistic to students. The events surrounding students’ social media activity led Baker to question the validity of the Woodward Way. “How are we supposed to believe in [a motto] that doesn’t exist?” Baker said. Despite the challenges social media brings, Sachdeva is optimistic about the influence that online platforms can have in student’s lives. “Instead of treating Instagram like it’s evil, we can be using it as a platform to reach out to other people,”

“How are we supposed to believe in [a motto] that doesn’t exist?” - Jaelynn Baker

Sachdeva said. “That could be our role in the Woodward Way.” Tye wonders about the practicality of the motto, however. Because of its vagueness, he believes it establishes a high expectation for students to follow. “I think the Woodward Way is just a branding created by the school to associate good principles and good character with the name of Woodward,” Tye said. “It’s something that nobody truly achieves all the time.” Despite the differing perspectives of respect in the Upper School, all students contribute to the Woodward community in some way. As our student body progresses and our community continues to grow, Merrill has hope for the future. “This is a community with a lot of rich history and tradition, but it’s also a community that is only as strong as we make it.” 23

Leadership OOKS OF

A peek into student and faculty opinions on leadership

By Neha Koganti Leadership can manifest itself in various forms in many people, and it can clearly shine in particular situations. Many definitions of leadership exist, since it encompasses an array of values and ideas. Leaders in our community, country, and around the world have had a huge impact and have helped to shape our world. New, youthful leaders in our own community continue to do the same to this day. Here is what faculty members and students at Woodward have to say about the leadership in both our community at Woodward and the world at large:

What is your definition of student leadership? “Leadership can take many forms. Students can lead by demonstrating a good example for their peers. They can lead by helping others when they lack direction. They can lead by rallying others to do better or to support a cause. Leadership is not just one simple thing; it is complex, but very important.”’ - Ken Kirschner “I believe that a student leader is someone who other students can look up to. In my opinion, student leaders are those with high work ethic, those who are friendly/outgoing/welcoming (non-judgemental), and those who are willing to help others for the benefit of the other person (not just the benefit of themselves).” - Jameson Connors ‘22

What is your definition of student leadership? “They help students and try to show them the best way to go about things. They help other staff or faculty members in many ways and listen to their ideas and people look up to them.” - Ava Teichert ‘25

“Students taking ownership, in a mature and responsible way, in the areas of extracurriculars, student government, character and the enforcement of honor.” - Jeff Floyd

Do you think leadership is important? “I think leadership is inevitable - someone (and in reality everyone) will have influence on others. So, I think GOOD leadership is important because we want to make sure that the most influential people in a community are leading and guiding others in a productive way.” - Sara Elliot

“I think leading ourselves is the most important thing we can do and maybe the toughest thing as well. If you are going to lead others, you have to first lead yourself.” - Carri Carver

Who are leaders you look up to? “Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. She leads for the people that she represents and not just for herself. She communicates and listens to what the people want and is open and transparent.” - Davis Hollis ‘23

“God and Jesus - they are my ultimate leaders and a guide for how to live my life. My pastor - he is my spirtual leader. My parents - they laid a blueprint for my life.” - Monique Williams

What qualities do you think make a good leader? “I think that prowess and the ability to have everyone follow you, because of your knowledge and wisdom makes a good leader.” - Chance Carter ‘23

“The ability to listen, divorce yourself from emotions when it is important to do so, and to be able to realize the full effect of your decisions on those affected. Transparency and honesty as much as possible.” - Jeff Floyd

Are there any specific teachers/students in the school that you view as leaders? “Our 9th grade class president, [Kenni-Grace Fowler], is an amazing leader because she is a hardworking and determined person who follows what she wants and helps others do the same. She is also very smart and organized.” - Eva Cason ‘25

“I look up to the teachers in my department. Since we work closely on a day to day basis, I see so much passion and dedication in their work, which inspires me to be the best teacher I can be.” - Lori Beth Wiseman

Do you see yourself as a leader in the future? “I think I could become a leader in the future if I find a cause I am passionate enough about to try to influence others perceptions about it.” - Chloe Norman ‘23

“I do indeed see myself becoming a leader in the future, because I am a flexible and respectful person, that still has much to learn about life, and I have already been recommended by teachers to become the club leaders of certain clubs.” - Chance Carter ‘23

The definition of success, as told by alumni deemed most likely to acheive it. By Maya Packer

28 Highlighter art: Vecteezy.com

very year, the senior class votes for their peers for various superlatives. These include Most Attractive, Best Personality, Most Spirited and Most Likely to Succeed. While Woodward Academy’s goal as a college preparatory school is to prepare all of its graduates to enter the world primed for success, some students are deemed more likely to achieve that goal than others. But the proposition of being Most Likely to Succeed begs the question: What is success? It’s something all seniors must consider when voting for their peers and something the winners of the superlative must grapple with after being awarded this title. The Oxford English Dictionary defines success as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” Merriam-Webster defines it as “the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame.” Which one of these definitions is closer to the truth? What should we define success as? What does the achievement of success look like? In an attempt to answer these questions, this article takes a look at six alumni who were awarded the Most Likely to Succeed superlative. Aidan Gould ‘15 says he forgot he had won the superlative until he received an interview request for this article. His path to being awarded the superlative was unconventional to say the least. “It was a bit of a grassroots movement, if you will. There was a teacher who put up the students that she had taught that had won superlatives of any kind [on her classroom wall]. Me and a friend of mine in that class did not have a great relationship with this teacher. [Another friend] thought it would be funny if she had to put my name on the wall with a little star

Gould poses with Alli Gordon, who won the superlative alongside him, for the yearbook.

on it,” said Gould. The idea spread amongst the senior class of 2015, becoming so popular that Gould won the superlative. At the assembly where awards were announced, Gould and his class were so excited to have pulled off the plan that they jumped out of their seats. They’re reading off superlatives and at that point I think I’d even forgotten that [my friends] had a bunch of people vote for me,” said Gould. “It was pretty fun.” In high school, Gould focused most of his time as captain of the varsity soccer team and hanging out with his friends.

“Trying to have a positive impact on the people around you...I think that’s more fulfilling than almost anything you can do.” “I think all of us were pretty much idiots,” said Gould. “I was pretty off the rails in high school, so I’m pretty proud of not being a lunatic anymore.” While Gould believes his superlative wasn’t necessarily merit-based, one of his classmates was quoted in the yearbook saying otherwise. “Aidan deserved to be selected as Most Likely To Succeed,” said Jared Ladden ‘15. “After having several classes with him, I have learned that his work ethic and intelligence will take him very far in life.” Academically, his teachers were the part of his classes he remembers. Specifically, the late Charles Bryant, his economics teacher. “[Mr. Bryant] was just such an incredible teacher, and I majored in economics in college. Honestly, I don’t think I would have had I not enjoyed his class so much.” Back then, Gould associated success with making money. Now, as a 24 year-old working at a mergers and acquisitions firm in Tampa, Florida, 29

Gould believes success is in the eye of the beholder. In his eyes, success is about impacting those around him. “Trying to have a positive impact on the people around you to whatever degree possible, I think that’s more fulfilling than almost anything you can do.” Deepi Koganti ‘05 shares Gould’s passion for impacting others. She works as a trauma surgeon at Grady Hospital and extends her desire to help past the hallways of the hospital. “Atlanta has, unfortunately, a lot of violence and penetrating trauma. That’s what we see a lot at Grady. So I’m interested in injury prevention as well. Ideally, I wouldn’t get any trauma patients,” said Koganti. Currently, Koganti is working to raise awareness for Stop the Bleed, a campaign to educate communities about life-saving tourniquets. Her passion for reaching out to others and promoting positive change in communities is not new for Koganti. At Woodward, she was the president of the Interact Club, currently known as WA Serves, the service club on campus. Koganti also found it important to be a leader on campus, influencing her class with her own actions. “I really made it a priority of mine to make sure that I reached out to everyone if I could. [I] wanted to be friendly with everyone. I didn’t want them to be divided as a class,” said Koganti. During her senior year, Koganti was awarded Most Likely To Succeed, nominated for Homecoming

“I truly love [what] I’m doing. 30

Koganti with her friends as a high school senior.

“It’s about ‘Are you happy and fulfilled in what you’re doing?’” Court and honored as an Outstanding Senior in the yearbook. As a student in classes like AP chemistry, AP English and AP biology, Koganti’s definition of success revolved around academics and service to others. “I thought [success] was, you know, getting good grades and doing everything that I could do and being the best person I could be in terms of treating other people.” She doesn’t regret the effort she put into school because it led her to where she is now— a surgeon with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in art history from the University of Miami, where she also attended medical school. Her rigorous career path and the passing of her sister, Vasudha Koganti ‘00, led her to her current definition of success. “Everyone has something that makes them question life and what makes them happy. I realized how important my family is to me and how short life can be and [that I have] to really take advantage of every opportunity. And it’s not about money or anything like that. It’s about ‘Are you happy and fulfilled in what you’re doing?’” Happiness and fulfillment are how Koganti measures her success. “Success to me means being happy and doing something that I love. When I said I wanted to be a trauma surgeon, a lot of people said ‘Don’t do that. That’s way too much work. Pick something that makes more money, and you don’t have to work as much,’” said Koganti. “But I realized that I truly feel like I’m successful because I’m happy in what I do. I’m not sad when I have to wake up [early] every morning or do 24-hour calls because I truly love [what] I’m doing. I can’t imagine doing this and not

Fiorentini sits among vats of wine in her winery.

A young Fiorentini poses with her fellow National Honor Society officers. loving it.” ily to vineyards during her childhood. Fiorentini, an While Koganti walks the long hallways of advocate for going into college without knowing what Grady Hospital each day doing what she loves, Jordan you want to do, realized her senior year of college that Kritzer Fiorentini ‘95 oversees wine vineyards under she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after graduathe sun of Paso Robles, tion. She finished her engiCalifornia. neering degree and then ap“I got really lucky plied to return to Dartmouth in what I chose to do. to take pre-med courses, I always wanted to do but she had a semester off. something different. I think Fiorentini got an internship wine was exciting because at a winery in Napa and has it was [different] and then been working with wine it was this combination ever since. of art and science,” said “I was [going to] Fiorentini. go back to Dartmouth. But Fiorentini has been then, the harvest [season] in the wine industry for 20 progressed and there was years, but she majored in a mixture of science [inengineering at Dartmouth volved]. Obviously, I had College. In high school, done lots of chemistry and Fiorentini thought she biology [in college and high might be an OB-GYN or a school],” said Fiorentini. y a d y pediatrician. Which is why “So, there was the science, that ever b o j a ’s It “ she was surprised when there was being outside in d I just n a , t n e r e she won Most Likely to this beautiful environment, f is dif ” . t a h t Succeed. which was stunning to me. ul for am so gratef “I just felt like if And then the artistic side you’re successful, you’re of it I really loved, and so I a business person, and I didn’t really think I was a decided to not go [back] to Dartmouth.” business person,” said Fiorentini. With a minor in Italian language, Fiorentini Fiorentini’s love for the wine industry started moved to Italy before settling in California to work with her dad, who collected wine and took her famat a famous Tuscan winery, Antinori. In Italy, she met 31

her husband, who also works in the wine industry, with whom she has two daughters. While her high school self may believe success is synonymous with a corner office, Fiorentini embraces her current career as success. “It’s different now because, for me, [success is] having found a job that I’m passionate about and love and making a difference in the industry that I work in [by] being a mentor for other people, mostly women in winemaking,” said Fiorentini. “It’s a job that every day is different, and I just am so grateful for that.” Her peers in the industry recognize her dedication to her craft and acknowledged her with the prestigious award of Winemaker of the Year. “It wasn’t for like, making the best wine or [the wine that] got the highest score from a famous wine critic. It was for promoting this [winery] and bringing a lot of recognition to Pasa Robles through making great wines, through my outreach, through my friendships, through all those things. So, that felt really good,” said Fiorentini. The idea of success is sometimes associated with habits and routines. People want to know what they should be doing everyday to achieve their goals. While it may not be the reason he feels successful, Kevin Abernathy ‘95 does have a daily routine. “I’m typically up about 5:30 in the morning, and I exercise for maybe an hour. Then, I typically read the papers. I read the Wall Street Journal and the Atlanta Journal Constitution just about every day. If I

Abernathy’s college SGA campaign

“I think the moment that someone feels like ‘I’m successful’ that’s, frankly, the moment that you begin to decay.” miss some, I catch up on the weekend,” said Abernathy. “I eat oatmeal for breakfast almost every day.” Abernathy is a University of Georgia alum, where he majored in political science. “I always had an interest in American government, politics, public policy, the Constitution, the formation of governments [and] how governments come to be the people that participate in them,” said Abernathy. “These are the systems that organize our behavior and pass laws and regulations that, whether we realize it or not, impact us every day of our lives.” He took AP Government and Political Economics in high school with Bill Lineberry. Abernathy has dyslexia and entered Woodward’s transition program in 6th grade, so taking an AP course was significant to him. “Having been in the transition program and then having an opportunity [to] take an AP course was something that I was really proud of, and I wanted to do well. I worked really hard.” Abernathy’s interest in government led him to become the chief of the Civil Division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. After passing the bar exam, he was happy because of the challenge his dyslexia posed. His learning difference made him focus primarily on his academics in school. Abernathy’s biggest focus was preparing himself for the academics of college. However, during the spring of his junior year, he decided to run for student body president. Abernathy lost the election. “I think that I had not really done a good job of understanding what was important to the student body. It knocked me down a couple notches– or a lot

of notches. I got beat by a superior candidate,” said Abernathy. “I think it’s the old cliche: you probably learn more from your failures than your successes. It allowed me a little bit of self-examination of why I was coming up short. And in my mind I [thought I] might get a second chance of this at the college level.” Abernathy did get another shot in college and was elected the student body president at the University of Georgia. He believes he reached more of his potential in college, which is why he was shocked when he won Most Likely To Succeed. “[What] I remember the most is [that] I was surprised. I did not anticipate being selected for that superlative, and [I] was really honored and humbled and surprised and quite confident that I was not a worthy candidate,” Abernathy said. Abernathy has a two-pronged definition of success. Professionally, success is about creating a positive work environment for his employees. “I want to create a work environment that brings out the best in people. I want them to be excited about coming to work. My number one goal is to ensure that good relationships are intact. People enjoy, for the most part, being around others even in the COVID world,” said Abernathy. “If that’s the case and it’s a collaborative environment, the work will take care of itself. That’s success for me.” In his personal life, Abernathy likes to focus on his five F’s. “You’ve probably heard these before but faith, family, friends, fitness, finances. It’s a little cliche, but I try to remember my five F’s. And I’d like to think I’m passionate about all five.” Despite his accomplishments, Abernathy does not consider himself successful. “I think we’re all a work in progress. I think the moment that someone feels like ‘I’m successful’ that’s, frankly, the moment that you begin to decay. I still think I’ve got a long way to go before I would consider myself a success.” Unlike Fiorentini, Felicia Henderson ‘90 moved to Europe and hasn’t looked back. Henderson has lived in Paris, France for the past 20 years. The move originally was for the law firm at which she worked. She moved from their New York office to their Paris office, hoping to one day be promoted to partner. “I thought I’d make partner at my firm. [At the time, I didn’t realize] some of the politics that go into

that, not realizing the difficulty of being in a satellite office as opposed to being back in the main office [in New York] and not realizing I’m a [foreigner] in a Paris office,” said Henderson. After realizing she wasn’t going to be promoted, Henderson made a career shift, teaching corporate law and government at a university in Paris, Sciences Po, the alma mater of many French presidents and government officials. When she’s not teaching, Henderson consults with leaders and organizations to improve their leadership and ethics. “What I’m most passionate about is eradicating the world of toxic workplaces. Wherever that toxicity comes from, whether it’s bad bosses, masculinity, racism [or] other forms of exclusion,” said Henderson. Similar to what Abernathy strives for in his work, Henderson wants to create better work environments. The work she does in the scope of creating equity and more inclusive spaces has become the focus of her career. “I’m getting an increasingly larger platform. I’m having a more global impact, and it’s on issues that are important to me. So, [things like] diversity, equity and inclusion; decolonizing the business mindset; pointing out certain unequal structures in Europe,” said Henderson. “I have a lot of opportunities to use my voice, and the success comes for me in not shrinking from those. I feel like my mission has found me.

“I knew that I wanted to do something big, and I wanted to set some big goals. I’m doing that now.”

Henderson and Cobb were in the French Honor Society together.

The 1990 French National Honor Society I’m not running from it anymore.” Despite her current focused career path, as a teenager, Henderson had no idea what she wanted to do in the future. “[My brother and I] grew up on Old National Highway. We would have gone to a high school that did not send people to college. My father was very keen on making sure that both of us got to college. In high school, I just knew I wanted to go to college,” said Henderson. “When I got to Duke [University], I wanted to continue my love of the French language. And I definitely wanted to spend some time studying abroad.” Winning Most Likely To Succeed did not surprise her, but it did confirm the confidence that she had within herself. “I honestly would have been disappointed if I hadn’t received some superlative. It was flattering and affirming, but expected.” Now, looking back at her goals for herself from high school, Henderson feels like she has succeeded. “I do consider myself successful. I didn’t really have my life plotted out when I was in high school. I knew that I wanted to do something big, and I wanted to set some big goals. I’m doing that now,” said Henderson. However, she isn’t planning to stop any time soon. When thinking about her biggest achievement, she replied: “I feel like it’s yet to come.” Dillon Cobb ‘90 won the Most Likely To Succeed superlative alongside Henderson. The two still stay connected through social media. In high school, 34

they both loved French and Cobb took French classes and was involved in French Club and the French National Honor Society. “We definitely were in Honors French together. It was probably the whole four years. But we had intersecting groups of friends, and so we would certainly see each other,” said Henderson. Cobb, father of Patrick Cobb ‘20 and Morgan Cobb ‘22, also spent time living in France. “We had a few family trips when I was younger, and then [I] spent a month there when I was at Woodward during the summer through an exchange program, which was phenomenal,” said Cobb. “Then, I spent a half year at school over there during college at a university about an hour and a half south of Paris.” For him, winning the superlative wasn’t monumental, but he can see why his peers voted for him. “I was always entrepreneurial, growing up I always had businesses I was involved with during the summer. That was just my kind of reputation all through school, as being kind of entrepreneurial,” Cobb said. He majored in international business and minored in French, at the University of Georgia. In high school, he imagined himself working at a Fortune 500 company with the ability to travel the word and spend time in France. Cobb did have a chance to explore this career path with an internship at Nestlé. “I did a six month internship [in Paris] with a division of Nestlé. It was their ice cream division, which was a cool gig,” said Cobb. “ I think that’s when I kind of realized that corporate life maybe wasn’t that

appealing to me.” Susie Bunker While Cobb expressed that he Morgan Cobb ‘90 hates using titles within his company, he Cobb ‘2 Cobb ‘20 k c ri t a P 2 is the president of his family business, a sign manufacturing company. Cobb used to work at the company every summer and didn’t see himself joining it full-time as an adult. He came to work at the company for a limited period of time after graduating college as his uncle ran the business. “As soon as he made the announcement that he was going to be leaving the company, I started to get excited about the opportunity for me to be in this business and help grow it to another level, which is more or less what we’ve done over the last 27 years I’ve been here now,” Cobb said. Like Abernathy, Cobb has a daily routine that he enjoys. “[I’m] very routine-oriented. If I sleep past seven, I feel bad about myself. I have the same thing for breakfast pretty Cobb with his family. much every day. I pack my own lunch every day, usually eat the same thing for defines success for me personally, more than anything lunch every day,” said Cobb. “I love waking up early else,” said Cobb. before things really get happening and reading the However, he admits that money isn’t all topaper and drinking coffee.” gether irrelevant in his achievement of that success. On the topic of success, Cobb believes that, “If I had no money at all, it’d be a lot different when he was in high school, most of his peers had the and [would] be pretty challenging. Having worked same definition of success as he did: money. hard [and] having a pretty good career is part of it, but “If someone’s focused on athletics or focused the kids trump everything when it comes to that,” said on science or something like that, you might have a Cobb. different definition, but I think most kids just thought, The way these alumni view success varies whoever was going to make the most money, that was on their own life experiences, yet their perspectives considered the most successful person. I think I was are similar in many ways. Whether that is because right there in that train of thought,” said Cobb. “[That] the seniors winning Most Likely To Succeed all have couldn’t be further from the truth in reality as you get an X-factor in common or because of Woodward’s older.” impact, they agree on many points. But the points of After having two kids and growing past his dissent, the details that they differ on– that is what teenage mindset, Cobb sees success differently. makes up their own personal interpretation of success. “I mean it’s more about happiness and being Their stories and sentiments are not the definhealthy and having a sense of purpose I think is just ing conclusion on success, but are the starting point huge. Money really is a very small part of success. I for others to consider their own definition of success. wouldn’t have said that 30 years ago at all.” To achieve success, it first has to be defined. Cobb’s personal definition revolves fully “If a person views anything as their idea of around his family. success and they pursue that success, if they meet the “Having kids that are happy and feeling like goal they’ve set for themselves, they’re successful,” we’ve put them on a good path and given them a good sense of values and perspective in life, I think that said Gould. 35

Ask A Leader:

hether it is a student or a member of the administration, we all play a role in leadership in one way or another. When asked what it means to be a leader in athletics, athletic director Dr. Jose Fernandez said that “a true leader is a servant leader, that means they inspire their peers and teammates to be better in all they do.” The question reminded him of a quote that he feels sums it up: “What is the difference between good and great? A good student-athlete makes themself better, a great student-athlete makes the student-athletes around them better.” These seven student athletes live out that definition of the field, court, and track.

What has your sport taught you the most?

“Everything in life happens for a reason. You’re not always going to love every aspect of your sport and not everything is going to be perfect. You might look at other people and feel as though everything in their life has been handed to them on a silver platter, but, at the end of the day, if you’re grinding and working hard then you’re actually on the path to success in life.” - Cobb

VOLLEYBALL

By Hannah Marte

Morgan Cobb 36

Fall Sports Seniors “I provide a safe space for the girls so that they can talk to somebody about anything cheer-related or life-related. I just provide a good community for the team to know that we are all in this together and that we are all just here to have fun.” - Drucker

CHEERLEADING

VOLLEYBALL

What do you do for your team?

Sarai Davis What qualities do you think you possess to be a good leader on your team?

“I began playing volleyball about 8 years ago when I fell in love with it while watching the Olympics. Throughout all this time, I feel like I have developed the skill of leading by example. I am super friendly, hardworking, and I feel like what I do and put out onto the court impacts the team positively.” - Davis

Evie Drucker 37

CROSS COUNTRY

What qualities do you think you possess to be a good leader on your team? “I think that my humor and personality makes me approachable for all members of the team. I try to be someone that others look up to by setting a good example.” - Caldwell

CLAY TARGET

Thomas Freer What do you do for your team? “At practice, I am in charge of

warming up the team before workouts and organizing stretching afterwards. On race days I do the same thing: the varsity boys must warm up before the race, and we must cool down after the race. It is also on me to help motivate my teammates when they are not feeling up to the challenge of a workout or a meet.” - Freer 38

Colin Caldwell

FOOTBALL

What has your sport taught you the most? “It has taught me that, no matter how bad of a day you have had or if you have so much going on in your life, softball can be the one consistent thing in your life always. It has shown me that it is okay to have bad days, but when you are on the field you can take out your frustrations to make things better.” - Hall

SOFTBALL

Timi Oyewo What has your sport taught you the most?

“It has taught me that whenever you say you are going to do something you take it seriously and give [it] your all. Also, to not half do something, to give everything you can to something and give 100%.” - Oyewo

Grace Hall 39

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BUSINESS BLUEPRINT Young entrepreneurs share their paths to building their own businesses By Sithini Chea

any people assume entrepreneurships can only be started by college students who have a business degree, and they need to have a great amount of experience and to be the age of an adult in order to achieve success. On the contrary, several students at Woodward have created their own prosperous businesses despite a lack of experience or knowledge. They demonstrate that anyone can be successful as long as they commit their hard work into it and learn from their mistakes to see what works. Student entrepreneurs set examples for others to follow as they are exhibiting that age and experience and talent does not matter without hard work as it is the most significant factor.

Blueprint art: Archjoe

From left: Funderburk’s Croc charms, Dais’ crystals, and Dais’ bracelet. Peyton Funderburk ‘23, has her own online accessories business. Her accessories include bracelets, handmade jewelry, and Croc shoe charms. Funderburk had already planned to create the business in college, but she decided to start it sooner rather than later because she wanted to learn how to run a successful business ahead of time. “My mom was talking to me and she was like ‘Peyton, you should start a business’ because that’s what I want to do in college, so I decided to just start now and try it out,” Funderburk said. “Once I did, I found out I really liked running a business, so I just kept doing it.” Developing good management skills requires countless hours of taking the time to set a schedule and plan. Funderburk learned her organizational skills with time and effort. “The most important thing about owning a business is being organized,” Funderburk said. “If you’re unorganized, your business is [going to] fall out very fast, and I had to learn that very quickly.” Managing school and entrepreneurship can be difficult as they both are important and take a great deal of hard work. Funderburk finds a balance between them. “I wake up early in the morning, and I package orders on the way to school. I drop them off at the post office,” Funderburk said. “Then, after school, I do my homework, package orders the night before and then package orders the next morning and send all those out.” While she usually works for herself, sometimes juggling school and business can get too overwhelming.

“My parents [will] help me out sometimes if I have a test, [and] they’ll do all of the packaging,” Funderburk said. As a business owner, Funderburk receives a numerous number of customers who love buying her accessories. Her customers, which include her friends, show her love and support. “My business has really brought a lot of my friends closer together,” Funderburk said. “Once I started they all were very supportive of me, and they shared it with everybody. I have a lot of people that talk to me about it, and I help other people with business advice. Students don’t have to be extremely talented to run a business because they can learn how to build up their skill by putting effort and time into it. Funderburk encourages other students to start online businesses on platforms such as Etsy. “Running a business is something that anybody could do,” Funderburk said. “There’s a whole bunch of platforms out there that could help easily start it and get it running. I sell on Etsy. It’s just very helpful for me because it does all the advertising and all of the math for you.” She believes it’s easier to start a business sooner rather than later so students can make mistakes now and understand the key factors on running a successful business. “If you’re really interested in business, and that’s what you want to pursue in the future, start a business, so that you can learn how to work your business and not have any doubts or worries about it,” Funderburk said. Will Hightower ‘25 runs a reselling business. The 41

reselling business model is based on buying limited edition items before they’re out of stock, and then reselling them on online websites and gaining higher profits than the item’s original price. He resells it on aftermarkets such as Ebay and StockX. Hightower was driven to launch his business by his father, who is an entrepreneur himself. Hightower felt that, because of his age, he couldn’t form a business until he found a passion that lit a spark inside of him: the reselling market. “I [was] motivated [to start my business because] I wanted to learn more about business and entrepreneurship in a fun way while making some money,” Hightower said. “I also wanted to have the ability to buy things for myself when I go out with friends.” Honing new skills is crucial in succeeding a business. Hightower aspires to do his best to hone new skills in entrepreneurship. “I think the most Photo courtesy of important part about Will Hightower ‘25. business in general is that you’ve learned something new,” Hightower said. “I strive to learn something new about business almost every day and I have learned many things. I’ve learned [how] to pay taxes, I’ve learned about managing money, I have learned about LLC’s.” Sanaa Denise Dais ‘25 decided to create an online business based around spirituality. She felt inspired by other young entrepreneurs on the internet and ended up starting her own business. She sells items such as crystals and accessories. Each color of the crystals represents different meanings. For example, pink symbolizes self-love. “Around April of this year, I was watching a lot of videos about people starting businesses at a young age, and I’ve always had that drive and that dream of starting a business,” Dais said. Dais already knew she wanted to start a business

one day, but her passion for spirituality gave her an even greater idea. “Around that time, I was also [starting] to become more spiritual within myself, and I decided to combine two things I love: being [an] entrepreneur and spirituality,” Dais said. She enjoys talking to different people and helping them find items that speak to them the most. “[My favorite part about my business is] getting to meet new people,” Dais said. “Whenever somebody places an order, I make the extra effort to at least try to get to know them a little bit more about them and accommodate them [to] what they may want.” Not all businesses offer accessories that fit everyone. While some retailers tend to lean towards feminine accessories, others lean towards masculine accessories. Dais’ business aims towards breaking that gender barrier. “The most important thing about my business is that there’s something for everybody,” Dais said. “I have feminine accessories, I have masculine accessories. It’s not really a feminine thing. It’s not really more of a masculine thing. It’s kind of both and very gender neutral.” She wants to lead the way for young black women and women in general so they can feel inspired and motivated to follow in her footsteps and create their own businesses. “[My business] has impacted my community [the] most because it really shows young black women that we can do it, and it’s not hard,” Dais said. “People may doubt us because of our race, or just women in general because of our gender.” Dais encourages them to follow their dreams and not let race, gender, or anything else get in the way of that. “You can do whatever you put your mind to, and don’t [ever] let anybody else tell you what you can and cannot do because of your history or where you come from,” Dais said.

“I wanted to learn more about business and entrepreneurship in a fun way while making some money”

L Shades of

E A D

By Francesca Henderson

Catching up with the student pioneers of Black leadership at Woodward.

f you were to ask someone what makes Woodward so special, they would probably mention traits like the diverse student body, the inclusive learning environment, the ability to create the next great leaders, and so much more. As a community united under the motto “excellence, character, and opportunity,” Woodward strives to produce the very best global citizens from all walks of life. But, Woodward wasn’t always like this–– at least in practice. The year 2021 marks exactly 50 years since the very first black students stepped onto school grounds at Woodward Academy; and in that time period, we as a community have undergone tremendous change. There have been significant inroads and policy changes that have allowed us to truly embody our school’s vision of equity and diversity. But, within all of that, the most impactful tools that we had were the people. The student pioneers who weren’t afraid to take risks and challenge the unknown became the first black students to achieve a certain award or title. They willingly stepped up to the plate to battle biases their peers and

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“My homecoming experience put me at the table [and] I’m glad that I [was] at the table because when you’re at the table you have a voice.” - Valaurie Lee teachers might have had against them. “I [felt I] had a responsibility to share our point of view because sometimes it was overlooked,” said the first black Homecoming Queen, Valaurie Lee ‘90. From the very beginning of her Woodward journey in the eighth grade, Lee was determined to take advantage of every opportunity the school could offer her. As an only child born to a local College Park family who could barely afford to cover the tuition fees, the sacrifices that Lee’s parents made drove her to be the very best that she could be. She became a cheerleader, played the flute, and was editor of The Blade. So, when homecoming season rolled around, her peers nominated her to be one of the candidates for homecoming queen. But, even as successful as Lee had become, she still had her doubts. She vividly remembers the night of the Homecoming football game and the anticipation following the announcement of the runner-up. She knew that her name hadn’t been called over the loudspeaker, but then again why would it be? She was one of the only black females at Woodward and there had never been a black homecoming queen. Why would I even have a chance at this military school she thought? But, then she won and Lee was absolutely shell shocked. “There were pictures with my mouth [gaping open] because I could just not believe that I had really won,” Lee said. But, Lee didn’t fully understand the significance of her achievement and felt it was often over exaggerated. “When people call me the first black Homecoming Queen, I’d think ‘Why couldn’t I be the first black Valedictorian or class president’,” Lee said. That was until one day, her mom gave her some advice that put it all into perspective. She explained to her that Lee had opened the doors for a future with a 44

Mosely poses for his senior yearbook. more diverse homecoming court, and that’s exactly what happened. A few years later one of her classmates became the second black Homecoming Queen in Woodward history. Lee’s win set a precedent of giving black students a seat that had traditionally been reserved for their white classmates. “My homecoming experience put me at the table [and] I’m glad that I [was] at the table because when you’re at the table you have a voice,” Lee said. As a black female currently working in the IT industry, she knows that she must grab every opportunity to share her perspective or contribute to the conversation. This is a philosophy that she follows everyday. She describes waking up at 4 a.m. everyday and sometimes going to bed well past midnight. But, it really does pay off; Lee now owns three businesses on Main Street in College Park. As a current Woodward parent, former member of the Alumni Board and College Park business owner, her voice is still heard throughout the Woodward and College Park community to this day. She expresses excitement at the changes that she’s seen occur and her gratitude for spaces where black students can come together.

“You know, there’s these groups like Black Student shared that his dream school was MIT, which he had Union and the Black Alumni Association. We didn’t the opportunity to attend, a goal almost unheard of at have that when I was here, and I think that’s so cool the time for black students. to see. Or, when I walk on campus and I see how “I think that my goal was to break stereotypes diverse it’s become,” surrounding black students, particularLee said. ly black males. I wanted to prove that Other trailblazers Woodward’s black students could be who helped pave the more than just a good musician or a way for black students, strong athlete,” Mosley said. like Terrance Mosley So, when he became SGA president ‘94, the first black SGA his goal was always to transcend those President, also share this lines. sentiment. But, another aspect of Mosley’s story Mosley was a student is that he also had an extremely diverse who always knew he social life. was meant to be a leader. “It’s so important to reach out and He credits this mindset talk to people and establish connections. to his upbringing. I might’ve been friends with one of the “My parents always best basketball players, but also the raised me to think that quiet, nerdy kid,” Mosley said. I could do the same Despite all of his accomplishments, things as, if not more however, people still had difficulty than, [my] white peers,” overcoming their biases against him Mosley said. even amidst their praise. During his So, he took that and senior year, The AJC did a piece on ran with it. As captain of Mosley titled “Part Homeboy, Part the basketball team and Nerd” intending to highlight his duality a top student in his class as a basketball player and high-achiev–often being the only ing student. But, the biased undertones black kid in his higher were not lost upon Mosley. level courses– Mos“If that story was run today it would Lee poses for her photo after ley was ambitious. He definitely raise some flags,” Mosley said. winning homecoming queen.

“My goal was to break stereotypes surrounding black students, particularly black males. I wanted to prove that Woodward’s black students could be more than just a good musician or a strong athlete.” - Terrance Mosley 45