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NON-profit
U.S. Postage
PAID
BOSTON MA
Permit No. 53825
NOBLES • SPRING 2014
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive
Dedham, MA 02026-4099
Nobles
the magazine of noble and greenough school spring 2014
Honoring The Rev.
p. 42
THE MAGAZINE OF NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL
Edward S. Gleason Jr.,
Michael Beach ’82
in Los Angeles, the day
after “Crisis” premiered.
contents
spring 2014
in every issue
Justin Levy ’95
sees the future of
entertainment.
Letter from the Head
3Reflections
What Nobles folks are saying
on campus and online
2
4
The Bulletin
News and notes from campus
and beyond
13
By the Numbers
Surprising facts about graduates
14Sports
Recap of the winter varsity
athletic season
18
features
20 Off the Shelf
All about the books and
music we make
25
Cover Story: Show Time
Old Hollywood glamour and studio dominance are gone. What
survives is a formidable work ethic and spirit of innovation as the
industry reinvents itself.
22Perspectives
A graduate and a faculty member
share their stories
36
Photo of the day
Spring is here. Play ball!
photo by michael dwyer
Cover Photograph by Max Gerber
42
46
Process and Practice—Not Perfection
Nobles requires students to try new things and validates the importance of experiencing discomfort—and maybe even failure. Read why.
Saying Goodbye to Gleason
The former head of school’s leadership was pivotal, his storytelling
legendary, his spirituality still resonant.
April 4, 2014
Graduate Affairs
Be Nobles Bold
Graduate Profile
Cultivating a New England crop
48 Graduate News
Nobles graduate updates
72Archive
A moment in Nobles thespian
history
N
This symbol indicates additional content on the iPad version
letter from the head
One summer in the 1990s, when I was headmaster at
North Yarmouth Academy, near Portland, Maine, I
was sitting at my desk in my office, focused on writing.
I heard rapping on the window of my hallway door
and looked over from my computer screen. There
was Ted Gleason, smiling and waving at me! I was
stunned, and about fell off my chair. I had that feeling that students must get when summoned to see
me—what does the headmaster want with me! Ted
and Anne, however, were in Maine on other business
and just stopped by to say hello. I had not seen Ted in
many years; he was delighted to witness me hard at
work at a job that he understood all too well. We had a very nice visit, initiating a steady correspondence that continued until shortly before his passing last fall.
A great deal will be said about Ted Gleason in this issue of the school magazine, most notably
in a marvelous piece written by Peter Howe ’82. Many wonderful remembrances have also been
posted to the school website. I wanted to share, however, two powerful ways in which Ted shaped
my career as an educator. The first is from my days as a student at Nobles. I recall sitting in morning assembly in Lawrence Auditorium, watching Mr. Gleason deliver some of his remarkable
inspirational oratory, thinking to myself, “I could never do that!” The reality is that I can’t do what
Ted did, and I have nowhere near his mastery of language and the spoken word, but he did help me
discover my eventual career direction through his encouragement to find, as the school mission
asserted, “a life of service to others.” And as a secondary educator, I hope to encourage future
generations to do the same.
In my senior year in college, I found myself floundering through corporate job interviews, and
I was discouraged by the prospect of applying to law school. I called Mr. Gleason and asked if I
could talk with him about my future. He enthusiastically agreed to see me, and in the conversation we had in his office, he offered me a teaching fellowship (then called a teaching internship)
for the following year. I accepted, loved the experience, and never looked back, as I embarked on
a career in secondary education. As that school year began, I recall Ted saying to the faculty at the
opening meeting that “you teach a subject, but more importantly, a great teacher is teaching himor herself.” What he meant by that is that great teachers may love their material but must never
forget that at all times they are modeling for young people what it means to be an admirable adult
of character and intellect. I still believe this with all my heart.
While the school has always held a morning meeting, and Mr. Wiggins’ and Mr. Putnam’s talks
and readings there are legendary, the institution of assembly, as the school currently understands
and experiences it, is the creation of Ted Gleason. Gathering daily in Lawrence Auditorium for
shared words, ideas, performances and video creations (in Mr. Gleason’s day, some unforgettable
and marvelous short films), experiencing a sort of secular chapel service and celebration of the
community, emerged from Ted’s sense of how a great school should work. While most schools
have abandoned this habit, pressed for time in busy schedules, Nobles has clung to it ever more
tenaciously. Therefore, next fall, at a time in the school calendar when we can do this properly, we
will hold an “Assembly for Ted.” For all of us who were shaped and inspired by Ted Gleason during
his remarkable tenure at the helm of Noble and Greenough School, it will be a moving and special
evening; more about this later in this issue. I hope to see you there.
—robert p. Henderson, Jr. ’76, head of school
Nobles
spring 2014
Editor
Heather Sullivan
Director Of Communications
Assistant Editors
Tiffany Tran
Assistant Director of
communications
Melissa McClung
writer and DIGITAL
VIDEO PRODUCER
Michele Costa-Bell
writer and digital
content manager
Design
2Communiqué
Www.2Communique.Com
Photography
Victoria Collins ’14
Brad DeCecco
Michael Dwyer
Matthew Fahey
Max Gerber
John Hirsch
Leah LaRiccia
Grace Maloney
Tiffany Tran
The Editorial Committee
Brooke Asnis ’90
John Gifford ’86
Tilesy Harrington
Bill Kehlenbeck
Sarah Snyder
Nobles is published three times
a year for graduates, past and
current parents and grandparents,
students and supporters of Noble
and Greenough School. Nobles is a
co-educational, non-sectarian day
and partial boarding school for
students in grades seven (Class
VI) through 12 (Class I). Noble and
Greenough is a rigorous academic
community that strives for excellence in its classroom teaching,
intellectual growth in its students
and commitment to the arts,
athletics and service to others.
For further information and upto-the-minute graduate news,
visit www.nobles.edu.
Letters and comments may be
emailed to Heather_Sullivan@
nobles.edu. We also welcome
old-fashioned mail sent c/o
Noble and Greenough School,
10 Campus Drive, Dedham, MA
02026. The office may be reached
at 781-320-7268.
© Noble and Greenough School
2014
“
Want to read more community musings? Go to www.nobles.edu/blogs.
You can also follow us on Instagram at instagram.com/nobleandgreenough.
For the first 20 years of the
school’s existence, all the efforts
to organize games and participate
in competitions were borne by the
students. As late as the 1880s,
Mr. Noble was still unquestionably
indifferent to athletics.
—Archivist Isa Schaff, posted to the Archives blog
It was born from a dash of nostalgia and
academic interest. I graduated from
college with a Massachusetts certification
to teach kindergarten through third grade.
Part of my studies involved a great deal of
research into what young kids were reading
and how the books impacted literacy skills.
—assistant head of school and Head of Mid dle School John Gifford, on his collection
of Newbery and Caldecott-winning books,
posted to the Putnam Library blog
The unmade bed is the student who forgot to print the assignment, forgot which
laptop he or she saved it on, and the one
who lost the handout, the study guide, the
assignment sheet. You know the unmade
bed, don’t you?...In my office, we not only
specialize in the unmade bed, we love
the unmade bed. These are our people.
We spend our day in the backpacks of
unmade beds—rife with crinkly papers,
extra hockey socks, granola bar wrappers
and binders that have the same multilayered effect of a blooming onion appetizer
at the Outback Steakhouse.
—Learning Specialist Gia Batty,
posted to the Adolescence blog
The Community Service Board not
only works within the boundaries of
the board members, but we also work
with many other clubs to support
ideas brought to us from other
students. This teamwork helps take a
small idea and make it a huge reality.
—Cody Todesco ’15, posted to the Admission blog
2 Nobles spring 2014
March 4 via instagram:
Crew getting ready for spring
Feb. 10 VIA INSTAGRAM:
Food collected by JV athletics to
donate to A Place to Turn
spring 2014 Nobles 3
the bulletin
very social The Nobles homepage features social
media posts from community members. Read them at nobles.edu
news from our campus & community
Jake Atwood ’15 (center) and
Avery Gibson ’16 (right) meet
a student from another school.
Model Citizens
Giving a global perspective
On Jan. 30, 27 Nobles students joined
3,000 high school delegates from around
the world for Harvard Model United
Nations 2014. Students from 19 states
and 40 countries came together for four
days of debates and conflict resolution
assembly highlights
on some 50 international issues.
Representing a person and a country,
delegates met in committees of between
10 and 200 students, four to six times a
day, for 15 hours a day. They discussed
solutions to global problems such as
A Grad Visit
assembly during their
Music Director Mike
Katherine Doherty ’12
winter break tour.
Turner performed “All
Lulu Miller on NPR
Editing your life stories can make you a better student. Setting up a fake bus stop outside of a
nursing home can keep dementia patients from wandering away. Looking into the composition
of rocks reveals that they have once been alive.
What do all of these tidbits have in common? They are elements of radio stories produced
by Lulu Miller ’01. Miller looks for stories where “duct tape solves the ethereal sadness.” Huh?
“Realizing the world isn’t what it seems to be—that’s what tickles my fancy. It suddenly
seems less flat,” Miller says. Miller is currently a producer for the science desk at National Public
Radio (NPR) and has produced pieces for Radiolab and This American Life.
Miller was assisting at a woodworker’s studio in Brooklyn when she first heard Radiolab.
“It was there that I first started to fall in love with radio,” Miller says. She was excited to
know that the programs she heard on the radio were produced down the street.
After writing an enthusiastic email to Radiolab, Miller volunteered for the show. From
there, Miller got hired as a producer and started to create her own pieces. “I learned everything hands-on. I remember sitting with Jad [Abumrad, Radiolab producer] and watching
him edit a piece. We started talking about story structure, and my mind was blown.”
Miller worked full time for Radiolab for five years before pursuing a master’s degree in
fiction writing. It didn’t take long for radio to start calling her name again. Specifically, it was
NPR’s Alix Spiegel who called Miller about a radio story. “We always joke that she dragged
me back. I was at my desk trying to be a writer, but she had other plans.” Miller says.
The two are now co-hosting a new series on human behavior (due this fall). Miller appreciates the return to documentaries. “What I love about documentary pieces is that they
feel like a puzzle,” Miller says.
How does Miller find her stories in the first place? She happens
upon most of them by keeping her ears open as she goes about
her daily life. “I might hear something incredible from a friend
or from someone I’m interviewing, as an aside. If it intrigues
me, I want to know more,” Miller says.
Currently, Miller is intrigued by that duct tape: contraptions
or situations that result in a changed worldview. And we’ll be
listening when she turns that duct tape into audio tape.
confidence, featur-
comment affected him
Student-Made
project. The app gives
and athletic game
Scholars Honored
ing modern language
throughout his ado-
Carlo Abelli and Alex
students and faculty
information. See
Head of Upper School
A Teacher’s Effect
faculty member Mark
lescent years. Watch
Yu, both ’16, intro-
access to everyday
their launch video
Ben Snyder congratu-
Dream Tribute
by the Everly Brothers,
The Calliope staff
Sheeran. Sheeran
the video here: http://
duced the finished
information, such as
here: http://youtu.be/
lated three Nobles
all-female a cappella
Math faculty member
to pay tribute to singer
produced a video
discussed how one
youtu.be/K4hEcPFq-f0
product of their
personal schedules,
zUgV87quYts.
candidates for the U.S.
group, performed in
Bill Kehlenbeck and
Phil Everly, who died
about creativity and
teacher’s negative
yearlong Nobles app
calendar, Castle menu
his acoustic guitar
and the Chattertocks,
Math faculty member
and sang “Billy Jean,”
Brown University’s
John Chung performed
by Michael Jackson.
in January 2014.
Delegates worked with students
from around the world, including
those from China, Turkey, Peru
and India, while obtaining a deeper
respect and appreciation for different
global perspectives.
Although Hazard belonged to a
small group, she says it still had its
challenges. “You have people who
are incredibly bright, and they are
opposing what you want.” Hazard
rose to become a leader in her group
and won the Best Delegate Award in
her committee.
Members of the Debate Club
began preparations for the event in
September 2013—researching topics,
writing position papers, and learning
about how Model UN runs. They also
attended parliamentary debates. Former Debate Club president Julianna
Wright ’12 visited the group to help
strategize and talk about her experience working in Senegal.
Seck says students leave Model
UN learning leadership for the common good. He says they gain “a better
understanding of how we belong to
one interconnected global village with
the opportunity to do good work. The
United Nations is vital to not only
world peace but also for creating and
supporting initiatives to fight hunger,
poverty, inequalities and injustices.”
I Have to Do Is Dream,”
Billy Jean
in assembly. He played
human trafficking, piracy in African
waters, nuclear globalism and women’s
rights in the Arab world.
Delegates were challenged to find
their voices. “It’s important to have a
strategy and find opportunities to be
noticed, even in a room of 200 delegates,”
says faculty advisor Amadou Seck. “You
have to be present and have an opinion
about anything that is raised, but also be
able to generate discussion.”
Strategy is an important component
of Model UN. Whitney Hazard ’14 was
assigned to the special historical committee of fewer than 20 delegates. She
represented Richard Steward, clerk
of the closet to King Charles I, in the
English Civil War Crisis Committee.
Students are often thrown curveballs
as roles in the committees constantly
change and new conflict arises. “It
made me work on my feet,” says
Hazard. “Because it’s a crisis committee,
we were presented with pending issues
that needed to be faced immediately.”
Students stretched themselves to
represent their assigned personas and
adopt positions they may not share. Says
Hazard: “It was a challenge when some of
my personal opinions differed from the
country or character I was playing. That
was hard embodying who I was supposed
to be and suppressing what I would have
done in this situation.”
photo by Arthur Nguyen and Alex Pong, Harvard Model UN
photo by grace maloney
Presidential Scholars
the bulletin
began to rise and simply did not stop?
That exercise underscores Jackson’s
feelings about trying to understand
others by bearing witness to the range
of human emotions, including feelings
and actions born of chaos and the love of
family and home.
Jackson told Nobles students that he
didn’t pick up his first camera until he
was a freshman in college. While long
enamored with visual storytelling, he
said he had initially focused on the visual
arts. “I loved the way the camera could
communicate,” he said.
Jackson also spoke to AP Photo students in the gallery. He told stories about
some of his best-known images, including one of Robert Green Sr. (pictured on
page 6 ). Jackson explained how Green
had—just before his home was swept
Robert Green Sr. of New Orleans
N
Pulitzer Prize Winner
away—tried to save both of his granddaughters by moving them to the roof of
another house. The first child fell into
the current as he was lifting the second.
He could not save them both. He also
lost his mother by the morning after the
storm hit.
The image of Green shown here was
made on the one-year anniversary of the
storm. Jackson had stopped by Green’s
FEMA trailer to share a CD of images
from a year before, when they first met.
Green emerged from the trailer with the
flag from his mother’s casket (she was in
the U.S. Navy).
Jackson saw the sky turning dark
before a storm and asked to take
Green’s portrait on the steps of what
had been his mother’s home. Instead
of sitting, Green remained standing.
Dance Studio Opens
The wind took up the flag. Lightning
came. And the moment passed.
“Every time I pick up my camera, it’s not magic,” Jackson said. But
he said that magic does come. “You
show up and ask, ‘What are the possibilities?’ You get the technical aspects
right, and you wait. You see it coming together, and you capture it.”
The Nobles community connected
with Jackson when a student-faculty
group went to New Orleans to do service
work in 2007. As a staff photographer for
the Times-Picayune, Jackson met with
students. Nobles has visited the south
every year since.
“I take my job seriously,” he said.
“With special talent comes special
responsibility.”
Ryan Smith ’98 returns to teach a master
class in honor of the new dance studio.
The dance program now has a space that matches the strength
of the program.
The dance studio, with an industry-standard, multilayered
floor of springs, hardwood and marley, is part of an addition to
the arts center. The space, which opened on schedule Jan. 6,
houses offices and classrooms on the upper level.
“The new space has changed dance at Nobles,” Director of
Dance Jillian Grunnah says. “We now have a big, inspiring, safe
space for dancers to challenge themselves.”
Grunnah teaches contemporary, modern, jazz, hip-hop and
ballet. “I try to get students to think creatively with their bodies,”
she says.
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Ted
Jackson earned recognition as an
intrepid photojournalist in the moments,
days, months and years following Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 23, 2005. He
captured the horror, fear, despair—and
later, hope—that changed a city and
shocked the nation into recognizing the
frailty of infrastructures once thought to
be infallible.
Jackson, whose exhibit “Visually
Speaking” occupied the Foster Gallery
Feb. 24–April 4, asked students in assembly to imagine the unimaginable: What if
the Charles River on the Nobles campus
Program: Akshat
Let’s Paint
also known as TGIF
Wrestling
the Graves Kelsey
classes: Clay Mizgerd
pounds; John Keally
fifth place at 220
place in February. The
Anderson ’14, who
Putnam ’14, second
Club (ACC) hosted Tori
Agrawal, Lucas Hicks
Visual arts faculty
OPS. Students of all
Tournament
Tournament in Febru-
’17, fifth place at 106
’14, second place at
pounds.
judges were visual
sampled all the
place; and Alix Santos
Stephens, a member
and Mia Murphy, all
member David Roane
skill levels are wel-
Wrestling coach Steve
ary. Individually, the
pounds; Winfred Li
182 pounds; Michael
arts faculty member
submissions during
’15, third place.
of the Peace Corps
’14. Visit http://1.usa.
announced Thank
come to paint during
Toubman announced
following wrestlers
’16, sixth place at 113
Hazard ’15, fifth place
Chili Cook-Off
David Roane, execu-
assembly. The win-
gov/Nys5gk for more
Goodness It’s Friday
X-Block.
that Nobles placed
earned medals in their
pounds; Andrew Fai
at 195 pounds; and
The seventh annual
tive chef Michael Ryan
ners were Lexie Laing
Typhoon Haiyan
Philippines from 2010
information.
Open Painting Studio,
sixth as a team at
respective weight
’14, first place at 132
Martin Williams ’16,
Chili Cook-off took
of Flik, and Abbey
’14, first place; Finn
The Asian Culture
to 2013. She discussed
photo by Ted Jackson
who worked in the
the bulletin
A Great Adventure
Strasburger’s
Starring Moment
On Feb. 12 and 14, 11 middle school students performed in the play East of the
Sun and West of the Moon, by Tina Howe. The Norwegian folktale tells the story
of Tove, the youngest daughter of a poor peasant family who trades her to the
White Bear—a cursed prince—for wealth. The Bear promises the family, “I’ll
make you as rich as you are poor.” Tove and the Bear fall in love but are separated. Puppets, including trolls, hags, spirits and magical objects, follow Tove’s
journey as she travels to the land that lies east of the sun and west of the moon,
to find the Bear, her prince. Pictured: Samantha Alves ’18 as Tove
Castle Earns
Gold LEED
Certification
N
The Castle project, which included the renovation of existing space and the addition
of 13,000 square feet, earned Gold certification from LEED (Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design), the foremost
program for the design, construction and
operation of green buildings. The project
was completed at Nobles in fall 2012.
Designed by Architerra and built
by Shawmut Construction, the project
implemented practical and measurable
strategies for energy efficiency, materials
selection and environmental quality.
“Our talented architects, Architerra,
and the remarkable folks at Shawmut
Construction have managed to revive and
restore the historical Castle, while at the
same time rejuvenating the building for
the next century,” said Head of School Bob
Henderson at the reopening of the campus
gem in fall 2012.
The original construction of the Castle,
designed by H.H. Richardson, was completed in 1890.
Science faculty David Strasburger is always looking up—at the stars, that is.
Strasburger is one of a group of high school teachers selected to participate in
the 2014 NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP). Through
NITARP, Strasburger and three other teachers have been paired with a professional astronomer to take part in an original research project.
The project is a data-mining mission, and the group will be sifting through
an archive of images from the Spitzer Space Telescope. They will be hunting for
previously undiscovered star-forming regions and active galactic nuclei, identifiable by their signatures in the infrared spectrum. In addition to participating
in weekly team teleconferences, Strasburger will present at a conference and
attend a research camp at Caltech this summer. He will bring four students with
him: Toni Abate ’15, Ishaan Bhojwani, Skyler Beach and Olivia Harden, all ’16.
Strasburger sees countless possibilities in astronomy for both teachers and
students. The advancement of telescope technology and the digital revolution
have provided astronomers access to data that wasn’t available a few decades
ago. “Astronomy is suddenly a really young science,” Strasburger says. “Modern
astronomy is flourishing.” The vast amount of new data is publicly available and
provides cutting-edge research opportunities.
Strasburger thinks that turning students into stargazers will make for
more inquisitive learners. He finds that students often feel like they’ve failed
when the results of an experiment are different
from what they expected. He wants to use
astronomy to show students that “when
we find things we can’t explain—that’s an
exciting opportunity to learn more.”
Strasburger hopes to bring
astronomy research into the Nobles
curriculum. Currently, advanced
students have the opportunity for
hands-on lab experience in a biochemistry research class.
“Astronomy research projects
would be another significant step toward
a high-level inquiry-based curriculum,”
says Strasburger.
the devastation by
a rice sale; proceeds
Students Associa-
in recognizing black
Rose Sale
for cancer research.
all the work she has
Sweethearts
dedicated the first
SLC Mingle
both ’14, created a
here: http://youtu.be/
typhoon Haiyan and
will benefit victims of
tion showed a video
history in America.
The Campuses
This year, they gave
done for the school.
The Nobleman an-
three copies to a stu-
In honor of Valen-
humorous Nobles
NPTs2GiKzOY
how students can
the typhoon.
about the history of
Watch it here: http://
Against Cancer club
an honorary rose to
The fundraising initia-
nounced its annual
dent of their choosing
tine’s Day, School
online dating com-
African Americans
bit.ly/1j0iysR.
tive raised $7,000.
Valentine’s Day issue.
during assembly.
hosts a rose sale each
Community Service
Life Council co-pres-
mercial to promote
Go, Dawgs!
families affected. After
Black History Month
and the importance
year for Valentine’s
Coordinator Linda
In keeping with tradi-
idents Katherine Kirk
a daytime social in
Representing Dawg
assembly, ACC hosted
The Multicultural
of Carter Woodson
Day to raise money
Hurley to thank her for
tion, the Class I editors
and Ben Perelmuter,
Gleason Hall. Watch it
Pound, the school spir-
directly help the
the bulletin
Nobles Day Camp registration open
N
Going Global
Noises Off
In the dull winter months, the Nobles
Theatre Collective production of Noises
Off was anything but. No sooner had the
audience removed their coats and eyed
the curiously thick programs (are there
two plays going on here?) than dimmed
lights lurched them into a unique theatre experience.
Act I opened on a hilariously unprepared theatre company as they take
the jolting steps through a final dress
rehearsal. Mo Afdhal ’14 played the
exasperated director of the play-withina-play Nothing On, reminding the actors
of their lines and cues with a biting dry
This year, Nobles Day Camp (NDC) celebrates its 66th anniversary of providing a fun,
safe environment for children to explore interests and develop life skills. The camp
was founded in 1948 by Nobles faculty members Grandin Wise and George K. Bird ’33.
From 48 children and six staff members, the camp has grown to more than 800
campers and 300 staff members. According to NDC Director Emily Parker, “The
camp has grown and continues to thrive.”
The camp offers programs for children ranging in age from 3.5 years old to those
entering ninth grade. A counselor-in-training program allows former NDC campers
entering 10th grade to assist the counselors.
When Bird and Wise founded the camp, Parker says, they offered a range of activities, from archery to art to sewing to swimming. The number of activities has broadened and evolved over the years.
Registration is available through the camp website at www.noblesdaycamp.org.
The first day of camp is June 23.
humor. The group of inarticulate actors,
who are equal parts clueless and careless, was played by Nolan Thomas, Ava
Brignol and Tom Morrison, all ’14, Ryan
Kelley and Joelle Sherman, both ’15, and
Anna Haigh ’16.
Against all odds, the cast arrived
at Act II, and the audience was transported backstage to sneak a behindthe-scenes look at Nothing On. Hilarity
ensued as Maxwell Halperin and
Monica Alves, both ’16, convincingly
bumbled about as stagehands, tasked
with the surprisingly difficult job of
keeping the Nothing On cast from kill-
ing one another. Interpersonal drama
among the company unfolds silently,
occasionally interrupted by an actor
running off to perform onstage. Pranks
and whispered conversations were
executed perfectly with physical slapstick comedy.
“On we blindly stumble!” back to
the front of the theatre for Act III, a
final chance to glimpse complete chaos
masquerading as a play. Dozens of
door slams, several sardines and a few
lost contact lenses later, the audience
headed back into the cold—with smiles
on their faces.
In March, students, faculty and staff embarked on seven experiential learning and service
trips throughout the world. A total of 111 students and 25 faculty and staff members traveled to Guatemala, Honduras, India, New Orleans, Paris, Romania and South Africa. The trip
to Romania was in its 15th year, while this year marked the school’s first trip to Guatemala.
March trips
■■
■■
■■
■■
■■
■■
■■
Guatemala: 11 students, 3 adults
Honduras: 10 students, 2 adults
India: 16 students, 4 adults
Romania: 9 students, 3 adults
Paris: 8 students, 2 adults
South Africa: 21 students 3 adults
New Orleans, Louisiana: 36 students, 8 adults
TOTAL: 111 students, 25 chaperones
it group, Max Mont-
School League. The
Guest Dance Teacher
his latest dance film/
Prize for Excellence in
The ‘N’ Word
use of the “N” word.
Nobles vs. Milton
Milton prank in 1959
South Africa Dares
to take dares in front
by Jake Calnan, Maya
gomery ’14 announced
girls varsity basketball
Director of Dance
music video, which can
Performing Arts, the
Harvard Law professor
He discussed the
In honor of Nobles vs.
and shared the his-
In a fundraising
of the assembly audi-
Keenan-Gallagher and
that all girls varsity
team had a 65-game
Jillian Grunnah
be seen here: http://
Class of ’98 Prize and
and author Randall
history of the word
Milton weekend, John
tory of the hockey and
initiative for South Af-
ence. Max Montgom-
Trevor Spence, all ’18,
athletic teams this
streak, winning by an
welcomed Ryan Smith
vimeo.com/63366379.
the Scudder Prize for
Kennedy talked about
and its use in various
Beadle ’14 unveiled a
basketball teams at
rica, students, faculty
ery ’14 kissed a snake;
each ate a live insect;
winter are undefeated
average of 35 points.
’98 to teach a class on
At Nobles, Smith was
Excellence in Fine Arts.
his controversial book,
contexts today.
PowerPoint presenta-
Nobles.
and staff pledged six
faculty member
Head of Middle School
Feb. 19. She showed
awarded the Eaton
community members
Colette Finley, joined
John Gifford sang in
in the Independent
which centers on the
tion on the Nobles/
the bulletin
by the numbers
graduates
1,887
hed_whitney_bold_18pt
text_whitney_semibold_noindent
100
gave to the Annual Nobles Fund in 2013.
are living abroad full time.
15
are currently working at Nobles.
Members of the Noble and
Greenough School graduates
LinkedIn group.
120 hours
Congrats, Girls Varsity Squash
4 vs. 119
1868 and 1870: Smallest graduating classes
2013: Largest graduating class
The cumulative volunteer hours from reunion committees.
In early February 2014, girls varsity squash traveled to Philadelphia to compete in the U.S. High School Team Squash Championships—the
largest squash tournament in the world, involving 151 schools and 1,403 players, representing 16 states. The team came in fourth in Division I. In addition, the girls had another impressive season as an undefeated team in the Independent School League (ISL), with a record of
7–0, winning the ISL title for the second year in a row and the second time in program history. The team’s overall season record was 10–2.
They placed fourth in Division A in the New England tournament.
assembly (for the first
into the Charles River
Village Orphanage
The Inventor
assembly on April 2.
scraps for his village
time!); Carter Sanders
(caught on camera!).
and St. Brendan’s
William Kamkwamba,
He shared how one
in Malawi. He has built
’14 got an amateur
The event raised
School.
an inventor and author
book inspired him to
a solar-powered water
haircut on stage; and
more than $1,900 for
and friend of Head
build a electricity-
pump that supplied the
Head of Upper School
the Kliptown Youth
of Upper School Ben
producing windmill
first drinking water in
Ben Snyder plunged
Program, the Bakhita
Snyder, spoke in long
from spare parts and
his village.
1,246
The number of nominations the graduate affairs
office received on behalf
of 44 candidates for the
Nobles Athletics Hall of
Fame since 2011.
83
13
U.S. Olympians (see page 15).
sports
Michelle Picard ’11 on the ice against
Canada in the Winter Olympics.
A Dream Come True for Picard
Hard work, determination and
passion took defenseman Michelle
Picard ’11 to the ice in the Winter
Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The
first-time Olympian joined 20
U.S. women’s hockey players.
The rink has been Picard’s home for as
long as she can remember. “I was born
into playing hockey,” said Picard in the
Taunton Daily Gazette. “I just loved being
on the ice. It became a family thing with
my brother [Tim] playing. Being at the
rink is what my family did.”
At Nobles, Picard played varsity
hockey for five years. She also played
varsity softball for four years and was
captain of both the hockey and softball
teams in her Class I year. Nobles girls
varsity hockey coach Tom Resor says it
was special to coach Picard because of her
strong work ethic. “She understood the
game as well as any other player I have
coached,” he says.
Having coached hockey for 28 years at
Nobles, Resor can recognize exceptional
talent. “I coached her for five years,
and from her very first day of practice,
I realized we had a very special player,”
he says. “Shelly is the rare athlete who
combines great talent with exceptional
athletic sense and composure. She is also
incredibly humble, and her teammates
have the utmost respect for her.”
The hockey team was Independent
School League champions all five years
while Picard was on the team. She
was the recipient of several athletic
awards, including the Bird Bowl for
greatest contribution to the softball
team; the Anne Dudley Newell Hockey
Cup for dedication and excellence; and
photos by Jeff Cable, USA Hockey
the Nobles Shield for most respected
female athlete. She also earned the Class
of ’98 award, presented by the outgoing
school president to a respected member
of the class.
“My five years on that team helped
me transform into the player and person
that I am today,” says Picard. “They
[Coach Resor and Coach Cedorchuk]
taught us to never underestimate the
opponent, because anything can happen.
I will never forget Coach Resor saying
that just because we are supposed to win
doesn’t mean we will. ‘Earn it,’ [he said].”
Picard’s accolades extend beyond
Nobles. As a member of the U.S. national
under-18 team for several years, she
played in two Under-18 Series and two
International Ice Hockey Federation U18
Women’s World Championships, where
she earned a silver medal in 2010 and a
gold at the World Championships in 2011.
As a member of the U.S. Women’s
National Team, Picard played in four
Nations Cups and two International
Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World
Championships, earning silver in 2012
and gold in 2013.
For her family, seeing Picard compete
in the world’s top international sporting event felt like a dream. In the Herald
News (Fall River, Mass.), Picard’s mother,
Linda, said, “It’s kind of crazy to realize
what she’s doing. I feel very proud. It’s
surreal. She did what she wanted to do,
and we are very proud of that.”
The Nobles community gathered in
Lawrence Auditorium to cheer on
Picard and her teammates in the last
game against Canada. The United States
lost to Canada 3–2 in overtime, earning
the silver medal.
Picard had dreamed about playing in
the Olympics since she was very young.
She says the experience was more special
than she imagined. “Competing in the
Olympics isn’t just about the fight for the
gold medal,” she says. “That’s a huge part
and the reason we train and practice so
hard for so many years, but the Olympics
are also about representing your family,
friends, hometown and country in a way
that makes them proud. I was blown away
by the response and support….Never in a
million years would I have imagined the
incredible sense of pride they would feel
in seeing someone they once met or lived
near compete in the Olympics.”
Picard, who is an anthropology major
at Harvard and plays defense for the
Crimson, will return to the university as
a junior in fall 2014.
Graduate
Olympians
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Robert B. Cutler ’31
(crew, 1936)
Roger W. Cutler ’33
(crew, 1936)
William C. Haskins ’33
(crew, 1936)
Edward H. Bennett ’33
(crew, 1936)
Goodwin Harding ’39
(hockey, 1948)
Kurt Somerville ’75
(crew, 1980)
Chris Havlicek ’89
(handball, 1996)
Whitney Post ’91
(crew, 2000)
Dan Weinstein ’98
(speed skating, 1998 and 2002)
Karen Thatcher ’02
(hockey, silver medalist, 2010)
Helen Resor ’04
(hockey, bronze medalist, 2006)
Sarah Parsons ’05
(hockey, bronze medalist, 2006)
Michelle Picard ’11
(hockey, silver medalist, 2014)
Bonus: English faculty member
Peter Raymond competed in the
1968 and 1972 summer Olympics
as an American rower.
sports
On the Playing Fields
Alpine Skiing
Boys Varsity Basketball
Girls Overall Record: 26–0 (ISL Champions, 4th consecutive year)
NEPSAC Class A Champions
Boys Overall Record: 22–11 (4th in ISL)
NEPSAC Championship 9th Place
Awards: James H. Bride Ski Bowl (for
enthusiasm, spirit and sportsmanship):
Noelle Anderson and Milan Chuttani,
both ’14. Coaches’ Award (for selfless
attitude and consistent effort):
Andrew Orgel ’16, Lexie Vocatura ’15
and Colby Conley ’17
All-League: Lauren Barta ’15, Maya
Abouhamad ’16, Caley Dickinson ’15
and Nicola Katz ’16
Honorable Mention: Aidan Crawford ’16
and Sophia Kocher ’17
All-Scholastic ISL: Nicola Katz ’16
All-New England: Lauren Barta and
Nicola Katz, both ’16
2014 Captains: TBA
Overall Record: 17–8
ISL Record: 10–5
Awards: Clarke Bowl (for contribution
to team spirit): Johnny McCarthy ’14.
1983-’84 Basketball Award (for the
player who best exemplifies the spirit,
dedication, determination, attitude and
improvement of the 1983-’84 team):
Connor McNeill ’14
All-League: Johnny McCarthy ’14 and
Robert Martin ’15
2014 Captains: TBA
Girls Varsity Basketball
ISL Record: 12–0 (ISL Champions)
NEPSAC Class A Champions
Awards: Seadale Bowl (given by the
Seadale family for overall contribution to
the basketball program): Lauren Dillon
and Kate Kerrigan, both ’14. Richard
Nickerson Award (in honor of the longtime coach, awarded to a non-senior
for courage and determination):
Katie Benzan ’16
NEPSAC MVP: Katie Benzan ’16
All-League: Katie Benzan ’16,
Lauren Dillon ’14, Amy Duggan ’16,
Kate Kerrigan ’14 and Alex Maund ’15
2014 Captains: Katie Benzan ’16, Amy
Duggan ’16 and Alex Maund ’15
Boys Varsity Hockey
Overall Record: 20–7–1
ISL Record: 12–2 (ISL Champions)
NEPSAC Division I Quarterfinalists
Awards: Todd Flaman Award (for the JV
player who demonstrates spirit, enthusiasm and love of hockey as exemplified
by Todd Flaman ’97): Tommy DeAngelis
’15. 1974 Award (for improvement in
hockey): Pat Murray ’16. Sziklas Hockey
Season Highlights
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The winter girls varsity athletic teams were undefeated in the
Independent School League (ISL) in the 2013–2014 season.
Girls alpine skiing secured the ISL championships for the
fourth successive year—11 out of 12 in the past 12 years—and
captured the Class A NEPSAC title.
The girls varsity basketball team’s 65-game winning streak
(28–0) earned them the 11th consecutive ISL championship
and the third consecutive Class A NESPAC title.
Girls varsity hockey won the 15th consecutive ISL championship (11–0–1) and were runner-ups in the NEPSAC Division I.
Girls varsity squash team secured the ISL title for the second
year in a row and second year in program history. Players
Grace Doyle ’16, Emma Roberts ’15, Emily Woodworth ’16 and
■■
■■
■■
Alexis Lazor ’17 were undefeated in the ISL.
Boys varsity squash finished in 10th place at the U.S. High
School Team Squash Championships—the best finish in the
program’s history.
Boys varsity wrestler Andrew Fai ’14 won the Graves Kelsey
Championship at 132 pounds and teammate John Keally ’14
came in second place at 182 pounds. The Nobles team came
in sixth place in the tournament.
Winter afternoon programs collected 21,000 pounds of donations for the #AllDawgsGottaEat initiative to benefit local
food pantries. In total, more than 50,000 pounds of food have
been collected this year—achieving over 65 percent of the
75,000-pound goal.
N
Ryan Smith ’14
Trophy (for contribution to the team):
Alex Hreib ’15
All-League: JC Brassard ’14, Cal Burke ’15,
Billy Sweezey ’15, Cody Todesco ’15 and
Miles Wood ’15
Honorable Mention: Mike Fahie and
Luke Stevens, both ’16
League MVP: Miles Wood ’15
All-New England: Miles Wood ’15
2014 Captains: TBA
Girls Varsity Hockey
Overall Record: 28–1–1 (NEPSAC
Division I Finalists)
ISL Record: 11–0–1 (ISL Champions)
Awards: Anne Dudley Newell Hockey
Cup (for dedication and excellence):
Lexie Laing, Haley Mullins and Courtney
Pensavalle, all ’14.
ISL MVP: Lexie Laing ’14
All-League: Brigit Bergin, Lexie
Laing, Haley Mullins and Mallory
Souliotis, all ’14
Honorable Mention: Kenzie Kent and
Courtney Pensavalle, both ’14
NEPSAC Division I 1st Team: Lexie
Laing ’14 (NEPSAC player of the year)
NEPSAC Divison I 2nd Team All Star:
Kenzie Kent and Mallory Souliotis,
both ’14
2014 Captains: TBA
Boys Varsity Squash
ISL Record: 10–2
Awards: Cutler Cup (awarded to the
member of the team who has shown the
Lauren Dillon ’14
greatest devotion to the sport): Carter
Sanders and Ryan Smith, both ’14
All-League: Ryan Smith ’14
2014 Captains: TBA
Girls Varsity Squash
ISL Record: 7–0
Michael Hazard ’15 (Graves-Kelsey5th
place at 195 pounds), Martin Williams ’16
(Graves-Kelsey 5th place at 220 pounds)
All-New England: Andrew Fai ’14 (6th in
New England at 132 pounds) and John
Keally ’14 (3rd in New England at 182
pounds.)
2014 Captains: TBA
4th Place Team at Class A New England
Championships
4th Place Team at Division I Nationals
Awards: Cutler Cup (awarded to the
member of the team who has shown
the greatest devotion to the sport):
Becky Brownell ’14
All-League: Becky Brownell ’14 and
Gracie Doyle ’16
Honorable Mention: Emma Roberts ’15
and Emily Woodworth ’16
2014 Captains: TBA
Boys Varsity
Basketball
Varsity Wrestling
Jayden DePina ’17
James Welch ’17
ISL Record: 7–5
Girls Varsity
Basketball
6th Place Team at Graves-Kelsey
Tournament
Awards: Warren E. Storer Award (for
hard work and improvement): Michael
Hazard ’15. Wilbur F. Storer Award
(for the most outstanding wrestler):
Andrew Fai and John Keally, both ’14
All-League: Andrew Fai ’14 (GravesKelsey Champion at 132 pounds) and
John Keally ’14 (Graves-Kelsey 2nd
place at 182 pounds)
Honorable Mention: Clay Mizgerd ’17
(Graves-Kelsey 5th place at 106 pounds),
First-Time Varsity
Letter Winners
Alpine Skiing
Dani Abouhamed ’18
Sibley Dickinson ’18
Sophia Kocher ’17
Amaya Finklea ’17
Addy Mitchell ’17
Boys Varsity
Hockey
Cam Burke ’17
Billy Carrabino ’15
Brendan Cytulik ’16
Michael Fahie ’16
Alex Hreib ’15
Ou Li ’16
Sam Parizeau ’15
Harry Sherman ’17
Luke Stevens ’16
Seve Tocci ’16
Girls Varsity
Hockey
Bridget Doherty ’17
Emma London ’18
Boys Varsity
Squash
Reg Anderson ’17
Sagar Lal ’15
Lucan White ’19
Girls Varsity
Squash
Jessie Brownell ’19
Varsity
Wrestling
Clay Mizgerd ’17
Alberto Valle ’17
Noah Cohen-Harding ’17
Iain Sheeran ’17
Christian Yeh ‘16
graduate affairs
Hall of Famers Inducted
Three individual athletes, one beloved coach and one team will be inducted into the Nobles Athletics Hall of Fame on May 10, 2014, at reunion.
Automatic Jack
Jack Carney ’49 was a dominant wrestler,
undefeated throughout his three-year
varsity career. In 1948, Carney led the
undefeated team by pinning eight of his
10 opponents. He topped that performance as senior captain in 1949, pinning
all 11 opponents. One opponent lasted
only 16 seconds against Carney. The
Boston Globe dubbed him “Automatic
Jack” and featured him in a weekly
piece throughout the season. Carney
was captain of the football team and the
clear leader of the team on both sides
of the ball as the starting quarterback
and middle linebacker. He also amassed
five varsity letters with the crew team in
the spring, leading the Second Crew to
two consecutive undefeated seasons. He
went on to play football at Middlebury
before serving in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. Carney died in 2012.
A Beloved Coach and
School Leader
Richard T. Flood Sr. ’23 was a well-round-
ed student-athlete at Nobles. He was
president of his class, co-editor-in-chief
of the Nobleman and manager of the
football team. He also won the Trustee’s
Prize in 1922. He played hockey and
baseball and won a letter in crew. He
became the varsity hockey coach in
1932 and compiled a total record of
138–54–21 during his career for a
remarkable winning percentage of .697.
Flood served as assistant headmaster
for 28 years until he retired in 1971. He
also led the admissions office and contributed to Nobles through fundraising,
teaching and chairing the history depart-
an ISL title in 1988. She also played four
years of varsity hockey at Middlebury,
co-captaining the team senior season. In lacrosse, Hyland was a skilled,
strong, speedy attacker. She scored 68
goals her Class I year and earned both
All-League and All-American honors. A three-year varsity starter, she
co-captained the team, won the girls
lacrosse cup, and was a co-winner of
the Nobles Shield in the spring of 1989.
Hyland played lacrosse at Middlebury,
where she holds the record for goals
in a single game (10) and is tied for the
record for points in a single game (12).
An Olympian
Richard T. Flood ’23 with former
Headmaster Eliot Putnam
ment. He started the Annual Nobles
Fund, the First Class Fund and the vocal
quartets of the Glee Club, and he was the
first editor of the Bulletin. A U.S. Navy
veteran, Flood died in 1996.
Helen Resor ’04 was a three-sport dominant varsity athlete and captain in soccer, hockey and lacrosse at Nobles. She
was the recipient of the Nobles Shield in
spring 2004 and is remembered as one
of the school’s best pure athletes. On the
ice, Resor dominated on an entirely new
level. In her three years on the Nobles
hockey team, her teams went 73–4–3
and won three ISL titles and two New
England titles. In 72 career games (she
missed seven games her Class I season
A Three-Sport Standout
Kim Griffith Hyland ’89 was a five-year
letter winner in soccer during an era
of dominance for Nobles girls in that
sport. She co-captained the team to a
14–0–1 record and a fourth straight ISL
championship in her Class I year. In her
Class III and Class II years, the team
also won New England championships.
In soccer, Hyland’s team accomplished
an astonishing accumulated record
of 51–1–4. She won the senior bowl
for soccer in 1988 and was a two-time
All-League honoree. Hyland played
varsity hockey for four years, winning
recovering from a broken leg), she had
45 goals and 73 assists for 118 points as
a defenseman. She was All-ISL three
times and MVP of the New England
Preparatory School Athletic Conference
tournament in 2004. At Yale, she was
named a team MVP in 2009 and was
a finalist for the 2009 Patty Kazmaier
Memorial Award for the best Division
I women’s hockey player in the United
States. Resor won a bronze medal as a
member of the 2006 Olympic team that
competed in Turin, Italy.
A Dominant Team
The 2002 boys soccer team will be
inducted for a dominant season, in which
it won both the ISL and New England
Class A Championships, with a record
of 14–0–3. Coach Ben Snyder attributes
much of the team’s success to captains
Phil Boulay, Nick DiCarlo and Justin
Oppenheimer, all ’03. “They were an
extraordinary leadership group…among
the best I’ve worked with in my 20 years
of coaching. Seniors Ashwin Advani, Ian
Graham and Todd Levin, all ’03, rounded
out the strong senior leadership group.”
This team also featured two future professional soccer players in Chris Tierney
and Mike Videira, both ’04. Tierney set
a single-season goal-scoring record with
26 goals and was voted First Team AllISL. He now plays for the New England
Revolution. Videria ’04 led the ISL with
16 assists, was the Gatorade State Player
of the Year and Boston Globe/ISL AllScholastic Offensive Player of the Year.
He was also voted to the Massachusetts
and All–New England Prep Teams. He
now plays for the Chicago Fire.
—Brooke Asnis ’90,
director of graduate affairs
Hall of Fame inductee Helen Resor ’04 (left)
and fellow Olympian Sarah Parson ’05.
For more information about reunion or to
RSVP, visit www.nobles.edu/reunion
Be Nobles Bold: The Campaign to Secure Our Mission launched in fall
2013. This is the first in a series of related updates.
Tim Carey Scholarship Fund Launched
After 37 years at Nobles, faculty member Tim Carey will
retire in June 2014.
Carey’s contributions to Nobles as teacher, coach,
advisor, colleague and friend are many and profound.
(The fall issue of Nobles will reflect further on his contributions.) As part of reunion weekend, Nobles is hosting
a graduate soccer game in his honor. We hope you will
come back to play soccer or cheer on fellow grads and
celebrate Tim Carey, May 9–10.
If you would like to make a gift to the Tim Carey Fund for Faculty in honor of
his remarkable service to the school, please contact Campaign Director Lisa Rose
at 781-320-7003 or [email protected]. Numbers Count
Educating students who will have the skills and attitude to inspire leadership for
the public good is already a bold enterprise, and we are committed to doing it better than anyone else. Here are several critical ratios and percentages that demonstrate our commitment to an exceptional program.
Critical Ratios
Student/faculty ratio: 5:1
Average class size: 12.5
Teams coached by at least one Nobles faculty member: 97%
Upper school students who have taken an experiential
service-learning trip by the time of graduation: 84%
Our Plan for the Endowment
Be Nobles Bold focuses on strengthening the school’s endowment.
Endowment is the only source of revenue with significant growth potential
for the future.
■■ Nobles tuition doesn’t cover the cost of a student’s education. That means that
all students are being subsidized.
■■ The true cost of a Nobles education is $62,785 ($40,900 tuition and fees;
a $21,885 difference).
■■ Costs are growing faster than inflation. Nobles Day Camp is restricted by
enrollment, and the Annual Nobles Fund cannot be expected to grow beyond
4–5% a year.
■■ How do we make up the difference? By increasing the endowment.
■■
off the shelf
The Bipolar II Disorder Workbook:
Managing Recurring Depression,
Hypomania & Anxiety
with bipolar II disorder workbook,
auhor Louisa Grandin Sylvia ’96
offers support for managing the mood
disorder
Bipolar II includes a pattern of
hypomania and depression but not
full-blown manic episodes. Hypomania usually lasts a shorter time and is
less severe. It is a persistent elevated,
irritable or euphoric mood, with periods of high energy.
An associate director of psychology
at the Massachusetts General Hospital
Bipolar Clinic and Research Program
and assistant professor at Harvard
Medical School, Louisa Grandin Sylvia
and her co-authors have provided the
first workbook designed to help manage bipolar II disorder.
Honkers & Twangers
Ace Records
Ace Records released a
compilation album, LongLost Honkers & Twangers,
featuring instrumental music
from the early 1960s. Of the
26 songs from a variety of
artists, Nobles graduates
Don Beckwith ’65 and Dave
Wilkinson ’63 appear on
three songs with their band,
the Reveliers.
Both Wilkinson and
Beckwith were guitarists for
Sheri L. Johnson, director at Cal
Mania (Calm) and lab professor of psychology at the University of California,
Berkeley, writes, “With refreshingly
clear language, three experts in the
field draw from the best science in the
area to provide a clear road map for
how to come to terms with bipolar II
disorder. This book offers great advice
on how to recognize and gain better
control over manic, depressive and
anxious symptoms.”
The workbook outlines symptoms
and incorporates the principles of both
mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). This is illustrated in
the book’s exercises on guided mindfulness, breathing and imagery.
the Reveliers, a band that
was part of the New England
surf music scene in the 60s.
Following the likes of the
instrumental “Wipe Out,”
by the Surfaris, the Reveliers
had a hit with “Hanging Five,”
which made it to the Billboard
Hot 100.
The guitar-heavy songs of
the Reveliers incorporate the
musical elements of the time
with a nod to blues and rock
and roll. This compilation
is a gem, including several
unreleased tracks, and basks
N
The workbook is available at http://www.
newharbinger.com.
Tyre” are two songs from the
Reveliers that were previously unreleased.
N
in the nostalgia of an earlier
time. The album includes
the Reveliers’ song “Patch,”
which appeared on the
B-side of “Hanging Five.”
“White Water” and “Flat
The album is available at
Amazon or via Ace Records at
acerecords.co.uk.
album, Something Greater.
The album follows his first
EP, Come on In, which was
released in 2011.
Paraschos’ album has
gospel, Motown and R&B
influences. With a sound
reminiscent of early Michael
Jackson and Stevie Wonder,
the singer-songwriter tackles
themes of love, artistic struggles and social inequality. The
song “I Love You” follows the
excitement of new love, while
the songs “Here to Stay” and
“In Love” speak to the ups
and downs of a relationship.
The song “Carry On”
focuses on social inequalities
and a call to action evocative
of Marvin Gaye, with lyrics
like “We’re still living for
the city, now tell me what’s
going on?” On his blog,
Paraschos describes how his
experience as a substitute
teacher was the inspiration
for “Carry On.” He explains
how the students, with their
enthusiasm and desire to
be proactive, illustrated
the importance of being an
“active learner and citizen.”
Something Greater is available
on Amazon, at iTunes and at
www.alexisongs.com.
Something Greater
Alexi Paraschos
CD Baby
In February 2014, Nobles faculty member Alexi Paraschos
released his first full-length
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5
my books...
sabbatical reading list
by Steve Ginsberg, business manager
I am drawn to books in which I have a clear
connection to the characters or story. Maybe
I need a better imagination...
THE INTERESTINGS, BY MEG WOLITZER
I did not attend a school like Nobles. My biggest educational influence as a kid was my experience at overnight camp (seven years,
eight weeks each summer), so the backdrop for The Interestings was a natural draw for me.
I often wonder who my childhood camp friends became, and this book proves that it is not
always what you would have expected. Balancing humor, struggle, sadness and the reality
of growing up, The Interestings tells the story of six people who met at camp in the 1950s
and traces their lives into adulthood.
THE CIRCLE, BY DAVE EGGERS
The scary part about this book is that it is actually believable. The Circle is a tech company,
not much different from Facebook or Google, that becomes all-encompassing for its employees. It is Big Brother on steroids, including cameras, GPS and medical monitoring that
can be seen by everyone. Just when I was ready to write it off as far-fetched, I purchased a
Fitbit—which tracks my steps, sleeping, calories burned—and started to see the potential
reality depicted in the book.
THE STARBOARD SEA, BY AMBER MCDERMOTT
I am a sucker for books that take place at boarding schools. Set in the 1980s, this story
merges everything seductive and controversial about life at a boarding school (love, death,
alcohol, awkward social moments, parent issues, etc.). And it is believable enough to be
compelling, especially for someone who has worked at a boarding school.
THE BOYS IN A BOAT, BY DANIEL JAMES BROWN
Athletics have played a crucial role in who I am, and I am fascinated by trying to figure
out what makes a team work. This book tells the story of the University of Washington
crew team’s plight to qualify for the 1936 Olympics in Germany. It combines personal
stories with vivid descriptions of team efforts, all against the backdrop of post-Depression
America and pre-WWII Europe.
MOONWALKING WITH EINSTEIN, BY JOSHUA FOER
Since I turned 40, I have been on a quest to find something that I can be competitive at
on the world stage. Unfortunately, most athletic pursuits are off the table (perhaps curling?), but this book gave me hope. The author studies for and enters the U.S. Memory
Championships. It is incredibly funny and inspiring for those of us who hope to make the
big time in something.
perspectives
Underwater
When Difficult
Students Are
Our Teachers
Swimming Through Time
By Kate Boyle Ramsdell, college counselor
It’s the first time I can remember feeling proud of myself,
and maybe that’s what made me a swimmer. I’m 4 and
eager to jump into Joan LaClair’s backyard pool, running up the dark-stained deck steps with my bathing suit
already on, hair in pigtails, TIME towel tucked under
my arm (my dad worked for TIME magazine; the towels
would go on to live longer than he). I’m 4, and I know
how to touch the bottom of the deep end, how to retrieve
a rubber ring to show I’ve really made it to the bottom.
Mrs. LaClair, her skin made leathery by decades of
teaching swim lessons outside, her hair bleached by
chlorine, is teaching a class of 8-year-olds when I bound
in. “Katie! Can you show them how to get the ring?” Swelling with excitement, I jump in, stroke to the bottom of
the pool, and grasp the prize. I’m not sure what broke the
surface first, my fist or my grin. It didn’t matter. I was 4
and they were 8, and I showed them how to get the ring.
W hen I was 11, my
dad died. I spent
every afternoon at
Piranhas practice
in the Darien
YMCA pool, a routine that I’d established
long before he was gone. Clear recollections of my grief are spotty. And yet I
remember looking up at the rafters, 30
feet above me, as I did laps of backstroke,
imagining my dad sitting there. At swim
meets, he would perch himself on the
end of the 3-meter board, and sometimes
he’d show up at the bottom of the pool
during a particularly trying stretch of a
race. I was equally convinced at the time
that I might see him in a movie, another
extra among the commuters jammed
onto a Manhattan sidewalk, making his
way to the Time-Life Building. These
imaginings went on for about five years.
By high school, he appeared only once a
season or so at state championships or
during a brutal distance set, and then
sometime during college, it became
harder to convince myself he could
appear anymore, and so he didn’t.
The smell of chlorine is intoxicating. Hours after I’ve climbed out of the
slippery-tiled Williams College pool,
rinsed off in the fogbank of a communal
shower, lifted the handle on my rusty
locker, thrown clothes over a still-damp
body and quickly dried my hair with the
hand dryer, awkwardly bending to get
my head under its short-lived puffs of
warm air, I lick the back of my hand—
“the sniff test,” my friend Chloe calls
it—and take a whiff of my skin. In that
moment, I don’t think it will ever leave
Recognizing Your Personal Buddha
H my pores, this chemical perfume. I’m
not sure I know a competitive swimmer
whose olfactory memories aren’t stoked
upon encountering a chlorinated pool
deck. Even now, as a college counselor at
a school that doesn’t have a competitive
swim team, I linger at each college or
university’s pool, examining the record
boards, comparing them to the times of
swimmers I knew. Chlorine seeps into
my nostrils just long enough to remind
me of the 16 years and millions of laps I
spent following a double black line at the
bottom of a pool.
“ONE! TWO! THREE!” I throw Whit’s
tiny body into the air, waiting for the
top of his head to plunge beneath the
surface. He disappears beneath the crest
of water his body created, and almost as
quickly, I yank him back into the air. A
few quick blinks are followed by
peals of laughter. “AGAIN!” Thrilled
by my infant son’s seemingly immediate love of the water, I joke with my
husband that we’d better start saving
the iPhone videos of his bath-time
bubble-blowing antics because
ABC will need the footage for the
video montage before he takes the
blocks at the Summer Olympics. I
wonder if he, too, might someday
mentally rehearse his marching band
music as he counts through his
warm-up laps, or find pure joy in suspending himself in the deep end while
floating giant, lung-busting bubbles
up to the surface at the end of every
high school swim practice, or lick the
back of his hand to conjure the fading
scent of the pool.
ere’s a paradox: Teachers are skilled in the
art of teaching, but
often don’t recognize
their most teachable
moments. These are moments in our
classrooms or careers that challenge
us and make us grow for the better,
moments in which our students are
teaching us to be better teachers—if we
would only learn.
Shortly after having my first child, I
came across a book called A Path with
Heart, by Jack Kornfield. I was a typical
teacher, looking to books for answers to
my problems—in this case, a chronically fussy baby.
One passage caught my attention.
Kornfield talks about the small, daily
challenges that undo us one knot at a
time—the student who doesn’t have
his homework again, the colleague
who snips at you unfairly, that parent’s
email with a certain tone. Kornfield, a
Buddhist monk by training, suggests
that for one entire day, you imagine
that everyone and everything you
encounter is your teacher, a personal
Buddha existing solely for your growth,
giving you the lesson you most need in
that moment.
I tried this and experienced a radical
shift. I’d been focused on the exhausting demands of new motherhood. On
By Alexis Wiggins ’95
the “Buddha day,” I saw my crying son
as an opportunity to cultivate patience.
My son was a teacher—and I hadn’t
realized it.
It Was All About Jack
Alert to this idea when I returned to
teaching, I realized that my classroom
was full of Buddhas. All teachers know
there are students who push buttons.
For most of my career, these students
drove me crazy. But Kornfield—and
motherhood—had me reconsidering
my students.
One of my best teachers in this
regard was “Jack,” a high school junior
who monopolized discussions, loved to
shout down everyone else, and relished
saying things to provoke (“Women are
whiny”). Early in my career, I’d have
agonized over Jack and felt that he was
ruining the class dynamic. But after
reading A Path with Heart, I saw there
were two things I could do: ask myself
what I most needed to learn as an educator, and reach out to a kid who wasn’t
expecting it because he worked hard to
push others away.
Jack loved to hear himself talk. I use
a kind of Socratic seminar in my classes
called Spider Web Discussion. The
approach requires students to discuss
a topic in a balanced, collaborative way
and assesses the class performance on
perspectives
each discussion as a whole group so students all get the same grade. Any student
who leads the group away from good collaboration brings the group grade down.
Jack stymied the process. The pattern of our discussions was such that a
student would speak, and Jack would
respond. Jack began every response
with “I agree” or “I disagree.” Jack
believed discussion in English class was
an exercise in deciding whether or not
he agreed.
I tried a variety of tactics. I talked
during debriefings about the importance
of having a balanced discussion, not letting one person dominate. This message
was lost on Jack. He was unable to let
the conversation develop without him at
the center.
. . .Until It Wasn’t
Jack was affecting morale. How could I
get him to listen to his peers and allow
them space to communicate in a way that
didn’t seem like a punishment? That’s
when I hit on it: roles.
I designed a series of roles for the
whole-group discussion that asked
students to accomplish different tasks.
One role was to be the “feedback giver,” a
student who doesn’t speak but who takes
notes on the discussion. The first time I
assigned Jack this role, he stayed silent
the whole class, then gave very critical
feedback on all the ideas the students
didn’t discuss. Another role was “three
question asker.” This person could speak
only three times during the whole conversation, with each contribution being a
discussion-inspiring question. Once Jack
had asked his three questions, he tuned
out completely.
Yet another role was “host.” This person was to engage students not involved
in the discussion. The day Jack was host,
he responded to a comment with “I
agree, but . . .,” and I saw him catch himself and remember that he was supposed
to play host.
Jack awkwardly turned to an insightful student who also happened to be shy
and asked, “What do you think, Marcus?
“I also found that when I reached out to students like
Jack and made them feel especially valued, something
unexpected happened: The Jacks of the world became some
of my favorite students.” —alexis wiggins ‘95
What did you find in last night’s reading?” Marcus didn’t skip a beat in sharing
what he’d noticed reading Tobias Wolff’s
In Pharaoh’s Army.
“There’s this motif related to watches
and time.” Marcus cited three quotes
about watches, a nuanced and insightful
look at the relationship between time
and death in the text. I was impressed; I
had taught the book twice before and had
never noticed the motif. Jack was also
impressed. “I agree,” he enthused while
underlining the passages.
During the debriefing, I focused on
that moment and showed how Jack had
tossed the ball to Marcus and we’d all
benefited. It might have been the first
time that Jack realized he could benefit
from others in the room, especially from
someone so shy.
Embracing Our Jacks
As a Buddha, Jack offered me an opportunity to push past my limits, to invent
ways of reaching students and help them
work through their intellectual and
social blocks.
I also found that when I reached out
to students like Jack and made them feel
especially valued, something unexpected happened: The Jacks of the world
became some of my favorite students.
How had I stopped at that outer, abrasive
layer and not seen the funny, critical
minds underneath?
So I thank Jack Kornfield for teaching
me that we sometimes need to embrace
difficult realities. It takes humility and
patience to approach challenging kids.
But if you do, you may find that your least
favorite student (or parent or colleague)
becomes your greatest teacher yet.
Wiggins teaches English at the American
International School in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY
APPEARED IN EDUCATION LEADERSHIP.
IT IS PRINTED WITH PERMISSION © 2014 ASCD
The actor. The writer. The producer.
The media mogul. The artist.
The casting agent. These six Nobles
graduates prove there’s no business
like show business.
by me l issa mcclung, he athe r sul l ivan and tiffany tr an
THE
ACTOR
BEING
MICHAEL
BEACH
photo g r a p h by ma x ge rbe r
His adolescence sounds like it could
be a Hollywood storyline: Handsome
black kid from Roxbury—loving mother,
absent father—gets accepted to fancy
prep school. Plays football, then lacrosse.
Thinks he’s not good at much else. Gets
injured on the field. Is afraid he will be
asked to leave because he no longer wears
shoulder pads, no longer commands the
field. He finds his voice onstage making
assembly announcements and is cast in
the school production of The Diary of
Anne Frank. He’s hooked from the first
rehearsals. A year or so later, coached
intensely by Lake Bobbitt Jr., who assisted with Nobles productions, he auditions
at Juilliard, his first time in New York. He
doesn’t quite get that others in the room
have spent a lifetime preparing for this
moment—but he likes the passion and
pressure just fine. He is accepted, and
he graduates. This boy, now a man, is an
actor. His name is Michael Beach, and he
graduated from Nobles in 1982.
“It was the late ’70s when I first went
to Nobles,” Beach says, “and it was like
taking a trip to the moon, really. I had
zero frame of reference.”
Even those who don’t recognize
Beach’s name probably know his face.
During his three decades in TV and
movies, he has had a recurring role on
“ER,” acted alongside Angela Bassett and
others in Waiting to Exhale, and was in
100 episodes of “Third Watch” as Doc, an
EMT. Beach has been a lover, a healer, a
sidekick and a gun-wielding Harley-rider.
His Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
profile lists more than 100 credits. He
attributes his staying power to a deep love
of his work and avoiding classic Hollywood pitfalls. He and his family have no
domestic help, no nanny. “I’ve raised my
own kids,” says the father of six. “And I
respect everybody unless somebody gives
me a really good reason not to.”
If Beach sounds like a good guy,
he is. He’s also the kind of person you
might rely on in a crisis, which is fitting,
because his latest gig, “Crisis,” premiered
March 16. And as director of the FBI,
Beach is playing the good guy (in kind of
a badass way). But Beach isn’t sure he’d
be playing any part if it weren’t for Bobbitt and those early days in Dedham.
“The man was a godsend to me,” says
Beach, “I just thought, ‘Man, this guy has
some stuff, some info to give to me. He
understands things that I want to understand.’ We had discussions about character and about how to explore them.”
Bobbitt helped Beach prepare to play
Shakespeare’s Duke Orsino from Twelfth
Night for his Juilliard audition. “I had
never done Shakespeare,” Beach says. “I
[had] never even read Shakespeare. It
was just about me jumping off the cliff
and going for it. I was able to trust him.”
The audition went well. “I didn’t
know the depth of the training that I was
about to experience, and I also didn’t
know the heartlessness.” Beach remembers that the cuts were relentless, and
after two years of training, many of his
classmates, including his girlfriend, were
cut from the program.
Beach says the show was never a monster
hit but had a loyal fan base. When the
producer, John Wells, shared the plan in
season five to amp up the action to keep
the show on the air, Beach opted out.
“John Wells, who has been very good to
me, said, ‘Listen, Michael, we’re doing
this, and you can stay, but we’re not going
to use you in every episode.’ I’m like,
‘Yeah. It’s time to move on.’”
And moving on has proven fruitful.
Beach’s most recent time on set has
been in Chicago, shooting “Crisis” with
Gillian Anderson and Dermot Mulroney.
The drama centers on the kidnapping of
teenage children of the nation’s elite—by
clever, well-organized terrorists. Early
reviews are promising. The New York
Times calls it “terrific.” Newsday says,
“‘Crisis’…[is] giving viewers a reason to
care—about the characters, outcome and
mystery... and ‘Crisis’ delivers.”
Of course, Beach hopes “Crisis” will
succeed, but regardless, he keeps things
in perspective and realizes how lucky
he is to get to do what he does. “It’s a
great life. I love what I do. It all started at
"LOOK WHAT’S OUT THERE. IF YOU
WANT IT, CRUSH IT, WORK HARD,
AND YOU CAN HAVE IT.”
He says that his work ethic and
respect for others have served him well
during the harrowing auditioning process. “They don’t necessarily know what
they’re looking for. They just want somebody to show them what they’re looking
for. You have to be so well prepared that
your want, your need, your desire, your
hunger is more powerful than your fear.”
In 1999, after “ER,” Beach says it was
a time when the networks were being
criticized because there were few minority leads in TV series. It was then that he
earned the role of Doc in “Third Watch.”
Nobles. When I think back to the people
and the kids from my neighborhood and
the kids who are in that situation now,
it’s a question of access. It’s a question
of knowing what’s out there and giving
someone a chance to earn a right to be in
whatever field they want.
“Education changes everything and
it’s not about, ‘Oh, well, this guy was
a perfect A student,’ because I surely
wasn’t,” says Beach. “But it’s about, ‘Hey,
kid. Look what’s out there. If you want it,
crush it, work hard, and you can have it.’
That’s what Nobles did for me.”
Passionate
About Process
Lindsey Jaffin Conway ‘99 knows the hit show House
THE
ARTIST
like the back of her hand. Sure, she’s a fan, but her
knowledge of the show surpasses that of even the
most avid viewer. As a former producer, Conway was
primarily responsible for the overall tone of the show
and looking for inconsistencies between episodes;
it was her job to know it better than anyone else.
To achieve a macro view on set, Conway worked
closely with many different departments. “As a producer, you wear a lot of different hats,” Conway says.
“You’re involved in all of the action. In a lot of ways,
you’re the glue that holds together all of the different pieces.” Conway was involved with everything
from casting and editing to publicity and marketing.
A certain aspect of marketing caught Conway’s
eye. Looking at the different advertising concepts for
the show fascinated Conway—mostly because she
understood that the 10 concepts in front of her were
only the tip of the iceberg. “I looked at the concept
presentation and I thought, ‘This is so
cool!’” Conway says. “I know that by the
time it gets to the producers, it’s been
narrowed down from the executives
at the network. So what’s the process
before it gets to us?”
Before she knew it, Conway was
seeking advice from people on the
marketing side about how she could
be involved in putting together the
advertising concepts and creating “key
art,” the art used to market television
and movies. She started taking classes
so she could learn the software programs required and landed a part-time
position in the design department at
Fox Broadcasting Company. Conway
was then hired as a full-time freelance
designer and, eventually, the associate
art director for the network.
Conway has never looked back. After
five years on House, the career switch was surprising to many, but Conway knew that she wanted to
explore other aspects of the business. She finds that
her background on set helps in her new job. “I have
a different perspective as a producer who is now an
artist.… I feel like I’m still a producer, but I’m producing art now,” Conway says.
She spends her days creating advertising concepts and key art for many different shows, which
are sent on to the marketing executives and the
producers; Conway now has a complete view of the
process. “It may have been a bold move [to leave
House], but now I work on many different shows on
the network and with other artists to create exciting campaigns. It’s a great gig,” Conway says.
Conway’s path to Hollywood was similarly
bold. After graduating from NYU Tisch School of
the Arts with a degree in film and television production, Conway spent about a year and a half pursuing
projects in New York. During that time, she
became curious about Los Angeles; a quick trip
west resulted in a job offer from the Creative
Artists Agency (CAA). “It was a ‘start on Monday’
sort of situation. I just said, ‘I’ll make it happen,’”
Conway says.
Conway had an idea of how helpful working at
CAA would be for her career. “At CAA you learn
about the entire town. You learn about the executives of the studios, you learn who the talent is,”
Conway says. “You are introduced to everything
and find out the aspects of the business you want
to be in.”
It was there that Conway decided to join the set
of a new show House, as an assistant to the executive producer. As the show gained in popularity,
Conway was given more and more responsibility,
eventually moving into the producer role.
How is Conway so fearless when it comes to pursuing her passions? “I am able to see an opportunity and jump at it,” Conway says. “I am able to say,
‘I know this may seem radical, but I think this is an
opportunity that’s going to get me somewhere.’”
Conway’s first opportunity in film came when
she was a senior at Nobles. Conway worked on the
set of a feature film, directed by a Nobles graduate.
Although Conway had never been involved in film
before, she had taken a lot of visual arts classes at
Nobles and was intrigued by the fact that film is
first and foremost a visual medium.
“My senior project is what sparked my interest in film. It made me want to be on more sets,”
Conway says. “I would encourage Nobles seniors
to take advantage of the opportunity to explore
their interests.”
photograph by
matt he w fahe y
PICKING
THE
PLAYERS
THE
casting
director
It’s another day at the office: People emitting bloodcurdling screams, speaking in tongues, being possessed by the devil, agonizing in pain, and suffering
ghastly deaths. It’s not an ordinary day for many, but
the more distressing the cry and the more rattling
the experience, the better the day is going for Nancy
Nayor ’78, who is in Hollywood casting a horror film.
Two things occur when someone is auditioning: Nayor is evaluating and assessing the actor’s
suitability for the role, and she’s also wincing at the
pain she’s witnessing. “The hairs on the back of my
neck stand up,” she says. “Then I know the audition
is going well.”
Producers and directors often get recognition for
box-office hits. However, often working alongside
them is a casting director with keen instincts. That’s
where Nancy Nayor Casting comes in. Based in Los
Angeles, the company has cast for Scream 4, The
Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Grudge, My Bloody Valentine, The Possession and soon, Visions and Ouija,
both coming out in 2014. And although Nayor casts
for other genres as well—drama and comedy, including Road Trip, The Whole Nine Yards and Nim’s
Island—she has found her niche in horror.
But Nayor’s initial interest was in acting. At
Nobles, she performed in Anything Goes, by Cole
Porter and The Sandbox, by Edward Albee. She
enrolled in New York University as an acting major
but transferred after her freshman year to Wellesley
College to become a political science major because
she preferred a more well-rounded liberal arts
education.
Nayor returned to New York after
college for an internship casting offBroadway at the Manhattan Theatre
Club. With that opportunity came a
fortuitous realization. “My first 48 hours
on the job, I realized that what I really
preferred to do was casting,” she says. “I
literally thought [casting] was going to be
the gateway to my acting career and then
decided that my destiny was in casting.”
At 24 years old, Nayor became the
senior vice president for feature film
casting at Universal Studios. For 14 years,
she oversaw the casting of films for such
directors as Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Oliver Stone and Spike Lee.
In 1997, Nayor founded her freelance
casting company, where she has built
partnerships mostly through referrals. “A
lot of it is by word of mouth after showing
off your taste in terms of who you choose
for different projects,” she says.
Working closely with producers and
directors to understand their vision for
the movie and its characters, she delivers
on their expectations while also pushing the limits to bring some unexpected
choices.
when casting. “If your taste is continuously validated because other people
enjoy it, then you know your instinct is
good,” she says. “A lot of times when I am
watching auditions, I know after the first
sentence that it’s either going to work or
it’s not going to work.”
In any given month, she meets with a
multitude of actors and hears the same
scenes recited hundreds of times. The
few who can evoke emotion are usually
promising. “When we’re doing a dramatic
piece, and if I am literally in tears during
the audition, that’s a good sign that the
audience will be moved,” she says.
In addition to reviewing an abundance of footage of new actors sent by
LA talent agents, Nayor also scouts new
talent by watching independent and
European films.
Whether a movie hires a well-known
superstar or discovers a novice actor is
contingent on the project and the director. For Scream 4, director Wes Craven
and producer Bob Weinstein sought to
find the best up-and-coming talents,
so Nayor scoured the globe for a young
ensemble, finding anyone imaginable
"ACTORS ARE…CONSTANTLY SHAPESHIFTING. THAT’S THEIR JOB. AS MUCH
AS I FEEL LIKE I’VE SEEN SOMEONE BE
A PARTICULAR WAY, I ALWAYS WANT
TO BE OPEN TO GIVING THEM A
CHANCE TO SHOW ME SOMETHING
NEW AND DIFFERENT.”
“Actors are…constantly shapeshifting,” she says. “That’s their job. As
much as I feel like I’ve seen someone
be a particular way, I always want to be
open to giving them a chance to show me
something new and different.”
Nayor relies heavily on her intuition
that would be the best fit for the roles.
“I’m always asking myself every day, who
might I have missed, who should we see
that we have not seen, so we have the
best options,” she says.
Nayor has had her share of success
discovering new talent. During her time
at Universal Studios, she cast Gwyneth
Paltrow at 17 years old in her first film,
Shout, starring John Travolta. A more
recent example is Megan Boone, who
plays Elizabeth Keen on NBC’s The
Blacklist. Nayor cast her in her first
movie, My Bloody Valentine.
In the competitive landscape of
Hollywood, where executives, including
casting directors, are often perceived as
intimidating and uncordial, Nayor says
she often reminds actors that she wants
to see them succeed. “We’re busy and
we’re rushed, but we’re on their side,” she
says. “We want them to do a good job. We
are really rooting for every actor to knock
it out of the park and be sensational, and
then we get to go home earlier.”
But actors must be resilient. Rejections are painful but ineluctable. When
an actor is not the ideal fit for a project
but has showcased talent, Nayor says she
often keeps them in mind for future projects. “It could be two months or three
years down the road, but I’ll remember
that audition, and I might bring them in
for some fantastic role that they wind up
booking.”
Being surrounded by actors all day,
every day, Nayor understands what they
go through. “Being an actor is a difficult
job. It’s an emotional roller coaster all
day long when you have three or four
auditions—one for a thriller, one for a
comedy, one for an action movie. Actors
have to be so versatile and constantly
morph into different moods, personalities and characters.”
No matter how busy Nayor’s days are
working on multiple projects simultaneously, she finds time to share her knowledge with aspiring actors through private
coaching lessons or workshops.
“I’ve seen decades of auditions day in
and day out, so it’s great to be able to have
the opportunity to share what I know,
which is what I wanted to do when I was
first starting. I wanted to get that inside
scoop, and now I can share it.”
constructing
the content
photograph by m ax gerb er
from nova
to new york
THE
MEDIA
MOGUL
Plenty is changing in the way we view
TV and film. In 2013, The Hunger Games:
Catching Fire grossed $424 million. Its
marketing strategy included websites,
social media and publications that
blurred the line between the fictional
world of the Capitol and reality. Also
in 2013, Netflix’s award-winning series
“House of Cards” was the most streamed
content, according to a Feb. 24, 2014,
New York Times article. Netflix is not a
traditional network. “House of Cards”
never had a pilot episode. Yet the series is
wildly successful, based on a model that
did not exist until now.
Justin Levy ’95, who majored in
English literature at Cornell University,
plans to be at the center of this seismic
shift in programming. In December 2013,
Levy left his post as senior vice president
of scripted programming at MTV, where
he was responsible for “Awkward” and
“Teen Wolf,” and in March he joined
Imperative Entertainment, formed by
partners Dan Friedkin, Zak Kadison, Tim
Kring and Bradley Thomas. According
to Variety, Imperative will focus on the
development, production and financing
of original and branded entertainment
are 52 channels now that have original
scripted programming on them, plus
now, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.”
Imperative is positioned to support
quality programming, says Levy. He
explains that it’s not just television channels or video-streaming websites that
are interested in storytelling. “Microsoft
is getting into the game on the Xbox
platform. Sony has been talking about it.
These are all companies that are producing or will shortly produce original,
scripted, high-quality content. As a result,
there’s a demand for a lot of good shows.”
The challenge, Levy says, is that the
audience has seen content—say, “Game of
Thrones”—that has an enormous budget.
People love it. And they don’t care what it
costs. But how can the History Channel
compete with HBO?
“That’s where this birth of independent TV financing can fill the gap,” Levy
says. “Why that’s really exciting to me
is that it gives more control back to the
creators.” Levy says that in the more
traditional model, there’s a lot of “managing up,” trying to deliver a sure thing to
the boss rather than something fresh,
innovative and risky.
"I THINK WHAT WE ARE DOING IS A
PIONEERING MOVE. ONLY TWO
COMPANIES UNDER THIS NEW MODEL
HAVE PUT A SHOW ON THE AIR.”
across film, television, video games,
books, comics and new media. Why make
the move?
“There’s a very small independent
market that covers original ideas,” Levy
says, “and that’s where a lot of the most
interesting movies are made. What’s
great about television is that the smaller
independent shows can be just as successful as the big broadcast shows. There
Levy’s new company, funded by the
Friedkin Group, will create, coproduce,
and acquire original concept-driven
material with an emphasis on the action,
comedy, adventure, science fiction,
fantasy and thriller genres. Imperative
will apply a multiplatform approach to
development, creating self-contained
content across different media channels
simultaneously, reports Variety.
“I think what we are doing is a pioneering move. Only a handful of companies under this new model have put
a show on the air, including MRC, with
‘House of Cards’ on Netflix, and an international television production company
called Gaumont. They have ‘Hannibal’ on
NBC, and they have ‘Hemlock Grove,’ a
werewolf show, also on Netflix.”
Imperative was born, Levy says, when
Kadison connected with Kring, who
created “Heroes,” and Thomas, who was
the Farrelly Brothers’ producing partner
for the last 20 years. “So we have Zak’s
incredible business plan and marching
orders, Tim’s history in television, Bradley’s history in film. Ultimately, there
was a personal connection through our
agency with this guy, Dan Friedkin. He
backed the company in a very big way.”
With all the experience that the
partners have among them, none of them
have produced someone else’s ideas for
television, Levy says, which is where he
comes in. “We all have a shared taste and
mind-set and storytelling abilities. We are
all ready for the wild, wild west.”
Levy explains how Imperative will
operate differently. Usually, if a writer
has an idea, he pitches it to a studio to
get financing, then to a network. If a
script sells, a writer gets paid to write the
script, and the show becomes part of pilot
season. “It can be as many as 80 scripts
that are whittled down to six or seven
pilots, which are whittled down to one
or two series,” Levy says. Imperative’s
model is different in that they will pay
writers for a script and then they’ll target
preferred networks, sweetening the
deal with a high-profile director or actor
attached.
“Along with any TV show or movie
that we produce, the goal would be to
have it exist as a transmedia experience—
in a novel, in a comic book, in a video
game….I’ve been looking for this kind of
opportunity for a little while because I
think this is the future.”
THE
PRODUCER
Hollywood is regarded as the place for American
film and television production. However, over
the past 10 years, TV and film productions have
declined in Los Angeles. Of the nine films nominated in 2014 for the best picture Oscar, just one was
filmed in California. Kate Churchill ’86 found her
place as a producer in New York, which, according
to a study released in early 2014 by the Milken Institute, gained 10,675 entertainment jobs between
2004 and 2012.
Churchill is co-producer of The Cobbler, directed
by Tom McCarthy and starring Adam Sandler—a
story of a lonely New York shoe repairman who discovers a family heirloom, which allows him to magically “walk in another man’s shoes.” The supporting
cast includes Dustin Hoffman, Method Man, Melonie
Diaz, Ellen Barkin, Dan Stevens and Steve Buscemi.
The comedy-drama is Churchill’s first narrative film produced with Golden Spike, McCarthy’s
production company. Churchill works closely with
McCarthy and two co-producers. Her job is to keep
production moving and on track.
During preproduction, Churchill spends her
time scouting locations. The Cobbler was filmed
predominantly on New York’s Lower East Side—of
250 locations scouted, 75 were chosen. She works
closely with McCarthy on all fronts including casting and supporting key creative personnel, including the production designer, costume designer, art
department and director of photography.
Producers, she says, do a fraction of everything.
“If you do your job well, you’re pretty much invisible,” she says. “When there’s a problem, I plug in
and try to solve it.”
This isn’t Churchill’s first role as producer. She
had worked in documentary filmmaking as the
writer, producer and director of the PBS series Nova
for six years, traveling to make movies on Mount
Everest and in South Africa, Europe and Central
America. “We would shoot with a really small
number of people and with really simple means,”
she says. “That is where I learned initially to make
stories and capture things.”
In 2009, she released Enlighten Up!—the first
feature documentary film from her company, Nama
Productions—about a skeptic’s journey into the
world of yoga.
After becoming a mom in 2010, Churchill sought
relief from the demands of writing and directing and
shifted focus into producing and developing. She
made the transition from documentary filmmaking to narrative film in 2011 after partnering with
McCarthy, who wrote and directed some of her favorite films, including The Station Agent and Win Win.
Churchill says since the recession, making
movies is more arduous. “There was a period of a
few years in New York where there was very little
production,” says Churchill. “But there’s so much
happening now.”
The industry is seeing a new trend of either highbudget (over $100 million) or low-budget (between
$3 million and $10 million) movies. Mid-range
movies of $30 million to $50 million are fading. The
Cobbler is budgeted at about $10 million.
Awaiting financing is one of the biggest challenges in Churchill’s work. She has learned that patience
and flexibility are essential. “That’s always challenging, no matter how good your script is and how good
your cast is. It’s just the reality of making movies.”
The Cobbler was, in fact, a backup project for
Golden Spike. “It was a project we had in the
wings, but we didn’t know when we were going to
make it,” she says. “Then we had casting issues
with another movie.”
In a given year, McCarthy and
Churchill have several projects in
various stages of development. “We
always try to have one project that
we’re going to make and then one
project as our backup, because there
are 1 million reasons why a movie
doesn’t get made.”
At Nobles, Churchill learned the
importance of being in a supportive
community. She credits Nobles for
giving her the opportunity to explore
her passions and acknowledges faculty member Tim Carey for making
an impact on her. “He was both my
teacher and my advisor, and he was
hands down my favorite teacher in
my entire education,” she says.
Churchill explored theatre at
Nobles, playing Emily Dickinson in
a one-woman show called The Belle
of Amherst for her Class I project.
She pursued theatre at Connecticut
College and afterward moved to Chicago, where the theatre scene was
emerging. “It seemed less intimidating at the time than New York,” she
says. “And more inviting to me at the
time than LA.”
Churchill was the first producing director for the now worldrenowned Lookingglass Theatre
Company in Chicago. One of the
projects she was working on incorporated film into a theatre performance, and the rest is history. “I just
kind of got the bug for making film,”
she says.
The Cobbler is in post-production, where editing, scoring and
other technical processes occur. It
is slated for release in theatres in
late 2014 or early 2015.
Churchill’s next project is Spotlight, the story of the Boston Globe
Spotlight Team’s investigation of
the Catholic Church’s 2001 sex scandal. Shooting is slated for fall 2014
in Boston.
flipping
THE
script
THE
writer
Sam Forman ’95 loves theatre. If he could do nothing but write
“books” (scripts, for the uninitiated) and musical lyrics in
New York, he probably would. But writing for TV pays the
bills more efficiently, and it turns out that Forman is pretty
good at that, too.
Forman, who wrote and produced several plays at Nobles,
just finished a two-season stint as a staff writer for the wildly
popular Netflix series “House of Cards,” starring Kevin Spacey
and Robin Wright. Forman was one of five writers cloistered
in a room in Los Angeles, developing the story arc of the
show, based on a BBC show of the same name. For months,
the writers, most of whom have roots in New York City
photograph by br ad dececco
theatre, brainstormed, wrote, workshopped, critiqued, tweaked, rewrote,
and rewrote again.
One of the coolest moments? Forman
named a pivotal first-season character
after his friend and roommate of six
years, Peter Russo, played by actor Corey
Stoll. Russo was a troubled congressman
manipulated by Spacey’s character.
“One night we were sitting around
the table thinking about what’s a good
Italian name for this guy. Once we
decided we wanted him to be from
South Philly and that he had a certain
sort of background, I said, ‘What about
Peter Russo?’ My friend Peter Russo has
had literally thousands of people now
coming up to him saying, ‘You know,
there’s a guy named after you on “House
of Cards?’”
Forman says that “House of Cards”
was an amazing learning experience and
calls it a rare thing to be close to “partly
because it was Netflix and it seems like
everything that we were doing was a
little bit different than the usual way
it’s done. A lot of the people at the top
on ‘House of Cards,’ while very accomplished in film, had never done TV
before, so the whole thing was kind of
being reinvented.”
Forman says he is also writing
something still in development for TV.
It’s about a real-life blogger, Penelope
Trunk, who lives in Wisconsin. She
has Asperger’s syndrome and she gives
sought-after advice online. Trunk has a
devoted group of fans, in part because
her advice is direct and unvarnished.
“This is not a documentary,” Forman explains. “The idea is to do it as
a scripted show on cable, sort of like
‘Weeds’ or ‘The Big C.’”
Forman is working with the producers who made NBC’s “Smash.” “They
hired me on as a writer to try to see how
the story feels. We will see. If it sells,
it would be a really cool show, and it
would be fun to have my own show.”
He is also working on rewriting the
story and the book for a musical, Factory Girls, set in Lowell, Mass., in 1840.
He says that the emotions and power of
musical theatre are a welcome release
after writing for TV. “It is a beautiful
kind of rock-country musical that has a
very contemporary feeling, but the show
is set in 1840,” Forman says. “One of the
things we did was turn the story into an
opera, so it’s like Jesus Christ Superstar
or Les Miserables.”
Forman moved to New York right
after graduating from Northwestern’s
theatre program and says that he went
into theatre in part because his experience at Nobles had been so good. “I
got a lot of encouragement from Vicky
[Seelen] and Tim Kelley [former theatre
director] that this is something I really
might be able to make a living at someday. I would credit them quite a lot with
giving me the kind of confidence to think
that this crazy field was something that I
could actually do.”
Forman wrote and directed a play
at Nobles, which was later published,
retitled Newton’s Second Law, and performed at high schools. “The first play I
ever wrote was put on at Nobles when I
was just a kid.” He says he also was able
to direct As Is, an AIDS drama from
1984. “It was cool of Nobles that they
supported it. I cast faculty and students
together in it, which felt like a very
inclusive kind of project.”
Forman says that many writer friends
seem to avoid the business aspect of
the business. “There’s a certain level
that we all have to get in and hustle and
grind it out,” he says. “It’s mostly a freelance life, even if you’re lucky enough
to be on a show for a limited period of
time. You have to package yourself,
present yourself, so there’s a certain
level of hustling.”
He says that TV is becoming a little
bit less centrally located in Hollywood,
but how to balance a love of theatre
with work in television remains a
challenge.
“A lot of TV is not being shot in LA
anymore, but I think the head writers
are [there], and they keep their writers
there, obviously. I am moving more
in the direction of going to LA as I start
to get more into the business part of
show business.” At press time, Forman
was in LA, writing for a new HBO
show “The Brink,” starring Jack Black
and Time Robbins. n
by m el issa m cclu ng,
he athe r sul l ivan and t if fany tran
photography by m ichael dw y er
Clockwise, from top: Christine Hong ’15, Jack
Radley and Johnny McCarthy, both ’14
How Specialization Can Undermine Education
What is an ideal education
and—given the modern
cultural milieu and its vision
of “success”—how do we
create an environment that
allows for optimal academic
and social-emotional
adolescent growth?
On the bookshelves of folks who think about education, you might see Carol Dweck’s
MindSet, which suggests that effort trumps “talent” and leads to achievement, or
Wendy Mogel’s The Blessing of a B Minus, which posits that failure and resilience are
essential to maturity. Paul Tough’s How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character is another bestseller among the teaching set.
If there’s a theme emerging in adolescent psychology and educational philosophy,
it’s that young people should not be coddled or overpraised. They need to test themselves and stand up, without shame, when they falter. And a mixture of empathy, perseverance, creativity and curiosity are optimal attributes as students mature into good
citizens who, true to the Nobles mission, are equipped to lead for the public good.
Yet one powerful force potentially
at odds with this wisdom is the national
trend of specialization.
Specialization, loosely defined, is
focusing on a single activity or talent.
While developing talents may build
confidence and strengthen a college
application, its implications can be
more complex: If an athlete plays a
single sport and becomes injured, what’s
next? If a math whiz opts out of auditioning for a play or learning to wrestle,
what’s at stake? If a young person’s sense
of identity is tied too heavily to exemplary performance in a single pursuit, what
are the implications when disappointment comes?
Even when a person is successful in
cultivating talent, the opportunity costs
can be high and can include deficits
in understanding how to work within
diverse groups or practice problemsolving in unfamiliar situations.
“The challenge is that specialization
is a societal trend that’s inescapable,”
says Head of School Bob Henderson.
“Every school has its history and context.
Historically, Nobles has pushed students
to have multidimensional commitments,
and we will continue to do that.”
THE TENSION, DEFINED
obles enrolls students who
show exceptional promise.
Often, students who come
to Nobles already excel in
one or more areas.
In addition to academics, Nobles
requires students to participate in
afternoon programs all three seasons in
Classes VI through III. (Classes I and II
are allowed one exemption.) This means
that every day after school, students will
play a sport or participate in the arts,
community service or another activity.
Nobles requires 80 hours of community service for graduation. In addition,
nearly 90 percent of students participate
in service-learning travel or other experiential activities with Nobles. The establishment of EXCEL (Experiential and
Community-Engaged Learning), which
formalizes and expands upon these
programs (see sidebar), underscores that
community learning is central to the
Nobles mission.
Visual Arts faculty David Roane
Jack Radley ’14 has rowed two seasons, run cross country three seasons,
is active in the Nobles Theatre Collective and takes AP Drawing. “I think the
hard part about Nobles is that you come
into Class IV and you are the small fish
in a big pond,” Radley says. “Everyone
has this one talent they think got them
into Nobles. Then they realize [that] by
exploring different interests and trying
new things, we’ve found that we can
be really good at something we never
thought we were.”
For students who are specialized,
commitments to participate across the
school can seem unnecessary or perhaps
even in conflict with their best interests.
Director of Athletics Alex Gallagher
’90 oversees one of the most successful
independent school athletic programs
in New England, and he often talks with
prospective parents who are concerned
about the requirements. “I have more
parents than ever before calling me and
saying, ‘I know that you say you have
requirements, but my kid is really great
at specialized activity X.’ And I tell them,
‘We really do have requirements, and our
kids do fulfill them.’”
Johnny McCarthy ’14 will play
basketball at Amherst College in the
fall. Despite his love of the game—and
his talent for it—he has been a threesport athlete at Nobles, playing varsity
football, basketball and baseball. He has
also developed a love of poetry in Sarah
Snyder’s English class, attended his first
theatre production (student-directed
one acts), taken studio art classes and
done community service on the annual
March trip to New Orleans.
“I wasn’t coming here just for sports,”
says McCarthy, who also participated in
a club basketball team. “Math is a strong
suit for me, and I really love economics
with Mr. [Brian] Day.
“Originally I thought some of the
requirements here were going to be a
pain,” he says. “But I actually enjoyed
things like learning to play drums in the
drum ensemble.”
One thing McCarthy didn’t expect was
to become a public speaker: “Earlier this
year, Mr. Gallagher asked me to speak
at an open house. I only did it because I
wanted to help him out. But being on the
student panel taught me to speak up—
that I had something worth saying.”
Christine Hong ’15—though not an
athlete—is certainly specialized. “In my
old school, everyone knew me as the girl
who does violin and studies,” says Hong,
who is one of the top violinists in New
England.
“Nobles was an opportunity to try
new things,” she says. “I was ready to
take risks.”
In addition to her community service
(including benefit concerts as a violinist) and being part of the dance program,
Hong also tried sailing, which imparted
some important lessons. “You are not
alone on a boat,” she says. “You have to
communicate with each other. Sailing
taught me that I’m not in control all the
time. It made me less self-absorbed.”
Director of College Counseling
Michael Denning concedes that conventional wisdom is that tremendous
focus and effort are necessary for excellence, with many colleges rewarding
specialization.
“You have ecosystems [especially
in athletics and club sports] that feed
that cycle,” he says. “It’s challenging for
students. Good grades, good scores and
being a good person are necessary but no
longer sufficient in the college process
[at highly selective institutions],” he says.
Denning went on to discuss an article
by Thomas Friedman of the New York
Times, in which Friedman talked with
Laszlo Boch, senior vice president of
people operations at Google, about what
he looks for in a candidate. Interestingly,
he looks first for general cognitive ability;
expertise was the least important attribute on his checklist, he said. He cited
the importance of qualities like collaboration, humility, flexibility, and knowing
when to lead and when to follow—skills
that don’t necessarily come from specialization. “The net result is that at Nobles,
we intentionally help develop those
[desirable] skills. We develop breadth
and depth,” Denning says.
FACULTY WEIGHS IN
f the philosophy behind requiring
robust participation in nonacademic activities is sound, it can
also follow that too much is, well,
just too much. Finding balance and the
value in multidimensional pursuits
requires the guidance of teachers and
administrators.
Before the opening of the winter
2014 production of Noises Off, Director
of Theatre Dan Halperin wrote to the
theatre faculty colleagues: “In the end,
[we ask ourselves], did we challenge the
students in a significant but mindful
healthy manner given who they are and
everything else being asked of them by
the school and life? Did we push them to
give all they could in a way that recognized who they are and everything else
being asked of them by the school and
life? Did we model patience and empathy
as we encountered interpersonal chal-
Katherine Kirk ’14
‘specializes’ in Community
A co-president of the School Life Council, Katherine Kirk ’14 is a public
figure on campus. In addition to leading student government, she is an active member of the Environmental Action Club, sings in the coed a cappella
group, plays varsity field hockey, volunteers at the Needham Community
Farm, and has tried tennis, squash and theatre during her time at Nobles.
Kirk has many interests and is glad that she has been able to use her
time at Nobles to explore them. “I love being involved in a lot of different
things—it’s exciting,” Kirk says. Kirk does not see herself as unfocused; instead, she is focusing on discovering the connections among her passions.
Kirk says viewing her varied interests as part of a broader story helped
her prepare an effective college application. “You have to build a story for
yourself in the college process. My story was about my interest in communities and my intellectual curiosity,” Kirk says.
The story that Kirk creates in her college essay, excerpted below, highlights the complexity and cohesiveness of her passions. In this excerpt, Kirk
writes about her experience meeting Senator Elizabeth Warren and how it
influenced her choice to go into leadership and community-building:
The rainy evening I drove to the event, the wipers flung fat droplets of water
away from the glass in front of me, forming a clear window. Cat Stevens
sang through the speakers: “Don’t wear fear or nobody will know there /
just lift your head and let your feelings out instead.” The uplifting melody
laughed at the darkness surrounding the car. My chance to meet Senator
Warren came as the evening started. Before introducing myself, I took a
deep breath. This was my opportunity to discover if she, too, looked up to
Frances Perkins. I introduced myself and shared my admiration of Perkins.
Warren clasped her hands together and said, “Every morning when I
worked on the Consumer Protection Agency, I drove by the Frances Perkins
labor building, saw her name, and thought, ‘If she could do it, so can I!’”
The energy of Warren’s direct and thoughtful words matched a similar
voice within me.
The following spring, driven by love for my community, inspired by my
desire to bring people together, and instilled with the confidence of Perkins’
and Warren’s example, I ran for co-president of Nobles. Just like Warren and
Perkins, I strove for leadership, because I believe in the greatness of those in
my community. This year, in morning assembly, when I stand on the stage
sharing my awe of magnificent, migrating geese or describing a school
event, I hope to instill in others the same openness in sharing ideas and
passions, so everyone’s voice is heard. Perkins passed a torch to Warren.
One day I hope to become worthy of carrying that torch.
Kirk will attend Bowdoin College in the fall and hopes to continue to
explore her love of community and nature. She is enthusiastic about
Bowdoin’s emphasis on community-based learning, as well as the liberal
arts curriculum. She says that the clincher for her was reading the poem
“The Offer of the College,” written in 1906 by Bowdoin president William
Dewitt Hyde, and now featured prominently on their website. The offer
reads in part: “To be at home in all lands and all ages/to count Nature a
familiar acquaintance/and Art an intimate friend/to carry the keys of the
world’s library in your pocket.”
“It may be romantic, but it made an impression on me. It’s about being a
friend of nature and the arts, and being able to appreciate the entire world
that’s around you,” Kirk says. She can’t wait to see what that world holds.
lenges with students and colleagues? Did
we demonstrate the to stay positive and
calm through some long difficult days?
Did we maintain some balance with our
other professional obligations as well as
our personal lives?”
Visual arts faculty member David
Roane says that trial and error in studio
classes can, as in team sports, have
reverberations for problem-solving in
other areas. “Students are learning about
process and also about how to apply
creative values and creative principles to
other aspects of their life,” he says.
Michael Turner, director of music,
says that preparation is the focus of the
Nobles program—but that the excitement of performance is powerful. In a
way, it’s like life itself: “That’s the thing
that is both frightening and exhilarating
about it,” he says. “You just don’t know
how it’s going to go.”
Ben Snyder, head of the upper school,
says that specialization too often focuses
on individual achievements rather than
fostering a sense of community for the
common good. “We educate [our students] to have a broader responsibility
John Beadle and Katherine Kirk, both ’14,
with Head of Upper School Ben Snyder
to the collective. That doesn’t mean we
have to be apologetic about the achievement of our students. It’s not an either/
or,” he says. “It’s a both/and.”
Denning says that a measured view of
the college process is helpful for students
and their parents, who sometimes have
misguided notions about admission
Oliver Halperin ’17
officers and their preferences. “[Admission officers] have demands placed on
them that are complex and not necessarily about whether your child is worthy
so much as whether your child fills a
need at the school.” Denning says the
role of the school is to prepare students
to be successful adults, to be adapt-
head of school bob henderson on
EXCEL: An Antidote to Specializing Too Narrowly
This year, a faculty committee led by Head of Upper School Ben
Snyder and Science Department Chair Jen Craft has been working on the development of the EXCEL program and requirement.
EXCEL is the acronym for “Experiential and Community-Engaged
Learning.” This work follows a study by the board of trustees and
is part of the strategic plan. To understand EXCEL, a bit of history
is in order.
In 1978, former Nobles photography and journalism teacher Joe
Swayze organized and led what many consider to be the first official
Nobles trip. He and a group of Nobles teachers and students paddled canoes down the length of the Hudson River for several days in
the summer. Nobles teachers had led travel groups before this event,
but they had done so privately. Swayze’s expedition, therefore, is
where we generally mark the unofficial birth of the experiential
education program at Nobles. It expanded slowly from that point,
remaining an entrepreneurial enterprise for various members of
the faculty. Starting in the 1990s, spurred by the support of former
headmaster Dick Baker and inspired by key members of the faculty,
including Head of the Middle School John Gifford and Snyder, the
travel program grew. Over the past decade, it has become formalized and centrally organized, and last year more than 230 students
traveled with the school to locations all around the nation and the
globe; most of those trips had a significant service component.
When headmaster Ted Gleason arrived at Nobles in 1971,
he sought to create a community service program. He hired Bill
Chamberlin to do this work, and for the first time, Nobles students
were regularly shuttling out to sites to support various nonprofits
in surrounding towns and cities. (Chamberlin moved on over a long
career at Nobles to fill many roles, ultimately retiring as the assistant head and business manager in 2007.) The service program
grew slowly but steadily on an entirely voluntary basis through
the 1970s and early 1980s. Then, in 1985, an 80-hour community
service graduation requirement was approved, and the first class
to complete the requirement graduated in 1989. After the arrival
of community service director Sandi MacQuinn in 1998, service
became more integral to the basic ethic and function of the school.
Today, the vast majority of students graduate with many more
hours of service than is required, and service is part of the activities
of most clubs, varsity teams and travel opportunities at the school.
Over the past two decades, we have seen the emergence and
blossoming of a number of other experiential education opportunities at the school as well, including study-away programs (such as
able, and to help them find balance.
Rick Wilson is consulting psychiatrist
at Nobles and, in addition to his private practice, he works closely with the
school’s team of counselors. In working
with young people, he often encounters
parents and children who feel pressure
to attain elusive “happiness,” which they
narrowly define. “Happiness is not an
end goal. It really comes from caring for
other people.”
Our values come from this selfless
place, he says. It’s not just about achievement. “If doing well becomes decoupled
from character and community, it gets
to be a false god,” he says. “I ask parents
to consider making affirming character
comments rather than affirming achievement comments.”
Denise Dupre P ’10 ’14 ’16, an executive member of the Nobles Board of
Trustees, says she believes that character
is built when young people face challenges and disappointments. “My kids are
athletes,” she says. “But there’s nothing
better for them than to lose sometimes
or do something that they are really not
very good at doing.”
Dupre’s daughter, Casey Nunnelly
’14, is an accomplished athlete. She is
also learning to play the guitar—her first
musical pursuit—for her senior project.
“I’m thrilled that Nobles has structured
an opportunity for her to focus on something new.”
Dupre says that when they enter the
School Year Abroad and the Island School), internships and Class I
projects. As the school undertook its last strategic planning process
a few years ago, it was quite clear that experiential learning at
Nobles was a uniquely strong component of our overall program,
representing both a distinguishing quality and an opportunity for
the future. The trustees decided to fund experiential education at
Nobles so that it is available to all students, and so that the program can be staffed appropriately and sustained in perpetuity.
They also created a committee to study experiential education
more thoroughly, co-chaired by Director of College Counseling Michael Denning and trustee Gita Iyer P’09 ‘12 ‘15, and consisting of
trustees, faculty, parents and graduates. Articulating that experiential learning was critical to the future and the mission of the school,
that committee recommended, and the trustees subsequently approved, that all the experiential learning programs be merged into
a single concept and office at Nobles. From that the idea of EXCEL
was developed. The trustees’ report concluded, “Experiential learning is a must have rather than a nice to have. In addition to academic
skills and knowledge, leaders for the public good today need the
attitudes and competencies developed through experiential learning challenges, and the adolescent years are ideal for learning and
developing these skills and values.”
As a result of this work, the faculty this year will be making a
recommendation about what the EXCEL program will become. It is
likely that we will be talking about some form of an EXCEL require-
workforce, today’s high school students
will need a different skill set than earlier
generations. “They will change jobs more
frequently. They will have to be more
nimble and be able to manage diversity.
They will need the stuff that allows you
to perform better under pressure.”
The bottom line: Finding balance is a
moving target, complicated by cultural
expectations and the college process.
At Nobles, faculty members are mindful of the tension that can exist between
achievement and true intellectual and
personal growth. But meaningful growth
often comes from doing things that are
not easy. “To protect kids from struggling
inhibits resilience,” says Wilson.
“As a graduate,” says Henderson, “I
appreciate the historical context of the
school’s commitment to the afternoon
program and other opportunities to
learn outside of the classroom. As a parent, I’ve seen the benefit for my children.
And as an educator, I’ve seen 14 years of
students who have been well-served by
the balance of our program. The work of
a school is to create adults.” And that’s
just what Nobles is doing. n
ment for graduation rather than simply a community service requirement. It will also be part of this group’s challenge to integrate
the EXCEL philosophy effectively, and EXCEL opportunities, into the
overall program of the school. EXCEL will enhance, and not diminish, the service ethic of the school. This will be exciting work, and I
am eager to witness the progress and review the outcome. I want
to close with the statements of purpose and philosophy for EXCEL
developed and approved by the trustees in 2013:
“Experiential and Community-Engaged Learning (EXCEL) is
critical to the Nobles mission to motivate students to achieve their
highest potential and to inspire leadership for the public good. EXCEL provides the tools, context and inspiration for each student to
discover and pursue his or her passions with confidence, creativity
and responsibility. It is through EXCEL that Nobles best develops
citizenship, collaboration, empathy, resilience, appropriate risktaking and character. On campus, EXCEL principles are integrated
into the academic and afternoon programs. Off campus, EXCEL
principles foster the development and sustenance of more than 100
partnerships for study, service, exploration and community engagement in Greater Boston, across the country and around the world.
Finally, EXCEL strengthens the rigor of the academic program, and
it is where we most effectively motivate students to, as our mission
says, lead lives characterized by service to others.”
THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN THE PARENT NEWSLETTER IN FALL 2013.
1933
By Pet er J. H ow e ’ 82
Born July 20, in
Newton, Mass.
1955
Married Anne Mather
Vermillion, June 18
Q. How do you view your role as headmaster?
A. With much excitement, a great deal of
hope and some trepidation.…The greatest
rewards and results in my life to date have
come from working together with others.
U.S. Naval Officer, 1955–57
1967
School Minister and Instructor
in Religion, Phillips Exeter
Academy, 1967–71
1971
Interviewed in March for the
Graduates Bulletin announcing
Gleason’s appointment
1981
From June 4 faculty meeting
remarks, “Where We Are”:
1982
In May, Gleason delivered the
commencement address
1987
Gleason faces health scare in April
In May, Gleason retires as head of
Noble and Greenough School. Interim
Head Dick Baker assumes leadership.
In July, Gleason gives final
Annual Report summary
1988
“Assembly. Each day the school gathers as it has through
time here, and the headmaster speaks—often…I believe
it’s the essence of the school and perhaps our most noted
symbol. Unpredictable, wonderful, a town meeting, a
sense of who we all are together.”
Gleason publishes Redeeming
Marriage (Cowley Publications). An
Associated Press reviewer called it
“a paean to marriage’s beauty.”
2004
2013
“Quality. While no one expects a Class II
student to understand a calculus problem
as well as Bill Kehlenbeck or read French
with the nuances of Michel or understand
Shakespeare as well as Baker, each
teacher works in that classroom to bring
a student to his level and beyond, and we
hope they will go beyond. They will not do
that unless we ask them. No growth takes
place without stretching—none at all.”
“It is not lost on me that I have
been the great beneficiary of the
vision, hard work and love that you
bestowed upon Nobles during your
tenure here.” —Bob Henderson, in a
letter to Gleason dated Oct. 27.
Edward Stone Gleason Jr. dies, Oct. 31.
“Nobles is different. Different in our
bonds. Different in our care. Different
in our ability to communicate, to
know more about what matters,
really matters. Nobles standards are
the standards of love. Nobles rules
are born of concern. Nobles goal is
wholeness, completeness, a sense
that life matters, just as every person
connected with this school matters.”
T
Ted Gleason
Goes Down in the Book of Ages
Ted Gleason goes down in the book of ages as the pivotal, transformational fourth headmaster in the 148-year history of Noble and
Greenough School. He also lives on in the memories of hundreds of
grateful students as a teacher, in word and example, of unforgettable lessons, from “be on time and answer your mail” to the deepest
meanings of service, excellence and faithfulness.
T
Ted Gleason’s penchant for the epistolary is well-known.
Throughout his life, he cultivated many relationships
through regular and robust correspondence. Here is just
one of thousands of examples:
May 20, 2003
Dear Fred:
Every detail—every detail—of our first meeting at
4:30 p.m. on an afternoon in early January 1972 is
clear to me, as I am sure it is true for you. That may
have been my very first interview with a potential
faculty member, and I learned a great deal, established clear guidelines that served me well. I followed
my heart, searched for persons who are passionate
and religious (in the best sense), and know who they
are. As a result, I offered a job that I did not have to
offer, a position that did not become available until
January 17, and a meeting I also remember well.
It hardly seems possible that more than 30 years
have passed. You are a great colleague and a true
friend, and you embody the very best in every regard.
Thank you for coming to see me in your brown
tweed suit on that dark January afternoon, bringing
with you light and energy and great wisdom.
In Christ’s Love,
Ted
The Rev. Edward S. Gleason—known to all as ESG—inherited
a 240-boy school in 1971 that was not fundamentally different from what it had been in 1921. Within three years, he led
Nobles to coeducation, and by his retirement in 1987 to head
the Episcopal Church’s publishing arm, Nobles had a student
body of 440 and significantly greater diversity. On his watch,
Nobles built the Putnam Library, Lawrence Auditorium, Keller
Field, new offices and a second floor to what’s now the Shattuck
Schoolhouse.
ESG did all of that with tireless energy, a radiant smile,
a stiletto wit, a pocketwatch secured by a chain in his lapel,
trouser cuffs well clear of his shoes and a Churchillian mastery
of the English language. A lover of his entire student body, if not
necessarily close to every single student, maybe Ted’s signature
demonstration of care for his flock was knowing—and using—
the middle names of all 400-plus members of his six classes.
It epitomized his hope to know and to shape his students as
thoughtfully as he could.
“This man, with his out-there enthusiasms, ready smile and
laugh, and personal approach, seemed, well, a bit much,” says
Sam Pillsbury ’72, recalling the Gleason he met in the fall of
1971. “Surely, he couldn’t be for real. Turned out he was.”
A former chaplain at Phillips Exeter Academy, “ESG wasn’t
leaving the ministry [when he came to Nobles]—he was broadening it,” remembers Bill Bissell ’80. How many high school teachers would have had the sheer courage to teach classes named
“Separation and Grace” and “Love and Marriage”? “What do you
take seriously and without reservation?” was a classic ESG question, his secular probe of faith. “Intellectual growth and a sense
of self-worth” were what ESG sought to build up in his students.
As one of his trustee chairmen, Tim Russell ’35, pithily puts it:
Ted made his mission at Nobles “to make big kids out of little
kids.” Harrison Miller ’79 recalls: “We arrived as young teenagers and were suddenly surrounded by a lot of people who—with
surprisingly little cynicism or embarrassment—were striving
to do things very, very well, and they were asking us to do the
same.” His former secretary, Charlene Richardson, recalls: “He
expected the best. He was tough in that way.”
Wendy Fay ’78, who came to Nobles in the earliest years
of coeducation, says, “As a man who had three daughters and
Save the date: a celebration of ted gleason
In honor of Gleason’s life and leadership, a special “assembly” will be held in his honor on campus on Sept. 13, 2014. Watch for
event details. “Ted believed that assembly was at the heart of our school community,” says Head of School Bob Henderson, who was
a student during Gleason’s tenure. Gleason spoke at nearly every assembly, sharing wisdom from myriad sources, including
favorite children’s book such as Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
who was a model of partnership with his wife, Anne, he ‘got it’
when it came to girls. He was an intellectually vital teacher. As
a minister, he embodied the synergy between one’s work and
one’s ideals. He was unflappable.”
“He always greeted me as if I were someone of great value,”
remembers Alex Childs Smith ’79. “And eventually, inevitably,
he was right. I try to live that truth every day, seeing that which
is buried in each of us.”
Students could sometimes find him unapproachable. But
most would agree that ESG wove his beliefs and his moral character into the fabric of every facet of the school. Perhaps no
bigger channel for that inculcation was 8:05 a.m. assembly, four
days a week, when the Lawrence Auditorium became ESG’s
secular pulpit and parish. When he wasn’t imparting lessons—
like “taking ownership” and realizing that during your first 12
weeks at Nobles (or anywhere), you will create impressions
that last your whole career—Ted screened eclectic, unforgettable short films like Peege, The Man Who Had to Sing and
Warm Fuzzies.
“If you’re talking about Gleason legacies, assembly remains
the central ritual in our life as a school,” Head of School Robert
P. Henderson Jr. ’76 says. “The creation of community, the
establishment of a daily rhythm, the perpetuation of the
school’s culture—all of that takes place in that room every day.
That is the legacy of Ted Gleason.”
ESG hired more than 100 teachers over his years at Nobles,
including many of the giants of today’s faculty: Nick Nickerson,
Bill Kehlenbeck, Mark and Tilesy Harrington, Tim Carey, Deb
Harrison and Bob Kern. His two most important hires might
be a young Berkeley graduate who would become his successor,
Dick Baker, and Baker’s successor—a young Dartmouth graduate named Bob Henderson—whom he persuaded to consider
a Nobles teaching fellowship at a moment in his life when Bob
could never have foreseen he’d be a teacher.
“Some of whatever you may have learned from me,” English
teacher Chris Burr tells his students, “flows from the River
Gleason.” Beloved former chemistry teacher and cross country
coach Fred Sculco says, “He taught me that teaching was not a
profession but a way of life.” Students saw what ESG fostered.
“Who the teacher is—what he or she cares about and stands for,
how he or she is in relationship to others—that’s what a student
learns most, and long after the course has been forgotten,”
recalls Miller.
For years after his retirement, right through the final months
of his life, ESG was a prodigious correspondent with a steel-trap
memory for the details of graduates’ lives and families. It’s hard
to imagine a more active email account than [email protected].
“He had an incredible gift of correspondence and collected and
kept up relationships as though we all were family—and in many
ways we were,” says Scott McCartney ’78.
Maybe the single greatest tribute is how many of Gleason’s
former students and faculty would say they simply cannot
imagine being the people they are without having been not just
touched by, but suffused with, ESG.
“Your grace,” Michael Young ’81 said in a remembrance
addressed directly to Ted, “was to inspire hope within your
students by believing openly in them.” n
Former Nobleman editor Peter J. Howe ’82 is business editor of
New England Cable News in Newton, Mass.
graduate profile
Cranberry Man
In late September and early October, systematic flooding begins in Southeastern Massachusetts. Famers pump water into their cranberry
bogs, transforming the cultivated geometry
of the landscape into a palette of vermillion
pools. It’s harvest time.
For the past 35 years, Austin Mason III ’63
has tended and harvested his 8.6-acre crop
on his property in Carver, Mass. Since 1979,
he has produced cranberries as part of the
Ocean Spray collective, a group of more than
600 family growers and the largest producer
of cranberry products in the United States.
Throughout the years, Mason, whose love of
the outdoors led him to study forestry at the
University of Montana, has witnessed the ups
and downs of the agricultural industry.
A retired forester with the Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Management,
Mason uses his cranberry business to supplement his income. Beyond the financial gain,
however, it’s clear that he derives true joy from
working the land and being part of a community of growers. “During the past 10 years,
cranberries have rebounded after the ‘cranberry recession’ in the late 1990s, though the price
has leveled off. Crops in the past five years have
been good. We’re all part of something important to this state’s economy and history.”
Growing cranberries is an increasingly scientific exercise, and Mason’s career in natural
resource management has served him well.
While growers like Mason use native varieties, they continue to cultivate hybrid plants,
which yield larger fruit and are resistant to
blight, insects and drought. When asked about
the environmental impact of growing cranberries, Mason says, “We have to use pesticides
and herbicides, otherwise we would have
unpredictable yields. But our approach is to
create a balanced ecosystem within the bog.
There are plenty of organisms and insects that
are essential to a healthy crop and a healthy
environment. Of course, everyone is concerned
about water conservation and quality, too.”
Like most businesses,
cranberry production has
become a global endeavor.
“Ocean Spray is facing
increased competition from
big operations in Canada.
We also compete with
Wisconsin growers,” says Mason. Ocean Spray
continues to grow its business in places like
China, with traditional products like juices
and Craisins, as well as new products.
As for how he chose his career and his avocation, Mason recalls, “Eliot Putnam, former
headmaster, knew that I loved being outdoors,
hiking, fishing and camping. He encouraged
me to pursue that interest after Nobles.” The
call of the outdoor life remains strong in the
Mason family. Mason’s son, John, is a foreman
for a large cranberry producer. “He seems to
have taken after me. John loves being outside,
working with his hands on machinery and
growing crops. It’s hard work, but he loves it,”
says Mason. On a crisp, sun-splashed October
morning, the bogs ablaze with ripe berries,
who could argue?
—peter hamilton
Photographs courtesy of Ken Mallory ’63 and Margaret Mallory
graduate news
reunions Save the date if your class year ends in
a “4” or an “9.” Go to www.nobles.edu/graduates for more
information—you won’t want to miss the celebration!
notes & announcements from classmates
1940
1941
Class Correspondent
Pat Grant writes, “When you are
close to or over 90, what’s there
to say? I seem to need assorted
forms of help and need a walker
some of the time. I get visits from
children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. We see movies
here and get exercise. I see a lady
friend. What else is there to do?”
Percy Nelson
617-244-4126
[email protected]
Percy Nelson writes about his
grandson’s prowess as a fisherman. “Each summer, Nelson
deCastro ’06 spends vacation
time on the Nelson family
island, located among the
archipelagos along the north
coast of the Georgian Bay, in
Lake Huron, Canada. Occasionally, some Nobles classmates
will spend time on the island
with Nelson. Nelson is the family’s expert fisherman, and he
has adopted a strict catch-andrelease policy.
A couple of years ago, he
caught a large muskellunge,
the largest member of the pike
family. He hooked it and brought
it alongside the boat using a
10-pound test line with no leader.
The fish was 42 inches long
and probably weighed 25 or 30
pounds. In order to not harm the
fish by landing it with a gaff, Nelson took off his shirt, leaned over
the edge of the boat, hugged the
fish, lifted it out of the water, had
his cousin take a picture, lowered
the fish back into the water, and
released it unharmed.
Nelson is also the nephew
of Edward Nelson ’68 and Paul
Nelson ’72, and cousin of Alex
Nelson ’06 and Tim Nelson ’08.”
1942
Class Correspondent
Putty McDowell
781-320-1960
[email protected]
Nat Harris is still playing hockey
for a team in New Bedford.
Clint Nangle is the recipient
of the 2013 Hugo Dalmar Trophy
for longtime contribution to polo
and the United States Polo Association (USPA), and the 2013
Clint Nangle National Equine
Welfare Award. Clint participated
in the USPA for many years and
held several positions, including
club delegate, circuit governor of
Florida for 12 years, governor-atlarge for nine years and club polo
committee chairman.
1949
Class Correspondent
1946
John Guilbert
520-887-0628
Class Correspondent
Gregg Bemis
505-983-7094
[email protected]
Gregg Bemis writes, “Sad to
hear from Phil Baker that after
62 years of marriage, his wife,
Ginny, lost a battle in December to melanoma. We send our
condolences. Beezer wrote that he
represented us at the annual and
victorious football game against
Milton. Well done, all.”
1948
Class Correspondent
Bill Bliss
781-326-1062
[email protected]
1950
Class Correspondents
Peter Briggs
513-474-2520
[email protected]
Sid Eaton, Jr.
503-223-7548
[email protected]
Howard Jelleme reports that he
still travels back and forth from
Nantucket Island to his farm in
New Hampshire, where he is making pretty good wine: Chianti, to be
almost exact—a blend of
his farm’s white wine with some
red wine—the source of which he
did not say. No, his Chianti is not
for commercial use, but it is good
for home consumption. With
vines in New Hampshire and his
garden on Nantucket, he manages
to keep his hands good and dirty.
He and Robin are off to a rental in
the Florida Keys, where they hope
to escape this year’s unusually
cold weather.
1951
Class Correspondent
Galt Grant
781-383-0854
[email protected]
Galt Grant, Hal Knapp ’52, Sam
Gray ’55 and their wives, Dick
Willis and Bill Yates’ widow,
Sonja, recently met for lunch in
Plymouth. All are well, sick of the
cold weather, and looking forward
to an early spring!
1952 & 1953
Class Correspondent
Winston “Hooley” Perry
[email protected]
Winston “Hooley” Perry writes,
“Snow, snow and more snow was
the weather order starting off the
new year and well into February
(and maybe beyond) for all of
you hardy New Englandites who
just love living in the exhilarating
damp, cold, beautiful ‘white stuff’
all around and on top of you. We
Floridians recently endured our
cold winter of 40 to 50 degrees
for a couple of weeks, which
when you live down here for
any length of time, you learn that
your blood thins out, and any
temperature below 70 degrees
is considered freezing. But at
least you don’t have to shovel
40- to 50-degree rain.
One of our classmates, Peter
Hallett ’52, foolishly chose to tough
it out this winter in Dover, N.H., to
deal with some issues with the local
veterans administration, while his
lovely wife, Carol, made the very
smart move to periodically head
south to their Florida home to thaw
out. If you see them, Carol is the
healthy-looking one with the nice
tan, and Peter is the one tightly
holding (probably frozen) on to his
trusty snow shovel, next to the big
snowman with the carrot nose.
Two of our smarter-than-theaverage-bear snowbirds, Grace
and Evan Geilich ’53, decided this
year to fly from Concord, Mass.,
down to Palm Beach, Fla., for the
winter, and to ship their car south
rather than drive down the East
Coast’s ultraboring Interstate 95,
which never seems to end (other
than stopping at the kitschy South
of the Border facility for a little
humorous redneck relief).
Pete ‘Benuche’ Bennett ’52
and his wife, Nancy, made their
usual ‘Let’s stay warm’ southern
sojourn to Naples, Fla. (from St.
John’s in the Virgin Islands), for
the winter, and I’m told when they
return north in the springtime, they
are planning to move into a fancy
retirement community in Leesburg,
Va., and to vacate their home in
Vienna, Va., near the Beltway.
A number of our Nobles
classmates are also moving into a
well-known retirement community just down the road from the
Nobles campus. Connie and David
Thibodeau ’53 vacated their Vero
Beach, Fla., winter home (just in
time to enjoy the pretty piles of
snow) and moved into the Fox Hill
Villages in Westwood, Mass. (just
off Route 109, where it crosses
I-95), which is just down the street
from where they used to live, by
the Dedham Country and Polo
Club, and where Emmie and Louis
Newell ’53 presently live. Sorry,
Louis, there goes the neighborhood. David and Connie will still
spend their summers in their beautiful Salters Point home in South
Dartmouth, so ‘gin and ginger’ or
7UP cocktails on Buzzards Bay will
still be the drink of the day.
Also, Syddie and Dr. Jimmy
Sowles ’53 vacated their Chestnut
Hill home and recently moved into
the same Fox Hill Village complex
where the ‘Tib’s live. And much
to their surprise, Bob Chellis ’55,
Patrick Grant ’41, and Jim Doty’s
’55 wife, Koko Doty, also live there,
so none of the ‘Fox Hill Village
Gang’ have any excuse to miss any
of the future events held on Noble
and Greenough campus. I’m sure
that carpooling the short distance
to the school can be arranged for
all who want and/or need it (just
like the old days).
Another questionable ‘where
should we spend the winter’ decision was made by Carol and Peter
Willauer ’52, who opted for life in
Scarborough, Maine, as opposed
to the sunny warm climes of Nevis
in the Caribbean, while periodically
day cruising on The Eight Bells.
Peter is becoming our latest bionic
man, with a knee replacement, a
repaired broken hip and a rotator
cuff repair, which was enough to
get Peter out of the task of snow
shoveling, while allowing nurse
Carol to enjoy the pleasures of
caregiving (and snow shoveling).
On the other side of the world,
I periodically receive postcards
and/or pithy emails from Katherine
and Bo-Bub Wakefield ’53, who
are in the midst of their hot summer months. If you can believe
the weather reports, they are
experiencing a historic heat wave
while traveling around their vast
Down Under Australian continent,
visiting hard-to-pronounce areas,
towns and pubs.
Our famous intrepid worldtraveling fishing expert, Benny
Taylor ’52, has once again traversed the big A to the Tweed
River in Scotland in search of the
perfect salmon-fishing experience, in addition to Benny’s and
Louis ‘Nails’ Newell’s fishing forays
on the Miramichi River in New
Brunswick. So if you need any ‘how
to catch the big ones’ tips, Benny
is the man to ask, with Louise’s
experienced two cents thrown
in for good measure and Pete
Hallett yelling in the background,
‘Don’t use the Royal Wullf Bomber.
You’ve got to use the single orange
bug.’ For some unknown reason, I
recently received a large, colorful
and beautifully illustrated Fish
in Scotland catalog, describing
in great detail the best rivers to
fish, along with the best places to
stay, and the most famous guides
to hire, which I then forwarded
to Benny to drool over. I’m told it
enticed Ben to look for a ‘wee Scottish cottage’ to rent or purchase
(similar to his ‘wee cottage’ in
Peterborough, N.H.) so he would
have a home base in Scotland to
pursue his salmon-fishing passion.
And speaking of beautifully
illustrated books, I just received an
announcement from none other
than (you guessed it) Ben Taylor
’52 that his latest literary effort
has just been published called I
Know Bill Schaadt—Portrait of a FlyFishing Legend. You can access the
site, billschaadt.com, to learn more
about it and where it is available
for purchase. Ben’s love of fishing
has obviously evolved into his
all-abiding passion, so happy times
and tight lines to ya, Ben!
Periodically (like every other
week), I receive either an email
or a call from our Kentucky land
baron Dudley ‘Doodles’ Dumaine ’52 with some nugget of
information about life in general,
or a question about Nobles and
the origins of American football,
or about the Oneida Football Club
who developed ‘The Boston Game’
graduate news
as it was called on the Boston
Common (plus after all of these
years), questioning if there was
any other undefeated football
team at Nobles, plus, plus, plus. In
retrospect, I truly feel that it is a
wonderful experience for one, and/
or anyone, to have those exceptionally fond long-ago memories,
and that after all of these years,
Dudley is still in awe of the significance of that fact, and he still gets
excited when he thinks about that
wonderful November fall day way
back in 1951, when he, along with a
bunch of other exceptional football
players, close friends and classmates, were all members of the
unbeaten football team that beat
Milton 14–7 in the final game of the
season. Interestingly enough, history has a strange and unusual way
of repeating itself, when on the
weekend of Nov. 9, 2013 (62 years
later), the then-undefeated Milton
football team came to Dedham
to play Nobles on a very cold and
windy day, and again Nobles was
the spoiler, to the delight of the
local fans, by beating Milton 14–12.
A Hollywood scriptwriter couldn’t
have done any better.
I have always wondered about
the married life of Joan and Sam
Bartlett ’53 after Sam graduated
from Dartmouth College and Joan
graduated from McGill University. I wonder about their ensuing
exciting and bizarre adventures
and exploits, with Sam working as
a foreign diplomat in the State Department, stationed in and around
Central America, including El
Salvador, Guatemala and Northern
Ireland (among others). Now you
can find out the real-life story of
Sam and Joan in a book that Joan
has recently written and had pub-
lished called No Ransom (which, incidentally, is available on Amazon
and Kindle, and in paperback). It is
one of those novels that, once you
pick it up, you won’t want to put it
down until you finish it. It is sort of
a fiction/nonfiction book, because
knowing both Sam and Joan, it
is easy to see that it is a fictional
story about the two of them and
their actual nonfiction lives in the
foreign service. Congratulations,
Joan! An excellent read.
Along those lines of who did
what after they graduated from
Nobles, I recently received a copy
of a thank-you letter that Jack/
John/Denny (take your pick)
Farlow ’53 had sent to Ms. lovely
Brooke Asnis ’90 regarding her
help in unloading boxes of books
Jack had donated to the school
that he had collected over the
years, and how and why he had
amassed the books in the first
place. In his letter, Jack went on
to explain in great detail the many
unusual and exciting adventures
he had pursued over the years
after graduating from Nobles
and Harvard, which I found to be
extremely interesting and very
informative, and which I am sure
I/we never knew about. I should
have originally thought of including
Jack’s historical treatise in one of
my Nobles magazine submittals,
but I soon realized that its length
took up more than half of the
allotted number of words that the
magazine staff allows me. But I
thought it was unusual and exciting enough to be of great interest
to the members of the Class of ’52
and ’53 and special friends.
Therefore, in an effort to
spread the word, and to hopefully
have everyone write about what
has been happening in their lives
in the past 60-plus years after Nobles—like we did many years ago
when we were sent a questionnaire
to fill out prior to class reunion,
which was then collated and distributed to everyone at reunion—I
thought that I would make it easier,
and less stressful, and more fun
by emailing individual ’52 and ’53
classmates throughout the year,
and asking everyone who wanted
to write a short or long story of
their life’s adventures after Nobles
and return it to me. Then blast it
out to everyone on my ’52 and
’53 Nobles classmate and close
friends list. Please believe me, this
is not a required homework assignment, nor is it a necessary one
either, nor will you be graded on
its content. It’s but only for the fun
of sharing your “life after Nobles”
experiences with your 80- (plus
or minus) year-old classmates and
friends. It is totally acceptable to
embellish the truth, or lie a little or
leave out and/or add stuff, because
as Mark Twain always said, you
should ‘Never let a little truth,
get in the way of a good story.’
Above all, please have fun with it,
because you know full well that
Neil ‘The Wink’ Childs ’52 will
write an inspiring, adventurous and
unforgettable tale. As a matter of
fact, I can hardly wait for Wink the
Wonderful’s ‘My Life After Nobles’
submittal, which I then promise
to forward to everyone for your
wonderment and enjoyment.
So please stay well and warm,
and think spring and green grass,
tulips and crocuses, and flowering
tree thoughts, and I’ll look forward
to seeing everyone at the school
on our next springtime reunion
weekend of May 9 and 10.”
1954
Class Correspondent
Peter Partridge
508-548-9418
[email protected]
1955
Class Correspondent
Bob Chellis
[email protected]
Bob Chellis writes, “We regret
to report that Graham Shipman
died Nov. 26 in California. Graham
moved to Mt. Shasta, Calif., with
his two dogs after his wife, Dede,
died in 2004. He wanted to be near
family and to more easily enjoy
hunting and fishing. We were glad
to see him when he came east in
2005 for our 50th reunion. We may
remember ‘Monster’ best for his
good humor and great cartooning.
One of his last Marshall Spleen
comic strips is on my wall, celebrating ‘that evil insurance man, Jeeves
Jimson Dirty, and the conflagration
of Señor Nichols’ birthday cake.
Near it is the picture of our 1955
wrestling team, where Graham was
our successful heavyweight.
Regarding annual giving, the
question has come up as to how
donations are handled—annual giving versus memorial funds. When
you write an annual giving or other
check to the school, it applies to
our class participation percentage
in giving that year. We achieved
100 percent in 2005! If you mark a
check for ‘annual giving,’ the school
can use it as most needed for
general expenses, or you may direct
some or all of it to a special fund
like the Pi Newell Fund or the newer
Chub Newell Fund, which goes into
that designated fund, not to the
general expenses of annual giving.
But either way, our class will be
credited with your participation.
FYI, here are the descriptions
of the two funds of special interest
to our class. I think that Pi’s fund,
which is 33 years old, has more
than $500,000!
The Piatt A. Newell ’55 Memorial Fund was established in 1981
by friends and family of Piatt A.
Newell. Income to provide funds
for students for outdoor education,
sports camps and community service, or for special school projects
or purchases.
The Franklin S. ‘Chub’ Newell
’55 Memorial Scholarship Fund was
established in 2012 by his family
and friends. Income to provide
financial assistance to worthy
students with preference given to
an athlete who embodies the spirit
of competition at Nobles.
Also, it’s good news that the
school is preparing a significant
filmed memorial tribute to Eliot
Putnam. Jim Bride is a skilled
filmmaker and taught English at
Nobles for 27 years, initially under
Mr. Putnam. He left and founded
Bride Media 20 years ago. He has
earned glowing credits for his work,
including Shakespearean plays and
the Concord Transcendentalists, so
he’s a great choice for this task. I
was honored to be one of the many
interviewed for it. I think I echo the
positive feelings we all have about
Eliot Putnam and look forward
to seeing it—maybe during the
reunion weekend this May.
The report from Bill Thayer
and Darthia Farm is all positive.
They were way ahead of the curve
and have been certified by Maine
Organic Farmers for 36 years.
They’ve seen many changes and
hosted more than 250 apprentices, many of whom now operate
their own farms. They have a
community-supported agriculture
program and a busy farm store,
and they participate in a farmers
market in Winter Harbor. Orders
can be placed online. After their
tragic fire in May 2012, almost a
thousand kind people have helped
rebuild a new barn with horses,
sheep and equipment. The animals
are happy in their new homes. Bill
and Cynthia will soon be breeding
their island sheep, and a new
Coopworth ewe should lamb in
the spring. And a new Haflinger
horse, Star, arrived from the Amish
community nearby. You can’t keep
a good farmer down!
By the way, the May reunion
weekend is a great time to revisit
the school, even if it’s not a fiveyear reunion. I highly recommend
the Friday night dinner in the
renovated and glamorous Castle.
All graduates past their 50th
reunion are invited every year,
spouses too, so it’s a great chance
to see the several classes we knew
best. On Saturday, there is an
assembly, a headmaster’s report,
a nice picnic lunch, sports in the
afternoon, and usually cocktails
and an art exhibit late Saturday
afternoon. A nice weekend if you
can make it for our 59th (yikes!).”
1956
Class Correspondent
Gren “Rocky” Whitman
410-639-7551
[email protected]
John Turtle writes, “Retired life
isn’t quite as exciting, but I don’t
need to get up early to beat the
rush-hour traffic. I am keeping my
brain alive by auditing courses
at Wellesley College. Auditing
astronomy, my current interest,
brings me up to date with happenings since my major in astronomy
in 1960. Last semester, it was
archaeoastronomy, the study of
early people’s understanding of the
skies. This semester, it’s galaxies,
stars and planets. Next will be life
in the universe.
A year ago, Anne and I visited
Brazil with Iguassu Falls and the
Amazon on the itinerary. Last
summer, we visited Cornwall in the
U.K. We hiked several days with
a group along the rugged Atlantic
coast. Then we drove—on the
left!—to Bath, Salisbury Cathedral,
Stonehenge and Windsor Castle.
In London, we took a cruise on
the Thames to Greenwich and
visited the observatory, where
time begins. Our 2014 adventure
will be a trip to the Galápagos
Islands to tour on a 200-foot
schooner, then on to Peru, where
we will go to Cuzco and the Inca
site at Machu Picchu.
In my spare time, there is
plenty of work to do around the
house. We live in Wellesley, on
Old Farm Road. Several classmates used to live in the area.
When we moved here 20 years
ago, it was a quiet neighborhood
with deer running through the
woods. Unfortunately, now, within
a block and a half, there are six
teardowns and McMansions are
being built. Progress?
Periodically, some of my former
colleagues from the Air Force
Research Laboratory get together
for a casual lunch. As retired government employees, we call our-
selves ‘ExFeds.’ It would be nice to
know if some of the local members
of the Class of 1956 periodically
get together.”
Kit Hayden reports, “I have
been stalked by depression since
grade school. It is a disease that
appears to worsen with senescence ‘as body and soul begin to
fall asunder.’ Recently, nagged by
family and friends, I have begun
medication. Will this help? I
certainly hope so. I want to be able
to say with sincerity, ‘Not here, not
here, the darkness in this twittering
world’ (both quotations from T.S.
Eliot’s Four Quartets).”
From Dave Carroll in Michigan:
“Feb. 5 was Babs’ and my fifth
wedding anniversary. It snowed
seriously, and we stayed in.”
John Fritts remembers
classmate Sam Edwards’ first
encounter with snow. “In Mr. Bird’s
German class, we were translating
something, or at least trying to, in
my case, when Sam jumped up,
ran to the window, and shouted,
‘Look! It’s snowing out there!’ We
all laughed. Seeing snow was no
big deal for us, but Sam was from
Marysville, Calif., and snow was a
big deal for him.”
Kathleen and Tom Oleson
spent New Year’s at her family’s
ranch in North Dakota: “The worst
of the weather reached minus 51
degrees Fahrenheit with wind chill.
The actual temperature was a
balmy minus 20.”
To atone for a minor act of
nonviolent direct action, Rocky
Whitman’s 40 hours of community service were spent filing
records and rearranging closets in
the Rock Hall municipal building.
Impressed by his Nobles-inspired
work ethic, the police chief told the
graduate news
town manager he’s looking forward
to busting the Rock again.
1957
Class Correspondent
John Valentine
413-256-6676
[email protected]
Eliot Putnam writes, “Looking
for a good read? I highly recommend Stop Here, the new novel by
Charlie Wiggins’s partner, Beverly
Gologorsky. Set in a working-class
neighborhood of Long Island, it
follows a group of female friends,
most of whom work at a local
diner, as they struggle ‘to hold
together their disordered lives’
(as described on the book jacket),
beset by illness, family tragedy
and the depredations of the Iraq
war. Each of the friends is strong,
resilient and flawed in her own
way. Most of their menfolk are
just flawed. How the women deal
with (and care for) the men in their
lives and draw strength from their
friendships is told through vivid
scenes and pitch-perfect dialogue.
The book is a worthy successor to
Bev’s earlier novel, The Things We
Do to Make It Home—a compelling
look at women struggling to make
or remake the lives of families
damaged by the war in Vietnam.
The way she treats women in both
books is clear-eyed, loving and
deeply moving.”
Loring Conant writes, “Although several moon cycles have
passed since my witness trip to
Israel and the West Bank, I’m
still trying to formulate a coherent response to the number of
disturbing instances of collective
punishment and violation of hu-
man rights and international law,
particularly around the issue of the
settlements and Gaza. I wonder if
there are any other fellow mortals
out there in the Nobles community
who have beheld the towering
walls and watchtowers; the
ubiquitous IDF; the stark contrast
between the arid desert terrain
(Palestinian); the lush hilltop
settlements (Israeli); the onceproductive Palestinian-owned olive
grove now rendered stumps—
some of the older uprooted and
transplanted for settlement roadway ornamentals; or the nets over
the Hebron market keeping out
the thrown objects by the settlers,
but not stopping the urination on
the Palestinians in the market. And
there were those checkpoints!
It used to take 20 minutes to
travel to the Church of Nativity in
Bethlehem from Ramallah; now,
one can no longer take the direct
road but must pass through three
checkpoints, taking one hour
and 40 minutes. How to offer
commentary without appearing
to be anti-Semitic? (Fortunately,
there are Israelis who are equally
concerned about the settlements.)
Where to take all this?
Next time, I’ll write about our
grandkids! But I’ll close with graffiti
wall art in a refugee camp of a
monarch butterfly with the writing
in English: ‘Here, only butterfly and
birds are free.’”
Charles Wiggins writes, “Read
Stop Here, by Beverly Gologorsky.
You’ll love it.”
Bob Macleod checked in to say
he had such a great time bicycling
in Hawaii last winter, he’s off to
New Zealand for a three-week
tour, some with a group and some
solo. If he remembers to stay to
the left, maybe he’ll be able to give
us an account of pedaling below
the equator.
1958
Class Correspondent
Bob Puffer
978-263-0199
[email protected]
1959
Whit Bond
[email protected]
Buzz Gagnebin
[email protected]
John Gibson
[email protected]
Buzz Gagnebin writes, “While we
plan our 55th, I found a 1915 photo of my father, C. Louis Gagnebin
Jr. ’20—99 years ago. He is back
row, third from left (see photo
below). Football was not my dad’s
sport, though. He was captain of
the Nobles hockey team his senior
year. Things just keep getting better at Nobles, but they were pretty
good back then.”
Henry Schwarz reports, “I’m
back from Lebanon and am living
in Portland, Ore. Lebanon has a
beautiful side—spectacular scenery, thousands of years of history,
excellent fresh food and more. But
two general reasons prompted us
to come back to Portland. First, our
students were, with a few exceptions, lazy, not engaged in learning,
entitled and spoiled. They were not
much fun to teach. And secondly,
as the year wore on, there were
more and more bombings, gunfights, snipers, assassinations and
the like. This spilled over from the
Syrian war and got much worse
when Hezbollah joined on the side
of Assad. It is entirely likely that
some group will choose an American target for the next bombing, so
we are glad to be home again.
In January, we spent a few
weeks in Mexico, and then 10
days in Cuba. They are very different and both fascinating.”
Buzz Gagnebin ’59 shares a photo of his father, Charles Louis Gagnebin Jr. ’20, at
Nobles (back row, third from left).
1961
Class Correspondent
Jim Newell
802-467-3555
[email protected]
Bert Dane writes, “Two weeks
after my birthday in July, my son
and I climbed Mt. Washington, via
the Tuckerman’s Ravine Trail. The
first part was easy. Climbing up the
ravine was much harder, and by
the time we got to the cone, I could
barely move. Thank goodness
for my son, who carried my pack
and cajoled me into pressing on.
After a total of about five hours,
we finally made the summit. Next
summer we’ll try something a little
less challenging.”
1962
Class Correspondent
David Mittell
[email protected]
Ben Soule writes, “At a recent
Bowdoin-Williams women’s
hockey game, I chanced to sit in
a seat given in memory of Dave
Rogerson, Bowdoin ’54, by one
of his teammates. Mr. Rogerson
taught history at Nobles from the
late 1950s through the late 1960s,
coaching varsity hockey most of
those years as well as assisting in
football and baseball. He was a
top-notch player at Bowdoin and
a great guy.”
Paul Foss writes, “In midDecember, upon the conclusion
of our son, John’s, MBA graduation from the Monterey Institute
for International Studies, he and
I packed his car and headed east
to New Hampshire. We went via
Riverside, Calif., where I wanted to
revisit the Mission Inn, a derelict
historical and architectural wonder
that I helped finance to restore
it to its current glory during my
commercial banking days in the
mid-1980s. Then we crossed the
Central Valley and drove into the
gorgeous mountains of western
Utah, where I-70 begins. We
used this route as an excuse to
visit some of the places where our
forebear, English-born Methodist Prof. Rev. John Wheeler D.D.
(1805–1881), lived and taught
from the 1830s to 1880s. He was
president of Iowa Wesleyan College (1870–1875), where he died;
president and professor of Baldwin
University (now Baldwin-Wallace
University) (1854–1870); student
in the first graduating class at Indiana Asbury College (now DePauw
University) (1840) and later
professor of Latin (1842–1854);
and undergraduate student at
Allegheny College (1837–1839).
Looking at some of the materials
in the colleges’ archives from
those eras, I was deeply impressed
by the utter sparseness and
primitiveness of the existing
conditions and how out of
whole cloth those pioneers
were able to craft beautiful
campuses, buildings, churches,
dormitories, libraries and study
halls, and to raise big families to
boot. Honestly, I know nothing
about confronting such difficult
living conditions and making a
lasting success of things.”
Paul Foss and his wife, Karen,
had lunch with Ken Reiber and
Mi Herzog at Zazie’s Restaurant
in San Francisco in December,
while they were both visiting the
Golden Gate city. Foss had a very
nice soup and a nouvelle cuisine
burger. Since Ken and Mi had
visited the nearby Japanese tea
garden on the previous day, they
decided to go together to see the
Cable Car Museum. There, Foss
was fortunate enough to find a
brass bell as a souvenir in the
gift shop. Thereafter, they had a
delicious latté in a little cafe
across from the museum and
finally said their adieus.
1963
Class Correspondent
Jim Lehan
508-520-1373
[email protected]
1964
Class Correspondent
Ned Bigelow
781-704-4304
[email protected]
1966
Class Correspondent
John Martinez
Office: 214-688-0244
Cell: 214-675-7543
[email protected]
1967
Class Correspondent
Drew Sullivan
781-461-1477
[email protected]
1968
Class Correspondent
Andy Lord
617-899-3948
[email protected]
1969
Class Correspondent
Peter Pach
860-267-9701
[email protected]
Peter Pach writes, “Wigs Frank
recruited Toby Burr, Peter Gates
and Stew Young for the 45th
reunion committee planning,
which will be held May 9 and 10.
Reminder letters with details to
come. Plan for the dinner at Peter
Gates’ house in Weston, Mass., on
Friday night along with a Saturday
schedule of sports, campus tours
(including the Castle addition), a
cocktail party and our class dinner
on campus—all good reasons to
join us.
Globetrotting Wes Wellington
reports he will come east from his
Colorado spread for the reunion.
Tod Whittemore wrote that he
plans to come too.
John Clark, who just moved
to Epping, N.H., says he hopes to
‘make an appearance’ sometime
during the weekend.
Baird Brightman checked
in from southern California: ‘We
are dealing with a solar vortex
here—unbroken months of endless
sunny skies. I expect my California
water bill will soon rival my Massachusetts gas bill. Not that I’m
complaining! I will reflect on my
Dedham days during a beach stroll
as virtual reunion participation.
Best to you and all fellow ’69ers!’
Steve Baker says all is well on
the Cape. ‘My driveway has filled
up with snow twice this year so far.
The first blizzard put something
like three to four feet onto the end
of my driveway, where it dips down
in between two banks of the yard.
graduate news
Needless to say, I let it melt on its
own instead of shoveling it all up
and out! I will be coming up for
the day on May 10. I plan on being
there relatively early and spending
the day hangin’ out. I’ve driven
through the campus once since I
got back from the West Coast, so
I know there’s a lot of new stuff to
explore. I wonder if I’ll recognize
anyone…’
These reunions only happen
once every five years, and when
you get to the 45th, we have put
on some miles. But it is remarkable how quickly old faces merge
with their younger selves. Brad
Wilkinson and I spent two of the
coldest days of the winter skiing in
Vermont—great snow, great fun.
Brad is retired from his practice
but continues to deliver plenty
of medicine in a mobile clinic for
the poor in Hartford and a clinic
in the Dominican Republic that he
oversees with some other doctors.
Otherwise, he reports ‘spending lots of time with Mary and
family, and spoiling three adorable
grandchildren. Looking forward to
seeing as many of my classmates
as possible on May 9!’”
1970
Class Correspondent
Levy Byrd
781-449-7555
[email protected]
1971
Harry Blackman, John Dewey, Nick
Mittell and Win Perkins gathered the
following class notes:
“You may have seen in the winter
Nobles magazine (attached to the
Class of ’72 notes, with accompanying picture) that in August 2013,
Win Perkins and Chad Callahan
joined several other members of
the 1970 varsity football team to
pay their respects to former coach
and teacher George ‘Lee’ Sargent
when he was interred with full
military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. The winter issue
(Class of ’67 notes) also included
a picture of Ames Byrd, wearing
a beautiful psychedelic tie-dyed
shirt with his brothers, Dick ’67
and Lev ’70, at Sunrise High Sierra
Camp in Yellowstone National
Park in the summer of 2013.
In July 2013, Rick Grogan was
one of a small group of intrepid
cyclists who participated in the
Pull Out All the Stops Bike Ride as
part of the final push in the restoration of the Royal Festival Hall
organ in the Southbank Centre in
London. (See picture on page 55.)
The challenge was to ride the 266
miles from Durham, U.K., where
the organ was restored, to London
in only 24 hours to bring back the
final organ pipe and raise the final
£100,000 needed to complete the
Pull Out All the Stops restoration
project. Crank on, Rick!
In September, John Bailey
hosted a dinner party get-together
for Jeff Franklin, to celebrate a
rare trip east for Jeff that included
Harry Blackman, John Dewey,
Nick Mittell, Peter Smith and
Jeffrey Schwartz. A good time
was had by all.
In November, Nick and Jeffrey (Schwartz) joined Harry at
Nobles for the graduates soccer
game in which Harry, playing, had
moments of demented, geriatric
exuberance but managed to muff
the best chance at a goal that
he has had in years! The threesome then watched and gloried
in the varsity football team’s
incredible win over Milton. Eerily
reminiscent of the 1970 victory,
it was a game that came down to
a last-minute attempt by Milton
on a two-point conversion (for a
tie) that was defeated, with several
players taking on the role of our
own Phil Crawford and stopping
it cold! It was beautiful! Later
that night, John Dewey hosted a
party especially in honor of Nick’s
60th birthday, but really for all of
us who have reached that ‘milestone’ (sic or sick), which, at this
point, is all of us!
Scott Adams reports from
Columbia, Mo., that his daughter
Haley is getting married this June
back in Massachusetts. Scott
and his wife have recently moved
into ‘empty-nester’ housing and
are loving life in Columbia. They
recently enjoyed a visit with Rob
Johnson ’72, when he was in
Columbia for treatment for acute/
advanced Lyme disease. Best
wishes to Rob!
Jim Rosen writes, ‘I am sure
enjoying being a grandfather at
last, since my 37-year-old son
finally got himself hooked! They
live in St. Maarten too, so we get
good quality time.’
David Amory and his firm,
Amory Architects, is working
with Historic Boston to save and
renovate the Kittredge House, a
19th-century Greek Revival mansion on Fort Hill, in Roxbury. A
recent article on the Buckingham
Browne & Nichols website reports
on Rob Leith’s Round Table literature class for seniors. One student
was quoted, ‘I don’t think I’ve
ever been in a classroom where
the discussion flows as freely. It
reflects how comfortable we feel
with one another and Mr. Leith.’
More revealing and impressive is
what Rob had to say: ‘In 12th-grade
classes…I expect to learn a great
deal from them over the course of
the term. I think they enjoy being
treated as equals, and it’s easy to
treat them that way because intellectually, they really are at a level
where I think they are my equal, so
we try as much as possible to have
a conversation involving everybody
in which maybe I’m—what is the
expression?—primus inter pares,
first among equals?’ he chuckles.
‘Nonetheless, I’m one of the group
sitting at the round table.’ Wonderful stuff, Rob! Rob is in his 35th
year as a teacher at BB&N.
We are aware of other Nobles
grads who have similar records of
commitment to and longevity as
teachers (Mike Sherman ’68, with
40 years or so at Belmont Hill, is
one other example). While that
kind of service was more common
when we were students at Nobles,
it seems more rare in this day and
age. Hint to editor: great potential
topic for a future graduates magazine! In recent years, this country
has made a real effort to recognize
those who serve in the military and
as policemen, firemen, etc. Rightly
so! Despite valid concerns about
our educational system, we should
similarly recognize those who
serve as teachers.
Speaking of that kind of recognition for service, for many years,
David ‘Hector’ Pendergast has
served on the volunteer committee
of the Marine Corps Scholarship
Foundation, which raises money
for the children of Marines killed
or seriously wounded in action.
gamut from the marriage of children to the birth of grandchildren
to the passing of parents, along
with the ongoing aspects of career
and the ways we choose to spend
our time. Transitions. Transitions.
‘Two roads diverged in a yellow
wood…’ What ETP didn’t tell us,
and we were perhaps too young
to realize, is that new potential
paths come up every day—new
beginnings, new endings and new
opportunities. Keep on keepin’ on!
Rick Grogan ’71 (fourth from left) with his team at the Pull Out All the Stops Bike
Ride at Royal Festival Hall
This spring, there will be an
inaugural Boston dinner to honor
some individuals who have given
back to the corps in one way or
another. There will also be a golf
tournament fundraiser in June.
Those interested can find out
more on the scholarship’s website
(www.mcsf.org).
Pendergast started a new
business named Agora Gardens.
This is an online garden consulting
company focusing on raised-bed
construction, maintenance, e-commerce and recordkeeping. Learn
more at www.agoragardens.com.
Remembrance of things past—
get any group of grads together,
and it’s bound to happen. With
the recent passing of Coach Lee
Sargent and the election of our
own Greg Garritt to the Nobles
Athletic Hall of Fame, a lot of
memories about sports at Nobles
in our day have been flying back
and forth. Some funny, some sad,
but certainly one of the most articulate and ‘right on’ was this one
from Reed Austin. He writes, ‘You
know, maybe what I took away
from Nobles sports was that you
don’t have to be a gifted athlete—
and I was the furthest thing from
that. (Reed, humble as always! Not
true, Reed, not true!) Even if you’re
surrounded by them, to make a
difference, contribute meaningfully
to a winning season, maybe end up
seeing yourself as a winner, or at
least knowing what it takes to win,
are important takeaways. On the
field, we each have a job to do, and
pride counts for a lot. These were
important lessons, and I doubt I
could have learned them any other
way.’ Well said!
Reminiscing about varsity
baseball back in those days also
brought up memories of the
consistent play at third base by
‘Electrolux’ Joe Phillips. Shout out
to Joe! We haven’t heard from or
about Joe in a very long time. Same
can be said for his varsity soccer
co-captain, Larry Bardawil. Guys,
if you’re reading this, we would
love to hear from you.
Nick Mittell, Peter Smith, Greg
Garritt and George Parker all gathered in Dover in January for the
memorial service for John Bailey’s
father, at which John delivered an
eloquent and moving eulogy. This
version of the class notes runs the
1972
A graduate from the Class of 1972,
who requested to be anonymous,
writes the following:
“Ted Gleason was one of the most
spirited, disciplined and inspiring
men I have ever known. His was a
life of courage, grace and joy. I feel
blessed to have had a personal relationship with him that extended
far beyond our brief, shared time
at Nobles. I was a senior when
Ted arrived at Nobles to take on
the larger-than-life task of following the revered Eliot T. Putnam.
I cannot say that our class made
it particularly easy for him. We
were a pretty wild bunch! However,
Ted managed to ride out that
early turbulence, and it was clear
to me then what a special man he
was. I would not know how special
until more than another decade
had passed.
In January 1985, Ted and Anne
came to La Jolla, Calif., to attend
the Executive Health Program of
the Preventive Medicine Center
at Scripps Clinic and Research
Foundation (where I practiced and
served as department chair), a
two-day, soup-to-nuts medical and
behavioral evaluation concluding with an individually designed
personal lifestyle modification
plan. Concluding the final day, I
met with Ted to summarize the
results. It was a daunting task,
because the news I had to give was
not good. Ted was in his early 50s,
had high blood pressure, was 50
pounds overweight, had smoked
cigarettes for 30 years, disliked
and did not engage in any exercise
and had a likely genetic predisposition to heart disease, as his father
had also developed heart issues in
his 50s and died of a heart attack
in his early 60s. I asked Anne to
join us in this consult, and she did.
I began, ‘Ted, it is not a question of
if but when you will have a heart
attack, perhaps massive. Less than
50 percent of those who have a
first heart attack survive. You are
52, in the prime of your life and
career, yet also ‘prime time’ for
such an event to occur, and it will.
The only other question is essentially your choice: What can you
do for Ted to optimize the odds of
survival?’
We then reviewed all test
results, clinical indices and implications of risk, and we concluded
with what, indeed, he, and only he,
could do. He left with his personal
lifestyle change plan—exercise
prescription, nutritional and
behavioral modifications, and his
own plan for stress management
through prayer. I later learned that
when Ted returned to Nobles, he
addressed the entire school at
morning assembly and told them
about his trip to California. He told
them, ‘I happened to run into a former Nobles student of mine, and
he boldly made it clear to me that
my life was on the line and only I
graduate news
could do something about it, and
he provided me all the tools to do
so.’ He then asked the community,
the family of Noble and Greenough
School, to help him meet the challenge: ‘First period of classes are
canceled. We are all going for a
walk together, as I need your support in changing my life forever.’
Ted quit smoking and started
walking, a prudent progression
up to four miles a day. He made
significant nutritional and eatingpattern adjustments and complied
with scripted medication to treat
his hypertension. He continued
and strengthened his commitment
to the practice of daily prayer. In
addition, he quit drinking alcohol,
after deciding it depressed him.
Despite these efforts, nine years
later, Ted suffered a heart attack,
but he survived it and the subsequent surgeries, and his surgeon
made it clear that the lifestyle
changes he had made over a
decade previously were the major
factors in that happy outcome.
Ted’s case was reported—with
names changed—in Treating the
Aching Heart, by Lawson R. Wulsin,
M.D. The following quote is taken
from the book: ‘Had all those miles
[Ted] walked done nothing to
reduce his risk? Was it bad luck or
bad genes, despite giving up his
delightful vices, making a mockery
of his hard work? [Ted] didn’t see
it that way. Call it faith, call it optimism, call it hard knocks knowledge, confidence or defiance. ‘The
life that had almost been taken
away from me had been given back
to me.’ [Ted Gleason] had what it
took to sail through heart surgery
without capsizing. In fact, he made
it through a long, rewarding life…
He beat the odds and kept the
cardiologist away. The joyfulness
of this man prolonged his days.’
My meeting with Ted in Torrey Pines in 1985 was really the
beginning of a friendship that I will
always cherish. I last visited with
Ted and Anne at their home in
Washington, D.C., for a wonderful
‘lunch and learn’ in summer 2013.
Ted greeted me as he always did
whenever we met, spoke or wrote,
by saying, ‘Thank you for saving my
life.’ I responded, as I always did,
‘Hey, come on, Ted. I was just doing
my job.’ The truth, as I told him on
more than one occasion, was that
the person who saved his life was
Ted Gleason. His response to the
grim prognosis I gave him in 1985
was one of unqualified commitment to his health, and was in my
view a living expression of his own
belief and teaching about the power
of restoration and renewal that is at
the heart of what he would call ‘the
gift of grace.’ It is a gift that he gave
to so many in the course of his life.
In the famous phrase of his predecessor as headmaster at Nobles,
Ted Gleason was always, ‘the tall
gentleman helping somebody.’”
1973
Class Correspondent
Craig Sanger
917-705-7556
[email protected]
1974
Class Correspondent
Kevin McCarthy
617-480-6344
[email protected]
In February, Kevin McCarthy spent
an evening with Chris Reynolds
’78 at the regatta-bar at the
Charles Hotel, listening to Offiong
Bassey ’03. Peter Strzetelski ’78
and his wife, Debbie Lavin Strzetelski ’78, were also in attendance.
Kevin McCarthy writes, “Has
it been 40 years since I had that
meeting with Bill Chamberlin,
my independent study advisor,
to discuss the significance of
me spending time observing the
processes and practices of the
Department of Youth Services’
locked facility in Roslindale?
Has it been 40 years since our
lacrosse team went undefeated
and Nobles became a coeducational school? Forty years seems
like yesterday, when I had that
conversation with Coach Sargent
about coaching football at Nobles
while attending Boston College as
a freshman. Forty years—where
has the time gone? So much has
changed, with me, at Nobles and
in the world.
But you know what hasn’t
changed? What hasn’t changed is
the feeling I get when I return to
507 Bridge St. in Dedham. What
hasn’t changed is the familiar smile
and cheerful hello I get when I
see my old classmates in Boston.
Life for me right now is work and
school, so time with friends is
precious. I am looking forward to
reunion weekend and dinner with
my classmates. I was fortunate
to spend some time with Harry
Elam, his wife, Michelle, and their
daughter, Claire, when I went west
to visit with family in Santa Cruz.
Last year was filled with blessings,
and I look forward to more of the
same in 2014. I look forward to
seeing members of the Class of
1979, many of whom I coached,
as they celebrate their 35th. I look
forward to seeing the members of
my Nobles family, who continue to
enrich my life.”
1975
Andrea Pape Truitt
609-646-5361
[email protected]
Jed Dawson
508-735-9663
[email protected]
Doug Floyd
781-788-0020
[email protected]
Andrea Pape Truitt writes,
“Thanks to two classmates, you
are spared from my ramblings. I
would like to point out that 2015
is around the corner, and we
need to start planning for a
tremendous 40th reunion celebration. After all, we were the
first coed class, so let’s make it
celebration-worthy of being first.
I hope to see you all soon.”
Kip Dunkle writes, “Greetings
from Jen and Kip Dunkle! It’s been
a while since giving an update,
so here goes. First, our two sons
continue to amaze us. The youngest, Jeff, recently received his
brokers license and is now working
for MFS Investment Management
in Boston after working several
years at Fidelity Investments.
The oldest, John, is now a regional
sales manager for Santander
Bank in their consumer credit
division. Who would have guessed
in 1975 that I’d be writing about
my sons in 2014? Where does
the time go?
Other news? Jen and I are
finally winding down our projects
in Haiti—the orphanage, two
schools, foster family care
services, university scholarship
programs, etc.—as they are now
mostly self-sustaining. With more
than 1,700 children and young
men and women who have been
positively affected by the simple
501(c)(3) we incorporated over
seven years ago, it’s been an
incredible challenge, and more so,
tremendously rewarding.
Finally, with all my newfound
spare time, I’ve started picking up
photography again and work with
local realtors, photographing their
listings, and I’m branching out into
the professional gallery side of
the art. We’ll see where that takes
me—if anywhere. Anyway, just
waiting for spring to finally arrive
so I can get back to the racetrack
and start the driving season again.
My best to all graduates from the
Class of ’75!”
Ted Almy writes that the two
older of his three kids became engaged last fall. His oldest daughter,
Gillian, will marry in Portland, Ore.,
in November 2014, and his middle
son, Jon, will marry on Maryland’s
Eastern Shore in September. An
exciting year awaits the Almys,
including Ted’s parents, Nancy
and Ned ’55, and sisters Laura ’77
and Roz ’80.
1976
Tom Bartlett
+44 1908 647196
[email protected]
Rob Piana
617-491-7499
[email protected]
1977
Class Correspondent
Linda Rheingold
[email protected]
1978
Class Correspondent
Christopher Reynolds Cell: 800-444-0004
Home: 508-358-7757
[email protected]
1979
Holly Charlesworth Casner
781-632-3919
[email protected]
John Almy
617-448-3119
[email protected]
Dan Rodgers
212-423-0374
[email protected]
Dan Rodgers writes, “Tomorrow
is Valentine’s Day, but by the time
you read this, it will be spring, and
our 35th reunion will be upon us.
I look forward to seeing you there
on May 10.
Not much to report from the
depth of winter. Yesterday was a
big snow, sleet and rain day here
in NYC, but Nobles managed to
hold its annual alumni reception
in the city nonetheless. Big Bob
Henderson ’76, currently Le Grand
Fromage, ahem, Head at Nobles
was unable to attend (drop and
give me 20, Bob), but yours truly
was there so that I could be ‘the
oldest alum in the room.’ Yep, that
was a great moment.
I met Christine Klotz Haney
’88, Brian Cullen ’88 and
Brooke Asnis ’90, and had a nice
time chatting with them. Turns out
that Mr. Cullen is in the insurance
biz and bears a more than passing
similarity to our own Tom O’Brien,
of whom Mr. Cullen spoke fondly,
as they worked for the same
insurance company some time
ago in NYC. Having now incorporated the name of at least one
classmate into this note, my work
here is done.”
Alex Childs Smith submits
the following letter of gratitude
to her classmates in response
to the support her family has
received following the passing of
her husband. “Because, as it turns
out, grief never truly dies, I am so
very glad that neither does love.
And I’m especially gratified that
the love, in the form of freedom
from worry (aka money) continues
to flow. Last month, I received an
unexpected gift gathered from all
(most) of you right after Bret died.
I was so pleased to receive it. It will
again pay for summer camps and
trips and babysitting (and sparkle
socks, which is how my mother
assumes I spend my money). I
once scoffed at the idea of Nobles
being a ‘family’ (of course, I
scoffed at most everything once)
but I do now better understand
and appreciate and am thankful
for my Nobles family. I am also
thankful for my biological family.
Georgia, 13, is very involved in
drama, guitar and ever-evolving
(involving) friendships. She is also
a self-motivated student, which is
so great for me, I mean her. Elvis,
11, is a gifted athlete, artist and
student. He is passionate about
nearly everything, which will serve
him well provided he doesn’t suffer
spontaneous combustion or some
other unfortunate (less spontaneous) consequence. While I say
grief never dies, healing does grow
alongside it. My heart has regained
its previous vigor, and I feel back to
myself. So, overall, everything is as
it ought to be, and I am better and
better at recognizing that. And so
I am at peace (except when I am
not). Please feel free to write, visit
and call: [email protected]
or (401) 465-2448.”
1980
Class Correspondent
Rob Capone
781-326-7142
[email protected]
Rob Capone writes, “Greetings,
classmates! Here I am again to
share some news that I received
from a few folks in our eclectic
class. Bill Bell said that he and his
wife, Susan, have been living in
Cohasset, Mass., for the past 14
years. Together they have two sons
Studies Show
Did you know
that learning specialists Gia Batty
and Sara Masucci
do a monthly
podcast? Listen
to their April
edition about how
the principles of
gaming can aid
studying: www.
nobles.edu/
podcasts
graduate news
in college and are coming up on
their 25th wedding anniversary. I
recall that Bill was the male Nobles
Shield winner in our class. He
shows no signs of slowing down on
the ice or on the playing fields. He
gets back to Nobles frequently for
the annual graduate hockey and
lacrosse games. He was happy to
see a number of Nobles graduates
from various class years at this
past January’s game—Bill Bliss
’79, John Almy ’79, Ben Lasher
’77, David Marcello ’77 and Jon
Marshall ’76. Bill encouraged me
to return to the ice for next year’s
game, which was awfully nice of
him, but since I can only play at
best in a tripod league at this time,
I may have to pass.
I also heard from Martha
Kittredge Rowley, who has been
immensely enjoying the life of a
stay-at-home mom for the past
13 years. She and her family live
in Dedham, about a mile from the
Bridge Street entrance to Nobles.
She spends a fair amount of time
on campus these days, as her
son is a Class III student (Class
of 2016). Her daughter is in the
seventh grade at Dedham Country
Day, which she reminded me is
a mile in the other direction. As
a local (or should I say townie?),
Martha sees a number of Nobles
graduates and teachers frequently.
Geez, Martha, I am in Westwood
and I never see anybody from
Nobles—I am getting a complex.
Anyhow, Martha says that the
school remains a great place and
she hopes that many of us will
return next spring for our 35th
reunion. OK, really? 35 years?
And finally, check out this
picture of Jane Bliss Graham in
Ghana on page 59. Janie has been
teaching art to middle school and
high school students for the past
16 years. She states that she and
her husband are empty nesters
until their sons graduate in May.
She is keeping busy with her
volunteer work. She teaches an
art class at Sing Sing Correctional
Facility through the organization Rehabilitation Through the
Arts. She also helps design batiks
in Ghana through the fair trade
organization Global Mamas. She is
returning to Ghana for the seventh
time this March. I was so humbled
by all of the good work Jane has
been doing that I did not have the
courage to email her back and reveal my ignorance by asking what
a batik was. So naturally, I Googled
it, and thank the higher being for
Wikipedia. Batik is a cloth made
by using wax resistant dyeing techniques. Different design patterns
and colors can reflect nobility and/
or specific Hindu gods, among
other things. We can never stop
learning, I guess, particularly from
one another.”
1981
Class Correspondent
Kim Rossi Stagliano
203-610-1750
[email protected]
1982
Class Correspondent
Holly Malkasian Staudinger
914-925-2340
[email protected]
1983
Class Correspondent
Nancy Sarkis Corcoran
Home: 508-785-0886
Fax: 508-785-0887
[email protected]
Jocelyn Webster writes, “I got
married in early October 2013
on Cousins Island, Maine. My
husband (Fred) has four adult kids
and seven grandkids, so I’m an
instant mom and grammie! The
grandkids range from 4 months
old to 11 years. They all live locally
here in southern Maine, so we get
to see each other a lot. We’ve had
a busy fall, and I’m enjoying being
an official part of the family!”
Dan Tarlin writes, “My news
for the past year is that my eldest
son, Solomon, was valedictorian
of the Sharon High School Class
of 2013. One of the proudest
moments of my life! He started at
Boston University in the fall.”
Sean Duane wrote to let us
know about a great lax camp
being held at Nobles this summer.
“I was able to introduce UNC
lacrosse to Nobles. A very close
friend of mine, Joe Breschi, is
the head lacrosse coach for the
University of North Carolina.
Coach Breschi, assistant coach
Brian Holman and eight to 10
current UNC players will be
hosting a two-day lacrosse camp
at Nobles this coming summer
(July 31 through Aug. 1). This is
the first time the UNC program
has ever run anything in the
northeast. The camp will also
be held at St. George’s in Rhode
Island and Greens Farms
Academy in Connecticut.
I am excited for my son, Jack
(eighth grade), to attend the
Nobles camp and get a small taste
of what a great atmosphere the
school and campus have to offer,
all while learning from one of the
premier programs at the collegiate
level.” For more information you
can go to www.breschilacrosse.com.
1984
From the reunion committee:
We can’t wait to see everyone at
our 30th reunion! We want everyone to come back! A few tantalizing highlights: Enjoy a casual 30th
reunion cocktail party on Friday,
May 9, at Blue (Rod Walkey’s
restaurant). Rumor has it that his
band might be playing. On Saturday, head to campus and enjoy a
family-friendly, free-of-charge day:
Celebrate Jim Bride, who is being
awarded the Coggeshall Award;
cheer on our classmates crazy
enough to play in either the men’s
graduate lacrosse game or the
Carey Classic (the women’s graduate soccer game being played in
Tim Carey’s honor, as he is retiring
in June); go to the Hall of Fame
Ceremony; and head to the Castle
for an open bar cocktail party to be
followed by our class dinner, which
will be held at the base of our 1984
Castle spiral staircase.
Jessica Tyler writes, “This month,
we have updates from classmates
spanning Oregon to Boston, and a
few places in between. Thanks to
all classmates for your exciting and
interesting news.”
From Oregon, Rin Carroll
Jackson writes, “My son, Sawyer,
qualified and is competing in the
Junior Olympics this weekend in
Portland, Ore. He is an épée fencer.
The national competition includes
fencers 20 and younger and will
host 2,000 participants. Also approaching is the annual art event
that I help organize in our local
community. The 11th annual S.E.
area ARTWalk features 72 artists
on a self-guided unique art experience. Hope all is well.”
Kate Churchill writes, “We’re
still in Brooklyn and getting sick of
snowstorms! Our daughter, Posie,
just turned 4 and has become an
urban tike, zipping through Brooklyn
on her scooter and memorizing
subway lines. I just wrapped production on a movie called The Cobbler, which should hit theatres late
2014 or 2015. It’s a lovely and funny
film. I am getting a new perspective
these days on Nobles from two of
my nieces, Julia and Holly Lyne,
who started there in the fall. Julia is
in middle school under the reign of
Mr. Gifford! I hear news that Tim
Carey is retiring this year. What a
great teacher! I hope there is a big
celebration. Here’s hoping spring
comes soon. Warm wishes to all.”
Read a profile of Kate on p. 33.
From Cape Cod, Andrew
Partridge reports that he is “still
with Sperry Tents after 14 years,
and all is going very well. There
are now 20 Sperry Tents offices
throughout the United States,
along with several in Europe and
South America. Work requires that
Andrew continues to divide his
time between Naples and his home
on the Cape, where he lives with
his old dog, Marcus, his amazing
girlfriend, Haley, and her wonderful daughter, Siena. They are all
excited to celebrate becoming a
family sometime later this year.”
And finally, from the Boston
area, Joy Densler Marzolf shares,
“This winter has been superbusy. I
have been teaching more photography programs at Broadmoor, including Photoshop workshops. I am
looking forward to working on my
own photography this March on a
trip to the Bahamas to photograph
dolphins and sharks. I have also
been working hard on our Boston
Sea Rovers convention in March,
helping with the historic diving
exhibit, marketing and the free
kids’ day programs, to name a few
things. I can’t wait for the show as
my friend and National Geographic
photographer Brian Skerry is going
to emcee our big film festival, and
Sylvia Earle, the explorer, and Flip
Nicklin, also an amazing National
Geographic photographer, will be
presenting as well. I look forward to
getting a chance to talk to both of
them. On a different note, I recently
added another ‘friend’ to my collection of critters: a bearded dragon
named Irwin.”
Jessica Tyler continues, “As
for me from Duxbury, the last time
I wrote in was a year ago. I had
finished my career in event planning and was wondering what the
next phase would bring. Well, now
I know. Since April 2013, I have
been working as a sales assistant
to Duxbury’s number-one realtor,
who happens to be a great friend
of mine. I love the career change
and enjoy getting up close and
personal with some of Duxbury’s
most beautiful homes. If you are
in Duxbury, swing by Macdonald
& Wood/Sotheby’s—I’d love to
see you! Thanks to all who sent in
news. Have a terrific summer!”
EdnaMay Duffy, mother of
Michael Duffy, writes, “Jan. 30,
2014, marked 10 years since
Michael Duffy was lost in an avalanche while skiing in British Columbia. Michael’s nephew, Michael
Ahonen, who is also the nephew
of Tracey Duffy Connolly ’84, was
a member of the American Youth
Football fifth-grade national champions in Orlando in December
2013 after beating teams from Detroit, Chicago and Gainesville. He
reminds us of his uncle, who was a
member of the last Nobles football
team to win the ISL championship.
What a gene pool!”
1987
Class Correspondent
Emily Gallagher Byrne
781-721-4444
[email protected]
1986
Heather Markey Zink
508-359-9553
[email protected]
Jessica Tyler
781-934-6321
[email protected]
Eliza Kelly Beaulac
703-476-4442
[email protected]
Left: Jane Bliss Graham ’80 in Ghana; right: Joy Densler Marzolf ’86 with her new bearded dragon, Irwin
Emily Gallagher Byrne writes,
“Thank you to everyone who sent
in an update. It is so great to hear
from you!
Chrissy Kelly Baird and her
husband, Chip, are loving life with
Murphy and Kelly, twin girls who
arrived in October 2013. ‘We will
look forward to showing them
around Nobles sometime soon!’
graduate news
Ric Gazarian reports that he
recently produced an adventuretravel documentary, Hit the Road:
India, now available on iTunes and
Amazon. The film follows two
friends (Ric being one of them!)
as they race in an auto-rickshaw
for 12 days across India from
Mumbai to Chennai, recognized
by the Lonely Planet as one of
the top 10 greatest adventures in
the world. The film has found
success, including being the
number-four documentary on UK
iTunes. You can check it out at
www.hittheroadindia.com.
Liz Rosenbaum Von Wagner
writes, ‘Since I saw everyone at
our 25th reunion in 2012, I have reentered the workforce, albeit part
time, but I find it very rewarding. I
am working in the press and public
relations office of the German
Mission to the United Nations,
so I work in the same building as
my husband, Jakob. The job has
required me to become much more
up-to-date on social media, so
now I can keep up with my kids! I
commute into NYC, which can be
a drag, but I enjoy being in the city
when I’m there. Our kids (ages 14,
12, 10 and 7) keep us on our toes
at home. I was so excited to hear
from Chrissy Kelly Baird on the
birth of her twin girls this past fall.
I would love to see anyone passing
through this way!’
As for me, I remain busy at
home in Winchester, Mass., with
my three girls, Abby (11), Katie
(9) and Caroline (6). We recently
added a sweet rescue pup, Dixie,
to the mix, and so my husband,
Rick, continues to be wildly outnumbered by the females in our
house. Becca Pratt Bromark
and I meet often to walk our dogs
ers since writing the Miramax film
On the Line with Nobles classmate
Paul Stanton. He and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their first daughter,
Audrey, last year.”
1990
Class Correspondent
Elena Weiss MacCartee
202-882-2132 [email protected]
Deb Nicolls Barbeau writes,
“JB and I welcomed our second
son, William Stockwell Barbeau, on
Halloween. We went into labor after the Red Sox won the World Series. Go Sox! We are also preparing
for our move back to Boston this
summer, looking forward to being
back with friends and family.”
Sam Jackson
978-409-9444
[email protected]
all yet.’ No other details on the
engagement.
Ama Ofosu-Barko Lieb reports
that she and her husband, Al, ‘welcomed to the world their beautiful
daughter, Eliana Loveday Lieb, on
Nov. 18, 2013. Ama’s alter ego,
Nya Jade, continues her creative
endeavors in music and young
adult literature, with new releases
planned for later in the year. She
now lives in Mill Valley, Calif.,
where she’s ‘lucky enough
to spend time with fellow classmate Annie Murphy!’ (her words,
not mine).
And Carrie O’Connor Jamison
is excited to share the news of the
birth of her son, Wilbur, who was
born in August. Wilbur’s big sister,
Hannah, loves him more than
anything! They’re hoping to come
to the reunion in May.”
1994
1995
Class Correspondent
Class Correspondent
Annie Stephenson Murphy
Kelly Flaman
[email protected]
1992
Class Correspondent
1991
Class Correspondent
1991
Twins Massimo (left) and Alessandro (right), sons of Kim Kelly ‘91
and let our girls play together. I’m
hoping to see more Nobles faces
this spring. I will save that for a
future update!”
1988
Class Correspondent
John Hesse
[email protected]
1989
Class Correspondent
Rachel Spencer
917-921-5916
[email protected]
[email protected]
From the reunion committee: “T-3
months! Time flies when you’re
having fun or remembering the
fly times we had at Nobles. Come
back for the 25th reunion to
reminisce! The reunion committee members have been working
hard to plan what will be an epic
weekend. J.P. Plunkett is organizing a round of golf on Friday, May
9, in the afternoon, for those
interested. Erin and Mark Epker
have generously offered to host
the Friday evening cocktail party
for all classmates.
On Saturday, May 10, there
will be an assembly for graduates,
where our class will be presenting
the Coggeshall Award onstage to
Mr. Bride. Following assembly,
those who still got it can show
the ‘young’uns’ their skills on the
lax field and/or play in this year’s
women’s soccer game, which
will be played in honor of Tim
Carey. The Hall of Fame Ceremony
(inducting classmate Kim Griffith
Hyland) will begin at 2 p.m., where
we can praise the triathletes of
our time before it is just a thing of
the past. Saturday evening will get
kicked off with a cocktail reception
in the ‘new’ Castle. If you have not
come back to campus yet, you
are in for a real treat! Finally, we
will have our class dinner (also in
the Castle) and a night full of fun
entertainment. Can’t wait to get
everyone back and let the good
times roll!”
Susan Weintraub Stein is
living in Sudbury and chasing after
four kids, ages 4 to 12. She writes,
“I am looking forward to seeing
everyone at our 25th! My oldest
just started at Rivers this year
and is really enjoying it. Trying to
juggle two different school vacations is a little bit of a challenge,
but went to Punta Cana in March
and enjoyed warmth.”
Paul Stanton shared an update
about his classmate and life friend.
“Eric Aronson returned from the
London set of his new film, Mortdecai, starring Johnny Depp, Gwyneth
Paltrow and Ewan McGregor. Eric
penned the screenplay for the comedy involving the search for a stolen
painting linked to a Nazi conspiracy.
Eric has been busy touching up
some major Hollywood blockbust-
Kelly Doherty Laferriere
[email protected]
Kim Kelly writes, “Living and
teaching English literature in
NYC for my 18th year (very much
influenced by amazing Nobles
English teachers!). And the varsity
basketball team I coach is working
through the playoffs! My twin
boys, Massimo and Alessandro,
have celebrated a World Series
win with me—though I have now
lived more years in Brooklyn than
Massachusetts. I won’t give up
my Red Sox! And the boys are
loving it!” See photos of Kim’s
sons on page 60.
Amy Farber writes, “A few
weeks ago, I met up with Justine
Mikulis, Mitzi Fowler Johnson,
Amy McCarthy Donovan and
Evonne Wetzner at the MFA to
see Banker’s screening of The Genius of Marian. It was an incredibly
powerful movie—so well done. We
were all so touched by it. We were
lucky enough to see Banker at the
screening. We all stuck around for
a discussion panel after the movie,
then we went to lunch. It was so
great to see everyone.”
Lynne Dumas Davis
703-623-4211
[email protected]
1993
Class Correspondent
415-377-4466
[email protected]
Annie Stephenson Murphy
writes, “The Class of ’94 is gearing up for our 20th reunion in
May and must be so busy. I guess
we’re saving most of our updates
for then! A few classmates have
some exciting news to share.
I want to congratulate Matt
Glassman and his new fiancée,
Jeremy, on their engagement!
When pressed for more ‘deets,’
Matt writes, ‘Her name is Jeremy
Louis Eaton. She’s a lady with a
boy’s name. She’s an actor in the
theatre company that I work in.
We hope to get married sometime, maybe fall, but not sure at
1996
Class Correspondent
Alex Slawsby
[email protected]
Katie Cochran Delaney writes,
“My husband, Tim, and I welcomed
our son, John ‘Connor’ Delaney,
to the world on Nov. 2, 2013. He
weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces and
measured 21.25 inches long. We
are enjoying every minute with
him. See page 70 for Connor’s picture from his newborn photo shoot
with Jenny Sherman Moloney!”
Michael Fach writes, “We
welcomed baby boy Andrew
Nobles
magazine
is now on
your iPad, featuring multimedia
content. Find it on
the App Store by
clicking on “featured” and searching for “Nobles.”
Michael Fach on Dec. 16, 2014.
Other than that, all is well, and we
are getting ready for the upcoming
season. Hoping for an Angels vs.
Red Sox ALCS!”
Jenai Emmel writes, “I’d love
to announce that I am a regional
superintendent of schools in Dallas
and that I am using my experience
at Nobles to inform my perspective
on what’s possible for children who
attend high-quality schools.”
Kate Connelly Wade writes,
“Love catching up with teachers
and grads at the annual Rivers vs.
Nobles basketball game. Working on a master’s in education in
school leadership at the University
of Pennsylvania, expected July ’14.”
1997
Bobbi Oldfield Wegner
617-980-1412
[email protected]
Jessie Sandell Achterhof
781-990-3353
[email protected]
graduate news
Regis Ahern writes, “It seems like
so many Nobles grads recently
had twins, so it is timely that I am
announcing the birth of our twins!
Holden Charles and Syrie Elizabeth
were born on Oct. 17, 2013, at 5
pounds, 13 ounces and 4 pounds, 15
ounces, respectively. We are living
in Jupiter, Fla., and I am still happily
working as a real estate agent.”
1998
Class Correspondent
Melissa Tansey
617-696-7516
[email protected]
1999
1999
Class Correspondent
Stephanie Trussell Driscoll
[email protected]
Stephanie Trussell Driscoll writes,
“The reunion committee would like
to thank everyone who has made
donations this year and helped us
reach our 99 percent participation
goal. We hope you enjoyed seeing
all the #tbt pictures. The committee has also been at work behind
the scenes to plan an exciting 15year reunion for our class, and we
hope that everyone is planning to
Clockwise from top left: The Class of 1999 gathered
in NYC for a mini-reunion dinner at PJ Clarke’s with
faculty members Alden Mauck and Tim Carey. From
front left: Kate Treitman ’99, Kate Lynch ’99, Alden
Mauck, Nicole Hanson, Eric Hanson ’99, Reis Alfond
’99, Tim Carey and Stefanie Noering Alfond ’99;
Olivia West, daughter of Stefanie and Reis Alfond,
on her 1st birthday.
attend the festivities in May. Now,
for the updates: I heard from so
many classmates I have not heard
from in a few years, and I am really
excited to share the updates with
everyone.
Eric Hanson recently finished
his second year at Yahoo, where
he is working as a product manager, building their ad technology
software. He lives with his wife
in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and they
are about to celebrate nine years
in their apartment. In his free
time, Eric has gotten back into
photographing concerts around
NYC and was fortunate enough to
have one of his photos included
in an alumni art show at his
10-year college reunion last year.
Congrats, Eric!
Steve Carpenter got married
on Sept. 7, 2013, in Wiscasset,
Maine, to Kristina Gordon. Nobles
graduates Dan Cahan, Steve’s
brother, Matt Carpenter ’04, and
Steve’s sister, Meredith Carpenter ’05 were all in the wedding
party. Nick Horbaczewski ’99 was
in attendance as well. They spent
two weeks in Hawaii to celebrate
their marriage. Congrats! (See
photo on page 69.)
Dan Cahan and his wife,
Sarah, welcomed daughter
Caroline into the world on Nov. 8,
2013. They are overjoyed with her
arrival and are enjoying watching
her grow each day. She is beautiful! (See photo on page 71.)
Nick Gorman plays poker
professionally in South Lake Tahoe,
Calif. If you are ever out west,
look him up to see if you can catch
a match.
Julia Monack married Chip
McCletchie on Aug. 10, 2013, on
the Cape. Beth Curley Sum-
mers was a bridesmaid and Cam
Marchant ’02, Joe Gannon ’02,
Tim Sheridan ’02 and Maggie
McLetchie ’90 all attended the
wedding. Julia and her husband
are currently living in Charlestown
while Julia practices civil business
litigation and white-collar criminal
defense at Collora LLP in Boston.
(See photo on page 69.)
Justin Gaither and wife Daniela
welcomed their first child, Sofia
Grace, on Dec. 2, 2013. We can’t
wait to meet her in May! (See photo
on page 71.)
Gabi Herman is engaged to
Tyson Evans and will be getting
married in June on Martha’s
Vineyard. Her photography career
has also been taking off as she has
been shooting for top publications such as Condé Nast Traveler,
Cosmopolitan and Martha Stewart
Living. Look for some of her images
in your favorite magazines.
Many of you have likely heard
of Warby Parker or maybe even
wear their glasses. Co-founder Jeff
Raider first made headlines with
the popular eyewear line and was
recently featured in The New York
Times for his latest venture, Harry’s,
an online shaving company. Jeff and
his partner recently secured funding
for Harry’s and purchased Feintechnik, the source of Harry’s shaving
products, all in just 10 months.
Congrats, Jeff! We can’t wait to see
what your next venture will be.
Olivia Achtmeyer Boger
loves living in Newburyport as a
newlywed with her husband, Andy,
and she invites everyone up for a
day on the beach if you are in the
area. She writes, ‘My work as the
director of marketing at the Fenn
School in Concord is so rewarding,
and I have to say, working in an all-
2001
Left: from left: Colin Greenhalgh ’03, Ben McManama ’01, Jake Clapton ’01, Rory Walsh ’02 and Craig MacDonald ’01 participated in the
Tilli Beach Classic at Fenway Park on Jan. 10, 2014. Ben noted that USHR.com’s summary of the game “shorted him two assists”; right:
Sculpture by Jason Krugman ’01.
boys middle school is absolutely
hilarious and keeps me quite entertained on a daily basis. It is also
great because I get to hang out
with the Nobles development team
at school conferences, so it keeps
me connected to the school. I hope
you are all well, and I can’t wait to
see you at reunion!’
Stefanie and Reis Alfond celebrated the 1st birthday of their third
daughter, Olivia West, born Jan.
2, 2013. Olivia enjoyed celebrating with her two older sisters, and
she is looking forward to meeting
everyone in May.
I am looking forward to seeing
everyone in May! Please don’t forget
to save the date on your calendar.”
2000
Class Correspondent
Lisa Marx
[email protected]
Scott Annan writes, “I’m living in
NYC and nearing my 10th year
here. I’m in the process of starting
a new company called LiquidTalent,
which connects freelance workers
with employers in real time based
on location—all through your
iPhone. In my free time, I enjoy
painting. (I’ve included a photo
of my most recent work below). I
hope David Roane and Bob Freeman would be proud! I always look
forward to catching up with Nobles
friends at the NYC midwinter
event, which is in February. As a
graduate, I continually feel proud
to be a part of such an active and
accomplished group of graduates
who truly do carry forward the
Nobles traditions of hard work,
innovation and citizenship—all values that I think are needed greatly
in society today. Go Dawgs!”
Chris Milton writes, “It has
been a busy year here in Denver.
I am now a portfolio consultant
with Schwab Private Client, and I
recently passed the certified financial planner board exam. When not
at work, I have been doing a lot of
backcountry skiing and hiking all
over Colorado.”
2001
Class Correspondent
Lauren Kenney
[email protected]
In December, Nobles friends
reunited to celebrate Elizabeth
Beedy’s marriage to Matthew
Wendorf. They live in Natick, and
Liz teaches math and economics
at the Rivers School. The talented
Jenny Sherman Maloney ’96 cap-
tured the day beautifully as their
wedding photographer.
Elizabeth Clark Libert Sterner
writes, “2013 was an exciting and
busy year for me! I opened a studio
storefront for my photography
business in Cambridge, moved
out to the ’burbs, and gave birth
to Calvin Edward Sterner on Nov.
3. I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with
classmates through social media,
and I look forward to receiving our
Nobles class updates. All the accomplishments and milestones are
impressive to say the least!”
Jason Krugman writes, “I am
Scott Annan ’00 shares a photo of his most recent painting.
graduate news
excited to share that I recently
completed my first permanent
sculpture commission for a public
plaza in Bethesda, Md. The series
features three 11-foot-tall works
incorporating rolled stainless steel,
glass and LED lights. I have also
been teaching physical computing
at Sarah Lawrence College and
Rhode Island School of Design, a
discipline that enables students to
use microcontrollers, circuitry and
programming in their work.”
On Oct. 29, 2013, Elizabeth
Besser Novak and husband William Novak welcomed Brigham
Tyler Novak into their lives. He
joins big sister Tessa (2).
Matthew Wayne writes,
“On Nov. 11, 2013, Annie and I
welcomed our son, Zachary Shea
Wayne, to the world. Both Annie
and Zachary are doing great! Zachary’s hairy siblings (our dogs, Louie
and Izzy) have taken to him nicely
and can often be found ‘cleaning’
his face with lots of licks.
Annie and I live in Needham.
Annie is finishing up her residency
as an emergency care critical care
veterinarian at Angell Memorial,
and I am still working at L.E.K.
Consulting. I actually sit right next
to another Nobles graduate at
work—Dan Cahan ’99. We like to
distract ourselves from our casework and reminisce about the good
old days on Campus Drive.”
2002
Class Correspondent
William N. Duffey III
617-893-1040
[email protected]
Megan Markey writes, “I recently
moved to New York to continue
my career in residential real estate
sales with the Corcoran Group.”
Eric Williams is also living in
Brooklyn and shares, “I am still
living in Brooklyn, N.Y., and have
been in the same place for the
past seven years! I am working
as a grip on the TV show ‘The
Following,’ starring Kevin Bacon.
Tune in on Monday nights to
see the fairly entertaining show
that I spend long hours in the
cold creating!”
Margaret Gormley Donahue
married Captain David Donahue
(The Rivers School, Class of 2003)
on Oct. 5, 2013. Fellow Nobles
graduates in attendance included
bridesmaids Kate Gormley ’05
and Heather Summe-Aleksinas,
Kellen Benjamin, Scott Johnson,
Patrick Keneally ’01, Molly
Lawson Barrett, Susannah
Phillips Fogarty, Margot Lynn
Davis, Courtney Weinblatt and
Christine Kistner.
In other wedding news, Tara
Mead England married Kevin
England in December 2013.
Christine Kistner is living in
New York and recently got engaged to Patrick Bowe.
Laura Bond Sunderland writes,
“I am still living in southern Maine
and teaching middle school art in
New Hampshire. Last summer, I
learned how to surf. I look forward
to the upcoming summer vacation,
so I can do more of that! If anyone
wants a weekend away in Maine,
my husband and I love having
visitors. We have a couple of
kayaks and a sailboat too. Hope
everyone is well!”
Zach Foster and his wife,
Janie, welcomed their first child,
Jane Sidney Foster, to the world in
November 2013.
2004
Class Correspondent
Carolyn Sheehan Wintner
781-801-3742
[email protected]
For news about Nelson deCastro, see the Class of 1940 section
on page 48.
2007
Class Correspondent
2005
Greg Keches
[email protected]
Class Correspondent
Saul Gorman
617-447-3444
[email protected]
Julia Spiro writes, “I was working
as the assistant to the president
of Warner Bros. Pictures for about
a year. I just got promoted to
creative executive, which means
I’ll help oversee various projects on
our studio’s slate at different stages of production, as well as bringing in new projects. Before that, I
was an assistant at a production
company and an agency. It’s really
nice not to have to get someone
else coffee every morning!”
2006
Class Correspondent
E.B. Bartels
[email protected]
Ryan Maguire writes, “I was
married on Sept. 29, 2012, to my
beautiful wife, Sarah. I have been
married for almost one and a half
years now, and I enjoy every minute of it. See a photo of my wife,
me and our beloved bulldog, Stella,
who is a great Nobles mascot, on
page 69!”
E.B. Bartels writes, “Speaking of weddings, check the great
photo from Tim Furcillo’s wedding
on page 69. What a good-looking
group!”
2008
Class Correspondent
Aditya Mukerjee
212-935-5637
[email protected]
Shivani Kumar writes, “Christina
Matulis got accepted to medical
school and will be matriculating
in the fall of 2014! (I think to Tufts
Medical). Amarilice Young will be
starting at UPenn Law School in fall
2014. Liz Johnson will be starting
at Harvard Law in fall of 2014.”
Taylor Cazeault writes, “I have
recently moved to Nashville to
change careers! I am superexcited
to start in a new city and be back
down South. If anyone is in the
area, let me know!”
Aditya Mukerjee writes, “As
for me, I recently founded BoardRounds, a transitional care management service for hospitals, with
a classmate from both Cornell and
Columbia. We are participating in
the winter class of the Blueprint
Health accelerator and are excited
to be working in the health tech
space!”
2009
Class Correspondent
Liz Rappaport
617-413-6070
[email protected]
Hadley Stein writes, “I am finishing up my last semester at Georgetown as a government major with
minors in Spanish and justice and
peace studies. I found out recently
that I’ve been accepted into Venture for America, a fellowship
program focused on revitalizing
cities through entrepreneurship,
and I will be working for a startup
for at least the next two years.”
Ian Graves writes, “Hey! I’m
living in San Francisco now and still
working for Solarcity. I’m hoping to
be out here for the long term.”
Casey Griffin has a new job at
Cushman and Wakefield.
Manny Perez is living in
Northern Virginia, having a lot of
fun and working at a tech startup
in D.C. called Blue Tiger Labs, doing
data analysis and marketing. He is
also doing content marketing for
a nonprofit in Maryland called Mi
Casa, Inc.
Derick Beresford says, “2013
was a very eventful year. In my
last season at Wesleyan University, I reached the 1,000-point
club. It was a great personal
achievement to top off all that we
(Class of 2013) did for the basketball program. In my junior year,
we won the most games in school
history and broke the attendance
record for a home game when we
hosted a NESCAC quarterfinal
game against Bowdoin College.
I knew I wanted to stay involved
with sports even though my career at Wesleyan was done. After
graduation, I started interning
with Van Wagner Communications under their sports group in
NYC and living in Crown Heights,
Brooklyn. There I was able to gain
some valuable experience with
consulting and sales and even put
together the social media platform for one of our clients. After
my six-month internship with Van
Wagner, I got a full-time offer
to work as a sales planner for
SportsNet New York, the official
TV home of the New York Mets
and all things New York Sports.
I am pretty fresh in the role and
am learning a lot from some great
people. I’m looking forward to
hosting clients this year in our
suite at CitiField. My playing days
are not quite finished. I stay connected to basketball by playing in
two different basketball leagues
and attending as many games
around the city as I can afford.”
Nadia Lonsdale tells us that
she is currently working in Lawrence, Mass., for a nonprofit organization called Unlocking Potential.
She works with kids on the autistic
spectrum and teaches sixth-grade
math. She writes, “I guess giving
back to my community, cliché, but
I love it and am looking to further
my education on studying autism.”
She ran into Sophie Tyack early
this year and bonded over both
being teachers in Lawrence.
Hanna Atwood informs us of
the incredible things she has been
up to. “I am in the midst of my last
semester at Colgate University.
As a double major in English and
studio art, I am working toward
completing all requirements and
putting together my final art thesis
project that will be shown in the
Picker Art Gallery in April. As
captain of the club squash team,
I have been cheering from the sidelines with a recent knee injury. I am
unfortunately unable to compete
for my last season but excited to
attend the National Team Championship along with my teammates
at Princeton University. I have also
accepted a job offer from Teach
for America and will be teaching
elementary special education in
Denver. I am very excited for this
experience! With graduation in
sight, I am both eager for my next
step and also feeling nostalgic
about my time spent at Colgate
with close friends, professors and
memorable experiences.”
Chris Lehman is currently
teaching chemistry at West
Mecklenburg High School in
Charlotte, N.C., with Teach for
America. He dressed as Walter
White for Halloween.
Kaitlin Spurling writes, “After
graduating in May from Harvard
with a government degree, I
decided to continue with my passion of playing hockey and venture
off to Europe. I have been living
in Vienna, Austria, since August
and playing semiprofessional
hockey for the Vienna Sabres. I am
having the time of my life living
in the middle of the city, taking in
the culture and traveling to parts
of the world I never would have
imagined. I will be heading back to
Boston at the end of March. I have
had such a great experience and
am so thankful for all the time I
have had here, I might even return
for a second season. I would love
to see anyone who is traveling in
Austria. Can’t wait to reconnect
with everyone at reunion!”
Kelsey Lawler says, “I got
back from England in December
after working for Skidmore as the
program coordinator for their First
Year in London program. Right
now, I’m studying to take the
MTELs in English, which is making
me realize how much I miss studying and taking notes. I’m working
at Nobles in the theatre department, and so far I’ve designed the
student-directed productions as
well as the middle school play.
I’m designing the musical The
Pirates of Penzance, which hopefully
everyone will have a chance to see
at reunion, as well as a production
of Hello Again in London, opening
in July (which no one will have a
chance to see at reunion). On the
weekends I work box office and
front of house at Improv Boston,
looking to work my way onto their
in-house sketch team.”
Rob Troy shares, “I’m down in
Philly, working for a place called
Hartford Funds.”
Lauren Martin writes, “I
started working in Boston at GS
in September and sit on a team
with some fellow members of the
Nobles community (Jeff Leach ’08
and Rob Inches ’76—Go Dawgs!).
I am learning a lot and loving
the work. I can’t believe we are
five-year graduates out of Nobles.
I see fellow graduates all around
town and actually work in the
same building as Rob Owen ’07,
Matt Bezreh ’08 and Elena Laird
’07, so there is no lack of Nobles
pride on High Street. I’m excited
for the weather to get better so I
can catch some games this spring
when I visit campus. I look forward
to seeing everyone soon.”
Chris McDonald is still living
in Seattle and will be attending the
University of Washington School
of Medicine in the fall. He is currently working as a medical scribe
around the region and as an assistant coach for the University of
Puget Sound Men’s Soccer team.
Alexandra Conigliaro writes,
“I’m working in relationship
management for Brown Brothers
graduate news
Harriman in Boston with Bobby
Kelly.”
Karan Lyons writes, “I graduated from the USC School of
Dramatic Arts in May, and I’ve gone
on from working as a software engineer for Sony to working for one of
their competitors, Radius 60, where
I’m now building an arbitrage trading platform. I also run an improv
troupe and a sketch comedy troupe
in LA and light concerts whenever
I get the chance. Sadly, there aren’t
many Nobles grads I’ve been able
to keep in touch with out here in LA,
but I can’t wait to reconnect with
you all again in person this coming
May. I can’t believe how quickly five
years went by.”
Cliff Reynolds is graduating in
May, majoring in international relations and Chinese, and hopes to
find work in government or in the
private sector doing business with
(you guessed it) China.
2010
Class Correspondent
Holly Foster
508-404-4616
[email protected]
2011
Class Correspondent
Katie Puccio
508-446-0726
[email protected]
2012
Class Correspondent
Coco Woeltz
[email protected]
Samer Abouhamad writes, “I am
now a sophomore at Wake Forest
Jeff Wong ’12 (left) represents Georgetown University and the USA in boxing at a
match in England.
University. I play on the club soccer team and am involved in Greek
life. I plan on studying business
enterprise management with a
concentration in marketing and
minoring in Middle East studies.
I am also involved with Wake ’n
Shake, a yearly event that helps
raise money for the Brian Piccolo
Foundation for cancer research.
Overall, I’m loving school and am
thankful for having been so well
prepared for college by Nobles.”
Ben Kent writes, “I just started
second semester sophomore year
at Duke, and soon I’ll declare a
major in public policy. I’m a midshipman in the NROTC program,
and right now my job is planning
and leading physical training for
our battalion. Outside of that, I
helped lead the Duke Krav Maga
Club, which practices and teaches
self-defense to students. It’s also
been good to see some familiar
faces around. I had the honor of
attending last year’s Navy-Marine
Corps Ball with Tory Macdonald,
and I just joined the same living
group as Braden Tierney.”
Kenisha McFadden writes, “I’m
currently in my sophomore year at
Quinnipiac University as a broadcast journalism major and sports
studies minor. I’m involved with
the on-campus HD television station called Q30 Television. I am an
associate producer of a SportsCenter-style show called Sports Paws.
I also help broadcast and supply
color commentary for both men’s
and women’s ice hockey games.
During the spring semester, I’m
interning at NBC Sports for the
Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. I will
be editing and cutting live game
footage to be put on NBCOlympics.
com and NBCSports.com.”
Jeff Wong writes, “This January, I took a trip across the pond
to Portsmouth, England, with the
Georgetown boxing team. Six of
us flew to England to compete in a
showcase against fighters from different parts of England, hosted by
Gym 01. We arrived on a Wednes-
day and trained until Saturday, the
night of the fight. On Thursday, we
visited the British Royal Navy boxing gym, toured the shipyard, and
trained with their boxing team. On
Friday, we took a hovercraft to the
Isle of Wight to sightsee, and we
trained in a very cool rustic boxing
gym that was transformed from an
old Anglican church. On the day
of the fight, many of us were tired
from the jetlag but excited for the
fight. Unfortunately, I lost my bout
in a split decision against a tall,
lanky fighter who kept me out of
range with long straight punches.
Despite my loss, the day was still
very exciting, as I got to watch my
teammates compete while also
observing the very controlled,
technical style displayed by the
English, contrasted against the
more aggressive, forward style
displayed by the Americans.
After the fight, my teammates and I visited Stonehenge on
Sunday, and we stayed in London
on Monday and Tuesday before
our flight back to the States on
Tuesday night.”
Nobles
magazine
is now on
your iPad, featuring multimedia
content. Find it on
the App Store by
clicking on “featured” and searching for “Nobles.”
memoriam
Edward Perry Harding ’41 died on
Feb. 2, in Portland, Maine. Harding
came to Nobles from Dexter, and
he continued the Harding tradition
of excellence in athletics. Serving
as captain of the hockey team,
Harding was also a mainstay on
the football and baseball teams
from 1938–1941. He was active
in the arts, showing an early interest in photography and classical
music. He played clarinet in the
orchestra and performed several
original compositions for his
classmates. Finally, he served
on Student Council for several
years and as vice president during
his Class I year. Harding later
served Nobles as a trustee from
1962–1965.
After Nobles, Harding went
on to Harvard and graduated with
the Class of 1945. In 1960, he
moved to Washington, D.C., to
work on the Nixon campaign. He
remained active in local politics in
Maine for the rest of his life and
committed himself to galvanizing
local business as a director of the
Portland Chamber of Commerce. Harding’s early interest in
photography, which was shown at
Nobles, lasted throughout his life.
He cofounded the Harding Glidden
Photography Studio in Dedham
and purchased the Bicknell Photo
Service in Portland in 1964. Harding eventually sold Bicknell to
Konica Corporation in 1993 after
growing its workforce from 12
employees to more than 1,200.
He was also passionate about
sailing, participating in hundreds
of races and joining several yacht
clubs in the New England area.
Harding had three brothers
who all attended Nobles: Austin
’35, Goodie ’39 and Bill ’42. He
is survived by his wife, Kathy,
daughters Laurie, Susan and
Linda, sons Chip ’69 and Michael,
stepchildren Peter and Kristen,
15 grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren.
Robert C. McQuillen ’42 died on
Feb. 4 at the age of 90. McQuillen was a modest athlete who
contributed to the football,
track and crew teams late in
his career at Nobles but was
known primarily for his musical
talent. He was a mainstay in the
Glee Club from 1936–1942 and
served as president his Class I
year. He also maintained a post
in the Quartettes all six years
and won the Quartette shield his
Class I and II years. Throughout
his Class I year, McQuillen also
found time to be an integral
member of the Nobleman board
and Cercle Français, and was
president of the Rifle Club.
After Nobles, he briefly attended Harvard before serving in the
Pacific Theatre during World War
II in 1943. He re-enlisted in 1952
and fought in the Korean War.
After the war, he attended Keene
Teachers’ College and graduated
in 1959. This began a long career
in teaching at Peterborough High
School and ConVal High School in
New Hampshire until his retirement in 1984, and as a substitute
for the decade that followed.
McQuillen was also an accomplished contra dance musician.
His unique piano-playing style
set him apart during a career
that included more than 1,600
musical compositions collected
in 15 published volumes. He
started performing at dances
in 1947, where he met his wife,
Priscilla Scribner, and was a pillar
of the New England Folk Festival
for nearly 60 years. In 2008, he
received the Lifetime Contribution
Award from the Country Dance
and Song Society at the New
England Folk Festival. He is also
the first contra dance musician
to receive a National Heritage
Fellowship from the National
Endowment for the Arts in 2002.
McQuillen is survived by his
children, Daniel and Rebecca, his
cousin, Mia, four grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren.
Hugh Wallace Mitchell ’50 died
on Feb. 8, 2014. His Nobles classmates credited him with being
the “most eccentric” member of
their class and a favorite among
the boarders. “His first three years
at the school, he stayed pretty
much to himself—bright and intellectual. During his Class I year,
he emerged from his social shell,
which was the result of becoming
a boarder,” said Sid Eaton ’50.
He participated on the crew,
soccer and basketball squads
while lending his voice to the Glee
and Dramatic Clubs. Mitchell
shone particularly in the classroom. He was a two-time winner
of the scholarship prize. His future
career as a copy editor for the
Boston Globe was foreshadowed by
his Little Memorial Essay Award,
won in his Class I year.
After Nobles, Mitchell
graduated from Yale in 1954 with
a bachelor’s in English. He had a
long and distinguished career in
the newspaper industry, beginning
with the New Bedford Standard
Times and the Worcester Telegram
and Gazette before spending
many years with the Boston Globe.
Mitchell had many friends from
the Stow Senior Center, Mel’s
Commonwealth Café in Wayland
and at the Central Street Café
in Natick. He was admired for
his musicianship as a pianist
and fiddler. In summer 2013, he
published Dream Horses, The Art of
Prophecy: A Memoir, a book about
using psychic ability to bet on
horse racing.
Mitchell is survived by his
cousin, John Hanson Mitchell of
Littleton, two nephews and two
nieces.
David “Graham” Shipman ’55
died on Nov. 26, 2013, at the age
of 76. Born in Detroit, Shipman
spent his childhood years in
Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., and in
Iowa City, Iowa. He came to Nobles in 1952 and was active on the
football and wrestling teams while
making time for the Classbook
Committee and Dramatic Club.
Classmate Charlie Nichols noted
that Graham was the class artist
and cartoonist and was known for
his sense of humor and his love of
ragtime/Dixieland music. His skill
as a cartoonist would stay with
him his entire life.
Following his graduation from
Williams, Shipman relocated to
San Francisco, where he began his
graduate news
lifelong career in the banking business. He married Dede Jenkins on
Sept. 5, 1965, and the two of them
lived in various parts of California
until her death in 2004. Shipman then moved to Mt. Shasta,
Calif., to be close to family and to
pursue his hobbies of hunting and
fishing. He was an avid reader and
an expert on military history. He
was also a mentor to the younger
generation of the family.
He touched many people and
will be dearly missed by countless family members and friends
across the country. He was also
a godfather to Melinda Nichols,
the daughter of longtime friend
Charlie Nichols ’55.
Samuel R. Edwards ’56 was
known as “Dr. Edwards” or “Doctor Sam” to the thousands of folks
he cared for in and around Santa
Paula, Calif., where he lived and
worked and raised his family after
graduating from Harvard in 1960.
He was “Professor Edwards” to
the young students he taught for
many years at the University of
California, Los Angeles, School
of Medicine. He was “Commander Edwards” to those who
served with him in the Navy
in Vietnam. He was “Samuel
Roger Edwards” in the formality of those in the State Department who produce passports.
But to those who knew and
loved him in the Class of ’56, he
was just plain “Sam.” And there
was never a kinder, gentler, more
honorable or more loyal graduate
of Noble and Greenough School
than Sam Edwards. Edwards’s
brother, Selden, an educator and
author, graduated three years after
him in the Class of ’59.
In a survey circulated to the
Class in 1991 as part of its 35th reunion, one of the questions posed
was: Given godlike power, what
would you change first in your life?
Edwards’s answer was succinct: “I
need more time,” he wrote.
Sadly, time finally ran out
for Edwards on Jan. 25, when,
at the age of 76, he died in his
sleep after a long and courageous
battle with muscular dystrophy.
His wonderful wife, Marcia,
and his two sons, Harold and
Charles, were at his bedside.
Another question in that class
reunion survey 23 years ago:
“What (do) you like best in life
right now?” Edwards’s answer
was encompassing: “My home,
my family, my work, my colleagues, my country,” he wrote,
covering all his bases. And he
had a lot of bases to cover in an
extraordinarily full life packed
with a great number of interests.
Physician, hospital administrator, bank director, agronomist,
paleontologist, fly fisherman,
history buff, book collector,
archivist—Edwards’s talents and
curiosity knew no bounds, and
everything he undertook he did
with immense energy and spirit.
That energy was already in high
gear at Nobles, where he was a
member of the Student Council,
the Nobleman (photo editor), and
the Dance Committee, president
of the Glee Club, winner of the
Science Fair, president of the
Camera Club, perennially on
the Honor Roll and an enthusiastic, if not a starring, member
of the varsity football squad.
Edwards began his medical career in a practice with
four other internists and shortly
thereafter became head of the
local Coronary Care Unit. Three
decades later, he reported to
his former Harvard classmates
that he was the medical director of two different convalescent
hospitals, was teaching residents
in a nearby medical center, was
“active in a variety of executive
and medical evaluation committees,” and had served as president
of the medical staffs of two area
hospitals. He was also a director
of a local bank and was serving
as the chief financial officer for
his family’s extensive agricultural
business—a citrus and avocado
production company that went
public on May 27, 2010, when
Edwards’s son rang the opening
bell for the Nasdaq on Wall Street.
Edwards’s progressive disease
eventually put an end to his medical practice, his beloved fossilhunting expeditions and his trips
east to attend Nobles reunions.
Instead, classmates traveled to
California to visit him and were
always amazed at his unflagging
hospitality and the cheerfulness
Edwards radiated from his wheelchair, even as his health deteriorated. Dev Barker, Newell Flather,
Whizzer Wheeler and George
Waterman were among recent
Class of ’56 visitors. Dev sums up
the memory of our classmate this
way: “Sam always thought of other
people first. His kind, gentle manner endeared him to everyone who
knew him.” That says it all.
(Submitted by Timothy Leland,
Class of ’56)
Steve Carpenter ’99 and wife Kristina
Julia Monack ’99 and husband
Chip McCletchie
Nobles classmates joined to celebrate the marriage of Margaret Gormley Donahue ’02 and Captain David Donahue in October. From left: Kellen Benjamin, Heather Summe-Aleksinas,
Scott Johnson, Susannah Phillips Fogarty, Patrick Keneally ’01,
Molly Lawson Barrett, Kate Gormley ’05, Courtney Weinblatt,
Margaret Gormley Donahue, Margot Lynn Davis, David Donahue, Christine Kistner, all ’02 unless otherwise noted
Elizabeth Beedy Wendorf ’01 and husband Matt Wendorf, joined by Nobles friends.
From left, back row: Tom Hughes ’03, Liz Kingsbury Yoshino ’98, John Hughes,
Diana Beedy Baruni ’98, Matt Wendorf, Roberto Iriti, Elizabeth Beedy Wendorf,
Nate Holland, Joanna DeLong, Alexandra Templer, Lulu Miller, EJ Winter, Meg
O’Sullivan, Jillian Tuck, Meg Curley ’02. Front row: Matt Wilkos, Mickey Palone,
Devin Gallaher, Dan Cambria
Tim Furcillo ’06 married Caitlin Doran in September 2013.
From left, back row: George Maley (director of development), Hilary Segar ’06, Matt Rhone ’06, Drew Oppenheimer ’06, Greg Croak ’06, Matt Salmon ’06. Front row:
Jake Doherty ’16, Katherine Doherty ’12, Caitlin, Sam
Dawson ’06, Kelly Laferriere ’91, Rick Laferriere ’87, Jay
Hegenbart ’87, George Doherty P’91
Ryan Maguire ’06 on his wedding day
in September 2012, with wife Sarah
and their bulldog, Stella
announcements
Engagements
Marriages
Matt Glassman ’94 to Jeremy Louis
Eaton
Gabi Herman ’99 to Tyson Evans
Jake Clapton ’01 to Sarah Marich
Christine Kistner ’02 to Patrick Bowe
Jocelyn Webster ’83 to Fred in
October 2013
Steve Carpenter ’99 to Kristina
Gordon on Sept. 7, 2013
Julia Monack ’99 to Chip
McCletchie on Aug. 10, 2013
Elizabeth Beedy Wendorf ’01 to
Matthew Wendorf in December 2013
Margaret Gormley Donahue ’02
to David Donahue on Oct. 5, 2013
Tara Mead England ’02 to Kevin
England in December 2013
Tim Furcillo ’06 to Caitlin Doran
Furcillo on Sept. 21, 2013
Ryan Maguire ’06 to Sarah
Schreiber on Sept. 29, 2012.
graduate news
Murphy and Kelly Baird, daughters of Chrissy Kelly Baird ’87
Eliana Loveday Lieb, daughter of Ama
Ofosu-Barko Lieb ’94
Caroline, daughter of Dan Cahan ’99
Sofia Grace, daughter of Justin
Gaither ’99
Syrie Elizabeth and Holden Charles, twins of Regis Ahern ’97
A stylish Calvin, son of Elizabeth Clark
Libert Sterner ’01, ready for Nobles!
Zachary Shea Wayne, son of Matt Wayne ’01
Katie Cochran Delaney ’96 and
husband Tim had a boy, John
“Connor” Delaney, on Nov. 2, 2013.
Michael Fach ’96 and wife Christy
had a boy, Andrew Michael Fach,
on Dec. 16, 2014.
Regis Ahern ’97 and husband Robert
Loi Sessions Goulet ’01 and
husband Jonathan had a girl,
Clara Fairchild Goulet, on
Nov. 28, 2013.
Elizabeth Besser Novak ’01 and
husband William had a boy, Brigham
Tyler Novak, on Oct. 29, 2013.
Elizabeth Clark Libert Sterner ’01
and husband Dan had a boy, Calvin
Edward Sterner, on Nov. 3, 2013.
Matt Wayne ’01 and wife Annie
had a boy, Zachary Shea Wayne, on
Nov. 11, 2013.
Zach Foster ’02 and wife Janie had a
Harry Rex welcomes little brother William
Stockwell into the world—sons of Deb
Nicolls Barbeau ’91.
John “Connor” Delaney, son of Katie
Cochran Delaney ’96
Hannah and Wilbur Jamison, children of Carrie
O’Connor Jamison ’94
Clara Fairchild Goulet, daughter of
Loi Sessions Goulet ’01
Big sister Tess with baby brother
Brigham, children of Elizabeth Besser
Novak ’01.
Jane Sidney Foster, daughter of Zach Foster ’02
announcements
New Arrivals
Chrissy Kelly Baird ’87 and husband
Chip had twins, Murphy and Kelly, in
October 2013.
Deb Nicolls Barbeau ’91 and
husband JB had a boy, William
Stockwell Barbeau, in October 2013.
Carrie O’Connor Jamison ’94 and
husband Rich had a boy, Wilbur
Jamison, on Jan. 8, 2014.
Ama Ofosu-Barko Lieb ’94 and
husband Al Lieb had a girl, Eliana
Loveday Lieb, on Nov. 18, 2013.
had twins, Holden Charles and Syrie
Elizabeth, on Oct. 17, 2013. Dan Cahan ’99 and wife Sarah had a
girl, Caroline, on Nov. 8, 2013.
Justin Gaither ’99 and wife
Daniela had a girl, Sofia Grace,
on Dec. 2, 2013.
girl, Jane Sidney Foster, in November
2013.
archive
A Life-Changing Gift
Your support of the Annual Nobles Fund (ANF)
helps shape young lives: Gifts to the ANF support the
mentoring relationships that inspire students to reach
their highest potential now and for a lifetime.
To make a gift now, go to www.nobles.edu/giveonline, or
contact Director of Annual Giving Casey Hassenstein at
[email protected] or 781-320-7011.
tiger at the gates
Michael Beach ’82 (top, center) takes the stage in an undated photo of a production of
Tiger at the Gates, originally published by Jean Giraudoux as La Guerre de Troie N’aura Pas Lieu.
After an athletic injury sidelined Beach (see story, p. 25), he found his grand passion
as an actor. Tiger at the Gates, translated into English by Christopher Fry, takes place
the day before the outbreak of the Trojan War, inside the gates of the city of Troy.
Also pictured, from left: Luke Olivieri ’82, Wendy Riseborough ’83 and Eliza Gleason Kean ’83
NON-profit
U.S. Postage
PAID
BOSTON MA
Permit No. 53825
NOBLES • SPRING 2014
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive
Dedham, MA 02026-4099
Nobles
the magazine of noble and greenough school spring 2014
Honoring The Rev.
p. 42
THE MAGAZINE OF NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL
Edward S. Gleason Jr.,
Michael Beach ’82
in Los Angeles, the day
after “Crisis” premiered.

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