spring
2017
MiltonMagazine
being out there
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ta ble of contents
Features
Departments
6 Embedded
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Immersed squarely in the lives and deepest hopes of the Arab Spring protesters, Robert Worth ’83 writes stories that illuminate an inaccessible world.
10 Love Plying the Sky Already a pilot in Class I, Nancy Harkness Love ’31 founded the World War II Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. A pilot herself, Mary McCutcheon ’65 shares Nancy Love’s story.
14 Is He Othello Today, or Romeo, or Joseph Asagai? At a friend’s urging, Jason Bowen ’00 tried the stage as a junior at Milton. He’s been getting inside the skin of one complex character after another ever since, rendering real people from plays by Shakespeare through August Wilson.
18 Elbow to Elbow with Urban Neighbors: Making Cities That Work A lover of cities, John Marshall ’86 learned how to keep his idealism and optimism alive working on the challenges of revitalizing New Orleans after Katrina. He’s now helping develop the next generation of urban development lawyers.
22 On A Frontier, at 18 Years Old Setting their own pace of intellectual excitement, three Milton students follow their passions from classrooms to start-ups to professional scientific conferences.
28 Growing on Garden Hill Rooting fourth graders for a few days among the Mountain School’s sustainable gardens, wood-heated facilities, and farm animals helped them learn resilience, teamwork and who, exactly, their classmates are.
Across the Quad
42 Sports
Hey faculty, what
Remembering Lefty
space made your day? 44 Milton Mural 32 In Sight 48 Messages
Photograph by John Gillooly
55 Class Notes 34 Head of School 61 Board of Trustees
Unsettling, in the Best Possible Way
64 Post Script
by Todd B. Bland
The New Version of Old 35 On Centre
by André Heard ’93
40 Faculty Perspective Visiting Jordan With Students: Connecting, Not Just Observing
Editor Cathleen Everett Associate Editors Erin Berg Marisa Donelan Liz Matson Design Stoltze Design
Photography Doug Austin Mike Barnett Marisa Donelan Michael Dwyer T. Charles Erickson John Gillooly Ann S. Kim Kjeld Mahoney Photography
Little G Ice Cream Co. Carolyn Richardson Evan Scales Stratton McCrady Photography Greg White Noah Willman
Milton Magazine is published twice a year by Milton Academy. Editorial and business offices are located at Milton Academy, where change-ofaddress notifications should be sent. As an institution committed to diversity, Milton Academy welcomes the opportunity to admit academically qualified students of any gender, race, color, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally available to its students. It does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship programs, and athletic or other School-administered activities. Printed on recycled paper.
SPRING 2017
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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
milton.edu
/MiltonAcademy1798
@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy
Being out there. Where are you most creative, most alive, most fulfilled? For a select group among us, the answer is “Not anywhere familiar or comfortable.� Some Milton alumni reach outside conventional settings to find achievement. Milton Magazine offers stories of four individuals who immersed themselves in environments that thoroughly intimidate most people. A passion for their work, infused with a robust appetite for risk, keeps these graduates going. On campus, a similar driving passion and quest for mastery leads some students from experimenting in the classroom to sharing their skills and discoveries with audiences far beyond Milton, long before they graduate.
SPRING 2017
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acro s s t h e qua d
Hey faculty, what space made your day? “I learned how to read in a set of two faded,
“My first car, a 2000 Volvo S70, was a particu-
“The space below the stairs in my childhood
larly formative space. The car, affectionately
home was magic; it was where I napped
floral armchairs that were the foci of the
known as ‘Grannie Annie,’ provided freedom
and read and played pretend, and it was a tiny
living room in my childhood home. My
that fostered my independence and enhanced
sliver of the house that was just mine.”
parents generously let me take these beloved
my social life. Sadly, I had to retire Grannie
Emily DiDonna (Grade 7 English)
chairs to college, where they served as my
this past summer, but I will never forget her!”
daily workspace. Unfortunately, I had to
Patrick Owens (Math)
outdated, and deliciously comfortable
I will forever hope they found a good home.” Olivia Robbins (English)
“Exploration Summer Program was my first exposure to new people and ideas. Coming
abandon these chairs during final move-out; “The theater hallway of my high school helped define who I was then and who I am today.
from a rural, homogeneous community, Explo introduced me to my best friends, gave me
I spent most of my free time there with older
the opportunity to explore my academic
and younger students who were open, fun
passions, and nurtured my intellectual curiosity.”
do I enjoy solitary working lunches, but
and—ironically—drama-free.”
Julia Esquivel (College Counseling)
I also overhear passionate and thoughtful
Claire Shea (Spanish)
“Withington Room, on campus. Not only
“The gym gave me freedom within structure,
conversations between students who regularly eat lunch there. It’s inspiring,
“My local public library. My mom would drop
providing a space where I can learn about
amusing, relaxing.”
me there on Saturday mornings, and I would
myself—good and bad. I’ve learned lessons
Zeynap Isvan (Math)
wander the shelves encountering new authors,
large and small there. One day I’m confident,
Find what you’re looking for, on the Quad. For decades on end, Milton’s Quad has eased its way into graduates’ hearts— a surprisingly simple stretch of green where important moments in the tumult of adolescence cluster nostalgically: a place to notice a seasonal image, be comforted by a cool grass carpet, dive for a Frisbee in a sweaty game, walk slowly or quickly, toward or away from a particular something—or someone. It’s our own backyard, meeting the needs of the given day.
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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
new ideas and new friends. Those hours
the next I’m humbled. I’ve learned discipline,
nurtured a lifelong love of reading. My mom’s
self-awareness, responsibility. Perhaps
offhand remark, that I spent so much time at
most valuable is persistence: If you keep
the library I should become a librarian, sealed
working toward your goal of what you want
my fate!”
to accomplish, it will eventually happen.”
Beth Reardon (Cox Library)
Coleman Daley (Grade 5)
“I trekked the Grand Canyon during a rocky
“On the football practice field I learned
point (no pun intended!) in my sophomore year
and appreciated the importance of
of college. I was muddling through a couple
commitment, effort, building confidence
different majors, and like a bolt of lightning it
and trust, leadership and resilience—
hit me while I was catching my breath on the
and how these lessons applied to all
Bright Angel Trail: Geology was my calling. I’ve
aspects of my life.”
never looked back!”
Josh Jordan ’11 (Lower School)
Joanna Latham (Science) “My first apartment in Boston. I moved “When I was an undergraduate, I needed a
to the area almost six years ago, by
space outside of my dorm to study for my
myself, for a job in a completely new
Medical Microbiology final. The quiet meant
environment. This apartment was
the library was not my ideal place. Instead, I
the first one in which I was living entirely
turned to Barnes & Noble. From the flavorful
on my own. It was tiny and kind of
aroma of the Starbucks cafe mixed with
dingy, but it was mine. Looking back,
the scent of new paperbacks, or the soft jazz
I realize it was the first time in my
playing in the background, there is something
life that I was doing something truly
distinct about Barnes & Noble. Despite the
on my own, and it generated in me
fact that it can be loud, it became my ‘safe
a sense of accomplishment that drove
learning space.’ Since then, whenever I need
me to take greater risks both personally
to unwind or study, I go to Barnes & Noble.”
and professionally.”
Murielle St. Paul (Academic Skills Center)
Rebecca Edelman (Grade 6 Science)
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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
journey one
ROBERT WORTH ’83
Robert Worth ’83 Looking professorial in a soft blue shirt and unstructured corduroy sport jacket, Robert Worth speaks quietly and intensely. Robert’s book, A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to Isis, was published in April 2016 to significant acclaim. He is both erudite and unpretentious, answering questions with patience. Imagining Robert perched in the back of a pickup truck among exuberant Libyans who are shooting into the air and hurtling at top speed across a “debris-strewn” desert is
homes, their whole way of life were in terrible danger.” Robert introduces his book with one of the early crossings in his two-year trek, witnessing the Arab
a stretch. Likewise, you must work to configure the scene
Spring uprisings and their aftermath: On an evening in
of Robert sitting patiently on the dirt floor of a Ja’ashin
February 2011, he launched his bags and himself into a
peasant’s home, within a city of tents that startlingly brave
“beat-up minivan” in Cairo that was headed, with a caravan
protesters have constructed in Sana’a, Yemen—hundreds
of reporters, aid workers and “ride-along Egyptians,” for
of miles from their families. Another day, on the Syrian
Libya’s border. He had just spent “the most thrilling and
mountainous coast, in the ancestral home of a young woman
bewildering weeks of [his] life in Tahrir Square.” No one
who belongs to the same Alawi sect as Bashar al-Assad,
would have predicted these uprisings, and Robert himself
Robert attentively listens to the stories of “dozens of
had no plans to return to the region. He’d just returned
working class people.” None of those Alawi “conveyed any
home at Christmas after eight years in the Middle East as
of the arrogance . . . I was used to seeing in Damascus.
Beirut bureau chief for the New York Times from 2007–2011,
They all made it clear to me that they felt their families, their
and a Baghdad-based reporter for the Times prior to that.
SPRING 2017
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He had exceeded his quo
no political scaffolding existed from which to build. The
tient of suicide bombings,
desperation of the search for change, the destabilization and
assassinations, and daily
fear, the absence of trust, the need for revenge, the extreme
examples of political, economic
violence of the process yielded psychological ground for
and social stagnation. Robert claims that he would have said revolution in
harmony, a sense of belonging. They wanted a place where
Egypt was impossible. Yet,
the cross-strands of their ethnicity and faith and tribe
the cumulative frustration
would not be cynically exploited against them. . . . When non-
and seething outrage in Egypt
violence failed to achieve those things, some of them sought
and in other countries in
the same goal through an orgy of killing.”
the region did coalesce. The
A learned journalist and consummate storyteller,
political dilemmas people
Robert artfully works through his own gripping character
faced in each country were
portraits and sustained encounters with his characters’
similar: entrenched rulers, few
allegiances, families, and cultural roots to illuminate the
expectations, misery, and
course of events and the human impulses at work during
lack of hope. Victims of routine
this time. His characters “intersected with the uprisings
atrocities like police beatings,
and their aftermath in five countries: Egypt, Libya, Syria,
or the self-immolation of a young Tunisian man utterly hopeless about making a living, were memorialized through
Yemen and Tunisia.” Robert describes himself as a latecomer to journalism.
Facebook posts and burgeoned into myth. The viral power
Both at Milton and at Wesleyan, he was far more involved
of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube spawned communal
in reading and writing poetry than journalism. He majored
bonds and collective courage. People took it upon themselves
in humanities as an undergrad and became interested in
to demand change. Al Jazeera fanned the flames.
writing nonfiction—but not through newspapers. “There
The time had come to mobilize ardor, to believe in a vision that seemed within reach. Activists and those who joined them used the tools at their disposal, taking to the streets. Tunisia erupted first (December 2010). Egypt was
were far too many novels and histories, and too much poetry for me to read then.” After an internship writing fiction at The Nation, he turned to graduate school, pursuing a master’s and Ph.D.
next: The massive demonstration in Tahrir Square called
in writing at Princeton. A second-year course with writer
for Mubarek to step down on January 25, 2011. Libya, Yemen
John McPhee proved important. McPhee included many
and Bahrain followed; and Syria’s demonstrations began
New Yorker writers in his classes, and Robert learned
in mid-March.
that their careers had often involved working at several
Robert had “a sense that the world was being remade
newspapers. That realization allowed him to visualize
before [his] eyes. . . . The tyrants would soon be gone. What
a career path that could work. McPhee urged Robert to
would come afterward was less clear. In that moment, to
complete his Ph.D., which he did in 1996. Robert’s first
be cold and reasonable felt almost like treason.” Five years later, in every case except Tunisia, the effort embraced by so many disparate individuals and groups
“substantial article,” he says, was in The Atlantic: “A Model Prison” appeared in November 1995. Following Princeton, Robert worked at Washington
to achieve a “modern state,” a homeland where citizens have
Monthly, which he describes as “a kind of well-established
participatory roles and rights, had devolved. Countries
boot camp for young journalists.” Not only did you learn
followed different destructive paths. “The protesters who chanted for freedom and democracy
the basics, you became part of a generous alumni “family” of journalists, among whom were several who would
in 2011 had found nothing solid beneath their feet, no
be important mentors. They include Nicholas Lemann
common agreement on what those words meant,” Robert
(The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How
writes. Ultimately, he argues in the book, the thrilling,
It Changed America) and Jason DeParle (writer for the New
transformative “high” of the initial uprisings, especially
York Times, author of American Dream).
those in Tahrir Square, succumbed to bitter, rooted
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the Islamic State to declare itself and gain strength. People had sought something “they’d always been denied: order,
Robert landed a job at the New York Times in 2000 and
divisions. The loose collection of successful activists had
began in the ritual manner—on the metro desk. Although
no preparation for governing; after decades of tyrants,
he’d grown up in New York, racing from the Bronx to outer
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
Queens reporting on crime or political infighting uncovered
now held their torturers in their own brigade command
a city he’d never known. Surprisingly, he loved it—even
headquarters. One man, who now jailed his brother’s killer,
the pace: “Run, run, run, write, file the story, feel purged,
tries desperately to understand why this man was able to
see the byline, start over.” When the war in Iraq began in
kill his brother. Their goal was to provide justice according
2003, Robert asked to be sent overseas—tellingly, not for the
to a rule of law, and not simply persist with brutality
invasion itself but “to see how Iraq settled, to see how
and revenge. There was no rule of law, however, and they
the Iraqi society came together, or did not come together.”
eventually let the torturers go, and gave them guns to fight.
Long interested in the Middle East, Robert had begun
In Syria, Robert details the loss of a long-standing, close
studying Arabic and writing about Islam after 9/11. Notably,
friendship between two young women, each with large,
he wrote one article about Sayyid Qutb, a philosopher,
robust families—one an Alawi and supporter of Assad, and
Islamic theorist, poet and leader among the Egyptian
the other a Sunni. We move from sharing an intimate
Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and 1960s. Qutb studied
conversation they had about a marriage proposal to a time
at a teachers’ college in Greeley, Colorado, in the early
when “their shared conception of the world began to split
1950s. That experience strengthened his angry critique of
apart, like speakers of the same language who are suddenly
America’s values; our belief in science and invention, our
marooned on different islands.” Over the course of the
focus on the capabilities and the rights of the individual
violence in Syria, they lose physical proximity; their trust in
were morally regressive. Qutb became an early theorist of
one another is irretrievable; and they both reconstruct
violent jihad, and he is seen as one of the ideological fore
the arc of their friendship to suit their sectarian identities.
bears of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the attacks on 9/11. Robert drilled down on his Arabic training. After time
In Yemen, Robert is invited to visit Sheikh Muhammad Ahmed Mansour who, with his merciless private army, had
studying on his own, a nine-week summer program
for decades oppressed and tortured the farmers who lived
at Middlebury College, where he spoke only Arabic, was
on his lands. The same Sheikh dutifully delivered 60,000
Robert’s most rigorous and productive training. After
votes, in every election, to entrench Yemen’s “democratically
reporting for the Times out of Baghdad from 2003–2006,
elected” president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. “Here in front of me
he was offered the job of Beirut bureau chief, covering
was a frail old man of near ninety, reclining on pillows in an
Syria, the Gulf and Iran. At the end of 2010, Robert shifted
attitude of languid repose with a water pipe at his lips. He
to writing independently, focusing on those long, narrative
had a pale face, strangely unlined and perfectly clean shaven,
pieces that had always been his inspiration, particularly
and a remote, cold gaze. His head was wrapped in a gray
stories for the New York Times Magazine.
and blue silk cloth, and he wore a sweater and a gray wool
By 2011, book contract in hand, Robert was reassessing
blazer. On his wrist was a gold and silver Rolex with what
his original plan to write about Yemen, a country that
looked like diamonds.” In a moment of awkward silence in
he loved and was least known among the Middle Eastern
the room, Robert asked the Sheikh to tell him about some
countries. The succession of uprisings in 2011 begged
of the changes he’d seen in his long life. “Where is Yemen
the question: What exactly are these? Each country’s
going,” Robert asked, finally. The Sheikh puffed on his water
experience seemed to become more and more distinct. Yet
pipe, the room remained still, men shifted their positions:
by 2014, extreme polarization dominated each country; there was no semblance of order or rule of law; abject fear
“Yemen,” the Sheikh said slowly, “is going to Yemen.” Reviewing Robert’s book in the New York Times, Kenneth
and sense of potential loss drove people’s decisions and
Pollack calls it “the book on the Middle East you have been
actions. Across all five countries “there was a similar sense
waiting to read.” Robert renders stunning, personal stories
of existential dread,” Robert says. “ISIS was brewing up
that span five countries. He weaves his astute analysis
in Syria and eventually spread to all five countries.” That
through events, the views of an unusually seasoned
confirmed that something was tying all these events
journalist in constant touch with people at all levels of
together and created the arc of Robert’s story: From Tahrir
Middle East society. He renders carefully chosen scholarly
Square to ISIS.
background exactly when the reader needs it. Robert’s
In the telling, the accomplished journalist—sensing the
compact, engaging narrative vastly deepens any reader’s
time and place to be present, to listen, to question—and the
appreciation and understanding of live events and people,
fine-tuned storyteller combine to render scenes of intensity
now, in the Middle East.
and pathos. In Libya, for instance, Robert watched and listened as men who had been victims of appalling torture
by Cathleen Everett
SPRING 2017
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jou r n ey t wo
NANCY HARKNESS LOVE ’31
Love Plying the Sky
Already a pilot in Class I, Nancy Harkness Love founded the World War II Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron Nancy Harkness Love ’31 Imagine enjoying a beautiful autumn afternoon on the Quad. Suddenly your tranquility is shattered by an airplane descending perilously low over the chapel and rattling off the top of one of the crenellations. This happened one Sunday in the fall of 1930. The usual suspects were the daredevil Fuller brothers, both of whom had pilot’s licenses. But, to the astonishment of the administration, the culprit proved to be a girl! It was the demure and pretty senior, Nancy Harkness. I remember my Class I year at Milton. It was 1965 and I, too,
Nancy Harkness and how she founded the Women’s
first flying lesson out of Hanscom Field in Bedford. I had no
Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, one of the two components
idea at that time that Milton had an illustrious history in the
of the WASP. The added joy was finding out she had gone
annals of aviation. All I knew was that my favorite teacher,
to Milton, too.
the handle-bar-mustachioed Mr. Pierce, had flown in World War I for France. After I got my license, I met some of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and even became a kind of groupie. The WASP were women who flew in various noncombat
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Through these WASP connections, I learned about
was captivated by flying. On a similar afternoon, I took my
She came from Houghton, Michigan, and enrolled at Milton in 1928. Academically she did respectable but not brilliant work. Nor was she especially athletic, showing more aptitude in tap dancing than in team sports. At the end of the summer before her senior year, some
capacities during World War II. One of them, Dot Swain
thing turned an indifferent teenager into a major character
Lewis, had been a flight instructor. I listened to her many
in the history of aviation. In late August 1930, Nancy was
stories, envying the kind of sisterhood that emerged from
riding her horse on a big field in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula,
the WASP. After the war, she and other WASP found they
when a barnstormer landed and offered to take her for a
had few prospects either in commercial or military aviation
ride. The encounter evolved into formal lessons and, after
and, with good entrepreneurial spirit, joined an all girls
four hours and 30 minutes of flying time and only six
air show and flying circus. Dot played the part of a frumpy
days since her first flight, Nancy soloed. Between then and
schoolmarm who stumbles myopically into a Piper Cub
her return to school on September 10, she accrued 13 hours
and accidentally takes off. She then does barrel rolls, loops,
and 25 minutes with an instructor and another 9 hours
spins and hammerhead stalls to the delight of the audience.
and 40 minutes of solo time. The total was enough to earn
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
of war brewed first in Europe and East Asia and inevitably here in the U.S. Then came Pearl Harbor and the heartbreak ing sequence of defeats in the first part of 1942. Using women pilots would solve a growing problem: ferrying aircraft from the factories to the bases. Women were readily available to do this work, and two of them were offering their services to mobilize the forces: One was Jackie Cochran and the other was Nancy Harkness Love. Both women were told by various levels of command “maybe,” “no,” “not yet,” “I’ll get back to you,” “someday,” and then eventually, “YES.” The personalities of these two women were starkly opposite. They were both young, glamorous and highly skilled pilots, but Jacqueline Cochran came from a hardscrabble north Florida background and did a personal makeover to conform to the person she wanted to be. She was actually in the makeover business, the owner of
ABOVE
her pilot’s license. I have read that she was the youngest
Notebook cover from the Nancy Harkness Love Collection. Thanks to Allie Love ’69.
woman to be licensed as a pilot at that time and among only
a cosmetics company. She married a millionaire and
200 other women pilots.
was off and running. Ever a self-promoter, she won publicity
ABOVE RIGHT
on. Her daughter, Allie (Milton Class of 1969), showed me
contacts in very high places, including the White House.
Photograph courtesy of the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Garden City, New York. Thanks to archivist Julia Blum. Inscription is to the great Russian-American aviation pioneer Alexander Nikolaievich Prokofiev de Seversky (Sasha to his friends).
her notebook covers. My cover doodles at Milton showed
Meanwhile, Nancy Love, from a highly educated, old
hairstyles or caricatures of my teachers. Nancy’s showed
New England family, was modestly perfecting her flying
her love of airplanes.
skills. When Nancy Love was given the go-ahead for
She was consumed by a passion for flying from then
She never finished Vassar, but in her three years there
her proposed ferrying idea, Jackie Cochran went ballistic.
she started a flying club and became a local celebrity as
Aware of the clout she had with the Roosevelts, General
a gorgeous, young, socialite, girl pilot. Because of people
Hap Arnold appeased her by giving her the go-ahead as well.
like her (and Amelia Earhart and Louise Thaden), girls
He had the idea that they would complement one another.
realized that the dream of flying was attainable. The ’30s
This led to two different women’s programs: one for large-
saw a tenfold increase in women earning pilot’s licenses—
scale, production-line training called the Women’s Flight
a resource that would soon prove vital.
Training Command run by Jackie Cochran, and the other
After Vassar, Nancy embarked on various jobs in
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for all of her many aviation accomplishments and had
for the more experienced pilots who would ferry airplanes
aviation and married fellow pilot, Robert Love, in 1936. Both
from factories to military bases. This was Nancy Love’s
of them continued to work and fly as the ominous threats
WAFS or Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. The 28
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
women who were WAFS are known as “The Originals.” After nine months of strained coexistence, the two
Thanks to Sarah Byrn Rickman, whose series of three books about Nancy Love and the WAFS were the basis for most of my
programs were subsumed under the centralized WASP
biographical details (The Originals [2001], Nancy Love and
in June 1943, with Jackie Cochran as director. Nancy Love
the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II [2008], and WASP
remained the head of the ferrying program.
of the Ferry Command [2016]). Thanks also to Allie Love,
When a disempowered person breaks into a realm previously out of reach, he or she feels a special burden to
who shared her mother’s collection with me in December 2016. Thanks also to Julia Lauria Blum, who has, as archivist for
behave contrary to the negative stereotypes of their group.
the Cradle of Aviation, in Garden City, New York, kept memories
For Nancy Love, it was of paramount importance NOT to
of the WAFS and other aviation triumphs on Long Island
bicker and whine. For her “girls” (as they were called), it
alive. Thanks to Albert Lewis, the son of Dorothy Swain Lewis,
was of paramount importance that they NOT be involved in
for introducing me to his mother. Credit also goes to the
compromising moral situations, NOT let minor biological
archivists at Texas Woman’s University, whose WASP archive
realities interfere, and NOT lose stamina. To keep up the professionalism, the girls covered for pregnant fellow pilots until their pregnancies precluded
has maintained WASP material, including the transcript of Teresa James’s oral history. And thanks to Lt. Col. Caroline Jensen for sharing her story.
the use of the control stick. Nancy Love argued over and over again that menstruation need not be a disability and
by Mary McCutcheon ’65
that women do not always become shrieking harridans during their periods. She also emphasized to disbelieving men that collegial relations with male ferry pilots can be completely platonic. After the war, none of these women got the credit they deserved. They had no military benefits (and only belatedly were militarized in 1977). They resumed their normal lives, marrying and having children, and, in only a few cases (like Dot Lewis and her All Woman Air Show), kept flying at all. Nancy and Bob Love started their family. Bob started a small regional airline that grew into Allegheny Airlines. They moved to Martha’s Vineyard and started a shipyard, too. Their lives were quiet. Until her death from cancer in 1976, Nancy’s contribution to the world of aviation and to the war effort was remembered with an occasional award here and medal there, a chapter in a book now and a dissertation then. For the most part, the work of these women pilots was largely forgotten. More recently, thanks to historians, museums, and the children and grandchildren of these women, films, exhibits, large archival collections, and awards are attracting atten tion to Nancy Love and her fellow women pilots of World War II. Nancy Love was inducted into the International Forest of Friendship in 1979 and enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2005. All of the WASP won the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010, and Nancy’s daughters were there to accept it. Today, over 25,000 women are active pilots in the
Mary McCutcheon is a pilot whose passion for flying began at Milton. She and her brother “snuck away” from campus and made their way via MTA to Hanscom
United States; they have broken all the barriers and
Field for flying lessons. She got her license in 1996
even may be setting new standards. I met the third female
and a plane of her own in 2000. Mary is a cultural anthro-
member of the Air Force Thunderbird team, Lt. Col.
pologist who has specialized in the Palau Islands in
Caroline Jensen, and she told me that, before a Thunderbird
Micronesia. In addition to research and writing, she has
show, a fellow pilot admonished her not to “fly like a girl.”
worked at the Smithsonian and as a faculty member
“Oh, I wouldn’t do that,” she replied. “It might make the
at George Mason University.
boys look bad!”
SPRING 2017
13
journey three
JASON BOWEN ’00
Jason Bowen ’00 “The key is understanding my character’s humanity—his relationships, faults, feelings, choices,” Jason Bowen starts. A stage actor, Jason depends on his ability to engage hundreds of people, radiate energy, and elicit buy-in from the start. “I need to recognize my character and also understand what other characters think of him, are saying about him—how he affects what’s unfolding, even when he’s not onstage. Attaching real emotions to the words—that’s how you make a character come alive.” Acting ability might have been in Jason’s DNA, but a future
Sun. He has been in residence with the Actors’ Shakespeare
of performing some of theater’s most treasured and complex
Project for nearly a decade, performing in Twelfth Night,
characters was not always an obvious choice. While Jason
The Duchess of Malfi and The Tempest, as well as A Midsummer
wasn’t a stranger to the stage in high school—he played flute
Night’s Dream and Love’s Labour’s Lost.
in the orchestra, frequently sang at his church—basketball was his primary focus. “Sports and theater didn’t intertwine much at Milton in my years,” he says. Then, in Jason’s Class II year, a friend urged him to audition for Milton’s production of Damn Yankees. He
OPPOSITE
Joniece Abbott-Pratt and Jason Bowen in August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2012)
14
During the production of A Soldier’s Play in his senior year at Milton, Jason was first struck by theater’s power as “an influential medium that can teach and have a meaningful impact,” he says. His favorite plays have taken on sophisticated substance and complex ideas. In college
was cast in the pivotal role of Joe Hardy. That first taste
he directed Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman. In 2012, he earned a
of applause hooked him. The enthusiasm of his theater
Best of Boston acting award for his portrayal of Levee in
audience, along with sage advice and support from Debbie
August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. One critic claims
Simon (Performing Arts), seeded the idea that he might
that Jason’s “roiling, titanic performance” of Rainey’s
have talent, and set his life on a new course.
trumpeter “stole the show.”
Jason performs regularly with Boston’s Huntington
“I learn more by experience than in the classroom,” he
Theatre Company today, in productions such as A Civil
says, explaining why he had flirted with the idea of leaving
War Christmas, Ruined, Prelude to a Kiss, and A Raisin in the
college to pursue acting full time. In the end, he says, he
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
SPRING 2017
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productions. Education outreach is also part of the model: Establishing residencies in public schools without arts funding, Jason and fellow actors develop projects with young people, empowering them to create and take ownership of the work. Though in love with the art of theater, Jason admits that the lifestyle is a challenge. “They don’t teach you that in Acting 101,” he laughs. “You always hear about the ‘starving artist,’ but even when you’re not necessarily starving, it’s always a grind, always a hustle.” He’s never been bothered by the unpredictability of life as an actor. It keeps the mundane at bay, Jason feels, and he’s always confident something is coming his way. “Wondering about my next role is exciting. Is it going to bring me to the next stratosphere? Just keep me even-keeled? Am I going to meet someone cool in the cast?” Now in his early 30s, Jason is ready for more financial and geographic stability. When he started in this line of work, he had acting in film or on television in mind, and he’s moving on that goal with recent recurring roles in Law & Order: SVU. Film success can be lucrative, but it also means
ABOVE
accepted the counsel of a director friend and completed his
Okieriete Ona0dowan and Jason Bowen in Lynn Nottage’s Ruined (2011)
degree in theater at Skidmore. After graduation, he hit the
RIGHT Julie Ann Earls and Jason Bowen in the Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s 2013 production of Romeo and Juliet
during his sophomore year in college and realized he had
audition circuit in Boston and Providence. Jason performed in his first Shakespearean play a knack for it. “Once I started to understand how to use the language, it began to come naturally,” he says. Out of school, Jason’s first play was Othello, under the direction of Ricardo Pitts-Wiley. “There are fewer people of color doing classical theater of that magnitude, so I enjoy adding my own personal story, my own dimension to the roles,” says Jason. “I like taking the mystery out of Shakespeare. Shakespearean theater can be an elitist art form, because people feel they have to regard it in a certain way. Really, it’s just another script; you can take it wherever you want. “Shakespeare’s ability to capture the human condition is, to me, why he’s lasted so long. Granted, the poetry is beautiful, but the magic is the combination of the language and his ability to tap into people. That’s one thing that doesn’t change over time. Technology changes, the world changes, but people—their feelings, their emotions, their relationships—remain the same.” Part of the allure of the Actors’ Shakespeare Project is its itinerant identity; the company moves from place to place, transforming unlikely spaces and creating moving
16
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
traveling, working on location. Jason hopes to score the
positive person. “In acting, so much negativity comes your
ABOVE
trifecta: a television role based on an interesting character,
way, directly or indirectly,” he says. “You have to be based
Glenn Turner and Jason Bowen in August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2012)
predictable income, and the ability to raise a family in
in reality: know your strengths, and be willing to adjust
one place.
your goals accordingly. No one is going to hand it to you, no
Shifting from stage to television is simpler than the reverse, he explains. “When you play to 600 people in a theater, you play to every direction. You have to project
matter how good you are. That doesn’t mean ditching your dream, but sometimes it does mean shifting it a little. “Everyone has a set of values along with a list of
your voice, your emotion—you have to play big. With the
things they’re willing to give up to attain success. Those
camera, you just have to make sure they see your face.
convictions are going to be different for different people,
It’s easier to dial it down. The emotions are the same, but
but you should never feel like you have to jeopardize your
on camera you can just respond honestly. In theater, you
morality. I’ve turned down auditions for that reason. It
also have to get it right every time. There’s no editing. You
just means that particular part isn’t for you, but you’ll find
are entirely exposed and responsible.”
another path. You don’t have to lose yourself to do this.”
Jason credits his success to perseverance, selfconfidence, a strong work ethic, and simply being a good,
by Erin Berg
SPRING 2017
17
journey four
JOHN MARSHALL ’86
Elbow to Elbow with Urban Neighbors Making cities that work John Marshall ’86 An assistant professor of law and an urban development lawyer, John Marshall “never ever” wanted to be a lawyer. Helping revitalize a city devastated by one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history was equally outside what John might have predicted for his future. But every story has roots, and John traces his to the family’s
John pursued a master’s in government at the University
Oldsmobile station wagon. On excursions to visit friends and
of Texas, Austin, thinking he might want to teach public
family in cities up and down the East Coast, John’s architect
policy, but he “realized professors could be far removed from
father and educator mother infused their children with
actually helping people make change.” His thesis on the
stories about the past and future hopes for these cities, many
shortcomings of post-WWII neighborhood revitalization
of which were struggling in the 1970s. These trips sparked a
programs helped him give voice to what he wanted
love of urban life in John.
to do with city revitalization. “I didn’t want to just restore
“My dad had always been an idealist,” says John, who
buildings—I wanted to keep families in place, connecting
grew up in the suburbs of Boston. “He had visions of how
them to jobs and making sure they had local resources like
communities should be: more inclusive and aesthetically
grocery stores, schools and parks.”
pleasing. He created some beautiful spaces, but the great
Seeing how lawyers aided John’s father’s work over
plans that didn’t get off the drawing board sparked
the years, he knew that a foundation in the law was vital to
frustration. I grew interested in helping folks like my dad
success in urban revitalization work. So he went to law
achieve a certain vision. I was attracted to the idea of
school (University of Florida, Gainesville), taking courses in
helping a city neighborhood that was having trouble
land use, historic preservation, and property law. Then the
working prosperously or efficiently, and working together
reality of three degrees in higher education set in; it was time
with people to make things better.”
to get a job and pay the bills.
After graduating from the University of Notre Dame,
After a two-year clerkship with a federal judge, John
John’s interest in public service led him to a job in
chose to work with Holland & Knight LLP, in the firm’s
Washington working for a congressman. His job—menial
Tampa office, hoping to focus on environmental and land-
tasks—allowed him to “observe the life of a public servant
use law. But the firm asked him to get involved in complex
and see how slowly the gears of change actually move. I
commercial litigation in federal court for one year. “At
realized making truly meaningful public change is hard
Milton, I learned to be a team player, so I agreed. Plus I
work and takes patience.”
would be mentored by some wonderful lawyers. But one
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year led to two. Suddenly, three and half years into it, I was
person there and I had zero credibility with these families
watching New Year’s fireworks from my office window and
and neighborhood groups, and rightly so. For two years,
missing the weddings of my Milton friends. I felt isolated.
these people had been trying to regain their homes and the
This wasn’t a case of work/life balance. It was just work.”
Redevelopment Authority couldn’t even send someone who
He moved to the real estate side of the firm, but as a litigator who “helped cities sprawl—enabling big-box
on advice a Milton football coach gave to the “scrawny,
cow pastures. I was not happy.” He started searching for
145-pound junior varsity defensive end.” He said, “Always
In the fall of 2007, he received a Rockefeller Foundation
to this day, “pick up the ground balls that come to you, and
Authority (NORA). Two years after Hurricane Katrina,
if you play those well, it will lead to something.” and its residents, learning every “nook and cranny” of
homes were everywhere. With his 18-month appointment,
the neighborhoods, and familiarizing himself with local laws
John was excited about the challenge: Help NORA legally
and processes. NORA’s original plan relied on eminent
recover long-blighted and abandoned properties so that
domain, government’s ability to expropriate private
they could be redeveloped as private, affordable housing for
property for public use, a process the Louisiana legislature
families that wanted to live in their former neighborhoods.
made more difficult before John arrived. He became
“I was confident because of my training, but I quickly
20
He immersed himself in the culture and life of the city
fully slow. Some streets lacked working streetlights; vacant
realized how little I knew about working with families
Photos by Carolyn Richardson
keep your feet moving.” He also kept close the words of a Milton classmate’s father, who told John, a baseball fanatic
fellowship to work with the New Orleans Redevelopment revitalization, the city’s progress toward recovery, was pain
PREVIOUS SPREAD
As he had before when he faced challenges, John drew
stores and condominiums in place of old orange groves or opportunities more aligned with his beliefs.
BELOW AND
could pronounce the street names correctly!”
part of a team that brought a constitutional challenge to the Louisiana Supreme Court to change the legislature’s
trying to return to their neighborhoods,” says John. “At
action. Meanwhile, his colleagues filed hundreds of eminent
my first public meeting, I was by myself, in a restored
domain actions in neighborhoods across the city. They
church sanctuary in the Lower Ninth Ward. I couldn’t even
were understaffed and under-resourced—and federal aid
pronounce the street names correctly. I was the only white
dollars to buy back properties was slow to arrive.
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
John’s 18-month appointment was extended for two
environment, you are at a real disadvantage, and you are not
more years, and eventually the original strategy was
serving your client or community well. I spent a lot of time
jettisoned. The team finished the actions they had filed and
in New Orleans thinking about lawyers as leaders.”
instead focused on the 5,000 properties sold back to the state by families who chose to leave New Orleans. These
John shifted his plan to remain in New Orleans, eager to get involved in training the next generation of urban
properties gave NORA significant land holdings in every
development lawyers. He became the Ludwig Community
neighborhood and a chance to carry out the goals. Still
Development Fellow at Yale Law School, serving as a clinical
understaffed and underfunded, they began appealing to
lecturer in law. He is now an assistant professor of law at
graduate programs around the country—law schools,
Georgia State University, in the heart of Atlanta. He teaches
M.B.A. programs, public policy programs—for students
environmental and property law and recently co-edited a book,
willing to work without pay in an internship program
How Cities Will Save the World. In John’s old-city neighborhood,
that John developed. Progress was still slow, but this new
he advises local neighborhood associations on revitalization
strategy was more successful.
efforts. He brings urban professionals into his classrooms
John realized he loved working with the students. He enjoyed reviewing their work and counseling them about their careers. He reflected on what he saw as a lack of lead ership training and of developing effective communication
so students learn not only the principles of law from the case- books but also hear stories about legal work on the ground. “I want my students to engage in work that makes them happy. Law and urban redevelopment makes me happy
and interpersonal skills in law school education. In New
because I’m working elbow to elbow with neighbors, review
Orleans, these were important skills for him.
ing ideas for development and proposals for funding, and
“Lawyers have special capital; people expect they know
tending to the nitty-gritty of easements and purchase and
what they are talking about and that they will provide a
sales agreements. When the purpose is to make a community
way forward. But if you are not an effective communicator,
work better, more efficiently to stay intact, that’s exciting to
if you are not able to bridge differences of opinion maybe
me, and I’m grateful to be able to do that work.”
regarding race or class, if you are not able to work in a resource-constrained environment or a time-pressured
by Liz Matson
SPRING 2017
21
22
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
milton.edu
/MiltonAcademy1798
@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy
at milton
What happens when you take your energy and your passion as far as you can? Many teenagers are driven by a talent or a recently discovered fascination, to pursue new exposure, and follow any lead that opens up. Gabrielle Fernandopulle, Alex Iansiti, and Elina Thadhani,
League competitions, where the task was programming
all Class I, are three such adventurers. Rooted in Milton
the robot to complete an obstacle course autonomously.
life, they have at the same time sought and seized every
“I liked the building/engineering part, but what I really
opportunity to expand and test the intrigue they feel for
loved was the logic part, finding the smartest and
math, programming and science. Their personal passions
most reliable approach to programming the robot to do
emerged when they were very young, and each has been
something repeatedly and accurately.” She built and
bent on keeping up a certain level of excitement, getting into
programmed underwater gliders at a summer camp before
worlds beyond where they’ve been.
starting at Milton.
Alex says that when he was young, he took apart every
Elina reports happily that she “was born into a science-
motorized toy that came his way. He took out the screws,
heavy, inquiry-heavy family.” They’d watch National
manipulated each part, and asked his dad which thing
Geographic and Planet Earth together. More important, her
did what and why. He loved computer games, and then
parents (her dad, especially) would come to the family
computers in general. As a fifth grader, he jumped into
dinner table with a relevant and absorbing science problem.
Visual Basic for Dummies. From sixth grade through ninth,
Drawn from current events or new research or someone’s
he transitioned from learning the basics of Java to going
bold idea, “he would present the anomalies in the scientific
off on his own, diving into projects—making games in Java,
community, and we’d spend most of dinner trying to figure
building websites, creating apps—and coming back with
them out,” Elina says. She remembers one night trying to
his questions or ideas to a tutor.
figure out how to get a predatory shrimp together with
Gabrielle remembers loving stories, and the thrill of achievement she felt each time she finished a book. Logic
the kind of snail that harbored a disease-bearing parasite. The family came up with the idea of creating a dam
puzzles, books of them, held a special place in her heart,
system that would keep the shrimp from exiting the waters
especially arguing about the approaches and the answers.
where the snail was. “I was already thinking through
To amp up the math curriculum for Gabrielle, her elemen
the scientific process then,” she says. “It wasn’t a burden
tary school gave her challenge problems and “I learned how
or tricky; it was exciting and fun.” She and her dad had a
to think about math problems there,” she says. In middle
math routine, too. When she showed up each morning, he’d
school, she was a fan of LEGO robotics, and the LEGO
hand off a math problem. “If I finished in ten minutes,”
SPRING 2017
23
she laughs, “I could have breakfast. And I came to freshman
design side (the look and feel, as well as making it work), and
year with math as my passion.”
that allows him to explore the artistic side of computing.
Alex came to Milton primed to push his programming
After one summer interning at a commercial start-up
experience as far as he could go. Milton’s curriculum
that called on the “app-y use side of programming,” Alex
in this field has evolved alongside Alex’s growth over his
wanted to spend last summer working in hard computer
four years. He’s been both a participant and a contributor. “I’ve loved the new electives,” Alex says, “but advanced programming, my first course, was still my favorite.” The course was about how the different algorithms work and their relative efficiency, Alex summarizes. “It was
science, on the “math-y” end of programming. That he did, with a lab at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Science that was working on writing software meant to facilitate millimeter wave internet—that is, processing that uses super-high-frequency radio waves. “There are some
probably the format of the course that worked so well,” he
hurdles to get over on the way,” Alex says, “to creating
says, “a structured curriculum to teach the concepts, paired
software that achieves that goal.”
with independence. For instance, an assignment would be to create a game showing a particular concept. Our final
Last June, with a linear algebra textbook under his arm, Alex plunged into math and programming research,
project was to create an MP3 player, and that involved
“outside my comfort zone.” He completed several crucial
circuitry, which I loved.”
“proof of concept” tests that fed into the lab’s major project. He worked in digital signal processing, implementing
T E S T I N G T H E M AT H S I D E O F P R O G R A M M I N G
a basic angle-of-arrival algorithm—testing whether milli
Alex loves what he calls “both sides of programming.” The
meter waves between a router and a phone could pretty
“math side” requires thinking about a problem abstractly,
accurately target where in the room the phone was. “Since
proposing a number of solutions, and choosing the best one. The “app side,” he explains, has all of the math, plus the
the main portion of the lab’s paper will be on how to improve on that algorithm, I was pretty happy with how far I got on that.” Alex has been able to share what he learned in the lab about machine learning, “a subset of artificial intelligence,”
Alex Iansiti ’17
with his classmates (eight of them) in the Artificial Intelligence and Applied Math course back at Milton. Alex’s graduate student mentor from the summer comes to Milton as well; about every third week, he assists kids who want hands-on experience with this rapidly expanding area of programming. Gabrielle is one of Alex’s classmates in the course. Fixated on math when she arrived at Milton, she took an aggressive pathway through the math curriculum, but missing the fun of her LEGO competitions, she took the first-level programming course as a sophomore. “It’s great,” Gabrielle says, “that programming is integrated into every Geometry class now. That’s a good idea. But I walked into programming having no idea what to expect. It’s a testament to Milton’s curriculum, and the attitude about learning that Mr. Hales and Mr. Chun have built, that I loved it so much. It’s very different from my other classes; it’s process-based.” The environ ment her teachers have created, she says, encourages students to “dream big and be okay with messing up. They pushed me to have fun with it.”
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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
milton.edu
/MiltonAcademy1798
@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy
special projects. Her role was taking data sets in different languages (like German and Japanese), using dictionaries the company had access to, and translating the data, cleaning it up, analyzing and reformatting it so the information could be used efficiently and effectively. “This was really a time and place where I could just dive in,” says Gabrielle, “because what they were doing was so far above what I had done before.” She downloaded the company’s source code—thousands of Java files—and then “spent most days of the first week Googling things.” Gabrielle Fernandopulle ’17
Experiencing the design and complexity of commercialized software was revealing, she says. She found her colleagues kind and supportive. She had no fear of asking questions and often did so using Slack, a messaging app for teams. She loved the environment of the tech world she saw. “I appreciated how meritocratic it was. Hard work is rewarded,
O N E G I R L , CO D I N G
regardless of seniority.” The company managed work
Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit dedicated to closing
through small teams; in stand-up meetings they shared
the gender gap in technology, was another big influence on
aspects of product development, and the shared infor
Gabrielle. Girls Who Code shows girls how varied coding
mation often tweaked the way the teams worked. She was
is, and how important it is to anything you like to do. Girls
shocked by how collaborative programming could be, and
create games to explain political issues, or they produce
by how much her colleagues enjoyed the teaching role that
music, or design sports or fashion websites; Girls Who Code
came with welcoming interns.
tries to reframe the stereotypical sense of coding and helps girls imagine a future in tech. Numbers of girls in programming at Milton have steadily
Gabrielle is thinking now that she may want to major in computer science. She loves the power and the problem solving, as well as its relevance to so many fields that interest
increased. Gabrielle and several other girls led the way, and
her. Females are underrepresented, she notes, and “the
she’s clear about the cultural trends that have affected girls.
communication and teamwork that programmers need is
“Our culture has taught girls to be more fearful of failure,” she
a big part of who I am.”
says. “I saw that in the intro course, where boys would just laugh failure off and start up again. And there’s the male-
H E L P I N G P R E D I C T A G L AC I E R ’ S R E T R E AT
dominant voice, too, and girls not wanting to talk over other
Both Gabrielle and Elina created a major communication
people.” But the balance is shifting, according to Gabrielle.
opportunity for themselves, when their abstract about
“Younger girls are signing up for courses and sticking with
the findings of a four-year research project on sea ice was
it. They’re finding out that even though boys grew up with
accepted for presentation at the American Geophysical
video games, they don’t have an advantage. And the projects
Union’s annual meeting in San Francisco this past December.
are free-form: You don’t have to build a shooting gallery.
In their Class IV year, both girls signed up for a student
You can build a lacrosse simulation game or a shopping app.”
outreach group associated with faculty member Matt
Gabrielle’s summer internship was with an early-stage
Bingham’s National Science Foundation grant to study
data procurement and analysis software company, Tamr.
sea ice in Disko Bay, Greenland, at the mouth of the
The company developed software for major companies
Jakobshavn Glacier.
(like GE and Cisco) to reformat all of the disparate data sets that are crucial to business and organize them to increase
With colleagues from Wheaton College and Brown University, Matt Bingham was studying sea ice variability,
access and functionality. Their clients save money through
because high sea ice has been associated with slowing
improved efficiency. Gabrielle was a member of the “labs
the retreat of the glacier. To make predictions about the rate
section” of their development team; her group took on
of glacial retreat and rising seas, scientists need data about
SPRING 2017
25
Elina Thadhani ’17
the variability of sea ice prior to the evaluations of the last several decades, which were done through satellite imagery. Mr. Bingham brought a two-meter ice core back from Greenland, and students have been mirroring the scientific team’s investigations. Elina and Gabrielle tried to deter mine whether methanesulfonate (MSA) could be used as a valid proxy to generate records of sea ice variability deep into the past, and therefore to help predict how glaciers will retreat. In their two-meter core, they did find a correlation between parallel peaks in MSA, oxygen isotope and low sea ice, indicating the potential of MSA as a proxy for sea ice concentration, and the girls will present the findings at a conference poster session. They’re not only excited “to be presenting our four years of hard work at such a huge conference,” says Gabrielle, “but also to connect with the principal investigators we’ve been working with and hear happens in a real scientific community, and how I might
about their work.”
do something that could lead to an innovation.” Even DESIGNING TESTS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS
though she’s spent long hours in labs during the summers,
T H AT M AT T E R
Elina says she was “driven by the idea that I had a role,
The San Francisco conference was Elina’s third presentation
that I made a difference in ongoing research. She worked
at a national professional science conference this year. Elina
at MIT in Bevin Engleward’s biological engineering lab
has never met an uninspiring scientific question, it seems,
on DNA damage, and the effect of carcinogens. Like Alex,
and her Advanced Chemistry course at Milton served as
she was thrilled to have demonstrated proof of concept
a launching pad for two research projects she pursued in the
for her hypothesis. “What I love is that a science question is not only a puzzle,
Pritzker Science Center, on campus. In one project, Elina examined an idea for improving
it’s a very precise puzzle. Just designing an experiment is an
the treatment of glycine encephalopathy, a rare autosomal
art in itself. Are the conditions optimal? Is the theory behind
recessive disorder characterized by high cerebrospinal fluid
my experiment working? Where does my theory have holes?
and plasma glycine concentrations. She presented a poster
What kind of controls are correct? Is my precision spot on?”
of her findings, titled “Glycine’s affinity to a cation-exchange
Elina has worked on projects individually, with the
resin offers potential treatment for glycine encephalopathy,”
support of Milton faculty, and she has worked collaboratively;
at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry 2016
she enjoys both modes. She tends to think of everything as an intricate machine, and finds it endlessly interesting to
Meeting in Philadelphia. In a second project, she focused on issues having to do
learn about every part, from the intra-cellular level to the
with recovery after a myocardial infarction (heart attack).
whole organ system. Why are we the way we are? Evolution
Elina was invited to present her conclusion, abstracted as
arily, how do the cellular components work together?
the “Fabrication of a conductive, drug-delivering alginate hydrogel through cerium IV crosslinking offers base as a synthetic heart tissue,” at the Biofabrication 2016 Conference,
Science is amazing because you’re never done, according to Elina. There’s always something deeper, something further. She fondly remembers her grandfather’s musing: “Every time you come across a success, you come across
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. As was the case with Alex and Gabrielle, summer work
ten new possibilities for success, but 100 new possibilities
fired up Elina’s excitement and skills, her sense of
for failure.” So you have to pursue each one with vigor,
independence and responsibility. Course work at Milton
Elina believes.
kept the flames high and opened up other doors. Elina says that she wanted to know “how research
26
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
milton.edu
/MiltonAcademy1798
by Cathleen Everett
@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy
Get
comfortable. It’s rewarding.
Through years working with 4-H International, Lily Reposa ’18 learned that associating with a group can provide a safety net to young people in danger. In Washington, D.C., during her sophomore
Noah Cheng ’17, Community Engagement Board co-head, appreciates that at Milton “people are participating because they want to, because it’s important to them.” For Nicholas O’Toole ’17, activism during
Keisha Baffour-Addo ’17 made similar connections within the places she served, including the annual service trip to Belize and at the Brookview House in Boston, a compre hensive program to reduce homelessness
year, Lily advocated for international access
high school has sparked an interest in social
among women and children. She met and
to positive youth development programs like
justice policy and politics. Nicholas interned for
learned from people her own age who have far
4-H. She explained to Massachusetts Senator
two summers with the Fenway Community
fewer educational opportunities, or live in
Elizabeth Warren and others in Congress
Development Corporation, where he received a
neighborhoods where violence occurs.
that the sense of belonging inherent in these
firsthand education about housing affordability
programs for teenagers could stave off great
and inequity in Boston. There, he connected
student in Robbins House, I was focused on
risks, like succumbing to recruiting by terrorist
with city officials and developers, as well as
wanting to interact with people, gain perspec
organizations.
with community organizations like Black Lives
tive and explore Massachusetts beyond the
Matter, to discuss issues of economic injustice.
‘Milton bubble,’” Keisha says. “I do think I have
“When kids don’t see opportunities in their lives, feelings of loss and disconnection can lead them to seek out dangerous alternatives,” Lily says. “Programs that keep young people productive give them an important sense of community and connection to society.” The opportunity to serve helped attract Lily
“I knew, on an impersonal level, that serious discrimination happens today,” Nicholas says. “But actually seeing the numbers and reading the case studies was eye-opening.” Nicholas takes the activism course, which
“When I came to Milton as a boarding
some responsibility to engage with people.” Raised in a family that emphasized service, Noah also felt a responsibility. It’s not always easy, Noah says, recalling when he served meals at the Pine Street Inn, a large homeless
he said has revealed how different areas
shelter in Boston, and people tried to
to Milton. She now serves on the Community
of inequality connect. “I can see where all of
persuade him to give them extra food.
Engagement Board and her service, like that of
these topics are intertwined. The quality
some other Milton students, goes beyond
of housing in a particular area really overlaps
campus boundaries.
with environmental issues, whether it’s
was ready for that. You get exposed to parts
waste management, the accessibility to mass
of the world that you don’t see every day here
Hundreds of students participate through the Community Engagement Programs and Partnerships (CEPP), reporting to a site on a
transit, even the proximity of highways.” Cecelia Guan ’18, who is bilingual, depended
“They’re in a desperate situation, and it’s hard to say no,” Noah says. “I don’t think that I
at Milton. It’s taught me a lot about keeping an open mind.”
regular basis or volunteering for annual events
on her Cantonese and English while working
on campus, like Special Olympics tournaments
with adults who are learning English. “It was a
Keisha is considering a future in the Peace
or the Oxfam Hunger Banquet. Service is
great way to exercise my knowledge, and
to find a way to get involved with service in
entirely voluntary. Milton now offers an
those individuals taught me things about the
some way, even if it feels challenging at first.
Corps, and said she would encourage everyone
academic course, Activism for Justice in a
language that I didn’t know. The feeling it
Digital World, that explores how activists use
gives me is invigorating. That’s my happy place—
stepping out of your comfort zone to help
“I don’t think there’s anything to lose by
new and traditional tools to help with poverty,
when I get there, all the stress of school is
others,” Keisha says. “People live outside of
homelessness, hunger, educational inequity,
completely forgotten, and we’re growing and
your comfort zone. Getting uncomfortable is
health care, environmental degradation and
learning together.”
not going to hurt you. It will help you grow.”
immigration.
SPRING 2017
27
at milton
PHOTOS BY DOUG AUSTIN
Growing on Garden Hill Working in teams, Milton’s fourth graders were assigned a straightforward task: Using toothpicks and mini-marshmallows, develop and execute a plan to build the tallest possible structure in less than five minutes. It sounded easy enough. But halfway through the
The fourth graders impressed Mountain School
process, Robert Lightbody, director of multi
faculty member Jack Kruse, who also directs the
culturalism and community development in Milton’s
work program. “When I introduced them to our
Lower and Middle schools, began shaking things
wood program and how we heat our facilities, they
up. He reassigned students, which forced the groups
were so interested. I had forgotten how funny, active,
to bring their new teammates up to speed and
imaginative and even patient kids are at this age.
consider novel approaches.
Honestly, a pile of wood, some splitters and a wood
The exercise came during a break between farm chores and hiking, on a trip to the Mountain School of Milton Academy in Vershire, Vermont, last
stove are not as exciting as a llama, but they were really into it, asking great questions.” After years in the same class, it’s natural for kids
October. The visit was a short course in agriculture—
to develop a shorthand and a structure that dictates
the Mountain School is a semester program for 45
their interactions with one another. In organizing the
high school juniors from across the country each fall
trip, faculty divided the students purposefully,
and spring—and an opportunity for fourth graders
breaking up established friend groups. During the
to bond outside of the comforts of the classroom.
mornings and in between farm chores, they played
Last September, seven new students joined a
challenging games designed to help them understand
tightknit group of fourth graders. “Getting to know
group dynamics. “We were intentional about making
each other and working together is a major focus,
these classmates a little uncomfortable, then helping
so coming to a farm, and seeing how the older kids
them to re-form groups in many different ways,”
have to work together, really supports what we’re
Robert said.
doing at Milton. It builds community,” said Grade 4 teacher Sandra Correia. With sweeping vistas of foliage nearing peak
The students left Milton on a Wednesday morning and returned Friday afternoon. Not everyone had an easy trip—they contended with blisters, fears about
vibrancy, organic produce ripe for the harvest, cattle
being away from home, and exhaustion from their
and sheep dotting grassy pastures (protected by
farm chores. Some anxious tears were shed, and a
Desmond the “guard llama,” a favorite of the fourth
handful of complaints cropped up over the work that
graders) the Mountain School provided a dream
needed to be done. Out of their comfort zone, boys
backdrop. Unseasonably warm, sunny days cooled
and girls had to rely on one another.
into cloudless nights and students enjoyed campfires and stargazing.
“Before I came here, I was a little bit nervous, but still thought it would be great, and it has been,” said
SPRING 2017
29
Amelia. “We have room buddies, and they set it up so
made the visit exciting for James, a new fourth grader,
there’s a new kid in each group, so it’s been a good
who appreciated their explaining how and why
way to get to know new people.”
chores are done on the farm. “Even though we’re not
“This might be the first time they’re this far from
from here, the people at the Mountain School are
home by themselves, and the first time that they’re
treating us like we’ve been here for a long time. We’re
responsible for getting themselves up and ready for
seeing how much work it takes every day to run the
the day without the help of their families,” said school
whole farm.”
counselor Carla Ko. “They’re learning that they have
Milton’s Lower School students have a community
that resilience, that ability, that independence, to take
garden behind the Junior Building. Third graders
on some of these personal challenges.”
learn about planting and harvesting, and they take
Being far from home with no access to their parents was challenging for some—cellphone service
an overnight trip to the Farm School in Athol, Massachusetts. At the Mountain School, children
at their nearby hotel was spotty at best; at the
took on different tasks, from clearing a greenhouse to
Mountain School, it was nonexistent—but they
making apple cider, cutting back invasive plants,
worked through it, said Robert. One student almost
repositioning fences around the farm’s cattle pastures,
immediately asked to contact his parents, and the
and picking potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage and peppers.
adults on the trip had to convince him that he was going to be safe without them. Another student cried on the way to Vermont
For Dean, doing all the work was the best part. “This is a good challenge, because we’re actually outside and it’s hot, so it’s hard work. Working
and dreaded the sleepover portion of the trip. The
together is going to make our class a lot stronger, and
two boys sharing his hotel room asked whether they
I think we’ll be more helpful to each other now.”
could do anything to help. “He said, ‘This is hard.
“I like learning about how everything is connected,”
There’s nothing anybody can do to help me. I just
said Camilla. “There are so many steps, and if
need to get through this,’” Robert recalled. “He
something goes wrong, it can change everything.
ended up being fine, and the roommates were so
When you work for your food, it tastes a lot better,
understanding.”
and you know what you’re eating.”
Everyone who comes to the Mountain School
The fourth graders “stretched themselves,” try-
discovers resilience, says Milton junior Rachel
ing new things in an unfamiliar environment,
Handler.
said Head of School Todd Bland, who accompanied
“It can be pretty discombobulating and absolutely
the students on the trip. “They’ve stepped outside
exhausting, managing the time between academics
their comfort zone in a serious way, and they’re
and working on the farm,” she says. “But I’ve come
learning that that’s OK. They’ve worked through
to absolutely love it. I feel more energized when I
certain challenges and gained confidence in their
go back to class after working in the afternoon. I’m
own capacity to solve problems.”
working not just with my mind, but physically as well, and I find that very invigorating.” Farming requires cooperation, and a lot of labor,
Nearly three months after the trip, a visitor to the Grade 4 classrooms would be hard-pressed to identify which students are new. Did any moments
says Rachel, who has grown close to her Mountain
of the visit stand out as high points? “All of them,”
School classmates and faculty through working side
says Robert, laughing. “All of them.”
by side. The students and adults at the Mountain School
30
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
by Marisa Donelan
“This might be the first time they’re this far from home by themselves, and the first time that they’re responsible for getting themselves up and ready for the day without the help of their families. They’re learning that they have that resilience, that ability, that independence, to take on some of these personal challenges.”
low e r s c h o o l co u n s e lo r c a r l a ko
in sight
32
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
P H O T O B Y J O H N G I L L O O LY
SPRING 2017
33
head of school
BY TODD B . BL AND
Unsettling, in the Best Possible Way Immersing myself in a new and uncomfortable situation often comes with some lofty goals. It also, almost always, comes with plenty of trepidation. After all, a “new place” might be geographically distant from anything I’ve known, linguistically mysterious, and just plain intimidating. I know that I perhaps have humbling errors in store and will likely fail often. Yet, somewhere in my head or heart, I know that confronting these challenges is exactly why I chose to put myself out there, and very quickly I start to feel like I’m learning and gaining ground. Studying in Spain when we were younger had profound, lasting effects on both my own and Nancy’s lives. Although we were both excited by new cultural opportunities, neither of us had anticipated what the experience would teach us about ourselves. When I returned to the United States, I had learned as much about my own resources, foibles and priorities as I had about my newly beloved Spanish culture. Our daughter Maggie studied in Granada this past college semester, choosing a path that delighted Nancy and me, but Maggie had prepared; she was a veteran. Both Maggie and her sister, Emily, had left Milton’s campus for semester programs in their Class II year. Our twins had told us the year before that they wanted to stretch themselves, try something new. They were excited to experience high school without their parents nearby, and they were curious about studying apart from one another, particularly before starting the college search process. Emily studied
live at School, and in doing so, they dive into an unfamiliar culture, brand-
at CityTerm, run by the Master’s School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. At
new academics, and a community of peers who themselves choose to
CityTerm, 50 students use New York City as their classroom, every day.
come to Milton, Massachusetts, from all over the country and around
Maggie opted for warmer climes: She headed to the Island School on
the world. These young people need to switch gears and consider the
the island of Eleuthera, where she immersed herself in the Bahamian
impact of their actions and their relationships on others’ lives—new
aquatic environment and the life of a marine biologist.
responsibilities and new opportunities to affect the quality of life, day
Many alumni have told me about particular transformative experi-
in and day out. Milton’s culture is its own, living thing—friendly and
ences during their Milton years, often rooted outside the classroom, and
supportive, but fast-paced and potentially disorienting. For one third
with people they never expected to encounter. Milton offers so many
of the students moving into Milton houses each fall, their family homes
ways for students to intensify and enrich their high school experience,
are hours of flight time away, and English is a second language. Students
away from campus. The Mountain School of Milton Academy in Vershire,
from Texas, Hawaii, Alabama and Boston’s neighborhoods bring a
Vermont, and the Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki are renowned and
dynamic array of cultural backgrounds. Milton’s intentional celebration
beloved semester programs. Milton is a founding member of School Year
of difference is a long and valued tradition, and we are working harder
Abroad, through which students can choose host sites in Spain, France,
and smarter than ever to help every young person and every adult
Italy or China. Our French and Spanish exchange programs engage
develop openness, self-awareness, respect and the cultural competencies
around 40 students each year in memorable, multiple-week excursions.
essential today. We are committed to the explicit process of nurturing
Our jazz program musicians play numerous concerts and visit South
a learning environment in which everyone is tuned in to different lives,
Africa biennially, and in alternate years, the orchestra and Chamber
is flexible and adaptive, and feels both valued and eager to contribute.
Singers tour international destinations. Milton students interested in combining service and travel have participated in projects in Belize
Nancy and I are fortunate to have developed a deep, long-lasting connection with Spain—its people and its culture. That vital experience
and Appalachia during spring breaks. Every year, many of our students
fuels our commitment to making sure that all Milton students can tap
develop transformative relationships through Community Engagement
into the life skills that develop when you challenge yourself to step past
partner sites in Boston’s multicultural neighborhoods.
the familiar and predictable, and move toward understanding others’
It’s also important to remember that about half our students choose to
34
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
lives from the inside out.
o n c e n t r e Milton Mentors Lead Girls Who Code Teams at HUBweek Hackathon “The change in stereotypes about computer
field. No one has ever told them that science,
programming and coding is heartening,”
technology, engineering or math is not
says Jessica Wang ’18 . In the fall, Jessica—
for them.”
along with several female classmates and
At Milton, the number of female students
friends—mentored fellow coding enthusiasts
enrolled in programming classes has
during HUBweek’s Girl Hackathon in Boston.
increased, with 46 girls participating this
The program, which provides middle- and
year. “A decade ago, we might have seen
elementary-school girls an introduction to
one or two girls per class,” says Chris. “The
Letitia Chan Wins International Poetry Award
coding, is a signal of forward momentum that
old stereotype of programming as male-
Milton faculty member Chris Hales hopes
driven and perhaps socially isolating simply
Letitia Chan ’17 is one of 15 student writers
will increase girls’ participation in computer
is not the case anymore. Milton students
to win top honors in the 2016 Foyle Young
programming.
involved in programming are well-rounded
Poets of the Year Award for her poem “Making
with wide-ranging interests.
Glutinous Dumplings with My Mother.”
I think the younger girls
Letitia’s poem was selected from among 10,000
(at the Hackathon) saw, in our
entries submitted by 6,000 students from
students, role models that
around the world.
reflect who they want to be.” Lyndsey Mugford ’19 didn’t
think she would be interested
spring’s Advanced Creative Writing class with
in coding until she started
Lisa Baker. She learned about the Foyle Award
taking classes at Milton. “Pro-
competition, which is hosted by The Poetry
gramming is a great skill set
Society of London, from her mentor at Adroit
to have, but I never thought it
Journal’s summer online program, which pairs
was for me. I think girls can
experienced writers with students.
feel left out of the programming world. At the Hackathon,
The Milton students were team leaders to the younger girls, who used Hopscotch, a kid-friendly programming language, to
“Making Glutinous Dumplings with My Mother” is a piece Letitia developed in last
“The poem starts with an image of making dumplings with my mother, and I connected
all the girls were really enthu-
that with the dynamics of a mother-daughter
siastic and supportive of one
relationship, particularly when you return
another, and they approached
home after living away at school,” says Letitia,
it with the mind-set of working
who came to Milton from Hong Kong.
together to accomplish a goal.”
This is not the first time that Letitia’s
“When I was younger, all
work has received recognition. Last year, her
our mentors who knew how to
collection of poems earned a first-place
code were male,” says Jessica.
Bennington College Young Writers Award.
“It’s impressive how much effort is being made to engage young girls in this world.” Katie Friis ’17, co-head of Milton’s
She was also runner-up last year in the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest, another national competition. Letitia says that her work has grown more
build simple games. The teams presented
Programming Club, hopes Milton will host
their projects at the end of the day. Charlotte
a similar event in the future. “I’ve definitely
personal over the years. “I’m interested in
Moremen ’19 said the younger students’
seen an increase in female participation since
writing about uncomfortable relationships—
energy was infectious.
I’ve been here. My freshman year, I didn’t
how you are as a teenager and how your
know anyone in the program, and now there
relationship with your parents can change,”
little kids who had completely innovative
are several girls in my dorm who take
she says. “Some of my real life is reflected
ideas,” Charlotte says. “They hadn’t had any
programming classes. I think people are
in my work, but there are also many parts of
idea that coding is still a male-dominated
realizing how interesting it is.”
my poetry that do not reflect my real life.”
“The most fun part was talking to these
SPRING 2017
35
to ask questions, which covered a range of topics, including mental health; substance abuse; sex educa tion; gun violence; and the opioid epidemic. Dr. Murthy’s answers included personal perspec tives, including that on marijuana legalization: “Science should guide our policy when it comes to marijuana; we don’t yet have enough high-quality evidence of marijuana being a safe and effective
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy Delivers 49th Alumni War Memorial Lecture On November 29, the United States Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, spoke with
not be more important,” said Dr. Murthy. The Surgeon General shared experiences
treatment of medical conditions—the certain standard of evidence that we hold every other medication to . . . that which helps guide doctors in dosing and other safety measures.” He also cited staggering statistics as food for thought: Almost 21 million Americans suffer
students, faculty, parents and grads as Milton’s
that shaped his career trajectory—some
from a substance abuse disorder, and only
49th Alumni War Memorial Lecturer. Both
from his childhood memories of his parents’
one in 10 gets treatment; every $1 invested in substance abuse treatment and prevention
in Straus Library, and later in the Fitzgibbons
medical clinic in Miami, where he learned
Convocation Center, Vice Admiral Murthy
that medicine was not simply about “making
saves $4 in health care costs and $7 in criminal
answered students’ questions about his role and
diagnoses and writing prescriptions, but
justice system costs. Dr. Murthy outlined
about some of the most pressing public health
about building a relationship of trust and
some successful government programs and
issues facing America.
respect between a doctor and a patient.”
policies that address these and other issues,
“I came here today because I believe you,
An unexpected opportunity his freshman
but he made clear that policy was not the
young people, are the best shot we have in
year in college brought a career in health
most efficient or effective means of creating
this country of overcoming the challenges
care to the forefront: He and his friends learned
change—that real and lasting change begins
that we face,” said Dr. Murthy. “It’s easy
of a philanthropist who was looking for a
in our communities, “from the ground up.”
to think it’s someone else’s job to solve the
cause. With the philanthropist’s backing, the
country’s problems. You have to be that
students developed an HIV peer-education
of focusing substance abuse prevention
someone. . . A leader is someone who has a
initiative in India; with unlikely success,
programs on youth: “If we can protect young
voice and chooses to use it.”
American students approached convent schools
people’s brains throughout adolescence, we
Dr. Murthy highlighted the importance
in India and convinced senior nuns to let
have a better shot at keeping them free from
General his primary roles are to oversee the
them talk to their students about sex and HIV.
substance abuse later in life. And you each
United States Public Health Service—one of
The group was invited to teach at 90 percent
have a powerful role in affecting the choices
the seven uniformed services of the United
of the schools they approached.
your friends make. I know it’s not always
Dr. Murthy explained that as Surgeon
States—and to communicate the best possible
“One of the great things about trying
information on health-related issues, so that
something when you’re young is that you don’t
medical professionals and all Americans can
know all the reasons to doubt yourself, or how
make informed decisions about health care.
you might fail,” said Dr. Murthy. “You just try.”
“At a time when we are inundated with
Marshall Sloane ’17 and Elina Thadhani ’17
cool to be the voice of reason, but that’s one of the most powerful roles you can play.” Dr. Murthy spoke of the need for sensible gun laws, education around gun safety, and greater investment in mental health services. “We’ve allowed ourselves to become polarized
all kinds of news—some of it fake, some of it
joined Dr. Murthy and Head of School Todd
real—ensuring that people have access to
Bland on the dais to ask questions of their own.
in our debates on issues that are really
the truth and to scientific information could
They then invited classmates in the audience
important—to get locked into two corners in
36
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
a battle where nobody wants to move. When
challenges, to support important but hard
another—informed by compassion, and a
we step back, we realize we have many things
decisions; we can’t even come together to have
willingness to listen and understand?”
we agree on in terms of steps that can and
conversations without dismissing someone’s
should be taken.
point of view.”
“What we need in America is to rebuild
He posed what he called “the defining
The Alumni War Memorial Foundation was established in 1922 to honor Milton Academy graduates who sacrificed their lives
our foundation,” he said. “The foundation of
question facing our country” to students in
in World War I, and it now honors all those
our country has become shaky. It’s not built
the audience, and he reminded them that
who died in the wars and conflicts that
on money, or on the strength of our military;
their generation would be the one to solve the
followed. The Foundation supports lectures
it’s built on the connections between people.
problem: “How do we rebuild the foundation
and informal conferences dealing with the
When the connections between people are
of our country, one that’s informed and
responsibilities and opportunities associated
weak, we can’t come together to overcome big
guided by the relationships we have with one
with leadership in a democracy.
Restoration of the Robert Saltonstall Gymnasium Columns
Jim Selman, Milton’s associate director of construction and standards. Milton contracted with the historical division of Shawmut Design and Construc tion of Boston for the new columns, which
Workers made a special delivery to the
are faithful to the original design. They have
Milton campus, as the restoration of the four
a “passive ventilation” system, which allows
white, wooden columns in front of the Robert
some air flow into the hollow structures,
Saltonstall Gymnasium (RSG) began last
says Jim.
summer. The crews carefully removed the
“They’re also made of a harder, denser wood
building’s historic columns and replaced them
than the original white pine columns,” Jim
with replica structures that hold true to the
says. “That will give us more life.”
building’s century-old design. The existing columns were original to the
Milton’s facilities services are also determin ing the scope of work to replace windows at the
RSG, which was built in 1921. After 95 years
RSG, and will remove the Palladian window
of supporting the building’s entrance and
facing the football field, which will neaten the
portico, they were in need of replacement, says
building’s appearance inside and out.
The Robotics Team Rolls Onto Advanced Competition
was “pleasantly surprised” by their success. The “Starstruck” competition is played on a 12' × 12' field, where the robot picks up and moves “stars” and “cubes” into particular zones. After playing qualifying skills matches, teams from different schools form alliances. Then, the object of the game is to attain a higher
The Robotics Team’s robot, named Tokyo Lift,
score than the opposing alliance. Truman and
won the robot skills competition, the excellence
Tommy’s alliance won the whole competition.
award, and the championship at the VEX
Tommy said Tokyo Lift was newly
Robotics Qualifier Tournament in Hopkinton
constructed this school year, and the team can
this winter. Milton entered two robots into
still make modifications to the robot before
the competition, and the winning robot moves
the next competition. About 15 students meet
on to the state competition this spring.
officially twice a week in the Robotics Team
Truman Marshall ’18 and Tommy Elliott ’18
room in the Art and Media Center, but Tommy
were the leads on Tokyo Lift. “We knew we
said they work on the robots almost every day
had a good design,” says Truman, but the team
after school and during free periods.
SPRING 2017
37
on cen t r e , con t.
Grace Connor ’17 Has the Scoop on Building a Business
Little G Ice Cream Co. while recovering from
After trekking through a snowstorm to
foray into business was a baking company.
deliver her first pints of Little G Ice Cream to
She began baking at the age of 6, and she soon
a specialty grocer in Boston, Grace Connor ’17
started taking orders from friends and family.
had a flash of doubt. “I was putting it into the
A few years later, she started making ice cream
minutes between classes, I’ll take out a book.
freezer and thinking, ‘What did I put all my
and all its mix-ins from scratch—even the base
When I’m on the bus, I study,” Grace says.
time and money into?’” she remembers. “After
is handmade.
a week, they called and told me that all my ice cream sold out, and they wanted to order more.” This was in January 2016, six months
Little G is a full-time business. In addition
surgery to remove a brain tumor at age 15. Now,
to purchasing the ice cream from local retailers,
she brings her ice cream into hospitals to cheer
customers can buy it anywhere in the country
up young patients.
by ordering it online. Grace balances her job
Grace always loved ice cream, but her first
with her classes at Milton by maximizing every free moment. “I know that when I’m at school, I’m here to focus on my schoolwork, so if I have five
“There’s a lot of time in the day. If I use that time
“I’d heard about CommonWealth Kitchen. I actually applied there when I was 8, because I wanted to make cookies there. I got pretty
effectively and plan ahead, there’s more than enough time to get everything done.” Being a regional brand is not enough for
after Grace landed a spot in the start-up food
far along into the process because I hadn’t told
Grace, who has her sights set on opening her
production space CommonWealth Kitchen at
them I was 8,” Grace says. “I knew I needed
own production facility, getting a distributor,
the age of 16.
to get in there to make ice cream, because my
and hiring staff to help Little G grow. She is
parents weren’t going to
seeking investors and may open a brick-and-
give me any money. I wasn’t
mortar ice cream shop in the future. During an
going to get a loan or an
interview for a news feature, a reporter asked
investor at that point. I used
if she thought it was neat to see her products
all the money I’d made
next to Ben & Jerry’s in a store freezer. “I’ll be
from baking. If I picked up
happy once it’s next to Ben & Jerry’s everywhere
a penny on the sidewalk,
across the country.”
I would save it.” Sheer persistence got
permits and plans needed
A Silver and a Bronze for Milton Magazine
for professional food
Milton Magazine is “filled with really
production. Ice cream is
interesting stories that are not just ‘news
Grace in the door at the kitchen. After she was accepted, she navigated the bureaucratic maze of
“I didn’t have much capital,” she says.
highly regulated—Grace
and notables’ but clearly reflect what the
has to go through monthly
school values,” according to one judge of
lab testing for every flavor she develops. She
the 2016 Brilliance Awards from InspirED
jokes that she built her business on her iPhone,
School Marketers. Milton and Stoltze
money to buy an ice cream machine, which I got
Googling examples for health code permits
Design received two awards in the Printed
at less than half price. I got a pro bono lawyer,
and other papers she had to file.
Magazine category, with the Spring 2016
“There’s a small fee to get started. I had enough
a pro bono designer, and everything else, I just figured out myself.”
As an industry, gourmet ice cream makers have branched into some unusual territory,
edition of Milton Magazine earning silver and the Spring 2015 edition receiving
with flavors like blue cheese, bone marrow and
bronze. In their remarks, judges celebrated
NBC Nightly News, and in People magazine, the
fennel. Grace opted for more familiar tastes,
the design as well as the written content.
Boston Globe and countless other publications.
with a dozen flavors such as hot chocolate and
One judge noted of the Spring 2015 issue:
Her ice cream is sold at several stores in the
marshmallow crispy treat.
One year later, Grace has been featured on
Boston area, and by this spring she will have
“I wanted to create recognizable flavors that
“Beautiful photography along with wellthought-out content make this magazine
expanded to 40 Whole Foods stores in the
are fun and exciting, and I make everything
one of my favorites. Love the alumni
Northeast. As her business grew, a backstory
from scratch, using the best-quality ingredients
profiles showing leadership in varying
unfolded: Grace thought up the idea for the
I can,” she says. “The flavors are nostalgic.”
fields—and varying ages.”
38
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
Milton StudentAthletes on Soccer’s World Stage Two teammates on Milton’s boys’ varsity
semifinals, but they beat Curaçao in the thirdplace game, earning them a spot in the final rounds next spring. “I love that soccer is a team sport; it takes more than one individual to win,” says Jeremy. “Soccer brings together all kinds of people from
soccer team represented their respective home
different backgrounds. On my team, we were
countries in the Caribbean Finals of the
from different parts of Jamaica, and we ended
CONCACAF U17 World Cup Qualifying held
up having such great chemistry on the field.”
in September in Trinidad. Brandon Jones ’18
CONCACAF is the soccer federation for
played center back on the U17 Bermuda
North America, Central America and
national team, and Jeremy Verley ’19 played
the Caribbean that governs all international
midfield for the U17 Jamaica national team.
competitions. The CONCACAF final rounds,
Coincidentally, the two teams faced off in the
in which Jeremy is competing, are the final
first round of the tournament, and Jamaica
qualifying stage for the World Cup at the U17
won the game.
level. U17 is the youngest age group with a
“The tournament was the closest I’ve felt to
World Cup competition, making it the highest-
playing on a professional soccer team,” says
level youth competition in which players
Brandon. “The whole process of training and
can compete. Chris Kane, Milton boys’ varsity
playing games in front of a huge crowd was
soccer coach, says it’s “pretty incredible that
really exhilarating.”
we had two players in the tournament, and it’s
Jeremy’s team, which he captained, made it
amazing that Jeremy may have a chance
to the semifinals after a draw with Haiti and a
to captain a team to the full World Cup this
win against Trinidad. They lost to Cuba in the
summer.”
Model UN Students Bring Honors Back to Milton
and global social and military threats.
Milton’s Model UN students traveled to
Caleb Rhodes ’17, co-head of Model UN,
earned Best Delegate for his representation of Lt. Col. Manuel da Costa Braz in the Alvor Agreement of 1975. “Before this conference, I didn’t know much
Brown University for this fall’s Model UN
about Portuguese history and how Portugal
Conference. During the conference, students
controlled Angola until the early 1970s,” says
stability between all the competing factions. It was my chance to correct history, because in real life the agreement fell apart.” “I am so proud of these students for all their hard work and for the way they represent themselves and Milton,” says Mark Heath, history faculty member and Model UN advisor. “Now, more than ever, the conference’s focus
take the perspective of a country or political
Caleb. “The Alvor Agreement was supposed
on collaboration, civil discourse, and empathy
figure, engaging with peers from around the
to unite the different factions within the
provided great opportunities for our students to
country, and debating and writing proposals
country after Portugal left. My character was
bring out their best and to see the best in others.”
on issues like cybersecurity, counterterrorism,
a moderate socialist, and my goal was to create
James Dunn ’17 received a Best Delegate
honor, representing Bangladesh in the Disarmament and International Security Committee; Alex Chen ’18 received an Outstanding Delegate honor, representing Mexico in the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology; and receiving commendations were Jake Griffin ’19 , representing Vladimir Puchkov, Minister of Emergency Situations in the Russia Cyber Crisis, and Bohdi Becker ’20, representing Chad in the African Union.
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f a c u l t y p e r s p e c t i v e
Visiting Jordan With Students Connecting, Not Just Observing
(wheretherebedragons.com), the format and activities enabled adults to engage with the issues and the people living in the region, in hands-on ways. “Dragons” describes itself as “a community of bold educators and intrepid adventurers.” The firm’s goal is to frame up opportunities for travelers to build relationships that foster empathy and
Master of the wry understatement, Joshua Emmott (history
understanding across cultures. Typically, Dragons offers
department) notes that trying to understand people and
programs for summers, semesters, or gap years. Their
the way they live and think is a real advantage as you try to
programs take place in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and
learn history. An inveterate traveler himself, Joshua has
Latin America: Senegal, Laos, Bolivia, Rwanda, Thailand,
taken students to India over one March break in the past,
and Nicaragua, among others.
and to Egypt during another. This year, Joshua, who teaches History of the Middle
Midway through his own experience, Joshua was struck with how a trip that succeeded at immersing kids in this
East and Globalization and Islam, among other courses,
kind of on-the-ground experience would be especially
inaugurates a trip to Jordan. Eight students are joining him
valuable for students in his Globalization and Islam course.
and will do far more than visit the sights.
“The Middle East is less accessible to our students than, for instance, Europe or South America. It’s opaque: the language, the religion, the customs,” Joshua says.
“This experience will locate students right in the middle of what we’re trying to understand.”
Based on the components of Dragons’ program for educators, and with the help of the firm, Joshua organized a trip and program that would replicate his own trip, within the time frame of a two-week March break. “This experience will locate students right in the middle of what we’re trying to understand,” Joshua believes. Before they go, students accompanying Joshua will have
“If you envision a certain content area in your course, and
studied international economics and the World Bank;
not only physically going to the place you are studying, but
resources and trade; why some nations have been econom
interacting with the people living there, in a 24/7 context,
ically successful since World War II and why some
that’s what this trip is doing,” Joshua says. The trip that inspired Joshua’s venture with students
developing nations struggle. They will have launched into Jordan specifically: its history, economic development,
into Jordan was one he took in March 2016. He’d been
and the impact of the refugee crisis on the country, among
enticed to give the trip a try because of its label: experiential
other issues. They plan to have conversations in Milton,
education—a familiar bit of contemporary jargon that could
by Skype, with some of the refugee organizations they will
use some definition, he thought. Good idea to see what that’s
visit once they’re in Jordan. At home, Joshua will have raised
like. Organized for educators by Where There Be Dragons
some of the same questions for his students that focused the activities of his own trip: • What does it mean to be a Muslim in a modern Muslim society like Jordan? • How is Islam actually practiced, compared with what you read about it in books? • How do you live in a country with depleted water resources and massive unemployment? • How is the refugee problem affecting Jordan? • How does tourism affect conservative, traditional cultures? The group begins their visit in Madaba (the home of Moses), then spends a number of days in Jordan’s capital, Amman. In a typical day, they might begin by visiting UN and NGO offices, talking with people who are shaping or
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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
implementing government policy, as well as people who are working in the refugee camps. After lunch and conversation,
for their own wives. How do you bridge those worlds? The educators also went to live in home stays with Petra
they then meet with refugees and discuss with them how
area residents for several days, as will Joshua and the Milton
policy initiatives show up in their experiences of social
students. The trip includes daily training in Arabic. Every
services, or in the employment or education sectors. To close
morning, each person in the group has a different role. With
the circle, students revisit the UN or NGO folks to discuss
the limited words and phrases they’re able to learn, travelers
what they’ve heard from those who are meant to benefit from
are expected to fulfill that role—for instance, making lunch
certain policies and programs.
reservations at a restaurant, or purchasing water and lunch
After time in Amman, students head south to Petra—an
for everyone going on a daylong trip into the desert.
ancient city famous for structures carved into red rock, and
The trip’s underlying theory is to reverse the typical
the skill of the Arab Nabataeans in creating water collecting
power dynamics: As a traveler, you have an objective, you
and conduit methods (circa 312 BC). Petra is Jordan’s most-
have the tools, and you need to follow through on your
visited tourist attraction; it’s an ideal city and region for
responsibility. Afterward, you discuss how you think it
exploring the tensions between tradition and modernity.
went, and what you might change to improve the interaction,
“People who live and work in Petra,” according to Joshua, “are in the most conservative part of Jordan, which is one of the most conservative countries in the Middle East, probably
next time you go through it. One novel thing about this trip, Joshua says, is that the students will mostly meet people their same age. At night
after Saudi Arabia. In Jordan, most women don’t drive;
they’ll have lots of social things to do—like going to cafés in
levels of education for women are lower; numbers of women
Amman where young people hang out. They’ll try out
in the workplace are lower than in Lebanon or Turkey; and
a locally popular form of Arab dancing, called Dabke, and
there, they still have honor killings.”
hear the music that young people are listening to in Jordan.
Members of Joshua’s educators group went to some of
Joshua may be hopeful that this trip, long-planned, will
the villages where the Petra tour guides live. “You don’t see
be transformative. The full immersion into Jordan will
many women in these villages, because they all essentially
change the dynamics of his course, at a minimum. Consistent
live inside,” Joshua says. His travel colleagues were able to
with his style, however, all Joshua is willing to say is, “It
talk with the guides about the apparent stresses between
will be interesting to hear what all their perspectives are,
their world after work, and their world during the day.
once they return.”
Their livelihood depends on mingling with women, and women tourists freely lead lives that would be impossible
by Cathleen Everett
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41
sports
Remembering Lefty
Richard Thomas Marr March 11, 1936–November 11, 2016 At age 21, with a fresh degree from Williams College, Dick “Lefty” Marr joined Milton’s faculty. Dick’s friend and colleague Chuck Duncan says that, in Dick, Headmaster Arthur Perry saw “the model of the New England schoolman, combining the qualities of intelligence and love for the adolescent with the willingness to become involved with all aspects of school life.” At Milton—in the classroom, in the dorm, on the baseball field and ice rink—Dick proved
about bringing out as much as he
above
his skills and commitment time and again.
could from kids while having their
Lefty’s hockey
best interests at heart. That can
buddies wished him
in his English classroom, in Forbes House, on the field,
be a difficult balance, and he got it
well, with some
and in the rink with relentless energy, steady support, and
right.”
friendly competition,
For more than two decades, Lefty gifted Milton students
an unwavering confidence in their potential. One former student and hockey player remembers
“Dick had both a great sense of humor and a rare sensitivity—
in his final season as Milton’s head coach.
that Lefty “always kept things in perspective, and
a unique combination that made
his classroom was a lively place. He had the right attitude
Forbes House a welcoming and supportive place to live while Lefty and Ginny were at the helm,” Chuck recalls. One
“When it comes to sports, we need to think always about how we connect athletics to the overall mission of the school. If we do this, we can help students develop skills and friendships that last a lifetime.” — Dick Marr
former Forbes House boy said, “Mr. Marr could get into your mind and force you to see a thing more clearly, and he was right more than 95 percent of the time—not that we were always willing to agree with him until much later.” As a coach of many fine Milton teams, Lefty was in his element. If you played for Lefty, your brain was as important as your muscle. “His players would beat teams by outwitting them,” says Chuck. Friends and lifelong coaching rivals, Lefty and Dick Flood had been roommates at Williams College. Prior to that, they had competed in high school—Flood at Nobles and Lefty at Governor Dummer. Upon graduating from Williams, both began teaching and coaching and spent two decades as rivals at Milton and Nobles. From their leadership and camaraderie grew the highly regarded Flood–Marr Holiday Tournament, drawing the area’s best hockey talent each December for 52 years now. Prior to the ceremonial puck drop this year, players, coaches and fans honored Lefty’s memory in a moment of silence. “We were rivals who had an extraordinary lifelong
right
friendship,” said Dick Flood. “We shared special moments
Varsity boys’ hockey,
with each other’s families, and while we liked to beat one
with Coach Duncan
another on the ice, we rejoiced in the other’s successes.”
(left) and Coach Marr
Flood says Lefty “thought outside the classroom or the game,
(right), 1970
taking his students and players to new dimensions in life.”
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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
My friend, Dick Marr Recollections by Chuck Duncan
Friend Jerry Larson describes both iconic individuals
I met Dick when he was assigned as my guide during my final interview at
as “models of good coaching: concerned about the indi
Milton. I was immediately impressed by his enthusiasm for life and for this
vidual first, team second; focused on character and skill
School. After lunch, we went to faculty coffee in the Harding Room, where
development; and continually learning something new to
we had real coffee, served in real china, complete with silver service.
share with students.” Though many knew him as Coach Marr, Lefty’s reach was broad. He took a leave from Milton in 1967 to teach
Shortly after sitting down, I felt a tap on my shoulder; I looked up to see a senior faculty member who said, “I don’t know who you are, but you are in my seat.” Within a few seconds, Dick gave me a sign indicating it was
at the Solomon Lewenberg school in Boston. He spent time
time to leave. I excused myself, and Dick and I made a hasty retreat. Dick’s
as a recruiter for the Upward Bound and A Better Chance
comment after our exit was: “Milton is changing, but not quickly enough.”
programs. He was dedicated to educating motivated students from all backgrounds. His Milton ecomium reads: “He valued the inherent worth of every individual and
In 1971, Dick invited a team from Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, to come to the Christmas hockey tournament. Dick and I were scheduled to pick up the Swedish team at Logan. As a precaution to getting stuck in traffic,
sought ways to motivate each to develop their talents as
Dick asked his wife, Ginny, to be around in case we ran into traffic or some
thinkers, writers, speakers and competitors.”
other problem. As life would have it, we ran into traffic, and when we
Lefty’s dedication to and love for independent school
returned to Milton the game was well into the second period: with Milton
education was at his core. He taught at Milton from 1957
leading 3–1. Ginny told Dick that she really didn’t need his help—she
to 1980, at Tabor Academy from 1984 to 2003, and served
was in complete control of the team and the situation. Needless to say,
as headmaster of Aspen Country Day School in Colorado
the opposing coach was not pleased.
in between. When he retired from that career, he chose to
During the tournament in a gesture of friendship, Dick was able to
grow further. He became a college hockey referee, baseball
secure a tape of the national anthems of many different countries. From
umpire, and commissioner of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
the Zamboni garage he started to play what he thought was the national
In his 60s, he earned his law degree from Roger Williams
anthem of Sweden. As Dick looked out at the Swedish team he saw
University. Dick’s son Jerry said his father knew providing
puzzled looks and gestures of “No! No!” from the Swedish players. He
legal counsel “was just coaching at heart, and he naturally
soon learned he was playing the anthem from some other country
brought his coaching skills to this new role.” In practice,
beginning with the letter “S”. The scene of the Swedish players trying to
Dick specialized in mediation.
signal to Dick was memorable, indeed.
“Dick had a perseverance you can hardly believe,” says Chuck. “The man didn’t understand the word no.” Thank you to Ginny, Lefty’s wife of 58 years, and their children, Tim, Jerry, Lisa and Amy, for sharing this great man with all of us.
Dick’s ability to sense things that weren’t quite right served him well in his years as teacher, dorm master, and coach. One evening he stopped by a student’s room to catch up with some of his seniors. Sensing something was amiss, his instincts told him to linger. The longer he stayed, the more anxious the students became. After a while he noticed a pool of liquid beginning to emerge from under a boy who was sitting on something. Dick continued to wait, and finally the boy couldn’t take it any longer; he stood up to reveal that he had been sitting on a tub of ice cream that he and his buddies had liberated from the dining room! One of Dick’s great lines to his hockey teams between periods centered on why it was better to be ahead by two goals rather than by one. To me, that fact didn’t need a philosophical discussion—it was plain as day. But Dick thought differently and went on to explain his thoughts on the subject to his players. While I was happy with a two-goal lead— period!—Dick’s approach was effective. I venture to say that players, no matter which sport or situation, will carry the wisdom of Dick Marr with them through their lives. Chuck Duncan was a member of Milton’s faculty from 1968 until 1999. He served as house master of Hallowell House, teacher, dean of students of the Boys’ School, and director of college counseling. He was Lefty’s right-hand man as hockey coach and his close friend from 1968 until Lefty’s death in November 2016. SPRING 2017
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milton mur al
A C U R A T E D G A L L E R Y O F A R T S , L E T T E R S A N D D E S I G N B Y M I LT O N A L U M N I
alejandro danois ’88 The Boys of Dunbar: A Story of Love, Hope, and Basketball The Boys of Dunbar is the true story of a high school basketball team that, during the drug and crime epidemic in 1980s Baltimore, brought forth four NBA players and gave hope to a city. Dunbar High School’s basketball program was one of the most successful in the country, and the early 1980s Dunbar Poets were arguably the best high school team of all time. Four starting players—Muggsy Bogues, Reggie Williams, David Wingate, and Reggie Lewis—would eventually play in the NBA. Alejandro Danois takes his readers through the Poets’ undefeated 1981–1982 season, the lives of the players, and the role of Coach Bob Wade. Wade, a former NFL player from the same neighborhood, knew that his players’ formative lessons on the court were key to their future. A Brooklyn native, Alejandro lives in Baltimore and is editor-in-chief of The Shadow League. His writing has been published by the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun, Associated Press, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, the Los Angeles Times, and Ebony magazine.
steve lehman ’96 Sélébéyone Steve Lehman’s album Sélébéyone was selected as a Top 10 CD of 2016 by NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times Popcast. The ensemble Sélébéyone—“intersection” in Senegal’s Wolof language—includes two emcees from different continents, two composer-saxophonists, and three supporting players with strong jazz pedigrees in a jazz-rap collaboration. As a Pitchfork review describes, “What they come up with feels both legitimately new and surprisingly approachable.” Described as “a state-of-the-art musical thinker” by the New York Times, Steve Lehman is a composer, performer and educator working across a spectrum of musical idioms. His recording Mise en Abîme (2014) was named the numberone jazz album of the year by NPR Music and the Los Angeles Times. His previous recording, Travail, Transformation & Flow (2009), was chosen as the number-one jazz album of the year by the New York Times. Recipient of a 2015 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 2014 Doris Duke Artist Award, Steve is an alto saxophonist who has performed and recorded nationally and internationally. In September 2016, Steve joined the music faculty at The California Institute of the Arts.
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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
jidenna mobbison ’03 The Chief After his 2015 hit single “Classic Man,” Jidenna follows up the Grammy Award-nominated track with a debut album titled The Chief. Unleashing powerful lyrics and visuals with tracks “Long Live the Chief” and “Chief Don’t Run,” Jidenna says the debut album is a nod to his roots. “This story is from the point of view of a first-generation Nigerian-American in different cities, places and com munities, that has ever been told in this way,” he has said. The album blends a unique and enticing combination of world-influenced and mainstream sound. Signed to Janelle Monáe’s Wondaland Records label and distributed through Epic Records, Jidenna has collaborated with a number of celebrated artists, including Monáe herself. In February 2015, “Classic Man” debuted at number 49 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. In March 2015, the second single from the EP— “Yoga” by Monáe and Jidenna—was released. “Classic Man” was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 58th Grammy Awards. Jidenna received an award for best new artist at the 2015 Soul Train Music Awards. He has also appeared in a recurring role on Issa Rae’s HBO dramedy Insecure.
jenny slate ’00 About the House Jenny Slate, acclaimed comedienne and actress, joined her writer-poet father Ron Slate to create About the House—a collection of essays revolving around their family home in the Town of Milton. The rooms and corners of a rambling Colonial built in 1898, and purchased by the Slates in 1980, set the stage for Ron and Jenny, in alternating chapters, to share memories attached to the spaces, weaving an intimate and compelling family memoir. Jenny and Ron chose Concord Free Press as their publisher, an enterprise founded by Stona and Ann Fitch. The press prints 3,000 copies of each book and gives them away, requesting that readers donate to a charity or individual in need. (Contributions are listed on the CFP site.) Free Press readers are expected to pass the books along to others. The first ten books published by Concord Free Press inspired donations of more than $1 million. One reviewer describes About the House as “memories, quirks, and confessions in a singular collection of stories, essays, and poems that range from profound to profane. Remarkably touching, often hilarious, and unfailingly human, this unusual father-daughter dialogue takes a look at family like no other work has.”
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m i lt on m u r a l , con t.
sarah sze ’87 Timekeeper Sarah Sze’s latest work, Timekeeper, is an experiential piece whose projections chase one another around the walls of the Foster Gallery at Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum. Video footage that includes digital clocks, running cheetahs, splashing liquids, and buildings being demolished is projected from dozens of whirring devices situated on a structure created from an unexpected and inspired collection of objects and elements. Timekeeper addresses how we measure time, countering actual clocks with more capricious measures. One reviewer writes, “Timekeeper blurs the line between organic and mechanical . . . It keeps a form of eccentric time that is entirely its own, remembering moments over and over again as time slips by. In this sense, Timekeeper has no relationship to the mechanical devices we use to mark the literal passing of time, but instead to the way we recall and replay our lives, in selected fragments that, strung together, account for the passage of years.” Sarah’s installations—which combine sculpture, architecture, painting, film—transform and transcend exhibition spaces. Sarah earned a MacArthur Fellowship for her work in 2003, and in 2013 she was the United States representative to the Venice Biennale. This year she finishes a project for New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority at the 96th Street subway station.
this page Timekeeper, 2016. Mixed media, mirrors, wood, stainless steel, archival pigment prints, projectors, lamps, desks, stools, stone. Dimensions variable. © Sarah Sze. Photographs by Mike Barnett.
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raafi rivero ’95 72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story? Based on a short film by Bilal Ndongo, Raafi Rivero’s 72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story? follows 18-year-old Caesar Winslow, a restless, ambitious and charismatic Brooklynite facing the decision to leave his neighborhood for a full scholarship at a prestigious university. Told over the three days before he’s scheduled to leave, the film chronicles events and choices that unravel his confidence and force him to question everything: His girlfriend breaks up with him and the “woman of his dreams” won’t give him the time of day. His friends leave his corner, and the streets he has known seem meaner. Caesar and his friends ramble up and down the parkways of a rapidly gentrifying borough in search of the perfect ending. 72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story? was named a 2016 official selection at the LA Film Festival, the New Orleans Film Festival, and the Urbanworld Film Festival. Raafi’s directing credits include a suite of promotions for HBO’s True Blood; content for Microsoft, Sony and The Rockefeller Foundation; and music videos for Ghostface Killah and Styles P. His short film Their Eyes Were Watching Gummy Bears played more than 20 film festivals, winning multiple honors. Raafi’s writing about new media has appeared in the New York Times.
robert freeman ’53 The Crisis of Classical Music in America: Lessons from a Life in the Education of Musicians The Crisis of Classical Music in America discusses solutions for the many American classically trained musicians who face diminishing opportu nities for full-time employment. An experienced observer, Robert Freeman asserts that schools training future instrumentalists, composers, conductors, and singers need to equip students with the communication and analytical skills to succeed in the rapidly changing music scene. His book offers a range of reforms for advanced music education. Robert is a pianist, musicologist, and music educator. Having taught at Princeton and MIT, he served as director of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester for more than two decades. In 2015, Robert was awarded an honorary degree by the Eastman School of Music, which named the atrium of the school’s new Sibley Music Library in his honor. Robert has served as president of the New England Conservatory, then as dean of the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin, where he now teaches courses in musicology. A Steinway artist, Robert has performed in concerts and recitals throughout North America and Europe.
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m e s s a g e s Terrance Hayes
Weaving imagination with life experience, poet Terrance Hayes shared his work as this fall’s Bingham Visiting Writer. His expressive—sometimes playful, sometimes raw—poems broached love, family, race, relationships, masculinity and music. Mr. Hayes began with several poems from Lighthead, for which he won a National Book Award in 2010. Mr. Hayes was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He earned his B.A. from Coker College and his M.F.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, where he is a member of the English department faculty. How to Be Drawn, his most recent collection of poems, was a finalist for the 2015 National Book Award and the 2016 National Book Critics Circle Award; it received the 2016 NAACP Image Award for Poetry. His honors include a Whiting Writers Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a United States Artists Zell Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a MacArthur Fellowship.
“Poetry isn’t 2 + 2 = 4; it’s more zebra + alligator = Cadillac. And the reader might think, ‘That’s interesting. I’m engaged, and I’m looking closer. I might not understand it, but I can still feel my way through it.’ That’s the way language works, and that’s what drives the construction of my poetry.”
Danielle Flora
Professional dance is a competitive industry, but the benefits to those who make it are sublime, film and television choreographer Danielle Flora told students.
Aspiring dancers should never stop learning, attending classes and watching peers’ performances, she said. “Entertainment can be a rough business, but dancers I’ve worked with have been able to see the world while on tour with some of the most famous musicians. They spend their lives doing fun and creative things.” Ms. Flora began her dance career as a New York Knicks City Dancer before joining Saturday Night Live, where she has choreographed sketches, monologues and musical acts for 17 years. Ms. Flora is also the choreographer for the Spike TV show Lip Sync Battle,
“Pay attention and watch other dancers. You get so much out of watching somebody do something
48
and has worked on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the MTV Video Music Awards, and the feature films Trainwreck, Date Night and The Night Before.
well—their facial expressions, the angle of their
Ms. Flora was a Melissa Dilworth Gold ’61 Visiting Artist,
hands. All those little details matter.”
and during her two days on campus, she taught dance
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
milton.edu
/MiltonAcademy1798
and improvisation classes.
@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy
Catalyst Conversations: The Dialogue Between Art and Science
“You can talk yourself out of something really easily,” media artist Deb Todd Wheeler
told Milton students in an assembly sponsored by the Nesto Gallery. “Ideas sometimes need a little bit of sideways thinking.” Ms. Wheeler visited Milton with artist Deborah Davidson, technologist Eric Gunther, and scientist Andrew Berry as part of Catalyst Conversations. Ms. Davidson founded Catalyst Conversations,
“Often, success comes
which explores a dialogue between art and
in bringing in other
science. As the world becomes increasingly technology-oriented and visual, the connection
people. The creative
between art and science has grown, evident
process of making
in artistic demonstrations of scientific concepts
art is much like the
and in the use of science and technology in
creative process of
art. The speakers encouraged students to pursue
working in science.”
ideas for the sake of exploration and play.
— A ndrew Berry
Keiko Orrall
Recognizing and respecting one another’s differences—rather than using them as ammunition in debate—is the key to civil discourse, Massachusetts State Representative Keiko Orrall told students. Rep.
Orrall spoke at the invitation of Milton’s Conservative Club, and she acknowledged that the tact she describes is notably absent from national politics today. Rep. Orrall, the Republican national committeewoman from Massachusetts, cautioned students against assuming that people with opposing political views are “the enemy,” saying such polarizing attitudes prohibit compromise and grind the legislative process to a halt. “We need to have more productive discourse,” she said. “There is a lot of anger on both sides of the aisle. We need to value and respect other people’s opinions. That’s how we get things done.”
“If the candidate you support does not win, don’t take your ball and go home. Don’t give up. You can make a difference by being kind. You can make a difference by listening to each other. You can make a difference by participating in the political process.”
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m e s sage s, con t.
Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni
Educator, actor and producer Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni performed her one-woman multimedia show, One Drop of Love, in which she explores her own racial identity in the context of her family history and American census methods. Ms. Cox DiGiovanni periodically scanned the faces of students as if she were collecting
United States census data, using methods from the 1700s to the present day. Census methodology throughout history has grouped people into single, incomplete racial categories without considering the multiracial identities of many Americans. The title of Ms. Cox DiGiovanni’s show references rigid laws categorizing people as black if their ancestry included even “one drop” of African blood, which exposed them to legal and social discrimination. Through conversations with her parents, brother and grandmother, as well as a traumatic Peace Corps service mission in Cape Verde, West Africa, Ms. Cox DiGiovanni explores the intersections of race, gender and class in her life. “Without the context, we only understand a fraction of who we are,” she says. “It’s like filling out a form on a census.”
“I am a culturally-mixed woman, searching for racial answers. And I’m going to keep on searching, no matter how scary the questions and answers might get. I’m not going to hide from them, and I’m not going to pretend they don’t exist, because maybe that is how we can all get a little bit closer to some peace, and some justice, and then, perhaps, even one drop of love.”
Sarah Colt ’88
Independent documentary filmmaker and alumna Sarah Colt ’88 spoke with students as this year’s Henry R. Heyburn ’39 Lecturer. Sarah shared her process of developing documentaries of historical subjects, specifically the work involved in creating her film Geronimo, one part of the PBS American Experience series on Native American history. Before starting her own company in 2008, Sarah produced the highly-acclaimed biography RFK and earned an Emmy
“I never thought history would be an
Award for Outstanding Science, Nature, and Technology for co-producing The
integral part of my career. Now, as a
Secret Life of the Brain. Her credits include the Emmy-nominated biography
filmmaker, I get to be a storyteller and put
of Walt Disney and a biography of Henry Ford, both for American Experience;
all these pieces of history together like
and “A Nation Reborn” and “A New Light” for PBS’s Frontline and the American Experience series God in America. She is directing and producing a series about
a puzzle, re-creating it, documenting it, in
the Gilded Age, which will air on PBS in 2018. In 2004, Sarah was awarded an
interesting ways. Making these films has
International Reporting Project Fellowship through Johns Hopkins School
revealed to me that history is alive, and
of Advanced International Studies. Sarah attended Harvard University, where
that sometimes the process is almost more
she began her documentary career as a still photographer and earned several
important than the final product.”
prizes for her work, including a Radcliffe Traveling Fellowship that sent her to Zimbabwe for a year.
50
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
milton.edu
/MiltonAcademy1798
@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy
Rod Skinner ’72
Rod Skinner, Milton Class of 1972 and director of college counseling, was the 2016 Veterans Day speaker. Rod told the story of his uncle and namesake, Sherrod E. Skinner
Jr. ’47, a Medal of Honor recipient who served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, where he gave his life for his country. Reading a citation from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Rod said the Medal of Honor—the military’s highest award—recognized his uncle’s “indomitable fighting spirit, superb leadership and great personal valor in the face of tremendous odds.” In October 1952, during an ambush by North Korean troops just days before his 23rd birthday, 2nd Lt. Skinner sacrificed his life by throwing his
“For what belief, cause or position would you
body on a grenade, an attempt to save his fellow Marines. Rod has always been inspired by his uncle’s “shining light.” Rod encouraged students to approach differences with
risk unpopularity?
empathy; to celebrate their connectedness to other people;
What do you care
to be sympathetic to the pain that comes from losing a
about? If we confront the real tests of our
loved one in war; to avoid living life “at a smug distance”; to stand bravely for what they believe; and to “first seek to understand, and then move forward.”
lives without heart, we are lost.”
Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. Rudy Tanzi
Sharing the “gift of self-awareness,” Dr. Deepak Chopra, a pioneer in meditation and
alternative medicine, and Dr. Rudy Tanzi, a professor of neurology at Harvard, offered insights on happiness, fulfillment and good health that they have gathered from researching the human brain. In presentations to students, faculty and parents for the Lower, Middle and Upper schools, Dr. Chopra urged students to consider self-reflection and meditation important parts of their education and growth. After becoming disenchanted with the Western medicine he studied and practiced, Dr. Chopra turned to transcendental and alternative medicine and, ultimately, to meditation. He believes that happiness, health and fulfillment can be found internally. Dr. Tanzi’s research career includes discovery and isolation of the genes that lead to Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Wilson’s diseases. The two have co-written two best-selling books, Super Brain and Super Genes, and are working on their third.
“Smart people don’t necessarily achieve great success if they are just smart. Smart people who also know how to connect emotionally; who know how to offer hope, or trust, or stability, or compassion— or are not ashamed of love—they are the people who reach their full potential and have great passion for life.” — Dr. Deepak Chopra
SPRING 2017
51
m e s sage s, con t.
Jovonna Jones ’11, Osaremen Okolo ’13 and Kevin Collins ’10 You can find humanity and make social progress along any career
where she co-founded the Politics of Race and Ethnicity, a
or academic path, Milton alumna Jovonna Jones ’11 told students.
Harvard University Institute of Politics program. She is writing
“If justice and equity aren’t part of your life, you should examine
her undergraduate thesis on the stereotypes of hyper-sexuality
that. That’s a problem.” Jovonna is a doctoral student in African
and hyper-fertility of black women, and how such perception
and African American studies at Harvard, where she researches
affects black women’s access to the latest in reproductive
critical race theory, American art history, performance studies
medicine. Kevin became interested in community service while
and cultural practice. She joined fellow alumni Osaremen Okolo ’13
he attended Milton and remained active at Georgetown. He
and Kevin Collins ’10 in a discussion about race and service
enrolled in Teach for America, a program that places young college
sponsored by the Community Engagement Program and the
graduates in underserved schools, and became a high school
student club Onyx. Osaremen is a pre-med student at Harvard,
geometry teacher in New Orleans.
“I had a lot to learn. It wasn’t my place to speak or to try to lead. I had to listen to what was being said and was not being said. You have to give yourself time to do that.” — Jovonna Jones ’11
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M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
Jeannine Kayembe
Artist and executive director of Philadelphia Urban Creators, Jeannine Kayembe spoke with students this fall in a conversation hosted by the Office of Multiculturalism and Community Development. Ms. Kayembe was a teenager in 2010 when she and her friends started Urban Creators, an organization that helps transform neglected inner-city areas into safe and dynamic spaces. The group spent a year clearing a blighted, two-acre parcel in North Philadelphia of trash, pollutants and drug paraphernalia, and have since developed the land
“The most effective way
into a farm that has brought in nearly half a million dollars to fight food
to do good work is
insecurity; it also offers work opportunities to at-risk neighbors and supports
to make sure the work
occupational training and violence prevention programs. The violent crime
you’re doing speaks
rate has plummeted in the neighborhood since the program began.
to the things you love.”
“We have this idea that the ‘good kid’ is the compliant kid; the ‘good kid’ is the kid who sits still and learns quietly. But that’s a narrow definition of what constitutes intelligence, and it leaves a lot of people out. The best innovators and creators are not compliant people. They’re questioners. They challenge what is considered normal.”
Jonathan Mooney
We should challenge the concept of “normal” and instead embrace the things that make us different, this year’s Talbot Speaker told students. Mr. Mooney, an author and lecturer who advocates for people with learning disabilities and attentional disorders, urged students to draw upon their unique skills and personalities to make their mark in the world. Mr. Mooney, a Brown University graduate who has dyslexia and attention deficit disorder (ADD), did not learn to read until he was 12, and today spells at a third-grade level. While at Brown, he and a few fellow students founded Project Eye-to-Eye, a mentoring program for students diagnosed as learning disabled or with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. His first book, co-written with fellow Brown student David Cole, Learning Outside the Lines, is a guide for students with learning challenges. In 2007, Mr. Mooney published his memoir, The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal.
SPRING 2017
53
NAME: Doug Crocker ’58, Milton trustee CAREER: Commercial real estate FIRST JOB: Taking care of the maintenance of the courts at the Sippican Tennis Club at age 14 MOST MEMORABLE CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Taking Equity Residential public in 1993 and seeing the tremendous success over the next 10 years was very satisfying. We grew from approximately 20,000 apartments to more than 225,000 apartments and became an S&P 500 company. AS A MILTON STUDENT . . . : I was more interested in athletics than studies. I played football, wrestled and played tennis. ONE MILTON MEMORY: In my day, we had a dance card for the year-end event. We ran around asking girls to sign up for each dance. The first and last dance had to be with the girl you were going with at the time. When I was moving recently, I found a scrapbook with two years of dance cards. Priceless Milton memories. SOME ADVICE: Never give up. I have a little plaque on my desk that says never, never give up. You go through good times and bad times, but you have to persevere. WHY (AND HOW) I SUPPORT MILTON: I believe in supporting organizations that have encouraged me. Milton is an outstanding school, offering a phenomenal education, and it should be able to welcome students from all walks of life. That is why my gifts are for scholarships. I believe in three types of giving: now giving, which is annual giving; bequests, which give you a tax benefit and annual income; and the least painful form of giving, planned giving. It’s your money until you pass away, then it goes to the organization of your choice.
For more information on supporting Milton, contact: Mary Moran Perry, Director of Planned Giving 170 Centre Street Milton, MA 02186 617-898-2376 or mary_perry@milton.edu
54
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
milton.edu
/MiltonAcademy1798
@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy
c l a s s n o t e s 1943
1950
Stephen Washburn continues
Nancy Burley Chase’s family
they traveled into the Sahara on
work at a Woburn hospital
was awarded the Jack Heath
camelback and sang carols around
program for psychiatry, where
Conservation Award by the
a campfire in a Berber camp.
his oldest colleague is about
Southeast Land Trust of New
half his age! He says he
Hampshire for their conservation
Jean Childs and her husband,
channels Stokey, staying active
efforts. Milton alumni among the
John, have settled into North Hill,
with weekly tennis and step
Burley clan include Sally Burley
a continuing care community
aerobics.
Beck ’48, Jane W. Burley ’69,
in Needham. They have been
Thomas M. Chase ’77, Sarah B.
enjoying friendly company,
1944
Chase ’79, Melissa W. Chase ’83 ,
excellent lectures, and thought-
Joseph B. Chase ’85 , Gala True
provoking art exhibits. They
Cecilia Page Bourget is a
’88, Sarah Elizabeth Burley Reid
will be holding a ’54 MAGUS
57-year member of the Girl
’90, and Alice D. Burley ’96.
gathering in the spring!
1951
1955
Stephen Washburn ’43
in that organization. She has three daughters, three
Four years ago, Julia “Judy”
Katharine “Tinka” Gratwick
tennis and step aerobics.
grandsons, and three great-
Gamble Kahrl began a new
Baker retired from a daily office
granddaughters who all
career at age 78. She founded
routine in June, though she is still
make her proud.
Grandmothers for Reproductive
busy conducting business consults,
Rights, advocating for younger
playing chamber music, working
1949
generations the reproductive
on the development of a “village”
rights and health care for which
for aging in place in Northampton,
Guides of Canada and keeps in touch with many friends
Bayard Henry has moved from
her generation fought so hard.
and keeping up with 11 grand
a house with “too much stuff”
She’s learned to manage a
children. All that and a new puppy keep her occupied.
to a retirement community 20
Facebook page, contact legislators,
minutes from Milton. One
and speak in public (thanks,
day he found himself in the gym
Milton!).
with three other Wolcott boys, Chris Grant ’47, Harry Guild ’46
Ellis Waller is still using the
skiing skills he learned in the Blue Hills to ski Snowmass
and George Mumford ’46. His
1952
and Aspen. He likes to say, as
new favorite adage is, “Wake
Jacob Brown and his wife,
his mother used to, “My children
up in the morning with nothing
Barbara, moved to Newbury Court,
and grandchildren continue
to do; go to bed at night with
an independent living community
to excel in all respects.” He keeps
everything half-finished.”
in Concord, New Hampshire,
busy with Village Parks and
after 40 years in Dover. Jacob still
Marina board, Madison Symphony
Katharine More and her
commutes to work daily. After
Orchestra board, and Madison
husband, Trenchard More ’48,
47 years with the same firm, he
Youth Sailing Foundation.
live in the house they built in
doesn’t feel guilty about sneaking
Sharon, Vermont. Their oldest
out early on pleasant Fridays!
son, Paul, has remarried and
He and Barbara continue to enjoy
1956
recently provided the couple
time at the Cape.
At 78, Rupert Hitzig is grateful
with another granddaughter. Their daughter, Libby, lives in
Mary Pratt Ardant ’54 took all 16 members of her family to Morocco for the holidays, where they traveled into the Sahara on camelback.
for a long life, his wife, Karen, and Milton. He has made lots of
1954
movies, television shows, docu-
Neil Pratt, while their two
Mary Pratt Ardant took all 16
mentaries and jokes. Life has been
grandsons attend college at
members of her family to Morocco
a fun ride, and he is looking
Vassar and Wesleyan.
for the holidays. On Christmas Eve
forward to his next reunion, to his
London with her husband,
stays active with weekly
SPRING 2017
55
cl a s s no t e s, con t.
1962
John Bassett ’56’s klezmer
two sons bearing more kids, and
John Noble was honored with
Bo Thorne Niles greatly
to more and more laughter.
the Noble Professorship in
appreciates the support of her
the Department of Medicine at
family following the loss of
John Bassett ’s klezmer band, Too
Boston University Medical
her husband of 46 years, Bill, to
Klez for Comfort, continues to
School. The honor is a tribute
Alzheimer’s, including the
bring crowds to the dance floor!
to his 38-year career and con-
support of her sisters, Wendy
tributions to the field of general
Thorne Forsyth ’63 and Candy
1958
internal medicine. Since his
Thorne Canton ’65 . Bo has two
retirement, he has enjoyed music,
sons—David Niles ’90, who lives
Georgia Bradley Zaborowitz ’s
painting, and traveling with
in New Jersey with his wife, Ann,
daughter, Kaere, and her family
his wife.
and children, Lia and Henry;
moved in with Georgia last spring,
and Peter, who lives in Brooklyn.
and the house is full and happy. Her grandson, Seamus, started
1960
Bo continues to write poetry.
school for the first time, having
Chas Freeman has stepped down
been home-schooled through
from the board of the Carnegie
1963
second grade. The family of three
Endowment for International
Lee Kimball Byron sells real
continues to bring crowds to
(and their cat and dog!) have
Peace. He is a senior fellow at
estate in Sarasota, Florida, and is
the dance floor!
brought energy and joy to the
Brown University’s Watson
involved in volunteer work. In
household.
Institute and divides his time
December 2015, she and her family
band, Too Klez for Comfort,
between there and Washington,
traveled to Tanzania along with
Samuel Otis lives in Wenham,
D.C., where he continues to chair
her sister, Helen Kimball-Brooke
Massachusetts, with his wife of 53
Projects International, Inc., and
years, Lisa, where he follows
the Committee for the Republic.
the stock market, labors in a small
His sixth book, America’s
workshop and builds model
Continuing Misadventures in the
sailboats at their 1750 Colonial
Middle East, came out in May 2016.
house. Sam and Lisa have three
’65 , and Helen’s family of six.
1964 Liza Ketchum has just published
her new young adult novel, The
daughters and several grand
Charlie Francis and his wife,
Life Fantastic: A Novel in Three Acts.
children, “a good measure of boys
Becky, have lived in Beaufort,
It’s a story about vaudeville,
and girls,” he writes. Sam
South Carolina, for six years.
and it takes place in 1913. When
managed institutional pensions
Fish, golf and gardening occupy
Liza appeared in The Ghost Train
and endowments before retiring
their time. Charlie stays in
at Milton, many decades ago,
in 1997, then spent 15 years as
touch with Sandy Noble, Eliot
she never dreamed she’d end up
treasurer of six nonprofits on the
Wadsworth and John Kemp
writing about the stage.
Liza Ketchum ’64 has just
North Shore of Massachusetts.
from time to time. The back nine
published her new young
Sam’s passions are his family, his
suits him fine.
Surrounded by loving family,
adult novel, The Life Fantastic:
efforts to reconnect with friends Lisa Forbes Tripp and her
February 12, 2016, from compli
A Novel in Three Acts.
and cousins, and his Episcopal church.
1959
56
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
Donald Gibby Paige passed away
husband moved near Amherst,
cations due to Parkinson’s disease.
Massachusetts, after 27 years in
Donald leaves his loving wife,
D.C. spent mainly at the World
Laura; his beloved children, Sarah,
Bank and teaching in community
Samuel and Georgia; his stepsons,
Phil Kinnicutt is a proud, first-
colleges. Lisa wrote two books
Andrew and Oliver and their
time grandfather. Nakoa Paster
of oral history by veterans of Iraq
wives, Bethany and Jocelyn; along
Kinnicutt was born on November
and also of WWII through
with his three corgis. With
20, 2016, to daughter Leiana
Afghanistan. “Let them speak for
his partner, Leonard Kopelman,
and wife, Julie Paster Kinnicutt.
themselves!”
Donald founded the Kopelman
milton.edu
/MiltonAcademy1798
@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy
and Paige law firm, now KP Law,
Joel Davidson cherishes the edu-
company and shared good times
P.C., regarded as the leader
cation he received at Milton. He
over fine French food and wine.
in public-sector law throughout
keeps busy as a church organist, a
Massachusetts. Upon retirement,
high holiday cantor, and a social
Donald moved from Boston to
security lawyer. He enjoys relaxing
Stonington, Connecticut.
in Naples, Florida, while ponder-
Paul Temple lives in Boulder,
ing retirement and how to develop
Colorado. He and his wife, Kerry,
1968
a witty repartee on Facebook. He
have three daughters, who have
also wants to “Shout out to Glenn
flown the coop. Paul is in the
Jesse Kornbluth is casting these
Spear ’69.”
process of retiring from 20 years
1972
in the music business, which
days for the film adaptation of
means he is playing more music
The Color of Light, about Matisse
1971
and the Chapelle du Rosaire de
Sylvie Peron is regularly in the
people’s music less. You can learn
Vence, is now making the rounds.
United States, attending the annual
about his current project at
He reports that his 15-year-old
Business Aviation Convention.
www.RadianceMatrix.com.
daughter doesn’t hate him, and
This year the event is in Las Vegas,
that if this is what 70 is like, he’s
which gives her the opportunity
for it.
to visit Tish O’Connor Levy ’71 on
his novel Married Sex. His play
himself and managing other
the West Coast. Sylvie says, “It’s
1970
always a great joy to catch up, and I’d love to welcome more of my
▼ Debbie Weil and her husband,
classmates to the sunny French
Sam Harrington ’69 , left D.C.
Riviera!”
after 31 years and now split time between the coast of Maine and
▶ Friends from the Class of ’71
Brooklyn. Debbie is a book coach
gathered for dinner at La Voile in
and speaks about reinvention and
Boston. Sylvie Peron, Susy Quinby,
depression. Sam is writing a book
Chris Pope and his wife, Sarah,
about end-of-life decision making.
Ogden Ross, Mike and Margaret
They have five grandchildren. Life
(Trumbull) Nash, Phil Suter, and
continues to surprise!
Fred Ames enjoyed each other’s
1974 Cassandra Perry runs a nonprofit
in the South Bronx, serving as associate pastor at a church in Harlem and as a teaching assistant at an area seminary. Because this wasn’t challenging enough, she recently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in church history. She is very fond of coffee, exercise, ziplining and skydiving.
1975
Career milestone? Exciting travel? New addition to the family? Or maybe you reunited with Milton friends and have the picture to prove it? Share it with us:
alumni@milton.edu
This was a year of change for Tom Kunhardt, who transitioned
SPRING 2017
57
cl a s s no t e s, con t.
from sales training in the
11-year-old daughter. The tran
residential solar business for a
sition was smoothed by meeting
large national company, to
Ramona Naddaff ’77 in the local
energy management as a service
swimming pool. Amanda and
with a start-up for commercial
Samantha recently visited Milton
and industrial companies. He also
during a boarding school tour.
“made the more significant and enjoyable transition from father to grandfather!”
▲ Edmund “Ned” Cabot recently
spent a month traveling in Vietnam.
1979
The highlight of his trip was a five-day motorbike tour of the stun-
David Ajemian is active in his
ning, extreme northern mountain
local parish in Cambridge, as
countryside next to China.
1977
well as with cultural and civic
Kristin Finke Nealon is completing
activities in the region.
1987
U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa,
Denis Bustin has served as vice
Sarah Wolman and her family
Honduras. She spends the majority
president for development at
have happily resettled in
of her time supporting a shelter
Mount Auburn Hospital in
Montclair, New Jersey, after
a three-year assignment at the
for high-risk, trafficked teenage
Cambridge, a wonderful hospital
spending two years in Switzer-
Stephen Epstein ’83
girls. So far she hasn’t run into any
and teaching affiliate of Harvard
land, where she began her
became a member of
Milton classmates in this region . . .
Medical School, since 2012. Denis
role with the LEGO Foundation.
has the pleasure of working with
the United States Ski and Snowboard Association
▼ Lisa Simpson and Tim
the brother of classmate Jamey
Tom Lowenstein’s book about
physician pool, working
Sommerfield were married on
Shachoy ’79, Chris.
wrongful conviction in
with elite athletes heading
December 23, 2016, in Pompano
Philadelphia, The Trials of Walter
for the Olympics or World
Beach, Florida. They live in
Ogrod, will be published in
Cup circuits.
Palmetto Bay, just south of Miami.
1980
April by Chicago Review Press.
Tim moved to Miami several
Mike Chase has two children in
He says, “Give it a read and
years ago after reconnecting with
college (at Brown and Tufts) and
reach out if you’re in New Orleans!”
Lisa. Tim still beats Lisa on the
two children at Moses Brown
tennis court, but they have fun
School (in 11th and 8th grade),
playing together.
where his wife, Carolyn, teaches. Michael enjoys growing the investment advisory business at Rex Capital Advisors. He would love to reconnect with classmates who are traveling through Boston or Providence.
Frederick Melo ’94 keeps
1983
cold but busy as a newspaper
Last year Stephen Epstein
reporter and bureau chief for the St. Paul Pioneer Press
▲ Alex Powers organized a fishing
in St. Paul, Minnesota.
1978
became a member of the United
“Any questions about
In 2013, after a lifetime in
Association physician pool,
Ed Shugrue ’84 . Alex was lucky
Manhattan, Amanda Weil and her
working with elite athletes heading
enough to get what is known as
daughter, Samantha (11), moved
for the Olympics or World Cup
a “Super Slam,” which is catching
to Berkeley, California, to live with
circuits. It’s emergency medicine
a permit, a tarpon, a bonefish
Amanda’s boyfriend and his
on snow!
and a snook all in the same day.
Minne-SNOW-ta, just ask,” he says.
58
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
milton.edu
/MiltonAcademy1798
trip in May to Jardines de la Reina
States Ski and Snowboard
with a bunch of friends, including
@Milton_Academy @miltonacademy
1989
1994
James Williams lives in Larchmont,
Frederick Melo keeps cold but
darling daughter, Zoe,
New York, with his wife, Laura,
busy as a newspaper reporter and
will be two years old this
and children Emily (8) and Jack (5).
bureau chief for the St. Paul Pioneer
spring, right around
Press in St. Paul, Minnesota. His Grace McNamee Decker was
the time baby number two is due. “Any questions
elected to the Missoula County
about Minne-SNOW-ta,
Public Schools Board of Trustees
just ask,” he says.
in 2015. She works as an early childhood educator, coach and advocate in Missoula, Montana.
▶ George Ko and his
family (including his daughters, ages four
▶ Nate Roberts published his
and one) live in Seattle,
book To Be Cared For: The Power
Washington. He works
of Conversion and Foreignness
at his own private
of Belonging in an Indian Slum in
ophthalmology practice,
April 2016. The book offers a
Retina Institute of
unique view into the conceptual
Washington. George
and moral world of slum-bound
would love to catch up
Dalits (“untouchables”) in the
with old friends at
South Indian city of Chennai.
Ko_george@yahoo.com
REUNION WEEKEND
Members of the 2s and 7s — we’re celebrating you this year.
JUNE 16–17, 2017
SPRING 2017 milton.edu/alumni 59
cl a s s no t e s, con t.
1995 Banderob (former faculty), Alyssa
big year. She and her husband,
Friedman Yan ’97, Alex Muenze
DePalo, Alyssa Friedman Yan,
Jeff, welcomed their second
DePalo ’97, Web Marquez ’97,
Lisa Balzano Puglisi, Tyler Sezak
child, Eleanor Vashti (named
James Meeks ’97, Heather
Schiff, Lauren Wahtera Czapla,
after Diana’s grandmother), on
McGhee ’97 (bride), Lars Jan ’96,
Heather McGhee, Lily Davis,
December 21, 2016. Everyone,
Cassim Shepard ’97 (groom), the
Meroe Morse and Cassim
including big brother Gus (3),
groom’s sister Sadia Shepard ’94 ,
Shepard, as well as numerous
is well. They also moved (still in
Meroe Morse ’97, Lily Davis ’97,
other Milton alumni, including
Seattle), and Diana is close to
Tyler Sezak Schiff ’97, Yetsa
sister Kate Brooks Leness ’91,
completing what has been a huge
Tuakli-Wosornu ’97, Annie Moyer
brother David Brooks ’96, John
Martinez ’97 and Annie Tucker
Tucker ’96, Annie Tucker ’93 ,
focus—the acquisition of Group Health by Kaiser Permanente.
1996
’93 . Not pictured but also in
Washington’s Farewell: The
Frannie Moyer ’64 , and David
Renee Neblett (former faculty)
Millet ’62 .
and Oona Coy ’93 . Joshua Stolp was one of 12
1998
Founding Father’s Warning to
inductees into the Little East
Neo Tapela has returned to her
Future Generations. He wrote the
Conference Hall of Fame, honoring
home country, Botswana, after
book over nights and weekends
his University of Massachusetts
many years of training. She heads
for four years, while balancing
Boston lacrosse career.
his role as editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast and welcoming two
the national program on noncommunicable diseases tackling
▼ On August 27, 2016, Emily
diabetes, cardiovascular diseases
beautiful children into the world,
Brooks Murphy ’97 married
and cancers. She has two children,
Jack and Toula Lou. “To sum it up:
Philip Murphy in Brookline,
Anele (3) and Motheo (1), and
feeling busy and blessed,” he says.
Massachusetts. In attendance were
looks forward to bringing them
her ’97 Milton classmates Annie
to the 2018 Reunion!
1997 ◀ Heather McGhee and Cassim
Shepard were married on October
1, 2016, surrounded by friends and family from around the world. Best friends since sophomore year at Milton—when they shared their first kiss in the basement of Wigg Hall—the two have kept in constant touch with each other and with their circle of Milton friends, many of whom celebrated with the couple this fall. ▶ The wedding was full of Milton
pride. Pictured from left to right: Emily Brooks Murphy ’97, Lisa Balzano Puglisi ’97, Lauren Wahtera Czapla ’97, John Banderob (former faculty), Erica
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
Ben Gannett ’61, Toby Gannett ’91,
attendance were Ben Forkner ’97,
John Avlon recently published
60
Moyer Martinez, Alex Muenze
◀ Diana Birkett Rakow had a
boa r d of trustee s Robert Azeke ’87
John B. Fitzgibbons ’87
William Knowlton P ’23
Dune Thorne ’94
New York, New York
Treasurer
Boston, Massachusetts
Lincoln, Massachusetts
Bronxville, New York Bradley M. Bloom P ’06 ’08 Emeritus Wellesley, Massachusetts Charles Cheever ’86
Stephen Lebovitz P ’10 ’12 ’14 ’17
Erick Tseng ’97
Weston, Massachusetts
San Francisco, California
Emerita
Yunli Lou ’87
Kimberly Steimle Vaughan ’92
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Shanghai, China
Boston, Massachusetts
Margaret Jewett Greer ’47 P ’77 ’84 G ’09 ’13 ’14
Concord, Massachusetts Eleanor Tabi Haller-Jorden ’75
Stuart Mathews P ’13 ’17 ’17
Luis Viceira P ’16 ’19
Douglas Crocker II ’58
P ’09
Vice President and Secretary
Belmont, Massachusetts
Delray Beach, Florida
Wädenswil, Switzerland
Waban, Massachusetts
Mark Denneen ’84
Franklin W. Hobbs IV ’65 P ’98
Chris McKown P ’13
Boston, Massachusetts
Emeritus
Milton, Massachusetts
Dorothy Altman Weber ’60 P ’04
Ted Wendell ’58 P ’94 ’98 ’01
New York, New York Elisabeth Donohue ’83
Boston, Massachusetts
Wendy Nicholson ’86
Milton, Massachusetts
President
Harold W. Janeway ’54
Vice President
New York, New York
P ’79 ’81 ’87 G ’12 ’14
New York, New York
Sylvia Westphal
Randall Dunn ’83
Webster, New Hampshire
Caterina Papoulias-Sakellaris
Boston, Massachusetts
Claire Hughes Johnson ’90
Milton, Massachusetts
P ’18 ’21 ’25 ’27 ’27
Emeritus P ’17 ’19
Chicago, Illinois James M. Fitzgibbons ’52
Menlo Park, California
P ’87 ’90 ’93
Ronnell Wilson ’93 West Orange, New Jersey
Liping Qiu P ’17
Emeritus
Peter Kagan ’86
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
New York, New York
Beijing, China
Kevin Yip ’83 P ’16 Hong Kong
H. Marshall Schwarz ’54 P ’84 Emeritus Lakeville, Connecticut
SPRING 2017
61
cl a s s no t e s, con t.
◀ Rachel Nance Wade’s new
▶ Sara Perkins Jones and her
daughter, Alexandra Ruby, joined
husband, Alex, welcomed Zoe
big brother James George (4) and
Alanna on April 20, 2016. Aunts
big sister Nicole Margaret (2.5) on
Molly Perkins ’00 and Emily Perkins ’10, uncles Ben Perkins
August 5, 2016. James and Nikki
’02 and Jeff Kirkman ’92 , and
can’t get enough of baby Alex.
grandparents Sam Perkins ’66 Dave Rand founded Rand Law
▲ Sarah Pease Murphy and her
and Nancy Reed are among
Group, LLC, in January. The firm
husband, Jerry, welcomed their
those who think she’s pretty great.
is located in downtown Boston
second daughter, Grace, on
and focuses on all aspects of real
August 4, 2016. Louisa (3), who
estate law. Dave and his wife,
enjoyed meeting many of Sarah’s
2003
Jessica, live in nearby Jamaica
classmates at the 15th Reunion
Henry Shepherd and Jess
Plain with their two daughters,
last spring, is doing great in her
Kaplan ’96 are volunteers
Layla (6) and Hazel (3).
new role as big sister. The family
at Camp Oasis, a weeklong camp
lives in Charlestown and often
in Elizaville, New York, that
bumps into Milton friends in the
serves children and adolescents
neighborhood!
with Crohn’s disease and
Last spring, Kate MacCluggage
ulcerative colitis. Jess, a pediatric
performed the one-woman show Grounded at Virginia Stage
2002
gastroenterologist at Mass
Company in Norfolk, Virginia.
Brittany Beale Hampton ’02 and
has been a camp doctor for seven
She spent the fall in L.A. with her
her husband, Alex, welcomed
years. Henry, who works at the
husband, and saw Sam Cohan ’01
their second child, Tucker, on
Aspen Institute in Washington,
2000
General Hospital for Children,
at the funky pancake social party
November 28, 2016. Jack (1.5)
D.C., has been a counselor for
he threw with his housemates
is settling in well to his new role
12 years. They strongly encourage
in Silver Lake. She’ll be back in
as big brother!
anyone with inflammatory bowel disease to attend camp as
NYC auditioning for pilot season this spring!
▼ Alison Quandt married Ronald
a camper or counselor.
C. Westgate III on September 10,
2001
2016, in Marion, Massachusetts. They live in Boston.
2007
▼ Audrey Tse reunited with
After delving into sustainable
Milton grads Jacqueline Tse
development work in Guatemala
Steinert ’02 , Victoria Tse ’99,
and starting a Mexican health
Borna Safabakhsh ’99 ,
company (SAHNA) focused on
Mona Safabakhsh ’02 , and
improving health services
Nima Safabakhsh ’97.
inside Mexican manufacturing plants, Alex Place finds himself back in Boston, where he runs a nonprofit (H2knO) that champions healthy and safe water in Boston schools. Along with continuing his businesses, Alex is involved in local activism and politics. Tim Corkum ’07 is happy to
have Dr. Sarah Ebert ’07 close by in Boston.
62
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
In Memoriam 2011
Class of 1933
Class of 1957
Isabelle Lelogeais was awarded the
Amelia Forbes Thomas
Harlow Keith Hammond
Dillard Scholarship to attend the University of Virginia School of Law. She’ll be starting in the fall of 2017.
Class of 1934 John C. Harkness Class of 1935
2012 Jari L. Javier has been at the
Elizabeth Hitchcock Gaillard
Brodie, M.D. Class of 1960 Bancroft Littlefield Class of 1963 James D. Lannon
Class of 1939
Class of 1964
Shaw McCutcheon
Donald G. Paige
Fellow. In the spring she will start
Class of 1942
Class of 1972
her new position at Coastal Studies
John F. Bassett
Richard Douglas Wales
Class of 1945
Former Faculty
Joel P. Davis
Richard Thomas Marr
American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece, as the STEM
for Girls in Freeport, Maine, as a resident assistant/teaching assistant for marine biology.
Class of 1951 Max Bennett took a monthlong
road trip across the country before ▲ Alex Bean ’07, Jacquie
he made the move to San Francisco
Macdonald ’07 and Molly
to work for an AI robotics company.
McDermott (former ’07) reunited
On the weekends, he’s usually
to watch Annie LaVigne ’07
exploring the Bay Area, taking
run the 2016 Boston Marathon.
photos, or playing music.
2008
2013
Tonantzin Carmona began
▶ Olivia Atwood (right) spent last
her tenure as deputy press
summer touring with her original
secretary for U.S. Senator
two-woman show, 15 Villainous
Elizabeth Warren. Previously,
Fools, a clowning adaptation of
Tonantzin served as deputy
Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.
policy director in the office of
The show stopped in five cities,
the mayor of Chicago.
ending in New York City with a
Nathan Putnam Doty Class of 1952 Elisha Flagg Lee
Mark Schorr
To notify us of the death of an alum, please contact the Development and Alumni Relations Office at alumni@ milton.edu or 617-898-2375.
sold-out run. Olivia plans to
2009
head to NYC to keep performing,
▶ Will Hunnewell celebrated
move because she still cannot find
his eighth annual reunion
her way around the town of Milton.
though she’s nervous about the
weekend with classmates last July. Pictured from left to right: David Bruce, Tom Tysowsky, Wilson Collins, Will Hunnewell, Will Trepagnier, and Mike Saltzman in North Haven,
Long Island (Saltzman family residence). Missing were usual attendees Brady Caspar and Samir Ghosh.
SPRING 2017
63
post script
B Y A N D R É H E A R D ’ 9 3 , A S S O C I AT E D E A N O F S T U D E N T S
The New Version of Old
If you are looking for answers from me, stop reading. Perhaps in an earlier age, 15 years of immersion in this field of work would have given anyone enough experience to define causes and not just effects of what’s happening to young people; to apply tested and tweaked strategies that would result in success, for most kids, most of the time. However, as I complete the 16th year in my role, I have realized that being an adult, knowing the likely right answers for students, and understanding how to help young people find those answers, is a thing of the past. Now, being an adult—at least one with more than 700 pairs of high school eyes on him most days of the week—means being comfortable with not having the answers all the time. On a daily basis, being an adult means acknowledging what I don’t know, and I am striving to become a new version of adult. As I’ve
willingly exploring that unknown. The definition of “adult”
witnessed four cycles of students arrive in Class IV
has changed to include actually being afraid, but acting in
and depart after Class I, I’ve learned that being young has
the face of real fears. Being an adult today, maybe more
changed, and so has being old. I watch in awe as the
than ever, means being transparent, vulnerable, open, ready
relationships between Class I and IV students evolve. Class
to engage, willing to change.
IV students look up to their Class I counterparts, who seem to have found balance in their Milton lives. By senior
64
Some things are the same. Adults are still old, at least in the eyes of the young. Kids still need role models. They
year, they have figured out what is important to them
need to see old(er) people dealing with life’s challenges,
(at least during this period of their lives) and started to focus
demonstrating the skills that young(er) people will need to
their efforts. They make time to mentor and advise younger
navigate adulthood. As the world changes around (and
kids. And though Class IV students don’t know the
sometimes right underneath) our young people, we are
full reality of seniors’ lives, what the freshmen choose to
challenged to model how to manage what we have never had
respect is, for the most part, accurate. Class I, after all,
to confront before, something with wholly unpredictable
is replete with house monitors, captains, leads on the stage,
dimensions. The old version of old might have relied on
elected representatives, writers and editors. They are the
expertise, might have marshaled the known resources in the
leaders we all need. They have skills and lived experience,
environment (work, home, etc.) and put things straight. The
combined with the will to share and a commitment to
new version of old must rely on the confidence and resilience
the greater success of this School. They effectively bridge
rooted in having had to figure things out once, making
the gap between the young and the old. Scientists,
plenty of mistakes on the way, starting over, going back to
psychologists, economists and sociologists have written
the beginning. My challenge as a role model is putting the
plenty about how being young today requires navigating
content side of my personal experience aside, and focusing
with a different set of skills. But there is still room for
instead on the process side: learning how to figure it all out,
us laypeople to consider what the significant social changes
all over again, under the closely watching eyes of those who
in children’s lives mean for those of us in adulthood.
are still on their first journey.
M I LT O N M A G A Z I N E
“In the Milton classroom, hierarchy doesn’t matter much. When you introduce yourself as the authority, you stifle individual initiative, whether you intend to or not. Students change their perspective, from thinking aloud and freely, to doing what they think you want them to do. The relationships we cultivate at Milton allow for rich intellectual growth, because we teachers don’t position ourselves as the experts. I tell my students, ‘My job is to help guide you in certain ways, because I’ve been around a little bit longer, but we’re going to learn together.’ When you put it that way, students feel empowered, and transformative learning can begin.” Michael Lou History faculty member since 1995
Dare is a campaign about people: our faculty, our students, and the power of their experiences together. Learn more about how you can support Milton today, and for decades to come. milton.edu/campaign • 617-898-2447 katie_connolly@milton.edu SPRING 2017
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