L AKESIDE fa ll | w i n t e r 2 02 0
LEARNING CORONAVIRUS IN THE TIME OF THE
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made you lo ok
L O W T I D E Beachcombers north of Seattle may have chanced upon rare treasures this unusual summer of 2020: smooth cups sculpted from clay and sand, elegant vases, life-sized human forms with meditative, serene, almost ancient, expressions. The works made by Upper School art teacher Jacob Foran were deliberately temporary, fashioned in the early morning while beaches were quiet and lasting only as long as the tide was out. “I thought a lot about what our students are going through right now, sitting on Zoom all day,” says Foran, who had felt his energy ebbing after a spring of remote teaching. “For my class on ceramics and sculpture, I designed and created a new curriculum for online learning, and I thought it would be nice to film silent demonstrations and teach through the art of visuals. I realized that filming with blue waves and the sounds of water had a calming effect. I thought the footage was beautiful.” You can see those demonstrations in a 6-minute “Back to School Night” video that Foran put together for parents and guardians of his 3D Arts students: bitly.com/ForanArt
lakeside magazine staff E D I T O R Jim Collins A L U M N I R E L AT I O N S & N E W S Kelly Poort A R T D I R E C T O R Carol Nakagawa W R I T E R S Jim Collins, Amanda Darling,
Leslie Schuyler, Mike Lengel
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Tom Reese, Clayton Christy, Katie M. Simmons C O P Y E D I T O R Mark Watanabe
Lakeside magazine is published twice yearly by the communications office of Lakeside School. Views presented in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the school.
Photo: Jacob Foran
Meet André Mattus '13 , one of the Lakeside responders. PAG E 2 4
contents COVER STORY
Old School, New School 1 4 Essential Workers 2 4
Part of the back-to-school welcome package, 2020.
Head Note 2
I N S I D E L A K E S I D E
A L U M N I N E W S
Poetry: “Sophomore English,” by Deborah Bacharach ’84 3 2
Campus Briefs 4
Class Connections 3 3
2020-2021 Admissions 5
Distinguished Alumni Award 4 2
Essay: “Our High-Wire Act,” by Bob Henry 4 8
Lakeside Sketchbook 7
Lakeside Lecture Series 6 Athletics 8 Student Showcase 1 0
2020-2021 Alumni Board 4 3 In Memoriam 4 5
Syllabus 1 1 From the Archives 1 2 Faculty Notes 1 3
Cover photo by Siddarth Hathi '20
TALK TO US We welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Reach us at magazine@lakesideschool.org; via social media; or Lakeside Magazine, 14050 1st Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98125-3099.
FIND US Facebook: facebook.com/lakesideschool Twitter: twitter.com/lakesideschool Instagram: @Lakeside.Lions
From the exhibition "Little Black Boy Makes Imperial Porcelains," Alex Anderson '09. PAG E 37
Photo courtesy of the artist and GAVLAK Los Angeles / Palm Beach
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he ad note
To Be Resilient A S I T W A S F O R S C H O O L S all over the world, the opening of the 2020-2021
school year at Lakeside was an unusual one. We prepared all summer to open in a blended format in the fall, meaning students would alternate between being in classes on campus one week, socially distanced and masked, followed by a week of learning remotely at home. But for a variety of reasons we decided in September that we could not yet open for in-person learning, and we started the year with our students learning from home. While remote learning is certainly not the ideal learning mode for many, students still appreciate creative work of their teachers to provide a variety of activities in classes — and breaks to move around! Their teachers are drawing on last summer’s training by the Global Online Academy, a nonprofit Lakeside launched with a group of forward-looking independent schools in 2008. When I sat in on a Middle School art class recently, students were drawing at home using prompts given by the teacher and learning how to load their drawings into a digital gallery for others to view. I saw our students eagerly learning new skills and gaining facility with new technology. You will read about some of the creative instruction by the faculty in this issue of the magazine. The teachers deserve a lot of credit for their good work in the face of challenging external circumstances. Lakeside School opened in 1919 in the middle of the last pandemic, the Spanish flu, and in the past 100 years it has weathered world wars, depressions, the Cold War, and times of great wealth disparity and economic hardship. While the current pandemic, ongoing racial turmoil, and a polarizing presidential election present unique challenges, we will meet those challenges and emerge from this period an even better, stronger school. In these unusual times, we are more certain than ever that our students will need to be able to solve unstructured problems, be resilient, and communicate with and listen deeply to others. We are offering opportunities for them to practice these competencies, as well as the mindsets of equity and inclusion, ethics, health, and service to prepare them to be effective citizens and leaders, regardless of external circumstances and the vicissitudes they face in life. The pandemic creates significant uncertainty for all of us, and we will get through it together. The school will continue to do for our current students what Lakeside School has done for all generations of alumni: prepare them to be ethical citizens and leaders in an ever-changing world. I am beginning my 22nd year at Lakeside, and it is a privilege to know so many of you and observe the contri-
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butions you make to your communities and to society. In this magazine we share some of the contributions of your fellow alumni to aid in the current crisis. Take good care, everyone, and stay safe. I look forward to seeing you all in person when the campus reopens!
BERNIE NOE • HEAD OF SCHOOL
Illustration: Sydney Y. '22
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single quote
“
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It is in times of difficulty
that core values are put
Campus Briefs
to the test. And so far what I have seen at Lake-
BAC K TO S C H O O L
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akeside waited until Aug. 19 — hoping until the last minute for safer numbers from county and state health officials — before announcing it would open the 2020-2021 school year fully remote. The intention and the reality established a tension that would permeate the fall semester: On one hand, Bernie Noe and the school’s senior administrative team fervently hoping and planning to bring students back to campus for at least a partial in-person experience, and, on the other, a stubborn infection rate in King County and the ZIP codes where Lakeside’s families live. The school adapted campus protocols and spaces for socially distanced interaction and contracted with outside vendors to manage on-site testing and contact tracing. But unsafe COVID-19 levels across the region persisted and even increased as the cooler weather arrived. A reopening planned for Oct. 26 was delayed. Alternative plans and contingencies continued to be made and remade, with hopes to implement at least a phased reopening before the New Year. Infection rates pending. THE RE-ENVISIONING
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n the midst of the pandemic last spring — with so much change brought on by remote instruction and no guarantee the coming school year would be normal — Lakeside’s administrators announced it would delay by one year the decision about the new allschool calendar and Lion Term, the three-week program tailored for experiential education and other specialized academic experiences. The plans to implement a new curriculum based on competencies and mindsets, however, remain on track for the 20212022 school year. Interestingly, COVID-19 and the school’s forced transition to remote instruction has accelerated that process: In their new teaching formats, faculty members are making decisions about what content is essential and what to let go of, and intentionally incorporating the critical competencies that students will need to thrive in this uncertain time and beyond. Meanwhile, a “growth and learning” mindset has become a daily requirement for faculty and students alike. For an in-depth discussion of the initiative, see the Spring/Summer 2020 issue of Lakeside magazine. Find descriptions and updates at lakesideschool.org/re-envisioning. ( C O N T I N U E D PA G E 6 )
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Photo: Tom Reese
side is the strength of this community that brings together faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents and guardians at work in every challenging situation that has come our way. This community exists in a strong reality in this virtual COVID space that I have come into, and I feel fortunate to see its strength continue to support the difficult work ahead of us.”
— Reem Abu Rahmeh Middle School director
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BY THE NUMBERS 1,041
students applied 631 Middle School 410 Upper School
51%
163
new students enrolled
26
male
languages spoken
<1%
non-binary
152
offered admission
49%
female
Everett
Shoreline
4.6%
Latino/ 2.6% Hispanic Declined African American to answer American
8.6% 15.1%
405
Multiracial
Middle Eastern American
32.9%
35.5%
Asian American
Kirkland
5
0.7%
Redmond Seattle
European American
Our new students come from
Lakeside School
Bellevue
90
82 schools
Sammamish
90
1% home-schooled 7% religiously
64% public
affiliated
27% independent 5
Students receiving financial aid
2020-2021 tuition
$38,160
Kent
33%
Average family income of those receiving financial aid
Total tuition aid for all students
$8.6 million
$147,930
Schoolwide, students receiving financial aid pay an average tuition of
$8,650
Tacoma
ADMISSIONS 2020 Our new students come from 39 ZIP codes represented by the points on this map.
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Olympia
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inside l ake side CAMPUS BRIEFS (CONTINUED)
OU R WO R K TO G E T H E R
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n summer 2020 — during a time of national reckoning about racism — administrators and trustees learned about the experiences of Lakeside community members who identify as Black, African American, or African at listening sessions with students and parents/ guardians, by reading stories shared on Instagram by @BlackatLakeside and @nbpocatlakeside, and from a letter and comments shared by alumni. Drawing on takeaways from the summer, Lakeside’s diversity, equity, and inclusion team strengthened the current equity and inclusion initiative, “Our Work Together,” in four key areas: hiring faculty of color; transforming the curriculum and ways of teaching; formalizing a system of DEI feedback and support in employee evaluations; and revamping the student discipline system. The school recently launched a dashboard that tracks what is going well and what needs improvement for each goal of the initiative. Visit lakesideschool.org/ ourworktogether to hear from administrators, find regular updates, and get involved. N AT I O N A L M E R I T S C H O L A R S
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wenty-four Lakeside students were named semifinalists in this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program. The designation — based on scores on the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) — was awarded to less than one percent of the 16,000 U.S. high school seniors who had completed the test in their junior year. Of the Lakeside Class of 2021, 16% received the designation, the highest percentage of any high school in the state. The PSAT is one of several standardized tests that Lakeside Upper School students can choose to take. Lakeside typically administers the PSAT to sophomores and juniors in October. The current scheduling of the PSAT to juniors and a virtual practice test to sophomores has been delayed at least until January 2021. M E N T O R P R O G R A M U P D AT E
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ast year’s inaugural cohort of the mentoring pilot for Black, African, and African American students linked 14 Upper and Middle school students with alumni of color in the Seattle area. The mentors made time for one-on-one conversations about school and careers and being heard, gave advice, helped strategize, provided references — even showed up in person to share lunch or support students acting in a school play or trying out for a team. The program continues into its second year with a dozen returning members and a new cohort of 15 students. The pandemic, says program director Latasia Lanier ’90, has broadened at least one aspect of the program: “Half of our mentors in the new cohort are from out of state.”
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Lakeside Lecture Series With the ongoing pandemic, the 2020-2021 Lakeside Lecture Series does not include evening events for the larger Lakeside community. Instead, speakers have been invited to address students, online, at Upper School assemblies and in classes. In October, Lakeside and six other local independent schools launched a yearlong Virtual Equity & Inclusion Speaker Series. lakesideschool.org/dei-speakers D A N AY R A U LT M E M O R I A L L E C T U R E | Feb. 10, 2021
Naomi André is Professor in the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, Women’s Studies, and the Residential College at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on opera and issues surrounding gender, voice, and race in the U.S., Europe, and South Africa. Her publications include topics on Italian opera, Schoenberg, women composers, and teaching opera in prisons. Her book, “Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement” (University of Illinois Press, 2018), won the Lowens Book Award from the Society for American Music. She is a co-editor for the essay collection “African Performance Arts and Political Acts” (University of Michigan Press, forthcoming in 2021). She is the inaugural Scholar in Residence at the Seattle Opera. MARK J. BEBIE ’70 M E M O R I A L L E C T U R E | March 17, 2021
Min Jin Lee — who was scheduled to make this address last spring, before the campus shut down — will join us this year, virtually, from her home in New York. As we introduced her a year ago: her 2017 novel “Pachinko” broke new ground, exploring themes of discrimination and identity as it chronicled four generations of an ethnic Korean family in South Korea and Japan. The title was a finalist for the National Book Award for fiction. Lee’s debut novel, “Free Food for Millionaires” (2007) was a national bestseller and landed on numerous lists of the year’s top books. She speaks frequently about writing, politics, film, and literature at institutions including leading American colleges and universities, literary forums, and Asian and Asian-American centers and conferences. In 2017, she won the Brooklyn episode of the acclaimed performance/literature series Literary Death Match. Speakers in the series are chosen by a selection committee drawn from Lakeside faculty, staff, parents/guardians, alumni, students, and trustees. The views and opinions expressed by speakers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Lakeside School.
LAKESIDE SKETCHBOOK
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inside l ake side AT H L E T I C S
Lions on the Sidelines
How the pandemic changed the rules of recruiting. BY MIKE LENGEL
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N N O R M A L T I M E S , you’d be reading right now about the girls lacrosse team’s quest for a state championship, or perhaps our boys and girls tennis teams’ continued dominance of the Metro League. But Lakeside’s student-athletes, along with thousands of high school and college athletes around the country, had barely gotten a week of practices under their belts last spring before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the spring season, a cancellation that carried over into the fall and which could be continuing even as you read this. So Lakeside’s coaches and student-athletes, like everyone else, were forced to adapt. Teams used virtual spaces to conduct team meetings and shifted their focus from competition and strategy to culture-building and team chemistry. “We tried to focus on what was to come, and not dwell on the things that we had no control over,” says baseball program head Kellen Sundin. “We tried to have fun when we were together (albeit remotely) via trivia games or other ways. As tough as it was, I didn’t want us to spend our time with each other sulking about not being on the baseball field together.” The canceling of the sports seasons has been doubly challenging for athletes who have their sights on playing in college. In Lakeside’s Class of 2019, 23 student-athletes committed to playing a sport at their college or university of choice. In last year’s senior class, 20 students did. Aspiring college athletes typically promote themselves like free agents in the professional sports market. They send out highlight videos of their best performances; they set up online profiles and social media feeds that call out their current times, scores, and achieve-
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ments; they invite college coaches to come watch them play. But without a spring or fall season, many Lakeside athletes were left to navigate this process without any of those things: no game film, no games, no practices. With social distancing measures in place, not even the space to gather in small groups to simulate competition. With gyms, pools, parks, and other public exercise areas being closed, athletes needing to train and develop their skills were left to improvise. “It was really disappointing for me,” says Samantha O. ’22, a college volleyball hopeful. “My teammates and I were all really excited to be together for the fall season, and instead we were having to find ways to practice by ourselves.” Initially, she says she was unsure of the value of practicing by herself. “But then I started to see it as an opportunity to get better at the
finer points of the game,” she says. “I had my dad serve the ball to me in our backyard, so I could practice serve-receive passing, or I’d practice setting the ball into my basketball hoop. And now those are things I think I’ve improved at a lot, and hopefully college coaches will see that.” “There was a moment this summer when the recruiting process stalled for many students,” says Ari Worthman, director of college counseling at Lakeside. “As colleges determined their reopening plans, athletes, both incoming and returning, were deciding whether to take gap years or a leave of absence from their schools.” This caused a lapse in communication between recruit and recruiter, Worthman says. “Coaches didn’t know what their rosters would look like for this year and the next few years, and thus didn’t know what they could offer prospective athletes.” The uncertainty added to an already difficult and complex recruiting process. For some high school sports, recruiting is primarily numbers-driven. Times, scores, and sport-specific statistics are the main focus, rather than the physical makeup of an athlete. “Golf certainly is a different beast,” says Doug Porter ’80, coach of the boys golf team. “Recruiting is probably 90% results-driven, without the need for a kid to pass an ‘eyeball’ test.” Swimming, track, and cross-country follow similar practices, where “personal best results” take precedence over height, weight, and other physical markers. Athletes in those sports, at least, have had something tangible to share with college coaches — albeit only results from their most recent official competitions. For sports like football, lacrosse, soccer, and volleyball, where an athlete’s height, weight, strength, and other physical attributes are major recruiting factors, Lakeside’s athletes have needed to adapt in unique ways. I’m the program head of our football team at Lakeside and have noticed Photo illustration: Mike Lengel
an interesting trend in the way col- Jamie Asaka ’96, who coaches the Lileges have shifted their football re- ons girls lacrosse team, as well as a club cruiting. Coaches have been asking team. “There are things that happen on to see cellphone videos of kids lifting a high school team that don’t necessariweights and running sprints to prove ly happen on club teams,” she says. “Betheir strength and speed, stepping ing named a captain, earning all-league on scales to prove their weight, and or All-American honors, building leadstanding in doorways to prove their ership skills, keeping grades up while height — all things that could be fal- playing a sport — those are things that sified with no game film to back them college coaches still want to see, even if up. They’ve asked our players to film a player’s athletic skills are being evaluthemselves running footwork drills or ated only from club sports.” playing basketball in their driveways Lakeside’s athletics department, led — anything to show athleticism. by Director of Athletics Chris Hartley Senior football player Youngjoo L. (who also coaches the boys lacrosse says he’s talked to about 20 different team), is doing its part to make the adapschools about playing for them, and tation process easier, not just for recruited athletes, but for every the process is constantly athlete at the school. The changing. “Every coach- Follow Lakeside strength and conditioning ing staff has a different Athletics coaches introduced a proway of recruiting,” he on Facebook or gram called PLT4M, which says. “Some coaches care on Twitter at builds at-home bodymore about workout @LakesideLions weight workouts, customvideos, 40-yard dash ized by grade-level and times, and drills, while some will really just focus on my film. sport. The school delivered ergometers I found it was important to be super (indoor rowing machines) to the homes open-minded. It was definitely hard of all Upper School crew athletes who to navigate, but as I went through the didn’t already have one. Head athletic process, I realized there was no point in trainer Antonio Gudiño kept the trainstressing out. All I could do was keep ing room open for socially distanced working and putting myself out there.” appointments for athletes dealing with It’s worth noting that in today’s injury. Maddie Walsh ’16, who attended climate of competition for athletic the University of Southern California scholarships and college roster spots, and worked in the recruiting departmost sports offered at the high school ment of its football team, was invited level have club counterparts — that is, to give a Zoom presentation to Lions privatized teams that play outside of football players about how to use social state, league, and school regulations, media to make themselves more attracand which often expose athletes to tive to recruiters. And Lakeside coaches elite-level coaching and competition. have adapted their traditional in-perIn the Seattle area, sports such as base- son team-building models to fit a more ball, lacrosse, basketball, volleyball, socially distanced environment. “The recruiting process may never soccer, and swimming have highly visible, highly competitive club programs be the same,” Hartley says. “But Lakewhere much of the college recruiting side Athletics is committed to continprocess happens. If college coaches ually adapting to help our athletes be want to see their recruits in action, the best they can be during high school they’ll want to see them perform at and beyond, and to making sure the experience of wearing a Lions uniform high levels against equal competition. “That doesn’t devalue the impor- stays a positive and rewarding one.” tance of participation in high school sports in the recruiting process,” says
Mike Lengel is Lakeside’s creative content director and digital content producer.
N EW T RU ST E E S Lakeside welcomes three new board members and a new chair, Carey Crutcher Smith ’77, who replaces outgoing chair Bert Valdman in the first of a two-year term. Joining the Board of Trustees are: David de la Fuente, who has volunteered and worked for more than 30 years in the fields of human services, foster care, and youth development. He and his wife, Sabrina, have two children, Isaiah ’16 and Olivia ’23. Michael Nachbar, executive director of Global Online Academy (GOA). He is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, where he presents on educational trends, modern teaching and learning, and global education. He was assistant director of Lakeside Middle School for three years before becoming full-time executive director of GOA in 2011. April Joseph, serving one year as current president of Lakeside’s Parents and Guardians Association. She previously served the PGA in a variety of leadership roles. She taught middle school and high school Spanish in the Bay Area before deciding to devote full-time to raise her family. She and her husband, Anthony, have four children, including a Lakeside senior, Elian, and two Lakeside alums, ’14 and ’18. See full board list on page 44 F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 9
inside l ake side
“HIGH” Oil on canvas, 16” x 20” Personal project Sydney L. ’22
STUDENT SHOWCASE
This work is partly inspired by a piece of mine entitled “Opium." The poppies in that painting symbolize the Opium Wars and the perception of East Asian Americans as beautiful yet poisonous, exotic but barbaric. The subject of this painting is my best friend, Anita Gao — "Gao" meaning "high" in Chinese. (S.L.)
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U P D AT E : T H E D O W N T O W N S C H O O L
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N J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 , Lakeside’s first “micro-school,” The Downtown School, received accreditation from the Northwest Association of Independent Schools. Since then, it has continued to expand its operation — and its influence. In its third year of operation, the school has seen its enrollment grow from 42 to 122 students, 35% of whom identify as people of color and 9% of whom receive some form of financial aid. From its six founding staff members in 2018, The Downtown School now employs 13 teachers and staff (see above). The school partners with more than 30 organizations for city-as-lab experiences. Students begin and end each year with intensive, three-weeklong courses, and they choose from among 49 different Global Online Academy electives. The Downtown School has received national attention for some of its innovative applied instruction. In June 2021, the school will celebrate a major milestone: its first graduating class, made up of 13 seniors. — Brian Crawford, director of coummunications, The Downtown School
SYLLABUS
Mathematics of Democracy
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O, Y O U ’ V E D E C I D E D you want to set up a democracy — outstanding! We have just a few questions: How often do you want to run elections? Who should get elected and how? How do you plan to quantify the will of the people? How popular should a candidate be to gain office? How will you combat the tyranny of the majority? Should candidates who fail to win a majority enter a runoff election? (Bear in mind that a runoff might bar the election of Jesse “The Body” Ventura, but it would likely also sink the candidacy of Abraham Lincoln.) Mathematics of Democracy has been co-taught by mathematicians, historians, psychologists, and political scientists in its six-year lifespan as a Lakeside elective, and it carries the imprint of all of these, examining social choice theory and elections, representation and gerrymandering, polling, and electoral colleges. We’ve launched the course with questions around the appeals of democracy and the fairness of elections, pairing contemporary think pieces from Anne Applebaum and Jill Lepore with the timeless observations of Alexis de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” and James Madison’s “Notes on the Debates in the Federal Convention.” It’s especially exciting to be keeping one foot firmly planted in federal and state elections this year while examining the
Photo: Tom Reese; illustration: Fred Birchman
long-term contexts in which they’re occurring. One of the major challenges of studying democratic elections lies in quantifying voter behavior and choices. Hodge and Klima’s “The Mathematics of Voting and Elections” has some lessons for us here, as does the work of Kenneth Arrow, John Banzhaf, and Jean-Charles de Borda. If, as Gibbard and Satterthwaite would tell us, no electoral system can meet all of our criteria for fairness in voting, how do we proceed in seeking a system that sacrifices the least? — Bill Souser
Bill Souser is Upper School history teacher and co-teacher with course designer and Upper School math department head Todd Kresser.
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f ro m t h e a rc h i v e s
The Laptop Controversy BY LESLIE S CHU YLER
D
U R I N G T H I S T I M E of the coronavirus, as my two children (ages 7 and 9) use laptops to attend school from a distance, and I and my archivist husband use ours to work remotely, I’ve wondered about Lakeside’s own laptop story. The first mention in the Tatler of a “laptop task force” appeared in the February 1998 issue. The article outlined some of the problems that requiring all students to use laptops would have to resolve: cost, technology, and training, for starters. It didn’t predict what would end up being the most pressing issues, however — issues that, for a time, would put Lakeside in the national news. Today it’s hard to imagine that laptops would cause such a stir. We’ve been using them in classrooms for two decades. But if you take a closer look at the context in which the program occurred, it begins to make sense. In early 1999, Head of School Terry Macaluso, who had been in the position since 1992, gave her notice. By the time Lakeside was ready to begin a laptop pilot program later that fall, the task of overseeing it fell to the new head, Bernie Noe. Around the time that Macaluso had been appointed head, a shift was occurring in the way independent schools operated, in line with what was happening in the corporate world: a focus on implementing systems of accountability and consistency. In previous years (even decades), Lakeside faculty had a great deal of flexibility in how and what they taught. That freedom made possible incredible creativity, but it also led to unevenness and deficiencies across Lakeside’s academic program. The sensible push for reforms eroded some of the power that
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In 2001, Lakeside became one of the first schools in the U.S. to require the use of laptop computers. By decadeʼs end (above), they had become an unremarkable part of the classroom environment.
teachers had enjoyed to design their own curriculum. The board charged Noe with implementing a system of evaluations begun under Macaluso’s leadership. Some teachers’ contracts were not renewed, while others decided to leave the school. Against that tumultuous backdrop, the laptop pilot program began in 1999. It continued through the spring of 2001, during which time 8th graders were added to what had been a 7th grade program. Before the first pilot, faculty member Judy Lightfoot had written a “Seattle Weekly" article that highlighted some of the concerns she and other teachers had about laptops in the classroom: that Lakeside was jumping on an expensive technology bandwagon that wouldn’t benefit learning, could harm student-teacher relationships, and appeared to present a conflict of interest in that some donors, employed in the world of computer technology, would benefit a great deal from the school’s adoption of such a program. Parent and
faculty concerns mounted between then and the spring of 2001, and by the time Noe held a laptop information meeting on March 14, a number of community members had raised
This cartoon appeared in the March 1998 issue of the student newspaper, Tatler, as the schoolwide discussion of laptops emerged. Images: Jane Carlson Williams ʼ60 Archives at Lakeside
FACULTY NOTES serious concerns, resulting in letters from parents and a debate that drew local and national media attention. A week later, Noe released a letter announcing the decision of the board, task force, and administration to move forward with the program. In the announcement, Noe addressed financial, relationship, and faculty preparedness concerns, concluding, “Our students no longer inhabit the world we grew up in when we were in school — pencils, paper, typewriters, and three-ring binders. They will live in a world that is being continuously re-created through the power of computing, and we are irresponsible if we do not move forward boldly and help them to learn how to use this power responsibly and effectively.” Shortly before making the decision, Noe had received word that The Paul G. Allen Charitable Foundation would pledge $10 million to build a cutting-edge wireless network and provide funding for Lakeside students who couldn’t afford the hardware costs. Noe has said Allen’s donation changed everything. In the fall of 2001, Lakeside became one of the first schools in the country to make laptop computers a requirement for all students grades 7 and up. No one could foresee, of course, that a worldwide pandemic would again change the educational landscape that students inhabit. Having had a laptop program for the past 20 years hasn’t freed Lakeside from the hiccups and concerns that inevitably arise with new technologies, but I think it has given students and faculty a familiarity with and expertise in using what has become a powerful tool for learning and connecting in the time of the coronavirus. Leslie Schuyler is the archivist for the Jane Carlson Williams’60 Archives at Lakeside. Visit the archives webpage: lakesideschool. org/about-us/history-archives. Photo: Tom Reese (Shiner)
News and sightings from outside the classroom
Just three weeks into her first school year at Lakeside, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Wellesley L. Wilson presented (virtually) at the 2020 Enrollment Management Association’s annual conference. Co-presenting with a half-dozen admissions professionals from around the country, Wilson spoke to some 3,500 online attendees about her experiences “of being an admissions director and a person of color in predominantly white schools, and how we approach this work to benefit our schools and sustain ourselves.” Middle School history teacher Merissa Reed and former Middle School Assistant Director Ted Chen presented jointly (also remotely) on “Teaching Inclusive History” at the Washington State Social Studies Conference in October. The duo is in demand: It was the fourth time they have given a presentation on the topic. Two members of Lakeside’s faculty recently earned master’s degrees. Upper School English teacher Bob Lapsley received a Master of Public Health from the University of Washington with a focus on global health. His thesis analyzed the potential for HIV self-testing among adolescents and young adults in Kenya. Middle School Spanish teacher Patrick Sjoberg received a Master of Arts in Spanish from Middlebury College. Meanwhile, Upper School math teacher Zach Shiner became Lakeside’s most recent National Board Certified Teacher. “Japanese Yellow Plum,” a photographic print made by Upper School photography instructor Barry Wong, was included in the Seattle Art Museum’s annual auction.
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Japanese Yellow Plum, 2010, by Barry Wong. Archival giclee photographic print, 17” x 24”
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“The Threat Continues — Bite Back,” a quilt created by Upper School Service Learning Coordinator Zinda Foster, was selected to be a part of “We Are the Story,” a multisite initiative of exhibits and community events in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The exhibitions, presented by the Textile Center and the Women of Color Quilters Network, opened in September and will extend until the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd. MaxPreps, a national authority on high school sports, named Lakeside School in its listing of 50 state rankings as Washington’s most dominant athletics program since 2018. In a Tatler article reporting on the ranking, Director of Athletics Chris Hartley credited the success to the school’s athletic trainers, strength and conditioning instructors, and coaches, who are “incredible teachers and incredible motivators.” Head of School Bernie Noe was a featured expert in a videotaped case study put together by the Harvard Business School. The case study will be used in the business school’s course “Leading Learning,” as part of the school’s Certificate in School Management and Leadership Program.
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Zach Shiner F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 6
c o v e r s t o ry
Learning in the time of the coronavirus has been a challenge for students and teachers everywhere, at all levels. At Lakeside — where unstructured problem-solving and student-led inquiry are championed — it has also been an opportunity.
Creative teaching. Inventive tools. Thinking inside and outside the box. On the pages that follow are examples of what’s changed and what looks different but has stayed the same.
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NEW SCHOOL PA I N T I N G BY D E A N W I L L I A M S
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old school, NEW SCHOOL Testing and Tracing Health screening, COVID testing, contact tracing, revised food program and cleaning procedures, on-site child care, complicated transportation logistics, issues of equity and access, impossible-to-please-everyone communications: An unprecedented list of challenges became a feature of daily school life in 2020. Staying on top of the list has fallen in large part to Lakeside’s director of experiential education, Bryan Smith (right), who was tapped at the start of the pandemic to be the school’s COVID-19 health and safety officer. Smith works closely with the senior administrators on the school’s risk management team as well as with school staff working on different aspects of reopening campus. He’s the one who attends regular briefings with public health officials, runs point with the vendors providing the testing and tracing services, serves as the go-to for all those with questions. All while waiting for the conditions that allow for a safe return to campus. He reminds us, “We all need to remain flexible, collaborative, and committed to a growth and learning mindset. ...” Find the latest reopening plans, along with a who’s who on the risk management team and Lakeside’s medical advisory board, at lakesideschool.org/reopening.
Virtual Boot Camp For one week in June, Lakeside faculty members took part in a technology workshop led by coaches from the Global Online Academy, the consortium that has established many of the standards and best practices for online instruction. The academy’s instructors presented design challenges and exercises aimed at creating meaningful relationships with students, exploring online tools and navigation, and developing strategies for presenting materials and assessing student work. The boot camp provided basic training and a leg up for teachers heading into a summer of intense professional development and brought the Global Online Academy full circle — Lakeside was a founding member of the consortium back in 2011.
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“The teachers and students have agency here. The technology needs to work for who and how we teach.” — Jamie Britto (left), Lakeside’s newly hired director of technology. Britto, an author and national thought leader at the intersection of education and technology, won a 2018 “Pillar Award” from the Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools.
Photo: Mike Lengel (Smith)
Portables In August, four temporary classrooms, each 28 by 64 feet, became big news on campus. The structures are designed to house math and language classes that normally meet in upstairs rooms in Allen Gates and Bliss halls — rooms too small to meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for socially distanced teaching and learning. “The last time we had portables,” noted Academic Dean Hans de Grys in a Tatler article this fall, “we let students name them, and they chose names like Narnia, the Death Star, Middle Earth, and Sparta.”
New Look In early October, Lakeside’s entering 5th graders had the chance to come to school and — while socially distanced — got to know each other, in person, in the physical space they will come to share as Lakeside middle schoolers. They played games, did team-building exercises, and got a taste of a normal school day filled with physical activity, music, art, and academic exploration. Shown here, clockwise from left: Grayson P. raises a hand. Yitbarek M. pencils it out. Abigail L. tunes up. Other groups in small numbers — students brand new to Lakeside, Upper School advisories — also had a chance to break out of their Zoom classes and spend time together on campus.
Photos: Tom Reese (top); Jay Waltmunson
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Rialto Beach, Olympic coast | Photo: Grant Longenbaugh
Lakeside Outfitting and Guide Service The school’s Outdoor Program took a creative new tack over the summer to continue providing outdoor education even without offering student trips. It offered its expertise and inventory instead to families in need of outdoor gear and local knowledge. Experienced staff members advised on where to camp and hike in the Pacific Northwest, and lent maps, tents, stoves, sleeping bags, and other items to make the outdoor trips possible. For families with limited experience in the backcountry, Lakeside provided two trained outdoor educators as personal backpacking guides and mentors. The Markuses — students Jake ’22 and Evan ’26, and parents Ramsey and Jodi — were one family that took advantage of the guide service. In August, Lakeside’s Bryan Smith and Zach Shiner accompanied the Markuses on a three-day, two-night backpacking trip along the Ozette Triangle on the remote northwestern coast of the Olympic Peninsula. A few weeks after the trip, Jodi Markus shared the following reflection: Although we have little prior wilderness experience, Lakeside offered us an opportunity to try something new, explore the beauty of the natural world, and spend time together as a family with few distractions — particularly important lately
as we endure seemingly endless screen time, news cycles, and heightened stress. Like with most families, the pandemic had altered our lives. Particularly heartbreaking was missing the World Pipe Band Championship. We had planned to spend August in Glasgow, Scotland, as inspiration for our young son, Evan, a beginning piper. And it was to have been the culmination of years of training for our elder son, Jake, who had qualified to perform. We were disappointed and searching for a meaningful family alternative. We didn’t know what to expect, but viewing ancient Native American petroglyphs while carrying on our backs everything we needed to survive during a global pandemic was humbling. Nature and time have a wonderful way of making a person feel appropriately sized in the world. Lakeside’s Outdoor Program allowed us to glimpse ourselves — both as individuals and as a family unit — in perspective. Our patient guides taught us more than how to balance a pack, anchor a tent, and filter water. The benefits of our trip will outlast the three days we spent outside of our comfortable bubble — and we are grateful.
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Tapping into the Smithsonian Co-teaching 11th grade American Studies together for the first time, Mary Anne Christy and Kat Yorks tapped into the online “Learning Lab” at the Smithsonian Institution. As part of their unit on the foundational myths that shape our American identity, they had their students examine images of Pocahontas ranging from 17th century portraits to a 1990s animated Disney depiction. In a fully asynchronous discussion over Microsoft Teams, students explored what the images revealed about the time periods in which they were created, as well as how the images engaged with ideas of gender and race. From the creators of the online resource: “The Smithsonian Learning Lab puts the treasures of the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex within reach. The Lab is a free, interactive platform for discovering millions of authentic digital resources, creating content with online tools, and sharing in the Smithsonian’s expansive community of knowledge and learning.”
Mythic images, clockwise from top right: Oil painting made after 1660, now part of the National Portrait Gallery collection. “The Baptism of Pocahontas” (1840) John Chapman, displayed in the U.S. Capitol. Still from the 1995 animated Disney film. Students accessed these and other images in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution. 20 L AKESIDE
(1) National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Gallery of Art; gift of the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, 1942. (2) Courtesy Architect of the Capitol. (3) Moviestore Collection Ltd. / Alamy Stock Photo
Guests from Afar When Lakeside’s schedule changed last spring and classes started later in the day, it became possible for the students in Veronique Brau’s French 4-5 class to speak directly with native speakers across the Atlantic. Brau invited a friend of hers, Cathy Oroz (right, top), a nurse who works in a retirement home in southwest France, to discuss the ways her country was dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. It was an authentic — and timely — way for students to reflect on the similarities and differences between French and U.S. cultures.
On the eve of the November election, state Sen. June Robinson (left, middle), spoke to Upper School students during an assembly about the voting process in Washington state. She walked students through voting history in the United States, highlighting the barriers and restrictions faced by different populations, and detailed how our state’s districts are determined, outlined the process of voter registration, and explained how counties process ballots. Even remotely, an elected official served her constituency in one of the most direct ways possible: engaging them in civic education.
“I am a huge fan of Lego,” Chris Lee ’18 (above), told Lakeside Middle School students in September, “as any of my classmates from Lakeside would attest.” With a friend from the University of Pennsylvania, Lee had recently launched a YouTube channel called DuckBricks, which documents one of the world’s largest Lego collections. As he talked via Zoom about fun and ambition, the gap between him and the middle schoolers closed, celebrity so close they could almost touch it.
In December, Dr. Lisa Cook (left, bottom), met virtually with Upper School students in an assembly and in two small classes, drawing a connection between economics and social justice. A part of the BMGI Speaker Series on Economics, Dr. Cook described her research into how unequal access to care, 21st century work-life policies, and barriers to education undermine stable, broad-based economic growth.
Game Faces The traditional start-of-year senior retreat was anything but traditional this year. Lakeside hired a brainy game and team-building outfit, Gr8er Good Games, to host the virtual event. At right: a screen shot from “The Great Zoom Challenge.” The host (and Chief Puzzle Officer) Shauni Chen noted that Lakeside seniors were impressive in their “creativity, gumption, and speed.”
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Finalists in the 2020 Washington State Photography Competition included (clockwise from top, left): David C. ’22 (1st place/Still Life); Vittorio Mount ’20 (3rd place/People); Kurt Oelschlager ’20 (1st place/Animal); and Siddarth Hathi ’20 (3rd place/Portrait).
Portrait of a Virtual Class Photography lends itself to remote learning. With a digital camera, laptop, and an internet connection, Lakeside students can do creative and technically excellent work without being tied to a classroom. I ask students to picture a National Geographic photographer working in the Gobi Desert or at the South Pole, not only capturing great images, but sharing them with a global audience. I designed new assignments — Edgy Self-Portrait with Mask, Art in Adversity, and “Bubble” portraits — to embrace and explore this new stay-at-home circumstance. Another assignment, Treasured Artifact, took on a special significance as students interviewed parents and guardians about objects that were important to them in terms of family heritage and history, and then captured those artifacts in still-life photographs.
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Photo students have been using software platforms such as Microsoft Teams to engage in studio chats, post their works-in-progress and then offer responses to other students’ work in a collaborative spirit. They’ve used Canva to creatively design and share images. Last spring, pivoting in the absence of our traditional year-end exhibition, advanced students built portfolio sites using Adobe Portfolio and Lightroom for a compelling online presentation of their senior shows, which introduced a host of other new skills. I’m particularly proud that our students continue to be engaged and create artwork at a high level. Over the summer, they brought home Lakeside’s first championship trophy since 2013 in the Washington State High School Photography Competition. — Barry Wong, Upper School visual arts teacher
College Counseling, Reimagined The college counseling office has been incorporating virtual meetings into our program for years. When much of the world was upended by COVID-19 last March, ours wasn’t. Fewer than 24 hours after Bernie Noe announced Lakeside’s closure, we had transitioned our in-person platform to a virtual space almost entirely. As schools nationwide began to close, colleagues at other schools reached out for guidance. Many had never operated virtually in any way. “Your office is so cutting-edge,” one colleague told me. “No wonder you guys are making it through these unusual times so smoothly!” Below are just two examples of how we’ve continued to provide outstanding service to students and their families: • In mid-April, with traditional on-campus visits for seniors no longer possible, we quickly arranged more than 50 virtual alumni chats to give our students an insider’s personal sense of the colleges they were considering. • While most high schools were merely replacing in-person admissions visits with virtual meetings, we turned to Flipgrid, a platform where students can upload brief videos and introduce themselves and pose questions directly to college admissions officers. This model may provide another way for colleges to connect with our students even after the
pandemic —when scheduling conflicts prohibit a visit, for example, or when a college doesn’t travel to our region. The admissions landscape will continue to evolve after the pandemic. While I can’t predict exactly how, families should feel confident that our office will continue to look for innovative approaches to best serve students, no matter how these approaches require us to adapt. That was our mentality before COVID, and will continue to be our approach post-COVID. If that makes us “cutting edge,” so be it. —Ari Worthman, director of college counseling
The Paper of Record Since last spring, when Tatler staffers recast the annual “April Fool’s issue” in the face of fast-changing news and arranged for the issue to be mailed to students’ homes rather than distributed to an empty campus, Lakeside’s student paper has not been slowed by the pandemic — or by the remote nature of its enterprise. As other high school papers around the city have paused or gone digital-only, Tatler has continued printing. Original art, cartoons, and crosswords have brought new energy to the pages. Students have welcomed a series of speakers to their weekly meetings, including Seattle Times publisher Frank Blethen, NBC correspondent Isa Gutierrez ’13, and KNKX reporter Simone Alicea ’11. With its coverage of Lakeside’s response in this time of coronavirus, the Tatler of 2020 is doing more than delivering the news. It’s reflecting the core competencies the school is committed to developing in our students: resilience, flexibility, and ability to solve unstructured problems.
Photo: Tom Reese (Tatler)
essential
WORKERS A view from the front lines in the fight against COVID-19 T E X T BY J U L I A R A N DA L L ’ 2 0 & J I M CO L L I N S
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CAROLYN DENNEY REID ’85
Infectious Disease Specialist Hollywood, Florida
ANDRÉ MATTUS ’13
Nursing Assistant, Bachelor of Nursing Student Seattle, Washington
“We knew little to nothing about COVID when the first wave of patients was hitting,” says André Mattus (left), a nursing assistant and “dofficer” in the emergency department at UW Medical Center-Montlake. “So we immediately went to the highest level of PPE — N95s, gowns, hoods, PAPRs [powered air-purifying respirators]. Part of my job was to help colleagues doff all that protective gear.” In the July-August issue of Seattle Met magazine, Mattus was featured along with other city health care heroes. Reporter Benjamin Cassidy described Mattus’s comforting a still-conscious COVID-19 patient being intubated. “He held their hand, listened to words he would later recite to their significant other over the phone. ‘There wasn’t really much medically I could do,’ Mattus said. ‘But the least I could do was be a human taking care of another human.’ ” (J.C.)
JJ CHEN ’96
Carolyn Denney Reid has been deep in the trenches since the beginning of the pandemic. She has witnessed firsthand the suffering the virus inflicts: exhausted nurses working nonstop to provide care; physicians sacrificing their health, safety, and even lives to save patients; and patients dying alone in their beds, no loved ones allowed by their bedside. It is easy to become desensitized to the “sheer numbers and scale” of the pandemic, she says, even though she knows the personal toll. She herself contracted — and recovered from — the virus. She warns, “We must not become complacent, but do all in our individual power to halt this pandemic. The world is up against a common enemy, which should serve as an impetus to call on our better natures, our best ability to collaborate, to think and act together, to be essentially one world in unison.” (J.R.)
Staff Psychiatrist, Behavioral Health Services Rental Property Owner Cheyenne, Wyoming
One of JJ Chen’s favorite sayings is Namaske: “The wearing of my mask is an overt sign that I love and respect you.” An essential worker, he directs an inpatient psychiatric unit at the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center in Wyoming and co-owns high-value-for-money rental housing, so the pandemic permeates every aspect of his life. While elective surgeries have been paused at the medical center, Chen’s work in electroconvulsive therapy has continued. He is exposed daily to individuals who cannot be tested for COVID-19, including those living in homeless shelters, resulting in ongoing stress and uncertainty. In his “night job” as a co-owner of single-family and small multifamily properties, he and his wife have seen an influx of newcomers from larger metropolitan areas as the economic toll of the pandemic pushes people to more affordable housing. His work as a physician and in housing are of equal importance to him. He will not be evicting tenants during the pandemic. Chen advises, “Practice physical distancing, social solidarity, and just love one another.” Namaske! (J.R.)
Photos: Ryder Pictures (Mattus); Sally Prissert/W Studio (Reid)
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ROBIN STEWART ’02
Software Developer Seattle, Washington
Robin Stewart’s work with COVID is in data visualization, statistics, and mathematical models. As an independent software developer and founder of SpendLab.org, his recent project, a COVID dashboard, makes it easy to see local infection rates at a glance and learn which areas are hardest hit. (He attempted to include forecasting tools, but so many factors affect the spread of the virus that “pretty much any attempt to forecast felt misleading.”) He finds it unsettling that massive outbreaks or near-total containment can occur within a few weeks, based on a community’s actions. In this age of misinformation and social media, where our perceptions of reality are diverging and distorting, Stewart hopes that by making the latest data easily accessible, his tracker can help us work on a problem each of us affects. You can view his tracker here: matheasel.com/calculators/covid.html (J.R.)
STEPHANIE HARRIS ’78
Mindset Coach and Wellness Activist Founder, Shift with Steph Pompano Beach, Florida
When Stephanie Harris and her husband, Mark Toliver, arrived in Sun Valley for the annual National Brotherhood of Skiers Summit in late February, nobody in their group of 600 knew that the coronavirus had preceded them. After a week of skiing, socializing, and fundraising, more than a third of them returned home with symptoms of the disease. Toliver was among them. Harris watched her husband go through increasingly worrying phases, from fatigue and loss of appetite to fever, uncontrollable coughing, and difficulty breathing. Her efforts to get him quickly tested for COVID-19 were deflected everywhere she turned. “Health care officials weren’t convinced Mark had it,” Harris recalls. “Kits were scarce. ER doctors kept referencing the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] 26 L AKESIDE
guidelines, which were entrenched in international visits. My concern for Mark became overwhelming.” And so Harris shifted from being a wife of a COVID patient to a wellness advocate, relentlessly educating herself, insisting loudly and publicly on care and answers, and eventually sharing her experience with hundreds of thousands of followers of ABC News, the Wall Street Journal, local southern Florida news outlets, and on social media. Among the topics she’s shined a light on: COVID-19’s disproportionate effect on the African American community. (J.C.)
MICHELLE CHANG CHEN ’90
General Counsel, Mayor’s Office Seattle, Washington
EMILY JOHNSTON ’81
Emergency Medicine Physician Field Hospital Medical Director New York City, New York
In April, New York City sent up a signal: a surge in COVID-19 patients threatened to overwhelm the city’s health care infrastructure, and it needed doctors. With her mountain guiding business calendar unexpectedly cleared by the pandemic, physician Emily Johnston answered the call. As part of a team of 23 medical providers — including Navy SEALS, Army SF medics, Air Force PJs, Navy Corpsmen, civilian physicians, RNs, flight RNs, and paramedics — Johnston oversaw the conversion of a conference space within New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center into a 47-bed field hospital. “Riverview Terrace” was built, stocked, and ready for patients within 96 hours of inception. Over seven weeks of 13-hour days, the unit documented 21,000 patient contacts while seamlessly transitioning from intensive care to step-down and other roles as the COVID-19 surge progressed and the hospital regained capacity. The logistically complex, multilayered operation was unprecedented. Its success revealed to Johnston a new weapon in the fight against fast-moving pandemics and natural disasters. “We’re an actual team now,” she says. “We can reassemble.” Johnston also wrote the COVID-19 National Park Service operations plan used by International Mountain Guides and adopted by other guide services. (J.C.)
On Feb. 28, when the first coronavirus death on U.S. soil was reported, the Seattle area became America’s ground zero for COVID-19. Three days later, the city of Seattle declared a civil emergency, setting in motion a flurry of daily briefings, directives, and intragovernmental coordination — and the work of Mayor Jenny Durkan’s general counsel, Michelle Chen, dramatically changed overnight. Over the first several weeks, Chen was the legal point person on a dozen emergency orders, ranging from a citywide moratorium on residential and small-business evictions to providing emergency child care for first responders and setting up a grocery voucher program for 20,000 needy families. She orchestrated partnerships and donations with the private sector, foundations, nonprofits, Public Health — Seattle & King County and UW Medicine. She also helped scale up free COVID-19 testing sites around the city that would provide tests in the hundreds of thousands. On May 26, with the city’s economic crisis deepening, COVID-19 infection rates across King County began a worrying rise, and George Floyd was killed in Minnesota, sparking violent protests across the country, including in Seattle. Behind the scenes, in the eye of the policy-making storm, Michelle Chen worked overtime from home while overseeing the remote schooling of her two children. (J.C)
JILL MHYRE ’91 Chair of Anesthesiology Little Rock, Arkansas
“To be honest,” says Jill Mhyre, “I am not quite front line for COVID-19 — more like the rear guard.” She has painstakingly worked to create safety protocols in a state that, at the time of this writing, is No. 10 in the nation for population-specific COVID-19 case rates. She helped the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences increase its capacity to admit 250 COVID-19 patients, then used strategic partnerships with local hospitals to keep the patient load below that threshold. Digital health visits increased three-thousandfold, and Mhyre spent the summer adapting to shifting patient behavior and helping reinstate elective surgeries in a sustainable way. Taking advantage of the institutional capacity created by the pandemic, Mhyre and her team partnered with two historically Black colleges, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Philander Smith, to welcome premedical students into the department as anesthesia techs. She’s recruiting anesthesiologists from around the country for a new cardiovascular intensive care unit that will open next summer. Says Mhyre, “I think finding ways to draw talented people from the U.S. coasts into new places will be an important part of our national reconstruction.” (J.R.)
Photos: Brooke Fitts (Stewart); MD Simmons Productions (Harris); Matthew Van Biene (Johnston)
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essential WORKERS ELI BENCH ’07
Emergency Physician Everett, Washington
For Eli Bench, the pandemic has drastically changed the human connection that he so values in this field. Bench served as chief resident at the Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Medical Center before completing his residency. He moved back to the Seattle area in the midst of the pandemic and began work as an attending physician in emergency medicine at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. He wears a mask and face shield at all times while working, a necessity that makes it harder for care givers to connect to patients. Visitors are significantly limited. It is never easy to deliver difficult news, and it’s become even harder to do so over the phone. Despite his challenging, stressful work, Bench is grateful for his ability to make a positive impact in this fight, and he hopes for a future with leaders who prioritize science and human life — and health care environments that allow a return to more personal human contact. (J.R.) 28 L AKESIDE
CARTER McKAUGHAN ’16
InfraGard COVID Advisory Committee Washington State Emergency Management Division Seattle, Washington
In mid-March, nervous about the potential impacts of the pandemic on Washington’s critical infrastructure — its transportation sectors, supply chains, telecommunications, cybersecurity systems — the State Emergency Operations Center reached out to the regional branch of InfraGard for assistance. InfraGard is a partnership between the FBI and a volunteer-based network of private-sector business executives, information technology professionals, lawyers, security personnel, academics, military and government officials, and state and local law enforcement — all sharing information and industry-specific insights with the goal of strengthening national security. Carter McKaughan, a security consultant based in Seattle, joined the meetings of the newly formed COVID advisory committee. He examined the state’s transportation network and helped identify truck stops used by long-haul truckers as high-potential nodes of transmission and advised immediate distribution of hand sanitizer and educational posters, along with a program of providing thermometers for truck drivers. He was part of a group that analyzed social media use and discovered that large swaths of the state distrusted the health and safety guidelines being promoted by Gov. Jay Inslee and other politicians. A former football player at Lakeside, McKaughan pushed for a more effective strategy targeting that group: getting someone like a Seattle Seahawk football player to serve as spokesman for the state’s messaging. Cliff Avril, the Seahawks’ popular retired defensive end, worked with Inslee’s office to put out a series of emotional posts over Twitter and Facebook. His message: “I’m staying home for my mom. Who are you staying home for?” (J.C.)
Photo: Tom Reese (McKaughan)
CAMILLA GARDINER ’11
Investment Manager (Science) New Zealand Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment Wellington, New Zealand
New Zealand recorded its first positive COVID-19 case on Feb. 28, the same day the U.S. announced its first death. But relative to the U.S. and most other governments, New Zealand acted swiftly and aggressively to shut down the country and its borders and put a plan into action. In the science branch of the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, investment manager Camilla Gardiner (below) took charge of the country’s “COVID-19 Innovation Acceleration Fund,” which provided rapid-response funding to develop, scale, and deliver products and services to respond to the threat of the virus. Between April and June, Gardiner fast-tracked $26 million in funding to contact tracing technologies, rapid assay techniques, and national pandemic modeling platforms. (Because positive cases remained so low in the country, some of the testing technologies needed to be sent abroad to get statistically significant enough data.) By June 8, the virus was under control enough for New Zealand to remove all restrictions other than border control. “It was a very coordinated effort,” says Gardiner. (J.C.)
BROOKE LOUGHRIN ’10
AI & Research, Global Health at Microsoft Redmond, Washington
As the lead of Microsoft’s global health incubation team, Brooke Loughrin is examining how the pandemic can help the advancement of digital technology to bring global health care to underserved populations. (“We’re the digital first responders to the first responders,” she says.) Loughrin believes that a partnership between medical/life sciences organizations and technology companies will result in the next significant advancements in health care — and stresses the importance of cooperation rather than competition. She hopes the advancements in digital health care and the spirit of cooperation caused by the pandemic will enable “[us to] reimagine, rather than simply rebuild, our health care system to be more patient-centered.” She is channeling the spirit of cooperation through her team’s founding of The Fight Is In Us (TheFightIsInUs.org), a national donor recruitment platform that enables COVID survivors to donate plasma to patients with active infections. (J.R.)
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essential WORKERS
JAMILA GODFREY ’92
Registered Nurse, Critical Care Transport Anacortes, Washington
Jamila Godfrey had trained for tuberculosis and for Ebola, so she understood the need for extra precaution as the novel coronavirus began spreading throughout the Puget Sound region. Still, at the beginning, she says, it was hard. “Every single person coming into the emergency room presenting with a cough, a fever, a stomachache — that meant full PPE, testing, and full isolation until the test results came back, which could take a day or more,” she says. “We just couldn’t risk it. It was incredibly taxing. On everyone.” Working alone in the back of the ambulance, Godfrey occasionally found herself transporting a critically ill COVID patient on a ventilator, the patient conscious but prone, lying face-down, having trouble breathing, all alone. “With just me,” says Godfrey, “this stranger, all gowned up. Just trying to give whatever comfort I could. Can you imagine?” (J.C.)
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GREGORY DEMOPULOS ’77
Chairman and CEO, Omeros Corporation Seattle, Washington
When treating their first influx of COVID-19 patients in February, doctors at a hospital in Bergamo, Italy, were mystified. Alessandro Rambaldi, head of hematology and oncology, later told a reporter from Bioworld, “We were completely unprepared. We were expecting to be dealing with a flulike syndrome, but during the early days of the crisis, we realized that the problem was much more complicated.” As the deaths mounted, the doctors gradually zeroed in on damage inflicted on the endothelial vasculature of the COVID-19 patients. Rambaldi said, “That was the spark that caused me to call Dr. Demopulos.” Demopulos heads a Seattle-based biotechnology firm that had developed a drug for treating endothelial damage in patients with stem cell transplants. Rambaldi received permission to use Demopulos’s drug, narsoplimab, in a compassionate-use study on six COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. All six fully recovered, with zero incidence of serious sequelae (aftereffects) five to six months after discharge. Additional formal studies in Italy and the U.S. have followed the initial trial in Bergamo and been equally promising. Demopulos’s company, Omeros, is now in talks with several U.S. agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, about additional manufacturing support to scale up production. “The data indicate that narsoplimab could well be the premier treatment for critically ill COVID-19 patients,” says Demopulos. “It appears that narsoplimab is saving lives — so we have an obligation to do what we can.” (J.C.)
SIOBHAN THOMAS-SMITH ’05
Pediatric Emergency Medicine Specialist Seattle, Washington
As part of the University of Washington hospital system, Siobhan Thomas-Smith is an emergency medical fellow specializing in pediatrics. She supervises residents and medical students, works as an advocate for human trafficking survivors, and researches the identification and management of child abuse coming through the emergency department. Currently, Thomas-Smith works with children who have suffered “downstream consequences” of the virus: parents’ job loss or illness resulting in food insecurity or homelessness. The effect of COVID leaves a whole generation at a disadvantage — one she believes will greatly outlast the virus. Despite witnessing the toll of the pandemic, Thomas-Smith is grateful that she is healthy enough to help. “We’re all bored of the quarantine,” she says. “But if we fail to practice public health safety measures, we will lose thousands more lives. Go watch a movie, read a book, have a Zoom party. I’ll be cheering you on.” (J.R.) Photo: Tom Reese (Thomas-Smith)
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p o e t ry
Sophomore English Soon after Henry the Fourth Part I, every answer honor (answered wrong, never forgotten) boys fought a separate peace, and a man broke out of the cuckoo’s nest. Mr. Nash asked: prosperous, funny, pretty, bright? What do you want in a husband or wife? Right then, I sought him who would kiss me again and again. But for life, dividends? The sushi, the spa, the Mercedes Benz? A woman should never depend. So grab a man who will make me laugh — Alan with his cartwheel and bottle cap tap dance. Funny is fine but I wanted to walk with Socrates, lead salons. I wanted a man with a mind like a knife. I wanted that knife at my neck. Oh sophomore girl, the summer before the dark beyond your ken. You were taught to dream outside the lines. Put up a new list: kind, kind, kind, kind. — DEBORAH BACHARACH ’84
Deborah Bacharach is a Lakeside graduate and parent (’20). This poem, dedicated to long-time English teacher David Nash, appeared in the Fall 2016 issue of Comstock Review. In 2020, Bacharach received a Pushcart Prize honorable mention. You can find more of her high school-inflected poetry on our website, lakesideschool.org/magazine. 32 L AKESIDE
Class of 2018 LEARN MORE womxnignite.com
CLASS CONNECTIONS NET WORKERS
Back in Seattle during the pandemic summer of 2020,
best friends Kendall Titus (left) and Coco Sack reassessed the paths they were following through their computer science majors at Stanford and Yale. They imagined how powerful it would feel to be part of a larger community of ambitious, like-minded women. So they created one. In the fall, the first 20 Womxn Ignite fellows — computer science and engineering students from across the country — joined Kendall and Coco in northern California to quarantine together. For nine weeks, they shared networks and stories, were mentored by industry leaders, and built tech-enabled solutions to the problems confronting their generation.
Photo: Elizabeth Cordova
F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 26
F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 33
Rafael Stone ’90 presents at a 2019 sports analytics conference at MIT’s Sloan School of Business.
CLASS CONNECTIONS
The music video for “Get Up,” co-written by Gen Rubin ’88, includes fellow Lakesiders who participated in the project.
1984
Paul Johnson (below, right) was recently named the first director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Seattle Waldorf School. Paul holds master’s degrees in cultural studies, human resources, and project management from the University of Washington, Villanova, and Georgetown, and he is currently working on a doctorate in organizational change and leadership at the University of Southern California. Paul shares, “I am excited to be focusing my energy on K-12 education and supporting the next generation.”
1988
Gen Rubin was approached by his good friend, rapper/dancer Wyatt Jackson of Boston, to put together a project after the trag-
ic death of George Floyd. The result was an 87-person video bringing together singers, dancers, Broadway actors, and activists of all ages. It is a lament, a plea, and a rallying call entitled “Get Up,” written by Wyatt, Gen, and Gen’s wife, Cheryl. They teamed up with local Seattle organization feelgoodvoting. org to get the word out, and to date the project has more than 50,000 views on Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms and has helped register hundreds of new voters in key swing states. Fellow Lakesiders who participated (and are pictured in the beginning shot) include Malika Fisher Klingler, Ernie Chen, Ed Liu, Calvin Anderson ’89, Asha Vassar Youmans ’89, and Ryan Link ’91. To view the video search for “GET UP by We the People” on Facebook or YouTube.
1990
In October, Rafael Stone — a former point guard for the Lions who went on to play Division III basketball at Williams College — was named general manager of the Houston Rockets. His appointment made him the 10th African American general manager in the NBA. He had joined the Rockets organization in 2005 as general counsel, and most recently held the role of executive vice president of basketball operations. A native of Seattle, Rafael grew up in a basketball family. His father, Rafael Stone, Sr., starred at the University of Washington but chose a career in law over pursuing a career in professional basketball. Rafael lives in Houston with his wife, Felicia, and their three children.
1994
Dr. Zakiya Pressley Rice was recently elected president of the Atlanta Dermatology and ( C O N T I N U E D PA G E 3 6 )
S E N D U S Y O U R N E W S Events big and small, personal or professional, chance meetings,
fun adventures … they’re all of interest to us. Share your baby announcement and photo, and we’ll outfit your little lion with a Lakeside bib. Photo guidelines: High resolution, ideally 1 MB or larger. If sending from a smartphone, be sure to select “original size.” Email notes and photos to alumni@lakesideschool.org by April 15, 2021, for the Spring/Summer issue.
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Photo: Courtesy of MIT (top)
Clockwise from top left, Todd Crockett ’88, Mark Mader ’88, Randy Winn ’87 up on the NASDAQ billboard in Times Square on June 4, 2020, the day of ZoomInfo’s IPO. Todd has been on the board since 2014, Randy joined in 2015, and Mark joined this past year.
Dr. Zakiya Pressley Rice ’94 was recently elected president of the Atlanta Dermatology and Dermatology Surgery Association for 2021.
Leadership EXECUTIVE HONORS In June, the Puget Sound Business Journal announced its 2020 Middle Market honorees — local executives recognized for their leadership of companies, public or private, that bring in total revenue between $25 million and $1
In 2016, Denise Moriguchi (center), incoming CEO of Uwajimaya, held a family photo with her dad, former CEO Tomio Moriguchi, and her aunt, current CEO Tomoko Moriguchi Matsuno.
billion. Three of this year’s eight winners were Lakeside alumni. Smartsheet CEO Mark Mader ’88 was named Executive of the Year; Uwajimaya CEO Denise Moriguchi ’94 was named Community Leader of the Year; and Brown Bear President Victor Odermat ’48 was named Family Business Executive of the Year. The honorees were recognized at a special virtual event Aug. 20.
Photo: Anthony Bolante | Puget Sound Business Journal (Moriguchi)
F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 35
CLASS CONNECTIONS Dermatology Surgery Association for 2021. In addition to her busy practice, she serves as an adjunct clinical professor of Emory University’s Department of Dermatology. She shares, “I am enjoying the day-to-day of a successful practice, and feel gratitude for the gift of being able to serve others in a medical capacity.” A recent profile in “Modern Luxury — The Atlantan” magazine recognized her as “an award-winning, fullservice dermatologist, key opinion leader, and philanthropist.”
1997
Intentionalist, a social purpose corporation founded and led by Laura Clise, helps consumers connect with and support small businesses owned by women, people of color, veterans, members of the LGBTQ community, and differently abled people. In June, Laura joined a panel of “powerhouse womxn navigating entrepreneurship and giving back during COVID-19” for the Womxn Entrepreneurs & Community Impact, part of the United Way Speaker Series. Her work has also been featured by The Seattle Times and the Seattle Sounders FC, and she was recognized by Puget Sound Business Journal in September as part of the publication’s series on courageous leaders. Visit www.intentionalist.com and #SpendLikeItMatters to learn more.
Laura Clise '97, founder of social enterprise Intentionalist, is a “courageous leader.”
Jimmy Wong ’05 played Ling in Disney’s “Mulan.”
1998
Ellie Mazzarella Bertani shares, “Since 2013, I have lived in Bentonville, Ark., with my husband, Carlo, and our three boys, Tony (10), Vince (7), and Luca (4), and worked for Walmart Inc. My seven years have included roles in finance, corporate affairs and people (HR). I have been fortunate to work on several ‘shared value’ initiatives, including our Women’s Economic Empowerment program, our racial equity initiative, and various learning and development programs to support front-line and corporate employees. Over the past three years, I have led the development of LiveBetterU, Walmart’s education benefits program that allows all employees to get a high-quality high school, college, or advanced education for the cost of $1/day. I’m thrilled to share that in June of 2020, LiveBetterU
won Walmart’s highest internal award — the Sam Walton Entrepreneurship Award — given to only one business initiative each year. Today we have served more than 25,000 students, and we hope to grow the program to serve hundreds of thousands of employees over time, to build their skills for roles within Walmart or beyond. I hope my fellow alums are doing well during these trying times, and I hope to see you at our next reunion.”
2003
Mary Schuchart Wurdeman and Michael Wurdeman welcomed their first child this past spring. Their little girl, Reese, was born on March 25, 2020.
2005
Lakesider on the big screen: Jimmy Wong played Ling, one of Mulan’s friends in the ( C O N T I N U E D PA G E 3 8 )
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The artist
TO S E E M O R E, V I S I T gavlakgallery.com/artists/ alex-anderson
Alex Anderson, “Stains on a Pretty Landscape,” 2019. Earthenware, glaze, gold luster. 14 x12 x 2 in.
society dresses up its violence and fetishization in pale porcelain. By breaking those staid forms and dressing their remains in violent rictuses and flowing gilded streams, Anderson is able to make physical the volcanic history always bubbling beneath ceramic skin.” Anderson, who received a B.A. in studio art and Chinese from Swarthmore and an MFA in ceramics from UCLA, says his in-
Not Glazing Over
son spotlights his experience as a gay,
terest in the arts developed with the long hours he spent in the ce-
This past spring, Gavlak Gallery,
Asian-African American, decidedly
a contemporary fine art gallery
de-flaking the crustiness of the Western
in Los Angeles, featured a solo
ceramic tradition.”
exhibition of new works by artist
Writing for Artsy Magazine, Justin Kamp
giving lectures at the university
said, “Anderson’s pieces destroy the mon-
level, Anderson teaches ceramics
umentality of sculpture, pointing with
to high school students at the
derision at the ways that white Western
Geffen Academy at UCLA.
Alex Anderson ’09. In the sculptures, paintings, and reliefs, Anderson subversively juxtaposed expressions of marginal-
ramics studio at Lakeside. Part of his work now includes sparking that love in others. In addition to
ized identities against the visual language of European Baroque luxury. Art critic Julie Weitz noted, “Anderson’s exhibition title, ‘Little Black Boy Makes Imperial Porcelains,’ is a tonguein-cheek description of the artist and his practice. By interweaving anthropomorphic allegory, proficient craftsmanship, and sly wordplay in his titles, Ander-
Photos: Courtesy of the artist and GAVLAK Los Angeles / Palm Beach
F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 30
CLASS CONNECTIONS
Claremont-MuddScripps captain Daniel Park '16 won a national award for leadership, then learned to surf.
Reese Wurdeman, daughter of Mary Schuchart Wurdeman ’03 and her husband, Michael.
army in Disney’s live-action “Mulan” (2020). You’ll be able to catch him soon as the lead voice in “Wish Dragon,” alongside John Cho and Constance Wu, coming soon from Sony Pictures Animation.
2006
Julian Schwarz '09 married Marika Bournaki in May.
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Gaby Schwarz married Benjamin Wasserman on March 7, 2020, at Central Synagogue in New York. She works as a news lead at Facebook, and he is a product designer on the growth team at Squarespace. Gaby and Benjamin both worked at Flipboard in Palo Alto, California, were transferred to the Manhattan office, and sat near each other in 2016 — then began dating two years later.
2008
Naomi Brodkin wrote an episode of the TV show “Little America” for the forthcoming second season. The show tells stories inspired by the real lives of immigrants, and airs on Apple TV+.
2009
Julian Schwarz married Marika Bournaki on May 5, 2020, the sixth anniversary of their first date. The wedding took place in Gaby Schwarz '06 married Benjamin Wasserman in March.
Sam Jones co-directed the observational documentary “Red, White & Wasted” — a complex portrait of a family of mudding enthusiasts in Orlando, Florida, who struggle to adapt to the cultural, economic, and demographic changes in the world around them. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2019 and is available on all major video-on-demand platforms. Sam is currently in development on feature-length narrative and documentary film projects that further explore the intersections of race, identity, and violence in America.
Photo: Courtesy of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athletics Department (Park, top)
Nick Busto ’11, left, and Race
their apartment in Winchester, Virginia, with just their officiant, Rabbi Scott Sperling, present. A June 5 profile in the New York Times “Mini Vows” section entitled “He Professed His Love at 16, Then Waited” shared the story of their first meeting at the Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado when they were 16 and their path to dating in 2014. Julian is a classical cello soloist and assistant professor of cello at Shenandoah University. Marika is a classical piano soloist. Briaan Barron, former marketing director at Northwest African American Museum, was part of a group of Black museum professionals who worked together this past summer to produce a virtual commemoration of Juneteenth. Visit www.blkfreedom.org to watch the program and find additional resources. Briaan is the founder of Worthi, a premium brand consultancy + creative firm for underserved founders, talent, and executive leaders. She is also currently fundraising a pre-seed round for a tech startup she founded called Grail™ (gotograil.com). Grail™ is a video on-demand app that will make beauty, grooming, and self-care simpler for people of African descent. As part of the development of this business, she recently graduated from Founder Gym, the leading online training program for underrepresented founders, where she studied venture capital fundraising with startup founders from around the world.
2016
In May, Daniel Park earned the Ann Lebedeff Leadership Award from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for the 2019-20 season while a senior men’s tennis player at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The award, endowed by Billie Jean King, was established to “honor a recent college graduate
who played college tennis and demonstrated excellence on and off the court, leadership on his or her team, as well as on his or her college campus and in his or her community.” Daniel is currently working in sales at a tech-recruiting startup called Rocket, but more importantly, he shares, “I’m learning how to surf!” ElbowGrease, founded by Adam Strigenz, Cory Foulk, and Billy Allocca in a social entrepreneurship class at Lakeside in 2015, was back in 2020 for its sixth straight summer. Despite the start of medical school, business school, and full-time employment, these three decided to offer their services one last time. ElbowGrease works to connect family, friends, and faculty of Lakeside with students in an effort to complete odd jobs around the house. Typically, this includes lawn work and moving furniture; however, this summer, and in years past, it also included cat-sitting, wedding catering, and sorting old baseball cards. While created to assist members of the community, these three, as always, enjoyed their time working for ElbowGrease immensely. Thank you to all who made this dream a reality!
On the shelf “Decoding the World: A Roadmap for the Questioner” Po Bronson ’82 Find out where our world is headed with this dazzling first-hand account of inventing the future from the New York Times No. 1 bestselling author of “What Should I Do With My Life?,” and Arvind Gupta, the founder of science accelerator IndieBio. “The Day the Hugs Went Away” Gwyn Pohl Drake ’02 Written with the help of her children,
Anna Beshlian was a recipient of the Columbia University 2020 Campbell Award, “presented to a graduating student at each school who shows exceptional leadership and Columbia spirit.” Anna was an American studies major with a concentration in criminal justice and carceral studies and a member of the Columbia-Barnard women’s rowing team.
the book tells the story of how we
2017
during the
“The Next Level,” a Lakeside video series that catches up with former Lakeside student-athletes continuing their athletic pursuits at the
learn to find new ways to hug and stay connected to the people we care about COVID-19 crisis. “My hope is to inspire friends and families to stay connected in these isolating times,” says Drake, “and I am donating 10% of profits to UNICEF.” “Tiny” Mairead Case ’02 A contemporary re-
University of San Diego wide receiver Bennett Dondoyano ' 17 was part of a new Lakeside video series describing what it takes to make it to the next level.
telling of Sophocles’ “Antigone,” set in the mossy greens and foggy grays of the Pacific Northwest.
F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 39
CLASS CONNECTIONS
Olga Cherepakhin ’18 began studies at the University of Washington School of Medicine this fall.
next level, featured University of San Diego Toreros wide receiver Bennett Dondoyano in August. Bennett talked with Creative Content Director/Digital Content Producer | Football Program Head Mike Lengel about the future of the football season (and other sports) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, his commitment to academics through his college career, and Rubik’s Cubes. The first two episodes, featuring basketball star Kallin Spiller and professional baseball player Corbin Carroll ‘19, can be found through a link on the alumni home page. Check back for more episodes coming soon.
2018 Olga Cherepakhin recently graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree and started medical school in August 2020 at the University of Washington School of Medicine. See page 21 for news of Lego master Chris Lee.
2019 The Ghost Pacer is a set of mixed-reality glasses that allow runners to set the path and speed of a holographic avatar and then race against it outdoors in real time. Developed at Lakeside by a group of 13 Lakeside students and alumni, the Ghost Pacer was originally founded by AbdurRahman “AR” Bhatti and Jensen Turner ’18 as a way to optimize training for the upcoming cross-country offseason. And now, thanks to the dedication of the Ghost Pacer team and the guidance of Lakeside’s entrepreneurship teacher David Dunkin, the ultimate training partner is now a reality. With the support of the Lakeside community, Ghost Pacer launched a successful Kickstarter campaign in August and is looking optimistically towards future development. See ghostpacer.com for more information.
Welcome to the alumni wall Class of 2020! The 2020 senior bricks are up in The Paul G. Allen Athletics Center, and we look forward to welcoming you back to campus to check them out as soon as it is safe to do so.
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Wearing special glasses, a runner keeps pace with a virtual training avatar. The innovative technology, developed over the past few years by 13 Lakeside students and alumni led by “AR” Bhatti '18, is poised for distribution.
Former faculty In late June, shortly after her final day as a Lakeside faculty member, ceramics artist Jodi Rockwell hosted a Zoom chat with some of her former students from her 18 years in the Lakeside arts department. She shares, “It was really special sharing the connection of that experience across eras with each other. I did a reading that I wrote for them called ‘I Remember,’ showed photos, and then we talked about how art plays a role in our lives today. It has been profound for most. We will stay in touch now, and it is really wonderful.”
Former ceramics teacher Jodi Rockwell (highlighted square) connected with former Lakeside students in June.
F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 41
d i s t i n g ui s h e d a lum ni awa r d
Marjorie Liu ’96 On November 19, Marjorie Liu ’96 received the 2020 Lakeside/St. Nicholas Distinguished Alumni Award at the virtual Upper School assembly where she spoke with students about her path from Lakeside to law school to best-selling author. Alumni Board president Elizabeth Richardson Vigdor ’85 read the following citation:
M
A R J O R I E L I U ’ 9 6 pursued a career in law because she felt it was the smart thing to do. She built a career writing fantasy and science-fiction because that is where her passions lay. The stories her mother read her as a child and those she later read for herself fed an engaged imagination. At Lakeside, she spent hours at the library browsing and hunting for good books. “The stories that I loved made me want to tell my own stories,” she says. “I always imagined myself in other worlds, and that certainly filled me with the urge to write.” It would lay the foundation for a life she could not have foreseen. Liu earned a bachelor’s degree in East Asian languages and cultures from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and attended law school at the University of Wisconsin. And while she loved the law, she says, “I just knew in my heart that this is not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” She always wanted to write a novel, and after passing the bar and while looking for legal work, she wrote her first. “Tiger Eye,” a paranormal romance about two characters with special abilities, would become the first in her 11-novel Dirk & Steele series. Liu would go on to write 18 paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels, taking readers on magical and mystical adventures. Her own unexpected journey as a writer has itself been nothing short of magical. A celebrated New York Times best-selling writer, she has many awards to her credit, and her work has been translated into at least 14 languages. Her shift from writing novels to comics came in 2005 after she wrote an X-Men tie-in novel, “Dark Mirror,” for Pocket Books, and worked up the courage to introduce herself to the head of recruitment at Marvel Comics after she heard editors liked her book. She learned to write comics by reading scripts, Googling “how to write comics,” and through the mentorship of her editors. Her work for Marvel Comics, which began in 2008, includes “NYX,” “X-23,” “Dark Wolverine,” “Black Widow," “Han Solo,” and “Astonishing X-Men,” which featured the first gay wedding in comics and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding media images of the LGBTQ community. She also wrote the story for the animated film “Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher,” which
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was produced by Marvel, Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and Madhouse Inc. Her work for corporations inspired Liu to create her own book to reflect real-life social issues critical to her generation. In 2015, in collaboration with Japan-based artist Sana Takeda, she released the epic fantasy comic series “Monstress,” a story set in an alternative magic-filled Asia that confronts issues of war, racism, and slavery. Every character is female or a person of color — Liu’s response to an industry dominated by white male characters. Nominated in 2016 and 2017 for an Eisner Award, the comic book industry’s most prestigious recognition for achievement, “Monstress” won awards in five categories in 2018 — and Liu became the first woman to be selected as the best writer in the 30-year history of the award. “Monstress” has also won three Hugo Awards, science fiction’s highest honor, as well as two British Fantasy Awards and a Harvey Award. For following her creative heart with unwavering passion and for her dedication to justice through the arts, the Lakeside/St. Nicholas Alumni Association is proud to honor Marjorie Liu ’96 with the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award.
Photo: Nina Subin
2020-21 Lakeside | St. Nicholas Alumni Board The Alumni Board is pleased to welcome five new members.
OFFICERS
Get to know your new representatives from the alumni community:
❚ Elizabeth
Nate Benjamin ’07
• Education: Georgetown University • Fun: He and his son enjoy spending time in Dungeness catching crab by hand at low tide.
• Family: Married with Goldendoodle puppy • Work: Attorney at Benjamin Law Group • Education: Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University, Gonzaga University School of Law • Fun: Tennis, watching/attending sports, live music, travel • A little more: Serves as the chair of the King County Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division.
Erin Kenny ’89
• A little more: Credited with creating the body of work known as Business Architecture, which was the subject of the 2009 book “Rethink,” the 2008 Harvard Business Review article “The Next Revolution in Productivity,” as well as a 2016 TEDx talk. Holds three patents.
Ishani Ummat ’13 • Work: Investor, Madrona Venture Group • Education: University of Washington
• Family: Married with two stepkids
• Fun: Skiing, hiking, biking, cooking, and all things wine
• Work: Managing director, Alvarez & Marsal • Education: Duke University, Northwestern University • Fun: Supporting all Seattle sports teams, travel, book club, and trying to understand her Labrador • A little more: Has lived in all corners of the country (more or less) and is happy to be settled back in Seattle.
Ric Merrifield ’84 • Family: Son, George • Work: Leads complex software programs for companies ranging from Starbucks (mobile order and pay) to Disney (MagicBand) and, most recently, the software arm of the late, great Lakeside alumnus and aviation pioneer Joe Clark, APiJET.
• A little more: Informal student of health economics and policy in spare time, and very excited about the role technology can play in improving health outcomes.
Sean Whitsitt ’05 • Family: Married with two boys. Sister, Lily, is Class of ’01.
Richardson Vigdor ’85 President
❚ Nicholas Stevens ’06 President Elect
❚ Cooper Offenbecher ’00 Mission and Governance Chair
❚ Scott Reed ’85 Activities Chair
❚ Brianna Reynaud Jensen ’96 Connections Chair
MEMBERS ❚ Bruce Bailey ’59 Honorary Lifetime Member
❚ Teryn Allen Bench ’04 ❚ Nate Benjamin ’07 ❚ Kate Coxon ’01 ❚ Stephanie
Saad Cuthbertson ’94
❚ Calder Gillin ’98 ❚ Gigi Ryan Gilman ’80 ❚ Erin Kenny ’89 ❚ David Mandley ’99 ❚ Jacki Mena ’08
• Work: Banker at J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank
❚ Ric Merrifield ’84
• Education: Harvard
❚ Mark Middaugh ’02
• Fun: All activities! Especially fitness, golf, lacrosse, spear fishing, cooking, and travel
❚ Teal Luthy Miller ’87
• A little more: Spent eight years as a long/short portfolio manager for a New York-based family office before returning to Seattle in 2016.
❚ Piper Pettersen ’03 ❚ Reid Rader ’03 ❚ Casey Schuchart ’96 ❚ Nina Smith ’76 ❚ Ishani Ummat ’13 ❚ TJ Vassar ’94
I N T E R E ST E D I N S E RV I N G?
The Alumni Board works to help members of the alumni com-
❚ Sean Whitsitt ’05
munity connect with each other and with Lakeside School. The board meets monthly from September to June. Members have the opportunity to hear about Lakeside today from current students, teachers, and administrators, as well as attend classes at the Upper and Middle schools each year. If you’d like to learn more about serving on the board, email the alumni relations office at alumni@lakesideschool.org to be connected to a current board member. F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 43
2 02 0 -2 02 1 c a l e nd a r
WE’VE GONE VIRTUAL (FOR NOW)! The alumni relations office and the Lakeside/St. Nicholas Alumni Board are working to help alumni stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. For a full listing of upcoming virtual events, including the sixth Annual T.J. Vassar ’68 Alumni Diversity Celebration, trivia nights, cooking classes, book clubs, and more, visit lakesideschool.org/alumni and lakesideschoolalumni.com
2020-2021 BOARD OF TRUSTEES
❚ Carey Crutcher Smith ’77 Chair ❚ Artemios “Tim” Panos ’85 Vice Chair ❚ Bertrand Valdman Immediate Past Chair, Treasurer ❚ Sean O’Donnell ’90 Secretary
TRUSTEES ❚ Dr. Sarah Barton ❚ David de la Fuente ❚ Lloyd Frink ’83 ❚ April Joseph Parents and Guardians Association President ❚ Michael Larson ❚ Kathleen M. Murray ❚ Michael Nachbar ❚ Bridgette M. Taylor ❚ Brandon C. Vaughan ’06 ❚ David M. Victor ❚ Elizabeth Richardson Vigdor ’85 Alumni Association president ❚ Amy Crichton Honorary trustee
GUEST COMMIT TEE MEMBER ❚ Natasha Smith Jones ’89 Guest Committee Member
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Photo: Jacob Foran Photos: Tom Reese
i n memori a m
ST. NICHOLAS ALUMNAE Jean Ogden Smith ’32 Janet Thorpe Lizop ’63
LAKESIDE ALUMNI
Bill Fix, center, was part of the first American team allowed to climb in Bhutan in 1975. He poses here with his Bhutanese guide, right, and the famous Nepali Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay. William “Bill” Fix ’44 • May 30, 2020 William C. “Bill” Fix was born May 3, 1926, in Seattle, the only child of William Harold and Adele Carlin Fix. He attended grade school at John Muir School, which helped to foster his lifelong interest in preserving wild places. In 1940, Bill was awarded a rare scholarship to Lakeside, and then attended the University of Washington for two years. In 1946, he transferred to Yale with a scholarship, graduating in industrial engineering in 1948. As a Boy Scout, he learned to hike and camp on hiking trails in the Olympic Mountains and at Mount Rainier. He went on to complete many first ascents in the North Cas-
I F Y O U H AV E A R E M E M B R A N C E
cades. Bill started a mountaineering club at Yale. From 1957 to 1965, he worked with Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson to establish the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area and the North Cascades National Park. In 1975, he was with the first Americans allowed to trek in Bhutan, and climbed five times in India and Nepal. Bill was integral in building the Spokane Mountaineers Club and added to the club’s legacy, from many challenging first ascents in the name of the club, to the club library Bill established, curated, and grew, to the club’s investment portfolio he founded and grew. He served as president in both 1957 and 1959. He thoughtfully encouraged the mountaineers to establish an endowment fund, which he faithfully monitored. In 1991, the Spokane Mountaineers awarded him lifetime honorary membership. Bill’s contributions to the Spokane Mountaineers and the climbing and outdoors community will be everlasting. Even more significant were his contributions to the greater community. He was active in the initial development of low-income housing sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the arts, education, and wilderness conservation, including the Dishman Hills Conservancy, Inland NW Land Trust, Spokane Public Radio, the MAC, the Civic Theatre, Spokane Symphony, and more. Bill could not have done any of this without the loving support of his devoted wife. He met his beloved Harriet Johnston in 1947 while attending the Spokane wedding of his cousin Jack. Bill married her in 1950, and they moved to Spokane, where he began a 20-year career with Columbia Electric. In 1973, he received a broker’s license and began an investment business. Bill was active in finance and endowments until his passing, and established scholarship endowments at Yale, Smith College (where Harriet attended), and Lakeside School. Bill was preceded in death by his wonderful wife of 65 years, Harriet (2015), and beautiful daughters Carol (1968) and Katherine (1991). He is survived by two fine sons, Harold (Spokane) and Allan (Berkeley, California). Matt Clapp ’52 • May 27, 2020 Matthew N. Clapp Jr., known as Matt, was born in Tacoma on Dec. 2, 1933, and died peacefully in his Tacoma area home in May. Matt was the last surviving son of Norton Clapp and Mary Davis Clapp’s four sons. He had two later-born and surviving half-brothers, Bill Clapp and Steve Clapp, as well as a stepbrother, the late Booth Gardner. Growing up, Matt lived in both Tacoma and Medina. He attended Lakeside School and the University of Puget Sound, where he majored in communications and met his wife-to-be, Marion. They married in 1957. Matt served stateside in the U.S. Army, then moved back to Tacoma. Matt and Marion had three children, Elizabeth, Margaret, and Matthew, and raised them in Lakewood. Matt’s interest in radios
to share about a St. Nicholas alumna or Lakeside alum-
na/alumnus for the next issue of the magazine, please email the alumni relations office at alumni@lakesideschool.org or call 206-368-3606. The following are reprints of paid notices or remembrances submitted by family members. All copy is subject to editing for length and clarity. The submission deadline for the spring/summer issue is April 15, 2021. F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 45
IN MEMORIAM led him to build a radio station business. Over many years, he owned stations throughout western Washington and Alaska. He built his company with the involvement of his daughters, Liz and Margaret. In 1998, Matt sold his 13 stations to Morris Communications. Matt was long involved in charitable activities and was both a public and private donor. He served on the Medina Foundation Board for 50 years and was a major donor to the Seattle Rep and the University of Puget Sound. He also funded the lighting of the Jewett Triangle Christmas tree near Macy’s for more than 25 years. Matt rekindled his artistic ability late in his life, creating a series of colorful collages. He had three public showings, enjoyed many sales, and gifted pieces to the Horizon House library and UPS. Matt lived at Seattle’s Horizon House for 15 years, and in 2018 he moved to a condominium in Tacoma with his wonderful caregiver, Tomasi. His last years were very peaceful. Matt is survived by his three children: Elizabeth Clapp Williams (Joe Williams) of Yelm, their children Kate, Nathan, and Tyler; daughter Margaret Clapp, also of Yelm; son Matthew III of Tacoma; and half-brothers Bill Clapp and Steve Clapp. Matt would have wanted, and his life reflected, contributions in his memory of money, time, or food to be made to any of the many needy human service groups. Sam McKinstry ’56 • March 22, 2020 It is with deep love and sadness that we announce the passing of Sam McKinstry on March 22, 2020, from the coronavirus. He is deeply missed by all his family, who knew him as “GPS” — Great Papa Sam — and the guiding compass of his family. Sam was born in Seattle on Jan. 22, 1938, and lived most of his life in the Puget Sound area, including 44 years in Edmonds. He graduated from Lakeside School in 1956 and from Princeton University in 1960. He then returned to Seattle, where he worked for 10 years for his family’s business, Societe Candy Co. This business was founded by his grandfather in 1906, and Sam was the third generation to operate it. When the company was sold in 1971, Sam moved on to pursue a career as owner of McKinstry Cruise and Travel, with his head office in Edmonds. For more than 25 years, he and his wife, Joyce, were well known for the group tours they developed and escorted all over the world. Sam was a Rotarian for more than 30 years and active in the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce. He was also very active in the Boy Scouts, having been an Eagle Scout himself and nurturing his son, who also became an Eagle Scout. Sam loved people and became a friend to all who knew him. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Joyce, and three children: S. David III (Karen), Jeanne McDonald, and Marianne (Fred Cooper). Peter Van Ness ’57 • May 1, 2020 Cornelius Peter Van Ness passed away peacefully at home in Lynnwood. His loving wife of 15 years and daughter, Kristy, were by his side. He bravely battled cancer for the past two years. Peter was born in Long Beach, California, on Sept. 29, 1939, to Virginia Cheatham and Cornelius Peter Van Ness II. He and his family moved to Seattle in 1945. He was proud to be an Eagle Scout. He was a graduate of Lakeside and the University of Washington (a member of Phi Delta Theta) with a major in history. He served in Vietnam as a Navy officer. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 1970. Peter completed a lifelong career in financial planning in 2012. He then became a founding member and treasurer of Uniting Hearts Networking 46 L AKESIDE
Institute, including the Unity Museum on University Avenue in Seattle. The board of directors sorely misses his long-range vision and planning skills. Peter’s family and friends will miss his elaborate dinners, witty toasts, and lively conversation. He is survived by his wife, Zabine; daughter, Kristy Stirling (John) of Woodinville; and his siblings: Anne Farrell (Robert); Denny Van Ness (Kate) of Geyserville, California, and half-brother John Carter (Helen) of New Zealand. He also leaves his much loved nieces Ginny Day (Sean), Susie Landsem (Doug), and Sarah Van Ness (Scott). He leaves many grandnieces, one grandnephew, and their children. In lieu of flowers, kindly donate to UHNI at unitymuseum.org in his memory. Stephen Matchett ’74 • May 19, 2020 Stephen Chapman Matchett was born into a Quaker family, son of William Henry Matchett and Judith Wright Matchett, and was raised in University Friends Meeting in Seattle, North Pacific Yearly Meeting, where he was introduced to the social activist traditions of Friends. He moved from junior to adult membership in University Meeting and then transferred to San Francisco Monthly Meeting in December 1983. As a child, Stephen loved drawing, reading, and playing recorders, piano, and the oboe. Stephen’s love for writing and the theater was nourished by the family’s annual summer trips to the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. At age 19, Stephen dropped out of Swarthmore College to work with the United Farm Workers in California, where he served as an organizer and paralegal and became fluent in Spanish. Moving from there to attend college at San Francisco State, he came out to his friends and family and formed a loving partnership with Calu Lester. In the early 1980s Stephen, Calu, and Calu’s adopted son, Damon, moved to the building on Fell Street, which Stephen called home for the rest of his life. In 1986, Calu was an early victim of AIDS, leaving Stephen, in effect, a widower with HIV. Damon returned to foster care, but he and Stephen stayed in touch. After graduating from San Francisco State, Stephen went on for a law degree from Berkeley, clerking for a state Supreme Court judge. The exposure that job gave him to what he called the sordid workings of California’s death penalty statute led him into a career representing convicted capital and noncapital defendants on their appeals, first with the public defender’s office and later in private practice. About 15 years ago, Stephen decided to take a leave from his law practice. He had recently ended a long-term relationship and sought help in a 12-step recovery program. It was there that Stephen realized that his well-developed self-reliance was not enough for him to overcome his problems and that he needed to turn to a higher power to accomplish that goal. He found this imperative of submission to God completely resonant with his developing understanding of his Quaker faith, and he embraced the practice as best he could. At the same time, Stephen was becoming increasingly involved in the California affiliate of the Alternatives to Violence Project, becoming a facilitator, coordinating the program in the Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, training trainers, and assuming a number of administrative responsibilities for the organization. In September 2019, Stephen joyfully completed something he had long wanted, the le-
gal adoption of Damon (now known as Leo Vega). He is survived by Leo, his parents, his siblings, and his nieces and nephews.
FORMER FACULTY & STAFF
Brenda Joyce Rye Brock • Sept. 8, 2020 Lakeside Librarian, 1986-2011 It is with great sorrow that the Rye family announces the passing of Brenda Joyce Rye Brock. She was a loving mother, sister, aunt, grandmother and friend. She made her transition from this world at her home in Goodyear, Arizona. Brenda was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Dec. 22, 1948, to Eddie Sr. and Myrtle Rye (deceased), and was the wife of O. Lee Brock (deceased). A 1967 Garfield High School graduate and a University of Washington Husky with a master’s in library science (’73), she began her career as a librarian at St. Therese Catholic School, where she worked for a number of years before becoming the head librarian of Lakeside Upper School. After she retired from Lakeside, she relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and took a position as head librarian at The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge. She ultimately settled in Goodyear, not far from her sister, Sally Kaye. She was a lifelong educator who loved all her students. Brenda loved books, words, fashion, and family. She was witty, charming, and beautiful. Her smile could light up any room, and her laugh was completely contagious. She was loved by all who met her and leaves a void in many hearts. She leaves behind her daughter, Leanne Rye Brock; son, Benjamin Jamaal Brock; and grandsons, Elohim Zayd Brock Evans and Wakan-Tanka Lee Brock Evans; brothers, Robert Rye, Eddie Rye Jr. (Andrea), Jerry Rye, Jackie Rye (Digene), Reggie “Tony” Rye; and sisters Shirley Rye Cunningham and Sally Kaye Rye-Gomes (Emidio). She leaves behind a host of nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, friends, former students, and so many who will miss her dearly. Marie-Pierre Koban • May 7, 2020 Lakeside French teacher, 1972-1996 Marie-Pierre Lucie Koban (born Martini) passed away peacefully in Seattle at the age of 90. She is dearly remembered by her daugh-
ters, Andree-Marie Koban, Martine Koban-Batayola (Louie), Corinne Hagen ’83 (Russell), and her six grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband of 40 years, Albert R. Koban Jr. in 1993. Born in Rabat, Morocco, she received her teaching degree in 1950 and taught school until she met the love of her life, Al, a U.S. Army sergeant from Little Rock, Arkansas, who was stationed in Rabat during the Korean War. They married in 1953 and left for Arkansas, where Marie-Pierre received a B.A., an M.A., and a teaching fellowship from the University of Arkansas. In 1960, they moved to Seattle, where she received a teaching fellowship from the University of Washington (1960-1968) and her Ph.D. in French language and literature in 1972. Because of Marie-Pierre’s incredible dedication to teaching, her passion for the French language, history, and culture, and her eagerness to share her knowledge, she was instrumental in the formation of many organizations. In 1962, The Cercle Français had formed a gathering of Francophiles who met for cultural activities and a monthly luncheon; Marie-Pierre was an active participant. In 1980, she and Dr. Howard Nostrand co-founded Bonjour Seattle, a program to introduce the people of France to Seattle. In 1981, she co-founded the Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association and was chairperson of the Secondary School Exchange. Marie-Pierre taught French at Lakeside Middle School from 1972 to 1996, where she organized the first student exchange between Lakeside and a school in Nantes. There were yearly student exchanges that Marie-Pierre led. In 1987, it became obvious to Marie-Pierre and others that an Alliance FranÇaise de Seattle and school was the next step and to join the nationwide Federation of Alliances Françaises. She was elected the founding president in 1987, served until 1991, and again from 1997 to 2001. She was also a board member of the Federation des Alliances Françaises and organized workshops throughout Seattle for French teachers. She also served twice as president of the American Association of Teachers of French, Northwest Chapter. In 1978 she met Dr. Warren Austin, whose dream was to create the first French camp on the West Coast, and from 1979 to 1996 she was the director of French language and culture at the Canoe Island Camp in the San Juan Islands. In April 2002, Marie-Pierre received the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques, an order of knighthood awarded by the French Republic in honor of her distinguished contributions to the French language, education, and culture in the United States. The award was presented to her at the 150th anniversary of Alliances Françaises’ gala event, hosted by Alliance Française de Seattle. Marie-Pierre’s spirit lives on throughout the Seattle French community and will be missed by friends and family worldwide. Chris Wearing • Aug. 17, 2020 Lakeside foreign languages teacher and fencing coach, 1980-2000 F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 47
e s s ay
Our High-Wire Act We are a nation with divided visions of our past and divided demands on our future. BY B O B H E N RY
W
H E N J O H N M C C A I N ’ S 2008 pres-
idential campaign manager, Steve
Schmidt, recently observed that the election we face in 2020 is the most consequential since the election of 1864, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Students of U.S. history certainly recall that in 1864, Abraham Lincoln stood for reelection against his former commander of the Army of the Potomac, Gen. George McClellan. By then, the Civil War had worn on with no end in sight for nearly three years and hundreds of thousands of lives had been lost. McClellan’s outrage at having been fired led him to challenge Lincoln for the presidency with the promise of ending the war’s bloodletting by negotiating a peace with the Confederacy. Historians agree that Lincoln’s losing that election would have lost the nation and would have perpetuated the enslavement of millions of Black people. How could Schmidt compare America’s crisis 150-plus years ago to our present moment? Hyperbole? We certainly are not fighting in opposing armies. The Constitution long ago outlawed the right to own human beings as property. The right to equal protection of the laws was constitutionally enshrined in 1868.
ter is fragile and seems to be shrinking. Our politics are undermined by the persistence of racial tension, economic insecurity, and wavering faith in the meaning of America itself.
But the similarities Schmidt observes between
When I taught American history, I enjoyed
then and now are notable. Most fundamental-
reading from John Winthrop’s sermon, “Mod-
ly, it seems today, as in 1864, we are a nation
ell of Christian Charity,” where in 1631 he
with divided visions of our past and divided
challenged his pilgrim flock to consider it
demands on our future. It seems we are par-
their calling to knit a community that would
tisan in the extreme with an ever-narrowing
become “as a city upon a hill.” It would be visi-
agreement on our national identity. The cen-
bly evident that in this place God’s love would
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"Showing Signs of Wear," Encaustic, oil, and cold wax; Eliaichi Kimaro P ʼ24
be manifest in the bonding of each member, one to another. Of course, Winthrop warned, if the community fell short of that calling, a vengeful God would rain shame and destruction on their city. John Winthrop’s city was a very high-wire act. Steve Schmidt’s point is that it still is. The balance of shared identity is all that can steady these destabilized, angry times. School is where the stitching of national community originates and where, therefore, the instilling of national identity and obligation ought to be explicit. The center can hold when nurtured with a mission that embraces the primacy of American identity. All things can be accomplished when we see that we share something fundamental. I recall the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. as he stood before the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, and how much I was moved by his vision and high calling. Today, I imagine a march on Washington where white Americans chant, “Black Lives Matter!” and, as a consequence, Black Americans can respond with equal fervor and faith that, yes, all lives do matter. Bob Henry taught history at Lakeside’s Middle and Upper schools from 1988 to 2019. He taught for seven summers in LEEP, the Lakeside Educational Enrichment Program.
F a l l • W i n t e r 2 0 2 0 49
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