Wayland Academy
GR EE TINGS FALL 2020
Our Pandemic Heroes
WAYLAND ALUMNI WORKING IN VARIOUS FIELDS SHARE THEIR PANDEMIC EXPERIENCES. pg 17
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CLASSROOM
Teachers Pivot NEWS & NOTES
Virtual Gatherings HOMECOMING
Alumni Awards
Wayland Academy
G R EE T I NGS
Wayland Academy Greetings, November 2020 The Oldest Alumni Publication in America wayland.org/greetings
Greetings is published for the alumni, parents, students, friends, and staff of Wayland Academy. We welcome letters concerning the content of this magazine and/or issues relating to the Academy. Letters must be signed and we ask that you include your address and daytime number for verification purposes. The editorial staff retains the right to edit at their discretion. Send correspondence to:
IN THIS ISSUE
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Wayland's TikTok King
Greetings Editor, Wayland Academy 101 North University Avenue Beaver Dam, WI 53916 Or email the Editor at: esorvik@wayland.org
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The Pandemic Past Jason Warnick Head of School jwarnick@wayland.org
contributors Emily Schroeder Orvik Editor, Director of Communications esorvik@wayland.org Linda Fischer H`92 Copy Editor Faculty Emerita Judy L. Hill H`08 Director of Advancement jhill@wayland.org Justin Behm Photographer, Fine Arts Co-Chair jbehm@wayland.org
Kelly A. Neuert H`17 Director of Donor Relations kneuert@wayland.org Tyler Ratajczak Director of Major and Planned Giving tratajczak@wayland.org Amanda Zopp Director of Annual Fund and Alumni Engagement azopp@wayland.org
Ariel Esser arielesser@gmail.com
contributors who are noted with bylines in this edition. Their contributions are invaluable in creating this magazine.
on the cover Head of School Jason Warnick and the Wayland community gathered on Brown Field to celebrate Spirit Week Assembly. (Justin Behm photo)
Greetings
Recognizing the Class of 2020
design & illustration
special thanks to our many field reporters and special
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Alumni News & Notes
GREETINGS GREETING
W
HILE THIS IS NOT at all how I envisioned my first few months at Wayland Academy, I am pleased to tell you that the Academy is rising to the unprecedented challenges of our time. Wayland Academy is a special place and the Wayland Academy Community is an authentic, compassionate, driven collection of individuals from around the country and throughout the world. Together, we are facing challenges head-on. We benefit from a solid foundation with an exceptional school culture and a connected community. That didn’t happen by accident. You all built that. Alumni, former faculty, trustees and friends… for the last 165 years, your scholarship, your faith, your health, and your service individually and collectively created this very special community. You are Wayland Academy and together we are all Wayland Academy.
online students. These days your lab partner might be in Vietnam, you might be reciting poetry with a
Jason Warnick head of school
student in Chicago, or you might have attended the Spirit Week pep rally via livestream through Microsoft Teams. Courses are no less rigorous, no less creative, and no less engaging. The students here today are just as stressed about finals as you were. Life on campus is different, but no less fulfilling. Camaraderie, competition, joy, and a ton of laughter … That special, transcendent nature that is the hallmark of the Wayland community. The students inspire us all as they navigate challenges that very few of us can imagine as teenagers. I’m both inspired and humbled to be a witness to the power and spirit of these Wayland students. I’ve begun to document my observations in a blog on the Wayland website called “View from the Head of School: From the Corner of University and
So, what does Wayland Academy look like today? Well, after months of exhaustive planning from as far back as March, we opened school in-person and online in mid-August. Countless hours of planning and consultations with experts resulted in the Big Red Return, a reopening plan that the Dodge County Department of Health and Human Services regarded as the “gold standard” in Dodge County. Faculty, staff, boarding students, and day students undergo mandatory temperature checks and health screenings. Classrooms upgraded with HD cameras and additional technology allow about 40 online students from around the country and throughout the world to attend class in real-time with their teachers and classmates. Our teachers have risen to the challenge of teaching both in-person and
Park.” Find it at wayland.org/ about/view-from-the-head-of-school While
masks,
quarantine,
and
other precautionary measures this year may seem unusual, an article written
by
Andrew
McDonnell
H`20 reviews life at Wayland just more than 100 years ago during the influenza epidemic. Read how our alumni are playing key roles helping to combat the virus in a variety of industries and professions. The pandemic has meant rethinking how we connect with alumni. While we all value the in-person occasions, we’ve heard that virtual events have allowed individuals who might not be able to travel to join in. I hope you will continue to engage with Wayland. I hope you will support Wayland. NORIEL JERNIGAN '21 (FOREGROUND) AND HIS CLASSMATES CONDUCT DISSECTIONS IN AN ANATOMY CLASS.
I hope Wayland can continue to support you. And I CAN’T WAIT to meet you all on campus soon. Fall 2020
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Meet to participate in those efforts which enabled him to accelerate his orientation to campus - a campus for which he already demonstrates a deep sense of connection. His love for the life, roles, and opportunities available at an independent boarding school are readily apparent. Jason noted, “I wasn’t engaged academically in high school. I struggled with my academic confidence.” Enrolling in an independent boarding school as a 16-year old high school junior, Jason discovered that the environment created by that small, strong community would bring out the best in him. “I never imagined I could be so curious,” he exclaimed, crediting his experiences with passionate teachers, good friends, and wonderful teammates as helping to set him on the path for who he is today.
You can imagine
the broad smile behind Jason Warnick’s mask as he purposefully strides across the Wayland campus from his office in Roundy Hall. He greets masked students by name with an exuberant “Hello” on his way to Assembly at Brown Field. He’s an unusual mix of advocate, disciplinarian, coach, and leader who has joined the Academy at a particularly interesting time in history. For a number of years, independent boarding schools like Wayland have faced pressure to increase enrollment. That coupled with the impact of the pandemic have created turbulent waters for school leadership across the country to navigate. From his arrival on campus to begin the fiscal year in July, Jason has frequently expressed his deep appreciation for the work done by the Administrative Team under the leadership of retired Head of School Joseph Lennertz H`86. Jason was able 3
Greetings
Jason also credited his parents for being “committed to do the best, even when it was difficult.” He explained that his parents, both very highly accomplished individuals, instilled in him the values to be adventurous, take risks, and to consider more circuitous paths. His father, a law school graduate, is also a Tony award-winning Broadway producer. His mother, a Pulitzer prize winning reporter and editor for the Boston Globe, has also worked in charter and independent schools. His parents’ example, Jason explained, also highlighted the importance “to treat everyone equally and with kindness.” This trait clearly shines through Jason, whether he is joking with students about their candy selections after the Halloween candy hunt event, encouraging employees via email updates, celebrating virtual homecoming with alumni, or addressing questions at a virtual chamber of commerce meeting. His care, concern, and passion for those around him is evident. A government ethics course and an English class in 11th grade ignited his passion for education and for boarding schools. Jason noted with an easy laugh, “I never left.” As he explained he
Mr. Warnick worked summer jobs at the school while earning his undergraduate degree at Wheaton College, loved it, and realized that being involved in boarding education was where he wanted to be. His boarding school career includes work as a teacher, coach, dorm parent,
energetic boys. Rowen, Max, Emmet, and Mitchell have quickly become fixtures on the Wayland campus admiring the older kids shooting baskets on the nearby outdoor court, running with their football across Brown Field, and even figuring out how to sneak a soda out of a campus
vending machine resulting in a special detention from the head of school. Prior to his arrival at Wayland, Jason was the Director of Admission and Advancement at Ross School in New York. Pandemic travel precautions meant that the fabulous family adventure of a road trip to relocate to Wisconsin became a more mundane trip with the traditional
Enrolling in an independent boarding school as a 16-year old high school junior, Jason discovered that the environment created by that small, strong community would bring out the best in him.
chorus of “Are we there yet?” While some of the adventure of moving to Wayland is on hold until the pandemic passes, Jason energetically and humbly guides students and families, employees, and alumni to face challenges and celebrate successes of the Wayland community.
and dean. A self-admitted fascination with mass communication led to the pursuit of an M.A. in Communications with an emphasis in New Media and Marketing from the University of Southern New Hampshire. “No matter my career path,” he explained, “the knowledge from this degree will be useful.” He now authors a blog on the Wayland website entitled “From the Corner of University and Park.” One could say boarding school played another important role in his life as well. Jason, then a theatre teacher, met Colleen who taught Spanish and coached cross country. Colleen’s career tracked similarly to Jason’s through roles as an administrator at The University of Connecticut and Ross School, she is presently busy with her independent, educational consulting practice. The couple married and are proud parents to four fun-loving, Fall 2020
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CAMPUS NEWS
FACULTY DEMONSTRATE A PASSION FOR LIFE-LONG LEARNING In the tradition of life-long learning, Chair of Science Beth Ratajczak `96 and Co-Chair of Fine Arts Justin Behm both completed Master’s in Education degrees this summer from Antioch University of New England. The focus of their studies was on mindfulness in education – an area for which both Beth and Justin are passionate advocates.
WAYLAND PARENTS COUNCIL HOSTS VIDEO TOWN HALLS
WAYLAND WELCOMES NEW FACULTY AND STAFF Michelle Miller `13 (above) joined the Wayland faculty this fall as a part-time Spanish teacher. Following her graduation from Wayland, Michelle attended Marquette University graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and media studies. She served as a program assistant in Marquette’s Center of Intercultural Engagement before accepting an assignment as a Peace Corps community health volunteer in Mozambique. She taught in the Waupun School District as a substitute Spanish teacher before returning to campus this fall. Katie Rinshed returns to Wayland Academy, where she was a teacher from 2010-2012. She is teaching Spanish. Katie holds a master’s degree from New York University and a bachelor’s from Clemson University. Aside from teaching, Katie is coordinating student travel and transportation. Katie and Michelle collaborated with students this fall to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month with a special cultural celebration during Assembly. Beaver Dam native Laura Killingsworth (at left) has assumed the role of Library Director and will manage Senior Capstone projects. Laura earned her Master of Arts in Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and has experience in both public as well as university libraries. Her bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Psychology is also from UW–Madison. She also spent a semester at Charles University in Prague, where she took courses focused on central Europe. Wayland alumna Bryanna Sanders `13 joins the Admissions Department as the Assistant Dean of Admissions. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English and professional writing at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, where she also worked as a marketing assistant. She returned to Wisconsin in 2017 working in marketing and communications. Her experience includes social media marketing, institutional blogging, as well as newsletter creation. Her role will be critical as Wayland continues to expand its visibility to prospective students and their families virtually. Karyn Kroschel, R.N. was named Director of Health Services. Karen is well-known on campus for her work as a school nurse. In this new role, she plays an important role advising the school leadership team and coordinating with the Dodge County Department of Health. She holds a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Marian University. 5
Greetings
The Wayland Parents Council has hosted monthly video town halls to foster community connections and a consistent flow of information this fall. Topics have included college counseling, student life, academics, transportation and updates about life on campus. All Wayland parents and guardians are encouraged to attend and may learn more about the meetings by logging in to myWayland. Parents Council Members include: Lori and David Byrne (co-chairs), Angela (secretary) and Peter (vice-chair) Fogarty, Rosanne and Todd Benson, Jaime Blossom, Tiffany Cummings `87, Meredith and Andrew Harmon, Amy and Karl Pippenger, Dr. Oghomwen Sule. John B. McKinstry H`10 serves as trustee representative ex-officio, and Wayland’s Director of Major and Planned Giving Tyler J. Ratajczak is the administration representative ex-officio.
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ACADEMY EMPLOYEES HONORED FOR THEIR SERVICE At the conclusion of the fiscal year, Joseph Lennertz H`86 (2), Michael Schneider H`86 (4), Bill Luebke H`89 (2) and Dr. Keely Lake H`12 (3, posthumously) were appointed as Wayland Faculty Emeriti.
Board of Trustees Appoints New Member At their October meeting, Wayland’s Board of Trustees named Bethann Vaubel of Green Lake, Wisconsin, as the newest trustee. She and her husband Tom are the parents of three Wayland alumni, Abigail `16, Eric `14, and Michael `12. A teacher by training, Bethann earned a bachelor’s degree at University of Wisconsin – La Crosse and a Master of Science at University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. She is a familiar face on the Wayland campus having served on the Head of School Search Committee last year, and the Wayland Parents Council, and as a dedicated Academy volunteer. Bethann is also the creative force behind the upcycled Wayland gear featured the past few years at the online auction.
Elise Krause `04, Linda Tyranski H`20, James Cleary H`20, and Andrew McDonnell H`20 all celebrated 10 years of service to the Academy. Linda, James, and Andrew earned their honorary alumni status. Chef Richard Krejcarek H`20 (1) was also presented a special honorary alumni diploma. Registrar Linda Lutes H`15 was recognized for her 15-year service anniversary.
WAYLAND ENGLISH FACULTY WINS WRITING AWARDS Andrew McDonnell H`20 was one of seven authors to win an honorable mention in the 2020 Wisconsin People and Ideas magazine fiction writing contest. His was one of 81 entries from across the state in the annual contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. Fall 2020
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WAY L A N D’ S T I K TO K K I NG Mr. Behm Finds Online Audience
Andrew McDonnell H`20 English teacher In the earliest days of social media, the self-deprecating way of saying you were popular online while not wildly influential in your day-today life was to state, “I’m huge on the Internet.” Online fame was the sort of insubstantial notoriety that rarely meant anything in the real world. The line between that day-to-day and the virtual has grown increasingly fuzzy, though. Students at Wayland are more likely to rattle off the names of YouTubers, gamers, and social media stars than they are to know more than five film actors. Thus it is nearly surreal to discover a rising social media star on Wayland’s faculty. Justin Behm, Wayland’s artist-in-residence and co-chair of the fine arts department, opened a TikTok account in mid-June. Students had been encouraging him to join the short-form video social network since December, but as he recalled, his response was the reflexive one of most adults encouraged to join a new online sensation. “No,” he recalls saying, “TikTok is garbage.” But then around February, he started enjoying art and music videos he found there, and in June, looking for a creative outlet during pandemic-induced isolation, the art teacher opened an account and began posting videos as he sculpted and threw pottery in the Wayland art studio.
Four months later, his videos have over ten million views and his channel has 134,000 subscribers. It is gratifying to see someone as talented as Behm discover a new audience for his artwork. His pottery is unbelievably intricate, often combining elements of coral growth into disparate objects and human 7
Greetings
figures. In his words, his art explores “the power of imperfections and spontaneity as well as man and his ability to transcend his own limitations.” On his TikTok, he continues this artistic exploration, but he is also clearly having fun. In addition to showcasing the creative process and skill required to compose his trademark coralloid pieces, he takes audience requests to sculpt everything from “the smallest mug possible” to “the largest mug possible” to clay figures of popular cartoon characters. He also composes video responses to a variety of questions. One viewer asked Behm, who was born without a right hand, to sculpt his “missing” hand. Obligingly, he did so, only to realize that he had accidentally made himself a second left hand. The video concludes with Behm laughing riotously at his own mistake. It garnered 750,000 views. The popularity of that video and some of his other lighthearted
videos is satisfying but also a source of frustration to Behm who notes, “It’s always a video that’s trash, that I think is trash, that blows up. Like the first one I did, I put clay spaghetti on my arm. That was a throwaway video that I did in a minute, super dumb, and it blew up. That was my first viral video.” It made its way onto other platforms, including an Instagram account with 16 million followers and into Reddit as well. Behm compares this to a video he made in which he sculpted a full woman’s face in minute detail surrounded by over a hundred small pieces of clay coral. The spaghetti-hair jokey video has been viewed 1.2 million times. The painstaking artwork: 8,600.
The interactions he’s had with an audience of a wide variety of ages has opened doors and given him a daily motivation to create.
Despite the disparity in those numbers, he is committed to finding an artistic balance and finding a way to engage viewers with the art he’s most proud of. The interactions he’s had with an audience of a wide variety of ages has opened doors and given him a daily motivation to create. “I'm doing sculpture and I'm highlighting my work in a way that I wasn't before,” he said. Prior to discovering TikTok as an outlet, he was struggling to find time and energy to pursue the avenues that many traditionally associate with artistic success. Behm says his thoughts were, “I have to have a show or I have to have a residency or I have to have something in order to do this work and I need pressure in order to be motivated. But the idea of doing that… on top of teaching… to me, it was just not gonna happen.” TikTok, however, provided an instant audience without the pressure of pursuing a gallery show or residencies. “I can just record a video and post it immediately,” he said. As a result, Behm has been able to connect not just with a wide audience but also with a community of artists online that he might never have met otherwise. He is part of an Instagram group chat with other potters, and he was recently asked to participate in International Clay Week, a global event that partners with galleries, potters, and sculptors around the world. He has also received so many commissions through his work on TikTok that he had to stop accepting the extra opportunities. Despite his early resistance to the format, Behm says, “I don't know if I would have gotten through quarantine without TikTok.” His success on
the platform has translated into the sort of street cred that teachers rarely earn in the classroom, and students are invested in his success, congratulating him, say, when he earns another thousand followers. He says it is another lesson that keeps him mindful of his audience, and that he sometimes has to return students’ attention back to the classwork. “Because right now we're going to talk about painting,” he says. And they must listen. For Mr. Behm is huge on the Internet.
INTERESTED READERS CAN FIND MR. BEHM’S VIDEOS AT: TIKTOK.COM/@JUSTINBEHM Fall 2020
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CONNECTION
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Greetings
Keeping Wayland Top of Mind THOUGHTS ON ADAPTING TO CHANGE FROM OUR DEAN OF ENROLLMENT AND FINANCIAL AID
JOSHUA LABOVE, PH.D. dean of enrollment and financial aid
This morning
as I got ready to write this, snowflakes were falling down on campus. In a year that has been marked by dramatic change around the world, these snowflakes are a pleasant reminder of the constancy and change that marks boarding schools—and most certainly, admissions offices. By lunch time, the snow was gone, and so too were our hats and mittens. Responding to change nimbly—be it an autumn snow flurry that was not to be or anything else—is what we do. Face-masked though we may be, your front door to campus, the welcome mat to Wayland remains ready to meet young thinkers and doers who would thrive on our campus. It is an admissions season like none other—and while the Admissions staff enjoys typically meeting alumni and friends at recruitment events in over 35 cities annually, we have taken much of our recruitment online. Not ones to be hemmed in by the tiny box of Zoom, we’ve planned digital webinars, student panels, one-on-one parent meetings, and video tours of campus. The Admissions Office is keeping busy and staying creative to ensure that prospective families learn what makes Wayland a distinctive place to live and learn for high school. That’s where you come in: I want to connect our prospective parents and students, to you, our alumni and friends. The Alumni Admissions
Ambassadors group is your way to stay connected
to what is happening in the Admissions Office and to help us welcome more young women and men to join us. On our website wayland.org/about/
volunteer, you’ll find information about ways to volunteer—from writing a note to an admitted
student to joining families in a webinar or, one
day again, an in-person event. Whether you are
looking to donate 5 minutes or 5 hours, we know
that our alumni and friends have a deep reverence for the Academy and for this community. Today,
families do their school research through sites like Niche and Boarding School Review—a glowing
review is an easy way to help the Academy stand out among many great options. I hope that you’ll consider lending your passion for Wayland to
support our ongoing efforts and that you’ll find the Alumni Admissions Ambassadors a great way to stay engaged with us.
These are challenging times all around us, but I take the 165-year-view. Wayland remains as necessary as ever; a community built around
young people that celebrates their curiosity as ours does is rare and precious. I continue to
celebrate what is made possible here and the Admissions team will be working this year
to ensure that even in (especially in!) chaotic times, Wayland remains top of mind for
students around the world. I look forward to
connecting our prospective students to our proud and passionate alumni, and to working with you to welcome future students to join us here.
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Knowledge and Character and Quarantine A HISTORICAL LOOK AT PANDEMICS AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE LIVES OF STUDENTS AT WAYLAND ACADEMY.
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BY ANDREW McDONNELL H`20
ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT aspects of the current epidemic is the dearth of recent precedent. For the most part, that lack of experience in fighting contagion is a fantastic problem for a boarding school to have. It means we have been healthy. Wayland hasn’t had to handle a disease of the scale and seriousness we are currently facing in living memory. So far as global pandemics are concerned, the Wayland campus has enjoyed a charmed century. The Academy has faced its share of nasty flu seasons and H1N1, but nothing so serious as Covid-19 has crept through Beaver Dam in quite a while. But when last it crept, it was an even more sinister illness. In 1918, Wayland and the world were already facing enough challenges in the form of WWI. So many male faculty members had been called up or volunteered to serve in the military that there was only one supervisor living in Wayland Hall that fall. The student body’s senior leadership had been hollowed out by the Great War, as nearly every boy at the school who turned 18 immediately signed up to fight. A note in the Greetings the following spring bemoaned the challenges these absences created on the football team.
of some of Wayland’s best and brightest to fight abroad was certainly felt on campus. And along came Spanish Influenza. The Spanish Flu was particularly lethal for young people and in many cases advanced with terrifying speed. Victims could plummet from symptomless, seemingly good health to a bluehued death in just a few hours. Such was precisely the sad case for Wayland alumna Elma Groves, Class of 1910, who died in France while serving as a nurse to U.S. Soldiers. According to the Greetings that arrived in alumni mailboxes in the spring of 1919, the school had observed the spreading global pandemic with “some apprehension.” However, the editor notes, “We were more fortunate than a great many schools, for with the coming of students in the fall, a great many schools had fifty or a hundred and some many more cases in the first two weeks.” Wayland only had one case to start the semester, and apparently the student recovered in a matter of days.
Even before the governor of Wisconsin closed the state’s schools in 1918, Wayland had entered quarantine.
In addition, at least three Wayland boys who were only 16 had signed on with the US Navy, according to a note in the minutes from the school’s Trustee meeting. The parents of the patriotic teens had caught them out, and they were successfully “unenlisted” and sent back to school. Nonetheless, enrollment had dipped, and as anyone who attended Wayland knows, the character of your senior class can truly define the school year. The departure 11 Greetings
The six weeks that followed might look familiar to students at Wayland today. Even before the governor of Wisconsin closed the state’s schools in 1918, Wayland had entered quarantine. No off-campus permission was granted for a full six weeks, and visitors were not permitted on campus. Many day students moved into the dorms so they could continue to attend class, and according to the Greetings, “We even refrained from eating candy and food between meals till some of the boys preferred having the ‘flu’ to subjecting
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT 1. A PHYSICS EXAM SENT HOME WITH A STUDENT DURING THE SPANISH FLU. 2. STUDENTS STAGING AN OUTDOOR PLAY IN 1917. 3. A 1918 LETTER FROM PRINCIPAL EDWIN PUTNAM BROWN TO A FOOTWEAR-CONCERNED PARENT. 4. A PEP MEETING ON THE STEPS OF WAYLAND HALL IN 1917 OR 1918. Fall 2020 12
themselves to such severe denial.” While outbreaks of the flu flared across the region, particularly in neighboring Fox Lake and Waupun, Wayland didn’t record a single case through its self-imposed quarantine. To help keep spirits high and students moving through the restrictive time, Wayland held an extended intra-school competition. Students were divided into two athletic camps named for Native tribes, the Siwashes and the Podunks, that competed in football, volleyball, quoits (a game similar to horseshoes, but played with a loop of metal or rope), and other games, including “indoor baseball played outside.” Our records fail to reveal why students could not play outside baseball outside. The winning side at the conclusion of the semester would be thrown a banquet by the losers. For those keeping score, the Siwashes were victorious and threw a dinner party that featured speeches, poetry recitations, and a saxophone solo performed by Roland Jones, Class of 1920. As diverting as those entertainments were, it is heartening to catch a glimpse of the grumbling that happens whenever more rules are enacted to keep a population safe (even if the reasons for doing so are glaringly sound). It humanizes history. In one letter from Wayland’s archives, Principal Edwin Putnam Brown writes to a parent who had requested an exception for her son to be allowed off-campus to buy new shoes downtown. Brown handles the problem with exceptional diplomacy. “I think we shall be free from all restrictions that keep us on the campus before it will be necessary for Russell to get a new pair
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of shoes,” he writes. “Our weather is certainly very mild at present and I think his present shoes will be quite satisfactory. We are, of course, keeping the students as far away from the town as possible so as to keep them from coming in contact with influenza.” Brown then concludes the letter with a paragraph explaining that her son has had his credit cut off at the school store because he is buying the most expensive fountain pens in stock, and then selling them at a loss to classmates for cash. Essentially: your son is fleecing you and pulling the wool over your eyes. A double-sheep metaphor. After the first wave of Spanish Flu passed, quarantine was relaxed and students were permitted to visit home for the weekend. In this instance, though, the all-clear had sounded too soon. Ten days before Christmas Break, the school had five cases of the disease on campus, and it was apparent that drastic measures were necessary. Principal Brown called together all the boys in Wayland Hall and announced that their vacation
would begin the next morning. Brown then produced a roll of cash “about the size of one’s arm,” as one witness described it, and handed out enough money for each student to make their way home the next morning. The girls left in the afternoon. The logistics of such a decision were in some ways easier back then. There was still an active train depot in Beaver Dam that could connect boarding students to nearly anywhere they needed to be. However, rules are rules, and final exams still needed to be delivered and finished. As Zoom calls and Microsoft Teams were not an option, students received their final exams in sealed envelopes to carry home. Their instructions were to have their parents
Wayland has battled through worse and come through better than before. proctor the exam and mail the completed work to the school immediately upon finishing. (One such physics exam in the scrapbook of Dorothy Luther, Class of 1921, included the question: “Show by components how a sailboat can sail against the wind.” I would not have passed this exam.) It is more than merely interesting that so many of the steps Wayland took in 1918 mirror those the school has taken over the past year. It is a source of solace that the students survived. The teachers survived. Wayland has battled through worse and come through better than before.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT 1. WAYLAND BOYS LOUNGING OUTSIDE IN 1918. 2. A CHRISTMAS LETTER FROM PRINCIPAL EDWIN PUTNAM BROWN TO STUDENTS SENT HOME EARLY TO AVOID A SPANISH FLU OUTBREAK. 3. AN EXCERPT FROM GREETINGS SHARING NEWS OF SCARLET FEVER ON CAMPUS.
In a letter Brown penned to his far-flung students two days before Christmas, the Principal wrote: “Our breaking up was so sudden and unexpected that I had not the opportunity to express to you my good wishes for your holiday period … My one great wish and hope for you is, that not only shall you have a happy Christmas and New Year season, but that it shall also be a time of new resolve for the best things – better effort, finer living, higher thoughts and ideals, that we may make our WAYLAND for 1919 the best WAYLAND of its history.” Fall 2020 14
T E AC H ER S PI VOT Teaching in News Ways During the Pandemic
While the news media has given extensive coverage to the impact of COVID-19 in classrooms across the world, it’s also important to see how the Wayland community experienced the change. Faculty made a pivot in March to all-remote instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year. As the 2020-2021 academic year unfolded in August under Wayland’s Big Red Return plan, a mix of in-person and online teaching began. Simply put, in the classrooms, special cameras allow remote students to see the teacher and their classmates, while a projection system allows distance learners to be seen in the classroom setting. Coupled with special screen-sharing software and sound, students time zones away can be part of the class. Students share poetry, have discussions with classmates, and even work on science labs collaboratively.
BETH RATAJCZAK `96 CHAIR OF SCIENCE Some of the most meaningful and wellreceived lessons I lead in the classroom involve hands-on science experiences through labs and activities. Under usual circumstances, these are completed by the students in pairs or groups of three or more. This year has presented challenges, not only because the students are unable to work physically close together, but because including our online learners in these experiences is a priority. These challenges have afforded me the opportunity to dig deep creatively, and ultimately discover new and perhaps even 15 Greetings
more worthwhile exercises. My students and I learned to navigate digital dissections in lieu of real specimens, and in place of poster and model projects, the students have instead created in-class dynamic models using chalk markers and modeling clay directly on their lab table tops. For lab exercises, in-person students pair with online students to become the hands and feet—but not the eyes and ears—for the data collection. Despite the many disappointments and seemingly insurmountable challenges this year has presented, pivoting to our current learning model has offered a firm nudge to lean firmly into innovation and creativity.
JAMES CLEARY H`20 DYE CHAIR OF RELIGION The classroom set-ups, which included cameras, microphones, and desktop computers made teaching online and in-person students much easier than it otherwise would have been. Changing the fundamental method of delivering a Wayland education was challenging to be sure. However, our faculty has long had a culture of collaboration and teamwork. We shared ideas, successes, and challenges and navigated this challenge together. Our students were resilient and cheerful in the face of adversity and inspired us as educators, as they always have. In many ways, the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic brought light to the best parts of our community. We succeeded as a school because we care about one another and we care about our school.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT 1. Beth Ratajczak `96 teaching an Anatomy class. 2. Shania Luster `21 doing a dissection. 3. Andrew McDonnell H`20 lectures to inperson students and their classmates on Zoom.
ANDREW MCDONNELL H`20 ENGLISH
ELISE KRAUSE `04 ENGLISH ANDÂ MATHEMATICS
LESSON 2: Don't require students to keep cameras on.
While many of our international students have overcome unbelievable obstacles to attend class in person this fall, I still have a number of students joining us in class from their homes thousands of miles from campus. In some ways, that has solidified for me the remarkable nature of our school, that I can have a class conversation with kids from Beaver Dam and Milwaukee and Germany, while students in Beijing and Saudi Arabia join us via video conference (even though it might be 2 a.m. where they are).
When Wayland moved our learning online last spring, I was also in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At the time, I was taking three graduate classes, working as a teaching assistant, and teaching a course here at Wayland. All moved online simultaneously, and this crash course in virtual learning taught me several impor tant lessons.
One of my professors required (well, strongly encouraged) us to turn on our cameras during synchronous meetings. Midway through the first class, my grad student friends watched me spill piping-hot coffee all over myself (and my sofa) and talk to my dog like he is a person for ten minutes. The cognitive load of selfmonitoring, of trying to look like a well-adjusted and competent adult during unprecedented times, stifled my learning after that. We have a finite pool of attentional resources. Selfconscious by nature, teenagers already strain their executive functioning when trying to redirect their own attention. They don't need additional distractions. "Cameras off."
Engaging simultaneously with remote students and those physically in the classroom was a new challenge, and it took a few classes before I developed some habits that I think helped better integrate them in the hybrid classroom. Even swiveling a monitor 90 degrees to keep an eye on facial expressions of the online students and make sure I saw when they raised their hands made an enormous difference in how often they spoke during class discussions. Hybrid learning has forced me to release my death-grip on paper essays and learn to turn electronic comments on digital documents to my advantage as a teacher. While I still miss scrawling comments in the margins of a printed essay, and the satisfaction of a fully graded stack of papers, there are certainly advantages to the commenting and review features of Google Docs. Students appreciate it, too, I think, as my handwriting legibility can sometimes grow hieroglyphic near the end of a stack of papers.
LESSON 1: Our belonging needs in the classroom are more important now than ever. One of my professors opened every class with an ice breaker designed to create a community in the virtual classroom. We met in small groups to discuss our top ice cream flavors or all-time-favorite comfort foods. Even though we didn't do much intellectual work during those five minutes, I found myself turning on my mic more frequently during whole-group discussions because I had built trust with my classmates. This fall, I have developed even more partner- and small-group work in my class as a means of bridging connections. I randomize the groupings. I sit back and extend the activity for a few minutes when I hear students catching up about their personal lives as they wrap up the exercise. COVID has curtailed some of their everyday interactions with other students in the packed hallway before class or even in line for the restroom. These small exchanges in passing are an integral piece of our classroom's ecosystem.
LESSON 3: Lean into some of the surprising affordances of online learning. Though UW-Madison uses different technologies than we do at Wayland, I have stolen many of my professors' techniques for encouraging students to participate. Highly frequent "opportunities to respond," where students actively wrestle with the material, facilitate learning. Â When students are in-person, I often use quick techniques like "turn and talk to your neighbor" or "think-pair-share" (where students work alone, with a partner, and then with the whole class). Now, I use the chat dialog feature on Microsoft Teams to collect ideas from all my students at once. Then we can turn on our mics and do some on-the-spot analysis of what we see in the chat. Reading the room (and the furrowed brows) is more challenging when teaching online, but reading their learning in real-time is much easier. Fall 2020 16
COMMUNITY
Our Pandemic Heroes
Wayland Alumni Use Their Unique Skills to Battle the COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged – and changed – all aspects of society. Wayland alumni working in a variety of professions have had their knowledge and character exercised in new ways and they strove to respond to unique challenges in their respective industries. Earlier this fall we were able to connect with several alumni who are using their skills in interesting ways to help fight the spread of the infection and to give medical professionals the tools and technology they need to serve their patients. 17 Greetings
Dr. Jan Millermaier `72: Connecting Medicine and Technology to Support Medical Personnel
A
s the pandemic sweeps across the world, news stories continue to feature frontline healthcare workers assuming grueling hours working to save critically ill COVID patients. Behind doctors, nurses, and other specialists is an intricate network of technology that supports efficient and effective delivery of patient care. One such system of hardware and software has been developed and refined by experts like Dr. Jan Millermaier `72. As a physician with more than 37 years in family practice, as well as urgent care and emergency medicine, Jan also became involved in physician education for the electronic medical record system, Epic. She has developed curricula and trained providers, as well as guided the software build to meet health system specifications. Upon moving to Grand Rapids in 2015, Jan became Associate Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Spectrum Health, a large health system in west Michigan. Individuals in clinical informatics serve as a bridge between information technology and medicine. In her role, Jan facilitates the connection between medical professionals and technology developers to develop and implement technology systems. As the pandemic hit Detroit, Spectrum (in western Michigan) anticipated their medical network would soon be similarly impacted. Preparations for the surge meant Jan would no longer see patients one day a week and would devote long hours from March to May implementing technology system changes and related training
to support Spectrum’s frontline medical personnel in treating patients. Jan explained that as they reconfigured their Epic system to accommodate the changes brought by COVID, they “built out an entire virtual hospital in one of the non-hospital buildings on our campus, enabling the use of the electronic record in those spaces.” Within the system they also had to redesignate actual hospital floors as COVID only and expand the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capabilities. Not only did the use of hospital spaces change, but practitioner roles were also modified. As 110 anesthesiologists were trained to function as ICU doctors and more than 100 ambulatory primary care doctors served as hospitalists, Jan and her team needed to do work within Epic to provide the medical staff with the software tools and associated training to perform in these new roles. As with many medical systems, Spectrum had some providers doing virtual visits but needed to greatly expand that capability. Within two weeks 1,000 ambulatory providers were trained on conducting virtual patient visits and the Epic build was completed to enable that ability. A project of that size and scope would normally have taken about three months to build and several additional months for provider and staff education.
Aside from these significant operational modifications, Jan explained other changes also needed to be implemented. For example, as COVID tests and testing criteria changed, the software system needed to reflect those changes to configure orders. Additionally, screening tools for visitors had to be built to keep COVID from being brought into the hospitals. While the unrelenting and rapid-fire pace of change and the hours of labor needed to accommodate that work while maintaining the high standards expected by the provider community has been a challenge. Jan observed that she had a great time working with analysts 20 to 40 years younger. “It was energizing!” she exclaimed. Jan recalled that at Wayland she excelled in French and has always loved languages. Her work now, she reflected, “is also an exercise in translation between computer science and the practice of medicine.” She noted a sense of satisfaction in the significant effort to make the software easier and more efficient to help providers care for their patients.
editor ’ s note :
Thanks to Shelley Greenwood `73 for interviewing Dr. Jan Millermaier `73 to share her story. Fall 2020 18
COMMUNITY
Carlton Radford `08: Supporting Medical Manufacturing by
ADAM BENAVIDES `08
I
’ve counted Carlton Radford as a dear friend since we first met sophomore year in the fall of 2005. In the years since, our friendship has never waned (I even had the honor of serving as Best Man at his 2016 wedding), nor has his penchant for being a generous, empathetic and resolute person. So as he finds himself in the midst of a dynamic career playing a vital role in battling the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, I’m certainly a proud friend of over 15 years, albeit not a surprised one. As Quality Specialist for plastic injection molding company Engineering Industries, Inc. in Verona, Wisconsin, Carlton has spent the last five years ensuring parts are up to customers’
19 Greetings
specs and standards. A key component in the supply chain for companies like Sub-Zero Group (home appliances) and Andis Company, Inc. (beauty products), Engineering Industries has become even more vital in supporting a core segment of their customer base: medical device manufacturers. Having long-standing relationships with healthcare companies like GE Healthcare and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceutical, the company is currently helping create the very products being used by healthcare professionals on the frontlines of COVID-19. After being sent home early from a Connecticut conference on March 11, Carlton saw the virus impact his work right away.
evaluating its own internal processes to keep up with the demand from the healthcare industry.
“We immediately saw a boost in healthcare projects, along with work from pharmaceutical companies,” he recalls. “We were thankfully able to pivot products intended for other uses to the new needs of healthcare workers across the country.” For example, the company was able to work with a healthcare customer to redirect a product typically reserved for newborn babies with respiratory issues as an alternative treatment for COVID-19 patients suffering from decreased lung function.The company has also been proactive in re-
While Carlton is grateful his company has been able to avoid the hardships many businesses have been forced to face, he’s mostly grateful his company is in a position to help. “We’ve been really fortunate in how everything has worked out for us but most importantly, we’re able to help those on the frontlines,” he says. “We’ve all been impacted but for our company it has primarily been about doing what you gotta do, gritting it out, and getting back to work. And we’re proud to be able to play any kind of role in getting through this.”
“Finding ways to improve our efficiency has helped healthcare customers quickly get their medical devices out to frontline workers,” says Carlton. “We’ve been really proud to help in that way.” To ensure they remain as efficient as possible, Carlton’s team uses realtime data from their ERP software to show which molding presses are performing more efficiently than others. They then use those insights to inform process changes or even to ascertain which machines work better for a given project.
Jennifer Woodward, Ph.D. `87: Communicating to Support Contract Tracing and Impact the Spread by
TYLER J. RATAJCZAK
W
hile contact tracing has been used for decades by health departments to slow or stop the spread of infectious diseases, the individuals doing this type of work have found themselves the subjects of increased attention in recent months. Contact tracers let people know that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and should monitor for symptoms, help individuals get tested, and ask people to self-quarantine if necessary. Jennifer Woodward Ph.D. `87 is serving as a Health Technician for University Health Services at the University of WisconsinMadison. Pre-pandemic, Jennifer was a lecturer in Communications at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She taught topics ranging from public speaking to radio, tv, and film. Due to family health concerns, Jennifer
realized that in-person teaching was not an option for her this year and decided to take a break. She was looking for her next challenge, and out of curiosity as well as being a life-long learner, she decided to take a class through Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: COVID-19 Contact Tracing. Jennifer was asked to work for University Health Services at UW-Madison and assist in the contact tracing efforts within the student body. She is one of 100 contact tracers and credits her success to her communications background. Jennifer noted that she easily connects with the students and obtains a higher rate of information being shared with her than some of her colleagues. On an average day in September, Jennifer would typically work four cases because on each case she needed to ask approximately 400 questions to obtain complete information to reach other impacted individuals. The fluid nature of the pandemic combined with constant policy changes and unhappy students have presented Jennifer with significant challenges. Jennifer said she has been most surprised by how unprepared the United States has been to handle the pandemic well. She has also been disappointed observing individuals’ unwillingness to consider the health and safety of others as well as disregarding scientific facts about the novel coronavirus. She has seen firsthand how this virus changes, impacting different ages and groups of people in different ways, and hopes people will take it seriously. Jennifer knows she is making a positive impact through her work as a contact tracer. In relating it to her time as a student at Wayland, she said, “The motto was the same, ‘Knowledge and Character,’ but we added, and ‘You be you’”. She explained that ‘you be you’ meant finding your strengths and utilizing them in an impactful way. For Jennifer, her strength in being a communicator has been immensely helpful. Fall 2020 20
C L A SS O F 2020
Matriculation List 21 Greetings
Arda Baykara – Purdue University
Anh Do – Drake University
Henrietta Belloc Lowndes – George
Waddah Elgizooli – Brock University
Mason University
Charles Eubanks – University of Missouri Columbia
Torrence Bennett – York University Merrielle deGuzman – LaSalle College
Elizabeth Fogarty – Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Jaspreet Dhillon – Quinnipiac University
Giselle Garcia
Shuhong Liu – Bates College Abbey Luedtke – University of Mary Yue Meng – Stony Brook University, State University of New York Onella Nkurunziza – Trinity Western University Najani Palomino – Kent State University at Kent Allison Pearce Eli Pippenger – University of WisconsinPlatteville Seyedeh Saghi Rokneddini – University of Illinois Chicago Alexis Spears – Iowa State University Robert Stenzel – University of NebraskaLincoln Jared Sullivan – Jackson State University Elizabeth Tallman – Ripon College Mehrzad Tardast – St. Norbert College Tia Thomas – Valparaiso University Thanh Tran – New York University Selin Tufan Kathryn Tyranski – University of Wisconsin-Madison Oshane Richard Vaccianna – Kansas State University
Chloe Haipek – Milwaukee School of Engineering
Hailey Johnson – Georgia State University
Tamaki Hashiramoto – Bates College
Alexandre Kalinda
Galen Hodlofski – Webster University
Eimi Kamijo – Lesley University
Kacey Holbrooke – Nova Southeastern University
Nordhen Lama – Bentley University
Jing Jin – Stony Brook University, State University of New York
Luis Vaquilar – University of the Fraser Valley Matthew Wagner – Washington University in St Louis Alex Walker – St. Olaf College
Qianzhen Li – Syracuse University
Maurice Walker – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Tiankuo Li – University of California, San Diego
Jiarui Zhang – University of Connecticut Fall 2020 22
Gatherings Connect Wayland Community by Interests
ENGAGEMENT
AS THIS EDITION went to press, Wayland hosted the first activity-themed Alumni Gathering “Beyond the Stage” on November 11. Past actresses, actors, stagehands, make-up and hair artists, set designers, board operators, and others involved in Wayland's theatrical productions gathering to reminisce about performing on and behind the stage. Begun last spring, the Wayland Academy Book Club, has met online through the summer to share insights on a variety of literature. This November 22 the book club joins Mr. McDonnell’s H`20 American Literature Honors Class to concurrently read The Nickel Boys. This is the first novel in an on-going series that will connect Wayland alumni and students in virtual discussions about content taught at Wayland. The Book Club is hosted at GoodReads.com, get your link at wayland.org/alumni/virtual-events
WAYLAND PLANS VIRTUAL SPRING GALA & ONLINE AUCTION Save the date for Wayland’s most significant fundraiser of the year on April 17, 2021! An exciting online auction will safely celebrate the 45th year of this spring tradition. The Academy’s Advancement team will be soliciting and preparing a wide variety of irresistible auction packages with proceeds to support the Academy Fund. Individuals and businesses interested in sponsorship opportunities should contact Director of Donor Relations Kelly Neuert H`17 at kneuert@wayland.org. Visit wayland.org/giving/gala for more details!
Upcoming Gatherings Music Notes December 8, 7-8 p.m. (CT) Dust off that old trumpet, French horn, or flute, and warm up those vocal chords as you reminisce about your time in the performing arts at Wayland. Holiday Cooking: LIVE w. Chef Richard December 16, 12-1 p.m. (CT) Chef Richard H`20 invites you into his kitchen in Pickard Dining Hall as he teaches you how to create one of his famous holiday entrees. Registered participants will receive the full recipe after the program. Register at wayland.org/alumni/events to join us for both these special events.
23 Greetings
Homecoming
Wayland Debuts REDtalks
Alumni Board Welcomes New Members
FOLLOWING ENTHUSIASTIC FEEDBACK about REDtalks during Homecoming weekend, the pre-recorded lectures will become a regular feature for the Wayland community. REDtalks and associated content will serve as a forum of information, inspiration, and interaction. Listen, learn, and – during special virtual events – interact with the speakers. Additionally, this forum supports Wayland’s values of lifelong learning and creating connections. Do you have a topic to share? Or someone you think would make a great REDtalks presenter? Send your suggestions to Director of Annual Fund and Alumni Engagement Mandie Zopp at azopp@wayland.org. Watch REDtalks online at www.wayland.org/about/redtalks
HOMECOMING 2021 DATES ANNOUNCED
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octobe r
Mark your calendars to celebrate Homecoming 2021 on October 8 to 10, 2021. Watch wayland.org/homecoming for details as they become available. We hope to welcome everyone on campus next October!
AT THEIR QUARTERLY meeting in October the Alumni Board welcomed two new members, Laura Bachmann `10 and Aaron Ganske `13. After graduating from Wayland, Laura earned a Bachelor’s degree in international relations from Boston University and completed a Juris Doctor at the University of WisconsinMadison. She is currently a senior analyst at Opportunity Financial, L.L.C. in Chicago. Laura also volunteers as a translator for Catalytic Communities. A 2017 graduate of the University of Wisconsin- Madison, Aaron holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in management and human resources. He has held several positions in human resource data management, and currently works for Accident Fund Insurance Company. The meeting also marked the conclusion of board terms for Jordan Esten `02, Kristene Boucher `97, John Miller `05, DJ Lee `96, and Maja Stevanovich `03. We are thankful for their service to the Academy through the Alumni Board. Fall 2020 24
Alumni Awards Presented During Virtual Homecoming Celebration
The leadership at Wayland Academy presented four alumni awards as part of the Academy’s virtual Homecoming celebration in October. Traditionally the award winners are honored (and surprised) during a dinner ceremony. This year awards were presented via Zoom, but the humbleness and delight of the recipients remained the same.
Distinguished Service Citation The Distinguished Service Citation is the highest honor that Wayland Academy can bestow upon an individual. Established in 1961, the award recognizes outstanding service to Wayland. Additionally, many of the previous recipients have manifested one or more notable attributes, such as service to education, distinctive achievement in a particular field of endeavor, and service to society in accordance with the principles and traditions of the Academy itself. Betsy Parker `72 has been involved with Wayland for nearly 50 years, 17 of which she has served as an academy Board of Trustee. Not only is she one of four siblings to have attended the Academy, both of her sons have also attended. This award was presented last February, and featured in our Spring edition of Greetings, Betsy was recognized during this online ceremony as well. 25 Greetings
Young Alumni Award
Alumni Volunteer Award
The Young Alumni Award acknowledges individuals who have made an outstanding impact within ten years of their Wayland graduation. Austin Fiegel `10 spent his four years as a day student, earning a Three-Year Senior Honor Award and a Four- Year Fine Arts Dedication Award. In addition to his academic achievements, he was member of the Thespian Society and Jazz Band. Austin was often seen on the court as a member of the basketball team and on the field playing soccer.
Established by Wayland’s Alumni Association in 2002, the Alumni Volunteer Award is presented to an alumna or alumnus whose “... loyal and steadfast volunteer efforts on behalf of Wayland enhance the mission of the Academy and the Alumni Association.” This year’s recipient, Sharon Hartzell D’Arco `70 celebrated her 50th Class Reunion this year.
He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and literature at Westminster College and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Since 2016, he has worked as a sales engineer at Trane, the world leader in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable and energy efficient environments. In 2017, Austin decided to give back to Wayland as a member of the Alumni Board and is the current chair of their membership committee. He is a familiar face on and off campus, returning for alumni reunions and participating in many alumni gatherings in the Chicago area. His dedication to the Academy is recognized through the presentation of this year’s Young Alumni Award recipient.
Following graduation, Sharon attended Knox College followed by Rush University, allowing her to pursue her career as an RN in the healthcare industry. She is a steadfast volunteer for the Special Olympics. Additionally, she has served as a Wayland Academy Class Correspondent for the Class of 1970, working hard to keep her class members connected. Sharon also volunteered to lead the charge in enlisting at least 50 percent of her classmates to contribute to the Academy Fund in honor of their reunion. Her Wayland spirit and leadership make her an exceptional choice for the Alumni Volunteer Award.
E X PA N D YO U R N E T WO R K V I A WAY L A N D' S L I N K E D I N PAG E MANY WAYLAND ALUMNI recognize and appreciate the advantages of our connected community. This fall we’ve been encouraging our alumni to connect, at Wayland’s LinkedIn page. By reconnecting with your fellow Wayland alumni, you not only share great memories but also are able to help one another. By their nature, many Wayland alumni connect across class years, especially with more established alumni willing to help recent graduates with career advice and connections. This networking has taken on additional significance during the pandemic as alumni are sharing employment opportunities and other insights. Reluctant networker? Consider these tips to help you get started making connections.
Alumni Achievement Award Wayland’s Alumni Achievement Award honors alumni who are deemed to be worthy of “... special recognition by the Wayland community for outstanding achievement in their field or endeavor. Furthermore, the Award salutes the recipient for representing the true ideals of the Academy and setting a living example of what a Wayland education is all about.”
• Discover what Wayland alumni have accomplished since graduation, what field they’ve pursued, what area of the world they live in. • Connect with alumni that share something in common with you – your profession, an interest, a college you both attended. • Engage in networking opportunities from attending a Wayland event to serving on an Alumni Board committee, participate in the REDtalks program or mentor a group of students Get started making your Wayland connections at linkedin.com/school/wayland-academy/
Beloved by all his classmates, John Unland `70, has shown that through courage and tenacity anything is possible. In the 1980’s he was pivotal in the global growth of the GORE-TEX brand, being intimately involved in the development of the brand’s marketing strategy. His recent book, Warm, Dry, and Comfortable: The Story of Developing the Gore-Tex Brand (published last year) is informative yet filled with humor, a trait that his classmates know all too well. John has been involved in various non-profit work within his community as well as serving on the board of the American Association of People with Disabilities; whose mission is to protect and advance the rights of those with disabilities. It is an honor to recognize him as the 2020 Alumni Achievement Award recipient. Fall 2020 26
NEWS & NOTES
Charles H. Morgan `56 writes, “We are still enjoying The Villages, FL. Does anyone from Wayland live here?” Don Julian Kay `58 is semi-retired and does a weekly show that is streamed live on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Find it at autosportradio.com Robert R. Neuman PhD `62 reports since retiring, he’s written a series of very conversational books to help reverse the serious college problems in the U.S. His books include; College Smart - Strategies for Success, College Smart - Practical Tips for Parents, and START College Smart. Latino versions of the first two books are being released this fall. Ellen Burns Skatrud `66 shares, “I have very fond memories of my 4 years at Wayland and keep in touch with a great group of Wayland friends. I always welcome hearing from additional friends from the past and getting updated. I still live in Madison with a small brown dog named Brownie and keep busier in retirement than I ever expected.Good health and good wishes to all of you!” Reverend David P. Proctor `68 reports that after five years he is still recovering from multiple concussions. He adds, “I’m happy to
have my three daughters nearby and three grandsons - Alison and Anup Proctor, son Julian; Sarah and Andrew LaFonte, sons Alex and Gabriel; and daughter Andrea.” Sue E. Braden `74 writes, “I have survived hurricanes Irma and Maria.” William Bentley `75 reports, “I've said ‘So long and thanks for all the fish’ to my prior employers and have retired to the Land of a Thousand Waterfalls here in the mountains of western North Carolina.” Alison Lighthall Miller `76 shares that she was married seven years ago to Mark, and that they “just moved and bought a house in Maggie Valley, NC.” Alison will start a new job as the supervisor of a new psychiatric ward at the Cherokee Indian Hospital. Her husband works in sports radio broadcasting. Scott Wilson Millar `82 is in his second year at the Brown School of Social Work and starting on the Masters of Social Policy segment of a dual degree. The plan is to graduate in 2022 with a Masters in Social Work and Social Policy! He says, “I am now beginning the process of selecting an institution for my EdD or PhD! The learning never stops!” Dr. Kira I. Salak `89 has been featured in
Write to us at: Greetings Wayland Academy 101. N. University Ave. Beaver Dam, WI 53916
KEEP YOUR CLASSMATES AND FRIENDS UP-TO-DATE WITH YOUR NEWS
27 Greetings
Or email us at: alumni@wayland.org We’re delighted to receive photos to accompany your news. Please enclose or attach images you wish to share.
Paul C. George `59 says “I am motivated to make contact - the first since I graduated 61 years ago - to give credit to Wayland for launching me on a successful life path.” He explained that he attended Wayland for one year, after nearly failing in a giant public school in greater Philadelphia. Paul wrote that at Wayland he had teachers who took personal interest in him and he began to excel. “Wayland’s positive philosophy of being successful and working hard and intelligently changed my life for the better.” On September 3, 2020, Paul received the Order of B.C., the highest honor the British Columbia Provincial Government awards a citizen for outstanding service and leadership in fields of public importance. He has dedicated much of life to public education campaigns that resulted in the protection of many outstanding wilderness areas and credits Wayland’s positive influence as helping him to achieve the honor. Learn more about the award and Paul’s environmental work here: https://bit.ly/3jOAx9O https://bit.ly/2TQ94K0
Nurse in Arizona and enrolled in medical school. She is also a nationally certified barista, won Grand Champion in Barista Battle 2019, and the proud owner of The BRWD Coffee Co., a local business showcasing local coffee. Yushufan Zhou `11 writes, “I went to Boston University and received a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Southern California.” She is happily married with a 14-month old boy. The family lives in the Bay area. She adds, “I’d love to visit the campus with my family. Actually, I was planning to visit this summer, but had to change plans due to COVID-19.” Rosina Samadani `85 and Dr. Uzma Samadani `88 and their company, Oculogica were recently included in Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business list for 2020. The sisters are among 74 individuals across a wide spectrum of industries identified by the publication as having created meaningful change within their sectors and beyond.
an online National Geographic article about 10 books “written by women that will take you on epic adventures.” An excerpt from the piece reads, “Four Corners: A Journey Into the Heart of Papua New Guinea,” by Kira Salak, 2001. At 24, Salak ventures across the remote wildernesses of Papua New Guinea by dugout canoe and on foot, and lives to write the action-packed tale. In the two decades since, the New York Times dubbed her a real-life Lara Croft, National Geographic named her an emerging explorer, and village women in Mali cheered her on as a femme forte (strong woman).” Erik J. Brandt '91 reports that summer has gone fairly well, despite the weird new world in which we now live. He writes, “We’ve gotten out quite a bit to go camping, visit cabins, and try to live as much as we can. Saint Paul Schools will start virtually this fall, with a continual reassessment every month
Pete Patterson H`12 was named Texas Super Lawyer - Houston Top 100 for 2020. This marks his 14th year of recognition.
to start the following month.” Hans-Joerg Schulz '97 is married, has a daughter, works as a university professor for computer science, and has moved to Denmark. Jordan Esten `02 and wife, Kelly, are excited to announce the bir th of William Sennatt Esten. Will was born at 9:46 p.m. on October 10. Kelly and Will are resting and doing great, and Bobby is excited to be a big brother. Laura Matic Schumacher '02 shares, “Currently I am busy. I love inspiring teachers at work, spending time with my husband, and devoting my all to my twins.” Nicholas Schubert `10 and wife, Alyssa, are proud parents of Zeke Alexander Schubert, born July 15, 2020. He was 8 lbs., 3 oz. and 21 inches.
John K. Miller `05 and his wife, Emily, welcomed their first baby girl, Valeria Elodie, on December 14, 2018, and their second daughter, Adeline Lisa, on August 31, 2020. Both girls are full of fire, loving life, and intensely curious.
Jamie-Alden C. Mones `10 is a Registered Fall 2020 28
in
MEMORIAM
JUDITH CLARK BEARDER `57 passed away on May 7, 2020. We remember fondly the classmates, teachers and staff, and Academy friends who have passed from our presence on earth. Family members may contact Director of Donor Relations Kelly Neuert `17 at kneuert@wayland.org to advise us of the passing of a loved one that we may include them in our remembrances. Read additional details at wayland.org/alumni/remembrances
GORDON B. HIGGINS `58 passed away on January 14, 2020. DAVID KIMBLE FUNK `59 passed away on February 9, 2020. JOSEPH W. SKUPNIEWITZ `59 passed away on May 13, 2020. SUSAN SCHNEIDER STEWART `59 passed away on September 27, 2020.
1960s 1940s
HOLLY JOHNSON MEYER `60 passed away on October 7, 2020.
ALTHEA KLAS DAVIDSON `46 passed away on April 13, 2020.
CRAIG E. LINDEKE `63 passed away on August 5, 2020.
JOAN MCAFEE `47 passed away on February 12, 2020.
TERRI CLOYD WILLIHNGANZ `63 passed away on June 5, 2020.
SUZANNE BRANNON GROFF `49 passed away on November 4, 2019.
STEPHEN F. COLBY `66 passed away on March 18, 2020.
WILFRED “BILL” HOSIG `49 passed away on May 24, 2020.
JONATHAN C. MYERS `69 passed away on July 14, 2020.
1950s
KAY CALDWELL `67 passed away on December 14, 2019.
ABBY LANNAN `69 passed away on September 7, 2019.
BARBARA SMITH CARTER `50 passed away on June 1, 2019.
1970s
JEAN MCMILLAN HARTLEY `53 passed away on June 9, 2020.
ANNE ZABOLIO MUIRHEAD `71 passed away on June 18, 2020.
CAROLE LABUY MCEVOY `53 passed away on September 3, 2020. GAY HOYT WESTON `53 passed away on August 4, 2020. ANN TELETZKE `54 passed away on May 27, 2020. ROBERT C. ONAN, JR. `56 passed away on September 9, 2020. 29 Greetings
1980s MARY JANE PLEASANCE SMITH `81 passed away on September 16, 2020.
SAMUEL W. PICKARD `51 passed away on February
19, 2020. He received an economics degree from Ripon College in 1955. Sam served as 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army at Fort Harrison, Indian, from 1955-1957. He moved to California in 1957 and completed an MBA from Stanford University in 1959. Sam remained in the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue a 30-year banking career and raise his family. As a devoted husband, father and grandfather, he is known by many for his generosity, sense of humor, kindness, and sincerity. Giving back to his community was important and he donated countless hours and money to organizations such as Wayland Academy, Ripon College, and Stanford University. Sam is survived by his children, Ann Pickard, Sam Pickard Jr. `79, and Kathi (Steve) Bean; two grandchildren; niece Deborah `74, and many other family and friends. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 45 years, Carmen; his parents; brothers, Jim `43 and Tom `50; sisters Judy `47 and Julie `47.
1990s BRYAN F. BEHAM `93 passed away on March 4, 2019.
FRIENDS OF WAYLAND M. SUE BAUMER passed away on March 13, 2020. JOANNE M. BUNGE passed away on April 5, 2020. JAMES E. CONLEY, JR. passed away on March 20, 2020. LOUIS E. DAVIDSON passed away on January 17, 2020. EDWARD V. HARTIG, Date of death unknown. EDWARD AUGUST HESSLER passed away on September 30, 2020. ARLENE MARIE NEUMAN passed away on July 31, 2020.
OSCAR C. BOLDT passed away on June 9, 2020. Oscar C. Boldt learned construction under the guidance of his grandfather, Martin, and his father, Oscar J. Boldt. After serving as a B-24 navigator in the Army Air Corps during World War II, he graduated with a degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. In 1950, he became the third generation of his family to assume leadership of the company. Boldt Construction has been a trusted partner to the renovation and building on the Wayland Academy campus. In addition, the family’s foundation has been an active and generous donor to the Academy and many other organizations throughout Wisconsin. Oscar volunteered in leadership roles on the boards of Appleton Medical Center, the Community Foundation for the Fox River Valley, Lawrence University, and was an active member of Appleton Downtown Rotary. He was honored during his lifetime with numerous awards from the University of Wisconsin and other institutions; and was inducted into the Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame in 2003. He was preceded in death by his parents, Oscar J. and Dorothy (Bartmann); sister, Lola Mae (J.O. Kopplin), and his dear and loving daughter, Peggy Anderson `74. He is survived by his wife Patricia (Hamar); sons, Charles (Linda) and Thomas (Renee), former daughter-in-law Linda Boldt, and son-in-law Brian Anderson; nephew Jeff Hamar `76, as well as seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
JAMIE G. STEUER passed away on December 11, 2019. Fall 2020 30
Wayland Academy
G R EE T I NGS
Greetings Offers Digital Delivery Whoever said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks might never have imagined that America’s longest published alumni magazine could straddle the world between print and digital. It’s true.The Greetings magazine you’ve come to know and hopefully love in your mail twice a year is also available on your digital device. “We’ve observed through research that much of our audience appreciates a mix of print and digital media, but especially wanted to make sure those who would use a digital edition could note their delivery preference,” noted Director of Communications Emily Schroeder Orvik. “The print edition will still be available, but this change allows us to deliver information in a more user-centric way, which is important as we all are bombarded by increasing volumes of information.”
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To change your Greetings to a digital subscription, visit wayland.org/alumni/update-your-information.
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