Alumni News

ALUMNI NEWS

At Long Last, the Class of 2020 Celebrates Commencement

When the COVID-19 pandemic prevented in-person gatherings in the spring of 2020, our then-seniors decided to forgo a virtual ceremony. They wanted the same closure to their time at Crossroads that every class before them experienced together as a community. Finally, on June 12, 2021, the Class of 2020 enjoyed a Commencement celebration that was a year in the making. (A ceremony was held June 3 for the Class of 2021; see page 19.)

Before the ceremony, the recent graduates gathered in the gym, and the excitement was palpable. Together, they processed down the soccer field to “Pomp and Circumstance”; enjoyed an original song performed by Lucas Wurman and music by faculty member Jarod P. Sheahan; listened to powerful speeches by their peers Davis Ouriel, Jonah Neustadt, Levi Port and Cody JamesCardenas, along with an address by Upper School History Department chair and teacher Kevin Scull; and received letters from Head of School Bob Riddle and gifts from the Alumni Office and the Upper School.

In her speech, Davis acknowledged, “To begin our next lives, we never needed to walk off this stage.” But, Class of 2020, we are certainly glad you finally did. It was worth the wait!

Alumni Small Business Directory

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As we all know, it has been a very difficult year for many small businesses. Let’s work together to help get our fellow Roadrunners back on track! Check out our directory of alumni-owned small businesses or submit your business to be included at xrds.org/alumnibusinesses.

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A Full Slate of Virtual Alumni Gatherings

Alumni displayed their artwork after a watercolor workshop with artist Fahren Feingold ’89.

Year after year, we look forward to seeing our alumni back in the Alley as they reconnect with friends and former teachers. This year, with in-person gatherings largely prohibited by public health guidelines, the Alumni Office brought the Alley experience online, offering an array of community-building virtual events for alumni to enjoy safely from their homes.

Legendary Life Skills teacher Tom Nolan held two alumni Councils to bookend the school year. In November, “Top Chef” winner Brooke Williamson ’96 and baker extraordinaire Breanna Jackson ’10 shared their culinary expertise with the community. Participants learned to make sweet potato fries with garlic-sesame tahini and cranberry and orange tarts just in time for Thanksgiving. The following month, Masterclass Co-Founder and CEO David Rogier ’01 was joined by filmmaker and parent of alumni Jay Roach for a conversation about the power of curiosity. After winter break, mental health professionals Brian Stefan ’99, Lily Sais ’99 and Kaela Farrise ’10 created a safe online space to discuss anxiety, depression and suicide in the context of the pandemic. This sobering but important panel offered guidance on how to cope with our thoughts and concerns during a trying time.

Our first virtual reunions took place in April, when the Classes of 1990, 2000 and 2010 had a chance to catch up with each other on Zoom. Fahren Feingold ’89 then shared her artistic talents in a watercolor workshop.

If you weren’t able to join us for at least one of these events, we hope to see you in 2021-22, when we will (hopefully) gather in person once again to learn and have fun.

A Great Summer Internship Experience at GoodRx

Looking for experience in the health care field, Kayla Mitchell ’15 turned to the Crossroads Alumni Internship Program. Launched in 2018, the program aims to help our alumni garner meaningful work experience in a range of professional settings, and both expand and deepen their connection to our Crossroads community. In the winter of 2018, Kayla reviewed the open positions and applied to several, including one for a research internship at the prescription price transparency platform GoodRx.

“The application process overall was straightforward,” Kayla said. “I applied and got a couple of interviews. Before I knew it, I was accepted!”

For roughly two months the following summer, Kayla worked with the research team of GoodRx, whose co-CEO and co-founder is Crossroads Trustee Trevor Bezdek ’95.

Noted Kayla, “It was good to see that the CEO of GoodRx went to Crossroads. It made me feel like the alumni community really looks out for its alumni.”

Now a registered nurse, Kayla appreciates how much she learned about the intersections between health care and technology at GoodRx. “My experience was amazing,” reflected Kayla. “I was a part of a great team that was personable and kind. The environment was young and driven! There was a lot of flexibility with the program as well.” Two years after the internship, Kayla continues to work as a parttime research assistant for GoodRx.

Internship opportunities for summer 2022 will be shared with alumni in the fall. If you are interested in participating as an employer, please email xrdsinternships@gmail.com.

Kayla Mitchell ’15

ALUMNI NEWS

Opine, Pioneers!

Crossroads’ earliest students share memories from the good old days.

This “trailblazer” icon identifies students who entered the School in 1971.

“I loved doing my first acting performance as Lady Crackwhip in ‘School for Jesters’ at St. Augustine by-the-Sea! I was one of the original 18 students in Crossroads’ founding seventh-grade class. We had wonderful electives. We went to a pottery studio one semester, and then a stained-glass studio. I seem to recall our French teacher was fresh out of school, and we gave her a nervous breakdown insisting that she teach us all the French swear words.”

MARY GOODSON ’77 Mark Norris ’82 shared the photo at left of a scene in the Alley from the early 1980s.

Left to right: Wendy Whitaker, Briar (Flicker) Grossman, Laura Wolff and Sara Sherman-Levine before their spring trip in 1974. “The energy of the school itself was focused on growth and expansion—from two grades, a handful of teachers and 34 students in the first year to full junior high and high school classes with new teachers and teaching assistants and dozens of students. With that expansion, something wonderful and irreplaceable was lost, though much was gained for many.”

SUE SAFYAN ’76

They held cheerleader tryouts during Crossroads’ first year. At the appointed start time, all the girls found themselves frozen in terror; nobody could muster the courage to start. Eventually the tryouts successfully ensued. An hour after, the staff announced their decision: We all made the squad! My recollection is that we cheered for one football game, sans uniforms or pom-poms. Then after that one game, the squad fizzled—and, to my memory, it was never evoked or referred to again.”

SARA SHERMAN-LEVINE ’77

“Even after 40 years, some of the most special people I’ve had the privilege to know are in this photo. What is it about high school that a short little three-year stint can loom so large within so much longer a life journey? The subsequent life stories of the people in this photo are surprisingly diverse and testify to the power of liberal education and parental support for personal autonomy as the young discover who they are. This was our Crossroads.”

KEITH WEBER ’76

I could not believe we could call adults by their first names. I was one of a few Black students at the time, and I was welcomed with open arms. I remember that Paul Cummins used to drink lots of coffee back then, and he would offer everyone a cup who entered his office. ‘Hi, I’m Paul Cummins, would you like a cup of coffee?’ Paul took care of me and opened up his home and family to me; we have been family ever since.”

KEVIN “K.K.” JACKSON ’82

The junior class in 1976. From back row, left to right: Henry Ames, Kari Steinberg, Marcy Sloane, Jack Loera and Cary Bren; Megan Williams Sara ShermanLevine, Elizabeth “E.J.” (Jerison) Terry, Laura Wolff and Briar (Flicker) Grossman; Karl Thompson, Andrea Weiss, Mihal (Shapiro) Skaggs, Liesl Erman and David Jackman. Left to right: Sue Safyan, Carrie Morrow and Mary Goodson.

I started in 1973, and I think we only had one or two buildings then. My fond memories include hanging out in the Alley between classes; our wonderful, grandmotherly Latin teacher; Art Tuller’s math class, welding and pottery; singing John Denver songs on the bus on the way to Kern River—and so much more. It was an innocent and creative time.”

JODY SEWARD LOWE ’79 “I was just barely 17—as was our class size—at graduation. We are still branches of a tree planted 50 years ago; I talk to at least one Crossroads connection daily. Those tight-knit first years at such a small school taught acceptance and appreciation of others as well as (required) tai chi, drama, community service ... not just the typical three R’s. Crossroads oxymoronically indoctrinated questioning authority, seeking justice and being the change. Our many roads crossed and diverged.”

ELIZABETH “E.J.” (JERISON) TERRY ’77

ALUMNI NEWS

Leap of Faith: An Interview With Crossroads’ First Student

Nancy at graduation, facing Rhoda Makoff, with Paul Cummins in the background

Nancy Grinstein ’76 was the first student to enroll in the brand-new Crossroads School, entering in the fall of 1971 as an eighth grader with 33 other students. She has had a full career directing theater and cable television, importing fine goods and serving on several boards in support of underrepresented youth and the arts. She and her husband of 40 years, Neal Rabin, are the proud parents of two “smart, enterprising, passionate, activist daughters,” Tess and Dia Rabin. What was your earliest memory of Crossroads? Paul Cummins interviewed me. With no location, teachers or other students, he asked me point blank, “Do you want to do this? You’ll be the first student.” Taking the appropriate millisecond to contemplate my vast options, I blurted out, “Absolutely!” Truly, all I’d actually heard was that I didn’t have to go back to public school. That’s as far as my critical thinking went at 12 years old. What made your parents brave enough to sign you up for a school that didn’t yet exist? The ’60s had just ended, but the mindset of change, innovation and exploration of the unknown remained. Crossroads’ alternative approach to education caught the attention of my mother, Elyse. She had heard Paul speak and decided on the spot that she was game for anything he created.

What was it like being in that first class of 34 students? The energy was kinetic. We all shared a deep sense of the importance of curiosity, discovery and, most of all, the fun of pioneering this new adventure and constructing something that we wanted to be powerful, unique and significant.

What were the teachers and staff like? Crossroads’ adults actually cared about what we thought of our own education pathway. Our opinions, ideas and participation mattered. Paul Cummins, Rhoda Makoff, Steve Morgan and Teri (Darrow) Redman are a few of the inspirational leaders and teachers who have shaped who I am today.

How did Crossroads influence your career path? Crossroads nurtured me and gave me the confidence to develop several professional parts of myself: artist, entrepreneur and community activist. My own inner courage and deep curiosity for the world first blossomed on Pico Boulevard in an old, tired church with a sad little dirt field. Who would’ve expected that?

Nancy and her mother, Elyse

first grade

OWEN TISHLER,