ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019
COMMENCEMENT 2019
Message from the Head of School
E AC H M AY, as Wayland Academy seniors cross the stage to accept their diplomas, I am reminded of the tremendous impact that generations of Wayland alumni have had not only on the world around us, but on future generations of alumni. In her speech, Class of 2019 Valedictorian Hannah Davis spoke eloquently of these interconnections, likening them to woven threads. As the Head of School, I enjoy a unique perspective observing these connections evolve and mature to the benefit of the Academy.
We’ve moved the donor lists online to allow space to illustrate the impact our donors have on the Wayland community. As you read these stories, I hope you sense the appreciation the Academy’s leadership, faculty, and staff have for all of you and can imagine the important role you play in both Wayland’s history and Wayland’s future. S I NC E R E LY,
Wayland wouldn’t be the outstanding educational institution it is without the generous giving of our donors. To see a complete list of donors, please visit wayland.org/annualreport.
C R E D I TS : Commencement Photography Noah Katsma — katsmaphotography.com
Design and Illustration Ariel Esser — arielesser.com
wayland.org
KEEP IT CORDIAL Commencement speaker Terrence Wilson `02 gives three essential pieces of advice for the newest Wayland alumni. We share excerpts of his wisdom here .
I want to share three pieces of advice I think you will find useful as you begin your post-Wayland journey. Don’t think of this interaction as a speech but more as a friendly one-sided conversation from one Wayland alum to a group of soon-to-be alums. The three pieces of advice are live life to the fullest, trust your process, and keep it cordial. First point, when I say live life to the “fullest” I mean you should try your best every day to keep your life “full” of people who you love and care about and who feel the same way about you. Choosing your network wisely will allow you to live life to the fullest. Annual Report
Second piece of advice: trust your process. When things begin to go wrong or not work out exactly as you expected, you may start to doubt your process but always remember in life the journey is just as important as the destination. If you stay true to your process and grounded in your values and morals, things will work out just the way they are supposed to. Last piece of advice: remember to keep it cordial. The Webster’s dictionary defines “cordial” as warm and friendly. However, in Wayland lingo “cordial” is an adjective used to describe an event you must attend. It is imperative that you continue to operate outside of your comfort zone as much as possible while you are in college. The learning that occurs outside of the classroom will be just as crucial to your growth as a person as the learning that occurs in the classroom. Being intelligent
“
The learning that occurs outside of the classroom will be just as crucial to your grow th as a person as the learning that occurs in the classroom.”
in the academic sense of the word is very important, but there’s nothing more powerful than a woman or a man who can bring and keep people together. I always try to remind myself to seek out unique learning opportunities. During the April board meeting, board members had an opportunity to attend Senior Capstone presentations. I thought about taking a quick power nap, but I figured it would be good to see what our seniors were up to. I learned some valuable information that has undoubtedly made me a more interesting and relatable person. For example, I learned you can make music using algorithms instead of actual instruments. And if I ever decide to make prom dresses for a living, I learned that silk is a difficult fabric to use for your first dress and I should allow myself about 100 hours to complete my first dress. The story brings it all together. Keeping it cordial is a part of my process and that led to the Swan library where I filled 60 minutes with some amazing people, members of Wayland’s Class of 2019.
READ THE FULL SPEECH ONLINE WAYLAND.ORG.CORDIAL 3
FUTURE PLANS
Adam Barmash Rubinchik Purdue University
Ajani Joseph Beloit College
Gabriela Madu Monmouth College
Savannah Schreiner University of Wisconsin, Madison
Kanat Colak University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Gracien Jules University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Stephanie Njeru University of Illinois at Chicago
Sydney Seufzer Loyola University Chicago
Hannah Davis Carleton College
Kerem Kocer University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Daniel Oludemi Moraine Valley Community College
Zhixing Sun Kenyon College
Carlos Gallegos University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Baylen Garcia-Meyers University of St. Thomas
Lu Li Grinnell College Yicheng Lu Grinnell College
Gabrielle Perry Loyola University Chicago Peter Petrakis Marquette University Shane Reid Ripon College
Chang-Yu Chen California Baptist University Lillian Fedler Montana State University, Bozeman Simar Garcha University of Southern California Sy LaRoda Pima Community College Linshu Li University of Washington RuiYang Wu University of Washington
INTERNATIONAL Mohammed Al-Tallaa University of Toronto Johannah deGuzman Simon Fraser University Feiyi Li University of Toronto
4
Mohammadnima Nafisi Bahabadi Loughborough University Tue Minh Nguyen RMIT University Vietnam
Abraham Luedtke Benedictine College Edward Marsh University of Houston
Jiapei Sun University of Miami Yilin Wang Savannah College of Art and Design
Andrew Sutton University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh Mark Todd Lawrence University Haoyan Wang University of Wisconsin, Madison Jiri Zeman Illinois Institute of Technology
Ladin Akcacioglu Mount Holyoke College Chang-Jui Chen Pennsylvania State University Yeji Chung The George Washington University Jacqueline Gorman Syracuse University Joshua Greco Rochester Institute of Technology Ruiyang Huang Fordham University Xinru Jiang Emerson College Christopher Neil Rochester Institute of Technology Zhixing Sun Kenyon College Chenyu Wang Pennsylvania State University Yuerui Zhu Bard College
wayland.org
Powerfully Preparing Students for the Next Steps in Their Education
Wayland’s college counseling program provides students with exceptional individualized support. Everything that happens at Wayland is part of an outstanding preparation for college: from writing skills and rigorous curriculum to leadership experiences and the Capstone Project. “Our students go on to a broad range of schools, including some of the most selective in the country. Our goal is that every student and family will be prepared to make the choice that’s truly best for them.” Liberty Bell H`14, Director of College Counseling
SEE MORE COMMENCEMENT PHOTOS WAYLANDACADEMY.SMUGMUG.COM Annual Report
5
AWARDS + MILESTONES EMPLOYEE SERVICE AWARDS
COMMENCEMENT AWARDS
5 Years Phil Tallman
The Weimer K. Hicks Achievement Award Ajani Joseph
15 Years Amy Throndsen H`14 Liberty Bell H`14 40 Years Bill Luebke H`89
Alumni Association Memorial Service Awards Gabriela Madu and Haoyan “Ken” Wang Board of Trustees Awards Gabriela Madu and Gracien Jules
Wiseheart Cup Gracien Jules The Wayland Academy Writing Award Hannah Davis Laura A. MacDonald Award Ladin Akcacioglu
Glen + Ella Dye Award Lillian Fedler
C L A S S MATE S GATHE RE D TO C E LE B RATE (back row, left to right) Mark Todd, Kanat Colak, Ajani Joseph, Gabriela Madu, Stephanie Njeru, Gracien Jules, Kerem Kocer, Daniel Oludemi; (front row, left to right) Mohammadnima Nafisi Bahabadi, Annullah Lalander, Mohammed Al Tallaa.
The James P. Freeman President’s Award Gabriela Madu Head of School’s Awards Tue Minh Nguyen, Simar Garcha, and Adam Rubinchik
See You at a Gathering?
Edwin Putman Brown Award Gracien Jules
Valedictorian Hannah Davis Salutatorian Chang-Yu “Eugene” Chen
j o i n your Wayland friends at a gathering in your area soon. Invitations are forthcoming, but the following locations are in our plans for the 2019-2020 school year. twin cities new york city chicago
florida madison seattle / portland
Kit Mayer Sports Cup Lillian Fedler 6
wayland.org
Discover Your Wayland Connection This Fall Waylandtines Results the cl a s s o f 19 56 rallied their mates and won the annual class challenge with 25 gifts. Other strong showings: 2008 and 2010 with 9 gifts each, and 1959 and 2013 with 6 gifts each. In all, we had 51 classes plus parents and friends represented through their giving to the Annual Fund.
Annual Report
S
ave the date and make plans to join us on campus for a weekend of events celebrating everything that makes the Wayland experience special. Homecoming provides alumni, parents, family, and friends the opportunity to reconnect on campus, enjoy meals in Pickard Dining Hall, and cheer at Wayland athletic events. Alumni with class years ending in “4” or “9” will celebrate milestones, with special recognition for the Class of 1969 (50th reunion), the Class of 1994 (25th reunion), and the Class of 2009 (10th reunion). Alumni interested in helping contact classmates and plan reunion
Homecoming 2019 October 11-13
festivities should contact Registrar Director of Alumni Relations Kendall Vingua `02 at kvingua@wayland.org. Parents and guardians may contact Registrar Linda Lutes H`15 at llutes@wayland.org to help with events during the weekend.
view the homecoming schedule and register online: w
alumni Wayland.org/Homecoming families Wayland.org/HomecomingFamily
7
IMPACT STORIES
LOOKING FOR HONOR ROLL OF DONORS? Full listing can be found online wayland.org/ annualrepor t
Innovation Through Education For the past several years, Wayland’s incoming freshman class participates in a unique humanities class that pairs World Literature and Composition in the English Department and World Civilizations in the History Department. This team-taught class is the result of faculty graduate school projects funded through the professional development budget. Combining these two subjects offers students the opportunity to integrate the literature they’re reading with historical context and offers them a uniquely unified focus on writing across both subjects. While teachers have observed academic gains because 8
students are forced to toggle between the expectations of two disciplines and synthesize them into meaningful understanding, the shared experience creates social gains. Students benefit from the combined curriculum and interactions they have with classmates. Students across campus observe firsthand examples of life-long learning as they see faculty and staff on campus pursuing advanced degrees.
wayland.org
Mindfulness Matters
Science Department Chair and Wayland alumna Beth Ratajczak `96 began practicing yoga a few years ago during athletic training and discovered a sense of appreciation for mindfulness she experienced. She imagined how developing a deliberate practice of mindfulness would positively impact students in many aspects of their lives on campus and beyond.
Through the Great Teachers Great Teaching fund, Ratajczak completed educator training by Breathe for Change. The organization was founded in 2015 and by the end of 2017 six-hundred educators were certified in cities across the United States. Each Monday as part of the all school assembly, students are invited to become comfortable, soften their gaze, and focus on their breathing as Ratajczak guides students and staff through a meditation. During one session participants may simply focus on breathing, while in later sessions they may be invited to consider people they love and how to create welcoming, supportive places within their lives that day. Aside from the Monday Mindfulness sessions, Ratajczak conducts weekly meditations in her science classrooms and helps the Wayland athletic teams through yoga and visualization practices.
3
Blue Zone ÂŽ cer tifications for school, restaurant (cafeteria), & workplace.
The experience has inspired her to pursue a Master of Education degree with emphasis in mindfulness. Annual Report
9
100
unique handcraf ted bowls were sold by the Art Club at the annual Empty Bowls event, raising money for the local food shelf.
A Creative Outlet
Emotions captured in words and images tumble across the pages of Wayland’s literary magazine, Kaleidoscope. For more than 20 years the publication, distributed free across campus, has provided a venue for students to demonstrate their talent for creative writing. Students not only find an audience larger than the classroom for their creative writing efforts but also learn important editing and publication planning skills thanks to the family of Catherine Hatcher `83. They provide funds to support the publication of Kaleidoscope. Catherine, a student at Wayland from 1980 to 1983, was instrumental in establishing Wayland’s first literary magazine, Fireweed in 1983.
10
wayland.org
Swan Library A HUB OF LEARNING & RESEARCH At the heart of the Academic Center, Swan Library connects students, faculty, and staff to the information they need for academics as well as for leisure. The extensive collection of digital and print resources, including a variety of research databases, literature, and periodicals, are especially helpful as students pursue their Capstone projects. As research and information needs continue to evolve over time, Swan Library has effectively undergone a technological and
physical transformation through estate gifts from Mary Swan `25 and the support of other generous donors. Automation resulted in the update of reference, fiction, and non-fiction collections while new collections, such as graphic novel, audio, and eBooks have been added. Collections are continuously curated to ensure they meet the needs of the community. Recent popular titles include, “Becoming” by Michelle Obama (nonfiction) and “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng (fiction). Connections to outside library resources, such as University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Schools Digital Library Consortium, nearby public libraries, and the statewide interlibrary loan system, provides the school community access to additional resources. Computers, film equipment, and iPads are among the library collection’s most-used items.
5,578
Square feet in the main librar y, which has 66 seats. Annual Report
With comfortable chairs for reading, individual study carrels, and group tables for projects that require collaboration, Swan Library also serves as a gathering place for students during down-time in the academic day. The adjacent 500-square foot Eli Seighman H`71 Learning Lab includes a 70-inch interactive electronic white board, public computers, and movable tables, which makes it the perfect space for group projects.
The President’s Cup The President’s Cup is awarded to the class year with the highest percentage of donors to The Academy Fund. The following classes were in the top ten this fiscal year. `39
100.00%
`43
28.57%
`08
18.75%
`42
100.00%
`10
26.00%
`63
16.67%
`56
37.04%
`73
21.21%
`46
33.33%
`52
20.69%
11
PHILANTHROPIC ACTIVITIES Each year students participate in a variety of philanthropic activities sharing time, talent, and treasure to support local and international causes. On Saturday mornings, students may be found helping with distribution at the Dodge County Food Pantry. Prior to the holiday, students join with other community agencies and businesses to install lights at Swan Park as part of a holiday display. In October the volleyball team and their supporters don pink tee shirts as part of “Dig for a Cure” which raises money for programs that support breast cancer patients. No Shave November, also known as “Mo-vember” for the moustaches that appear on campus, fundraises to support men’s health. A select group of students, faculty, and staff elected to lose their locks to show support for children battling childhood cancer and raise money for St. Baldrick’s.
12
Service Learning Projects Make a Lasting Impact
Benefiting from donations of tools and materials by former Trustee Scott Lowell P`09 and Steve Luedtke P`19 and P`20, as well as funding through the Smith Service Fund, students have been building a tiny house on campus. Gaining popularity after the economic downturn of 2008, tiny houses are typically less than 400 square feet and are considered affordable, ecologically friendly housing. The diminutive size encourages a less cluttered lifestyle, while putting an emphasis on design to optimize vertical space and using dual purpose features. Students from two different classes gained practical experience in design, construction, and problem-solving in this collaborative effort led by Holly Gefvert `78 and Craig Hill H`06. Scheduled for completion during in the 2019-2020 school year, the home is slated for donation to a social services agency that addresses the needs of the homeless. wayland.org
Developing Skills Through STEAM Wayland established the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) curriculum to guide students to developing highly sought 21st century skills. Across campus daily you’ll observe students collaborating and problemsolving. They demonstrate a sense of true curiosity – experimenting, learning by trial and error, being flexible and resilient to address the challenge at hand. At Wayland we value these skills, and we know the world does too. Donors’ generous support allows for enhancements across campus to create inspiring and engaging learning environments while enabling faculty to personalize the student learning experience. Classroom visits by donors and industry experts, like Software Engineer Dale Luck `76, allow students to gain a firsthand perspective of how their skills can be employed for future success. Wayland’s robotic team, part of the STEAM curriculum, prepared a submersible remotely operated vehicle to compete in the regional Sea Perch competition in Chicago. The devices are built and programmed by student teams to complete a series of individual and competitive challenges.
3rd
place finish for the Wayland Robotics Team in regional competition. Annual Report
13
Students Expand their Horizons Wayland’s diverse offerings in fine arts, athletics, and activities aren’t just fun, but allow students to explore interests, develop talents, and build a record of achievements. In recent years a state champion track star acted and sang in his first musical, while an accomplished actress and artist discovered how much she loved being part of the swim team. This opportunity to stretch out beyond a comfort zone and push personal boundaries to perform on the athletics fields and courts, in an academic 14
competition, or on the stage as a musician or thespian is an integral part of the Wayland experience. Alumni Robert Bachman `15 spent time at Wayland both on the stage and behind the scenes building sets. Tape measure and hammer in hand, he continues to contribute to Wayland’s creative environment by generously providing guidance and construction know-how to students working on scenery for their theatrical shows.
100+ hours
the time 15 students devoted to theatre, gaining membership to the Thespian Society. wayland.org
Investing in the Future of a Beautiful Campus The canopy of green stretching over Wayland’s campus provides cool shade and creates a welcoming environment for all who visit. Our policy is to plant two trees for each one we we lose due to damage or age-related decline. The Class of 2019 purchased five trees as their senior gift to Wayland. In consultation with Edgar Ezerietus `08 and his employer, Buckley “The Tree Care Specialists,” trees were selected and planted on campus during Earth Day commemorations. Students in decades to come will be able to study and play—and alumni fondly reminisce about their days on campus—in the shade of trees being planted across the campus presently.
1963
the year the graduating class provided one of the many notable senior class gif ts on campus — the Victor y Bell. Annual Report
15
Wayland Academy
Greetings
Through your generous financial support of Wayland Academy, you help us keep our promise to generations of students: Discovering knowledge and building character. Together.
101 North University Avenue Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Toll free: 800.860.7725 Phone: 920.356.2120 wayland.org
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID LGI
