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THE INSPIRE ISSUE
THE MAGAZINE OF THE EPISCOPAL ACADEMY Amazing Grace
EA seventh grader Grace Haupt
inspires her teachers and classmates
on a daily basis.
WINTER 2014
Contents
CONNECTIONS WINTER 2014
News
26
Alumni@EA
37 Advancement@EA
Features
2 Amazing Grace
5 Inspired to Lead
41 Events@EA
9 Inspired to Help Haiti
44
Athletics@EA
1 0 The Wild, Blue (and White) Yonder
48
Arts@EA
11 Inspired by Evie
50
OnCampus@EA
12 Inspiring Speakers
54 Class Notes
14 EA Icon: Chip Hollinger, Hon.
7 7Milestones
16 Going Long with Twitter
80 Last Word
18 Center for Growth and Innovation, NXT@EA Prepare for Second Year
81
Episcopal Fund
20 Class of 2014 Commencement
22 Greatings from EA!
24 EA/Hav/AIS Weekend 2014
Stay in Touch with Everything Episcopal… from stories
and events to classmates and faculty! Join EA’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
and YouTube communities! Every Chapel Talk, every event, all the news.
Facebook www.facebook.com/EpiscopalAcademy1785
Twitter twitter.com/Ea1785
Instagram instagram.com/ea1785
YouTube www.youtube.com/TheEpiscopalAcademy
The Episcopal Academy is committed to environmental
sustainability and is proud to print on paper certified by
the Forest Stewardship Council.
On the cover:
Grace Haupt ’20 pictured after completing the 10-mile
Ataxia Charity race on her recumbant bike.
CONNECTIONS
Connections, the magazine
of The Episcopal Academy, is
published twice yearly by the
Office of Communications.
Class Notes, comments,
and photographs should be
directed to:
OFFICE OF
COMMUNICATIONS
484-424-1779 t
484-424-1790 f
bkonopka@
episcopalacademy.org
CONTRIBUTING
EDITOR
Michael Branscom
Bill Doherty
Phyllis Martin, Hon.
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Phyllis Martin, Hon.
1785 Bishop White Drive
Newtown Square, PA 19073
484-424-1522 t
484-424-1613 f
bdoherty@
episcopalacademy.org
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
OFFICE OF ALUMNI
Mike Letts, Hon.
1785 Bishop White Drive
Newtown Square, PA 19073
Stephanie Ottone
Sarah Baker ’01
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Michael Leslie
Douglas Benedict
Courtney Brinkerhoff-Rau
Metropolitan Museum of Art
ART & PRODUCTION
Karp Graphic Design ’99P
Michael Bradley ’11P
WWW.
Bill Doherty ’20P, ’22P
EPISCOPALACADEMY.
Jen Fifer
ORG
Lini S. Kadaba ’14P
The word “inspire”
appears in the
middle of our Mission
inspire
Statement, and it’s at
the heart of
everything we do
at The Episcopal
Academy. At EA, we
have students, like
Grace Haupt, Evan
Zanolli, and the senior
leaders you’ll meet,
who are inspiring.
We have faculty
members, like EA
icon Chip Hollinger,
who have been
inspiring students
for decades. And
we have inspiring
programs that
uniquely prepare our
students for bright
futures, like the one
that Brian Long ’02
is enjoying.
WINTER 20 14 // 1
Amazing Grace
By Lini S. Kadaba
Grace with Ride Ataxia
team — Defying Gravity
On the first floor of the Middle
School, Episcopal seventh grader Grace
Haupt maneuvers her new wheelchair
inside the handicap-accessible restroom
stall. On this August morning, she practices
closing and locking the door during a dry
run of her school day.
Over the summer, Grace had spinal
surgery for worsening scoliosis, one of the
many symptoms associated with the childhood neurodegenerative disease Friedreich’s
Ataxia (FA). Recovery has forced her to
use a wheelchair rather than her familiar
scooter.
Nearby, several onlookers watch. The
entourage includes her mother, Holly L.
Hedrick; her sister, Lily, 11, a sixth grader
at Episcopal; the family sitter, Kate Graham; and Episcopal’s Director of Health
2 // C O N N E C T I O N S
Services Anne Ravreby. Her homeroom
adviser, seventh-grade Spanish teacher Tom
Novak, waits in the hallway.
Grace heaves herself up and out of the
wheelchair to a standing position. Her gait
is unsteady as she pivots, practicing the
shift in the stall. Graham rushes forward to
spot her. But Lily says: “She doesn’t need
help. She can do it.”
And Grace does.
The small triumph speaks volumes about
this fiercely determined 13-year-old who
makes every effort to hold her ground
against the toll of FA. She was diagnosed
with the rare, inherited disease that saps
energy and affects coordination when she
was a kindergartener at Episcopal.
“I want to do things like my classmates
are doing,” she says later of her resolve.
Adds her mother: “Grace is a kid with FA.
She is a kid in a wheelchair. But she doesn’t
want to be defined by that.”
And, by all accounts, she is not. Grace
loves to read. She always has a book—or
two or three—by her side. “I read anything,” she says, though of late she favors
dystopian fantasies such as the Divergent
series and favorite author John Green. “If
you can read, you can do anything.”
Technology, especially programming,
fascinates her. As one of six inaugural
members of the Middle School Tech Team,
Grace helps other students in the One-toOne laptop program.
She also enjoys piano—surely she’s
the only kid for miles who wants longer
lessons!—roots for the Phillies, and contributes to the Yearbook Committee. Last
year for EA’s fall sports requirement, she
surveyed students on athletic teams and
took pictures, an alternative she proposed.
Hedrick credits Episcopal and the way
the community strives to live out the
Stripes for creating a welcoming space
for her daughter. “It’s hard to imagine
anything better,” she says. “Whatever the
magical cocktail Episcopal has created for
her as an environment, she feels valued.
That’s what makes you get up every day.”
Grace likes to arrive at school from her
Devon home half an hour early “just to
read,” she says. By evening, she is bone
tired, the cost of FA on top of EA’s full
schedule. But she refuses to go to bed until
her homework is done—to perfection.
“She will not. Will not. Will not,” says her
mother, who never wins that battle.
Grace plunges into the deep end of every
experience—even the ones that might appear too taxing for her.
“She takes on everything with the right
level of spirit, high intensity, a level of
stubbornness that serves her well,” Middle
School Head Steve Morris says. “She’s ambitious, smart, creative. She finds ways to
get herself involved and inspires her teachers and classmates on a daily basis.”
As Middle Schoolers well know, sixth
grade begins with a class-bonding canoe
trip on the Brandywine River. Grace saw
no reason to opt out. Paired with two other
students, she sat at the bow.
“She paddled some, and she was eyes
up front,” says English teacher Matt
Newcomb, her sixth-grade adviser and the
form coordinator. Throughout the year,
Grace found ways to participate fully. For
Aurora-Vesper Day, she was pitcher for
the traditional kickball game. On the class
trip to Williamsburg, she partook in all
activities, and five students—dubbed “the
pit crew”—volunteered to disassemble and
reassemble her scooter for the bus rides.
Hedrick also came along to help at night.
Of course, Grace went on the bus with
her fellow middle schoolers to watch EA
take the Banner from Agnes Irwin in early
November.
“She is a really tough kid,” Newcomb
says. “I was concerned with how delicate
she might be—my preconceived notions.
But she’s tough and resilient, and really
works hard.”
For the next hour,
Grace,
Ravreby, and the others look over classrooms to assure she can maneuver to a
desk, discuss the logistics of the lunch line,
and visit the Chapel to go over options for
where she should sit.
“I don’t want people to over-accommodate,” Ravreby says. “Grace wants to be
treated like everybody else.” At the same
time, the nurse’s main priority is safety.
That requires her to constantly think ahead
and troubleshoot.
Ravreby might recommend each classroom have a box of supplies and textbooks
so Grace has less to carry. Or suggest a
shelf for her locker to make books easier to
reach. Or explain the importance of an aide
(say Graham) to help during sports.
Often, Grace resists the easier way, at
least until she has given the way everyone
else does it her all. Take the restroom. She
could just use the facilities in the nurse’s
office, where a helping hand would be at
the ready. But she isn’t there yet. At times
like that, Grace sets her jaw firm. Those
big gray eyes flash. The grownups in her
life know well what that look means—no
concessions.
“She finds ways to get herself involved and
inspires her teachers and classmates on a
daily basis.” —Middle School Head Steve Morris
“We’ll make it work,” Ravreby says once
again. “Not a problem.”
Ultimately, of course, there
are accommodations. FA is relentless that
way. First identified in the 1860s, it has
no cure or even treatment, though recently several therapies in the pipeline have
shown promise. In the United States, only
about 5,000 to 6,000 individuals—one
in 50,000—have FA. It is considered an
“orphan” disease, says Jennifer Farmer,
executive director of the Friedreich’s Ataxia
Research Alliance (FARA) based in Downingtown, Pa. (Hedrick sits on its board.)
More common in people of European
descent, FA involves a mutation of a single
gene involved in the production of frataxin.
The protein is essential to the proper functioning of a cell’s mitochondria, the body’s
powerhouse. “People with FA don’t make
enough frataxin, and when you don’t make
enough frataxin, the mitochondria don’t
produce enough energy and cells suffer,”
Farmer explains.
The result is a multitude of problems. It
affects coordination in the arms and legs.
Like a marionette, movement is jerky. Besides muscle weakness and scoliosis, it also
causes wipeout fatigue, diabetes, slurred
speech, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,
or an enlarged heart. Grace battles many
of these symptoms already. On top of that,
she also has nephrotic syndrome, a kidney
condition that is unrelated to FA.
Grace’s biggest frustration with FA is its
debilitating nature. “I don’t want help,”
she says simply.
The words bring tears to her mother’s
eyes.
“As the disease progresses, you mourn
new losses,” Farmer says. “You’re in a
place where you’ve learned to adapt, then
you’re forced to adapt again, and then
again. People like Grace have the determination to adapt. It’s helping her fight this
disease every single day.”
W I N T E R 20 14 // 3
Grace was four when a pre-K teacher
noticed she stumbled into other children.
“Her arms and legs just don’t seem to
know where they are sometimes,” she told
Grace’s parents. Within 10 months, she
was diagnosed with FA.
“You Google it, and you just don’t want
it to be,” says Hedrick, a pediatric surgeon
at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
(Grace’s father, Hans Haupt, is a cardiothoracic surgeon at Phoenixville Hospital.)
“There’s not some quick little fix,” she
says. “It just gets worse. How do you
explain to a four or five-year-old that it
progresses?”
By fourth grade, when the impact of FA
was apparent, Grace and her mother made
a presentation to her class. Last year, Grace
spoke solo. “I tell them it’s progressive,”
she says. “So I might not be able to do the
same things in May that I do in Septem-
4 // C O N N E C T I O N S
ber.” In a PowerPoint slide titled “What
is happening to me?” she notes that she
misses classes for doctor’s appointments.
“We are really NOT on vacation!” the slide
says. Another says, “The good news: My
brain will always be healthy!”
What’s the most common question Grace
gets? “Can I ride your scooter?” (Alas, no.)
Classmate Nicholas Christos, of Wayne,
who is also on the Tech Team, is a good
friend and participates on Grace’s team—
Defying Gravity—for Ride Ataxia charity
event. For the last four years, including this
year’s ride on October 12, Grace has ridden a recumbent bike for 10 miles to raise
money to fight the disease. Team Defying
Gravity raised over $17,000 this fall to
fight FA.
“I have an incredible time at the FARA
bike ride with Grace and some other EA
friends,” Nicholas says. “Grace is unbelievable at handling this tough disease,” he
adds. “She always shows us the way to be
strong. She’s never angry. I don’t see how
she does it!”
A high honors student, Grace has
impressed her teachers. “She thrives
academically,” Newcomb says. “Her teen
angst isn’t necessarily directed at the social,
but at her academics. That speaks to her
perfectionism.”
She brings that same work ethic to physical and occupational therapy—constants in
her life. At a late-summer visit to CHOP’s
Specialty Care Center in King of Prussia,
occupational therapist Michelle Hagenbaugh has Grace practice everyday tasks.
As a result of the spinal surgery, she has to
relearn things like putting on and taking off
athletic shorts or tying her sneakers. While
playing a game of Jenga, Grace works on
standing from a seated position each time
it is her turn. Repeatedly, Hagenbaugh asks
if she needs a break. Even these seemingly
mundane activities can wear out a person
with FA.
“It’s okay,” Grace says again and again
as she pushes through.
“She’s very positive,” Hagenbaugh says.
“She’s quite a trooper. She doesn’t give up.”
At the Hedrick-Haupt
house this day, the kitchen is abuzz. The
sitter prepares lunch, and Lily helps. Grace,
at the kitchen table, takes her medications
(at least a dozen pills a day) and then continues her explanation of the 3-D printing
project she did at an EA summer camp.
Her brother, Henry, 10, a fifth grader at
AIM Academy in Conshohocken, runs up
and waves a picture of Queen Elizabeth in
her face, a favorite tease of his. She swats
his hand away in typical sibling fashion.
“She does rule the house,” Hedrick
allows with a smile. “We are her subjects,
her devoted subjects.” As she starts to tell a
story about her daughter, Grace complains,
“Mom!” Typical teenager.
But FA is never far away. For a school
project, Henry picked Cure Man as the
superhero he most wants to be in order to
help his sister. Lily did an assignment on
the Ride Ataxia logo. And Grace wrote in a
poem, even though so many happily do her
bidding, “…being the Queen of England/
Is not as glamorous as it sounds./I would
rather be able to do it all/Myself.”
“Most days are just the way it is,” Hedrick says. “I feel everybody has something
to deal with. This is our thing. We’re just
going to fight through it.”
For more information on FA research, go
to curefa.org.
Newtown Square-based journalist Lini S.
Kadaba is the parent of a 2014 EA student
and a frequent contributor to Connections.
KATHERINE HONG
ALEX VISCUSI
TARA BOYLE
Inspired to Lead
WOODY NIMOITYN
JOHN MINICOZZI
SAMUEL POPE
These six members of the
Episcopal Academy Class of 2015—three girls, three boys—have truly blossomed into leaders during
their time on campus. All six will graduate this spring fully prepared for what’s next and having left
their mark on EA.
W I N T E R 20 14 // 5
Pushing Boundaries
To those who know Tara Boyle who arrived at
Episcopal in 2008 from Coopertown Elementary,
it came as no surprise that she chose to spend the
final summer of her high school career preparing
for a rigorous 15-day Outward Bound excursion in
the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.
The course focuses on traveling light, exploring the
natural world, and becoming a member of a highfunctioning team.
With the bulk of the course taking place at 9,000
feet or higher, it requires a very high level of fitness
and a willingness to embrace personal challenge—
not what your typical teenager would call fun. But
then again, pushing beyond boundaries and taking
advantage of every opportunity is something that’s
always come naturally to Boyle. “Tara is a serious student who excels with a rigorous academic load. She has the ability to dig deep
when things don’t go her way. She doesn’t whine
or complain but rather works harder,” says Cheryl
McLauchlan, Hon., the Form Dean of the Class of
2015 and Tara’s ninth grade Honors Algebra 2
teacher. “She’s a super young woman who is passionate about everything she does.”
It’s an attribute that she has refined during her
time at EA. “With more success, I began putting
pressure on myself to meet certain expectations,
and I found myself frustrated when I wouldn’t
achieve them. However, I began to realize that
improvement and success is accompanied by
struggle. I have had my fair share of failure but
am learning that these experiences create opportunities to learn, and often with some effort
those experiences can be turned into something
positive,” says Boyle, who leads the Vestry this year
as the senior warden, was a key scorer on the varsity
soccer team, and is co-captain of the winter and
spring track teams. Boyle counts two faculty members in particular—Rev. Jim Squire, Hon., and Middle School
history teacher and varsity track coach, John Goens,
Hon.—as being the most influential in helping her
understand that without challenge and hard work,
little can be achieved.
“Through Vestry, Rev. Squire has taught me how
to be an adult and how to handle difficult topics
and uncomfortable situations in a mature and respectful way,” says Boyle. “As a high school student,
these are valuable lessons for me, as I will use them
in my adult life. He has shaped me as a person and
as a leader. Likewise, Coach Goens has been enormously influential to me because he has shown me
what it means to have a passion for something.”
6 // C O N N E C T I O N S
This passion for seeking to expand her interests
has translated into a very balanced Episcopal
experience—the perfect mix of Mind, Body, and
Spirit. In addition to leading the Vestry, Tara is a
valuable member of the Diversity Awareness Club
and the Admission Office’s Key Club, which helps
host visiting students and gives tours to prospective EA families. An honors student, Tara also holds
seven school records in track and field and has won
awards for her artwork. However, Kelly Edwards, an Upper School
math teacher who serves as Tara’s adviser, notes
that while her extracurricular activities are clearly
impressive, it’s her maturity and attitude that make
her a class leader. “Tara is always contemplating
how her actions today will impact her life tomorrow. She is extremely analytical and as a result
makes well thought out and calculated decisions,”
says Edwards. “I think most would agree that Tara
has a maturity beyond her years and her ability to
read people and understand their reactions is a
true gift.”
It’s this concern for others that makes Tara the
perfect fit as the Senior Warden of the Vestry and
what makes EA a better place for having her as a
student leader. “It’s funny, but I would always find
out about her marvelous accomplishments this past
year from others,” says Rev. Squire. “She always
wants the light shone on others and is deeply
responsive to the needs of the Upper School community. In everything that she does, she has just
one question in mind, ‘What is best for EA?’”—MIKE
LETTS
Armed to Succeed
Alex Viscusi has been the epitome of the term
“student-athlete” at Episcopal Academy, truly making her mark on the softball field, in the classroom,
and all around campus.
Last spring, the Princeton University-bound senior led EA to its first-ever Inter-Ac and PAISAA state
softball titles by notching a 15-2 record and striking
out an eye-popping 135 batters in 101 innings of
work. She authored a no-hit masterpiece in the biggest game of her life, a 1-0 victory over Agnes Irwin
to capture the 2014 PAISAA state title.
The secret to Alex’s success is a pitching repertoire that would get Clayton Kershaw’s attention.
She keeps hitters off-balance with six different
pitches, including a fastball clocked in the low 60s
(the equivalent of a 90-plus mph major league
fastball given that it’s thrown from 43 feet away).
She’s also a force at the plate. In 2014, Alex batted
.600 with six doubles, five home runs, four triples,
28 runs scored and 29 RBIs.
“Alex has the skills that, as a coach, you only see
every 15 years or so, if you’re lucky,” says Episcopal
Academy coach Terry Coyne.
After her much-anticipated senior season this
spring for Coyne, Alex will head to Princeton, where
she will play for Lisa Sweeney-Van Ackeren, a former
Lehigh University fireballer who completely rewrote
the Patriot League record books before graduating
in 2009. And Sweeney-Van Ackeren will quickly
grow to love her as those at EA have.
“Alex Viscusi is an outstanding young woman,”
says Cheryl McLauchlan, the Form Dean of the
Class of 2015. “She is true to herself and lives her
life doing what she thinks is right. She is open and
friendly to all and is able to relate to adults as well
as her peers in an easy going fashion. She works
hard, plays hard, and gives her best to everything
she is involved in because it is the right thing to do.
You can count on her.”
Alex has talents aplenty off the field. Ironically,
while Alex is a front-and-center star on the softball
pitching mound, many of her other main Episcopal
activities are more behind the scenes.
A gifted painter, Alex’s talent first caught the eye
of theater technical director Kelly Leight-Bertucci
two years ago.
“Alex was a sophomore in my tech theater class,
and she did this amazing marble scenic painting,”
recalls Leight-Bertucci. “It was so well done that
I took a picture of it and sent it to some theatre
professionals that I know. At first, they thought a
(fellow) professional had done the painting and
were completely blown away when I told them that
a sophomore in my class had done it.”
Since then, Alex has been a fixture on Leight-Bertucci’s technical crew—painting sets and designing
floor plans for plays and serving as the light
designer for a series of dance performances last
winter. In addition, she was a rookie this year on the
Chapel Rock video team, a video production unit of
five students and two teachers (Leight-Bertucci and
Matt Lake) that records every Upper School Chapel.
“Attending Episcopal Academy has given me the
confidence and freedom to try new things,” admits
Alex. “Mind, Body, Spirit is more than just a motto
here. This school truly wants you to develop as a
whole person by stepping outside your comfort
zone and trying new things.
“Trying new things here at EA like the tech crew
has allowed me to grow as a person, to be a part
of some great stage productions, and to have my
circle of friends really grow too.”
An AP Scholar and one of the top students in
the senior class at Episcopal, Alex plans to major
in communications or marketing at Princeton, but
she would also like to minor in either psychology or
neuroscience.
“Princeton is really lucky to have Alex coming to
their school,” says Leight-Bertucci. “They are getting
a smart, creative, well-rounded, athletic young
woman. She is so talented and so well grounded,
which is a credit to her parents.
“Whatever Alex decides she wants to do in college and in life, she’ll not only do, but do extremely
well.”—BILL DOHERTY
One in a Million
“I think EA is different because people really set
down roots here. I think it’s because this place
becomes so familiar to us,” says Katherine Hong,
an EA senior who entered Episcopal in Kindergarten. “Past students and faculty return here all the
time. Even after years and years, Episcopal is still
our school. Nowhere else fosters such a tight-knit
community.”
Katherine would certainly know. An exceptional
student who has taken the most rigorous courses
offered at every step, Katherine has also explored
nearly every facet of the community and her
interest in academic exploration and personal
enrichment is respected community-wide. To put it
more succinctly: She has the rare combination of
remarkable intellectual ability balanced by a typical
high school student’s interest in finding out who
they are and what makes them tick.
“Katherine is the complete package. She is not
only talented in many areas, but she gives her all to
everything she does. She is truly a force to be reckoned with,” says her Form Dean Cheryl McLauchlan,
Hon. “Even though Katherine is so talented in many
areas, she receives her accolades with dignity and
never arrogance. She is one in a million.”
Katherine is a three-sport athlete, running crosscountry, winter track, and spring track. She is an
integral part of Student Council, an officer for the
Diversity Awareness Club, a Tabula staff member,
a past participant in the nationally recognized
Student Diversity Leadership Conference, and a
member of the Understanding Racial Affinity Club.
This is all on top of taking the highest number of
courses possible, at the highest level, in each of her
years of Upper School.
“With her rigorous course load, she manages
to excel in every subject,” says Upper School math
teacher and Katherine’s adviser, Tanuja Murray.
“What I find unique about Katherine is the grace
and poise with which she handles herself. She
does not lose her composure and does not seem
overwhelmed by any of her many obligations and
workload. She has faced challenges with a quiet
determination.” With all of her interests and talents, the biggest
challenge for Katherine as her high school career
winds down may be finding out exactly where her
passions lie. “Whenever I get the inevitable ‘What
job do you want to pursue?’ query, my response is
consistently, ‘I don’t know,’” says Hong. “Now that I
am closer to college and to pursuing a career, this is
a bit troublesome. The only thing I know for sure is
that I want to see the world as soon as possible.”
She was able to begin that exploration last
summer, when she participated in EA’s student
exchange program with the Herschel School in
Cape Town, South Africa. “My exchange to South
Africa was one of the best opportunities Episcopal
has ever provided for me,” says Hong. “Those two
months were an amazing experience. I think it
really broadened my horizons. It was really interesting and exciting to discover this whole new world
outside of Episcopal. It was so refreshing to be
somewhere where nobody had any assumptions
or preconceived notions about me. I loved every
minute of it.” Although her thoughts are beginning to look
beyond high school, Katherine is still very excited
for her final year at EA. “I have enjoyed expanding
my horizons at Episcopal, especially in regards to
spreading diversity awareness. It is amazing to consider that my classmates and I might have changed
this venerable school for the better,” says Hong. “It’s
hard for me to imagine life after Episcopal. But in
the short term, I am enjoying being a senior and
really enjoying every ‘last’ big event.”—MIKE LETTS
So Much to Smile About
Sam Pope always greets you with a huge smile. Ask
anyone that interacts with him on a daily basis what
he’s like and you’ll get the same answer: a fabulous
kid with a great attitude. His self-deprecating
“There is a standard at EA, and they expect you to succeed. And even
though the pressure can be great, the teachers are phenomenal and
they want you to succeed just as badly as you want to.” —Sam Pope
humor and affable nature are infectious and, like all
class leaders, his interests are wide and varied.
“Sam is a stellar example for other students
and someone I celebrate knowing everyday,” says
David Sigel, chair of the Art Department and Pope’s
adviser. “His curiosity, involvement, and thoughtful
but tenacious approach to immersing himself in
his work helps fuel and enlist all who work with or
know Sam. His confidence and leadership come
from an honest place and a genuine desire to work
for a better outcome for all involved.”
However, Sam would be the first to admit that
hard work didn’t always come second nature to
him. Everything began to change when Sam began
working with track coach and Lower School teacher
Jeremy Hark, Hon., who encouraged Sam to try
the triple jump during the winter of his junior year.
The initial results were phenomenal—Sam nailed
a school record of 47’ 7” after only three meets of
the winter season—but the immediate follow-up
became a humbling and educational experience
for him.
“The rest of the jumps following my record-setting jump weren’t even close to it. My fitness wasn’t
where it needed to be and so I kept performing
worse and worse. It showed me that I can’t just feed
my body whatever and expect it to perform well,
and also just how much potential I have when I’m
focused,” remembers Pope. “Most of all, it humbled
me, showed me that I may be good but I’m not the
best, and even if I do perform exceptionally well, it
won’t stay that way for long unless I keep at it.”
The guidance of his coaches and Sam’s maturity
as an athlete and student certainly began to pay
off. In track, he’s continued to build an impressive
resume: All-Inter-Ac honors in 2013-2014, the Class
of 1910 Award for Greatest Service to the EA boys’
track and field team, the Greenwood Award given to
the most valuable member of the track team, and
record-setting jumps at the PA Independent School
State Meet, the Chestnut Hill Spring Invitational,
and the Delaware County Meet of Championships.
Sam even tacked on a second-place finish at the
2014 New Balance Nationals for good measure.
But like all great student leaders, it isn’t one
particular strength that defines Sam. A very solid
student, Sam is also a key member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Club, Improv Club, the
Gender Equality Club, Book Club, Da Vinci Club,
Epolitan, Stripes (a boys’ a cappella group), and
the Diversity Awareness Club. Sam also facilitated
his own lesson for other students during EA’s
Peace and Diversity day this past spring. It’s clear
W I N T E R 20 14 // 7
he’s taken the success he’s found in track, and the
determination to push himself, and utilized it in
every area of his Episcopal experience.
“There is a standard at EA, and they expect you to
succeed,” says Pope. “And even though the pressure
can be great, the teachers are phenomenal and
they want you to succeed just as badly as you want
to. From my three-plus years that I’ve spent at EA,
it’s as though both faculty and students refuse to
give up on you because they know how great you
can be.” —MIKE LETTS
A Renaissance Man
Named Moose
There isn’t much that John “Moose” Minicozzi
doesn’t do well. He’s the kind of student-athlete
that teachers love to have in class. Try to put him in
any particular box, and he’ll surprise you.
“John is a renaissance man,” says his Form Dean
and adviser, Cheryl McLauchlan, Hon., who John
cites as the most influential teacher he’s had during
his time at EA. “What makes him special, however,
is his love for everything he does. He has a positive
attitude that comes through in whatever activity he
chooses. He makes everyone so comfortable that he
has many friends with a variety of interests.”
And his interests are extensive. Over the past two
years, John has performed the most community
service hours of any EA student for the Admission
Office. He is also a member of the concert band and
jazz band (he plays trumpet), and will serve as a
board member for Mock Trial and the Junto debate
team this year. This past spring, he was elected to
the “Esse Quam Videri” student leadership team by
EA’s faculty and students.
This fall, John served as a co-captain for the football team and next spring he will again help lead
the varsity baseball team. His athletic talents have
garnered awards (an honorable mention All-Delco
selection in baseball last spring and an All-Inter-Ac
football selection in 2012, 2013 and 2014), but it’s
his leadership skills that stand out.
“I have had the pleasure of coaching John for
four years,” says Episcopal head football coach Todd
Fairlie. “He’s not only a great player but an even
better teammate and leader. John’s effort every day
is second to none, and he has a great understanding of what it takes to win.”
Upper School music teacher and jazz ensemble
conductor Ryan Dankanich echoes these sentiments. “Moose is a great leader in the band room.
He displays a true love for all music that is way beyond his years,” says Dankanich. “He has a diverse
appreciation of music that includes Stevie Wonder,
Count Basie, Fats Waller, and Jack White, and he is
8 // C O N N E C T I O N S
“Mind, Body, Spirit is more than just a motto here. This school truly
wants you to develop as a whole person by stepping outside your
comfort zone and trying new things. “ — Alex Viscusi
our student conductor for the band this year, which
is a big responsibility.”
Moose takes his successes in stride and credits
the culture at EA for allowing him to pursue all of
his interests. “EA is different because of the people.
In other schools, there are the bookworms, the
athletes, the actors, and club participators,” says
John. “But at EA everyone does everything. It isn’t
uncool to do something because the community
is supportive of everything. Every day is tiring
and rigorous but I get to share them with my best
friends and some of the most intelligent and caring
teachers I know. This makes every day a lot easier to
conquer.”
Asked what he hopes to get out of his final year
at EA, John says this: “We, as a class, can make this
senior year fun and memorable. I don’t want to
leave with any regrets come graduation.” —
MIKE LETTS
A Natural Leader
Woody Nimoityn is that special type of student
that comes along very infrequently. Mature beyond
his years, he carries a healthy sense of who he is,
where he wants to go, and what’s really important
in life. In the untidy world that is late adolescence,
Woody easily moves between the various elements
of the social spectrum with seeming ease and
acuity.
“Woody is a natural leader. He always seems to
know the right thing to say at the right time,” says
Whit Powell, Hon., an EA Lower School teacher,
Woody’s tennis coach, and one of the teachers
Woody says has had the biggest impact on his
growth. “What makes him stand out is his ability
to connect with every person on the team, from
the first singles player to the third-team doubles
novice. He makes them feel a part of something
bigger than themselves and gives them the sense
that their participation is just as important as
anyone else’s.”
So it comes as no surprise that Woody was
elected captain of the tennis team for this coming
spring, along with a host of other leadership
positions that have adorned his high school
career. Woody served as president of the junior
class last year and is the secretary of the Upper
School Student Council this year. He was selected
by members of the faculty to participate in the
Cross Bridge Scholars program (a joint community
service program with the Honickman Learning
Center in West Philadelphia), is president of the
jazz band and concert band, took part in the Hugh
O’Brien Youth Leadership (HOBY) program during
the summer between his sophomore and junior
years, serves on the “Esse Quam Videri” leadership
team, and is a valued member of the paddle tennis
team and the Young Republican Club. Quite simply,
Woody’s goal is to make the Upper School, and EA
as a whole, a better place.
“Through Student Council this year I want to help
continue to build the sense of family in the community through participation, and to help define
the Class of 2015 and its legacy,” says Woody,
who hopes to attend Tufts University after EA. “It is
important to me for the Class of 2015 to lead by
example and make a difference in the community
and inspire the coming grades to do the same.
Even with the devastating student and family
tragedies over the past couple years, the school
has rallied together to be one. We have become a
family, and I am so proud to be apart of this special
community.”
“Woody is an incredibly talented student who
brings his passion and joy for learning and his
commitment to excellence to everything he does,”
says Dr. Cathy Hall, Assistant Head of School and
Woody’s American literature teacher during his
junior year. “His positive energy and tremendous
work ethic is contagious and his diverse abilities
are matched by his fantastic personality and great
attitude.”
It’s that sincerity and zeal that are so unmistakable when you sit down to talk to Woody. His focus
is always on others—how they’re feeling, what they
need, how he can help. In typical fashion, he’s quick
to note that it’s the teachers and coaches during
his 12 years at EA (he arrived in Pre-K) that have
shaped his values and helped him discover who he
really is.
“Episcopal is a very nurturing environment, but
you are left to discover your interests and navigate
through high school independently,” says Woody.
“I have enjoyed my experience at EA because of
the great relationships I have built with students
and teachers, which have influenced my growth as
a young adult. I know my days are numbered as a
student at EA, but I will always cherish the memories
I have.” —MIKE LETTS
“Leighann has demonstrated a true spirit of service in which
she sees the needs of others as if they were her own.”
INSPIRED TO HELP HAITI
BY BILL DOHERTY
Leighann Adelizzi’s
life-altering
journeys to Haiti began a couple years ago
with a simple walk across the Campus Green
to an assembly in the Mainstage Theater.
During the assembly, a few teachers talked
about EA’s new partnership with a school
in Haiti called St. Marc’s, and Adelizzi was
intrigued enough to pick up an application
from Rev. Tim Gavin. She filled out the application and soon learned that she would be
bound for Haiti.
“My first expectation was that it would be
another service trip that you always hear
about. A girl from a sheltered life takes a step
outside of her comfort zone into a third world
country with tragedy and poverty, has a lifechanging experience, and returns home only
to forget she even went a few months later,”
Adelizzi said during her Oct. 2 Chapel talk.
“But two years and three trips to Haiti later, I
could not have been more wrong about that
expectation.”
The first trip—with Rev. Gavin and a group
of students—ignited a spark in Adelizzi. “I
came to love Haiti and its people on that first
trip because of all this chaos and discomfort.
Being without my phone and completely disconnected from home really allowed me to
experience Haiti for what it is,” she recalled.
“The people and the culture were what drew
me in on that first trip. And upon stepping
off the plane, the first thing I told my parents
was that I wanted to return.”
An opportunity for Adelizzi to return to Haiti
occurred last January in Rev. Gavin’s “Haiti:
Making the Stranger Our Neighbor” JTerm
class. Feeling more comfortable this time,
Adelizzi spoke in French with the children
and students of St. Marc’s, performed service
work, and formed bonds with the children
through games of soccer and “duck, duck,
goose.”
“Leigh is a conscientious person,” says Rev.
Gavin. “For example, as an ambassador for
our Haiti partnership with St. Marc’s School,
Leigh has presented reflections to the Board
of Trustees, to potential donors, and to the
student body in order to raise support for our
goal of building a new school in the central
plateau of Haiti, which will be completed in
the next few months. She has demonstrated
a true spirit of service in which she sees the
needs of others as if they were her own.”
Upon arriving home from her JTerm trip to
Haiti, Adelizzi immediately began to research
volunteer groups working in Haiti. Then, one
day in Chapel, Adelizzi heard about the Ben
Read ’43 Scholarship and realized it was her
opportunity to return to Haiti a third time.
The purpose of the Ben Read Scholarship
is to send EA students to experience and
explore other cultures, learn more about the
world, and grow as people.
“I can’t tell you how impressed the Ben Read
selection committee was with Leighann’s
sincerity and passion for service arising from
her prior trips to Haiti and her project at Ile-aVache,” says Chuck Bryant, Episcopal’s Upper
School History Chair. “The fact that there was
a strong international service component
to the project makes it reminiscent of Ben
Read’s own life mission, to better the quality
of life of people around the world.”
Working in July with an organization called
Elevate Destinations, Adelizzi was stationed
in the town of Ile-a-Vache, teaching English
and leading art classes for locals ranging in
age from 2 to 20. During the three trips to
Haiti, Adelizzi has found her life’s calling—she
wants to major in international relations and
make a real difference in Haiti.
“I have been fortunate at such a young age
to discover that this work is my true passion
that will continue to grow in college and in
the future,” says Adelizzi. “A clear direction
has been paved for me, and I look forward to
following it.”
Those who have taught Adelizzi at EA are
confident that she will continue to make a
real difference in the world.
“Two of the attributes that make Leighann
special are her humility and heartfelt
compassion for others,” says Upper School
history teacher Rob Trumbull. “Leighann
travels with an open mind, listens, and then
brings that knowledge back to better programs at Episcopal. She truly wants to make
a difference in the world, Haiti in particular,
and I am confident that she will.”
Rev. Gavin concurs, saying: “I have taught
Leighann in the classroom, coached her in
cross-country and track, and worked with
her in Haiti, and I can confidently say that she
embraces EA’s challenge to develop mind,
body, and spirit. She is the type of student
we hope to graduate from Episcopal.”
W I N T E R 20 14 // 9
TH E W ILD , B LU E
( A ND WH ITE )
YONDE R
By Michael Bradley
The simulators are a lot of fun.
Learning about how naval aviators live is
great. Evan Zanolli loves the lessons, the
science—and that week spent on the replica
of an aircraft carrier was amazing.
None of it can approach the real
thing.
“Every night I think about flying by myself,”
he says. “It’s going to be cool.”
Since the day he went on his first flight, at
“three or four,” Zanolli has been all about
getting into the air. He can play as much
football as he wants, or sing “anything they
put in front of me,” but there is only one
thing that fires the eighth grader’s passions
on a consistent basis.
“He always said when he was little that he
wanted to be a pilot or an engineer who
designs planes,” says Zanolli’s mother, Alice
Patton. “When you hear that, you think,
‘Yeah, right.’ But he never wavered as he
got older. We started to say, ‘Wow. He really
means this.’”
You bet he does. At first, Zanolli’s forays
into the skies were limited to multiple visits
to the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Over the past couple years, he
has started going to flight camps, spending weeks at the Naval Academy learning
about how midshipmen live and taking
classes from professors at the school. This
past summer, Zanolli was in Dayton, An-
10 // C O N N E C T I O N S
napolis, and Pensacola learning as much
as he could about flight and planes. And,
of course, there are the flying lessons in
a Cessna 172. “The last time we went up,
we were practicing landings and stalls,” he
reports.
While other kids were at the pool or the
beach this summer, Zanolli was getting
instruction in the physics of air travel, learning how wings generate lift, and what makes
the plane go up and down. He spent time at
an Air Force base and was all over the place
in Annapolis. His “What I did this summer”
essay probably had some parts that were
classified.
“It interests me,” he says. “Why shouldn’t I
have spent my free time doing something I
love?”
Zanolli started at Episcopal in fifth grade,
and it was pretty clear from his first day on
campus that he had considerable drive and
ambition. In addition to being a high honors
student, he is linebacker and offensive
lineman on the football team and was one
of only 30 Pop Warner first-team Academic
All-Americans. In addition to singing, Zanolli
is a fine public speaker and is on the Middle
School Chapel Council. He has found
enough time, though, to watch Top Gun
“quite a few times” and has been known to
walk around the house repeating the Maverick and Goose mantra, “I feel the need, the
need for speed!”
“Any time he has the opportunity to be a role
model, he tries to make the right decision,”
Middle School Head Steve Morris says. “He
tries to carry himself in the right ways. He is
very articulate, and when he delivers a message, it has the right tone.”
The time Zanolli has spent at the Naval
Academy has produced in him a strong
desire to attend there after he graduates
from EA. But he hasn’t yet been to Colorado
Springs, home of the Air Force Academy, so
nothing is definite. Don’t bet against his first
instinct. Part of it is his makeup. After all, he
stuck with his passion for flying from an early age. But he has a pragmatic reason, too.
“Navy personnel and the Marines produce
more pilots than anybody else,” he says.
Zanolli has some time before he has to
make that decision. Until then, he’ll continue his aggressive pursuit of life among
the clouds.
“When I was younger, I thought it was so
cool that people could fly over the earth,”
he says.
And closer to their dreams.
This entire fall, Episcopal
Inspired
by Evie
By Bill Doherty
Academy’s nationally ranked
field hockey team honored the memory of Evie O’Brian ’14 by wearing
bright pink ribbons and playing with unmatched passion.
Prior to its October 24 game vs. Academy of Notre Dame, the team
paid special tribute to O’Brian, who tragically died this past summer from
injuries sustained after she was hit by a pickup truck while on a morning
jog in State College, Pa.
The entire EA field hockey team—and even EA’s Head of School T.J.
Locke—sported pink t-shirts with “Team Evie” and an illustration of a
turtle, Evie’s good luck charm when she was young, on the front and her
number No. 5 on the back. Assistant field hockey coach Amanda Vos
Strache ’99, who was also O’Brian’s adviser, took to the microphone and
reminded the assembled crowd of Evie’s ever-present smile and what a
terrific teammate she was. Then the team presented flowers to Christy and
David O’Brian, Evie’s parents. Notre Dame team took part in the tribute
to Evie too as the entire team sported neon pink socks in her memory.
Then the EA team, as they had all season long, came out and gave Evie
the ultimate tribute—playing with heart, passion and skill in a 4-0 victory.
Coach Gina Buggy’s talented and driven squad went through the entire
Inter-Ac season without a league loss.
At game’s end, the players from both teams lined up and shook hands
under a sky that was an eye-popping mixture of blue and white (EA’s colors) and you guessed it, fluorescent pink.
“It was a gorgeous night to celebrate our teammate and friend Evie
O’Brian including a magically pink sky at the end of the always exciting
Episcopal/Notre Dame field hockey game,” said Buggy. “The field hockey
team keeps Evie close to our hearts every day and we always will.”
Ironically, the two teams met again a few weeks later in the PAISAA
state championship game on November 15. Notre Dame led 2-0 with
12 minutes left in regulation. But EA, playing for themselves and for the
memory of Evie, dug deep and scored three times down the stretch, including two goals in the game’s final two minutes (the game-tying goal by Lexi
Fischer and the game winner with just 40 seconds left by Angela Rocca) to
capture the state title and complete a 26-1 season with the 3-2 win.
W I N T E R 20 14 // 11
Inspiring
Speakers
Thomas B. Locke
The Episcopal Academy’s
Class of 1944 Chapel has
welcomed an impressive roster
of outside speakers this fall.
Many of these speakers stayed
after their Chapel talks, visited
and participated in various EA
classes, and truly inspired and
impacted our students. Some of
the fall highlights have included:
Timothy Shah
September 11 / Chapel
Thomas B. Locke, who oversaw the 9/11 investigation from FBI headquarters back in 2001, delivered
a heartfelt talk and presented the school with a
truly special gift—a flag that flew on the U.S.S. Cole
and at Ground Zero—during the EA’s annual September 11 Chapel.
October 8 / Maura Murphy Lecture
The annual Maura Murphy ’96 Lecture Series speaker,
Timothy Shah made a persuasive case that the inability
to freely practice religion in a world filled with religious
diversity is the most important human rights issue of the
21st century. Shah is the associate director of the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion,
Peace & World Affairs and visiting assistant professor in
the government department at Georgetown University.
12 //C O N N E C T I O N S
Lieutenant Colonel Jim Wheatley ’51
November 11 /
Veterans Day Chapel
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant
Colonel Jim Wheatley ’51, who
served in Germany and Vietnam,
reflected on his service. The audience was comprised of Middle
and Upper School students as
well as 28 Episcopal Academy
alumni, faculty, and staff who
Marcus Allen
served in the armed forces. During his military career, Wheatley earned two Bronze Stars, a
Purple Heart, an Air Medal for
Valor, three Meritorious Service
medals, and two Army Commendation medals.
Elena Delle Donne
November 3 / Spirit Week
Kickoff Chapel
Marcus Allen, the first African-American
man to lead Big Brothers/Big Sisters of
Southeastern Pennsylvania in its century of
service, successfully kicked off this year’s EA
Spirit Week with an inspiring Chapel speech
on November 3. After a warm introduction
from EA juniors Dylan Higgins and Nadiyah
Browning, Allen expertly weaved together
the Episcopal stripes, this year’s Chapel
theme “Love Never Fails,” and his own incredible personal story during his combined
Middle and Upper School Chapel talk.
November 17 / Elena Delle Donne Visit
Elena Delle Donne, one of the top players in the Women’s
National Basketball Association (WNBA), thrilled a group
of second through fifth graders at an early morning Chapel
assembly. She then spoke in a combined Middle and Upper
School Chapel, sharing her personal story about her special
relationship with her sister Lizzie, who has autism and cerebral
palsy.
W I N T E R 20 14 // 13
EA ICON:
Chip Hollinger
By Mike Letts
ICON STATUS
Future issues of Connections will
profile an EA icon. To nominate
a faculty member, a coach, an
administrator, or a staff member—
either active or retired—for us to profile,
please email your nomination to Bill
Doherty, director of communications,
at [email protected].
14 // C O N N E C T I O N S
When you stop to think about it, it makes perfect sense. John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Joe Namath’s
guaranteed victory in Super Bowl III. Richard Nixon’s rise to the presidency. Vietnam. The Beatles’ final
public appearance atop Abbey Road Studios. Neil Armstrong’s famous first steps. The Civil Rights Movement and the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. Although not a child of the 1960s in the stereotypical
sense, for a young man with a passion for history and political science, the decade provided a real-life
laboratory for Charles “Chip” Hollinger to explore the context of American political discourse and social
upheaval and to contemplate how he could share his passion.
When you meet Chip, it’s hard to believe that his
45-year legacy of artfully teaching, coaching, and
mentoring young men and women at Episcopal
wasn’t preordained. Strangely, it took some convincing before Chip realized that to fully consume the
history he so loved, he needed to share it with others.
And so, it was during a meeting with his chain-smoking adviser at Kenyon College, Dr. Harry Clor, that a
career in education first crossed Chip’s mind in the
spring of 1969.
“My father was a lawyer, his father was a lawyer, and
his father was a laywer. So I was discussing with him
where I should go to law school,” recalls Chip. “In
the middle of the discussion, he looked at me and
he said ‘Have you ever considered being a teacher?’”
recalls Hollinger. “My initial response was actually
rude. I laughed and said, ‘Are you kidding?’ But that
discussion stuck in my head and really the whole
time I was at law school, which was really only half a
year, I kept thinking ‘You know maybe I should consider being a teacher.’ So law school was really useful
in helping me refine what it was that I wanted to do
and wanted to be.”
Originally from the tiny town of Thornburg, Pa,
outside Pittsburgh (where he attended school in a
two-room schoolhouse), Hollinger began his search
for a teaching position in the Philadelphia area because his uncle led an Episcopal congregation in
Clifton Heights. He initially interviewed at two local
boarding schools, but soon realized that after attending an all-boys boarding school (South Kent School
in South Kent, Conn.) and an all-male college (Kenyon), the day school environment was a better fit
professionally.
“At South Kent, I was part of a group of people and an
entity that’s larger than yourself and that’s what I was
looking for when I started looking at teaching positions,” says Chip. “To be part of not just a school, but
a place that had values. I interviewed with Jim Quinn
Episcopal’s 8th Head of School and got a phone call
from him a couple days later. He offered me the job,
and I took it.”
The rest is, quite literally, history.
Currently the Assistant Head of Middle School and
the Senior Master of the Faculty, his list of responsibilities over the course of four decades at EA is as
varied as it is impressive. He’s covered electives, AP
politics and government, Western civilization, U.S.
history, capitalism, communism, socialism, fascism,
the Arab-Israeli conflict, and introduced his students to landmark cases of constitutional law. Chip
has also taught English and coached soccer (for 43
years), football, squash, and tennis.
He began the Model UN Club and led the World Affairs Club and the Chess Club. He’s won the Keegan
Award for excellence in coaching and the Class of
1940 Award, given to a faculty member who, in the
opinion of their colleagues, has significantly altered
the lives of students and stimulated their interest in
academics, athletics, and activities. He’s the marshal
of the faculty, served as the Middle School history
chair for more than a decade, and is the teacher so
many alumni thank on their return to campus for
his helpful—and sometimes forceful—guidance. He’s
the one who stoically mans Middle School recess
and exchanges playful banter with the students, his
trademark smile across his face and ever-present fedora perched atop his head.
“As a teacher, his encyclopedic mind helps
globally-minded Middle School kids—and Chip’s
colleagues—put global puzzle pieces together. ‘Why
does the Middle East look the way it does?’ ‘Why
does North Korea behave the way it does?’ Ask
Chip,” says Sue Cannon, Hon., a longtime friend
and colleague. “As Assistant Head of Middle School,
Chip sets the tone for the life of the community. He
doesn’t like to call his job ‘disciplinarian,’ and I see
why. He behaves more like a gardener, and he aims
to impart, instill, and grow wisdom in children making the transition to young adulthood. “Sometimes they act like knuckleheads,” Cannon
notes with humor, “but Chip demonstrates devotion
to fairness and building a healthy community in his
everyday interactions with students.”
Teaching and mentoring young men and women
is, quite simply, a calling for Chip. He seems genuinely perplexed as to why so many would ask him
about spending the bulk of his life with burgeoning
adolescents that can be, shall we say, inquisitive and
energetic.
“I would be hard-pressed to say that they (Middle
School students) have changed as people,” says
Chip. “Obviously the most significant change is how
technology has altered childhood and what they can
do. But in many ways, I don’t see huge changes in
kids, as such. People also often ask me how I can
teach Middle School kids for so long,” he jokes. “My
response is, ‘How can you not?’ It’s such a unique
age group. It’s so full of change and it’s just exciting
to teach them. Once you get bitten by that bug, it’s
just a great age group to teach.”
“Chip is the most dedicated, loyal, and child-centered educator I have ever encountered in almost
30 years of teaching and administrating,” says Head
of Middle School Steve Morris, who has worked
closely with Chip for the better part of a decade. “If
you stop into Chip’s office, you will note the photographs and the scribbled handwritten notes from
innumerable students that show and highlight just
a few of the lives Chip has touched in remarkable
ways. He makes a difference and he is one reason
why Episcopal and our Middle School are so special.
He understands that schoolwork is about people and
relationships, and he is tireless in his pursuit of how
to best support our school and our students through
those relationships.” It is these one-on-one moments and the students’
natural curiosity that keep Chip working to turn their
questions into well-conditioned analytical skills and
their energy into excitement.
“I agree with historian Gary Willis when he says,
‘Knowledge of history is the precondition to political
intelligence,’” says Hollinger. “So I’m always trying to
correlate what’s happening in the world today with
history. I’m always trying to make that connection.
Getting kids to focus outside of themselves and outside of our country to develop a global awareness.
“People will ask me, ‘What do you teach?’ and some
would say they teach math or history or whatever,”
he continues. “I say, ‘I teach kids.’ So really I have to
say that I like building a teacher-student relationship with kids that isn’t predicated just on being a
dispenser of information.”
History is a funny thing, and for Chip it’s so much
more than a timeline of information. So often individuals have trouble recognizing the significance of
events as they unfold. It’s only with time, reflection,
and context that people truly begin to understand
their impact and power.
So it is with the teachers that play such a monumental role in the shaping of students’ lives and
the individuals who provide the longevity and
commitment that make Episcopal such a cherished
community. The pool is deep and wide, and their impact reverberates across decades and generations.
Balsley. Ridgway. Quinn. Doolittle. Haslam. Bishop.
Crawford. Baldwin. And—albeit with much work still
in front of him—Hollinger.
History, indeed.
Mike Letts, Hon. is an Upper School English teacher
and the Form Dean for the Class of 2015.
W I N T E R 20 14 // 15
When Brian Long ’02 headed
back to the Philadelphia area from his
Manhattan home this summer to visit
some former Episcopal classmates, they
were sure happy to see him.
The group headed out to relive the old
glory days and to make some new ones.
It was a fun night, filled with laughter
and stories, and as the tab climbed
throughout the evening, no one seemed
to care. They were hanging together.
And with Long.
Going
Long
with
Twitter
By Michael Bradley
16 // C O N N E C T I O N S
One of the main reasons for the gettogether was to celebrate Long’s
success. In late June, Twitter spent
“around $100 million,” according to one
source, to buy the company that Long
had co-founded in 2012, TapCommerce.
Though the company’s first two years
were hectic and required brutal hours,
considerable stress, and a beastly travel
schedule for Long—not to mention
high doses of patience from his wife,
Liz Day—the rise from start-up to highpriced Twitter target was rapid, to say
the least.
“Obviously, we’re super excited about
it,” Long says. “Twitter is one of the
most amazing companies over the
past 10 years. To work with a company
like that on something you created is
great.”
Anyone who paid attention to Long’s
activity throughout his time at EA and
while at the University of Pennsylvania
could have predicted he would pursue
an entrepreneurial course that would
most likely have a tech bent. He began
at Episcopal as a Kindergartener and by
the time he was in high school, he was
seeking out computer science courses
and honing a skill for graphic design.
At the same time, he was running some
side businesses, including one that
made custom mixes and CDs for his clients. “I sold
to everyone I could—parents, friends, students,”
Long says.
Long and then-Radnor High School student Andrew
Jones, with whom he later started TapCommerce,
were “big nerds,” according to Long. They played
a lot of video games together and were among the
first of their group to get AOL accounts. It’s clear
Long had a strong interest in the technical world,
and he was doing a lot, beyond just playing games,
to foster it. During a couple high school summers,
he took an internship with Rajant Corp, a thenRadnor-based company that developed wireless
Internet networks to be deployed as necessary. “It
was cool to work for them,” Long says.
He graduated from Penn in 2006 with a
communications major and a minor in classics, a nod
to his love of Latin developed at EA. His first stop
on the professional path was at CNET.com, which
provided reviews of technical products and services.
It was a perfect blending of Long’s major and his
prime interest, but it didn’t last long. CBS bought
CNET, and Long left to join a Brooklyn-based startup, Pontiflex, which did mobile advertising. He
began with the sales team and over three years with
the company (now known as Crossboard Mobile),
Long recognized how Internet commerce was
moving from the computer to the mobile device.
“Everything was on a touch screen,” he says.
In 2012, he launched TapCommerce as a means
of helping companies that were selling on mobile
devices reach—and keep—their customers. In
advertising days of old, campaigns were based
around print, TV, radio and the Yellow Pages. Today
it’s vital for companies to have access to customers
through their use of apps and other online tools that
can lead to sales.
“Most people download a lot of apps, but after six
months only about five percent of those apps are
still being used,” says Long. “Marketers are spending
tons of money to get apps on people’s phones.
What we do is show ads to people who have
downloaded apps to get them to use them again.”
An example: Suppose you view some watches
on the eBay app on your tablet but move on
to something else before making a purchase.
TapCommerce allows eBay to show you an ad at a
later date for those watches and then takes you
to the page that features them. “If the user clicks
that ad, we get paid,” Long says.
Social media outlets, like Twitter and Facebook,
have been making big pushes to expand their
mobile advertising reach. Last September, Twitter
spent more than $300 million to acquire MoPub,
another mobile ad company.
Long is excited about his new alliance but hardly
plans to retire at age 30. He spent too much time
creating TapCommerce and working to find the
necessary funding for it. He had spent time looking
for financial backing with Pontiflex, but it’s a
completely dissimilar experience trying to get the
money for your own company.
“I knew some of the tricks of the trade, but it’s
different to go from that to doing it for yourself,”
he says. “It’s significantly harder than I thought
it would be.”
When not chasing financing—“I travel an insane
amount,” Long says. “During the first half of this
year, I had 75-80,000 miles on United alone”—he
leads the app engagement team at Twitter through
the acquisition of TapCommerce and enjoys
spending time with his wife, a fellow Penn grad. But
he does return to EA for the alumni soccer game,
and since his parents still live in Wayne, he is back
in the area frequently to see them as well as some
EA friends, a pattern he plans to continue.
In fact, Long came home to EA on December 10
to address Upper School students as part of the
Episcopal Academy Speaker Series. Prior to his
speech, Long was introduced by his friend and
EA classmate, Mark Sabat ’02, who referenced
witnessing Long’s drive and determination at
TapCommerce during a recent visit to New York
City.
“To see his laser focus, answering countless emails
at 8 p.m. on a Saturday night, when nobody else
was working, was amazing,” remarked Sabat. “It’s
one of the many reasons he’s so successful.”
W I N T E R 20 14 // 17
Center for Growth
& Innovation,
NXT@EA Prepare
for Second Year
After enjoying a successful 2014 debut,
the Episcopal Academy’s Center for Growth & Innovation (CGI) is
poised for bigger and better things in 2015.
This unique summer program draws on the best of Episcopal’s
innovative resources, spaces, faculty, and creative and enriching programs, enabling students across the area to participate in
dynamic, fun, and engaging summer offerings.
The Center for Growth & Innovation offers a wide range of opportunities for students to explore. There are courses for every
child’s age and interest, led by an incredibly talented, innovative,
experienced faculty. Extensive programming for CGI was found
in five areas: Arts Academy, STEM Center, Academic Prep,
Leadership Institute, and Adventure and Travel. For more information on CGI, call 610-581-7100 or visit www.easummer.com.
In addition to CGI, Episcopal will once again offer two distinct
sports options: ESF’s Day and Sports Camps and NXT@EA
Sports Camps. All told, the three summer camp offerings—CGI,
ESF Day and Sports Camps, and NXT@EA—will attract thousands of kids to EA’s state-of-the-art campus in 2015.
ESF’s Day and Sports Camps are known nationally for their high
engagement and award-winning programs. Kids come back
year after year to these programs because of the transformative experiences and lifelong friends that the camps are so good
at fostering. The weeklong ESF Day and Sports Camps will be
offered from June 9 through August 15, 2015. For more information, contact the ESF offices at 610-581-7100 or visit http://
www.esfcamps.com/episcopal/camps/.
Like CGI, the NXT@EA Sports Camps, led by Episcopal varsity
coaches, debuted successful—with 799 campers last summer.
These weeklong summer camps, run by Episcopal coaches at
EA’s facilities, are expected to grow even larger in the summer of
2015. To learn more about NXT’s summer of 2015 plans, contact
Joanna Johnson at [email protected] or 610-667-4105.
18 /1/ 8C O
/ /NC
NO
EN
CN
T IEOCNTSI O N S
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 19
The Episcopal Academy graduated 125 seniors at its 229th Commencement
exercises on Thursday, June 5 in the Class of 1944 Chapel.
During the ceremony, students were recognized for their accomplishments and congratulated for their success. The featured speakers were valedictorian Chester Thai and salutatorian Taylor Anne Fitzgerald.
T.J. Locke, the Greville Haslam Head of School who presided over his first commencement ceremony at
Episcopal, acknowledged the many successes of the Class of 2014 before giving them one last homework assignment.
“Your homework is to keep in touch,” said Locke. “Stay close to the people here. We care about you. We
want to hear how things are going for you next year. We want you to visit on breaks. I love seeing teachers’
faces light up when a former student visits them. We take great pride in you and your accomplishments.
“You will always be my first class here at EA. You are special in your own right, but you are particularly
special to me. Best of luck. I will miss you.”
After the presentation of the awards, diplomas, and bibles, Thai said farewell for the Class of 2014 with a
stirring, well-crafted valedictorian address that honored his late classmate Paul Pratt ’14 and cited Odysseus
from a classic Greek myth, the poet Robert Frost, the classic book The Great Gatsby, and even astronomer
Carl Sagan.
“Greet every new, unexpected step in your life, not with uncertainty, but with excitement and confidence,”
said Thai, now a Stanford University freshman. “Take what is behind you, Class of 2014, and write it on the
side of your boat. Then, make every oar stroke count. Row, with every last quivering atom in your soul, with
every heartbeat to a unified melody of beating oars, trusting the familiar wind against your backs and driving
ceaselessly toward the bright horizon and greater heights beyond.”
Class of 2014
20 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
commencement exercises
WIN
FT
AE
LR
L 2 0 1 4 / / 21
EA!
Head of School T.J. Locke urged the entire EA community to tweet summer vacation photos
from interesting locales using the hashtag #EAcolors.
The response was overwhelming. Here are some of the best EA colors photos we received. Thanks
for sharing the photos and your EA pride with us.
22 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 23
A Banner Year
for EA
The Episcopal Academy hit the road for
the annual Haverford/Agnes Irwin Weekend.
On Nov. 7, Episcopal Academy and Agnes Irwin squared
off in cross-country, tennis, soccer, and field hockey, in the
annual battle for the banner. By day’s end, the banner was
back in the possession of Episcopal after a one-year hiatus.
EA won three of the day’s four events—posting dominant
wins in cross-country (21-34, low score wins) and tennis
(7-0), as well as a hard-fought 2-1 victory in field hockey,
before dropping a 2-1 overtime decision in soccer.
On Friday, the boys fell behind 1-0 in the chase for the
sweater by dropping the EA-Haverford golf match, 248264 to the Fords at Merion Golf Club East. On Saturday,
the boys put up a valiant fight, particularly on the soccer
pitch where Matt Freese’s 15 saves keyed a 0-0 double-OT
tie with the Fords. By day’s end, Haverford maintained the
sweater due to its victories in cross-country (25-31), water
polo (9-8), and football (40-12).
EA /HAV/AIS
24 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
WEEKEND 2014
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 25
Alumni@EA
Class of ’64 50th Reunion Weekend Wrap-Up
M AY 2 & 3 , 2 014
“We’re certainly not in Merion anymore,” was the statement many members
of the Class of 1964 uttered on arriving for
our 50th Reunion at Episcopal’s Newtown
Square campus on May 2 and 3. The
majority of our class lives many miles from
suburban Philadelphia, so their memory
of Episcopal’s campus is old stone walls,
creaky floors, and lumpy playing fields
along noisy City Line Ave. The two-day
reunion weekend was a perfect showcase for the 135-acre new campus with
its symmetrically arranged quadrangle
of stone-faced buildings and expansive
playing fields. More important, it was a
chance for the 36 reunion attendees to
get reacquainted and to share common
memories.
Thirty-one EA graduating classmates
included Eric Alessandroni, Ken Appel, Peter Bengston, Dave Bower, Bill
Bremer, Thayer Bullitt, John Carty, Jeff
26 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Colen, Warren Cooke, Nick Crowell,
Austin de Lone, Joe Duncan, Keener
Earle, Louie Earle, Tom Foster, John
Langdon, Mike McIntire, Jack MacNeish, John Miller, Fred Osborn, John
Rosenberg, Hugh Reynolds, Bruce
Smith, Lew Staples, Mike Strawbridge,
Dave Trainer, Nick Warnock, Ted Watson, Kirk Woodbury, Ned Young, and
Tom Zug.
We were especially gratified to be joined
by five classmates who graduated elsewhere but retain such a strong connection
to EA and their classmates that they attended the 50th Reunion celebration. They
are Colin Hanna, Peter Hutchinson, Jad
Roberts, David Stokes, and Robin West.
Joining the total of 36 classmates were 20
spouses or significant others.
who was our class exchange student, flew
in from Heidelberg, Germany. Dr. John
Rosenberg arrived from Los Angeles,
Keener Earl from Idaho, Louie Earle from
Dallas, Nick Crowell from New Orleans,
Joe Duncan and Dave Bower from Florida,
Jack MacNeish from South Carolina, and
Mike McIntire from Vermont.
The two-day reunion weekend began
with a service at the Class of ’44 Chapel,
where many of the weekend events were
to take place. Tom Zug was the keynote
speaker. For the benefit of the younger
attendees, he addressed the inevitable
challenge of dealing with adversity. One of
his anecdotes that resonated with the student audience was Tom’s baseball story
about his competing on the 12-year-old’s
B team. Tom was the losing (and only)
pitcher in a 36-5 drubbing—a loss he has
not forgotten to this day. That’s adversity.
Class of
The majority of reunion attendees came
in from some distance. Peter Bengtson,
We met with the new Head of School T.J.
Locke who addressed the many issues
facing Episcopal today. We later heard
from a panel of students who answered
questions from our class about their EA
experiences.
After lunch, where we were serenaded by
the Upper School a capella singing group,
we visited with our pen pals from thirdgrade classes, and watched a wonderful
student-produced video about the many
differences between present day EA life
and how it was in 1964 based on “facts”
we stated in our pen pal letters. Sorry,
but no one read 30 books over the summer vacation. Not even the third graders
believed that one.
While classmates met with their pen pals,
a tour of nearby Chanticleer Gardens was
arranged for spouses and significant oth-
ers. “Even after living in the area for so
long, I never even knew these beautiful
gardens existed,” said Barbara Duncan,
wife of Joe Duncan. “And the food in the
cafeteria! I was amazed at the quantity
and quality of delicious and healthy food
selections.”
Throughout much of the weekend, we
were joined by two teachers from our
era: George Shafer, Hon., who taught
third grade and coached our varsity swim
team, and Bill Burdick, Hon. who taught
math in Upper School and coached
soccer.
The highlight of Friday was the presentation of the class gift to T.J. Locke for
$222,000. The gift creates The Class
of 1964 50th Anniversary Memorial Scholarship Fund and honors the
deceased members of the Class. This
fund provides scholarship aid to an Upper
School Academy student whose family
has suffered a sudden loss of income or a
severe financial crisis.
Saturday began with a Memorial Service
for our 14 departed classmates: Paul
Bowers, John Chew, Terry Griffin, Bill
Loesche, Jerome Lyford, Chip McAllister, Eddie McIlvain, Peter Page, Eugene
Pilot, Charlie Roberts, John Street, Bill
Tiernan, Dave Van Meter, and Peter
Williams.
The event was bittersweet with nearly
every classmate taking the microphones
to share stories about our departed
friends and to express sincere respect and
admiration. We were honored to have in
attendance Hase Griffin ’39, Terry Griffin’s
father. Special note was given to Eddie
McIlvain, whose name appears on the
’64 50th Reunion
n C O N T I N U E D O N PAG E 28
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 27
Alumni@EA
Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington.
Eddie, who was a Special Forces medic,
is the only Episcopal Academy student to
have died in that war. The service concluded with the release of 50 balloons: 45
blue representing the living Class members and 14 white balloons representing
the departed members.
our classmates from the Scholium, the
third grade letters and responses, and
much more. The Tabula was the result of
months of hard work by Kirk Woodbury,
Dave Trainer, Eric Alessandroni, and
Nancy Taylor from the Alumni Office.
On Saturday afternoon, the class had
many activity choices. There was a special
campus tour for our class; a Keynote address from EA grad Caroline Waxler ’89;
four classes (open to all alumni) taught
by EA faculty on topics ranging from
math and science, psychology, food, and
Episcopal’s athletic history; and a lacrosse
game.
On Saturday afternoon, a bagpiper led us
into the Chapel again for a program honoring all reunion classes. We heard from
various EA grads of all ages who shared
their perspective on what Episcopal has
meant to them. The highlight was a piano
recital from our talented classmate Warren Cooke. His music selection ranged
from ragtime to Chopin. At the conclusion
of the service, we repaired to the Dixon
Athletic Center for cocktails and dinner.
Throughout the reunion festivities, classmates were able to peruse a “Tabula”
reunion yearbook with more than 300
pages that included biographical updates
from each class member, original Tabula
write ups for each student, memories
and anecdotes, excerpted articles about
Great appreciation was extended to the
Alumni and Development Office staff
that set up the whole weekend: Bruce
Konopka, Patsy Porter, and especially
Nancy Taylor, who was later elected as
an honorary member of the Class of 1964
for her months of devotion and hard
Weekend
28 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
work. The reunion closed with promises
to maintain contact and to get together
in the near future, usually in some warm
and inviting locale down South. A few
couples stayed around on Sunday and
took in the local sights, including a visit to
the Barnes Foundation exhibit of Impressionist paintings, which was arranged by
the Alumni Office.
“I was pleasantly surprised with the many
interesting conversations I had over the
whole weekend,” said one class member
whose comments are probably typical. “I
had a pretty small circle of friends during
my years at Episcopal, so I wasn’t sure
I would have a lot to say to many of the
reunion attendees. We shared many more
experiences and memories than I could
have imagined, and I had a great time. I
am really glad I came.”
Finally, many thanks to the Reunion
Steering Committee: Tom Zug, Tom Foster, Kirk Woodbury, Dave Trainer,
Eric Alessandroni, Joe Duncan, and
Dave Bower.
Alumni
Regional Event
Boston
TH E C H A R LE S H OTE L
O CTO B E R 2 9, 2 014
1
Thank you, Gary
Gary Madeira, Jr. '72 stepped down as
board chair of The Episcopal Academy Board of
Trustees in June 2014. He had been an Episcopal
board member since 1994 and served as the chair
from 2010 to 2014. During his tenure, Episcopal
developed and implemented its Strategic Plan, grew
its endowment from $35 million to nearly $52 million,
and chose T.J. Locke as its 11th Head of School.
"We are all very grateful to Gary for his guidance,
service, and leadership, and I am particularly thankful for his professional advice and mentoring,"
Locke said.
2
The Episcopal community wishes Gary Madeira well
as he embarks on a new position as the Vice President of the Wealth Management Division at The Bryn
Mawr Trust Company.
1. L to R: Tench Forbes ’76, Tobias Welo ’90, John Bryant ’48,
Greg Jannetta ’84, Len Haley, Hon., and Tori Spofford ’10
2. Chloe Kinzig ‘14, Head of School T.J. Locke, and Meredith
McCarthy ‘14
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 29
Alumni@EA
’39 ’44
’34 ’44
’54
’59
’64
30 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
’69
’74
’79
’84
’89
’94
Alumni
Weekend
2014
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 31
Alumni@EA
How to Nominate
Someone for An Award
The biennial Awards Dinner that took place on
November 9, 2013 was attended by an enthusiastic crowd of
287—the highest number in the history of this special event that
recognizes and honors those within the EA community who have
demonstrated extraordinary achievements in various categories.
This dinner saw the inauguration of the Alumni Award for
Achievement in the Arts.
It is well known that the EA community has a number of individuals
who are potential candidates for this award. Mary French, Hon.,
[email protected], past Chair of the Art Department, is
Chair of the Arts Selection Committee, which evaluates each
nominee and makes its recommendations to the Awards Selection
Committee.
The EA community is also fortunate to have numerous deserving
candidates for the following awards: Distinguished Alumni;
Distinguished Service; Community Service; Young Alumni; and
Young Alumni Spirit. The Awards Selection Committee reviews the
credentials of any nominee for an award and then recommends the
recipients to the Board of Managers for approval.
The members of the selection committee are (by title, current
representative, and email address): Alumni Director: Bruce
Konopka, [email protected]; a faculty/retired
faculty member: Robert Bishop ’58, bishopr@episcopalacademy.
org; one member each from the two immediate 50th reunion
classes: Tom Zug ’64, [email protected] and Bruce Brown
’65, [email protected]; one member each from the two
immediate 25th reunion classes: Kristen Cirelli ’89, cirellik@
aol.com and Janice Biddle ’90, [email protected]; a
member of the Board of Managers nominating committee: Ashley
Lunkenheimer ’92, [email protected]; Len Haley, Hon.,
[email protected]; and chair of the awards dinner
committee: Bill Rapp ’56, [email protected].
The email address of each person is provided so that anyone
who desires to nominate someone for an award can easily do so.
For a description of each award and past recipients go to www.
episcopalacademy.org and click on the heading “Alumni,” then on
the drop-down menu “Alumni Society” and finally on “Awards.” To
use the nomination form, simply click on that title, complete the
form, and email it to Mary French for “Arts” or to anyone on the
selection committee for any other award. A “narrative” approach
to submitting a nomination may alternatively be used. Everyone
within the EA community certainly knows someone deserving
of one or more of these awards, so please start submitting your
nominations.
Parents of Alumni
Update
In March and April, EA Parents of Alumni enjoyed two opportunities to socialize.
On March 7, the EA Alumni and Development office
hosted “A Spring Fling,” a cocktail event held in the
lobby of the Dixon Athletic Center. More than 65 parents of alumni participated, many for the first time.
On April 25, the Parents of Alumni committee held
a “drop-in” cocktail event at Avero Bar Italiano in
Devon. No RSVPs were required and everyone
covered the cost of their own beverages. More than
50 parents showed up, and Avero owner, EA parent
Scott Morrison, generously provided an array of appetizers for the large group.
In addition, the Parents of Alumni committee
hosted the popular EA/Haverford/AIS Cocktail party
at Aronimink Golf Club on November 7. More than
100 people were in attendance.
This year’s committee members include:
Chair
Anne Marie Heil (P ’10, ’12)
2014
Nadia Jannetta
Linda Kinzig
2013
Julie Green
Libby Wojdak
2012
Ellen Blommer
Cindy Singley
2011
Evelyn Fell
Marcia Geary
2010
Sue Petrocelli
Lynn Lawson
2009
Susan Coote
Laurie Grims
2008
Cathy Nassau
Charlotte Suspenski
2007
Becky Brinks
Ginny Spofford
2006
Maribeth Moore
2005
Eileen Isdaner
Mimi Lurio
1995-2004
Diane Hillyard
Joy Shugrue
Member-At-Large
Suzanne Pettit (P ’09. ’10, ’12)
Parents should contact their representative with any
questions or suggestions for events.
32 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
The Fourth Annual Richard G.
Crockett ’82 Memorial Alumni Golf
Outing M AY 6 , 2 014
This year’s event, held under beautiful skies, was once again a success at White Manor
Country Club on May 6. Thanks to the hard work of tournament chairman Brett Meyers ’03, this year’s
outing had 15 foursomes battling it out for the trophy. The year’s winners were Ed Jones ’87, Vince
Powers ’84, and Will Forbes, EA’s technical services coordinator.
The golf outing helps to fund various programs and awards for today’s students including charms for
championship teams, career day, and the senior picnic to name of few. Next year’s tournament will be
held on May 5 at White Manor, so save the date now. The tournament is a perfect time to re-connect
and network with fellow alumni and help support EA at the same time. Contact Alumni Director Bruce
Konopka [email protected], 484-424-1779) for information and sponsorship/playing
opportunities.
Faculty and
Staff Awards
A number of faculty and staff
members were honored for their years
of dedicated service to the Academy.
The following 13 people were recognized
for their 10 years of service to EA with a
framed certificate and the new designation of honorary alumni: Pictured are:
(l to r) Susan Swanson, Matt Newcomb,
Anna McDermott, Mike Letts, Cheryl
Kalodner, Cathy Hall, Jen Fifer, Mark
Eripret, Anne Barr, and Alumni Society
President, Ed Spofford ’77. Not pictured:
Catherine Bennett, Grace Na, Jeremy
Hark, Quincy Hyson.
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 33
Alumni@EA
Veterans Day Chapel
N OV E M B E R 11, 2 014
Top:
Chapel speaker Jim Wheatley ’51
Left:
Front row: (l to r) Fred Aldridge ’51, Frank
Forbes ’37, David Allen ’51
Second row, Bob Lowry ’51, Bill Rapp
’56, Wallace Branche, Hon., Stu Glasby
’61, Jim Wheatley ’51, Hank Albrycht,
Hon., Andrew Stephano ’89, Will Forbes
Top row, Gardiner Pearson ’63, Paul
Finegan ’51, Christopher Familetti ’04,
Fred Tucker ’51, Drew Jackson ’63, Rick
Duffield ’62, Andy Hess, Hon, Tom Zug
’64, Jay Mitchell ’80, Cappy Markle ’61,
Bill Nellis ’51, J. C. Parry ’66
Alumni Community
Service Days
There were three alumni community service days last
year. The first project occurred on November 16, 2013 at the
St. James Middle School. St. James requested help removing
150 linear feet of fallen tree branches and debris which blocked
the cemetery and church driveway after several storms. Home
Depot generously donated the use of a chipper. Meg (Haley) Noller ’94 and her daughter Maddie, David Dugery ’86 and his son
David, Andrea (Belefonte) Puppio ‘86 and her daughter Sarah,
Barry Pinheiro ’60, Brett Miller ’90, Heather (Flick) McMeekin ’91
and her children, Paige and Andrew, Jenn Tierney ’91, and Edna
Hon. and Len Haley Hon. all participated and helped St. James
save thousands of dollars.
The second event occurred on March 8, 2014, here at Episcopal
in the maintenance woodshop. Six custom outdoor benches
were hand crafted, enabling the students at St. James to schedule outdoor classes during nice weather. Participating in this
project were Ray Munder ’57 and his wife Jill, Andrea Belefonte
Puppio ’86 and her daughter Sarah and son Matt, Kit Noller, former faculty member and his son Tom, Bill Keffer ’84, and Edna,
Hon. and Len Haley, Hon.
The third project occurred on Alumni Day 2014, when the class
of ’84, led by Bill Keffer and Fred Crockett, and several classmates built an additional six benches for St. James.
Contact Len Haley if you would like to participate in this program
at: [email protected] or 610-656-5471.
34 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Top: (l to r) Len Haley and
St. James School Head of School
David Kasievich with St. James
students.
Right: Custom bench crafters:
(l to r) Jill Munder, Edna Haley,
Andrea Puppio, Sarah Puppio, Kit
Noller, Tom Noller, Ray Munder,
and Matt Puppio.
2014 Episcopal Legacies
In front (l to r), Tony Jannetta, Bruce Konopka, Hon., Greg Jannetta '84, Gabby
Donatucci '14, Wills Singley '14, Anne Barr, Hon., Jon Barr '14, Carlie Grims '14,
William Langfitt '14, Tyler Haab'14, Jack Keffer '14, Alison Keffer, Hon., James
Konopka '14, and Noah Reape '14; and in back (l to r), Molly Konopka, Hon.,
Tom Donatucci '83, Andres Jannetta '14, Steve Jannetta '82, Ali Singley '12, Tim
Jannetta '86, Cindy Singley, Cole Grims '14, Marty Grims '79, David Langfitt '75,
Jean Haab '84, Kurt Haab '82, and David Reape '80.
Buck Buckley ’78, Dutch Buckley ’14, and Walter Buckley ’55.
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 35
Alumni@EA
Alumni Society Sponsored Senior Picnic
J U N E 3 , 2 014
Each year the Alumni Society has a Picnic for the graduating seniors.
1
2
1. Two seniors with
their EA banners: (l to
r) Jeffrey Hu and Jack
Erixxon.
2. Senior girls happy to
receive their banner: (l
to r) Zoe Kovacs, Kelly
McGowan, Kristina
Zahan, Taryn Gallagher,
Chloe Kinzig, Nicole
Bonella, and Victoria
Johnson.
3
4
3. Three of the Board of
Managers that helped
out with the picnic: (l
to r) David Langfitt ’75,
George Boyd ’54, and
Chris Morris ’99.
4. Jack Keffer and
Michael Smerconish with
their gift of a banner from
the Alumni Society.
The Alumni Society Board of
Managers 2014 – 2015
Pictured board members are: (l to
r) Ashley Lunkenheimer ’92, VicePresident; George Boyd ’54; Alvan
(Cappy) Markle ’61; and David Langfitt
’75; and in back, left to right: Nabi
Moghadam ’90; Chip French ’73; Ed
Spofford ’77, President; Karen Marston
’86, Vice-President; Andrew Brenner
’87; and Clayton French ’82.
Missing from the photo were: Julie
Manser ’97; James Griffin ’95; David
McMullin ’55; Sonje (Volla) Moore ’95;
Clayton Platt ’73, Secretary; Vincent
Powers ’84, Vice-President; and
Amanda (Billmyer) Vos Strache ’99.
36 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Advancement@E A
Get to Know Edward H. Vick ’62
2014-2015
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
CHAIR
Edward H. Vick, Jr. ’62
VICE CHAIRS
Walter W. Buckley, III ’78
Jeremy P. Coote
Steven E. Copit ’80
Deborah J. R. Hirtle
SECRETARY
Peri W. Higgins
TREASURER
Elizabeth A. Corrigan
EX-OFFICIO
HONORARY CHAIR
The Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel, III
HEAD OF SCHOOL
Dr. Thomas John Locke
Edward H. Vick, Jr. ’62 was elected chair of Episcopal Academy’s Board of Trustees
effective July 1. A decorated Vietnam War veteran who went on to become the worldwide CEO and
chairman of the iconic Madison Avenue advertising agency Young & Rubicam, Vick has served in key
leadership roles as a member of EA’s Board for the past 12 years.
“Ed Vick’s election as Board chairman assures a continuation of the bold and visionary leadership
that defines Episcopal’s success,” said Head of School T.J. Locke. A member of the Board of Trustees since 2002, Vick played a vital role in Episcopal Academy’s move to Newtown Square and was
one of the driving forces behind the school’s 2010 Strategic Plan.
“I received an extraordinary education at Episcopal that I continue to draw on each and every day,”
Vick says. “I can never repay Episcopal for the opportunities this wonderful school has made possible in my life, and I can think of no better legacy than to work diligently to ensure that the EA we
leave to future generations is even better than the one that so profoundly affected our lives.”
Following his time at Episcopal, Vick graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1966 and,
after serving in Vietnam, earned his Master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.
Vick served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War and received two Bronze Star Medals with
Combat “V,” the Combat Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation and the Vietnamese Cross of
Gallantry. He has been active in veterans’ causes and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from
the Vietnam Veterans of America for his volunteer work.
Vick worked in the marketing communications business for 30 years, and was chairman of both
Young & Rubicam Advertising and its parent, Young & Rubicam Inc. During Vick’s tenure, Young &
Rubicam won numerous creative awards and was named Ad Agency of the Year on several occasions. He retired in 2001.
He has served on the boards of other charitable and not-for-profit organizations, including the United
Negro College Fund, American Foundation for AIDS research, Advertising Education Foundation,
and the North Carolina University School of Journalism.
TERM TRUSTEES
Sandra K. Baldino
Robert R. Corrato
Louis J. D’Ambrosio
Stephen A. Dana
Christopher C. Geczy
David B. Grossman ’95
Crawford Hill, III ‘70
Stephen A. Jannetta ‘82
Harry R. Madeira, Jr. ’72
Dennis R. Maple
Stacey W. McConnell
Christopher K. McHugh
James E. Minnick
Pamela A. Nickolas
Richard R. S. Northrop ’70
David J. Reape ’80
William B. Richards ‘63
Ann T. Semmer
Jay H. Shah
Edward S. Spofford ‘77
Geoffrey F. Worden ’57
Lauren Wylonis
Thomas V. Zug ’64
TRUSTEES EMERITI
Fred C. Aldridge, Jr. ’51
Gretchen H. Burke
Harry B. French ’44
Louis W. Fryman
Joseph K. Gordon ’43
Frederick C. Haab ’55
Rush T. Haines, II ’61
Edward L. Jones, Jr. ’53
E. Brooks Keffer, Jr. ’47
James J. Koegel
William H. Lamb ‘58
Robert H. Lee, Jr. ’52
Peter M. Mattoon ’49
Davis Pearson ’43
Daniel H. Polett
James L. Stinnett, M.D.
Jane R. Thompson
Donald van Roden ’42
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 37
Advancement@E A
Ellen Urbanski
is EA’s Director
of Institutional
Advancement
Ellen Urbanski, formerly the assistant vice
president of development for the Milken Institute
School of Public Health at the George Washington
University, became the new director of institutional
advancement for The Episcopal Academy on
August 11.
In this role, Urbanski
oversees all of Episcopal’s fundraising and
alumni efforts. Ellen
takes over for Paige
Legrand, who left Episcopal after eight years of
outstanding leadership
of the school’s development efforts.
“Few people have the
combination of frontline
fundraising experience
and strategic leadership
prowess. Ellen has had
a remarkable career, and
we are fortunate that she
has fallen in love with
Episcopal,” says T.J. Locke, Episcopal Academy’s
Greville Haslam Head of School. “I look forward
to partnering with her to make our aspirations a
reality.”
Urbanski is excited to have joined the Episcopal
family.
“It was immediately evident to me that the Episcopal Academy is a true community of learners,
dedicated to its values and passionate about its
mission,” says Urbanski. “I am thrilled to be a part
of this special place.”
The Alumni & Advancement Office would like to
correct the following error in the 2013-2014 Annual
Report for The Episcopal Academy. We apologize
for the error.
The following gift was listed in the incorrect section.
Mr. David G. Nagle made a gift in honor of
Dr. Frank O. Nagle, Jr. ’38
38 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Giving Across the Decades
Like many Lower School students, Tucker Ewan ’26 enjoys visiting
Episcopal’s Lower School library to pick out new books to take home each
week. And when it’s time for art class, Tucker is an enthusiastic young artist,
particularly when it comes to woodworking. As his parents, Todd and Christine Ewan, began to teach Tucker about philanthropy and the importance of
giving back, Tucker, a prekindergarten student at the time, decided to make
his very first gift to The Episcopal Fund.
Tucker proudly made his gift in honor of the library so that the library could
continue to stock its shelves with new books for the Lower School students to
enjoy. This year, he directed his second gift to be in honor of the Lower School
Art Department and Mrs. Cusack who had helped him with his favorite art
project, a wooden dog he made in woodworking.
Tucker not only wanted his gift to help Episcopal, but he also wanted to help
EA’s sister school in Haiti. In response to his gifts to Episcopal, he asked
his parents to match his gift by making a contribution to St. Marc’s after the
kindergarten class learned how difficult it is for their contemporaries in Haiti
to get clean water. “Haiti doesn't have much clean water, and life is harder
there,” Tucker said. “They can use the money to buy fresh water.”
Though Tucker’s Episcopal career is still in its early stages, he has learned a
very important part of being an Episcopal student. He lives the Stripes and
puts a strong emphasis on generosity. When asked why he wanted his first
gift to go to The Episcopal Fund, he said, “So I can help my school.” What an
inspiration he is to us all!
Hughes Cauffman ’34 is one of EA’s most loyal donors, and few alumni appreciate their Episcopal experience more than he does. “My fondest memories
of Episcopal were the master teachers — Bryant, Balsley,” he says. “I was so
well prepared for college as a result of the incredible teachers at Episcopal.”
Though he was a good student, he was a great asset to the athletic program,
too, winning the Inter-Ac high hurdles in 1934 and placing in all of his track
and field events as a senior. He was inducted into the Episcopal Athletic Hall
of Fame in 2006.
“I have been giving back to Episcopal for many decades because the School
equipped me with everything I needed to succeed, professionally and personally,” he says. “The 10 years I spent at the Academy shaped who I became
in life.” Hughes is proud to see that today’s students are benefitting from the
same strong Episcopal experience that he had, including his great-nieces and
great-nephews who are the fourth generation of the Cauffman family to attend
EA.
In May, Hughes attended his 80th Reunion. “To see our School thriving under
new leadership and excelling due to incredible faculty and facilities makes me
all the more proud to be an Episcopal alum.”
2
1
4
3
The Head’s
Circle
Cocktail
Party
T.J. and Lauren Locke hosted
a celebratory cocktail reception at
their home, Lowry House, in May to
honor Episcopal’s most generous
donors. Families and alumni who
contributed gifts of $10,000 or more
for operations were included in this
intimate evening. The evening featured insights from T.J. on initiatives
for the School, and guests enjoyed
music from the talented EA Jazz
Ensemble on the terrace.
1. T.J. Locke and Jeremy Coote P ’08
’09 ’12 ’17
6
2. T.J. Locke gives guests an insider
view of his vision for Episcopal.
3. Chris ’92 and Allison Henderson P
’23, Jennifer Franklin P ’19 ’20 ’26, and
T.J. Locke
5
4. Curt Young ’54 P ’79, Fred Haab
’55 P ’78 ’82 GP ’12 ’14 ’16 ’17, and T.J.
Locke
5. Episcopal Academy Jazz Band
performs at Lowry House
8
6. Francis and Kerstin Humann P ’13 ’16
’19, Stacy McConnell P ’16, and Jackie
Szafara ’11 ’13 ’19
7. Rich Aldridge ’85 P ’18 ’21 ’21 ’23 and
SooHee Lim P ’20 ’21
8. Vahan and Danielle Gureghian P ’22
and Chris Franklin P ’19 ’20 ’26
7
9. Fred Haab ’55 P ’78 ’82 GP ’12 ’14 ’16
’17, Chris Geczy P ’21 ’24, Bryant Lim P
’20 ’21, and Harry French ’44 P ’73 ’79
’’82 GP ’16 ’18 ’21 ’24 ’26
10
10. David ’80 and Kathleen Reape P
’14 ’16 ’20 and Margaret Langfitt P ’12
’14 ’16
9
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 39
T H E E P I S C O PA L F U N D :
Steve ’80 & Debbi Copit P ’18 ’19, The Episcopal Fund Chairs
The Episcopal Fund accounts for almost 10% of EA’s operating budget annually. These funds contribute significantly to the
program offerings that set Episcopal apart from other schools.
Some examples of what the Fund supports are:
• The exploration and experiential learning opportunities
through service learning projects and field trips such as Ellis Island and Echo Hill
• State-of-the-art technology and teaching tools for our faculty to enhance their classrooms such as iPads, SMART Boards, and laptops
• A variety of clubs such as Robotics, Stock Market, and
Mock Trial
• Professional development for faculty, which included funding
for more than 100 faculty who participated in curriculum-
enhancing workshops in the summer of 2014
The EA stripes: a unique set of 10 core values we
encourage our students to embrace inside and outside of the
classroom. Yet all of us involved with The Episcopal Academy
benefit from incorporating these goals into our lives. Two of
the stripes, generosity and gratitude, are the foundation of The
Episcopal Fund. It is this sense of gratitude that we feel toward
EA that made saying “yes” to chairing The Episcopal Fund easy
for both of us.
Our family is lucky to be involved in many different aspects
of the Episcopal community: an alumnus, a trustee, and current parents. We have watched our boys and their friends grow
from pre-K students who could barely sit still to young men and
women who really understand the value of their EA education.
We have also witnessed firsthand through personal loss how
Episcopal is a community that provides unparalleled support for
its “family” members. The Episcopal community has become
part of our extended family, and because of that, we feel a responsibility to help our school stay fiscally strong and support an
exceptional educational experience.
Like many of you, we are continually inspired by the outstanding
faculty and staff whose life’s work is to challenge and nurture
our children to be the very best they can be. When annual giving
set a record in 2013-2014 for participation and amount raised,
including 98% participation from faculty and staff, it further
reinforced to us that Episcopal is truly a special place made of
a wonderfully diverse group of families with a common goal: an
outstanding education for our children.
40 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Our family has gained enormously from being a part of the Episcopal community. Supporting The Episcopal Fund is one way
we can teach our children about the importance of giving back.
Participation at any level shows one’s pride and vested commitment to the lasting value of an Episcopal education.
We hope you will join us, the Board of Trustees, the EA faculty
and staff, and T.J. Locke in saying “yes” to generosity and gratitude by making The Episcopal Fund a priority and ensuring the
continued success of the Episcopal experience.
Planned Giving at The Episcopal Academy
For a wealth of information about planned giving or to
join Episcopal’s Bishop William White Society, please visit
our website:
www.ea.gift-planning.org
• Explore what type of gift could accomplish your goals
through Plan-a-Gift™, our unique interactive tool.
• Compare gift plans.
• Will Planning Wizard helps you collect and organize your thoughts, information, and documents before you visit your attorney.
• Personal calculators will assist in your estate planning.
• Register for membership in The Bishop William White Society.
Events@E A
The Keffer Family: 100 Years at EA and Counting
L to R: Sarah Keffer ’17, Bill Keffer ’84, Jack Keffer ’14, Brooks Keffer ’47, Alison Keffer, Hon., and Grace Keffer.
The Episcopal Academy has been honored to
have countless family legacies attend the school. Since our beginning in 1785, generations of families have entered our doors
to learn and become an integral part of our community. This
year, we had a unique celebration as Jack Keffer ’14 graduated
exactly 100 years after his great grandfather, E. Brooks Keffer,
Class of 1914.
Jack was honored with the esteemed Class of 1877 Award at
commencement—“awarded to that member of the graduating
class who has shown the greatest proficiency in scholarship,
combined with a proper interest in athletics, true strength of
character, and popularity among the members of the class.”
During those 100 years, Jack’s grandfather Brooks Jr. ’47, his
uncle Ted ’81, and his father Bill ’84 also joined the ranks of
Episcopal alumni. His sister, Sarah, will graduate in 2017, and his
mother, Alison, has been a teacher at Episcopal for 24 years.
Not only have the Keffers excelled while here on campus, but
Brooks ’47 went on to serve on the Board of Trustees, acting as
the school’s attorney for many years, as well as the president of
the Alumni Board of Managers. In addition, his wife, Grace, was
the second president of the EA Mother’s Association (now the
Episcopal Academy Parents Association).
In fact, the Episcopal history is rich with the Keffer name. E.
Brooks Keffer of 1914 was described in his Tabula as the “class
cherub,” as well as the “first athlete of the class.” Brooks Jr. ’47
“tackled every task he has undertaken with vigor and determination to do a good job. He has gained the respect and admiration
of many of his classmates.”
In celebration of 100 years of Keffers at EA, Brooks ’47 and
Grace have established a scholarship fund to assist current students whose parents unexpectedly need assistance in making
their tuition payments. Their “Esse Quam Videri” Tuition Assistance Fund is a wonderful way to mark the occasion and add to
the school’s endowment at the same time.
And so the legacy continued with the next two generations of
Keffers being active participants in the EA community and displaying great leadership and service.
We are very proud of all our graduates, and it is rewarding for the
school to have alumni who want their children to experience the
same education and character development as they did. Their
commitment to endowment and financial aid only strengthens
our community and emphasizes the importance of ensuring that
the EA education is available for many, many years. On this special occasion, The Episcopal Academy thanks the entire Keffer
family for their ongoing commitment and support.
Whether in the classroom, on the athletic field, or in the Junto
Club or Vestry, the Keffers have left their mark on EA. This
includes Jack who, in the 2014 Tabula, was voted “most likely
to work at EA” and as having “the most school spirit.” In fact,
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 41
Events@E A
EA Holds 10th Annual Scholars Luncheon
The Episcopal Academy held its 10th annual Scholars Luncheon, a special event where generous and committed
donors interact with talented and appreciative EA scholarship
recipients, in the Middle School study hall on April 17.
The annual luncheon is a heartwarming affair; the students are
delighted to meet the adults who have literally invested in their
success. The donors always seem to leave the lunch inspired by
the young people they met and in knowing that their investment
is helping transform lives.
Matt Bailer ’97 served as the featured speaker at the luncheon
and delivered a funny, poignant message. After confessing
that he had mistakenly claimed that his late father, Clifford had
invented the Tastykake butterscotch krimpet during a Chapel
address he made 15-plus years ago, Bailer told his EA story
of being able to attend Episcopal for three years thanks to the
generosity of an at-first anonymous donor. The donor eventually
revealed his identity to Bailer during his senior year because he
was so proud of everything that Bailer had accomplished while
at EA.
“The gift of that one person literally changed the course of my
life,” Bailer said.
Thanks to the donor’s generosity, Bailer, whose father died when
he was in sixth grade, was able to attend Episcopal for his final
three years of high school.
42 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
While at EA, Bailer excelled in the classroom and on the athletic
fields. In lacrosse, he was a two-time high school All-American
who won two state titles playing for John Wynne. Bailer also won
the Maxwell Club Award as the best high school football player
in the Philadelphia area during his senior year. In addition, thanks
to a nudge from his EA lacrosse teammate Burke Gallagher ’97,
Bailer stepped outside his comfort zone and joined the school’s
a capella group.
From EA, Bailer went on to Princeton University—where Episcopal’s Associate Director of Athletics Jim Farrell said that it wasn’t
unusual for “Matt to sing the national anthem with Princeton’s a
capella group before the start of a lacrosse game, then win the
opening faceoff, and go straight down the field and score the
game’s first goal.”
Bailer was a two-time All-Ivy League player and played on
two national championship teams at Princeton before playing
professional lacrosse with the Philadelphia Wings. He went on to
earn his MBA from George Washington University and currently
serves as the head of client engagement at Collections Marketing Center (CMC) in Wilmington, Delaware.
At the end of his remarks, Bailer thanked benefactors for their
life-changing scholarship gifts to today’s EA students and urged
the current scholarship students to thank the donors and to be
benefactors themselves by channeling their inner Burke Gallagher and challenging a classmate to try something outside their
comfort zone and to stretch their limits.
Paul Pratt Shell Christening
On April 30 in the Class of 1944 Chapel, a new rowing shell named in honor of
Paul Lewis Pratt ’14 was christened. One of the top high school rowers in the nation, Pratt died
in a one-car accident on May 16, 2013. Now, thanks to the generosity of donors, Pratt’s former
teammates and future EA rowers will “Pull for Paul” in a boat that bears his name.
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 43
Athletic s@E A
Driving Toward the Goal
Five seconds remained, and Maddie O’Reilly ’17 wanted
the ball. Her team was down a goal in the regional championships, and somebody had to take the last shot. Somebody had
to tie the game. O’Reilly received a pass on the right side and
fired a left-handed laser beam toward the goal.
girls varsity water polo team that finished 20-2 and captured
the 2014 Eastern Prep School Championship. O’Reilly’s 10goal performance in a 19-13 win over Germantown Academy in
September earned her a spot in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the
Crowd” feature.
In Hollywood, the ball would have flown past an overmatched
goalie to tie the game. In overtime, O’Reilly would have scored
the game winner.
Instead, a great shot was met with an equally great save, and
O’Reilly’s team fell.
“A lot of people are afraid to take that shot,” O’Reilly says. “Not
me. I want to be a leader.”
Since starting to play water polo in sixth grade at Episcopal,
O’Reilly has been more than a leader. She has quickly become
the school’s best player, and through her participation in the
Olympic Development Program, earned respect as one of the
finest high school players on the East Coast. Despite being only
a sophomore, O’Reilly has displayed talents that have allowed
her to compete with and against players older than her, and she
even secured a spot on an under-18 boys team.
“It’s pretty rare in our sport, which is still growing along the East
Coast, to have a kid who stands out to the point where she was
able to play [varsity] as an eighth grader,” EA girls water polo
coach Alicia Keating says. “She’s a really driven athlete who
works hard and wants to beat the person next to her.”
O’Reilly has always loved the water, a fact she attributes to her
having been born in Bermuda. She started swimming at age
eight and demonstrated an aptitude for the sport and for the
long hours of hard work that came with it. When O’Reilly entered
middle school (she came to EA in fourth grade), she was confronted with the need to play a sport in the fall. She chose water
polo and immediately found a home. This fall, O’Reilly scored
122 goals—no, that’s not a typo—for the Episcopal Academy
44 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
O’Reilly’s water polo rise has been rapid and can be attributed
to a variety of factors. She’s a strong swimmer and a relentless worker who won’t back down from anything or anyone,
be it a daunting workout or an 18-year-old male opponent who
is determined to dunk her. Being lefthanded helps, too. There
aren’t many southpaws in the water polo world, and by setting
up on the right, O’Reilly can catch the ball with one hand without
crossing her face, the better to unleash her rocket shot more
quickly.
This summer, O’Reilly traveled to California and qualified for the
U.S. under-16 national team, one of 28 girls so chosen and the
only one from the East. “They made fun of my sunburn, but none
of them knows what a cheesesteak is,” O’Reilly says. Although
she didn’t make the 12-player squad that travelled to Hungary,
O’Reilly enjoyed the experience and vows improvement next
year.
“When I’m a 10th grader, I won’t be an underdog anymore,” she
says. “Those California girls are tough, and I want to practice
like them and make the team. I know I can.”
Playing with the boys will help her achieve that goal. O’Reilly
reports that they give her no special treatment—kicking her,
swimming over top of her, pushing off her, and dunking her. That,
plus workouts alongside her father—she got a bench press for
her birthday—should handle the toughening up part. Competing with an elite team in Greenwich, Conn., will help improve her
skills. O’Reilly has big dreams and goals of playing in college
and for the U.S. Olympic team. Her work ethic and talent will
propel her toward those goals, and even if she doesn’t reach the
top, she’ll still be in the water.
“There’s always been something about it,” she says.
The two make a great pair.—MICHAEL BRADLEY
Division I Dreams Come True
With family members, coaches, teachers, and classmates sitting in the
bleachers and cheering them on, 10 Episcopal Academy seniors signed NCAA national letters of intent during a November 12 ceremony in the school’s competition gymnasium.
The 10 Episcopal members of the Class of 2015 who signed binding commitments with Division I colleges and universities on November 12 were: Jane Crager, University of Michigan
(women’s lacrosse); Lily Crager, University of Michigan (women’s lacrosse); Chris Friedman,
University of Hartford (men’s lacrosse); Maria Kilcullen, Loyola (Md.) (women’s basketball);
Genevieve McCormick, Army (women’s tennis); Josh Owsiany, Duke University (men’s
diving); Christy Palazzese, Duke University (field hockey); Colin Reder, University of North
Carolina (men’s lacrosse); Ali Rushton, University of North Carolina (field hockey); and Curtis
Zappala, University of Maryland (men’s lacrosse).
“It takes tremendous perseverance to reach this level of accomplishment. I am as proud of
who they are as I am of their achievement,” says T.J. Locke, Episcopal Academy’s Greville
Haslam Head of School.
Dee Was Key
In 2014
Back in October, Dee Barlee, Episcopal
Academy’s star junior tailback, rushed for 289
yards and five TDs in the Churchmen’s 41-26 win
over Penn Charter. Barlee rushed for 1,289 yards
and 15 TDs this fall for the Churchmen. He will be
one of EA’s football captains next fall, along with
Tyler Will and Christian Feliziani.
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 45
Athletic s@E A
Emma Seiberlich ’17 Will Swim in 2016 U.S.
Olympic Trials
Coach Mike Laitala, Emma Seiberlich ’17, and Tom Andrews of Longhorn Aquatic
For years, Episcopal Academy’s Emma Seiberlich ’17
dreamed of qualifying to swim in the U.S. Olympic Trials. She
just had to wait 45 minutes longer than she would have liked to
know that her dream had come true.
USA Swimming had a live broadcast on September 18 at 2:00
p.m. to announce all of the new 2016 Olympic Trials cut times.
And you guessed it, Seiberlich was sitting in one of her EA
classes at that time, unable to see the live feed or to even check
her cell phone until the class was over.
“Right at 2:45, I checked my phone and saw texts from both my
mom and my YMCA coach letting me know I got the cut in 200
backstroke,” says Seiberlich. “It was a huge relief. I knew that
USA Swimming would be lowering the cut, but I wasn’t sure by
how much. The qualifying time was a 2:16.59 and my best is
2:15.51. It felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.”
Those texts let Seiberlich know that the countless miles she has
swum have paid off in a big way—with an invite to the 2016 U.S.
Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. on June 26-July 3.
Seiberlich trained this summer in Austin, Tex. with the Texas
Longhorn Aquatic Club, a USA Swimming club out of the University of Texas. While in Austin, Seiberlich was surrounded by
top-notch swimmers as she trained with a USA Junior Nationals team member and several USA Junior and Senior Nationals
meet qualifiers at the Longhorn Aquatic Club.
Seiberlich’s exposure to national-level swimmers didn’t end
when she finished her training, because she lived this sum-
46 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
mer in Texas with her Aunt Hilary “Huddie” (Walsh) Murray, an
accomplished AAU and collegiate swimmer who swam in the
1972 and 1976 Olympic Trials, making the finals in 1976. Back at
home, she can look up to two of her mother’s other sisters who
swam in the Olympic Trials, Stephanie Beilman (1964) and Maura
Burke (1980).
Now Seiberlich will continue that family U.S. Olympic Trials tradition.
“My family actually has a huge email distribution list set up [Emma’s mom has 14 siblings, so it’s the best way to communicate].
A couple hours after the (Olympic Trials) news was out, my Aunt
Huddie sent an email to the whole family letting everyone know
how excited she is for Omaha,” says Seiberlich. “She’s probably
my biggest fan besides my mom and dad.”
Seiberlich has plenty of fans at EA, too.
“We, as a coaching staff, could not be more proud of Emma and
her accomplishment! Making the Olympic Trials is a dream for
many, and we are so excited to see her perform at the Trials,”
says Episcopal Academy swim coach Brian Kline.
Kline continues, “It is obvious that hard work and dedication
is a longstanding tradition in their family. While Emma sets her
goals high each year, she also understands that ‘Success comes
before work only in the dictionary (Anonymous).’ It is with this
thought process that she is willing to put in the many hours
needed to achieve her success.”
The Texas training paid off as Seiberlich excelled at the Texas
Open from June 27-29 in Austin (winning all the events in
the 15-16 age group and swimming personal bests in the
200 freestyle, 400 freestyle, and 200 butterfly). At the Texas
Senior Circuit on July 11-13, she swam personal bests in all
seven events, qualifying for finals in the 100 freestyle, 100
and 200 backstroke, and 100 and 200 butterfly.
“I really loved training in Austin. Just training in the University
of Texas pool would have been enough on its own to make
the trip great, but thankfully I got to make some friends and
swim under an unfamiliar coaching style,” says Seiberlich.
“The practices were much different, but they worked out very
well. I also had a lot of other fast swimmers pushing me in
every practice. That makes the biggest difference.”
Her success at those meets had her primed to perform well
at USA Swimming Speedo Junior National Championships
July 30-August 3 in Irvine, Calif. Seiberlich performed personal bests in the 100 backstroke (1:03.54), 200 backstroke
(2:15.51), and 100 butterfly (1:03.02), and she made the finals
in both the 100 and 200 backstrokes.
Her 200 backstroke time at the USA Swimming Speedo Junior
National Championships earned Seiberlich the invite to the 2016
Olympic Trials.
Seiberlich’s super summer in the pool has her ranked high both
nationally and in the Middle Atlantic region among 15-year-old
females in the 100 backstroke (ninth nationally, first in region),
200 backstroke (ninth nationally, second in region), 100 butterfly (31st nationally, fourth in region), and the 200 butterfly (20th
nationally, second in region).
“Emma has put forth a great deal of work to this point in her
career,” says Kline. “We are excited for this year’s swimming
season as there are many returning faces from last year’s strong
team. Winston Churchill once said, ‘We make a living by what we
get, we make a life by what we give.’
“Emma has certainly been given a special talent to live with and
is giving everything she has to make it count as a part of her
life. This team is poised to make a splash in the 2014-15 season,
and we look forward to having some fun and breaking some
records along the way.”—BILL DOHERTY
From EA to Team USA
Three key members of the 2014 Inter-Ac and PAISAA champion Episcopal Academy field hockey team—Margaux
Paolino ’16, Maddie Bacskai ’16, and Corrine Zanolli ’17—were selected members of U.S. national field hockey teams.
“It is very exciting to have three Episcopal players representing our country as members of the under-19 and under-17 U.S.
field hockey teams,” says Gina Buggy, Episcopal’s field hockey coach and athletic director. “Each girl has worked exceedingly hard to become a better player. They are hardworking, determined, confident athletes who are not afraid to accept challenges. They are capable of playing at the highest level.”
All three players are also on the U.S. National Indoor teams: Paolino is on the Women's National Indoor team, while Bacskai
and Zanolli are on the U-19 National Indoor team.
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 47
Ar ts@EA
EA’s New Music Man
Following a thorough national search, James Erwin, the
former performing arts chair at the Maret School in Washington
D.C, became the new chair of the music department at The
Episcopal Academy, effective July 1.
“Jim has a wealth of experience in a premier independent
school, and I cannot wait to see where he will take us,” says T.J.
Locke, the Greville Haslam Head of School. “There is tremendous energy and excitement about
the arts at EA right now, and Mr.
Erwin will work with our team of
talented educators to bring EA to
new levels.”
Erwin was the performing arts chair
at Maret School, a K-12 independent school in Washington D.C. for
25 years, where he taught chorus,
music theory, jazz band, and composition. During his tenure at Maret,
the concert choir quadrupled in
size and performed at the White
House for Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
“I often hear from alumni about
the EA icons, the teachers that
changed the lives of so many,” says
Locke. “Jim Erwin had that kind of
impact at Maret, and we are fortunate to have him here.”
After two-and-a-half decades at Maret, Erwin was recruited by
one of his former Maret students, Ben Marcovitz, to become the
founding director of performing arts for Collegiate Academies
in New Orleans. In that role, Erwin taught at three charter high
schools in New Orleans: East-Sci Academy (the school founded
and run by Marcovitz), G.W. Collegiate Carver, and G.W. Carver
Prep.
However, Erwin missed the independent school world and is
thrilled to be at EA.
“I am so excited to be a member of the EA team. The school
mirrors my ideals of rigor and excellence in academics, athletics, and the arts. All this is wrapped in a stunning campus—rich
in history, yet poised for innovation and creativity,” says Erwin.
“Even more, at the core of an EA education is the spiritual quest
that asks us to seek understanding and purpose in a diverse and
ever-changing world. As a musician and department chair, this is
a dream come true!”
Erwin replaced Joe Buches, who left EA after 16 years in order
to assume greater responsibilities in his position as artistic director of the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus.
48 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Groundbreaking Do-It
Comes to EA
This entire school year, Episcopal Academy is hosting do
it, an interactive exhibition that challenges observers to create
their own art based on written instructions from some of the
world’s most famous artists.
First realized over 20 years ago by the Swiss curator Hans Ulrich
Obrist, this exhibition was designed to be flexible and open to
interpretation. do it has been shown worldwide in various galleries, museums and alternative spaces. Each version of do it
reflects diverse voices and continues to inspire collaboration and
creative questioning. It is an exhibition that never stops.
The Episcopal Academy is the first school of its kind to host do
it. EA’s version, do it EA, puts this groundbreaking exhibition in
the hands of Pre-K through 12th grade students, their teachers,
parents, and the school community. Through events, collaborations, interventions and surprises all over campus and online,
Episcopal Academy will examine, question, interpret, carry out
and generate the instructions that make up do it EA.
As part of do it EA, there will be informal lunchtime conversations in the gallery. These are drop-in events that are open to all
teachers and students.
The culminating do it EA show will be open from February 23
through April 3. Be sure to routinely check the school website for
more do it EA information.
Action Figure
Epolitan Wins Silver Medal
The Episcopal Academy’s annual arts and literary magazine Ep-
In November, the Crawford Campus
Center Gallery presented the absolutely stunning
sports photography of Philadelphia Eagles team
photographer Drew Hallowell ’88 in an exhibit
called “Action Shot.” Aside from working as a team
photographer for the Eagles, Hallowell is also a
freelance photographer and Getty Images contributor. A graduate of Villanova University, Hallowell
currently resides in Bryn Mawr.
olitan was recently awarded a silver medal by the Columbia Scholastic Press
Association (CSPA).
The editors of this latest award-winning issue were Kira Henson ’14 and Paige
Dunlap ’14. The staff on the 2014 issue, Epolitan’s 53rd issue, included Sam
Pope ’15, Brittany Belo ’14, Korey Shore ’15, and Lindiwe Mayinja ’15.
“At Episcopal Academy, we teach young artists the crafts of creative writing,
drawing, sculpture, painting, and photography, but also the importance of putting your work out there and accepting feedback on it,” said David Sigel, Episcopal’s Chair of Visual Arts and the co-adviser of Epolitan along with Lindsay
Coleman, the Howard E. Morgan Chair of Creative Writing at Episcopal. “Being
acknowledged by a prestigious organization like the CSPA is a great source of
validation for the creative work going on here at Episcopal.”
Many people wonder how Epolitan got its enigmatic name. Years ago, founding editor Benjamin Foster explained the magazine’s name in the Epolitan’s
first issue by saying, “(Epolitan) has no relation to cosmopolitan, neopolitan,
epollicate, or epistolic. It has no verbal, adjectival, or gerundive forms. In short,
it is the ideal word.”
Scary Good
The Episcopal Academy’s award-winning
Domino Club celebrated Halloween with a
well-received stage production of Roald Dahl’s
celebrated children’s story The Witches in the
Blackbox Theater.
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 49
OnCampus@EA
EA Students Go Global
This fall, five Episcopal Academy students learned
beyond the boundaries of the classroom by taking Global Online
Academy (GOA) courses—including Medical Problem Solving,
Arabic: Language through Culture, and Multivariable Calculus—
with classmates from all over the world.
Unlike massive open online courses (MOOCs) offered at the
university level, GOA courses boast small class sizes taught by
top independent secondary school teachers. This approach both
promotes a global perspective and creates a personalized learning experience for students.
Chris Stein ’16 was one of the five EA students in a GOA course
during the fall semester. In his Poetry: Global Voices course,
Stein collaborated with classmates from top-flight independent
schools in Hong Kong, Korea, South Africa, Tokyo, Los Angeles,
San Francisco, Connecticut, and New York City.
“My GOA course was a flexible way to incorporate a course that
would otherwise not have fit into my schedule,” says Stein. “I
was able to communicate with a dozen amazing students from
Hong Kong to Johannesburg to Los Angeles. My teacher is
dedicated and interested in the subject matter. His enthusiasm is
contagious.”
Declan Meaney ’15 took Arabic: Language through Culture with
students across the United States and Japan.
“I really liked the course because it allowed me to get the work
done when it was most comfortable and convenient for me to do
so. Also, I love learning a new language,” says Meaney.
These unique learning opportunities are possible because
Episcopal Academy joined an exceptional group of independent
schools as part of the GOA. A not-for-profit consortium that
serves member school students in grades 9-12, GOA allows
students across the globe to learn collaboratively through online
courses taught by member school faculty.
Episcopal is one of 50 member schools that include Germantown Friends, Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., and
Jakarta International School in Indonesia.
“To me, this partnership with GOA is great for EA students
because it opens up access for students to take a wide variety
of courses that they otherwise would not be able to take,” says
Adam Lavallee, an Upper School math teacher who serves as
the site director for the GOA program at Episcopal. “The perspectives of students and teachers in these courses gives our
students a global mindset; EA students are able to talk about
global issues with students throughout the world.”
The courses GOA offers—some semester-long and some
yearlong—expand and deepen EA’s already vast Upper School
curricular offerings. The rigorous, innovative courses are generally asynchronous (most classes do not “meet” at a regularly
scheduled login time) and challenge students to communicate,
collaborate, and make global connections within an online learning environment.
“The various nationalities represented in the class provide some
interesting insights into global cultures,” says Stein. “All class
assignments generally are individual and are due at prearranged
times; however, group work is coordinated through Skype and
Google Docs or by text messaging.
“It was a really positive experience. The flexibility of the course
and the interesting, thought-provoking content improved my
writing skills and my ability as a student to coordinate and complete work.”
In total, 12 Episcopal Academy students are enrolled in 14
classes throughout fall and spring.—BILL DOHERTY
So Much
More in Store
Following a major renovation and
expansion effort this summer, Episcopal
Academy’s Kutteh School Store reopened its
doors this fall. Its new location—across the
hall from the Annenberg Memorial Library
in the Crawford Campus Center—boasts
more room for an expanded retail space
complete with even more EA apparel, gifts,
and keepsakes.
50 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
EA Launches
Speaker Series
On October 24, E. Gerald Corrigan,
managing director and chairman of Goldman
Sachs Bank USA, kicked off the 2014-2015 Episcopal Academy Speaker Series in the Mainstage
Theater. His address was titled “Reflections: 45
Years on the Front Lines of Finance.”
In addition to addressing students and faculty in a
large group setting, Corrigan—and future speakers in the series—will attend Upper School classes
and will also participate in small group leadership
seminars with students. The leadership seminar
with Corrigan on October 24 was during lunch
and gave 10 EA students, chosen by a lottery, the
chance to have an intimate conversation about
leadership with him.
The second speaker in the series was Brian Long
’02 on December 10. TapCommerce, a mobilephone advertising platform cofounded by Long,
was purchased by Twitter earlier this year. To read
a profile on Long, turn to page 16.
The Episcopal Academy Speaker Series is intended to bring a diverse, talented group of speakers
to campus to introduce ideas, provoke thought,
and encourage discourse across a range of topics
and perspectives. Speakers are being selected
from a large pool of nominations submitted by
parents, faculty, and alumni.
The schedule for the rest of the Speaker Series is
as follows:
March 5, 2015
Educational Access panel, moderated by Jane
Williams, the host and producer of Bloomberg
EDU, Bloomberg Radio’s weekly look at education.
April 21, 2015
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
April 30, 2015
Coeducation symposium
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 51
OnCampus@EA
Pictured are: (l to r) first row, Leah Yao,
Katherine Hong, Kara Madey, Courtney
Carpinello, Anna Eringis, and Bethany
Bryant; second row, Caroline Gary, Amanda
Paolino, John Hemphill, Jakob Phillips,
Samuel Niu, and Lindiwe Mayinja; and third
row, William Ruggiero, Jackson Doyle,
Alexander Picariello, Jacob Shuman, and
Cameron Pott. (Missing: Aaron Kim, John
MacManus, and John Royer)
Pictured are: (l to r) first row, Anna Eringis,
Caroline Gary, Courtney Carpinello,
Leighann Adelizzi, Amanda Paolino, Leah
Yao, Kara Madey, and Katharine Hong.
In back, John Royer, Alexander Picariello,
Sam Niu, Aaron Kim, and Cullen
McShane.
20 EA Students
Receive National
Merit Recognition
The National Merit Corporation recognized 20 Episcopal Academy seniors for their outstanding academic promise—five National Merit
semifinalists and 15 National Merit Commended
students.
The Episcopal Academy’s Class of 2015 National
Merit semifinalists are: Anna Eringis, Katherine
Hong, Samuel Niu, Jake Shuman, and Leah Yao.
The 15 commended students in EA’s Class of
2015 are: Bethany Bryant, Courtney Carpinello,
Jackson Doyle, Caroline Gary, John Hemphill, Aaron Kim, John MacManus, Kara Madey,
Lindiwe Mayinja, Amanda Paolino, Jakob Phillips,
Alexander Picariello, Cameron Pott, John Royer,
and William Ruggiero. Mayinja is also a National
Achievement® semifinalist.
Episcopal Academy
Inducts New Honors Society
Members
Thirteen Episcopal Academy seniors were inducted into
the Cum Laude Honor Society during the September 16 Honors Chapel.The
newest Cum Laude inductees are: Leighann Adelizzi, Courtney Carpinello,
Anna Eringis, Caroline Gary, Katherine Hong, Aaron Kim, Kara Madey, Cullen
McShane, Samuel Niu, Amanda Paolino, Alexander Picariello, John Royer III,
and Leah Yao.
The Cum Laude Honor Society, founded in 1906, is an organization devoted to
the recognition of superior scholarship while simultaneously striving to encourage qualities of justice and honor. Chapters are located in the United States,
Canada, England, France, Spain, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.
Episcopal’s chapter was founded in 1952.
52 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
New to EA
Three new school administrators have arrived at Epis-
copal Academy for the 2014-15 school year and are already doing
top-shelf work in key areas of the school. The three important
newcomers are Terry Malone (Lower School head), Peter Anderson (director of enrollment management) and Cyndy Crum (director of college guidance).
Terry Malone came to EA from the
Summit Country Day School, a first-rate
Catholic independent school with approximately 1,100 students. He served
as the Lower School director from June
2008 until December 2011 and then assumed the role of Upper School director as of January 2012. Malone started
his teaching career as an elementary
school teacher in the Philadelphia School
District. He then moved on to the Cherry
Hill (NJ) public school system, where he
worked for EA’s Greville Haslam Head of School T.J. Locke. While
teaching at Cherry Hill, he moved from sixth-grade teacher to an
assistant middle school principal to elementary principal.
Malone is a 1996 graduate of Holy Family University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. He earned a master’s degree in education administration from Gwynedd Mercy University
in 2002 and his doctorate in education leadership from Northern
Kentucky University in 2011.
Peter Anderson came to Episcopal
Academy from Lancaster Country Day
School in Lancaster, Pa., where he served
as the director of admissions since 2009.
Prior to that, Anderson was the associate director of admissions at St. George’s
School in Newport, R.I. (2000-2009) and
the director of financial aid/assistant
director of admissions at the Loomis
Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn. He
graduated from Middlebury College with
a degree in U.S. history, earned his MBA
from NYU’s Stern School of Business, and worked for seven
years as an institutional derivatives broker in Switzerland before
changing course and starting a career in independent schools.
Cyndy Crum joined Episcopal as the
school’s new director of college guidance.
She came to EA from Whitfield School, a
highly respected independent school in
Saint Louis. She has bachelor’s degrees in
English and in secondary education, both
from Washington University in St. Louis.
Prior to joining Whitfield School in 1995,
Crum served as the assistant director of
undergraduate admissions at her alma
mater, Washington University, from 1988
until 1995.
EAPA Luncheon
Episcopal Academy Parents Association members Annemarie Hennigan (left) and Sue King (right)
presented Episcopal’s Head of School T.J. Locke with a
check for $300,000 during the 2014 spring luncheon at
Avero’s Restaurant in Wayne, Pa.
Seventh Annual
Michelle’s Miles is a
Huge Success
Michelle’s Miles attracted 706 runners and walkers to
Episcopal Academy’s campus on October 5 for the annual races
to celebrate the life of Michelle Deasey, a talented and dedicated
Episcopal Academy third grader who unexpectedly passed away
in late 2007.
Three hundred and eighty-eight runners participated in the
5-K race over the rolling hills of EA’s campus, with Matt Van
Thuyne, the husband of Episcopal third-grade teacher Heather
Van Thuyne, winning the race with a finish time of 17:50. Right
behind him were Upper School Head Delvin Dinkins (17:58) and
Episcopal Academy sophomore Jeffrey Coote (18:45).
The top three female 5-K finishers were Cammy Devine (23:27),
EA parent Candace Gantt (mother of Carter Gantt ’13 and Morgan Gantt ’19, who finished in 24:09), and Dana Cicchitti (24:35).
The oldest runner in the race was 80-year-old Richard Murphy,
who averaged 9:36 miles and finished in 29:42.
A portion of the race proceeds will be directed to the Michelle
Deasey ’17 Memorial Scholarship Fund, while the rest of the
proceeds support the Episcopal Academy Parents Association
(EAPA).
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 53
Cla s s Notes
Edited by the Alumni Office
Please take a moment to send us information for the
1937
next issue of Connections. We love to hear from you, and we are
all interested in what you are doing with your life. Please send
information (including photos) to Nancy Taylor, Secretary, Alumni
Programs, at [email protected] or Bruce Konopka,
Director of Alumni Programs, at bkonopka@episcopalacademy.
org. To reach the office, please call 484-424-1784.
Class Agent Needed
Please send us your news and
notes!
1933
1939
Class Agent: Bart Linvill
Class Agent: Heyward Wharton
Please send us your news and
notes!
A poem written by Dick Henry
on April 9, 2014.
1938
Class Agent Needed
Please send us your news and
notes!
1940
Class Agent Needed
Please send us your news and
notes!
A middle aged man,
Joe Schmo
thought he'd give tennis a go
Save the Date
75th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
So he went out and hired a pro
Now the tennis pro was well
past his prime
and the advice he gave Joe
not worth a dime.
He taught Joe an underhand
serve
which would hit the top of the
net, bounce, and swerve...
Main Line school rivalry, as my
husband, Peter Jacobs, is a graduate of Haverford School. Dick is
one of only two members of the
Merion Cricket Club (Vic Seixas
being the other) to have played at
Wimbledon… I wonder if anyone
else from EA played there?”
and land in the
neighboring court
Class Agent: Woody Woodring
Please send us your news and
notes!
1944
On the occasion of his
revisiting the
Merion Cricket Club
1945
Class Agent Needed
Please send us your news and
notes!
Save the Date
70th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
1942
Class Agent: Joe Gordon
Please send us your news and
notes!
Richard H. Henry ’33
April 9, 2014
54 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Class Agent Needed
Please send us your news and
notes!
1943
So Joe took up another sport
A message from Alix Jacobs,
Parents of Alumni: “The photo
below was taken at Knollwood
Military Retirement Residence in
Washington, in Captain Henry’s
apartment (lots of trophies in
the background!). With him is
my son, Alex Jacobs ’94. The
link is that my mother, Diana
Angulo, Alex’s grandmother, is
a very dear friend of Dick, and
we take her down to Washington
from time to time for a visit. Alex
drove us down last week. Dick
was thrilled that Alex is an EA
graduate. When I go to visit with
my husband, there is always a lot
of banter back and forth about
1941
Two of Harry French’s grandchildren, Tyler and Bradley, were
selected to play in the 2014 MS
All-Star hockey game. The game
was played on February 20, 2014.
Pictured are Tyler French ’18,
Gavin McElhone ’18, and Bradley French ’21 in their All-Star
uniforms.
Class Agent Needed
1946
Class Agent: Winkie Bennett
Please send us your news and
notes!
1947
Class Agent: Brooks Keffer
Brooks Keffer writes: “What
better news than that our grandson, Jack Keffer, graduated from
Bart Linvill on his 100th
birthday, October 21, 2014,
celebrating with T.J. Locke, who
shares his birthday, at an EA
luncheon at Beaumont Retirement
Community, Bryn Mawr, Pa. To
our knowledge, Bart is our oldest
living alumnus.
1934
Class Agent Needed
Please send us your news and
notes!
1936
Class Agent Needed
Please send us your news and
notes!
Hughes Cauffman and Joe Duncan IV ’64 chatting at the cocktail
party on May 3, Alumni Weekend. Joe’s father, Joseph G. Duncan
III, was a classmate of Hughes’. Hughes was celebrating his 80th
Reunion.
Jack Keffer ’14, Brooks Keffer’s grandson, receiving the Class of
1877 Award (Spoon Award).
It was a beautiful day in Newtown Square, with blue skies
flecked with white cumulus
clouds—especially nice after the
terrible winter we had.
Top: The Class of ’44 had a gathering on Friday, May 2, 2014 during
Alumni Weekend. Harry French presented the 70th reunion check to
T.J. Locke. The check was the largest 70th reunion gift ever.
Botton: Those in attendance to celebrate were: Bruce and Peggy
Mainwaring, Doug and Carolyn Raymond, Harry French, and Tom
and Flora Brown.
EA in 2014 and won the Spoon
Award. A very special evening for
the family.”
1948
Class Agent: Dick Schneider
David Maxwell writes: “Much
happier news, ’48 classmate Cal
Groton and I got together for a
delightful lunch in Boca Grande,
Fla., where he and his wife, Louise, have a winter home. My wife,
Joan, and I were staying in one
of the cottages of the Gasparilla
Hotel and Club for six weeks.
(Smart move in light of the winter
in Washington!) Cal and I had not
seen each other for decades.”
1949
Class Agents: Jim Blatchford and
Stan Miller
Class of ’49 65th Reunion
Weekend Wrap-Up
Some of us met the new Head of
School T.J. Locke and the new
Head of the Upper School Delvin
Dinkins on Friday, May 2. They
make a good team and were able
to articulate well the broad goals
of the Academy with their emphasis on the development of the
full child—of his or her spiritual,
intellectual, and physical capacities and growth. They handled
the wide-ranging questions from
the assembled alumni graciously,
with a firm grasp of the interlocking policies of the school, and a
nice sense of humor. Our classmates in the Class of ’49 should
know that there are now about
1,225 students at Episcopal with
about 125 graduating every year,
and that the students are working
very hard.
We had a great dinner at the
Merion Cricket Club, where Britt
Murdoch had reserved a special
dining room with two 10-seat
tables, so we could all talk to
each other. We had a delicious
meal and a spirited discussion
on a number of different current
topics. By my count, the following people were there: Dan and
Carol Baugh, Jim Blatchford,
John and Elizabeth DeTar,
Wayne Hurtubise, Hal Lampe,
Dick Lyford, Bob Martin, Peter
and Joan Mattoon, Stan and
Ann Miller, Bob Morgan and
Adrienne Pié, Britt and Joan
Murdoch, and Ana Maria and
John Keene.
1950
Class Agent: John Rettew
Save the Date
65th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
Dick Hiers writes: “Three stalwart members of the EA class of
1950 were present in New Haven
to celebrate our Yale class of ’54’s
60th reunion: Willis Arndt, Harold Starr, and myself. Good time
enjoyed by all.”
1951
Class Agent Needed
Please send us your news and
notes!
1952
Class Agent: Craig TenBroeck
David and Beryl Fricke send
greetings to friends, December
2013: “We have been a bit lazy
this year about getting our mail.
Time just seems to run too fast.
We are thankful to God for a
wonderful year which, among
many other fun things, included a
month in Kyrgyzstan. It was our
first time back. It was lovely to
visit old friends and to help with
the needs of the people who are
in the isolated Chatkal Valley
and pretty much without medical
care and an opportunity to hear
the Good News. The main route
out to the north has been snowed
in since October. It’s been a
great year with all our kids here:
David Jr., Jonathan, and Heather,
with spouses and six grandchildren now. Pictured above are
the newest grandchildren: Elizabeth Anne, first birthday, and
Madison.”
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 55
Cla s s Notes
1953
Class Agent Needed
Dick Behr reports: “We will
have, God willing, a second
great-grandchild in August, a
grandson’s wedding in September,
and my daughter’s wedding in
October. Sorry about the timing!!
Enjoyably cool here in Cape May.
Hope all is well there.”
1954
Class Agent: Bill Sykes
Class of ’54 60th Reunion
Weekend Wrap-Up
On Friday, May 2, 2014, 10 members of the Class of ’54 gathered
at Merion Golf Club, with various wives, to celebrate their 60th
reunion. Attending were Sam
and Mary Allen, George and
Sandra Boyd, Birch Clothier,
Woody Griffith, Paul McAlaine,
Ed Palmer, Al and Ann Reeves,
Buzz and Sally Ringe, Bill and
Alyce Sykes, and yours truly,
Curtis Young.
We all enjoyed the happy hour
and a fine dinner over which we
reminisced and had a great time
just talking about the past, the
present, and the future. We all felt
badly about those who couldn’t
make the get-together due to illness (and also those seven who
live in the immediate area and
wished not to come or even respond to phone calls or mailings).
We all missed you; maybe next
time.
This evening was followed up
by another get-together at the
Academy. A reception and dinner
saw Duncan van Dusen and his
wife, Elizabeth, Ted Bromley
and wife, Barbara, and Harry
Deischer, along with Sandy
McAlaine joining in on the fun.
These occasions are so rare that
we all tried to take advantage of
the situation. The night could
have lasted longer. One thankyou, if I may, to Sally Ringe, who
56 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
was the chief photographer and
took the pictures on Friday that
the attendees received in the mail.
See you again in 2019 for our
65th.
Bill Crawford is managing
oceanfront seasonal rentals at
Long Beach Island (LBI). He
invites you to look at photos of
the property. To view: IslandRealtyLBI.com; then click on Renting,
Search Rentals, at “Go to Listing #” type: 1610. Bill has been
enjoying LBI from his earliest
childhood.
Ted Bromley tells us: “No
babies—however three grandchildren in college this autumn! As
you know, Barbie and I moved
late last autumn to Pennswood, a
Quaker-run retirement “village”
located in Newtown, Pa.”
1955
George Boyd ’54 and his wife, Sandra, with some third grade
students during Alumni Weekend.
Chris Shaw’55 reports: “We held our sixth weeklong residential
Youth Bridge Camp the last week of June. We had 42 campers and
a staff of 23. In the picture at left, I’m third on the left, upper row.”
Class Agent: David McMullin
Save the Date
60th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
Bill Lilley writes: “I am now
semi-retired from my company
iMapData, Inc., which I founded
and ran for 25 years. iMapData
specializes in the simultaneous visualization of computer databases
that are dissimilar in format but
related in content, e.g., real-time
weather data and infrastructure
data for electrical substations,
real-time traffic data and
infrastructure data for securitysensitive facilities. The company
continues to grow and add valuable clients. Now, with some time
to myself, I continue my former
academic interests (I used to teach
history at Yale a long time ago),
reading books and writing book
reviews. I also work closely with
classmate Walter Buckley on the
board of trustees of the Woodrow
Wilson Foundation. Walter now
is chairman. The foundation is
one of the country’s leading forces
for teaching innovation in K-12
education. My four kids are all
happily married with wonderful
children (10) and have successful
careers in the standard professions: an investment banker in
New York City, a school teacher
in Southern Pines, NC, a doctor
in Chapel Hill, NC, and a lawyer
in Washington, DC. My wife is a
very busy diagnostician for children with learning problems. We
live in Washington, DC.”
1956
Class Agent: Bill Rapp
Please send us your news and
notes!
1957
Class Agents: John Clendenning
and Howard Morgan
Sandy McCurdy reports: “The
great class of 1957 powers on
with great vigor, the guys meeting
frequently to disagree on all matters political and theological, but
united in the great EA memories
we keep alive—fanned by the
likes of Ray and Howard and
Jay and Carl and Jay and Ross
and John and Joe and Geoff
and Kecky and Bruce in the
distance—as well as others who
recent picture. My wife, Bonnie,
was reelected mayor of Aurora
in March and will serve another
four-year term. We continue to
enjoy our four grandchildren and
village life, and now we hope to
do a bit more traveling.”
momentarily escape my senile
mind. Ray goes to the office every
day to pester anyone he can find.
Jay turns 75 and has a fine bash,
Geoff continues to be our poet
laureate second class, with Bruce
retaining first. Ross continues to
develop film and his mind. Howard is never home and always
around the world on some camel.
Pak is always dear Pak, Jim on
the West Cal coast is seen around
the world. Ivory’s making moves
to return to Pa. Thorne thrives.
We’re all gearing up for our EA
60th with numerous planning
meetings. No room for more anecdotes, but since I’ve been asked
to write this thing, above is a shot
here in Maine of my son Gregory
’83 and daughter Daphne ’84
and Daphne’s daughter Eva and
an unidentified old goat on the
left.”
Sandy McCurdy writes: “I just
came across this old black-andwhite shot of our class reunion
of 10 years post-graduation.
Jay’s in it with me when, of
course, we were both on the faculty (awfully important people)
and, among other things, the
two of us were running the entire
college guidance department—he
writing the recommendation letters for the guys A-L and I from
M-Z, also traveling about the
Eastern USA visiting colleges,
etc., and enjoying all our successes sending many to Harvard,
Wesleyan, Yale, Dartmouth, and
even Princeton.”
1958
Class Agent: Bob Bishop
Bruce Bennett reports: “My big
news is that I retired this spring. I
am now an emeritus professor at
Wells, but plan to stay involved
with the college in various ways,
including helping out, when
needed, with the Visiting Writers
Series. I also had two new chapbooks of poetry published this
year, The Wither’d Sedge (Finishing Line Press) and Swimming in
a Watering Can (FootHills Publishing). I have enclosed a (fairly)
William H. Lamb received
The Legal Intelligencer’s 2014
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Recipients chosen to receive the
award represent individuals who
have helped to shape the law
in Pennsylvania, based on their
work on the bench, assisting
those in need of legal services,
building a law firm, and other
means. To be considered for the
award, an attorney must have
had a distinct impact on the legal
profession in the state of Pennsylvania and must still be practicing
law.
William was also recognized
by Super Lawyers. He annu-
Members of the Class or 1959 at their 55th Reunion
1959
Class Agent Needed
Class of ’59 55th Reunion
Weekend Wrap-Up
ally has been recognized as a top
100 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer
for appellate law and has been a
Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since
2005. No more than five percent
of all Pennsylvania lawyers are
named to the Super Lawyers list.
Candidates for inclusion on the
list are evaluated based on their
career history, nomination by
peers, pro bono work, published
papers, and other professional
criteria.
Bob Bishop recently received
a wonderful booklet from (and
penned by) classmate John Magee: Words—A Farrago (Sequim,
2013). There are glimpses of our
EA experience. For example, who
can pin down what Mr. Keegan
meant when he called some of us
“a bunch of maroons”? a) a corruption of moron, b) somehow
stranded as in marooned, c) a
bunch of runaway slaves (Maroons), or d) something else.
Attending the Friday night dinner,
May 2, 2014, at Great American
Pub, Malvern, Pa., were: (l to r)
Sandy Stidham, Barlow Burke,
Butch Lenhard, Lowrey Heaver,
Dave Pillsbury, Matt Vollmer,
Terry Davis, Stu Brown, and
Hilton Smith. Great time had by
all trying to catch up on what all
had happened in our lives over the
past five and a half decades. Most
of us hadn’t seen each other since
graduation 55 years ago. The
group traveled a total of 7,201
road miles to get to EA’s new
campus. Stu Brown, San Rafael,
Calif., and Hilton Smith, Shoreline, Wash., each would have had
to drive more than 2,800 miles
from the West Coast.
Hilton Smith reports: “Dave
Pillsbury and I, and our wives,
Shirley and Suzanne, visited Seattle pre and post their Alaskan
cruise adventure in late May
and early June. We had a great
evening cruise on our Waterways
Cruises dining yacht with Dave
and Suzanne and their good
friends from Dave’s days in the
Air Force. When they returned
from Alaska, we all feasted at the
top of the Space Needle, rotating 360 degrees for the most
spectacular panorama of Seattle,
the Olympic Mountains, Puget
Sound, and 14,000-foot Mount
Rainier. Dave and I enjoyed lots
of travel together while at EA
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 57
Cla s s Notes
and afterwards, including three
months scooting around Europe
in our VW bug in 1961—the year
the Berlin Wall went up—and a
cross-country RT to California
via Canada in 1963 after college.
Then it was on to real life for
both of us. It is amazing how time
just melts away when you are
with old friends.”
The Watson brothers, Ross, Rowley ’59, and George ’60, were in
St. Barts, May 2014, for Rowley’s 73rd birthday.
Bix Bush writes: “We are again
spending the summer at our house
in Maine (on the ocean), with all
sorts of children and grandchildren visiting. Fun but tiring as
you all know. I am still coaching
girls’ basketball and am moving
back to Tower Hill School, where
I spent 20 years as the athletic
director and basketball coach.
Lee spends her time teaching the
grandchildren about Maine and
all its mountains, islands, lakes,
and history. Best wishes to all.”
Richard Foster tells us: “Our
grandson Henry is now a year
old, standing alone, about to
walk, and I already need to childproof our house! He had his first
trip to the beach on Cape Cod a
few days ago. The whole family
will be together in Sancerre in our
French house in August.”
Project, a nonprofit she started in
2002 to provide college scholarships to impoverished women in
India. We have centers in Hyderabad, Madurai, and Bangalore,
and at latest count more than four
hundred alumnae—women whose
families live on $1.50 or less a day
are now laboratory technicians,
legal assistants, computer operators, and teachers. It’s inspiring
and keeps me busy for the most
part in New York.”
1961
Class Agent: Cappy Markle
Stu Glasby writes: “Had a quick
recovery from a second aortic
valve replacement procedure
last February. “During this time
period, I was able to take some
neat photos of these winged
guests from Central America.
Note: I caught the hummingbird’s
tongue.”
1960
Class Agent: Maurice Heckscher
Rush Haines ’61 reports: “Here is a picture of daughter Jennifer
(Haines) Butler ’88 and me with granddaughters Charlotte, age
seven, and Annabelle, age four, on our boat, July 2014, in Ocean
City.”
Save the Date
55th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
From Maurice Heckscher:
“Happy to say that Donna and
I helped welcome into the world
another grandson, August Carl.
Proud parents are daughter Kellen (Heckscher) Vengels ’97
and husband, Dave. Augie is our
second grandchild.”
From William Dixon Shay ’61: “Six children, six grandchildren,
various relatives and cronies pulled off a totally successful 70th
birthday surprise party at The Orpheus Club on December 21, 2013.
58 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Peter Timms writes: “I retired as
director of the Fitchburg, Mass.,
Art Museum in December after
30+ years. It has grown considerably and is well worth a visit if
you’re interested in art and are
in New England. I’m now on the
board and was recently elected
president of our daughter’s
foundation, Women’s Education
“On July 23, veteran Corinthian
Class A sloop crew members,
including Bill Irving ’60, Steve
Irving, and yours truly, gathered
at the club for an extended luncheon to savor old times
and to embellish related ‘old days’
stories as guests of club member
Sallie Seltzer and her son and former commodore Chip Seltzer.”
1962
Class Agent Needed
Please send us your news and
notes!
1963
Class Agent: Drew Jackson
1964
Class Agent: Tom Zug
Frank Shanbacker writes: “My
big news is that I retired on June
30 from NBC News after 44
Warren Cooke ’64 reports: “Here is a picture of
me with my wife, Cathy, at dinner in Cape May, NJ,
with Tom Zug and Susan Hunter. Getting together
with Tom and Susan from time to time is for us one
of the joys of having a place in Cape May.”
Bill Richards ’63 is pictured with several students during a visit to
EA’s campus in April. In June Bill was a Professor with Distinction
at the number-three-ranked Masters of Finance program by The
Financial Times—IE University Madrid. Bill lectured and hosted
guest lecturers from around the world on hedge funds.
years with the organization. Most
recently I was senior operations
producer for Primetime.”
Warren Cooke writes: “Cathy
and I visited our brilliant classmate Reese Scott at his home
in Somerfield, Mass. Reese was
one of my closest friends and
co-editor with me of the Scholium, a fellow musician (and now
teaching and writing music), and
I had not seen him since 1964. I
am not sure any of our classmates
had seen him since his time at
Harvard. But he had read every
word of the 50th reunion book, I
mean every word. Unfortunately,
his partner, who sounds like an
amazing woman, was not there to
be in the picture.”
Dave Trainer writes: “It was
great seeing everyone in May
and hope we can do it again. The
reunion was well done and the
alumni staff should take great
pride in what they have accomplished. I have been continuing
my exploration of streams/oceans
near and far in quest of monster
fish. Check out that flounder!
Betsy is on her 2,000th book
and continues to walk four miles
a day while I look after my lily/
dahlia gardens.”
John Rosenberg reports: “I
am off to the Philippines for
a medical mission with Philos
Health, my ninth trip, doing
medical camps and teaching. I am
bringing my 16-year-old granddaughter, who wants to become a
doctor.”
Colin Hanna writes that he cohosted The Mike Gallagher Show
from Jackson, Miss., for one week
in August. The Mike Gallagher
Show is syndicated on over 130
radio stations and has the sixth
largest radio talk show audience
in America. He and Mike were investigating the improprieties and
possible illegalities in the conduct
of the Republican Senate primary
runoff race between U.S. Senator
Thad Cochran and Mississippi
State Senator Chris McDaniel.
Colin can be heard at 7 a.m. every other Monday on the WPHT
Morning Show with Chris Stigall.
Email address for Colin Hanna:
[email protected]. real evidence of the nature of
this reunion. After all, it was an
all-boys school back in the day,
and the spouses I met at other
reunions were mostly just from
the Philadelphia region. This was
going to be bigger. Much bigger. I
just wondered.
Class of ’64—Reunion thoughts
from a wife’s perspective.
“We relished seeing old friends,
reacquainting with others, and
catching up. As a spouse, I loved
the ability of these graduates to
pick up where they left off some
50 years ago. Relationships were
formed and strengthened. Addresses were exchanged, and
a promise to not let this group
have to wait until the 60th to get
together again. Too many of that
class were not there to join us.
They were remembered as stories
were told and I’m sure that each
graduate felt what I felt—a sense
of loss but yet comfort in knowing they were not forgotten.
Lynn Bower, wife of Dave Bower, writes: “Many of us through
the years have had opportunities to attend various types of
reunions. Family, grade school,
and college come to mind. During our travel time from Naples,
Fla., to Philly to attend the 50th
reunion for Episcopal Academy,
my mind was thinking about
them and wondering how this one
would be in comparison. Leading
up to this event, for many months
prior, I could hear my husband,
Dave, on the phone with the committee of ’64 graduates planning
the activities, but I still had no
“Upon arrival at the new (to us)
campus, the overture of family
was evident from the first point of
contact—checking in. And then
seeing familiar faces was the best
treat of all. On Friday night, we
were treated like rock stars by the
current EA students, even though
I’m sure they would have rather
been out on dates!
“For my comparison of this reunion to others, in short, there
was no comparison. The effort
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 59
Cla s s Notes
of the staff to welcome us and
make us feel comfortable was
beyond what anyone could ask
for. We laughed, we cried, and we
celebrated all in the course of two
and a half days. Who could have
asked for more?
“A personal thank-you to all of
those involved in the planning.
T.J., Bruce, Nancy, and the ’64
committee, thank you for the
wonderful reunion.”
1965
Class Agent: Loyd Pakradooni
Please send us your news and
notes!
Save the Date
50th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
Planning has begun on your 50th
Reunion. If you would like to be
involved, please contact Bruce
Konopka, 484-424-1779, [email protected].
We hope to see you this spring.
1966
Class Agent: Steve Dittmann
Please send us your news and
notes!
1967
Class Agent Needed
Larry Light
writes: “I am
the editor-inchief of a new
financial news
site called AdviceIQ, which
launched in
2012 and is doing well. Our offices are in Times
Square, and outside my window
is the New Year’s Eve ball. Before
that, I was investing editor of the
Wall Street Journal.”
Bill Bates reports: “I retired
from law practice at the end
of last year, after 35+ years at
Bingham McCutchen and its
SF predecessor. The timing was
superb, because my schedule co-
60 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
incided with the triennial training
program to become a docent at
Cantor Arts Center, Stanford’s
art museum. So I’m still licensed,
but as a tour guide instead of a
lawyer. (I encourage all EA alums
to let me know if you’d like a tour
when in the area.) I knew the art
part would be fun, and it is, but
I hadn’t anticipated how much
easier the social transition into
retirement would be thanks to 18
new classmates/friends. In addition, my wife, Kay, and I expect
to have more time for travel and
our two grandkids, which are
both delightful to us.”
1968
Class Agent: Robert Mayock
David Fenimore and Dr. Ashley
Marshall experienced the magnificent hospitality of Clement
Endresen and Nina Korbu for
a few long summer days at the
latter couple’s home in Oslo,
Norway. Fenimore and Marshall,
who were pleasantly surprised
at the unseasonably warm and
sunny Norwegian weather,
made a pilgrimage to Lillehammer looking for Little Stevie van
Zandt and found instead the site
of the Flamingo Club from the
Netflix series Lilyhammer. On a
more scholarly note, Nina invited
them to the National Library
to examine and compare Ibsen
manuscripts, and prepared them
for a visit to the Fram Museum
by showing them the original
letter left by Roald Amundsen
to mark his arrival at the South
Pole. Clement and Nina both send
warm greetings to the Class of
1968.
Member of the Class of ’68 in Breckenridge, Colo.
Under the leadership of
Bob Mayock, Tom McKoy,
and Spike Buckley, members of the Class of ’68 met
in Breckenridge, Colo., on
Thursday, August 14, for their
sort-of-annual assault on a
14,000-plus-foot peak. This
year they picked Mt. Lincoln,
outside Breckenridge, the eighth
highest mountain in the state
at 14,291 feet. (As a bonus, on
the way they also climbed Mt.
Cameron, which is also over
14,000 feet.)
Above is a picture taken at 7
a.m. on Friday, August 15, just
before they started their ascent.
(Jay Branegan had an EA cap
on, but it was so cold—40
degrees above zero—when
they started that he had to put
his hoodie up.) Pictured are:
(l to r) Jay Branegan, David
Fenimore, Sam White, Mark
Hofmaier, Tom McKoy, Bob
Mayock, and Drew Schmidt.
Missing was Spike Buckley, a
major organizer of the expedition, who injured his foot while
training but came up to Breckenridge anyway.
1969
Class Agent Needed
Class of ’69 45th Reunion WrapUp
A remarkable fest of love and
fellowship took place in Dayton,
Ohio, the weekend of May 2-4,
2014. This marked the 45th reunion of the Class of 1969, but it
had an extra-special significance.
Classmate and friend Criswell
Davis battled cancer during late
fall and winter of 2013-14 and
completed treatments and most
evaluations by the end of winter.
As spring progressed, Criswell
was feeling largely back to his old
self, and it was suggested among
a few classmates that a reunion
be held in his home of Kettering,
Ohio, near Dayton. This idea
was tried out on a further circle
of ’69ers, and it took hold. The
plan was to devote Saturday to
several work projects at the home
of Criswell and his wife, Bridget.
The reunion would span from
Friday night to sometime Sunday.
Not all the class was contacted,
as the plans developed informally
among those who were already in
touch, but the wish was to be inclusive. The class had not reunited
in significant measure since the
25th reunion, but a latent affection and interest sprang to life in
the conditions that Criswell had
faced and come through in the
preceding months. So people’s
commitments started to firm up
and travel plans and accommodations were set in motion. Apart
from Pennsylvania, from which
Chuck Hitschler, Greg Lewicki,
John Bryfogle, and Kevin Flannery were coming, points of
departure were very dispersed.
Cres Fraley and Tom Dalzell
were coming from California,
Dick Gleason from Oregon,
John Voorhees from Colorado,
John Bourland from Vermont,
Nick Lefevre from Washington, D.C., Brooke Tucker from
Maryland, and Van Kalbach
from Michigan. To add greatly
to the festivities, an old friend of
many of the group, Trudy Munsick, was coming from Wyoming.
There were numbers of e-mails
connecting ’69ers prior to May.
In addition, numbers of us were
kept aware of one another, and
were able to keep posted on
Criswell’s progress, through the
website www.caringbridge.org.
We were following his milestones
of recovery, admiring his courage
and readiness to write about his
health challenge. For those traveling to Dayton, our attention was
sharply focused as we prepared to
leave our homes.
Three ’69ers arrived in Dayton
during the day of Friday, May 2,
and were able to join Criswell and
Bridget to go over what would
be done the next day and pick up
equipment. Others were arriving in late afternoon. The whole
group arranged to meet Friday
evening at the Meadowlark Restaurant, a favorite eating spot in
that area. Spirits were great as
most of the group, coming from
different motels, arrived at the
restaurant almost simultaneously.
There were hugs, smiles, and
jokes. Some people had not seen
one another in person for possibly
45 years. Sitting down together,
we got so caught up in conversation that it was close to a couple
hours before the main course was
ordered and served. And so this
gathering of friends took place
over the course of the whole evening.
Saturday morning we arrived early at Criswell and Bridget’s home
and the work projects rapidly got
underway. There were shutters to
be hung, gutters to be cleaned and
nailed fast, weeding, spreading
mulch, excavating honeysuckle
roots, and a bi-fold closet door to
be installed. Powered by bagels,
muffins, juice, and coffee, much
was done by noon. But with a
slight break for relaxation, we
again returned to our various
tasks. Tom Dalzell, who had
been delayed in California, arrived. The most extensive project,
painting, cutting, and installing
baseboard, went until far into the
afternoon. As the work began to
wind up, we did more sitting and
talking. A highlight of the weekend was the late-day barbecue,
with all manner of side dishes
and desserts provided by Bridget’s
coworkers. People watched
the broadcast of the Kentucky
Derby, but mostly it was nice to
be outside. The temperature was
nearly 70, with steady sun. As
light diminished and evening set
in, there was a continuing mood
of goodwill and gratitude that
’69ers from so many diverse areas
were able to spend time together.
The idea came up that some such
gathering, incorporating more
members of our class, should
become a regular thing, maybe
with a work program again. A fire
pit was assembled in the backyard, and a fire accompanied our
conversation. We tried to answer
a set of prepared trivia questions
from our school days. The night
wore on around the fire, with
memories of ’69ers who were not
present, faculty who had made a
difference for us, and talk of the
present. Well past midnight, we
parted.
Sunday, some of the group had
to make early flights for home,
but quite a few of us rejoined at
Criswell and Bridget’s where we
enjoyed quiche, strawberries, and
coffee. It wasn’t easy to bring
this joyful shared time to an end.
Additional members had to leave
for their scheduled flights, but all
who could stayed on, enjoying
the great hospitality of our hosts.
We had a sense that through
Criswell’s recovery we’d been
given an opportunity to reach
out to one another and that this
should continue. We remembered
long past events and, to an extent,
the role in our lives of our school
experiences.
In the days after all travelers had
returned home, a new round of
e-mail messages went out among
us, the impression being one of
smiles, added youthfulness, and
lingering impressions of the three
days of magic in which we had
come together. Criswell posted
the most moving testimony on his
Facebook page and on caringbridge.org. He considered the
reunion an event that reshaped
his consciousness of others. All
who joined in Dayton had the
great chance to return to a sense
of solidarity that showed us
“friendship has no expiration
date.”
Criswell Davis writes: “Yes, the
reunion being moved to my house
was an amazing idea, one that
left me and my wife humbled and
grateful beyond measure. The notion that these stellar men, some
of whom I hadn’t seen in 45 years,
would rally around a classmate in
need is the stuff of legends. I do
believe that the naissance of this
event was sparked by our class
valedictorian, Tom Dalzell. He
came to see me when I was very
sick in the winter and went on to
Philadelphia. He had breakfast
with a few classmates and the
idea grew of moving the reunion
to Kettering, Ohio. When Tom
told me that my classmates were
coming to Kettering, my immediate thought was that there was
no way my wife and I would be
able to entertain people. Tom said
that all we needed to do was to
create a list of chores that needed
to be done around the house for
spring cleaning. You have seen the
story, but I can tell you that it was
an incredible event, bigger on an
emotional scale than any words
can possibly describe.”
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 61
Cla s s Notes
From Scott Bullitt: “I spent four
weeks traveling in Europe with
my partner. We flew to Glasgow
on June 11 and rented a car to
drive down through Wales, then
took a ferry from Portsmouth,
England, to Le Havre, France.
Renting another car, we meandered through Normandy and
Brittany, seeing the Bayeux Tapestry and the D-Day beaches, then
visiting Rouen, where Joan of Arc
was tried and burned. Then down
to Toulouse and Carcassonne,
followed by a night in Andorra,
just to say we’ve been there. The
final leg of our trip took us to
Zaragoza and Bilbao in Spain. We
used Bilbao as our base for several nights, going to Pamplona for
the opening day of the running of
the bulls festival and visiting prehistoric cave paintings in Puente
Viesgo. We flew home to Tampa,
Fla., on July 8.”
1970
Class Agents: John Dautrich and
Ron Rothrock
Save the Date
45th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
Don Best and Jumper Dautrich had a meeting at EA to start
formulating plans for the 45th
Reunion on May 1 and 2. If you
would like to be on the committee, please contact either of them
([email protected] or
[email protected]) or Suzanne
Schaffer at [email protected] or 484-424-1776.
Bill Spofford writes: “In February, I assumed the additional
responsibility of director of business operations (supply chain,
purchasing, logistics, and customer service) for AGC Chemicals
Americas, to go along with the
CFO and treasurer roles I still
perform. Had a fifth grandchild and first granddaughter,
Morgan Bellei, on July 3, 2014.
Sixth grandchild on the way!
And settled on dream house near
Dilworthtown, Pa., with fiancée!
Busy spring.”
62 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Sam Kier ’71 and family
Members of the Class of ’71
From Jim Rogers: “Family
news for me is summed up in one
word: grandchildren. My wife,
Barbara, and I have three right
now—two girls and a boy ranging in age from nearly four years
down to 18 months. Between
now and Christmas, if all goes
well, we will have three more.
Each of our three daughters-inlaw are pregnant. The wives of
EA alumni sons Andrew ’98,
Benjamin ’00, and Samuel ’04
are expecting their first, third,
and second children, respectively.
It’s going to be a busy fall. Ben
and his wife, Candice, and their
youngsters moved from Arlington, Va., to Wallingford, Pa., in
May. He accepted a relationship
manager position with Citizens
Bank where he is a vice president.
The other two sons and families
are still in Arlington.”
and information services. He is
a past president and CEO of the
Professional & Education Unit of
Wolters Kluwer’s Health Division.
1972
1971
1973
Class Agent Needed
Class Agents: Rex Gary and Jerry
Holleran
Jay Lippincott has been appointed BMJ’s non-executive
chairman. He succeeds Michael
Chamberlain, who is standing
down after nearly ten years as
chairman, during which time the
company has more than doubled
in size and expanded globally.
Lippincott has been a non-executive director at BMJ since January
2012, and consulted to the business, particularly on international
opportunities, since 2009. Lippincott has had a distinguished
career in scientific, technical,
and medical (STM) publishing
Sam Kier and his wife of 42
years, Pam, have now lived outside of Austin, Tex., for seven
years. After 30 years with IBM,
Sam was acquired by Ricoh in
2007 and has been their chief
accountant for their acquisition
of the large printer division from
IBM. Sam and Pam have three
children and three grandchildren.
“We travel to Baltimore frequently where two of our children
and the grandchildren currently
reside. Our third child is an upand-coming successful actor in
the Austin area.”
Thanks to Fred Dittmann, Alex
MacMoran, and Don Wynne,
who provided the tickets, eight
members of the Class of ’71 came
together July 22, 2014 at Citizens
Bank Park for a mini-reunion
and to support the struggling
Phillies. While the home team
lost 9-6 in 14 innings, we had
a great time catching up with
each other—and hope to do it
again! Pictured are: (l to r) Alex
MacMoran, Tom Williams, Fred
Dittmann, Scott Isdaner, Jay
Aikens, Nick Isen, Tony Brown,
and Jim Rosenfeld.
Class Agent Needed
Please send us your news and
notes!
Bill Clark reports: “Here’s a
pic of me with my EA hat at a
recent graduation party here in
beautiful Vermont (better of me
than my friend and mentor Dr.
Ray Stevens), and a few at the
party asked what EA stood for.
Of course it was my moment to
shine.
“Wife, Puddy, was recently
honored by the National Show
Jumper Hall of Fame, along with
a three-time national champion
pony she rode named Wizard of
Oz. Daughter Lilah has received
her GED and will attend community college in the fall. Daughter
Sarah will start her junior year at
UVM. Daughter Julia is practic-
ing law in Bensalem and will be
getting married in September.
Son Miles starts a second year
in Las Vegas clerking for Federal Judge Jennifer Dorsey. News
from my world is not so good,
as I was recently diagnosed with
stage 2 rectal cancer, and will
be starting an aggressive course
of chemotherapy and radiation, followed by surgery. The
prognosis is very good, and we
are all looking forward to a full
recovery.”
Jim Brooke reports: “After eight years in Moscow,
Cambodia is a pleasant transition—from the land of frowns
to the land of smiles. Life as
the Voice of America correspondent in Moscow had
gotten increasingly unpleasant.
On a cheerier note, Cambodia
was recently rated the world’s
friendliest country by readers
of The Rough Guide series of
travel books. If any classmates
are planning to float up the
Mekong from Saigon to Ankor
Wat, drop anchor midway in
Phnom Penh and let’s catch up!”
1974
Class Agent: John Spofford
Marcus Smith’s latest book of
poems, SEZ/everythingspeaks,
is forthcoming with London’s
Live Canon and will be available on Amazon UK. 1975
Class Agent: Jim Cooke
Save the Date
40th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
Jay Snider reports: “My oldest
son, Jamie, married his college
sweetheart Amy Taussik on June
21 in Malibu, Calif. I officiated the
wedding.”
1976
Class Agent Needed
Andy Hartzell writes: “Right
now, I am regional supervising counsel for the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental
Protection in the Southeast Region in Norristown and am in my
28th year in this business. I focus
my practice on land recycling,
environmental cleanup, waste
management, and water quality
issues here with the Department.
I am also an adjunct professor for
St. Joseph’s University’s Environmental Protection and Public
Safety Institute where I’ve taught
a Masters level course in environmental law for about 10 years.
Two of my kids graduated from
Episcopal. Tara ’10 spent the fall
of 2010 working in an orphanage in Ghana, Africa, then did
similar work in the spring of 2011
in Costa Rica. She is now in her
fourth year at McGill University
in Montreal where she studies
environmental sustainability and
spends much of her time as an officer in the McGill Outdoor Club.
Colin ’12 spent the fall of 2012
in Arusha, Tanzania, working at
an orphanage school, then followed up by spending the spring
of 2013 working with a construction crew building a community
center in Cuzco, Peru. He will be
a sophomore at Lynchburg College in Virginia but is spending
the summer in the wilderness
canoeing country of Ontario. I
am sending along a picture of
Colin on Lake Temagami, which
was taken last month. My oldest
daughter is presently working for
Central Mental Health Services
in Norristown to assist kids with
mild mental health disorders, usually from tough backgrounds. So
life is good.”
1977
Class Agent: Jim Alton
Bill Hoffman writes: “This past
October 28, I became a grandfather of a beautiful little girl,
Isla Grace Ross. I’m a happy and
grateful man. You can’t beat the
feeling.”
1978
Class Agent: Jim Borum
Alan Huffman writes: “After 12
years building a large technology company in the oil industry,
I have decided to go back to my
roots in ‘Big Oil’ and start up a
new exploration and production
company called High Peak Energy
that will focus on North American oil and gas assets. The new
company will be based in the Dallas–Ft. Worth area and will begin
operations in September of this
year. Beverly and I are doing well
and playing as much golf as time
will permit. If you are in Texas,
look us up!”
Bert Zug introduced his brother,
Tom Zug ’64, as the 50th
Reunion speaker on Alumni
Weekend, May 2, 2014.
1979
Class Agents: Ned Lee and Chris
Young
Bill McAvoy writes: “How
quickly the years have passed
since 1979. Sorry I missed the
last reunion and the one before
that and the one before that!
Each reunion seems to coincide
with an important child’s event.
Who knows, maybe the next one.
Although our youngest will be a
senior in high school then and I
am sure it will be the weekend of
the school musical. By the way,
I am not sure where the talent
comes from. Hailey, our oldest, is
an aspiring mezzo soprano opera
singer studying at the Eastman
School of Music, while our son
Eric is heading into senior year
of high school, focused on health
and wellness and leads his life as
such (must come from the wife’s
side of the gene pool). Our youngest, Abby, is 13 and an aspiring
chef. Just last night we had a fantastic gourmet dinner prepared by
her topped off with tiramisu. Five
hours in the kitchen is reportedly relaxing. Such wonderful
and varied passions. Life in the
Boston area is great. Wishing all
of ’79 well.”
1980
Class Agent: David Reape
Please send us your news and
notes!
Save the Date
35th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 63
Cla s s Notes
1981
1985
Class Agent: Ben Thompson
Class Agent: John Susanin
From Brad Wilson: “In my role
as columnist and sports writer for
the Easton, Pa., Express-Times,
I won two journalism prizes this
spring: second place as sports columnist in Division II in the New
Jersey Press Association’s Better
Newspaper Contest and second
place for sports beat reporting for
scholastic wrestling in Division II
from the Pennsylvania News Media Association’s Keystone Press
Awards.”
1982
Class Agents: Jim Farrell and
Brooke McMullin
David Cornell writes: “Doug
Dockray and I got together this
summer for a four-day motorcycle school at the Texas Tornado
Bootcamp run by MotoGP racing
legend Colin Edwards.”
Bill Bagnell writes: “Only note
I have is my son James is a member of the EA class of ’18. He
took a class at EA in July and
is now playing on the football
team. Also Brooke McMullin’s
daughter is in the class and Mike
D’Alicandro’s son is coming in as
a junior.”
1983
Class Agent: Jamie Hole
Please send us your news and
notes!
1984
Class Agents: Bill Keffer and Karl
Mayro
64 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Save the Date
30th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
Jenny Wallace lives in New York
with her husband, Bill, their two
children Caroline (8th grade) and
Conrad (6th grade), and their
Portuguese Water Dog, Lola. She
is cofounder of an investment
management firm, Summit Street
Capital Management, where she
is a managing partner and chief
investment officer.
Note from Amanda
Lamb: “In May of 2014, I published The Living Room, which
is about the transforming power
of caregiving. For 80 days my
brilliant, beautiful, independent
mother, who practiced law for
nearly 30 years in West Chester,
Pa., battled a malignant brain
tumor while living with my
family in North Carolina. I had
the humble privilege of caring
for her along with an army of
relatives and friends. In the end,
we pulled up chairs around her
bed—we sang, prayed, read to
her, laughed, cried, ate, drank.
In short, while she was dying she
taught us how to live. The book
is available on Amazon.com. To
learn more, you can visit my website at www.alambauthor.com.”
From John
Yoo: “I
published a
new book
in April,
Point of
Attack:
Preventive War,
International Law,
and Global Welfare with Oxford
University Press. After some
book promotion trips to NYC
and Philly (including a stop at
Drexel) in May, I experienced the
shock and awe of a 25th college
reunion. I ran into EA classmate
Paul Goldstein during the class
reception. From Boston, I had
a research trip at the Franklin
Roosevelt presidential library, so
Elsa and I stopped in Springfield,
Mass., on the drive to upstate
New York and had dinner with
my old friend and classmate Bill
Sweidel. Bill and his wife looked
healthy, happy, and wise. I did
my darnedest to persuade him to
come to the next reunion.”
Squire, Hon., Nick Christos,
Jon Crawford, Baron Strauss,
and Tom Lees, Hon. It was a
great fun night!!!”
J.D. Cassidy and Nessa (Arthur) Parks had an impromptu
mini-reunion on the campus of
Clemson University when they
were on college tours with their
high school juniors this spring.
J.D.’s son, Jack ’15, is currently
at EA.
1986
Class Agent: Karen Marston
Amy Korman writes: “I hope you
had a great summer and I appreciate the opportunity to mention
that I have a book coming out
this fall. It’s a mystery set on the
Main Line titled Killer Wasps,
and it’s a light read that is due
out from HarperCollins’ new
Witness Impulse mysteries. Nothing serious, lots of shopping and
cocktails.”
From Marnie Schneider: “My
grandfather, Leonard Tose, was
inducted into the Philadelphia
Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and
look at this gorgeous bunch of
people who showed up for me!!
Amy (Donohue) Korman, me,
Nessa (Arthur) Parks, Rev
Nick Christos and daughter
Phoebe ’18 competed in the
Stone Harbor Triathlon on July
20 in Stone Harbor, N.J. Nick did
better than last year and this was
Phoebe’s first triathlon. Phoebe
finished first in the under 15 age
group. They had a great time
training together and plan to do it
again next summer. 1987
Class Agents: Andrew Brenner
and Ed Jones
Marnie Schneider ’86 with EA friends and family
Cori (Reedy) Burns reports:
“We are enjoying the summer
in San Francisco and lots of
travels. We visited Sugar Bowl
in the Sierra Nevada for 4th of
July. This photo is of Milo, age
six, and Maxine, age four, after
a hike across the meadow to see
the wildflowers. We are traveling
to Lisbon over the summer to see
my husband’s family. Our kids
will meet their Portuguese cousins for the first time in person.
Very exciting. We will then visit
the beach on the East Coast and
see all the Reedy family cousins:
Brendan ’90 and Lee Reedy’s
kids, Kyle, age nine, and Erin, age
seven. Bill ’88 and Beth Reedy’s
kids are Caitlin, age three, and
Brady, age eight months.”
Girls from the Class of ’89 enjoying the Alumni Weekend reception
on May 3, 2014.
back. And saw Catherine again
with other EA alums at Betsy
Williams’ ’93 home for a lovely
EA gathering with the fabulous
T.J. Locke! With my youngest,
Emily, age five, joining her big
outside of Boston, and I continue
to enjoy my career with The Boston Consulting Group, which has
spanned 16 years. I was recently
promoted to lead BCG’s global
health care business and am now
spending more time traveling and
working internationally.”
Bill Marvin accepted the 2014
Enterprise Award Technology CEO of the Year Award,
presented by the Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and
Technologies (PACT). Bill is the
president, CEO, and cofounder
of InstaMed, the leading health
care payments network. InstaMed
operates a nationwide network
connecting hospitals, practices,
health care payers, and patients
on its secure and cloud-based network, to simplify the end-to-end
health care payments process.
From Missy (MacNeish) Marron: “I joined the Spencer Stuart
Boston Office and Financial Services practice this spring. I have
two kids, Maddy, age eight, and
Alex, age four, and still live in Essex, Mass.”
1989
1988
Class Agent: Becky (White)
Kreutz
Class Agent Needed
1990
Adam Farber reports: “Everyone
says that time flies…and I agree.
Our three sons, Max, Sam, and
Oliver, are now 13, 12, and 8 and
certainly keeping Amy and me
busy. We continue to enjoy living
Class Agent Needed
In early June 2014, some members
of the Class of 1990 had a little
get-together at Kristin (Strid)
Dische’s home. Pictured are: (l
to r) in back, Nabi Moghadam,
Chris Bozzi, Kristin McIlhenney, and Penny Kulp, and in
front, Brett Miller, Debbie (Serano) Rider, Quinn J. McLelan,
Kristin (Strid) Dische, and Kara
Dougherty.
From Rick Heitzmann: Rose
MacAlpine Tolland Heitzmann
was born on June 20, 2014 to the
delight of mom Peta, dad Rick,
brother Gardner, and sister, Ivy.
1991
Save the Date
25th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
Class Agents: Joe Bongiovanni
and Holly (Sando) Rieck
Holly (Sando) Riech writes:
“Still in Fairfax, Va., and loving
the ’hood but missing Philly every
day! Had dinner and drinks with
Catherine Rosato and Jenn
Tierney, an EA third grade teacher, on the Potomac a few months
brother Donny, age seven, at elementary school this fall, I dusted
off the resume and got back into
the workforce. I am now a magistrate in Alexandria, approving
arrest and search warrants and
locking folks up when need be—
which I’m sure (as was the case
when I became a Philly A.D.A.
back in 2000) will make certain
EA alums and faculty members
chuckle a bit.”
The Sando family gathered
recently in Miami, Fla., where
Blake ’95 lives with his wife, Jen,
and their three children: Lizzie,
Blake Jr., and Teddy. Ralph ’89
and his two girls, Brittany ’18
and Berkeley ’22, and Holly and
her husband, Don, and their two
children, Donny and Emily, and
the Sando matriarch, Joyce, EA
Mom to Ralph, Holly, and Blake,
a.k.a. “Nana-San,” were all on
hand!
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 65
Cla s s Notes
little time off for gardening and
vacation before starting with the
new firm on September 1.
Bob Winter writes: “We have
had a third child, Brady Burell,
born on April 27, 2010 while we
were living in New Mexico. We
are currently living in Manhattan
Beach, Calif., but a month away
from moving to Montreal.”
1992
Class Agents: Charley French and
Bill Dougherty
Please send us your news and
notes!
The Sando Family
Class Agent Needed
Jenny (Han) Viullasenor and her
husband, Nazario, have triplets,
Samuel, Maya, and Elisa, born on
November 22, 2011.
Allison Price writes: “Here is
Reid Alexander Kaplan in his
sweet EA sweater. He was born
on November 15, 2012 in Washington, DC.”
Tyrone Ross writes: “I am currently an assistant principal at
Hardy Williams Academy Mastery Charter School. It is a K–6
1993
Ted Leeds and Chris Bozzi
(Haverford School ’91) traveled
to Peru and hiked the Inca Trail
to visit Machu Pichu. This is on
the trail.
leader of the EY restaurant practice. Lee works in the food service
industry, which has enabled them
to travel together for both business and fun. They are admired
by their friends and family and
have a very strong bond; they
are so blessed to have found each
other.
In addition to the Ritz Carlton
wedding, Michael and Lee had
a second wedding celebration
on Saturday, May 10, 2014 officiated by Gene Simmons. The
newlyweds spent three weeks on
three islands in Hawaii for their
honeymoon. Lee’s brother Anthony Samango’94 along with
Holly (Sando) Rieck attended the
wedding.
Lee Samango and Michael Gottlieb got married on May 9, 2014
at the Ritz Carlton in Monarch
Beach, Calif. They have a beautiful love story and formed an
amazing life together. Michael
is a senior partner with Ernst &
Young and serves as the global
66 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Stephen Murray has been
appointed president of the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in
Detroit, Mich.
Rob Milbourne has resigned
from Norton Rose Fulbright to
join another international law
firm, K&L Gates, as a partner
in the Brisbane office. He took a
Andrew Purcell and his wife,
Melissa, have twins, Mary and
Sophie, born on October 2, 2014.
They join big brother Andrew
who is 17 months old.
elementary school in Southwest
Philadelphia. My wife is Jennifer
Ross, and we currently live in
Drexel Hill. We have a girl named
Olivia Skye Ross. She was born
on November 16, 2012 at the
Birth Center in Bryn Mawr. Attached is a picture at 13 months
old wearing her EA sweater.”
1994
Class Agents: Tema (Fallahnejad)
Burkey, Anna (Morgan) Cassidy,
Coryell (McIlvain) Urban, and
Sarah (Glick) Johnson
The Burkeys recently traveled to
Sun Valley, Ida., with their favorite EA family, the Levinsons.
Sam starts to sleep through the
night at some point soon! On the
professional front, after five years
of leading the strategy practice at
a Chicago-based digital boutique
agency, Rob was recently appointed the CEO of Mira Fitness,
a corporate venture–backed wearable technology company also
located in the Chicago area.
Christy (Meyer) Crandall and
her husband, Doug, have had a
third child, Ryan Miller Crandall,
born on March 5, 2014, weighing in at 8 lbs and 21 inches long.
Matthew is seven, entering second
grade at Holy Cross Regional
Catholic School, and Addison is
five, entering kindergarten at the
same school.
Gil Grandbois writes: “Kate
Brooks and I were married in November 2008 at Chatham Bars on
the cape in Chatham, Mass. We
now live in Concord, Mass. Our
first child, Addie (Adeline), was
born on July 25, 2011. We are
expecting another child, a boy,
very soon. Exciting times for the
Grandbois family.”
1995
Laura Rooklin ’95 and Sean Devlin ’90
Laura Rooklin continues to work
for Google at the company’s
headquarters in Mountain View,
Calif. She is a manager on the
real estate and workplace services
team, the department that focuses
on keeping the Googlers happy,
healthy, and productive. While in
Seattle for a team meeting in June
she met colleague Sean Devlin ’90, who had recently joined
Google as the facilities manager
in the Ann Arbor office. Over
lunch they realized that they were
both EA alums!
Last summer Laura and Jen
Miller traveled to Scandinavia to
visit Katie Miller ’99. The photo
included was taken in Stavanger,
Norway, one of the stops during
their adventures in Norway and
Sweden.
Class Agents: Brooke (Doherty)
Horgan and Katie Kurz
1996
Class Agent Needed
Brian Guernsey writes: “Jackson is four years old; he was born
on November 10, 2009. We
just had two babies, Claire and
Aiden, who were born on May 7,
2014. A picture of the threesome
is attached from May 8 at the
hospital.”
Mike McKeon: “I live in Bala
Cynwyd with my wife, Jenn, and
daughters Ava and Alyssa. I was
recently elected as a shareholder
at the law firm of Lavin, O’Neil,
Cedrone & DiSipio. Here is a picture of my family celebrating my
parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. Pictured are: (l to r) my wife
Jennifer McKeon, my mom Maria
McKeon, my dad Barry McKeon,
my daughters Alyssa and Ava, my
brother Kevin McKeon ’99, and
me.”
Save the Date
20th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
Brooke Hassett writes: “My
husband, Chad Stinner, and I
have had our first child, Tegan
Clair Stinner, born on May 12,
2012.”
On January 8, 2014, Rob DeMento, his wife, Tina, and their
son Nate, age two and a half, welcomed baby brother Sam into the
family. They’re adapting to life as
a family of four and hoping that
Jen Miller writes: “Laura sent
you an update on both of us from
last summer. I can give you an
update for my own professional
world as well. I am still living in
Denver, Colo., and am currently a
computer technology teacher and
coach in the Denver public school
system.”
Ham Clark, Hon. writes:
“Tsolin Nalbantian visited my
office. She is a tenured Middle
Eastern history professor at
Leiden University in Amsterdam,
as old and as good as Oxford.
Her mom is Lebanese and she has
been doing some research here
while on sabbatical.”
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 67
Cla s s Notes
June 18, 2014. She was eight lbs,
five oz, and both mom and baby
are doing terrific.”
Mike Cannone writes: “I was
married to Rosalie Ash Ward on
September 8, 2012. We had our
first child, Elodie Grace, born on
January 7, 2014.”
Margot (Marsh) Wanner writes:
“Here is our daughter Eliza
Catherine, Liza Cate, in her EA
sweater, wearing it with pride!
She is 18 months old and keeps
busy and laughing. Hence, the
photo is a little blurry…she
doesn’t stay still for long.”
Addison West and Ashley Eyre
’04 were married on July 26,
2014.
Scott Reynolds and his wife,
Aimee, welcomed their third son,
Brendan, on June 6, 2013. Here is
a picture of their three boys from
St. Patrick’s Day. In order from
the top are Sean, Connor, and
Brendan.
Priscilla (Broomell) Falco
writes: “I was married to John
Falco on September 25, 2010. We
have two children, Ellie born on
April 27, 2011, and Anna born on
June 28, 2013.”
1997
Class Agent: Julie Manser
Bobby Serpente writes: “My
wife, Jessica Serpente, just gave
birth to our first child. Isabelle
Jeannine Serpente was born on
68 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
EA classmates in attendance
were Elizabeth Eyre ’10, Drew
Polus, Marshal Sebring, and
Sarah West ’98.
Jessica (Walls) Beers and her
husband, Steve Beers ’94, have
had their first child, Valentine,
born on March 12, 2013. Jessica reports: “Valentine turned
18 months in September and is
an absolute joy. She loves being
a little city girl, walking around
smiling at everyone. We are just
head over heels for our baby girl!”
Francesca Giuntoli was married
to Ryan Cummings on October
20, 2007. Jessica Broadbent
was a bridesmaid and Courtney
Evor’s parents attended the wedding. “We are living in Phoenix,
Ariz. We have two children,
Fiona Geraldine Cummings born
on August 22, 2008, and Christopher Ryan Cummings born on
October 22, 2010.”
James Rich reports: “I was married to Nadine on June 2, 2012.
Sam Brown was at the wedding.
We have one child, Harlan, born
on April 9, 2014.”
1998
Class Agent: Rob Melchionni
John Dougherty and his wife,
Sarah, welcomed their first child,
Meredith Hanley, on June 12,
2014 at New York Presbyterian/
Weill Cornell Medical Center
in New York City. Meredith
weighed in at 6 lbs, 13 oz. The
family continues to reside in New
York City where John is a consultant with PwC and Sarah works
in marketing for RBC Capital
Markets.
Fran Sutter writes: “We are
proud to announce baby number
four, Chase Sutter, born on April
17, 2014, weighing 9 lbs, 5 oz.
Big brothers Trey, age five, and
Coleman, age 20 months, and big
sister Jaden, age three, love having the little guy around!”
year of residency at Brigham
and Women’s Hospital in Boston
for internal medicine while I am
working in the aviation division of General Electric outside
of Boston. Classmates in attendance were: John Duffy, Theo
Schell-Lambert, Rachel Sparkler, Doug Hitchner, me, Mike
Walsh, Kathleen, Chris Leo,
and Andy Resnik.”
John Salvucci and his wife,
Erin, had their second child, John
Thomas Salvucci, born on June
22, 2014.
Katherine, who will turn two this
fall.
Jeff Porter reports: “My wife
and I welcomed our son, Briggs
Davis Porter, into the world on
April 15, 2014. He weighed 9 lbs,
3oz and was born at 9:11pm.”
2000
Class Agents: Kimmy (Gardner)
Reinking and Jack Meyers
Reid Smith recently joined
the Cato Institute in Washington, DC, where he assumed
responsibilities as director of
development. His personal “byline” remains at The American
Spectator, with regular contributions to Rare and The American
Conservative.
1999
Class Agents: Andrew Addis and
Catherine (Hunt) Ryan
Christy (Laakmann) Kaupinen
and her husband, Wes, welcomed
their second child, Luke Laakmann Kaupinen, on March 20,
2014. He weighed in at a robust
9 lbs, 3 oz, and joins his big sister
Tyler Wren is currently competing in his thirteenth and final
season as a professional cyclist.
He has formed an athletic event
organization company called
Wrenegade Sports, LLC, and the
company’s first event, the Rensselaerville Cycling Festival in
upstate New York, was recently
named one of “The Best 11 Gran
Fondos in America” by Men’s
Journal. Chris Morris and Courtney
(Bancroft) Morris have had a
third child, Chase Christopher
Morris, born on June 25, 2014.
Katherine Smith writes: “In
November 2013, my husband,
Robert Kaufman, and I welcomed
a baby boy, Samuel Adrian.”
Andrew Walsh has recently
joined Ballard Spahr in Washington. He has joined their real
estate department and is looking
forward to his new position.
at the Hyatt at Bellevue on May
3, 2014. We live in Westchester,
NY, outside of Manhattan.”
Save the Date
15th Reunion
May 1 & 2, 2015
Austin Frieman writes: “My
wife, Mariana, and I have had
our first child, Milani Elise Frieman, on July 26, 2014.”
Steve Klein writes: “My wife,
Kathleen Degnan, and I were
married in Harwich Port, Mass.,
on Cape Cod last summer, June
7, 2014. Kathleen is in her second
Cheo Scott tells us: “I was engaged on January 18, 2014 and
will be celebrating ten years at
Vanguard on August 16, 2014.”
From Jack Meyers: “I am engaged and will be married on
May 2, 2015. My fiancée’s name
is Nicole Iacovelli. She’s from
Newtown, Pa., and works for
Lincoln Financial.”
Dara Pettinelli recently moved
back from LA to NY to work at
Conde Nast Traveler as a senior
content manager. “I also got married in May to Neville Kapoor,
who also just took a new job as a
financial advisor at Merrill Lynch.
We were married in Philadelphia
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 69
Cla s s Notes
Kyle R. Eckel reports: “My wife,
Tatiana Paravela, and I were married on July 2, 2010 in Sao Paulo,
Brazil. We had a son on February
28, 2013. He’s big and strong and
moving around great. His name is
Leonardo Paul Eckel.”
Rachael Garrett is a Giorgio
Ruffolo Postdoctoral Research
Fellow in Sustainability Science
at Harvard University; a National
Science Foundation Science,
Engineering, and Education for
Sustainability Fellow; and a Fulbright NEXUS Regional Scholar.
Her research focuses on agriculture, rural development, and
conservation in Brazil. Rachael
will be starting as an assistant
professor in the Department of
Earth and Environment at Boston
University in July 2015.
Ben Rogers recently accepted
a job at Citizens Bank as a
corporate banking relationship
manager in Wilmington, Del.
His wife, Candice, four-year-old
daughter Addison, almost twoyear-old son Henry, and newest
addition Luke bought a house in
Wallingford, Pa., and are excited
to be back in the greater Philadelphia area again. Luke Baird
Rogers was born at 6:10 p.m.,
October 18, 2014, weighing 8 lbs,
4 oz and 21.5 inches long.
2001
Class Agents: Evan Coughenour,
Drew Crockett, Sarah Baker, and
Pete Tedesco
Katie (Spofford) Barrett and her
husband, Ciaran, had their baby,
Sean, baptized at the Episcopal
Academy Class of 1944 Chapel
on February 23, 2014. In attendance were: Bill Spofford ’70,
Jim Spofford ’71, Eric Spofford
’23, Katie, Sean, Chelsea Marshall ’02, Jim Spofford, Jr. ’99,
and Ed Spofford ’77.
The Spoffords
Drew Crockett was married to
Katherine McVeigh on October 5,
2013. In attendance were:
(l to r) Tim McVeigh, Maggie
McVeigh, Maura McVeigh, Owen
McVeigh, Maureen McVeigh, Katie, Drew, Ginny Crockett, Dave
Crockett ’75, Tucker Crockett ’03, Max Crockett ’07, and
Parker Crockett ’10.
Evan Coughenour received his
Masters in business administration from the University of
Chicago Booth School of Business on June 14, 2014. He and
his wife, Liz, are moving to San
Francisco in August, where Evan
will be working for Bellwether
Education Partners, a boutique
consulting firm focused on the
education sector.
The Crocketts
Rhonda Clinton ’84 reports:
“Here is a photo of Lytia Fisher,
Danielle Pakradooni, and I celebrating Lytia receiving her M.D.
degree from Tufts University in
May 2014.”
70 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Jessica Moyer reports: “I was
married September 2013 to Andrew Tamaccio and was joined by
(l to r) Jackie (Aronchick) Cox,
Claire (Zipf) Giambastiani, and
Sara (Weiner) Collis in my bridal
party. We also welcomed our first
child, a baby boy, on June 17,
2014. His name is Parker Julius
Tamaccio. Here is a picture from
our wedding day and one from
Parker’s first trip to the beach. I
am working as a director in accounting shared services in the
treasury department at Independence Blue Cross and live in
Ardmore.”
Jackie (Aronchick) Cox and her
husband, Adrian Cox, have announced the birth of their little
boy, Colin Adrian Cox, on October 2, 2013. He was 8 lbs, 13 oz.
2003
Class Agents: Julia Crawford,
Ann Imbesi, and Caroline
Cuckler
Ashley Johnson writes:
“I got a new job as a reporter
with FOX26 KRIV in Houston,
Tex. I started my job in April
2014 and cover all topics on
weekday evening news and weekend mornings.”
private equity team as a director,
and Cooper will be starting at the
University of Southern California
in its doctor of physical therapy
program in August.
James Lee Cook, Jr. and Bowen
Hollis Cook celebrated the birth
of Eloise Summerour Cook
on May 19, 2014. They live in
Memphis, Tenn., where he is a
financial advisor with Raymond
James Associates.
Sean Seelinger has relocated to
London with the Boston-based
law firm Ropes & Gray to help
grow the firm’s government
enforcement/white collar crime
practice group in Europe. They love following EA from
Memphis.
Michael Kochan reports: “My
wife, Alexandra Sadvari, and I
welcomed our son, William Sadvari Kochan, on July 11, 2014.
The family resides in Toronto,
where Alex is an environmental
lawyer and I am a manager with
Bain and Company.”
Clark wedding
Martha Kelley graduated from
Wharton’s MBA program in May
and joined Goldman Sachs as
an associate in their real estate
principal investing area (REPIA).
She is currently living in Brooklyn, NY.
Grace Gerk, daughter of Lauren
Yost-Gerk and Andrew Gerk,
proudly wears her EA sweater.
Grace was born on November 3,
2013.
Matt McMonagle and his wife,
Julie, announce the birth of their
daughter, Claire Marie McMonagle, born April 24, 2014.
Richard Clark married Anna
Diskin on December 27, 2013 at
the Downtown Club in Philadelphia. Joining in the celebration
were: (l to r) Jim Mathisen ’05,
Spiro Floratos, Matt Surprenant, Marc Adelberg, Nicholas
Nottebohm, Sam Rogers, Kevin
Clark ’10, Caryn Clark ’07, Rich
Clark, Anna, Rob Havens, Renata Certo-Ware, Kajal Alemo,
Peter Havens ’72, Barb (Petro)
Escobar, Eric Turner, and Vik
Singh.
Sam Rogers continues to work
as an account manager for a
Washington, DC–based media
organization. In addition to work,
he can be found occasionally
performing improv shows based
upon increasingly dated 90’s and
00’s references. He lives with his
wife, Veronica, and 18-month-old
daughter Ava in Arlington, Va.
2004
Class Agents: Nick Brown and
Michael Ciccotti
Renata Certo-Ware reports:
“Here is a recent picture of me
with my husband, Ozgur Ozden,
and Andrew Chipego and his
girlfriend, Kara Weymouth.”
2002
Class Agents: Kevin Dugan and
Tim Mahoney
Please send us your news and
notes!
Scottie (McQuilkin) Wardell and
her husband, Cooper Wardell,
moved from Manhattan to Los
Angeles in May 2014. Scottie
joined Kayne Anderson’s growth
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 71
Cla s s Notes
Joshua McLane ’06 sent this picture of classmates over the
Christmas holiday 2013. Pictured are: (l to r) Scott Ritrovato, Ben
Kissner, Sara Orr, Josh McLane, Alicia LaPalombara, Sam Daly,
and Ashley DuBay.
Brennan wedding
Khandelwai wedding
Kossuth wedding
2005
Class Agents: Nick Morris and
Packy McCormick
Liz Brennan reports: “I got
married on July 19, 2014, and
a number of young EA alumni
were in attendance. I’m living in
California now and working for
a solar company called Solar-
City, which I’ve been at since
graduation from college. I met my
husband, Tom, at Princeton. (Fun
fact: He rowed the first semester
of his freshman year at Princeton.
Another fun fact: His last name is
Brennan so I don’t have to change
my name!) We took a nice, long
three-week honeymoon in Greece
right after the wedding and now
we are getting back into the swing
of real life. Pictured above are: (l
to r) Spencer Hoffman, Madeline Lurio, Bridget Henwood,
me, Carolyn Brennan ’03, and
Mara Powers. Missing from the
EA photo but also in attendance
were Ali (Hillyard) Monroe and
my brother, Andrew ’00.”
Missed an issue of Connections?
Past issues of Connections are available for viewing on
the Academy’s Web site at www.episcopalacademy.org.
72 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
2006
Class Agent: Kelsey Reinhard
Denise Kossuth was married to
John Patrick Kelly (goes by J.P.)
on January 4, 2014. He is a trader
at J.P. Morgan in Manhattan and
is originally from Lawrenceville,
NJ. They met while both were
competing on the swim team
at Franklin & Marshall College. They were married by the
Reverend Tim Gavin, Hon. in
a ceremony at the Bellevue in
Center City Philadelphia. Katie
Trumbull-Smith wedding
Bechtold and three members of
EA’s string ensemble provided the
music for the ceremony. Those
in attendance shown above
were: (l to r) Tommy Bergstrom
’09, Steve Kossuth ’99, J.P.,
Denise, Tom Kossuth, Hon.,
Kelsey Platt ’07, and Emma
Imbriglia ’08.
Medha Khandelwal writes:
“I was married to Siddhartha
Agarwal in Philadelphia at the
Horticulture Center in Fairmount
Park on July 12, 2014, with the
reception at the Please Touch
Museum. EA classmates included:
(l to r) Alex Nakahara, Colleen
McKenna, Sandra Mummanachit, Cassandra Stuper
Fossum, Caitlin Chagan, and
Jessica Feldman.”
Sam Daly is presently serving in
Afghanistan with 1st Battalion,
2nd Marines as the forward observer, artillery officer. They are
stationed at Camp Leatherneck
in Helmand Province. He left on
April 11 and is hoping to return
in late October/early November.
He is well, happy to be doing
what he was trained to do, and is
looking forward to his end of service date: March 2015. He plans
to attend business school when he
retires from the Marine Corps.
Turner wedding
Chelsea Scott writes: “I completed my third year of graduate
school at Cornell University
where I am working toward a
PhD in geophysics. I traveled to
the Atacama Desert of northern Chile to study the impact
of an earthquake that occurred
in April. It was fascinating to
explore the geology of the driest
landscape on Earth and to experience Chilean culture.”
Rosie Trumbull reports: “I
married Chris Smith (a Shipley
graduate) on July 5, 2014. There
were some classmates in attendance—all Class of ’06! Pictured
are: (l to r) Ashley DiSilvestro, Sandra Mumanachit,
me, Colleen McKenna, and
Claire Pelura. My brother, Jon
Trumbull ’07, and my dad, Rob
Trumbull, Hon., were of course
also there, even though they
aren’t in the picture.”
Andrew Turner was married
to Aimee Pilalis on September
6, 2014. They met at Bradley
University and are now living in
Chicago. Andrew is a teacher at
Nazareth Academy, a high school
in LaGrange, Ill., and Aimee is
teaching in the Teach for America
program.
2007
2008
Class Agents: Rahul Jha, Shane
Isdaner, Annie Spofford, and Megan McFarland
Class Agents: Blake Shafer and
Heather Hayes
Alex Peters married Charles
Reed on September 28, 2013
at the Barn on Bridge in Collegeville, Pa. Her bridesmaids
included her closest friends from
her EA days, from l to r: Brittany
McCormick, Nicole McNeal,
Naimah Bahar, Nantale Nsibirwa, Sophia Lambertsen, and
Winnie Liu. After Alex graduated
from The New School for Social
Research in May 2013, and after
Chip’s return from Afghanistan
in January, the newlyweds moved
to Fort Benning, Ga., where Chip
is finishing the captain career
course for the Army and Alex
continues her work for children
with autism.
David Fell is working at Northwestern Mutual. “I have been
here for a year and a half now.
I’m living with fellow EA classmates of mine, Peter Dilsheimer
and Brendan Lawrence, in
Center City Philadelphia. On a
personal note, I recently finished
the Eagleman 70.3 Half Ironman
in Maryland in early June. I got
into the sport of triathlon last
summer and have fallen in love
with the sport. I’m planning on
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 73
Cla s s Notes
racing in my first full ironman
within the next two years. Here is
a picture of me after the half ironman race.”
Catie Khella reports: “I am
teaching seventh grade earth
science for Boys Latin of Philadelphia Middle School.”
Jackie Bailey-Ross is currently
working at Drexel University
College of Medicine as an academic administrator and assistant
to the director of the Division
of Pre-Health and Pre-Medical
Programs.
On June 12, 2014, Matthew
Coote ’10, Alexandra van
Arkel ’10, and Tim Carson ’10
attended a Phish concert in New
York City.
Sophia Park ’10
2009
Class Agents: Erin Flynn and
Caroline Hanamirian
Please send us your news and
notes!
2010
Class Agents: Jake Butts, Kirsten
Petrocelli, and Lauren Berry
Sophia Park has graduated
from the University of Michigan
with two majors: philosophy and
biopsychology, cognition, and
neuroscience. She is attending
the George Washington University Law School this fall. She
was engaged to Steven Hwang
on January 19, 2014, and will be
married on June 19, 2015. Bruce Leto writes: “I will be
pursuing a Masters in performing
arts administration at NYU
this fall with a merit-based
scholarship!”
74 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Andy Pettit: “I graduated with
honors from Trinity College in
May, moved to Washington, DC,
in June, and began working as
an analyst at a commercial real
estate finance firm called Walker
& Dunlop.”
Lauren Berry writes: “For senior
year I broke a swimming record
in the 800 free relay at the Patriot
League championships in February. In the spring, I received the
Herbert Rogers Prize in Psychology, which the Psychology
Department awards to a student
for outstanding scholarship and
work. In addition, I was the
female recipient of the Class of
1913 Trophy from the Athletic
Department for having attained
the greatest distinction as an athlete and a scholar. I also received
the Leopard Leader Award at the
annual Aaron A. Hoff awards
ceremony at Lafayette for outstanding leadership on campus.”
committees including the Moving Committee, which is charged
with overseeing the college’s move
to a brand-new campus currently
under construction. In addition to
the job, I am using the opportunity to explore Singapore and other
parts of Southeast Asia. I’ve already made it to Laos (see photo).
I am blogging about all of the
adventures in a weekly blog post
that can be found here: https://
gingeryale.wordpress.com.”
Jake Butts: “I just started a
job in Singapore working for
Yale-NUS (a brand-new liberal
arts college started by Yale and
National University of Singapore)
as a Dean’s Fellow. I will spend
the year here with 17 other recent
college graduates mentoring
students and acting as an advisor
and resource as they come into
the college. In addition to working with students, I will also be
working in the Admissions Office
helping to review the over 12,000
applications expected this year,
and will serve on a number of
Kristen Robinson has joined the
military and was her division’s
leader (recruit chief petty officer)
in boot camp. She is currently an
airman in the Navy and stationed
in Pensacola, Fla., training to be
an air crewman on fixed wing
naval aircraft.
2011
Class Agents: Jimmy McEntee
and Haley Habenicht
Bill Deasey is an intern at Fox
News and currently working with
fellow EA classmate Benjamin
Whalen to create a series of commercials for the business analytics
company Clutch.
Alumni Class Agent Program Update
Anders Lindgren spent the
spring semester of his junior year
in Kathmandu, Nepal, studying the economics of developing
countries. Anders left the States
on January 26 with no return
ticket because he wanted to do
some trekking after the conclusion of the program. Charlie
McGregor joined him to explore
the Himalayas.
responsible for sharing the details with classmates. Additionally, class agents
Ned Dana is spending the summer in China teaching children of
migrant workers. He is a senior
at Yale College, majoring in
psychology and studying music
composition. He continues to sing
with his a cappella group, Yale
Out of the Blue. As a member of
their leadership team, Ned helps
direct and arrange music as the
group’s assistant music director.
The Alumni & Office of Institutional Advancement is always looking for
interested alumni to serve as class agents. Class agents receive “insider information” about programs, sports, clubs, and classes and are
are expected to encourage classmates to make a gift to The Episcopal Fund.
Our goal is to strengthen the alumni connection with the life of the school, and
we need class agents to help. If you are interested in serving as a class agent
for your class, please contact Stephanie Ottone, Assistant Director of The
Episcopal Fund and Alumni Programs, at: [email protected] or
484-424-1782.
Megan Kilcullen and Tommy
Bergstrom ’09 are working at
Franklin & Marshall College in
the Admissions Office.
2014
Class Agent: Jack Keffer
Wills Singley and Jamie Evans
’96 were both captains on February 12, 2014 “Senior Day”—EA
vs. Haverford ice hockey at the
Skatium. Jamie came from Manhattan to stand in for the late
Brant Singley ’80.
2012
Class Agent: Brian Metzler
Burk Fitzpatrick has transferred
to the University of Delaware and
will redshirt the 2015 season.
He will be a redshirt junior and
will be eligible in the 2016/2017
season. 2013
Class Agents: James Costalas and
Megan Kilcullen
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 75
Forever Episcopal
“I aspire every day to live, laugh, and love just
as Evie always did.” —Connor Martin ’14
Eva C. (Evie) O’Brian ’14
Eva C. (Evie) O’Brian ’14 passed away on
July 19 from injuries she sustained in an
accident in State College, Pa. on July 3.
More than 1,500 mourners attended Evie’s
July 23 memorial service at the Class of
1944 Chapel. Their devastation at her loss
was paired with their admiration, even
awe, of the many loving bonds she had
forged in her all-too-short 18 years.
There was a palpable sense among those
of us who came together in her memory
that we did so not only to support Evie’s
family or to grieve her tragic loss but also
because each of us—deeply, personally,
and for a very long time—would miss her.
July 3 was the third day Evie spent
as a freshman at Penn State University,
where she was enrolled in a summer session before starting her freshman year in
August. That afternoon, she went out for
a jog and was struck by a pickup truck
as she crossed an intersection. During the
next two weeks, as Evie fought a traumatic
set of injuries, she more than once beat
the odds doctors set against her survival.
Despite her resilience, the heroic efforts to
save her, and constant care from her doctors and her parents Christy and David,
Evie succumbed to her injuries 16 days
after her accident.
The overwhelming swell of hope, love,
and eventual grief from our Episcopal
76 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
community speaks to the extraordinary
impact Evie had on her world and the
extraordinary loss the world sustained
when it lost her. At a July 20 prayer service
held at Episcopal just after Evie’s death,
Kris Aldridge, a member of the history
faculty who taught Evie, aptly called her
“sunshine.”
In the days and weeks that followed,
this theme—of Evie’s radiant warmth—
would repeat itself as those who loved
her reflected on her life. Indeed, Amanda
Vos Strache ’99, Evie’s adviser and coach,
offered the following reflection at Evie’s
July 23 memorial service: “To know Evie
is to laugh and smile with her; to honor
Evie is to brighten the days of others as
she always brightened ours, to cheer for
and encourage others first, and to always
embrace the lasting value of being part of
a team.”
Evie was a leader of a number of teams
at Episcopal: the varsity field hockey, winter track, and lacrosse athletic teams and
the fraternal team of the Class of 2014.
Gina Buggy, director of athletics and head
varsity field hockey coach, remembers that
Evie was “the consummate teammate; she
was the glue between substitutes and starters, between seniors and underclassmen.”
Evie repeated this pattern as a leader of
the Class of 2014; her classmates were
inspired to follow her model of optimism,
grit, and genuine care for all.
Evie was part of a smaller team, too,
and one that was critically important in
her life. In Pre-Kindergarten, she formed a
friendship with classmates Emma Brumbaugh ’14, Carli Grims ’14, and Madeleine
Blommer ’14 that would grow in strength
and constancy over 14 years.
When Evie was airlifted from Altoona to
the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania just a day after her accident, her
three best friends and their families were
among those who met the helicopter at the
hospital. The three friends decorated Evie’s
room with photographs of the four of
them in Lower School jumpers, in Middle
School athletic uniforms, in prom dresses,
and in white graduation dresses just this
past June; they said they wanted the nurses
and doctors to “know who she was.”
When there was hope that she would
survive, the three young women founded
and grew exponentially a group they called
“Team Evie” to raise emotional and financial support for Evie’s care and caretakers.
On social media, they adopted the hashtag
#BeliEvie—and believe they did until the
very end.
At her service on July 23, Evie’s parents
and her siblings Chris and Abby ’11 sat
in the front chapel pew on one side of the
aisle, and Emma, Carli, and Madeleine sat
in the front pew on the other side. During the service, they spoke beautifully of
the enduring nature of their friendship
and the extent to which Evie had been the
light of their lives. Madeleine Blommer
remembered, “My best friend Evie was
beautiful, determined, and radiated with
her ear-to-ear smile. Evie was deeply caring for the people she loved. She cherished
her friendships.”
Beloved by her three best friends, Evie
was also respected and adored by her
classmates, their parents, underclassmen,
and all the teachers who had the good fortune to have their classroom atmospheres
changed by Evie’s contagious optimism
and determination.
Connor Martin ’14 reflects that Evie’s
“genuine joy and lust for life was infectious” and that “her smile lit up the room
no matter what.” Connor indicates the
lasting impact Evie had on him—and on
so many others—when he says that he
“aspires every day to live, laugh, and love
just as Evie always did.”
Indeed, though Evie’s life ended far too
soon, those who miss her are consoled at
least in part to know that she had done
many more than 18 years of good in her
18 years of life. Madeleine Blommer seems
to speak for many when she calls it “an
absolute gift” to have had Evie with her as
long as she did. —Sarah Baker ’01
M ilestones
Marriages
Lee Samango ’91 to
Mike Gottlieb
May 9, 2014
Suzanne Long ’92 to
Glenn Krotick
June 2013
Gil Grandbois ’94 to
Kate Brooks
November 2008
Orondo McMullen ’94 to
Ayanna
July 16, 2013
Kate Rozzi ’95 to
Charles
October 5, 2013
Priscilla Broomell ’96 to
John Falco
September 25, 2010
Michael Cannone ’96 to
Rosalie Ash Ward
September 8, 2012
Francesca Giuntoli ’97 to
Ryan Cummings
October 20, 2007
James Hunter ’97 to
Elaine C. Budreck
August 16, 2014
James Rich ’97 to
Nadine
June 2, 2012
Addison West ’97 to
Ashley Eyre ’04
July 26, 2014
Kelly O’Donnell ’99 to
Mark Hansen ’02
April 12, 2014
DJ Gregory ’99 to
Kehau Ahu
June 12, 2014
Dara Pettinelli ’99 to
Neville Kapoor
May 3, 2014
Karen Black ’00 to
Lucio Hernandez
August 28, 2010
Madeline Lurio ’05 to
Tyler McIntyre
September 6, 2014
Kyle Eckel ’00 to
Tatiana Paravela
July 2, 2010
Abigail Pyeritz ’05 to
Keith Hopkins
April 25, 2014
Lindsey Hyland ’00 to
Tim Buckless
June 10, 2010
Medha Khandelwal ’06 to
Siddhartha Agarawal
July 12, 2014
Steve Klein ’00 to
Kathleen Degnan
June 7, 2014
Denise Kossuth ’06 to
John Kelly
January 4, 2014
Matthew Santini ’00 to
Alexandra
September 22, 2012
Andrew Turner ’06 to
Aimee Pilalis
September 6, 2014
Jessica Moyer ’01 to
Andrew Tamaccio
September 2013
Rosie Trumbull ’06 to
Chris Smith
July 5, 2014
Peter van Roden ’01 to
Lauren Goodrich
June 28, 2014
Alex Peters ’07 to
Charles Reed
September 28, 2013
Brian Tierney ’01 to
Lisa Evans
September 6, 2014
Births
Beth Randolph ’02 to
Daniel Taglioli
June 22, 2013
Rebecca Godick ’03 to
Evan Humble
August 2, 2014
1988
Jennifer (Haines) Butler
and Christopher Butler
Madeline Anne Butler
September 22, 2014
Kristin (Strid) Dische
and Jeffrey Dische
Beckett Dische
January 2, 2009
Evelyn Dische
May 23, 2013
Katie (Bowes) Stankus
and Frank Stankus
Dean Stankus
September 25, 2013
1991
Bob Winter and
Kelly Winter
Brady Burdell Winter
April 27, 2010
1992
Cas Holloway and
Jessica Holloway
Eliza Renee Holloway
April 25, 2014
Suzanne Long and
Glenn Krotick
Sarah Krotick
March 24, 2014
Eric Ransome and
Francis Ransome
Grace Ransome
March 7, 2009
Mason Ransome
April 19, 2011
Liz Kelly ’03 to
Andrew Varani
June 30, 2012
Bob Owens and
Angela Meier
Kathleen Owens
August 22, 2011
Elisabeth Owens
October 21, 2013
Richard Clark ’04 to
Anna Diskin
December 27, 3013
Bill Reedy and Beth Reedy
Brady Reedy
December 5, 2013
Geoff Walker and
Kristen Walker
Mac Walker
December 9, 2008
1990
1993
Rick Heitzmann and
Peta Heitzmann
Rose MacAlpine Heitzmann
June 20, 2014
Jason Moyer and
Emily Moyer
Wyatt M. Moyer
April 3, 2007
Eric Turner ’04 to
Maggie Dunn
July 12, 2004
Elizabeth Brennan ’05 to
Thomas Brennan
July 19, 2014
Peter Strid and
Patricia Strid
Luca Strid
April 9, 2009
Kristin McIlhenney and
Troy McLelan
Quinn Jackson McLelan
August 28, 2013
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 77
Andrew Purcell and
Melissa Purcell
Mary Purcell
October 2, 2014
Sophie Purcell
October 2, 2014
Jenny (Han) Viullasenor
and Nazario Villasenor
Samuel Villasenor
November 22, 2011
Maya Villasenor
November 22, 2011
Elisa Villasenor
November 22, 2011
1994
Christy (Meyer) Crandall and
Douglas Crandall
Ryan Miller Crandall
March 5, 2014
Gil Grandbois and
Kate Grandbois
Adeline Grandbois
July 25, 2011
Miller McPherson Grandbois
August 19, 2014
Marc Katz and Leana Katz
Miles Milton Katz
March 10, 2014
Orondo McMullen and
Ayanna McMullen
Che McMullen
January 9, 2006
Luke McMullen
September 3, 2007
Asa McMullen
March 1, 2012
1995
Rob DeMento and
Christina DeMento
Nathaniel J. DeMento
November 22, 2011
Samuel Robert DeMento
January 8, 2014
Linda (Mielcarek) Graham
and Steve Graham
Ryan Graham
August 28, 2009
Travis Graham
June 15, 2011
78 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Brian Guernsey and
Allison Guernsey
Jackson Guernsey
November 10, 2009
Claire Guernsey
May 7, 2014
Aiden Guernsey
May 7, 2014
Sonje (Volla) Moore and
Robert Moore
Colbie Lucille Moore
May 22, 2014
Jessica Mullen and
Thomas Mullarkey
Connor James Mullarkey
October 8, 2012
Blake Sando and
Jennifer Sando
Edward Ralph Sando
September 4, 2014
Elinor (Serpente) Stewart and
Matthew Stewart
Nora Mary Stewart
May 4, 2012
1996
Priscilla (Broomell) Falco and
John Falco
Ellie Falco
April 27, 2011
Anna Falco
June 28, 2013
Scott Reynolds and
Aimee Reynolds
Brendan Reynolds
June 6, 2013
John Salvucci and
Erin Salvucci
Thomas Salvucci
June 22, 2014
1997
Katherine Smith and
Robert Kaufman
Samuel Adrian Kaufman
November 2013
James Casey and
Jocelyn Casey
William Faulkner Casey
September 14, 2010
Lillian Grace Casey
April 9, 2014
Francesca (Giuntoli)
Cummings and
Ryan Cummings
Fiona Geraldine Cummings
August 22, 2008
Christopher Ryan
Octopber 22, 2010
James Rich and
Nadine Rich
Harlan Rich
April 9, 2014
Bob Serpente and
Jessica Serpente
Isabelle Jeannine Serpente
June 18, 2014
1998
John Dougherty and
Sarah Dougherty
Meredith Hanley Dougherty
June 12, 2014
Michael Cannone and
Rosalie Cannone
Elodie Grace Cannone
January 7, 2014
Colby Hall and Ben Heller
Samuel Shepard Heller
April 4, 2014
Brendan Dugan and
Laura Dugan
Robert Broyhill Dugan
July 9, 2011
Thompson Cavanaugh Dugan
March 29, 2014
D’Arcy O’Neill and
Maureen O’Neill
Lilly O’Neill
June 3, 2008
Charlotte O’Neill
May 2, 2010
Audrey O’Neill
April 4, 2013
Brooke Hassett and
Chad Stinner
Tegan Claire Stinner
May 12, 2012
Andrew Rogers and
Jessica Rogers
Brooke Perry Rogers
September 30, 2014
Fran Sutter and Jolene Sutter
Chase Sutter
April 17, 2014
Tara (Carella) Waters and
James Waters
Jackson Kendrick Waters
June 30, 2011
Vaughn Emerson Waters
September 16, 2013
1999
Andrew Addis and
Lauren Addis
Dalton Scott Addis
June 20, 2014
Dan Connelly and
Jordan Connelly
Logan Patrick Connelly
August 26, 2014
Mark Dugan and
Megan Dugan
Ann Louise Dugan
July 24, 2014
Austin Frieman and
Mariana Frieman
Milani Elise Frieman
July 26, 2014
Tripper Heckscher and
Brittany Alexis Daniel
Harrison Daniel Heckscher
September 14, 2014
Steve Kossuth and
Liz Kossuth
Katherine Kossuth
April 21, 2014
Christy (Laakman) Kaupinen
and Wes Kaupinen
Luke Laakmann Kaupinen
March 20, 2014
Chris Morris and
Courtney (Bancroft) Morris
Chase Christopher Morris
June 25, 2014
Jeffrey Porter and
Alexis Porter
Briggs Davis Porter
April 15, 2014
2000
Ted Bullock and Gina Bullock
John Edgar Bullock
February 16, 2014
Lorene (Delson) Boudreau
and John-Michael Boudreau
Benjamin Jack Boudreau
June 4, 2014
Cecilia Collins and
Haraldur Gudmundsson
Gudmundur Philip
Gudmundsson
January 17, 2012
James Cook and
Bowen Cook
Eloise Summerour Cook
May 19, 2013
Justin DiLucchio and
Stephanie DiLucchio
Andrew DiLucchio
December 3, 2013
Olivia DiLucchio
December 3, 2013
Kyle Eckel and
Tatiana Eckel
Leonardo Paul Eckel
February 28, 2013
Joshua Hollinger and
Yu Hollinger
Charles He Hollinger
August 11, 2014
Ben Rogers and
Candice Rogers
Luke Baird Rogers
October 18, 2014
2001
1944
1962
Jackie (Aronchick) Cox
and Adrian Cox
Colin Adrian Cox
October 2, 2013
Alan Crawford, Jr.
August 23, 2014
Dudley F. Denison
May 26, 2014
Richard E. Lander
October 13, 2014
William M. Radcliffe
July 27, 2013
F. Douglas Raymond, Jr.
October 18, 2014
1963
Michael Kochan and
Alexandra Kochan
William Sadvari Kochan
July 11, 2014
Jessica (Moyer) Tamaccio
and Andrew Tamaccio
Parker Julius Tamaccio
June 17, 2014
2002
Kevin Dugan and
Maria Dugan
Andrew Tate Dugan
September 12, 2014
2003
Matt McMonagle and
Julie McMonagle
Clair Marie McMonagle
April 24, 2014
Liz (Kelly) Varani and
Andrew Varani
Graham Sullivan Varani
September 19, 2014
Deaths
1940
William B. Whitney ’40
January 8, 2014
1941
Karl F. Rugart, Jr.
April 29, 2014
1942
Thomas A. Hewson
October 1, 2014
1943
1949
Nicholas Biddle, III
September 5, 2014
C. A. Wayne Hurtubise, Jr.
November 10, 2014
Richard W. Fetter
August 11, 2014
1951
James David Sleeper, Jr. ‘63
October 3, 2014
H. Mercer Johnston
January 5, 2014
1966
William L. Van Alen, Jr.
February 19, 2010
David B. Rogers
September 27, 2014
1952
1971
Raymond Green
September 17, 2014
Richard E. Greenwood
October 22, 2014
William J. Taylor, Jr.
October 18, 2014
1985
1953
Joseph P. Nastasi
May 19, 2014
Kenneth S. Clark, Jr.
August 1, 2014
Wade A. Williams
December 4, 2014
1954
2014
Eugene V. Alessandroni
November 25, 2014
Eva Caroline O’Brian
July 19, 2014
1955
Norton C. Wright
March 24, 2010
1959
Richard C. Foster
October 25, 2014
1960
Howard Gibson Henry, Jr.
July 8, 2013
Samuel E. Bagshaw
September 4, 2014
Donald A. Gordon
April 27, 2014
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 / / 79
L a s t Wo rd
Mr. Met
By Michael Bradley
It wasn’t until Morrison “Morrie” Heckscher ’58 ventured
into the vault that he realized his future belonged to the
world of art.
Until that point, Heckscher had concentrated mainly on what he was not. He
wasn’t a furniture maker, that’s for sure. “I
butchered many good pieces of mahogany
in my ignorance,” he says of his high school
efforts at constructing tables and chairs.
He didn’t feel comfortable in the academic
world, despite majoring in American history at Wesleyan College.
But the school had “a small but fine collection” of European graphic art prints from
the 15th through the 20th centuries, which
attracted Heckscher’s attention. When
a renowned Viennese curator arrived to
inspect the assortment, Heckscher had the
opportunity to join him and handle some
classic works. “I could never deal with copies again,” he says.
That encounter started him on a path that
would lead to New York’s Metropolitan
Museum of Art, where he spent 48 years as
a fellow, curator, and for the past 13 years,
as chairman of the American Wing. Heckscher retired on June 30 but hardly plans to
turn away completely from The Met. On a
late July afternoon he was in his office, and
he has been charged with writing a history
of the museum to coincide with its sesquicentennial in 2020.
Oh, and he plans on building furniture
again, this time with a shorter learning
curve and better results.
“I’ve loved it,” he says of his time at The
Met. “There are fascinating people in this
business, and of course, wonderful works
of art that only get more interesting as you
know more about them and share them
with others.”
Heckscher credits Episcopal with “planting
the seed” that spawned his love of art. Renowned teacher Anthony Wayne Ridgway,
who established EA’s fine arts department,
encouraged creativity among his students
and nurtured their curiosity. “He allowed
someone like me to wander off and look at
things,” Heckscher says.
80 / / C O N N E C T I O N S
Heckscher started at Episcopal in preKindergarten during World War II and
graduated in 1958. “It took me 14 years
to graduate,” he says with a laugh. While
there, he developed his creative side by
woodworking, something he learned from
his grandfather, a member of EA’s class of
1902. Although Heckscher enjoyed squash
and tennis, he distinguished himself in
neither. He did, however, win the Forestry
Club Prize in 1955 and still has the book
he was awarded. Heckscher remains true to
that calling and enjoys planting trees and
gardening.
He left Wesleyan in 1962 and spent the
next two years working in a graduate
program at Winterthur Museum, studying Early American culture and earning an
M.A. at the University of Delaware. He
started Ph.D. work at Columbia in 1964
and joined The Met two years later as a
Chester Dale Fellow in the Prints Department. From 1968 until his retirement,
Heckscher worked in the American Wing,
helping to organize exhibitions. While
chairman, he oversaw the redesign and
reinstallation of the entire Wing.
Over each of the past 20 years, he has
hosted Episcopal’s fourth grade on its annual trip to New York City. The class visits
the American Wing and usually the Egyptian section of the museum, and Heckscher
delights in exposing the young minds to art.
“It might have an impact on some of
them—sooner or later,” he says. “I don’t
want to scare them away or bore them to
death.”
That hasn’t been the case, as Sylvia Davis
can attest. The fourth-grade teacher has
had the privilege of squiring her students to
The Met and believes the excursion to be a
highlight of not only the year but of their
time at EA.
“Our kids have such a lovely time,” Davis
says. “They get to see important pieces of
American history. [Heckscher] is very pas-
’58
Morrie Heckscher
CURATOR
sionate and excited about the art, and it’s
a contagious kind of passion. He had 40
to 50 fourth graders glued to what he was
saying.”
Heckscher has given back in other ways.
In 2011, he hosted an Episcopal senior, JJ
Waldron, who chose to explore art history
for his senior project. Waldron spent a
month at The Met, researching the Hudson
River School, a mid-19th century American
art movement, and culminated his time
there by writing the text for the placard
that accompanied Andrew Wyeth’s Tennessee masterpiece. Heckscher helped direct
Waldron’s work but more importantly
encouraged him to pursue his growing passion for art. Now a senior at Washington
University in St. Louis, Waldron is majoring
in art history and spent this past summer
working at a gallery in New York.
“There were a lot of people who said
it wasn’t practical for me to study art,”
Waldron says. “[Heckscher] told me I could
pursue something I loved academically and
make it a successful career.”
Morrie Heckscher has done just that during
nearly a half-century at The Met. As he
heads into “retirement,” he vows to keep
learning and loving art—and wishing that
the world would do the same.
“My hope is that what is real becomes
more precious, and people will realize how
much better it is than the virtual,” he says.
Maybe all we need is a trip into that vault.
Michael Bradley is a writer and broadcaster
whose work has appeared in several national magazines and on a variety of radio
and TV stations around the country. He is
the father of Bryan Bradley ’11.
Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York
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ADDR ESS SERVICE R EQ UES T ED
Alumni
Weekend and
Philadelphia
Regional
Friday, May 1 and
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Attend the Upper School spring concerts featuring several
musical ensembles.
Hear from current students at the Student Panel moderated by
Head of School T.J. Locke.
Make yourself at home on campus by using the Dixon Athletic
Center and tennis courts for swimming, squash, and more.
Join your fellow alumni, and wear your favorite hat for a
Kentucky Derby cocktail party on Saturday afternoon.
For more information, contact Bruce Konopka at 484-424-1779
or [email protected].