a Difference Faculty Fun Facts

Titan Faculty: Outside the Classroom

Mark Aimone Director of Advancement Mr. Aimone was interviewed by CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) for the July/August edition of its magazine “Currents.”

Fabienne Dubois Chair, World Languages Madame Dubois participated in weeklong seminars with ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages), AATF (American Association of Teachers of French) and MaFla (Mass Foreign Language Association) for professional development. She wrote an article for the French Review, a professional magazine for language teachers and professors. The article was accepted and will be published in the spring. She also studied and worked on getting the OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) rater certification.

Michael and Sue Dziura Faculty: (Michael) History & Global Studies (Sue) Fine & Performing Arts, English Mr. and Ms. Dziura’s fourth child, Josie, celebrated her first birthday on July 22.

Maureen Kelly Chesky ’02 Faculty, College Counseling Ms. Kelly Chesky and her husband, Phil ’02, celebrated the birth of their third child, William Dean, on Feb. 19, 2020.

Mike MacDonald Faculty, Admission Mr. MacDonald and his wife, Stephanie, celebrated the birth of their second child, Maximo William, on March 26, 2020.

Trevor Portlock Faculty, Science Mr. Portlock released the 8-Bit Fit app to the Apple App Store—a customizable workout timer with an 8-Bit workout buddy.

Brian Easler Head of School Mr. Easler taught himself how to use a smoker to make barbecue.

Mark Fischer Chair, Mathematics Mr. Fischer took his children, Thea and Frederica, to his family’s farm in Missouri during the summer.

Russ Held Director of Electronic Communications Mr. Held was named as the 74th recipient of the Western Mass. Tee Party Award for his promotion, service and dedication to the game of golf. Mr. Held was a longtime local sportswriter and radio talk show host before joining the WMA community in 2016. He covered many Titans during his 32 years in the media.

Craig and Tess Presnal Faculty, History & Global Studies (Craig); School Counselor (Tess) Mr. and Mrs. Presnal welcomed their first child, Mackenzie Joy, to the world on Feb. 22, 2020.

Jeff Vartabedian Faculty, Health Mr. Vartabedian celebrated his 50th birthday with his twin brother, Jake (right).

Greg Walsh Faculty, College Counseling Mr. Walsh took an online class at the Klingenstein Center of Teachers College at Columbia University titled Anti-Oppression Teaching & Leading in Schools.

If These Walls Could Talk

Very simple. Although I love to joke with people and say that I made it, it was bought. Haha. I saw it and instantly thought of my daughter Adelina, 10, and how much she would love the colors. 2 Wall behind my couch I love colors! So I like to make sure that my office is bright and lively, full of colors. It is bright and fresh for me to see every day, and a nice place for young people, who may be nervous to interview, to see and feel more comfortable. 5

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A quick snapshot of the office walls of Durelle Brown, Assistant Director of Admission and Varsity Girls’ Basketball Coach. 1 Bicycle canvas

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3 Pictures with Adelina Very special moment at my aunt’s 60th birthday party. The pictures were taken by my childhood AAU teammate who is now a photographer. The picture to the right was candid, then he had us pose for the picture TITAN PRIDE!!

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4 2016–2017 Trustees Cup picture One of my favorite mementos! Our Prize Day picture of being recognized as the school’s best team in 2016–2017—great leaders on campus, great students, team GPA of 3.67, multiple team community service initiatives, a 17–5 record and heartbreaking NEPSAC Class C

5 Adelina’s canvas art Again, Adelina LOVES arts and crafts. The owl picture was done at a friend’s birthday party where they followed a leader. She created the rainbow picture on her own.

6 WMA varsity letter semifinal playoff loss.

7 Multiple team photos As a coach, I have been blessed to have some very special and supportive parents in our Girls’ Basketball program. Mrs. Cronin, mom of Carly ’13 and Katie ’17, gifted me framed collages of our teams from 2015 to 2017. My mom

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gifted me a picture of my 2017–2018 team winning the Kingswood Oxford School Invitational Tournament, and my 2018 seniors gifted me a beautifully-framed picture of our 2017–2018 team picture.

8 Ceramic Steph Curry jersey Alex Garrison ’18 created this piece in her Ceramics 1 course. Her challenge was to design a piece of high and difficult detail, and she chose the Golden State Warriors Steph Curry jersey. Myself being a Lakers fan, this gift was given out of love, but also to troll me! HA!

9 Desk photo My desk is happily decorated with gifts from my family, my Titan players and WMA friends. The desk’s decorations and mementos give me a sense of warmth, love, gratitude and pride.

10 Multiple drawings done by Adelina Adelina has made countless pictures since I was hired at WMA in July 2014. And she puts them up all around my office. Always nice reminders of her.

11 Desk nameplate Haha, a nameplate of pure love. My parents gifted me a nameplate that states I was the Most Outstanding Coach during our 2017–2018 basketball season. I am so appreciative of my parents’ undying love and support, as are my players. Thank you, Mom and Dad. I LOVE YOU!

12 Ceramic Lakers Winnie the Pooh One of my favorite gifts of all time. SO thoughtful. My advisee and first four-year basketball player Alex Garrison ’18 made this during her Ceramics 2 course. “Pooh” is one of my childhood and college nicknames. The Lakers are my favorite NBA team. And Pooh’s sweater also has a No. 32 on the back. My favorite player of all-time is Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Just speaks volumes to the bond between Alex and me. It means so much!

13 Drawing of me playing basketball A former camper of my mentor’s camp, where I was a camp counselor for more than 20 years, once recreated an action photo of me playing while I was in Argentina. He recreated the photo for a college art assignment while attending the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Very cool gesture!