Pingry Review, Summer 2016 by The Pingry School

PICTURE PERFECT PINGRY Uncovering the Inner Artist

Reunion

SUMMER 2016

Commencement SUMMER 2016

We want to hear from you

Speak Up! The Pingry Review is conducting an online survey to learn how our readers interact with the magazine. What content do you enjoy most? What new content would you like to see? Give us a piece of your mind at:

pingry.org/ReviewSurvey As always, you can also contact the editor, Greg Waxberg â&#x20AC;&#x2122;96, at gwaxberg@pingry.org or (908) 647-5555, ext. 1296.

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Dr. Ann Dickerson P ’22, ’24, Upper School English and German teacher, taking advantage of quiet time in the C.B. Newton Library.

Picture Perfect Pingry Page 4 Join us on a photographic tour of Pingry’s extracurricular offerings for an inside peek at what happens outside the classroom…from 7:30 a.m. before-school events to a campsite marshmallow roast at night! On the cover: A perfect way to spend time outdoors—

reflective, creative time in the garden on the Basking Ridge Campus.

Departments

From the Headmaster . . . . . 3 Philanthropy . . . . . . . . . 26 Scene Around Campus . . . 36 School News . . . . . . . . . 42 Athletics News . . . . . . . . 59 Alumni News . . . . . . . . . 66

Ask the Archivist . . . . . . . 86 Historical . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Class Notes . . . . . . . . . . 96 In Memoriam . . . . . . . . 108 Closing Word . . . . . . . . 112

56 Uncovering the Inner Artist in the Early Years

Visual arts teacher Lindsay Baydin P ’26 finds all sorts of ways to unleash her Lower School students’ creativity, helping them realize that they are, indeed, artists. See some of the colorful results.

79 Pingry Alumni on the Game Show Circuit On the same day in late May, Buzzy Cohen ’03 was in the midst of his championship run on Jeopardy! while Peter Murray ’91 had his turn in the spotlight on Wheel of Fortune.

86 Introducing Digital Archivist Peter Blasevick

Our Q&A continues, including a sneak peek at preparations for the new Athletics Hall of Fame in the Miller A. Bugliari ’52 Athletics Center. Plus, find out how you might be able to help with the efforts.

88 Daily Life at Parker Road

In the second of a two-part article, Dr. Joseph Hanaway ’51 shares his memories of school life, such as Middle School study hall, fire drills, the lunch room, school buses...and what exactly was “Skipping Out?” SUMMER 2016

Opening Shot

Summer 2016 | Vol. 72 | No. 3

Graduation has made them the newest “alumni in the news!” Caroline Terens ’16 and Madeline Temares ’16 looking at the Commencement issue of The Pingry Record following the ceremony. Editor Greg Waxberg ’96

Communications Writer

Editorial Staff Kate Whitman Annis

Associate Director of Institutional Advancement

Allison C. Brunhouse ’00

Director of Admission and Enrollment

Mike Coakley Development Specialist Writer

Andrea Dawson Senior Writer

David M. Fahey ’99

Director of Alumni Relations and Senior Major Gifts Officer for Athletics

Melanie P. Hoffmann P ’20, ’27

Director of Institutional Advancement

Dale V. Seabury

Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing

Design and Layout Ruby Window Creative Group, Inc. www.rubywindow.com

Photography Peter Chollick Bruce Morrison ’64 Cherilyn Reynolds Debbie Weisman Michael Gunselman The Honor Code

Pingry believes that students should understand and live by standards of honorable behavior, which are essentially a matter of attitude and spirit rather than a system of rules and regulations. Decent, self-respecting behavior must be based on personal integrity and genuine concern for others and on the ethical principles which are the basis of civilized society. The members of the Pingry community should conduct themselves in a trustworthy manner that will further the best interests of the school, their class, and any teams or clubs to which they belong. They should act as responsible members of the community, working for the common good rather than solely for personal advantage. They should honor the rights of others, conducting themselves at all times in a moral and decent manner while at Pingry and throughout their lives as citizens of and contributors to the larger community of the world.

The Pingry Review is the official magazine of The Pingry School, with the primary purpose of disseminating news and information about the School, alumni, students, faculty, and staff. Contact the editor with comments and story ideas: The Pingry School 131 Martinsville Road Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 gwaxberg@pingry.org 908-647-5555, ext. 1296

THE PINGRY REVIEW

A LETTER FROM THE HEADMASTER

Dear Members of the Pingry Community Twice a day, and sometimes more frequently, I make a five-minute commute between Pingry and home. Thanks to the foresight of Mr. William S. Beinecke ’31, who envisioned a headmaster’s home on the Basking Ridge Campus when he purchased the land in 1971, my “commute” is, admittedly, an enviable one. I follow a half-mile stretch of gravel path, flanked by verdant foliage in the summer and snowdrifts in the winter, which meanders along the edge of Pingry’s woodlands and through its sloping fields. Google calendars and “reminders” aren’t welcome here. As the wildflowers usher in the summer and the chorus of cicadas assembles, they announce that the close of the school year and graduation are not far off. The path, and all the convenient metaphors of academia it may suggest, is lovely. And yet, in life, as in nature, often what transpires off the beaten path, beyond the defined parameters, is most thrilling.

We dedicate this spring/summer issue of the Review to exploring, in a striking visual tour, what life at Pingry looks like beyond its classrooms.

And so, we dedicate this spring/summer issue of the Review to exploring, in a striking visual tour, what life at Pingry looks like beyond its classrooms. On any given day, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., something special is happening here. (Really, we are not unlike a boarding school from which kids are released—sometimes unwillingly!—at night.) Whether through the science department’s wildly popular (despite its 7:30 a.m. meeting time) Journal Club; the meaningful interactions during between-class flex and conference periods; drama dress rehearsals in Macrae Theater; after-school “LEGO Learners” at the Lower School; sports teams dispersing onto Pingry’s fields in the afternoon; or the Outing Club hitting the campus campsite for a marshmallow roast at dusk, Pingry students prove that what they learn outside the walls of their classrooms is every bit as important as what they learn inside. In this issue, we invite you to glimpse the magic that happens in the moments before, between, and after classes, in the remarkable spaces and places of our campuses. We are also pleased, in this issue, to include coverage of Reunion and Commencement, which we typically incorporate into the fall issue. Now, a bit sooner than usual, you may enjoy reading all about the reconnections of decades of returning Pingry alumni, as well as the 2016 Commencement Exercises and subsequent celebrations. Graduation is not the only closing event this year, however. After six years of collective effort and generosity on the part of countless Pingry staff, faculty, trustees, alumni, parents, and even students, the Blueprint for the Future Campaign has reached its finish line. That its completion coincides with this issue’s feature about all the special extracurricular moments that make Pingry, Pingry cannot be understated. Thanks to the Campaign, and the many gifts from members of our community, it will be possible for these critical, outside-the-classroom experiences and opportunities to not only continue, but multiply and thrive. I look forward to recapping and celebrating the Campaign in the next issue, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the next few months of wildflowers and cicadas. And whatever your path, may you savor a few summer strolls.

Sincerely,

Nathaniel E. Conard P ’09, ’11 SUMMER 2016

PICTURE PERFECT

PINGRY

Life Outside the Classroom Classrooms are, indisputably, transformative terrain— spaces where minds are opened, issues questioned, theories tested, skills stretched, and collaboration celebrated. In this environment, learning is a certainty. But, on any given day, visit the Basking Ridge or Short Hills Campus between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. and you will also witness learning on an entirely different scale, in entirely different spaces: in the faculty lounge before school begins, on the stage of Hauser Auditorium, in the library or collaboration spaces between classes, in the dining hall during lunch, on the playground and playing fields, or in the art studios, the woods behind campus, or even the greater community outside our school borders. Here, in these magical, behind-the-scenes spaces and sanctuaries just beyond the classroom—curiously impenetrable to transcripts—the learning that occurs is just as certain and just as captivating. And so, in this photographic tour, which begins shortly after dawn and comes to a close at dusk, we invite you to spend a day on—and in one case, off—Pingry’s campuses, observing the rich activity in which our students engage when they are not seated before a teacher, Smart Board, or laptop. For them, “classrooms” are but a structural formality. Your seat is front row, your view undisturbed. Come, see what our students are up to.

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SUMMER 2016

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7:35 Elle Braverman ’18 presents on the link between red meat, gut flora, and artherosclerosis during Journal Club, a meeting of science-lovers every Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Students, faculty, and parents—anyone in the Pingry community interested in science—are encouraged to attend and learn more about cutting-edge research.

EARLY-BIRDS ON CAMPUS “I’ve got it!” Led by Lower School math specialist Verna Lange, fourthgrade Math Team members Grace Fernicola (left) and Anika Sinha hash out a solution to a consecutive integers problem. Every Friday at 7:30 a.m., they meet with over 30 of their fellow “mathletes” to complete five “thinking” problems in 26 minutes.

SUMMER 2016

9:18 Christyan Jean-Charles ’19 (right) and Nikhil Rao ’18 finish homework assignments in the Charles Bertram Newton Library before class during one of three different periods throughout the day when Upper School students are given “free” academic time to meet with faculty, collaborate with peers, and recharge.

COLLABORATION/FLEX TIME At his iconic—and frequently visited—“hallway desk,” Upper School English teacher Tom Keating chats with Natalie Lifson ’17, Calliope editor, published author, and playwright. This summer, one of her plays is being staged in New York City. One of 18 sixth-grade students running for Student Government representative in 2016-17, Daniel Ittycheria ’22 gave a speech in Macrae Theater in March before all 90 of his peers.

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9:22 9:35

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9:38 Thanks to recent modernization efforts, made possible by the Blueprint for the Future Campaign, common areas on campus abound, like this one in the main entrance of the Upper School. Couches and other moveable furniture give students a place to convene, collaborate, and lay back when classes arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t in session.

SUMMER 2016

12:32

In the Engel Dining Room, Entrepreneur Club leaders (foreground to back) Josh Baum ’17 and Edward Johnson ’17, along with club member Zach Keller ’17, distribute over 60 lunch orders from four local eating establishments. Their profits go to KIVA, an online platform that gives loans to entrepreneurs in low-income countries.

THE LUNCH HOUR On May 25, Lower School students—hailing from either the Blue Team or the White Team—toss rings, run sack races and alphabet relays, play soccer shoot out and tug of war, and even shot put during Field Day, an annual tradition long in the making at Short Hills.

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12:10

12:46 A Middle School institution, Powerballâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a wall-ball game founded by studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;draws players, and even teachers, into the courtyard for a bit of fresh air and healthy competition.

SUMMER 2016

12:49 Recess! Taking full advantage of their newly renovated “playground in the trees,” complete with turf field and basketball court, Lower School students climb, slide, swing, and run to their hearts’ content. (Read more about the playground on page 33.)

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SUMMER 2016

AFTERNOON Then-Upper School Director Dr. Denise Brown-Allen P ’13 oversees the action as Pingry Green Group members, in partnership with Barack Obama Green Charter High School students, plant cabbage at America’s Grow-a-Row in Pittstown.

In the ceramics studio, Upper School students Gabrielle Obregon ’17 and Stephen Daigle ’17 shape clay creations for the Cancer Support Community. Visual arts teacher Rich Freiwald, in conjunction with Pingry’s Director of Community Service, Shelley Hartz, oversees the community service project, which produces about 20 pottery pieces for the cancer support group to sell.

2:43

1:53 16

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As English teacher and Pingry Record advisor Dr. Susan Dineen looks on, Upper School writers Katie Ho ’17, Mark Shtrakhman ’16, and Alexis Elliot ’18 gather in the Publications Suite to review their work for the next issue.

2:45

Daniel Yanez ’22 selects a shady patch of grass and his favorite book for DEAR time—“Drop Everything and Read”—a weekly, 20-minute silent reading break for Middle School students.

12:50 SUMMER 2016

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2:15 Eagerly gathering during every available free time— and sometimes even foregoing recess—a group of Kindergarten “puzzlemasters” assembled this grueling, 1,000-piece puzzle in just four weeks. Their teacher, Judy Previti: “I’ve been teaching for 40 years and I’ve never seen Kindergarten puzzlers this skilled and this fast!” SUMMER 2016

AFTER SCHOOL

The Lion King JR. took center stage at Short Hills on June 3. During a rehearsal, Assistant Director Stephanie Ticas ’23, playing the gazelle (center), helps choreograph “The Lioness Hunt” as Mae Lange ’24, Jenna Hauser ’23, Maisy Webster ’24, Sophia Builione ’24, Anjola Olawoye ’23, and Elizabeth Bonner ’23 stand poised to attack.

Big Blue practice time— an Upper School student athlete hits the fields.

2:41 Middle School students make their way to the track, tennis court, and softball field as they prepare for a sunny spring afternoon of Big Blue sports.

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3:33

2:16 SUMMER 2016

3:41

3:42

4:05 In “Detective Science,” another after-school enrichment program at Short Hills, Auxiliary Programs teacher Rafael Rosario guides third-grade students in analysis of a mystery substance. At “LEGO Learners,” one of 20 after-school enrichment offerings this spring at the Lower School, Kindergarten students learn social skills while constructing LEGO masterpieces together. A cast of 27 six-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students performed a creative adaption of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in this spring’s Middle School play. As a nod to the Broadway smash hit, Hamilton, they even incorporated their own rap and hip-hop.

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4:17 Lower School music teacher Tom Berdos encourages Asher Matthias â&#x20AC;&#x2122;23 as they sight-read a piece on the French horn during a private music lesson.

SUMMER 2016

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EVENING AT PINGRY

6:45 As dusk embraces the 200-acre campus, Outing Club members take to the woods for an overnight at Pingryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own campsite, complete with five tent platforms and requisite marshmallow roasting. SUMMER 2016

BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE

BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE CAMPAIGN

DECLARES VICTORY!

Construction continues on the Miller A. Bugliari ’52 Athletics Center, seen here in June.

It took six years, more than 5,000 donors, and the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, but, on June 30, Pingry reached the close of its Blueprint for the Future Campaign. And, much like so many Pingry athletes, the School crossed the finish line with a triumphant burst of energy. The Campaign’s success is entirely due to the enthusiasm and support of a far-reaching community of Pingry alumni, families, faculty, staff, students, and friends, all rallying around one ambitious but attainable vision. That vision, announced publicly on October 25, 2014, was to shape the experience of the next generation of Pingry students by building a school that meets the evolving educational needs of the 21st century. Approximately 2,900 donors who had supported Pingry in the past stepped up once again to make that vision a reality, while about 2,100 declared their commitment to the kind of education Pingry offers by making an initial gift to the School during the Campaign. At the helm of the effort were Campaign Co-Chairs Stephan F. Newhouse ’65, P ’95, ’97, ’99 and Kathleen M. Hugin P ’11, ’13, who, along with the Campaign Steering Committee; the Board of Trustees; Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09, ’11; Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20; the Office of Institutional Advancement; Pingry Fund volunteers; the Senior Class Giving Committee; faculty and staff volunteers; and many others, traveled across the country, made calls, sent countless letters and emails, and helped the community envision possibilities. Every gift, large or small, moved us closer to making our Blueprint a reality. Twenty contributors gave a total of $1 million or more during the Campaign, with three exceeding $2.5 million. If stacked as a pile of dollar bills, the $65 million goal, which the community surpassed, would stretch 16 Empire State Buildings high. Some of those funds are already being put to good use; throughout the 2015-16 school year, students have taken advantage of renovated collaboration spaces, a modernized Lower School, and a biology research facility that matches those of top universities. Less visibly, Pingry has been able to steadily increase its financial aid offerings by 26

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approximately $1 million since the Campaign began in 2010. These improvements, along with the awards, endowed chairs, and professional development opportunities Pingry is now able to offer faculty, are only the beginning of Blueprint’s legacy. Throughout the Campaign, Pingry’s supporters have cited a vast array of reasons for giving: the desire to give back, the potential to leave a legacy, the teacher who changed a life, the memories of transformative educational experiences in and outside of the classrooms, and the hope that their gifts would give students the education necessary to change the world for the better. Whatever each individual’s motivations, Pingry extends its thanks to everyone who made Blueprint such a success. Now, we turn our attention to fulfilling the Campaign’s promise: to build a school that truly prepares students to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. For a school that refuses to rest on its laurels, the work is always just beginning.

2016 PROJECTS

(CURRENT AND UPCOMING): Miller A. Bugliari ’52 Athletics Center The construction of the new athletics facility, which began with its excavation phase in December of 2015, is expected to open in January of 2017 with eight squash courts, a new strength and conditioning center, and two large, contiguous gymnasiums.

The John “Mags” Magadini Boys’ Varsity Ice Hockey Coaching Position A group of donors established the coaching position in honor of Coach Magadini. The fund will assure an annual stipend for the boys’ varsity ice hockey coach in perpetuity.

Gymnasium and Music Suite (Lower School) Construction on phase three of Lower School modernization began on June 13.

Chemistry Labs (Upper School) Remodeling of Pingry’s chemistry classrooms began on June 18 and will wrap up on August 19. The project will create newly modernized chemistry spaces and resources akin to last summer’s update of the biology spaces.

Projector Upgrades and Glass Boards (Upper School) This summer, glass boards will be installed and projector systems will be updated in some of the rooms in the 200 and 300 wings. The new technology will enhance teachers’ abilities to educate Pingry students.

Student Commons (Upper School) The stairwell that connects the Upper School’s 200 and 400 wings (near the Bookstore) will be removed, and a new stairwell, student commons, and collaboration space will be built this summer. The redesign will follow the model of the new stairwell and collaboration spaces adjacent to the biology classrooms and, as with those spaces, will provide students a place to work together on projects and presentations.

SUMMER 2016

DONORS

APRUZZESE FAMILY SPURS UNITY AND DEDICATION THROUGH GIVING

Katherine (Apruzzese) Sherbrooke ’85, Lynn (Apruzzese) Tetrault ’80, Emilia McManus ’16, Vincent Apruzzese P ’76, ’78, ’80, ’85, GP ’06, ’08, Dana Apruzzese ’06, John Apruzzese ’76, P ’06, ’08, and Debra Apruzzese P ’06, ’08. Vincent Apruzzese is holding the plaque for The Sandy Apruzzese Big Blue Award, of which Emilia McManus is the first recipient.

When it comes to sheer number of family members who have attended the School, few Pingry families can match the Apruzzeses. Siblings John ’76, Don ’78, Lynn ’80, and Kathy ’85 all graduated from Pingry, as did John’s daughters Dana ’06 and Alexandra ’08. “It’s difficult to encapsulate our family’s history with Pingry in just a few words,” says Vincent “Vin” Apruzzese, father to the four siblings. Starting during his children’s time at Pingry, Vin served on the Board of Trustees for 17 years, assisting in the ambitious move to the current Basking Ridge Campus. His late wife Sandy helped found the mothers’ association (now the Pingry School Parents’ Association) and personally designed and handstitched, at her daughter Lynn’s suggestion, the original “Big Blue” bear mascot. The family is also proud that John ’76 and Lynn ’80 are the only brother-sister combination to have served as Pingry’s Student Body President. In other words, to the Apruzzeses, “giving back” has always meant more than financial generosity. “Mom was part of the fabric of the community,” Lynn says. “I remember she would go to every field hockey game, make meals for the team, and do whatever she could to contribute.”

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“Athletics teach you how to lose and still keep going. It’s not always about winning.” Katherine (Apruzzese) Sherbrooke ’85

That being said, the family does believe in giving back through philanthropy, especially because Vin was once chairman of the annual fund drive. Most recently, they contributed funding for a water fountain that will be placed between the Miller A. Bugliari ’52 Athletics Center and the track and football field, along with an inscription that reads: “Winners never quit and quitters never win.” “That, to me, is what you learn in sports,” Vin says. “If you have the spirit and dedication, you don’t give up.” “Athletics teach you how to lose and still keep going,” Kathy adds. “It’s not always about winning. Sports teach resilience and the fact that you don’t have to be a ‘starter’ to be a contributor.” Additionally, they have created and named an award in Vin’s wife’s honor. At the 2016 Athletics Awards Ceremony, the inaugural Sandy Apruzzese Big Blue Award was presented to Emilia McManus ’16. The award not only commemorates Sandy’s creation, but also recognizes, in today’s students, the spirit of enthusiasm, leadership, and community-centeredness Sandy embodied. “When I first asked my mother to create the ‘Big Blue’ bear, we were a school that was just coming together,” says Lynn, who was a member of Pingry’s first coed class. “I felt the mascot would be a great way to unify us, and I hope that’s the award’s legacy: to remind people about the importance of coming together as a community to support each other.” It’s the community, after all, that has kept the Apruzzeses returning to Pingry. While each family member had a unique experience during their student years, they all recognize essential elements of the broader Pingry experience that have remained the same: “Pingry has always done an exceptional job of teaching critical thinking instead of rote memorization, and that’s so valuable,” John says. “Critical thinking helps you through the rest of your college and professional career.” “Academic achievement is admired at Pingry,” Kathy notes. “Doing well in the classroom is respected, and you don’t get that everywhere—sometimes not even in college.”

Lynn (Apruzzese) Tetrault ’80 introducing the original “Big Blue” bear at an assembly (photo by Dave Stanton ’80 from The Pingry Record in November 1979).

“Pingry has always done an exceptional job of teaching critical thinking instead of rote memorization, and that’s so valuable. Critical thinking helps you through the rest of your college and professional career.” John Apruzzese ’76, P ’06, ’08

Dana reflects on Pingry’s diversity of passions and skills: “When people told me in college that they were ‘only friends with athletes’ or they were ‘a nerd,’ it would boggle my mind. This school really fosters relationships with people of different backgrounds.” With their contributions, monetary and otherwise, the Apruzzeses have left a profound mark on Pingry. They will be the first to admit, however, that Pingry has left an even greater mark on them. That is why they give: to pay back and pay forward. “We have done a lot, but, quite frankly, Pingry has done so much more for us,” Vin says. “What Pingry has instilled in my children and grandchildren—it’s the best money Sandy and I ever spent. The Pingry experience is a very, very special one, and that’s why we feel so dedicated.”

SUMMER 2016

ATHLETICS FACILITIES

BIG BLUE’S BLUEPRINT PROMISES MODERNIZED ATHLETICS FACILITIES Much excitement surrounds the upcoming opening of the Miller A. Bugliari ’52 Athletics Center, but the plan to strengthen Big Blue athletics encompasses much more than a building. The Blueprint for athletics involves not only the new building, but also new tennis courts and state-of-the-art playing surfaces for Pingry’s football, lacrosse, and track teams. What follows are stories about plans for the other facilities and why the Pingry sports they will bolster are so important to student development. THE TENNIS COURTS “Pingry tennis players are growing and learning in a professionally-run, high-quality tennis program that caters to players at all levels,” says Coach Marion Weber. “It’s a fun environment for those wanting to expand their abilities and a competitive platform for players on the varsity team who are striving to win and compete at an advanced level.” As a tennis coach at Pingry, Coach Weber has encountered players with natural affinity and talent and those who are just starting out, trying tennis on for size. Some come with a family history of competitive tennis, while others are picking up a racket for the first time. The goal of the tennis program is to allow all players to test their limits—the first-timers and the seasoned veterans alike. That’s what Coach Weber loves about tennis: It’s an individual sport that allows players to develop and expand their abilities at their own levels. It also forces students to play and adjust in relative solitude; coaches can coach them for about 90 seconds every three games, but, on the court, they’re on their own. If a basketball player has a bad day, his or her teammates can compensate, but, in tennis, players must build themselves up, adjust, and improve based on conditions. And if that is not the aim of broader education, what is? As a whole, the boys’ and girls’ teams are dominating forces. In 2014-15, both teams had championship seasons. The 2014 season marked the girls’ fifth consecutive Non-Public North A State Sectional Championship, and the boys, led by nationally ranked Jeff Zucker ’17 (the 2015 Skyland Conference “Player of the Year”), entered the 2016 season ranked number two among non-public schools in New Jersey. They are consistently ranked as one of NJ.com’s top 10 teams. 30

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The courts on which the teams currently play and practice, named for the late George Comyns Thomas, Class of 1907, have served them well for over 30 years. But they have long surpassed their expected lifespan and, due to poor drainage and surface cracking, are in constant need of repair. They have become uneven and worn, which can affect the bounce of a ball during games and practices. The School’s effort to build 12 new courts with high-quality materials and drainage, then, is not about beautifying the tennis complex (although it will), but rather about supplying students with the experience and education that come with playing a sport that puts an athlete at constant odds with his or her own limits. Along with all of the educational benefits competitive tennis provides, the coaching staff looks forward to the sense of identity and motivation these new courts will instill in students. “Our first-class tennis program would greatly benefit from improved tennis facilities to continue our growth,” Coach Weber says. Adds Director of Athletics Carter Abbott: “Pingry has championship tennis programs for both boys and girls, and it is time to bring our tennis facilities up to that same championship caliber.”

THE TRACK When Tim Grant P ’03, ’06 started coaching at Pingry in 1984, girls’ track was just a club. When he made it a varsity sport, about six girls joined the team. Thirty-two years later, over the course of a given year, girls’ track and cross country enroll about one quarter of all the Upper School girls at Pingry. With boys’ track and cross country factored in, running sports are among the most popular athletics programs at Pingry. Coach Grant attributes this to a number of factors, including its accessibility and broad appeal. “We get a lot of soccer and field hockey players on their offseason,” he says. “It’s a great sport on its own, but it’s also a sport that helps other sports.” The number of students who participate in track, either casually or religiously, makes the track itself one of Pingry’s most frequented facilities. The School aims to give its runners the best and most dynamic surface possible, which is why a new, eight-lane, 400-meter track is among the athletics priorities for the Blueprint for the Future Campaign. “We want a surface that matches that of our competitors,” says Coach Sarah Christensen. “Right now, ours is worn and hard and needs a ‘cushy’ top.” The track will include new jump and vaulting pits, an equipment storage unit, and a designated area for discus and shotput. Its “broken-back” shape (approved by USA Track & Field), with longer curves and shorter straightaways, will create space on the inside for a competition field hockey or soccer field. In short, the new track will benefit almost every athlete at Pingry. But it will be particularly valuable to Pingry’s student runners, throwers, and jumpers, who are routinely in contention for state sectional and Non-Public B titles. The boys were Non-Public B State Champions in

2007, 2009, and 2012, and South Jersey Sectional Champions in 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014. The girls aimed for their eighth Non-Public B group title in 16 years, boasting a powerhouse squad that included the state’s two top pole vaulters. Coach Grant, Coach Christensen, boys’ varsity coach Mark Sepkowski, and the other track coaches believe that the new facility will not only allow Pingry’s students to compete at an even higher level, but also, by extension, improve their educations. “So many studies show that students involved with athletics tend to go home, get to their studies, do better in school, and be more focused,” Coach Grant says. “I look at being a coach as a means to help Pingry students grow in areas beyond academics. Athletics teach them to compete, to be gracious in winning and losing, and to become better people.” He and Coach Christensen both add that a track can be especially beneficial to students because of the discipline it requires. “I can think of many students who, in becoming more disciplined runners, also became more disciplined students,” Coach Christensen says. And while track is much more than a ticket to college, she adds that running sports have always been a focus of the Ivy League and other top colleges. Having spent decades as coach, Coach Grant knows a track is more than a track; it’s a place where lives can be changed. “I think of Libby Parsons,” he says. “Her sophomore year, I just happened to ask what she was doing in the spring. We got her out on the track. Her second year, she set the School record for the high jump. She was considering gunning for a basketball scholarship, but now she’s discovered this huge other talent. Track is a sport where you can really stand out.” SUMMER 2016

THE TURF FIELD According to Pingry football coach Chris Shilts P ’17, ’19, ’21, two of the greatest lessons athletics teach are those of selflessness and accountability. “On the field, your actions directly affect others,” he says. “You have to know your job and do it, so your teammates can do theirs. You have to give part of yourself up to the team.” That’s why he believes a new turf field—one of the Blueprint for the Future Campaign’s objectives—is so important to both Big Blue athletics and Pingry’s mission. While students gain valuable knowledge and ponder “big ideas” in the classroom, on the field, they set these lessons into motion: the physics of impact, the mathematics of a countdown clock, the psychology of motivation, the ethics of accountability. “Plus, [the field is] a matter of necessity,” Coach Shilts says. “Right now, we spend half our practice time moving to different areas to avoid trampling the grass field into a mud bowl. With this upgrade, we’ll have turf. We’ll have a first-rate facility that draws athletes in.”

Coach Abbott views the new turf field, track, stadium, and tennis courts as the athletics equivalent of the modernization of the Basking Ridge and Short Hills Campuses. The facility, which will include a new scoreboard, dualsport artificial turf playing surface, and goalposts, will affect more than just football. It can also be used by the track and soccer teams and will be integral to Pingry’s lacrosse program. At present, the boys’ and girls’ teams have to trade off use of the current, limited facilities, which costs them invaluable practice hours. “Because we only have one field,” says girls’ lacrosse coach Carter Abbott, who is also Director of Athletics, “our boys and girls are getting an hour of practice time each, while our competitors are getting way more.” The turf field 32

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removes these limitations, freeing up students’ time and energy to focus not only on sports, but also, by extension, their studies. Like Coach Shilts, Coach Abbott and boys’ lacrosse coach Mike Webster P ’24, ’27, ’27 believe athletics are essential to a well-rounded education. “As coaches, we’re also educators,” Coach Webster says. “We’re teaching students about the values of working together to the combined good. We’re teaching them about integrity. These attributes can be taught in the classroom, but this is another way to reach kids.” Coach Webster is no stranger to the lessons of sports; he is a two-time Division I national champion, a three-time Boys’ State Lacrosse “Coach of the Year,” 2016 Courier News “Coach of the Year,” and coach of the boys’ varsity lacrosse team at Pingry since 1989. Last year, his team clinched the NJSIAA Non-Public “B” State Championship and advanced to the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions. The girls’ team, meanwhile, has been on the rise over the past few years, growing its roster and, last season, advancing to the state quarterfinals. Both coaches’ approach to lacrosse, and more broadly to sports, is that academics and athletics are two sides of the same educational coin. In fact, Coach Shilts believes that sports can reach students in ways academics cannot. “I think that, nationally, we’re close to removing failure from the classroom,” he says. “But in sports, it still happens—all the time. You can work and work and work and then realize you’re just not as talented as someone else. There’s always the threat of loss. And that’s important. I believe strongly in building self-esteem, but, if we get intoxicated with it, we lose the opportunity to self-improve.” Coach Abbott views the new field, track, stadium, and tennis courts as the athletics equivalent of the modernization of the Basking Ridge and Short Hills Campuses. If Pingry is to remain at the forefront of education, it needs to prioritize the building of the whole student, which means giving students all the resources they need to succeed and—uncomfortable as it may sometimes be—fail.

LOWER SCHOOL PLAYGROUND

LOWER SCHOOL PLAYGROUND BRINGS EDUCATION OUTDOORS It’s a brisk April afternoon, and the new playground facility on Pingry’s Short Hills Campus bustles with Lower School students. A game of touch football has broken out on the 68' x 48' turf. Three girls clamber up a web of blue ropes that is shaped like a miniature Eiffel Tower. On the playground’s ostensible jungle-gym centerpiece, one boy chases another over a suspension bridge, which quivers in their wake. The new facility opened only months ago, as part of Short Hills modernization, but the Lower School students have already annexed it into their imaginative domain—grown-ups beware!

“What’s special about the education here at Pingry is the acknowledgement of how important physical activity is to learning,” says third-grade teacher Kathryn Brintnall over the clamor of voices. “It builds social skills, leadership skills, creativity. Play isn’t just an adjunct.” Ms. Brintnall was a member of the Short Hills Playground Committee, a group that came together long before the campus’s modernization to build a playground that would maximize the physical, mental, and social benefits of play. Many members of the community had input, including classroom and physical education teachers, parents, administrators, nursing staff, the facilities team, trustees, students, and representatives from playground companies who offered glimpses of their products. They visited playgrounds everywhere from Bridgewater to the Oranges, taking pictures and observing the kinds of play in which children were engaging. “We were looking for equipment that suggested imaginative possibilities without prescribing how kids should engage,” Ms. Brintnall explains. “What would spark imagination without taking over the game?” SUMMER 2016

The result is more park than playground. The space extends into the woods around the Lower School, utilizing natural shade and terrain, featuring a dynamic jungle gym, three major climbing apparatuses, a fenced-in blacktop, a turf field, a playground roundabout, swings, and other areas and devices that encourage children to test the limits of their bodies and minds. The Lower School students have even built their own playground “equipment”: tiny lean-tos on the outskirts of the woods, made from branches and sticks. What equipment gets used, and how the children choose to use it, changes by the day. And that’s by design.

This Ten Spin, on which students can sit or stand, is one of the most popular activities on the playground.

“We were looking for equipment that suggested imaginative possibilities.” Kathryn Brintnall, member of the Short Hills Playground Committee

“It’s all about the give-and-take of free play,” Ms. Brintnall says. “We obviously chaperone, but, otherwise, there’s no adult telling them what to do. They have to negotiate who will lead, what the rules will be. They have to learn how to include everyone in a game. If they’re going to grow, they need to learn not just in organized settings created by teachers, but in environments that are entirely their own.” It seems like a relatively simple recipe: throw together some swings, monkey bars, and spiral slides, and set the kids loose. But playgrounds, and the thinking behind their design, have changed drastically since the 1880s, when German and American cities first placed piles of sand in public parks and play yards to form “sand gardens”—glorified sandboxes that would evolve into

On the left is one set of swings, and on the right is an example of a “major apparatus serving as the focal point, for lots of kids to use at once,” as described by third-grade teacher and Short Hills Playground Committee member Kathryn Brintnall. This “apparatus” contains three slides (two straight and one curly), a rock wall (to simulate rock climbing), a staircase to test one’s balance, and a suspension bridge. 34

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playgrounds as they are known today. In the early 1990s, model playgrounds took shape, which implemented the slides, merry-go-rounds, seesaws, and crawling tubes that have become the play paraphernalia of American childhoods. These were borne from the earliest notions that limiting education to the classroom might also limit a child’s capacity to learn. “The time has come,” wrote educator C.W. Hetherington in 1914, “when men are beginning to realize that the stifling of the child’s developing enthusiasm in life through a back-warping, chest-cramping, nerve-breaking, minddeadening desk and schoolroom program of ‘studies’ is as cruel as the Spanish inquisition.” As educators recognized the role of imagination in child development, “novelty playgrounds” arose, with apparatuses mimicking vehicles, boats, rocket ships, houses, and other real-life structures. Myriad playground injuries led to the standardization of safety measures in the second half of the 1900s—measures that Pingry’s playground committee ensured it exceeded. “Safety was a big concern,” Ms. Brintnall says. “We used ropes rather than bars for climbing and ensured that all of our hard plastic surfaces were rounded.” Now, with the understanding that play directly influences cognitive development, the focus is on the broader experience of the playground. As they decided what to include, the Short Hills Playground Committee focused on the whole, not just the constituent parts. “There’s so much happening here,” Ms. Brintnall says, standing in the center of the busy playground. “You’ve got kids getting exercise, improving skills. You’ve got oldfashioned cops-and-robbers games—tag with a storyline. You’ve got these new steel drums we just installed. Kids love banging on them with their hands, creating music. It’s all very sensory, but also fun.”

Time to climb the ropes!

Lower School students use the playground every day, often more than once. Sometimes one Grade uses it at a time, and sometimes there are two or three Grades, which often leads to older children mentoring younger ones. Everything on the playground is a learning opportunity— a lesson in gentleness, acceptance, social gymnastics. A playground can even be a lesson in morality, which becomes clear as the children are called back inside at the end of the afternoon, and two girls emerge from beneath the spiral slide, figuring out what to do with an unclaimed pink, puffy jacket they have discovered. “But we don’t know whose it is,” says the girl holding it. “That doesn’t mean we should keep it,” says the other. The first girl considers for a moment, weighing the options, gears turning in her head. Finally, she smiles and nods, having decided, without the advice of any adult, how to proceed. “Let’s find out whose it is,” she says, and they march inside to do a good deed. Playground history taken from “The Evolution of American Playgrounds” by Dr. Joe Frost.

A game of touch football on the turf field. SUMMER 2016

Scene Around Campus

Earth Day

Chinese Fitness Dancing Physical Education class was anything but routine for fifth-grade students when they learned the Little Apple, a contemporary Chinese fitness dance, as part of their studies about China. Upper School students Ryan Fuentes ’18, Alex Strasser ’19, and Giancarlo Castillo ’18 taught the dance movements, which require the dancers to wave their hands, clap, shake their shoulders, stomp their feet, jump… and repeat! 36

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Progress and potential: Students on both campuses, particularly the members of the Green Group and Green Team, celebrated Earth Day by discussing and working on environmental projects. For example, on the Basking Ridge Campus, the Honors Environmental Science class reported about an audit of campus trash to raise awareness about recycling and composting among students, faculty, and staff; students were encouraged to take advantage of Pingry’s campsite and trail, thereby spending more time outdoors to improve their cognitive abilities (an idea that was also a follow-up to this year’s Carver Lecture; see page 50); and Isabel DeVito ’19 led a bird walk. On the Short Hills Campus, students created hanging flower baskets and planted handpainted pots that now adorn several locations. Students also installed a new flower bed between the fourth- and fifth-grade wings in an area that lay bare following construction. That work included edging a new bed, cutting and removing the sod to be transplanted to a location on the front field, adding new top soil, planting, and ultimately mulching the finished product.

Spring Concert Eager musicians filled the Lower School gymnasium for the annual Spring Concert, the culmination of students’ hard work and diligent practice during the school year. Music teachers Tom Berdos, Patty Finn, and Alyson Whelan led nine ensembles: Tuesday and Wednesday Enrichment Strings, Grade 4 and 5 Strings, Grade 4 and 5 Bands, Grade 4 and 5 Choruses, and Handbell Choir. The program included The Star-Spangled Banner and other patriotic selections; an All-School Sing with spring-appropriate music about flowers and gardening; a dedication of The Dream Keeper (a musical rendition of Langston Hughes’s poem) to retiring Assistant Lower School Director Carolyn Gibson P ’03; “Old John Pingry”; and five piano interludes performed by fifth-grade pianists. Pictured are the Grade 4 and 5 Choruses.

Lower School Spring Musical: Disney’s The Lion King JR.

Piano Potpourri This program that offers “a little bit of everything” is a prime performance opportunity for Lower School pianists. For the first time in 2015-16, instead of one program, two programs were spread out over two days to accommodate “so many brilliant pianists” who auditioned for music teacher Tom Berdos. Nearly 30 students played music of their own choosing that ranged from a march by J.S. Bach to John Williams’ theme from Jurassic Park.

Students and parents enjoyed the spectacle of this one-act adaptation of the Broadway production, with music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice. A cast and crew of nearly 50 students performed twice in this enormous undertaking—a matinée for classmates and an evening presentation for parents and other family members. Drama teacher Alicia Harabin ’02 directed, with musical direction by Kindergarten teacher Judy Previti and choreography by Cindy McArthur, Director of Summer and Auxiliary Programs. Songs included “Circle of Life,” “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” “Be Prepared,” “Hakuna Matata,” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” The performers learned three languages—Zulu, Swahili, and Xhosa—and jazz musician Richard Reiter, who has visited Senegal, taught them how to play djembe drums. After the matinée concluded, one very excited student in the audience was overheard ecstatically telling her teacher, “That was so unbelievable! That was amazing!” SUMMER 2016

Moving Up Day The Lower School celebrated the achievements of the fifth-grade students on June 10 as the Class of 2023 prepared to leave the Short Hills Campus for the Basking Ridge Campus. Lower School Director Ted Corvino P ’94, ’97, ’02, Assistant Lower School Director Carolyn Gibson P ’03, and other teachers recognized students for their accomplishments in community service, music, drama, visual arts, physical fitness, and other disciplines. Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09 ’11 presented a certificate to each student and asked the Class to continue their leadership in the fall, when they will be asked to welcome students who are new to Pingry.

Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day One day every spring for nearly 30 years, the Lower School opens its doors to an older generation. Grandparents and special friends are welcomed to campus, where they spend a morning reveling in the children’s class projects. In his opening remarks to this year’s event, Lower School Director Ted Corvino P ’94, ’97, ’02, a new grandparent himself, celebrated joining their ranks. In their classrooms, students delighted in showing and sharing their coursework. The morning’s festivities closed with student performances, and the children departed school early, hand-in-hand with their special friends.

Middle School Play:

Cum Laude Society: Spring Inductions

This spring, Middle School students performed their own creative take on the traditional Shakespearean comedy, which contains confused lovers, clueless clowns, and magical fairies who dance, sing, and gallivant in a dream that weaves together high- and low-brow cultures, the seen and unseen, and the natural and manmade worlds. The play, an abridged version of the original text by Shakespeare, adapted by Christian Ely, featured a cast of 27 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students who created their own prologue with music, hip-hop, dance, rap, and spoken word. A Middle School crew also decorated and painted the set.

Pingry inducted 13 members of the Class of 2016 into The Cum Laude Society on April 27. Established in 1906 as the secondary school equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa, the country’s oldest collegiate honor society, The Cum Laude Society honors academic excellence and superior scholarship among its 382 member schools. Membership in this prestigious academic organization is limited to 20 percent of a Senior class, with half elected as juniors and half elected as seniors. The Cum Laude Society also recognizes individuals who—in all areas of their lives—love to learn, share their knowledge with others, and demonstrate scholarship, honor, integrity, and good character. The Society hopes that all of its members will continue their cooperative and selfless pursuit of knowledge while serving as lifelong examples of The Cum Laude Society motto: Aréte (Excellence), Diké (Justice), Timé (Honor). Front row: Mariel C. Sander, Lucille Miao, Emily S. Kwon, Madeline Temares, Caroline M. Terens, Benjamin T. Shepard, and Daria A. Fradkin. Back row: TanTan Wang, Kevin Chow, Jacob Robinson, Matthew Newman, Brendan Kelly, and Samuel Kececi.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

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LeBow Competition Pingry’s annual Dr. Robert H. LeBow ’58 Memorial Oratorical Competition for sophomores and juniors took place in February. Out of six finalists, Rachel Chen ’18 won the event with her speech about the conflict that arises when people allow a label, such as “nerd” or “jock,” with all of the accompanying stereotypes, to define their identity. Julia Robinson ’17 was named runner-up for her speech about the effect of media violence on individuals, particularly in America. The competition was funded in 2005 through the generosity of the Class of 1958, led by the late William Hetfield, in memory of their classmate. Dr. LeBow was an accomplished public speaker, addressing audiences worldwide about the need for health care reform. While working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, Dr. LeBow and his wife Gail lived in numerous developing countries and provided medical services to underserved populations. Before his death, Dr. LeBow published Health Care Meltdown: Confronting the Myths and Fixing Our Failing System, a book drawn from his public speaking engagements. Pictured are winner Rachel Chen ’18, runner-up Julia Robinson ’17, and the four other finalists, Alyssa Chen ’18, Namita Davey ’18, Calvary Dominique ’18, and Gabe Gever ’17.

Women in History

AFS Presentation

Forty-eight famous women were showcased—through visual depiction and spoken word—in this annual project for second-grade students. With guidance from teachers Sara Berg, Sally Dugan P ’04, ’08, and Mary Ogden P ’10, ’12, as well as visual arts teachers Lindsay Baydin P ’26 and Russell Christian, each student selected a famous woman, created a handmade doll, and researched her life story to prepare a brief report about what she did to make a difference in the world. Teachers instructed them how to organize a report, identify key elements from the research, and put the narrative in the woman’s voice. The most challenging step was to write a one-minute speech for the eponymous assembly—good practice for public speaking. Prior to the formal presentation, the students sang “Women in History,” music and lyrics by music teacher Patty Finn. Kindergarten teacher Judy Previti taught sign language for Shania Twain’s “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face,” the assembly’s finale.

Gian Marco Visani, Pingry’s AFS (American Field Service) student for the 2015-16 school year, visited the Short Hills Campus to introduce himself and his home country, Italy, to Lower School students. Gian Marco is a native of Faenza, known for its production of ceramics (the town is home to the International Museum of Ceramics), and his presentation included a brief history of Italy and an overview of Italian food, namely Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, pasta, and olive oil. When Gian Marco showed a photo of spaghetti and meatballs, he asked the students if the dish was invented in Italy. Most said yes. He shocked the student body by telling them that it was invented in New York City! To conclude his presentation, Gian Marco taught the students how to say a few words in Italian. Arrivederci!

Upper School Winter Musical: Cabaret The Upper School’s February production, set in 1930s Berlin, and featuring a cast and crew of over 50 students, touched not only the Pingry community, but also local Jewish audiences. Holocaust survivor Ruth Millman spoke to the cast, giving them a first-person account of the period in world history, and approximately 100 senior citizens from local Jewish community centers were invited to attend the dress rehearsal. For the show’s efforts to educate the larger community about the era of Nazism in which Cabaret is set, it was selected as a finalist for the Educational Impact Award and the “Theatre for Everyone” Inclusion and Access Award in the Paper Mill Playhouse’s Rising Star Awards on June 7. One of only seven students statewide to advance to the final round for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role, Jazmin Palmer ’16 took home the prestigious Rising Star award for her portrayal of Fraulein Schneider. SUMMER 2016

Financial Literacy Panel Yearbook Dedication A roar of cheers erupted in Hauser Auditorium on May 31 when the staff of the 2016 Blue Book announced this year’s dedication to Bruce Morrison ’64. For more than a dozen years, Mr. Morrison has been an invaluable contributor to Pingry’s Athletics Department and publications, having taken tens of thousands of photographs of athletes, coaches, and teams. His dedication reads, “He is truly the heart of Pingry… His work derives largely from his own love of photography and, more importantly, his love for The Pingry School. He is at almost every game, match, meet, tournament, and event, no matter how far he has to travel. The Class of 2016 wants to recognize Bruce for his generous efforts and thank him for not only his photos, but also for his constant smile. It’s no surprise he won ‘Nicest Guy’ as his senior superlative!” Clearly moved by the surprise, Mr. Morrison told the audience, “I will remember this for a long, long time…The best part [of taking pictures at Pingry] is getting to know all of you. I first met the seniors in sixth-grade gym class, and it’s been wonderful to see you develop as people and athletes.” Pictured are Editorin-Chief Grace Mullery ’16, Bruce Morrison ’64, Co-Editor-inChief Taraja Arnold ’16, and Assistant Editor-in-Chief Katie Marino ’16.

Grade 8 Legacy Quilt In May, the Class of 2020, 90 students strong, unveiled its Legacy Quilt—one square for each member of the Class— as a parting gift to the Middle School. The theme of “What Do We Stand For?” was inspired by their field trip at the beginning of the school year to visit the war memorials in Washington, D.C. Students were asked to create squares that express the values or traits they stand for. Middle School science teacher and Grade 8 advisor Dr. Patricia Lowery sewed together the entire quilt!

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Students in Pingry’s financial literacy classes, along with those studying computer science and economics, were treated to a panel of three Pingry parents who are seasoned leaders in the finance industry (and who are always happy to share their expertise with Pingry students): Bimal Gandhi P ’23, ’26, ’26, chief executive officer of Uniken, Inc., a young company that specializes in providing cyber security solutions; Doug Rotatori P ’10, ’13, ’16, managing principal at Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC, a middle-market private equity firm; and Owen Ryan P ’20, chief executive officer of Deloitte Risk Advisory, a business that works with governments, firms, and corporations around the world to help reduce their risk. The panel discussed such broad-ranging topics as cyber security, private equity, venture capitalism, investment risk, hackers, the future of finance, and the differences between investing in small and large companies. The sophisticated questions the panelists fielded suggested that, when it comes to finance, Pingry students are much more than simply “literate.” Pictured are Doug Rotatori, Bimal Gandhi, and Owen Ryan. The Financial Literacy Lecture, part of Pingry’s financial literacy initiative, is made possible thanks to the contributions of several generous donors who believe in educating Pingry’s students to become financially responsible members of society, with a working knowledge of the global financial system and comfort and dexterity in managing their personal finances.

Taste of Pingry With over 80 Pingry families sharing at least as many different dishes from across the globe, and over 500 eager diners, the second annual Taste of Pingry, held on May 22, was a resoundingly sweet—and savory—success. Showcasing culinary traditions, the international food fair, organized by the Diversity Department in collaboration with the PSPA, was proof that ours is, indeed, a rich, multicultural community. On the menu: Haitian beef patties, Polish pierogis, Columbian empanadas, Indian samosas, Spanish paella, Agurksalat (a Norwegian sweet-and-sour cucumber salad), Kutsinta (rice cakes served with grated coconut, a popular dish in the Philippines), Papa a la Huancaína (a Peruvian potato appetizer), Bubur Cha (a sweet, coconut-based Southeast Asian dessert made with different types of sweet potatoes), and German marble cake were just a few of the 80-plus dishes available to curious palates. The event also offered international-themed games, crafts, and entertainment: Huaxia Chinese School Dancers; a Mariachi Band; over 30 Portuguese dancers and musicians; Native American dancers, drummers, and singers; and Pingry’s K-Pop Dance Club. “This is my second time attending Taste of Pingry,” Ethan Malzberg ’19 said. “Both years I made sure to try a new food that I had never heard of before. Events like this are a great chance for the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools, and even many parents, to come together as one united Pingry community, and it was great fun!”

PSPA Spring Soirée Nearly 600 people, including 55 faculty and staff, attended the Pingry School Parents Association’s annual benefit. The evening included a fashion show with about 100 members of the Class of 2016, live auction, silent auction, wine pull, and raffle for premier graduation seats, and over 100 pieces of student art from all three divisions—photography, drawing, painting, ceramics, and architecture —were displayed in the Upper Commons. Combined with ticket sales, the events raised enough money to cover all of the PSPA’s annual operating costs for events such as Friday Night Lights, parent socials for each grade, faculty and staff appreciation breakfasts, parent coffees, community service events, the Common Grounds Speaks series, the Arts Celebration and Awards Dinner, and the new Big Blue Pride Committee that promotes parent and student involvement in efforts to generate school spirit. Elliot Berndt P ’18, ’20, 2015-16 PSPA President, commented, “It was a wonderful, lively night to celebrate and bring together our parent community.” Over 110 parent volunteers worked on the event. Pictured are Spring Soirée committee members Anthe Angelides P ’16, ’20, Megan Topor P ’12, ’14, ’17, Dr. Anju Thomas P ’19, ’22, Tiffany Brigante P ’20, Anne Wargo P ’20, Tarena Cernuto P ’18, ’20, Robin Oxendine P ’17, ’19, Jodelyn Malzberg P ’19, Amy Saunders P ’19, Ann Marvin P ’14, ’17, Diane Rispoli P ’18, Bo Paliwoda P ’21, and Marsha Wolfson P ’15, ’18 (not pictured: Betty Galvan P ’25, ’29). SUMMER 2016

Credit: Douglas Allen P ‘13

Graduation for the Class of 2016!

The 155th Commencement Exercises took place on June 12 with Pingry trustees, faculty, and the graduates’ families gathering to celebrate.

Credit: Douglas Allen P ‘13

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“Vuja de, the opposite of déjà vu, is viewing something familiar as if for the first time. It’s how I plan to live my life from now on…constantly remind yourself of what you might be taking for granted, find the nuances in everyday occurrences, and see each passion, project, and person you love as if for the first time.”

Class President Erin Dugan ’16

Commencement 2016 [ 1 ] Celebratory mingling in the Baldwin Courtyard following the ceremony. [ 2 ] Emilia McManus ’16 and Nwamaka Nnaeto ’16 in the faculty receiving line. [ 3 ] Grace Wollmuth ’16, Julia Axtell ’16, and Kathryn Abbott ’16. [ 4 ] Upper School math teacher Chris Leone, Taraja Arnold ’16, and Nic Carrion ’16.

SUMMER 2016

“I see Pingry as the gravity at the core of our galaxy. Pingry is able to pull together people from different races, backgrounds, and lifestyles… Our respect that we have for one another is the gravity that keeps us in orbit. Our integrity, honor, and compassion is the gravity that keeps us in orbit. Our motivation to succeed and our pursuit of excellence is the gravity that keeps us in orbit. These are our Pingry values.”

Valedictorian Matthew Newman ’16

Commencement 2016 [ 5 ] Haley Park ’16, Jacqueline Jakimowicz ’16, and Caroline Kellogg ’16. [ 6 ] Anna Butrico ’14, Holly Butrico ’16, and Erin Butrico ’14. [ 7 ] Carolyn Najarian, Christina Najarian ’12, Gregory Najarian ’16, Magda Najarian, and Dr. Lawrence Najarian (Parents ’12 ’16). [ 8 ] Mike Carr ’16, Jamie Barker ’16, Brandon Beckford ’16, and Nick Matukaitis ’16.

[ 9 ] Nia Gooding ’16, Ursula Dedekind ’16, Caroline Terens ’16, Sonali Mehta ’16, Olivia Sartorius ’16, and Erin Dugan ’16. [ 10 ] Front row:

Theresa Zola, Aidan Zola ’16, Walt Zola, Sr., Abbie Zola P ’13, ’16, and Irene Conklin. Back row: Andrew Zola ’13 and Walt Zola P ’13, ’16. [ 11 ] Amy Stein P ’16, ’19, Dylan Stein ’19, Jon Stein P ’16, ’19, Sydney Stein ’16, Diana Schulz, and Walter Schulz (GP ’16, ’19).

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The Cyril and Beatrice Baldwin Pingry Family Citizen of the Year Award Kathleen M. Hugin P ’11, ’13 and Stephan F. Newhouse ’65, P ’95, ’97, ’99, co-chairs of Pingry’s Blueprint for the Future Campaign, received The Cyril and Beatrice Baldwin Pingry Family Citizen of the Year Award, given to members of the Pingry family who, in rendering meritorious service to the community, have demonstrated those qualities of responsible citizenship that Pingry aspires to instill in all of those associated with the School. “Over the past six years, they have championed Pingry’s largest-ever fundraising effort,” said Board of Trustees Chair Jeffrey N. Edwards ‘78, P ‘12, ‘14, ‘18, commending them for their leadership, perseverance, and dedication. Mrs. Hugin began her service to Pingry in 2001 as an annual fund volunteer and became increasingly involved with the School as a member of the Board of Trustees and as co-chair of the Campaign. Referencing Mrs. Hugin’s other experiences in nonprofit leadership, specifically her positions on the boards of Georgetown University, the Ethics Institute at Kent Place School, and the Atlantic Health System, Mr. Edwards said, “Kathy works tirelessly in the service of others… but what speaks even more to the quality of her leadership is her humility. She leads fearlessly and without pretense, and this genuineness has inspired many to follow her lead and contribute time and treasure to Pingry.” He then described Mr. Newhouse’s championship spirit over his collective 30 years of board service to Pingry. “One need only glance at the 1965 Blue Book to conclude that Steve has been, is, and always will be a champion,” Mr. Edwards said. “He has succeeded again and again, and has done so thanks to his perseverance. That perseverance also translates to success for Pingry. Steve leaves no stone unturned in raising support from others.” Mrs. Hugin’s and Mr. Newhouse’s numerous contributions to Pingry will help ensure that students and faculty can look ahead to an even brighter future.

SUMMER 2016

“Cheers to us, the Class of 2016…I wish you all the very best, and a lifetime full of successes, as I know you will all do so well. Cheers to the past, these wonderful four years that were way too short, and cheers to our future. Salud.”

Student Body President Holly Butrico ’16 13

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Magistri Laudandi Award and The Class of 1902 Emblem Award

Katie Coyne ’16—Magistri Laudandi Award, for being the student who champions the greater good and cares the most about helping all succeed.

TanTan Wang ’16—The Class of 1902 Emblem Award, for having the greatest amount of school spirit.

Commencement 2016 [ 12 ] Lower School science teacher Heather Smith-Willis P ’16, Lloyd Willis ’16, Alexa Buckley ’16, and Lower School math teacher Kennedy Buckley P ’16. [ 13 ] Mark Shtrakhman ’16, Upper School English teacher Tom Keating, and Darina Shtrakhman ’08. [ 14 ] Ramesh Chokshi, Vijya Chokshi (GP ’16, ’19), Alpesh Chokshi P ’16, ’19, Kiran Chokshi ’16, Alpa Chokshi P ’16, ’19, Alisa Chokshi ’19, Jack Desai, Hansa Desai (GP ’16, ’19), and Jay Chokshi. [ 15 ] Emily Kwon ’16 and Keileh Atulomah ’16. [ 16 ] Matthew Newman ’16.

SUMMER 2016

Commencement 2016 [ 17 ] Legacy Families (members of the Class of 2016 with family members who also graduated from Pingry): Front row: Karen (Schatman) Benton ’81, P ’16, ’22, Hannah Benton ’16, John Zanelli ’16, and Bart Zanelli, Jr. ’80, P ’16, ’17, ’20. Middle row: Dr. Warren Radcliffe, Jr. ’49, Reid Quigley ’16, Caroline Kellogg ’16, and Kirk Kellogg ’87, P ’16. Back row: Dr. Matthew Chow ’81, P ’13, ’16, Kevin Chow ’16, Brandon Chow ’13, Tom Witte ’83, P ’13, ’16, Chris Witte ’16, and Nicole Witte ’13. [ 18 ] 13-Year Club (also known as “Lifers,” members of the Class of 2016 who attended Pingry since Kindergarten): Front row: Julia Axtell, Justin Chae, Ursula Dedekind, Jackson Artis, Alexa Buckley, Gillian LaGorce, and John Casey. Back row: James Barker, Mark Shtrakhman, Thomas Zusi, Lloyd Willis, Jacob Robinson, and Chris Witte.

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Stifel Award Presented to Will DiGrande ’17 A presence in Pingry’s Upper School, Will DiGrande ’17 is the manager of the wrestling team, a former member of the tennis team, a member of Student Government (president of his freshman class and will be Senior Class President for 2016-17), and a two-time winner of Pingry’s Citizenship Prize. He is also a leader on the Quiz Bowl Team. “You don’t want to challenge him on any geography questions,” Spanish teacher Margi Dillon P ’17, ’18, ’20 told Middle and Upper School students at this year’s Stifel Award ceremony on April 20. “He will crush you like a bug!” Will is the 2016 recipient of the Henry G. Stifel III Award, established in 1984 to “be awarded to the person who best exemplifies those characteristics exhibited by Henry G. Stifel III ’83 in the aftermath of his accident and spinal injury: courage, endurance, optimism, compassion, and spirit.” Mr. Stifel was paralyzed in an automobile accident during his junior year at Pingry and returns to the Basking Ridge Campus for each presentation of the award. He is vice chair of the board of directors of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation (originally the Stifel Paralysis Research Foundation, founded by Mr. Stifel’s late father), dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information, and advocacy. Ms. Dillon explained that, when Will was born, his ribs were fused, he was missing his right kidney, and he had congenital scoliosis, resulting in an 80-degree curvature of his spine. The curve caused a condition called thorax insufficiency syndrome, meaning “the space inside the area of the skeleton that houses the heart and lungs—the thorax—becomes too small to contain the growing organs.” As an infant, Will had vertical, expandable prosthetic ribs implanted to make room and protect the organs inside his thorax. Over Will’s 17 years, he has had 34 surgeries to either expand the devices or replace them with larger ones; the surgeries will continue until his spine stops growing, probably between the ages of 18 and 19. He also wears a platform shoe with a brace inside it—a result of his

“Our common parallel is that we come from families and communities who give support when needed, but also give us space to thrive.”

Henry G. Stifel III ’83

spine being nicked during his first surgery. The spinal cord injury resulted in slower growth and weakness in the right leg, so that leg became shorter and weaker than his left, and the shoe keeps him level. “Will smiles at all he meets in the hallways and never complains about his own physical struggles. He is a dear friend to many of you, both in and out of the classroom,” Ms. Dillon said. In his remarks, Mr. Stifel acknowledged Will’s character, humility, and grace

Henry G. Stifel III ’83 and Will DiGrande ’17.

while commenting on how the Pingry community supported him after his own accident. “I don’t know what you’ve gone through, Will,” Mr. Stifel said, “but I do think our common parallel is that we come from families and communities who give support when needed, but also give us space to thrive.” Mr. Stifel reminded students that those experiencing struggles want to do more than overcome them— they want to continue being able to follow their individual dreams. That determination requires remarkable personal strength, but it also requires a community like Pingry that is willing to lend some help despite the unknowns: “A community does have a choice whether it will support a person with a physical or psychological need.” In Mr. Stifel’s opinion, Pingry makes that choice every day. Mr. Stifel, who completed all 13 years of school at Pingry (including four years at Short Hills Country Day School, where he entered pre-Kindergarten in 1970), works in Manhattan for Morgan Stanley. SUMMER 2016

Performing at Your Best Under Stress

Cognitive Scientist Dr. Sian Beilock Delivers Carver Memorial Lecture Since she was a young girl, Dr. Sian Beilock has wondered what causes people to “shine” in some moments and fail in others, especially the moments that matter most.

Takeaways for Classrooms and Counseling Pingry Counselors Dr. Mikaela Kilker and Dr. Perry Bell agree that Dr. Beilock’s talk resonated with the community, and have sought to incorporate her research and advice into student and family discussions. Takeaways from the Carver Lecture consistently surface in class and in the counselors’ work with the School community.

It is a question with high stakes. Dr. Beilock, a cognitive scientist, professor of psychology at The University of Chicago, and author, has built a career around the investigation of what happens, neurologically speaking, “when we sail and…when we fail.” Visiting Pingry on February 26 to deliver The Gilbert Harry Carver ’79 Memorial Lecture, Dr. Beilock discussed her findings and suggested how students might consistently perform to their fullest potential. She even spent some time explaining why brain imaging is important. “The brain changes as we learn and perform,” Dr. Beilock said, citing a study of London cab drivers who, before the era of GPS, had to memorize all the streets in the city. Viewing the drivers’ brains using MRIs, researchers noticed that their hippocampus, where spatial recognition occurs, was larger and had more neural connections than the average. The takeaway? Repetition and practice not only help us learn, but also change the structure of our brains. Dr. Beilock offered six practical ways students could use these findings to improve their academic, athletic, and artistic performances:

1: When practicing or studying, test yourself. Self-administering tests allows us to fill knowledge gaps more effectively than reading over notes or highlighting passages of text.

2: Think about why you will perform well. Do not dwell on past or potential mistakes. Instead, focus on specific reasons why you will succeed at a particular task. 50

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• Grade 6 Emotional Intelligence:

Dr. Kilker asks students to recall Dr. Beilock’s emphasis on observing facial expression and body language to recognize others’ feelings and to be more aware of their own emotions.

Dr. Sian Beilock, a cognitive scientist, professor of psychology at The University of Chicago, and author.

3: Take a break and step back (perhaps into nature). Attention span is like a muscle that can weaken with overuse. Nature provides rest to the brain, improving its function. Even if students cannot regularly “escape” into nature, they can avoid forms of stimulation (such as music or cellular devices) while studying or practicing.

4: Posture matters. Our bodies send signals to our brains; positive posture can yield positive performance.

5: Journal. When “what-if” thoughts invade our mind, they divide our attention. Fears and anxieties can weaken our performances. Writing down our thoughts— “downloading” our apprehensions onto paper—can clear our minds to focus.

6: When practicing, simulate performance conditions. People need to practice under the kinds of conditions in which they will perform. If practicing for a speech, try to practice in front of an audience of

• Middle School Town Halls:

Dr. Kilker reiterates Dr. Beilock’s strategies to deliver stress intervention to the entire Middle School student body, especially leading up to final exams.

• Grade 9 Stress Management:

Dr. Bell’s students often discuss how they are employing “cognitive downloading”—writing down their thoughts to clear their heads and cultivate a positive outlook—to prepare themselves for the classroom, stage, or playing field.

family members or friends. If studying for a test, create a sample test and take it at a desk in a quiet room. The goal is to narrow the gap between practice and performance. The Gilbert Harry Carver ’79 Memorial Fund was established in memory of Gilbert Carver ’79 by his father Calvin and stepmother June Carver, his sister Marcey Carver, his brother Chip Carver, Jr. ’77, and Chip’s wife Anne DeLaney ’79. This fund supports open dialogue on self-esteem and acceptance and, thanks to its supporters, will continue in perpetuity.

Interpretations of Honor What do you see in the image on the far right? Director of Middle School Athletics Gerry Vanasse P ’14, ’20 sees a graphic depiction of the concept of honor. The letters are scrambled. The word “honor” is sometimes not spelled in sequence. Some of the letters are fuzzy. “What does honor mean?” he asks. “It can be elusive. We can get it wrong at times. It’s a lifelong endeavor.” Applying the word to athletics, Mr. Vanasse identifies related character traits such as resilience, responsibility, and preparedness. How is honor demonstrated in practice and competitions? Moreover, how is honor demonstrated in life? Dr. Jon Sarkin ’71, the image’s painter, agrees with the elusiveness of honor. In creating the painting, he also wanted to suggest a representation of the mind. “That’s how the brain works. It makes patterns. It’s like Scrabble—which word can you make from the letters?” He also believes the painting represents the power of taking an indirect, metaphoric approach to a common subject. “It’s prosaic versus poetic, like a politician who quotes Shakespeare in a speech.” This “Honor” painting owes its origins to the image on its left, which Dr. Sarkin sketched while the band Guster played at Pingry in March 2012 as part of the School’s 150th Anniversary celebration, and which now hangs in Mr. Vanasse’s office. Looking at that painting, Mr. Vanasse saw a metaphor for the type of student Pingry seeks to develop—well-rounded,

vibrant, energetic, and multi-layered, with honor and excellence at the core. He shared his interpretation with parents at Back-to-School Nights in 2014 and 2015 and does the same with new coaches. “It’s cool that the painting was transformed into a teaching tool,” Dr. Sarkin says. “That wasn’t my intention, but you never know how art will be interpreted or used.” His intention was much simpler: to capture the contrast and intensity of three combinations of complementary colors. Mr. Vanasse was so taken with that original painting that he asked Dr. Sarkin to add words and quotes, but Dr. Sarkin believed the painting was “perfectly symmetrical and perfect as is.” Instead, Dr. Sarkin told Mr. Vanasse that he would create a new painting just for him—and surprised him with the “Honor” painting. Appropriately, Mr. Vanasse adapted this new painting as a teachable moment,

The Honor Code, Family Style Last fall, new second-grade student Frank Piracci ’26 pointed out to his parents that Pingry’s Honor Code had not been adopted at home, a somewhat unexpected observation.

“When we applied to Pingry,” says Frank’s mother Jamila Piracci P ’26, “we were pleased that the values of the School were consistent with our family’s values.” Mrs. Piracci and her husband Michael have always explained to their children the importance of responsibilities and required behavior. But having to give reminders made them wonder if the children were focused on momentary

directions rather than the underlying ethical principles—in other words, not fully understanding the connection between their household values and Pingry’s Honor Code. Indeed, Frank’s (technically accurate) comment prompted Mrs. Piracci to explain that “Pingry’s Honor Code reflects the same standards that we have.” Since it was apparent that the children had not connected their parents’ guidance to a broader set of household ethics akin to Pingry’s Honor Code, Mr. Piracci suggested that the children create a Family Honor Code. Frank and his sister did so, and all four family members

asking Middle School students to write down, on a poster outside his office, words that signify “honor” to them. Inspired by learning basketball in Grade 6 P.E., Israel Billups ’22, who kept missing baskets during shooting practice and made only one of her shots, contributed “resilience.” Israel also wrote “persistence” after watching a video of the 2008 Big 10 Indoor Track Championships: one minute into the women’s 600-meter race (after the second of three laps), the University of Minnesota’s Heather Dorniden fell, but immediately got up, made up lost ground during the final lap, and won the race. “You don’t lay there, feeling sorry for yourself,” Mr. Vanasse observes. “You don’t think about the crowd or your coach. You get back up and keep going.”

signed it, agreeing to statements such as “Tell the truth,” “Don’t interrupt,” and “Forgive each other, and expect the best.” “Our Honor Code has been great for establishing responsibilities and expectations and giving us a tool for rational, calm conversations,” Mrs. Piracci says. “Everyone in the family is accountable to the same standards.” Another benefit of the Family Honor Code is that Frank and his sister know what to do if guests do not follow the Piracci family’s honor code. “Not everyone shares the same values,” Mr. and Mrs. Piracci have told them, ”but you have to live up to yours.” SUMMER 2016

A Meeting of Minds

Today’s Students Use Science to Tackle Tomorrow’s Problems “Too often, students are asked to engage in the products of science, but not the process,” said Dr. Colleen Kirkhart at Pingry’s 2016 Science Research Exhibit on April 16. The exhibit made it clear that Pingry students are constantly immersed in the process of science by showcasing a variety of classes and hands-on, student-led projects and programs. In some cases, participants engaged in the scientific process themselves.

“There is a place here at Pingry for every person who wants to fix the world through science.”

Exhibit Organizer Luke De

“I was really struck by the atmosphere of curiosity. It wasn’t just parents who came out to support the speakers on a Saturday; it was friends and people from the community.”

Yelena Salvador ’17

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Pingry Research AP Biology Master Projects

Students complete research projects from the initial idea to presentation of a scientific poster

Computer Science

Projects cover a range of topics, including programming languages, artificial intelligence, web development, and game design 6

A Meeting of Minds [ 1 ] Then-Coordinator of Research and Exhibit Organizer Luke De addressing and thanking nearly 250 guests. [ 2 ] Katie Coyne ’16 delivering a keynote speech about the effects of reward-based (appetitive) and punishment-based (aversive) learning, questioning whether one should be valued over the other. [ 3 ] Kiara

Smith ’17 showing a young guest how to use a pipette to prepare for gel electrophoresis, a lab method used to separate mixtures of DNA, RNA, or proteins according to molecular size. [ 4 ] Nic Carrion ’16 showing Mark Bigos ’79, P ’22 an agarose gel on a UV light. The light helps the viewer identify DNA samples that were loaded before running the gel. [ 5 ] Shruti Sagar ’18 teaching her brother Sumant Sagar ’21 how to “flip the flies,” a technique that enables students to take care of the flies that are used in experiments. Every few weeks, students transfer fruit flies from old vials to new vials that contain fresh food. [ 6 ] Jared Lefkort ’18 discussing with Omar Khan P ’18, ’23 a poster that he made for the Journal Club exhibit, summarizing his Journal Club presentation about using a protein from malaria to treat cancer. Behind Jared are just a few of the scientific articles that have been discussed at Journal Club’s meetings. [ 7 ] Sydney Stein ’16 delivering a keynote speech about mankind’s quest for immortality, urging the audience to consider the potential setbacks of living forever. [ 8 ] Guests interacting with the robot that the Robotics team designed for last fall’s FTC Competition. In the tournament, the robot moved the orange cubes and white balls to designated areas to earn points, but the robot’s primary objective was to hang from a bar. [ 9 ] Mitchell Pavlak ’18, Ms. Emily Glatter (Dr. Kirkhart’s wife), Michael Logerfo and Kathleen Logerfo (Parents ’10, ’11), and Saxon Scott ’18. Saxon is explaining how students examine flies using the microscope. [ 10 ] Avni Memani ’16 explaining her iRT project to Dr. Yong Kwon P ’07, 10, ’16. Avni led a project that used fruit flies to research the genetic basis of Alzheimer’s disease.

iRT (Independent Research Team)

Individual teams conduct novel research—often working in conjunction with different universities and research institutions—with older students mentoring younger students

Journal Club

Every Thursday at 7:30 a.m., students present and discuss articles published in scientific journals

Mechanisms of Cancer

This biology class uses the disease of cancer as a context in which to explain molecular biology

Middle School Science Olympiad Team

A Middle School club that meets—and competes—regularly to tackle questions of biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, technology, and engineering

The Pingry Community Research (PCR) Journal

A publication highlighting the students’ scientific research; students are responsible for all aspects of publishing

Project 80

A student organization that says its goal is “to bring science to the masses” by researching misconceptions, controversies, and interesting news

Research Class

Students learn molecular biology techniques while completing a year-long project and gaining experience with scientific literature 8

Robotics Team

Students use mechanical, electrical, and programming skills to design and build a robot and compete against other regional teams

S.M.A.R.T. Team (Students Modeling a Research Topic)

Students design and construct a physical model of a protein that is being investigated in a researcher’s laboratory

SUMMER 2016

Happy “Year of the Monkey”

Chinese teacher Yi Hao P ’11, ’13 demonstrating the Lunar New Year greeting.

Purple Swans Dance Troop Chinese folk dances are the specialty of the Purple Swans Dance Troop (founded in October 2014 by dance professionals and enthusiasts, including Pingry parents). At Pingry, they treated the audience to “Celebrating the Prosperous New Year with Boundless Joy,” a Lunar New Year dance that portrays a traditional celebration by Han Chinese, the largest ethnic group in China. The Yangko dress, worn by the dancers, originates in northeastern China. According to Purple Swans lead dancer Dr. Lei Chen P ’20, “Red and green are the two main colors of the dress—red representing joy and good luck in Chinese tradition, and green symbolizing life and people’s best hopes for the harvest. Various accessories, including the headdress flowers, the fabric hanging from the belt, the fans, and the colorful ribbons, make the dancers’ figures more plentiful and provide them different characteristics for the expression of their inner joie de vivre and happiness.” 54

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“The Lunar New Year is celebrated by many countries in Asia, including China, Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It is also celebrated in other countries by those of Asian descent…as a way to connect with their roots and come together as a community. However, above all, it is a festival for family,” said Megan Pan ’18, who emceed Pingry’s fourth annual Lunar New Year Celebration, a program of music, stand-up comedy, and dancing. For this assembly and Pingry’s general celebrations of the Lunar New Year, the School brought in three guest artists: the Purple Swans Dance Troop, comedian Jesse Appell, and paper cutting folk artist Xin Song.

Jesse Appell: Chinese Comedy A freelance comedian who spends about 10 months each year in China, Mr. Appell performed during the Lunar New Year Celebration and presented a seminar for students taking Chinese. He spoke mostly about the art of Xiangsheng, or Cross Talk, a traditional Chinese comedic performance that features a bantering exchange between two people. It requires four main skills: Shuo (speaking), speaking flamboyantly to draw in the audience; Xue (imitating), playing a character; Dou (joking), using a trick such as a pun to make people laugh; and Chang (singing), a routine added to comedy. “The tools in Chinese comedy are similar to what comedians use in the U.S., but the frequency with which you use them is a little different,” Mr. Appell says. For example, too many puns will elicit groans from an American audience, whereas “the Chinese language lends itself to

Jesse Appell performing a comedy routine, wearing a Da Gua (Big Robe), the traditional garment for performances of Xiangsheng (Cross Talk). He says it is “the sort of clothing an educated person might have worn during the late Qing dynasty (mid-late 1800s).”

puns, so those audiences are used to it.” Similarly, topics in Chinese comedy are much the same as in U.S. comedy, but the limits for talking about some of these subjects are different. “Political humor in China is challenging because audiences don’t like hearing people talk about politics directly. They love hearing talk about politics. You have to find a subtle way around it. I’m trying to find the line of

The Middle School Drum Team, led by Upper School math teacher Chris Leone, performing Chinese Lion Dance Drumming.

Violinist Rebecca Lin ’18 and cellist Ethan Chung ’18 playing “Arirang,” a Korean folk song often considered Korea’s unofficial national anthem.

what I can say about many topics, especially as a foreigner.” More than once in conversation, Mr. Appell describes comedy in the U.S. and China as “so different, yet exactly the same.”

Xin Song: Chinese Paper Cutting Ms. Song amazed Pingry visual arts students with this tradition that began in the wintry Chinese countryside and evolved to become celebratory throughout the year. The basics: fold a piece of paper in half, start cutting… fold and cut…fold within folds! The incredible part is that anyone can make these designs as ornate as desired. As Ms. Song says, “You can cut forever— there’s so much space!” Students made designs on paper of one color and used paper of a different color as background. One seventh-grade student said that paper cutting “feels so free!”

Students creating their own Chinese paper cuts, with Xin Song’s guidance.

Lower School festivities for the Lunar New Year included a dragon parade by Kindergarten students (left) and the creation of paper lanterns (right).

SUMMER 2016

Uncovering the Inner Artist in the Early Years Just like having a presumed aversion to math or world languages, many students can be convinced that they lack artistic skill. But Lower School art teacher Lindsay Baydin P ‘26, who begins working with many students when they are in Kindergarten, would disagree, saying that attitude is key. “You’re not really born with the talent of being an artist. You learn,” she says, suspecting that many people have a misconception of the process. “I don’t believe that art is all about being ‘beautiful.’ It’s not about making pretty pictures. It’s about ideas, risks, experimenting, problem solving, and thinking outside the box. Art doesn’t look any one way.” In Mrs. Baydin’s art room, students acquire basic skills, learn about artists from different cultures and time periods, and work on projects that are designed to have multiple “exit” points (there are no “single answers” for the assignments, so students learn that there is no “right” way for art to appear). In short, her goals are to help students discover their inner artist and build the confidence to express themselves.

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Perhaps most importantly, Mrs. Baydin firmly believes that “student artwork should be displayed and discussed.” Visitors to the Lower School know that statement is not only a philosophy—it is common practice. Hallways are filled with those displays, ranging from Chinese brush paintings to West-African masks to a polar bear made from recyclable plastic containers. Some of these projects represent collaborations between the art studio and the regular classroom.

Chuck Close-Style Self-Portraits (Grade 5): Students painted self-portraits inspired by world-famous artist Chuck Close, known for superimposing grids over photographs to transform the photos into large-scale paintings on canvas. This process addresses the challenge of painting a human portrait with likeness—by painting one square of the grid at a time, Mr. Close broke down the portrait into manageable pieces. The students followed his technique and painted incredibly realistic self-portraits.

“We’re really, really big on collaboration,” Mrs. Baydin states. “It’s our philosophy not just to illustrate other teachers’ curricula, but to make sure there’s an artistic reason for doing the project—that the project supports the arts and gives students something they need to know as artists, whether that means teaching a particular skill or [teaching them about] an artist.” Combinations such as science/ art or math/art enable students to synthesize or be innovative with content from different sources. Of course, talking about science, math, and art means talking about STEAM

(Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics), which has been incorporated into the art studio’s official name, STEAM Art Studio. “STEAM draws attention to the value and importance of the arts, creative thinking, and idea generation,” Mrs. Baydin says. “Basically, it helps to explain that the arts are essential for problem solving because you need the skill set of an artist’s mind. As the daughter of an engineer and a nurse, I know that the ‘artist’s brain’ is similar to the ‘scientist’s brain’ in terms of making observations and working with the hands. With so much technology, there’s a lack of emphasis on doing things with your hands, and it’s critical not to lose those skills, even if technology is integrated into art.” For example, as this winter’s Kindergarten STEAM project, students engaged in a complex design process using recyclable materials, a variety of measuring and graphic techniques, and sculpture skills to build “Snowball Savers,” devices intended to prevent snowballs from melting indoors.

Polar Bear (Grade 2): During their studies of Alaska, students built this polar bear from recyclable materials—milk and juice containers—and added white bottle caps to help make the surface appear more uniform.

While laying the foundation with fundamental art-making skills, which allow students to communicate their visual messages with clarity, Mrs. Baydin offers assurance that uncertainty is a normal part of the artistic process: “It’s okay not to know what the end result will be. It will materialize.”

Georgia O’Keeffe State Flower Drawings (Grade 3): In the spirit of Georgia O’Keeffe’s observational paintings of flowers, students used oil pastels to create zoomed-in drawings. In addition to learning about the life of this American artist, students learned color theory, how to draw from observation, and how to use negative space (the green area in the top right drawing, for example) to enlarge an image within that space.

Yarn-Bombing (Grade 4): In this form of public art, artists transform everyday objects such as trees or abandoned bicycles into colorful expressions by wrapping them with removable yarn or crocheted coverings. Using brightly-colored yarn, students collaborated to wrap fallen branches found on Pingry’s property, thereby learning about art’s transformative potential.

West-African Masks (Grade 1): As part of their social studies lessons about Africa, students used recyclable, hand-painted cardboard to create artwork inspired by mask-making techniques of West African countries. They studied the work of traditional and contemporary artists who used readily-available materials, such as old shoes and metal bottle caps. Students learned 3-D building skills (principles of weight, balance, and engineering) and how to choose materials that fit together.

Body-Tracings Mural (Kindergarten): Mrs. Baydin suggested that students use their bodies as a means for generating imagery. Students engaged in a kinesthetic task, tracing each other’s bodies while laying down in “action” or “gestural” poses. Teachers painted over the pencil lines with black paint to create the contours, and students carefully painted within each shape. They learned how to trace forms and shapes and be thoughtful about using paint to enhance that line work—important skills for little hands that are developing fine motor skills. This image represents two of the project’s eight canvases.

SUMMER 2016

Faculty and Staff News Director of Athletics and Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach Carter Abbott was quoted in a New York Times article (March 6) about the lack of protective headgear in girls’ lacrosse nationwide, compared with boys’ lacrosse. Even though girls play with different rules, they can still be injured. As the article points out, “There has never been a standardized, certified headgear designed for girls’ lacrosse and endorsed by the sport’s governing body, U.S. Lacrosse. That will soon change with new, regulated headgear set to appear in stores. If sales take off, the headgear, which is approved by U.S. Lacrosse, could alter the landscape of girls’ and women’s lacrosse forever.” According to the article, some coaches and officials are concerned that headgear would lead to more aggressive playing, but Coach Abbott said, “Our game is not going to change because the rules aren’t going to change. Headgear or no headgear, it’s about training coaches to teach the game the right way. It’s about educational programs for game officials.” –––––––––––––

Steve Droste P ’25.

Boys’ Varsity Swimming Head Coach Steve Droste P ’25 was named 2015 NFHS “Swim Coach of the Year” at the state level for exemplifying the highest standards of sportsmanship, ethical conduct, and moral character. In 1998, he began assisting legendary boys’ swimming coach and 2014 Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Bill Reichle. Fourteen years later, when Coach Reichle retired, Coach Droste assumed the position of 58

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Head Coach. That same year, he was named Somerset County “Coach of the Year.” In his nearly 20 years with the team, he has coached nearly 30 athletes who have gone on to swim at top Division I and III schools, as well as four individual state champions, and led the team to nine consecutive NJSIAA NonPublic “B” state titles. The pinnace of any coach’s career, he has also trained two Olympic hopefuls—this July, Coach Droste travels to Omaha to cheer on Nic Fink ’11 (former University of Georgia swimmer) and Sebastian Lutz ’15 (Harvard) as they compete in USA Swimming’s Olympic Trials. ––––––––––––– Middle School visual arts teacher Jane Kunzman exhibited 25 watercolor and gouache (opaque watercolor) paintings in March at the Shimon and Sara Birnbaum Jewish Community Center in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The exhibit included a number of series: large-scale fruits, vegetables, and eggs; hand-lettered Hebrew texts incorporated into paintings; hand-painted Hebrew prayers selected from Ms. Kunzman’s favorite Shabbat prayers; six journal pages from Vermont, where she used to live; and a graphic design series titled “in my STUDIO.” ––––––––––––– Middle School history teacher and Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach Mike Webster P ’24, ’27, ’27 was inducted into his high school’s Athletic Hall of Fame on February 6—amazingly, lacrosse did not even factor into his induction. A 1983 graduate of La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana, Coach Webster was honored for his commitment, achievement, and sportsmanship in football, wrestling, and spring track. At the time of Coach Webster’s enrollment, La Lumiere did not offer lacrosse, so a sport that Coach Webster had begun to play as a boy in Maryland (and one in which he would earn two NCAA championships at Johns Hopkins University) was put on the backburner when he

Mike Webster P ’24, ’27, ’27 with his favorite history teacher and football coach from La Lumiere School, Chris Balawender. Coach Webster thanked him for great memories and lessons, which he still carries with him as a Big Blue coach—“he told us to be your best on all occasions, take pride in effort, and aim high.”

relocated with his family to Indiana before the start of high school. Even though his lacrosse talents were temporarily sidelined, his athleticism in other areas blossomed. He was a three-year starter on their football team, a four-year starter and two-time captain on their wrestling team, and a four-year outdoor track letter winner and senior captain. –––––––––––––

Full STEAM Ahead—and Abroad! This spring, teachers on the Short Hills Campus led second-grade classes in an eight-week pilot program aimed at tackling STEAM-related projects through weekly video exchanges with students from across the globe. Pingry worked with Level Up Village, a company that provides comprehensive enrichment courses by partnering K-9 students in the U.S. with students in developing countries. Mary Ogden’s and Sara Berg’s classes partnered with schools in Ghana and Lagos, Nigeria, respectively, while Sally Dugan’s class connected with a school in Brazil. The program may expand to include additional grades in the Lower School.

NFHS—National Federation of High Schools NJSIAA—New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association STEAM—Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics

Athletics

BIG BLUE ROUNDUP Winter 2015-16

Boys’ Basketball: 12-10

Girls’ Basketball: 13-13

Skyland Conference: 2nd place Skyland Conference All-Conference/Mountain Division: Drew Gagnon, Mike Weber, Ryan Lane (1st team)

Skyland Conference: 4th place Skyland Conference All-Conference/Valley Division: Megan Horn (2nd team)

Drew Gagnon ’16 Reaches 1,000 Career Points

Boys’ Fencing: 11-4 Cetrulo Tournament: 13th (sabre), 20th (foil), 47th (épée) NJSIAA District #3 Championships: 4th (sabre), 5th (foil), 7th (épée) NJSIAA District #3 Individuals: Apurva Memani (3rd, foil), Malcolm Fields (4th, sabre) Somerset County Tournament: Brad Hong (1st, foil), Apurva Memani (2nd, foil), Malcolm Fields (2nd, sabre), Graham Matthews (5th, épée) SCIAA: Malcolm Fields (1st team, sabre), Apurva Memani (2nd team, foil), Michael Sun (2nd team, sabre) NJSIAA Individual: Malcolm Fields (10th, sabre) Skyland Conference All-Conference: Malcolm Fields (1st team, sabre), Michael Sun (2nd team, boys sabre), Apurva Memani (2nd team, foil)

Girls’ Fencing: 9-6 Entering the final home basketball game of his senior year, captain Drew Gagnon, a four-year varsity starter, twice named to the AllConference First Team, was 11 points shy of an enviable feat for any high school player: 1,000 points. And it was the team’s Senior Night (each of the five senior players was recognized in a brief ceremony preceding the game). If he achieved the mark, he would be only the second player in Head Coach Jason Murdock’s nine-year tenure to have reached 1,000 points (Jeff Tannenbaum ’08, Pingry’s all-time points leader with 1,600, was the first). The 1,000th point came in a definitive third-quarter slam dunk. Play paused, and teammates rallied around Drew, unfurling a celebratory banner and presenting him with a commemorative basketball, painted blue and white with his name and year on it, thanks to the handiwork of visual arts teacher Rebecca Sullivan. “It was obviously something that was in the back of my mind, but…I really had no idea exactly how close I was,” Drew said. “To score my 1,000th point in front of such a great crowd at home on Senior Night was incredible. It was unreal to see my peers, teachers, and teammates react the way they did.”

NJSIAA District #3 Championships: 10th (sabre), 6th (foil), 3rd (épée) NJSIAA District #3 Individuals: Katie Vella (2nd, épée), Aubrey Molloy (4th, foil), Rebecca Lin (8th, épée), Jessica Li (9th, sabre) Somerset County Tournament: Katie Vella (2nd, épée) SCIAA: Katie Vella (1st team, épée), Aubrey Molloy (2nd team, foil) NJIFA: Katie Vella (1st team, épée) NJSIAA Individual: Katie Vella (5th, épée), Aubrey Molloy (14th, foil) Skyland Conference All-Conference: Aubrey Molloy (1st team, foil), Katie Vella (1st team, épée)

Boys’ Ice Hockey: 5-10-7 Skyland Conference: 7th place Skyland Cup Championship: Semifinalists Skyland Conference All-Conference/Delaware Division: Chris Browne (1st team), Max Cummings (Honorable Mention)

Girls’ Ice Hockey: 2-17 WIHLMA All-League: Abigail Ren (Honorable Mention) WIHLMA All-Academic: Josie Cummings, Abigail Ren (1st team), Eliza Kielty (Honorable Mention) Joei Drozjock was voted “Best Sophomore Girls’ Ice Hockey Playmaker” in a fan poll on NJ.com.

Boys’ Ski Racing: 5-45 GS1 (1st Giant Slalom): 8th place GS2 (2nd Giant Slalom): 8th place GS3 (3rd Giant Slalom): 9th place SL1 (1st Slalom Meet): 10th place SL2 (2nd Slalom Meet): 8th place SL3 (3rd Slalom Meet): 7th place SUMMER 2016

Girls’ Ski Racing: 22-26

Boys’ Swimming: 6-4

Dual Slalom: 1st place Girls’ Slalom Dual Invitational: Annie Leithead placed 1st GS1 (1st Giant Slalom): 6th place GS2 (2nd Giant Slalom): 6th place GS3 (3rd Giant Slalom): 4th place SL1 (1st Slalom Meet): 4th place SL2 (2nd Slalom Meet): 5th place SL3 (3rd Slalom Meet): 5th place Star-Ledger All-State: Lindsey Hogan, Grace Wollmuth (Honorable Mentions)

Boys’ Squash: 9-6

The 2015-16 State Champion Boys’ Varsity Swimming Team with coaches Steve Droste P ’25, Judy Lee, and Judy Brown.

US SQUASH High School Team Championships: 16th New Jersey State High School Championships: Krish Bhavnani won the Boys’ Division, giving Pingry five consecutive individual titles. Chris Zachary was a finalist. US SQUASH Regional Championships: Krish Bhavnani won the Boys’ U17 Division.

NJSIAA Non-Public B: State Champions—ninth consecutive year and 12th overall championship. The team defeated St. Rose 129-41, winning 10 of 11 events, including all three relays. Pingry is the fourth program in state history to win nine consecutive state titles. • 200 IM: Sean Tan • 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke: Leighton Mayers • 100 breaststroke: Matt Zeikel • 50 freestyle: William Zhang • 100 freestyle: Victor Vollbrechthausen • 500 freestyle: Matt Stanton • 200 medley relay: Sean Tan, Max Sanchez, Leighton Mayers, William Zhang • 200 freestyle relay: Jamie Parker, Matt Stanton, Victor Vollbrechthausen, William Zhang • 400 freestyle relay: Sean Tan, Victor Vollbrechthausen, Matt Zeikel, Leighton Mayers NJSIAA Meet of Champions: 10 finishes in top 16, a Pingry record, including Leighton Mayers and Dillon Shu as the only freshmen in the top 16 in their respective events. NJISAA Prep A: 1st place • 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke: Leighton Mayers • 100 freestyle: Victor Vollbrechthausen • 200 IM: Sean Tan • medley relay: Leighton Mayers, Matt Stanton, Sean Tan, William Zhang • 200 freestyle relay: Matt Stanton, Victor Vollbrechthausen, Jamie Parker, William Zhang • 400 freestyle relay: Leighton Mayers, Sean Tan, Matt Stanton, Victor Vollbrechthausen • Leighton Mayers named “Swimmer of the Meet” Somerset County Championships: 2nd place • 200 medley relay: Leighton Mayers, Matt Zeikel, Sean Tan, William Zhang • 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly: Leighton Mayers Skyland Conference Championships: 2nd place • 100 backstroke: Leighton Mayers • 200 medley relay: Leighton Mayers, Sean Tan, Dillon Shu, William Zhang Skyland Conference All-Conference/Delaware Division: Victor Vollbrechthausen (1st team, 100 freestyle), Leighton Mayers (1st team, 100 back), Leighton Mayers, Matt Zeikel, Sean Tan, William Zhang (1st team, 200 medley relay), William Zhang (2nd team, 50 freestyle), Dillon Shu (2nd team, 100 fly), Sean Tan (2nd team, 200 IM), Victor Vollbrechthausen, Leighton Mayers, Matt Zeikel, William Zhang (2nd team, 200 freestyle relay), Victor Vollbrechthausen, Sean Tan, Matt Zeikel, William Zhang (2nd team, 400 freestyle relay) Leighton Mayers set the Pingry record in the 100 backstroke (58.13)

Girls’ Squash: 9-4 US SQUASH High School Team Championships: 16th New Jersey State High School Championships: Lindsay Stanley won the Girls’ Division.

US SQUASH High School All-Americans There are 39 players on US SQUASH’s nationwide list of 2015-2016 High School All-Americans, and those 39 include two Pingry students: Sam Scherl ’17 (second time in two years) and Lindsay Stanley ’16 (third time in three years). Recipients include the top four ranked players in the Boys and Girls U17, the top eight ranked players in the U19 divisions, and those voted on by leagues and coaches. Lindsay was named an All-American after being voted in by coaches in the NYC High School League (because squash is not under the auspices of NJSIAA, it is a member of the NYC league). Sam was named an All-American as a result of his Boys’ U19 national ranking (he finished the winter season with a #3 national ranking).

Lindsay Stanley ’16 and Coach Ramsay Vehslage Honored at State Banquet Big Blue squash standout and high school All-American Lindsay Stanley ’16 and her coach, Ramsay Vehslage, were recognized at the NNJSRA’s annual awards dinner on April 29. (Coach Vehslage has been a member of the organization’s Board of Trustees for several years.) NNJSRA awarded Lindsay the Junior Achievement Award, given annually to the boy or girl who demonstrates skill and accomplishment, fair play and sportsmanship, and contribution to the sport overall (her teammate Derek Hsue ’14 won in 2013). Coach Vehslage received the Distinguished Service Award for exceptional contributions to NNJSRA and to the sport of squash—specifically, developing Pingry’s program from a small club to a nationallyranked high school team. 60

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Girls’ Swimming: 7-4

Wrestling: 13-6

NJSIAA Non-Public A: Semifinalists NJSIAA Meet of Champions: • 200 freestyle relay: Hollie Hopf, Darlene Fung, Keileh Atulomah, and Ingrid Shu placed 2nd and set a new Pingry record (1:35.74). Most impressively, they automatically qualified for an All-American standard—the first Pingry girls relay team to ever accomplish that feat. • 200 medley relay: Yelena Salvador, Lindsay Rispoli, Darlene Fung, and Keileh Atulomah set the Pingry record (1:50.35). • Ingrid Shu placed fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.53), a Pingry record. • Despite being seeded 35th, Darlene Fung placed 3rd in the 50 freestyle. NJISAA Prep A: 2nd place • 200 freestyle relay: Hollie Hopf, Darlene Fung, Keileh Atulomah, and Ingrid Shu placed 1st and set team, meet, and pool records (1:37.14) • 200 medley relay: Yelena Salvador, Lindsay Rispoli, Hollie Hopf, and Keileh Atulomah set a team record (1:50.48) • Ingrid Shu tied for 1st place in the 100 breaststroke Somerset County Championships: 4th place • 200 freestyle relay: Hollie Hopf, Darlene Fung, Keileh Atulomah, and Ingrid Shu placed 1st and set team, meet, and pool records (1:37.43). Skyland Conference: 3rd place Skyland Conference Championships: 2nd place • 200 freestyle relay: Hollie Hopf, Darlene Fung, Keileh Atulomah, and Ingrid Shu set the meet record (1:38.32) • 400 freestyle relay: Hollie Hopf, Darlene Fung, Naiyah Atulomah, and Ingrid Shu set the meet record (3:34.17) • 100 breaststroke: Ingrid Shu Skyland Conference All-Conference/Delaware Division: Darlene Fung (1st team, 50 freestyle), Ingrid Shu (1st team, 100 breast), Hollie Hopf, Darlene Fung, Keileh Atulomah, Ingrid Shu (1st team, 200 freestyle relay), Hollie Hopf (2nd team, 100 freestyle)

Most dual meet wins known in Pingry history, and most wins since 1984 NJSIAA North Jersey, Non-Public B: Semifinalists Skyland Conference/Valley Division: 3rd place (highest team placement in a conference in program history) Somerset County Tournament: Brandon Spellman (2nd), Aidan Dillon (4th), Francis Dillon (3rd), Brian Miller (4th), Thomas Tarantino (3rd). Five medalists is a Pingry record. Rutgers Prep Tournament: 2nd place (highest team placement in a tournament in program history) District Placewinners: Brandon Spellman (2nd), Thomas Tarantino (2nd), Frankie Dillon (2nd), Aidan Dillon (3rd). Four placewinners is a Pingry record. Skyland Conference All-Conference/Valley Division: Thomas Tarantino (1st team), Brandon Spellman (2nd team), Aidan Dillon (2nd team), Kamal Brown (2nd team), Frankie Dillon (2nd team), Brian Miller (2nd team), Kevin Chow (2nd team)

Boys’ Winter Track Prep Tournament: 6th place James Barker placed 4th in Non-Public B 1,600 Sean Wang placed 5th in Non-Public B 800

Girls’ Winter Track NJSIAA Non-Public B Championships: Julia Dannenbaum placed 1st in pole vault (11'7"), and Sophia Cortazzo placed 2nd in pole vault (10'6"). Somerset County Indoor Championship: 5th place. Julia Dannenbaum set the meet record in pole vault (11'9"), ranked #1 in New Jersey and #13 nationally. Sophia Cortazzo, ranked #2 in New Jersey, pole vaulted 11''0" for 2nd place. Skyland Conference Championships: Julia Dannenbaum placed 1st in pole vault, and Sophia Cortazzo placed 2nd in pole vault. Both girls jumped 11'7". Skyland Conference: 7th place team Prep Tournament: 6th place team NJSIAA Tournament: Tied for 5th place team NJSIAA Meet of Champions: Julia Dannenbaum placed 2nd in pole vault (11'6"). Sophia Cortazzo placed 6th in pole vault (11'). New Balance Championships/Emerging Elite Division: Julia Dannenbaum placed 4th in pole vault (11'7"). Star-Ledger All-Non-Public: Julia Dannenbaum (1st team, pole vault), Sophia Cortazzo (2nd team, pole vault)

Sophia Cortazzo ’16 and Julia Dannenbaum ’17 Raise the Bar For a period last winter, Julia Dannenbaum ’17 and Sophia Cortazzo ’16 were ranked #1 and #2 in New Jersey, respectively, for their uncanny ability to hurl themselves over an 11-foot high bar with a 13-foot long, flexible fiberglass pole. To have one girl who can clear more than 11 feet in high school pole vaulting is impressive; that Pingry had two during 2015-16 is exceptional. At state-level meets, they were each other’s best competition. During the indoor season in January, at Lawrenceville’s Edwin Lavino Relays, the girls placed first with a combined jump of 23' (both cleared 11'6"), setting the meet record. Their next closest competitor vaulted a full foot less. A few weeks later, at the Indoor Non-Public “B” state relay, the pair jumped a combined height of 22' (Julia cleared 11'6" and Sophia, 10'6"), claiming the state title and setting a new meet record. In most regular season meets, Julia and Sophia generally entered competitions when the bar was 10 feet high, long after most of their competition had been eliminated. The duo had to wait for the bigger meets, like the prestigious New Balance Indoor Nationals, to which they both earned invitations last March, to test themselves. (There, at the Armory in New York City, Julia jumped 11'7", placing third in the Emerging Elite division, out of a pool of pole vaulting high schoolers from across the country.) The outdoor track & field season brings its own set of goals and challenges, notably the addition of weather—and wind!—variables. The girls embraced them. They easily took first at the Skyland Conference and Somerset County Relays, and Julia’s jump of 11'9" at the latter earned her entry to the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, which took place in mid-June. Based on their indoor performances, they were accepted into the coveted Penn Relays in April, where, in a slick rainstorm, Julia cleared 11’ and placed fifth. But both will tell you it’s the fleeting euphoria of clearing that bar that keeps them hungry for more. “Pole vaulting is such a weird sport because you always end on a failure, missing the bar three times,” Julia says. “You always have something else to go for. I don’t think about being the best, but just clearing the next bar, trying to go higher. You’re always just looking for that next bar.” SUMMER 2016

Julia was a gymnast for nine years before trying pole vaulting as a freshman at Pingry. For Sophia, who will be vaulting for Johns Hopkins in 2016-17, her introduction to the sport was a family matter. Her father Mark, who pole vaulted in high school and college, is Pingry’s vaulting coach.

David Metzger ’17 Named to Israel Lacrosse U19 World Team This July, top lacrosse players from around the world will gather in Coquitlam, British Columbia to compete in the 2016 Men’s U19 World Lacrosse Championship. Big Blue’s David Metzger ’17—varsity keeper since his freshman year—is planning for the trip. In December 2014, David took a service trip to Israel to help teach lacrosse to young Israelis and play with Israel Lacrosse’s U17 development team. A year later—and another year stronger, thanks to the support of Pingry’s Boys’ Varsity Head Coach Mike Webster P ’24, ’27, ’27 and David’s teammates—he returned, and entered into tryouts for their U19 World Team. From a field of over 100 competitors, comprised of both Israelis and members of the Jewish diaspora, David was one of 46 players named to the team. This summer’s event will showcase Israel’s first-ever U19 men’s national team, which makes David’s achievement even more meaningful to him. “Lacrosse is a new sport to Israel, and there has been a concerted effort to grow and teach it. To be able to represent Israel in such a unique way, to be a part of a group of pioneers of something great, is so exciting,” David says. “My Hebrew is limited, but lacrosse is such a visual sport that the language barrier doesn’t hold us back. Lacrosse is really the common bond that brings us closer together.”

Fencer Malcolm Fields ’18 Competes in Junior Olympics At the Junior Olympics, which took place in Cleveland from February 12-14, Malcolm Fields ’18 competed in two divisions, the Senior Men’s Junior Saber Team and the Men’s Saber Cadet U17. He placed 13th in a national field of 225 in Men’s Saber Cadet, earning a national rating of B16. Malcolm has been on Pingry’s fencing team since Grade 7, and has been a member of the Boys’ Varsity Team for the last two years. He also competes in many regional and national tournaments.

Field Hockey Players on National Academic Squad

Nine players were named to the 2015 Keith Waldman-Optimal Performance Associates/NFHCA High School National Academic Squad. The program recognizes juniors and seniors who achieved a minimum cumulative, unweighted GPA of 3.5 out of 4.0, or the equivalent, through the first quarter of the 2015-16 school year. Amanda Cosentino ’16 Katie Coyne ’16 (Scholar of Distinction) Lindsey Lubowitz ’17 Casey Malone ’16 Emilia McManus ’16 Amaka Nnaeto ’16 Olivia Sartorius ’16 Mackinley Taylor ’17 Amanda Van Orden ’17

“Unstoppable” Anthony Robles Visits Middle School

Sam Scherl ’17 to Compete in World Junior Championships US SQUASH announced its selections for the team that will represent the United States at this summer’s World Junior Championships in Poland, and Sam Scherl ’17 is one of nine young men and women to make the cut. Sam will participate in both the Men’s and Women’s World Junior Individual Championship (August 6-11) and the Men’s World Junior Team Championship (August 12-17). A biennial competition, the World Junior Championships were last held in 2014 in Namibia, and Pingry’s Derek Hsue ’14, who plays for the University of Pennsylvania, participated in that event. “Having a player make the U.S. team at all is a real honor,” said Varsity Squash Head Coach Ramsay Vehslage. “The fact that Pingry has been represented on the last two teams is amazing.” Coming off a victory at the Under-17 U.S. Junior Open Squash Championship in December, and a fifth-place finish at the prestigious British Junior Open in January, Sam has already established himself at top-tier national and international competitions. Still, this one is particularly meaningful. “Being selected for the World Junior Championships is really the pinnacle of any junior squash player’s career,” he says. “It is really such an honor to represent my country on such a global stage. Also, it is especially exciting to be selected as a junior in high school, meaning that I am eligible to compete next year also. I am most excited for the high level of competition that is really unparalleled in junior squash. This is an opportunity to play against world-class players from every country.” 62

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Five years ago, in March 2011, Anthony Robles fulfilled his dream of becoming “the best wrestler” and winning the NCAA wrestling championship, thereby overcoming a challenge that his mother never allowed him to use as an excuse: he was born with only his left leg. When speaking to Middle School students on March 4, Mr. Robles urged them to keep their dreams in sight. “Write down your dream, and let that motivate you every single day. Tell yourself, ‘I’m unstoppable.’” He added, “Don’t let anyone try to define you or what you’re capable of doing.” At age 14, Mr. Robles discovered wrestling as his passion by attending practice with a friend, but ended up being the last-place wrestler on his high school team (in the season-ending league tournament). The defining moment came when the coach of an opposing team said “Good job” in a tone of voice that suggested the coach never expected Mr. Robles to defeat his wrestler. Mr. Robles, angry with people for doubting him, was tired of losing. He began to train with the best wrestler on his team.

Mr. Robles’s visit to Pingry resulted from another of his appearances elsewhere in the state. Varsity Wrestling Head Coach Mark Facciani heard him speak in the summer of 2015 at an event hosted by Dr. Mark McLaughlin ’83 in Princeton for the Wrestlers in Business Network—a speech that prompted Coach Facciani to send his wrestlers weekly motivational messages, “Friday Fuel,” during the off-season. He wrote about Mr. Robles in his sixth message. Upon reading that blog, Jim and Lisa Boylan, parents of wrestler Ryan Boylan ’17, suggested bringing Mr. Robles to campus. Through months of planning and the Boylan family’s sponsorship, the idea became a reality. Among Mr. Robles’s achievements, he is a member of both the NCAA Wrestling Hall of Fame and the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, as well as a motivational speaker, broadcaster, and author (Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion). “His strength of character—more specifically, his level of resilience—truly makes him unstoppable,” Coach Facciani said. “I can’t think of a bigger hero in the sport. His message transcends wrestling, sports, and life.”

Wrestling Team Creates Books for Mark Facciani Head Coach of the Varsity Wrestling Team since the 2004-05 season, Mark Facciani has received some wonderful gifts in his life, but a recent gesture by the 2015-16 Wrestling Team stands out as a complete surprise. “Apart from family gifts, I can’t think of a better gift that I’ve ever received because of how meaningful it was to me, in terms of celebrating these four years with a lot of the families,” he said, referring to FRIDAY FUEL: The Facciani Factor. This book reproduces all 30 of Coach Facciani’s “Friday Fuel” blogs. In past seasons, he sent his wrestlers brief motivational messages, but, “To be a better coach, I wanted to give my wrestlers one message a week of something to think about during the preseason.” New for 2015-16, “Friday Fuel” was a more systematic method for Coach Facciani to help his athletes “keep wrestling in mind, for character and habits.” Even though he struggled, at times, to come up with certain topics, “I made a promise to the team, and there was no way I was going to break the promise.” FRIDAY FUEL was one of two books presented to Coach Facciani. The other book, continuing the tradition of an annual team photo book that commemorates the season, is a hardcover version that includes testimonials from senior wrestlers and coaches. Reflecting on this book, Coach Facciani simply said, “It blew me away.” If you are interested in obtaining copies of these books, please contact Greg Waxberg ’96 at gwaxberg@pingry.org or (908) 647-5555, ext. 1296.

Joe Forte Celebrates 400 Wins as Boys’ Golf Coach On April 5, after a successful match-up against Bernards, 30-year Head Coach of Boys’ Varsity Golf, Joe Forte, celebrated his 400th win. “What an amazing milestone for Joe!” says Director of Athletics Carter Abbott. “We are all so proud of him and his 30-year golfing tenure at Pingry.” It was an especially sweet moment, since the team clinched its second consecutive Skyland Conference title the previous day. A member of Pingry’s Magistri faculty, Mr. Forte arrived at Pingry in 1982 and has held multiple roles as a coach, physical education teacher, and Chair of Pingry’s Physical Education Department, a position he currently holds. He has served as Head Coach of the Boys’ Golf Team since 1986, guiding the team to three NJSIAA State Championships, five NJSIAA

Michael Gallagher ’19, Ben Mandelbaum ’19, Justin Chae ’16, Boys’ Varsity Golf Head Coach Joe Forte, Bobby Rigby ’16, Golf Coach Bill Bourne P ’08, Jake Mayer ’17, and Jimmy Topor ’17.

Sectional Championships, four Prep State Championships, and four conference championships. Twice, he was honored by the Courier News as “Coach of the Year.” Last spring, he was inducted into the NJSCA Hall of Fame, the eighth Pingry coach to earn the honor.

Lacrosse Legends

Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach Carter Abbott, Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach Mike Webster P ’24, ’27, ’27, and Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse Assistant Coach Meredith Finkelstein with their seven NCAA championship rings (Coach Abbott’s second ring represents a world championship as a coach).

Pingry’s lacrosse program boasts stellar coaching talent. Three of the main coaches—Girls’ Varsity Head Coach Carter Abbott (also Pingry’s Director of Athletics), Assistant Coach Meredith Finkelstein, and Boys’ Varsity Head Coach Mike Webster P ’24, ’27, ’27—share seven NCAA lacrosse championships among them. Earning these capstones to a collegiate career is remarkable enough; that three such individuals have been dedicating their talents for over 40 combined years to Pingry lacrosse is even more noteworthy. A four-year varsity starting defender for Princeton and captain her senior year, Coach Abbott helped lead her team to the 1994 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship, its first-ever title. Her junior and seniors years, she was named a First Team All-American, and, her senior year, Ivy League “Player of the Year.” She was inducted into New Jersey’s Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2009. While earning an Ed.M. in School Leadership at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, she served as an assistant coach of Harvard’s lacrosse team. She was also an assistant coach of the U19 Women’s National Lacrosse Team, helping to lead them to a world championship in 2011. She serves on the Executive Committee of U.S. Lacrosse’s Board of Directors as the Women’s Game Committee Chair (and was quoted in The New York Times on the controversial approval of headgear in the sport—read more on page 58). SUMMER 2016

Coach Finkelstein, a four-year starting midfielder for the University of Maryland, a traditional lacrosse powerhouse, was a senior captain and member of their four-year NCAA championship tear (1998-2001; due to injury, she red-shirted in 2001 and resumed play for a final year of eligibility in 2002). In 2002, she was selected to the All-ACC Tournament Team. A star player for Columbia High School (in South Orange/Maplewood), she was selected to The Star-Ledger’s All-Decade Team for the 1990s and was inducted into her high school’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. She also coached club and high school lacrosse for nearly 15 years (as a side note, her brothers also have connections to Pingry lacrosse—Tom Egan ’89 was among Coach Webster’s first varsity athletes, and Carey Egan ’92 was captain his senior year, played lacrosse professionally, and was inducted into Pingry’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014). Coach Webster, who began coaching lacrosse at Pingry in 1989, played for Johns Hopkins for three years and helped its team to NCAA titles in 1985 and 1987, his sophomore and senior years, respectively. He is also the director of First Class Lacrosse Plus, an organization that operates lacrosse camps, clinics, and tournaments. Adding to his many career coaching accolades, in early 2016 he was inducted into his high school’s Athletic Hall of Fame (read more on page 58). How have these championship experiences informed their own coaching? “We were all part of winning cultures in college,” observes Coach Abbott. “It’s that culture—that positive attitude—that affects my coaching more than having actually won the championships.” Coach Finkelstein agreed, and pointed to the importance of tough life lessons, even in the midst of—and, perhaps, because of—successful runs. “When you’re a part of an NCAA title contending team, the goal is always to get to the championship game. But I remember a season when we lost our first two games. We didn’t throw our hat in, though. We continued to compete. Every little failure is not a mark on your ability. You have to learn from losses and failures.” A New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee who has coached three state championship teams at Pingry, including in 2015, and four finalist teams, Coach Webster acknowledges that his own accomplishments in the sport have given him more resources upon which to draw, but is quick to add: “Who I am as a person, as a coach, certainly hasn’t changed.” Coaches Abbott, Finkelstein, and Webster bring their unadulterated passion for the game to every practice. If they can share just a bit of that hard work and team spirit with their student-athletes, with or without the championship titles, they feel they have succeeded. Case in point: his sophomore year at Johns Hopkins, when his team won the national championship, Coach Webster was a walk-on. Twenty-five years later, when he attended the anniversary banquet, he recalls feeling nervous walking into the room, filled with his former teammates, many of whom were All-Americans. “I was literally the last player on the team my sophomore year,” he says. “I was nervous I would have been overlooked. But when I walked into the room that day, 25 years later, everyone called out to me, ‘Webbie, so great to see you!’ Everyone came over to me; we reminisced. No matter if you’re first or last on a team, you’re on a team. And I believe in that. I believe in the power of a team, the excitement, the hard work. The value of a team is what I want to bring to my players.”

Seniors Sign NCAA Division I Letters of Intent In the fall of 2015, four Pingry seniors signed formal NCAA letters of intent to continue their education and athletics careers at top Division I schools: Alexa Buckley ’16—University of California, Berkeley—Swimming A Berkeley Aquatic Club swimmer with a 1:02/2:16 breaststroke, Alexa will contribute her versatile skills to Cal’s Golden Bears—currently the top Division I swim program in the country. She has competed at a number of high-profile national meets, including the 2014 Junior Nationals, 2014 Winter Nationals, and USA Swimming’s Futures Championship meet in Greensboro. 64

THE PINGRY REVIEW

Front row: Katie Marino ’16 and Julia Rotatori ’16. Back row: Jack Casey ’16 and Alexa Buckley ’16.

Jack Casey ’16—University of Notre Dame—Soccer A four-year starter and midfielder for Big Blue, Jack will join the Fighting Irish (and his sister Kyle ’14, who also attends Notre Dame). A key member of Pingry’s offense and an eye-catching player further afield, he made the All-America watch list at the start of his senior year. In 2014, he was named to the Skyland Conference/Delaware Division First Team, the SCANJ All-County and All-State First Teams, and the Courier News All-Area First Team. He was also part of Big Blue’s 2014 championship team, which swept the state, county, and conference titles. Before he became a Notre Dame soccer commit, Jack showcased his raw speed on Pingry’s track, clocking 4:50.2 for 1600 meters as an eighthgrade student in 2012, setting a new Middle School record, one that still stands today. Katie Marino ’16—University of Notre Dame—Softball Four-year starter for Big Blue softball and captain since her sophomore year, Katie will join fellow Pingrian Jack Casey ’16 when she heads to South Bend. Not only is she a winning pitcher, making NJ.com’s ballot for the best softball pitcher in the state in the spring of 2015, as a junior, she slugged her 99th and 100th hits in a double and home run against Ridge. An All-Non-Public First Team selection in 2014 and 2015, for three consecutive years she was named to the All-Prep, All-County, and AllConference First Teams. She was also listed among the top 60 Class of 2016 softball players in the country by Flosoftball.com. Last year, she made The Star-Ledger’s “Top 50 Players to Watch in New Jersey” list and was nominated for New Jersey Gatorade “Player of the Year.” Julia Rotatori ’16—Bucknell University—Soccer Julia, a four-year Big Blue starter and captain of the Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team her senior year, will lend her defensive skills to the Bucknell Bison. She follows in the footsteps of her sister Carly ’13, who was also a fouryear starter for Pingry soccer and is now a midfielder for the Harvard Crimson. NJ.com placed Julia among the top defenders in the Skyland Conference last fall. In the summer of 2015, along with teammates Christina Costa ’16 and Madeline Temares ’16, Julia was a member of the PDA Arsenal U17 team that won the Elite Clubs National League Championship in Richmond, Virginia. Then-Pingry Head Coach Andrew Egginton remarks, “Julia has contributed greatly to the team during her four years on the varsity program. She started as a wide player—a right full-back—learning what the varsity game was all about. But over time, her leadership, organizational abilities, and soccer skills meant she gravitated to the middle of the field, becoming a solid, very reliable central defender, a key position on any team. I wish her the very best at Bucknell.”

Seven Scholar-Athletes Somerset County Scholar-Athletes Libby Parsons ’16, captain of the Girls’ Varsity Basketball and Track & Field teams, earned varsity letters for both sports, as well as soccer. Non-Public “B” state champion in the high jump for two consecutive years (sophomore and junior), she was named All-Conference First Team for track & field in 2015 and holds Pingry’s high jump record. She was also named to the All-Conference Second Team for basketball her junior year. She was an NJAIAW High School Women and Girls in Sports Honoree this year. Off the track, court, and field, Libby played electric bass for four years in Pingry’s Jazz Band, earning the School’s Music Award for outstanding growth in instrumental music her sophomore, junior, and senior years. An Honor Roll student all four years, she will attend the University of Notre Dame, where she will be a member of their varsity Track & Field program. Kevin Chow ’16, captain of the Varsity Football and Wrestling Teams, was a member of both teams throughout high school. As a senior, he won the Wrestling Team’s Sportsmanship Award and the Michael Jupka, Jr. ’76 Football Award, and was named to the All-Valley Division Second Team as an Offensive Lineman. In 2015, he placed fourth in the Somerset/Hunterdon County Wrestling Tournament. An AP Scholar with Distinction and a National Merit Scholarship Commended Student, Kevin was inducted into Pingry’s chapter of The Cum Laude Society. Passionate about science, he is also a Bausch + Lomb Science Award winner, was project co-head on the Independent Research Team, and was a member of the S.M.A.R.T. (Students Modeling A Research Topic) Team. He also tutored fellow classmates in math, physics, and computer science. His other activities included serving as a writer and editor for Polyglot, Pingry’s modern and classical languages magazine, and a member of the Community Service Club. Kevin heads to the West Coast, to UC Berkeley.

Skyland Conference Scholar-Athletes Katie Marino ’16 amassed her 1,000th strikeout, joining only 17 other high school softball players in the history of the state to accomplish the feat. Her junior year, she celebrated her 100th hit and 100th run. Early on, she made her mark on the Girls’ Varsity Softball Team, being named “Freshman of the Year” by the Courier News in 2013 and “Player to Watch” by The Star-Ledger all four years. Captain of the team since her sophomore year, she earned selections to the All-State All-Non-Public First Team in 2014 and 2015. An Honor Roll student every semester, Katie was a member of the Senior Class Giving Committee and a volunteer at St. Hubert’s Animal Shelter and St. Vincent DePaul’s Homeless Organization, and she runs charity events for St. Baldrick’s Foundation. She will attend the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business. Mike Carr ’16 is a four-year varsity letter winner in football and spring track, serving as captain of both teams his senior year. He was also a member of Varsity Winter Track his junior and senior years, and served as captain his senior year. Selected to play in the Basilone Bowl on June 30, he was named to the All-Raritan Second Team for high jump in 2014 and was a First Team selection in 2015. He is also a member of Pingry’s recordbreaking 4x100 relay team in spring track. In 2015, he was named to football’s All-Valley First Team for defense. An Honor Roll student every semester, Mike was a member of Blue Key and was a Peer Leader. He will attend Middlebury College, where he will play football for the Panthers.

NJISAA Scholar-Athletes Ingrid Shu ’16 burst onto Big Blue’s swimming scene as a freshman, earning the Somerset County “Swimmer of the Year” honor and making the All-State First Team in the 200-yard freestyle, among other awards. As a senior, she was selected to the All-State Second Team in the 200-yard freestyle relay for her school record-breaking performance and second-place finish at the Meet of Champions with teammates Hollie Hopf ’16, Darlene Fung ’19, and Keileh Atulomah ’16—the first Pingry girls’ relay team to achieve an All-American qualifying standard. Ingrid is also a two-time Meet of Champions winner in the 100and 200-yard individual freestyle, a three-time NISCA All-American, and a two-time Scholastic All-American. She holds 10 Pingry records for

Front row: Ingrid Shu ’16, Katie Marino ’16, Libby Parsons ’16, and Sophia Cortazzo ’16. Back row: Mike Carr ’16, Kevin Chow ’16, and Ben Shepard ’16.

individual performances and five relay records. A four-year Honor Roll member and an AP Scholar, she will swim for Amherst College. Ben Shepard ’16, a four-year varsity starter and senior captain for the Boys’ Lacrosse Team, began his Pingry lacrosse career auspiciously, setting the School record for the most goals scored by a freshman. As a junior, he made the All-Skyland Conference Second Team, and, his senior year, NJ.com nominated him six consecutive times to their weekly watch list as one of the best lacrosse players in New Jersey. He also earned a starting role as an attackman for Leading Edge, one of the country’s best club teams. In addition to his lacrosse skills, he earned varsity letters on the soccer team his junior and senior years, and won its Senior Award. Off the field, he was an Honor Roll member all four years, a Cum Laude Society inductee, an AP Scholar with Distinction, and a Peer Leader, and received the School’s Whitlock Prize for Math book award. Ben has also participated in numerous community service roles, including interning for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. He will join his classmate Katie Marino ’16 at Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business.

NJSIAA Scholar-Athlete Sophia Cortazzo ’16 proved her pole-vaulting prowess at Pingry, at one point ranking as high as #2 in the state. A four-year varsity letter winner in winter and spring track, and captain of both teams her senior year, she qualified for the highly-competitive Meet of Champions all four years. In 2016, along with teammate Julia Dannenbaum ’17, Sophia set the pole vault relay record in the Somerset County Indoor Relays and had set the same record the previous year for the county outdoor relays. She also qualified for the prestigious New Balance Indoor Nationals in 2016. An Honor Roll member all semesters of high school and a Cum Laude Society inductee, she was the recipient of the Mount Holyoke College Book Award as well as Pingry’s Citizenship Prize. She served as Blue Key co-president, Green Group Leader, and a Peer Leader. She will attend Johns Hopkins University and compete on their winter and spring track teams. ACC—Atlantic Coast Conference NFHCA—National Field Hockey Coaches Association NISCA—National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association NJAIAW—New Jersey Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women NJIFA—New Jersey Interscholastic Fencing Association NJSCA—New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association NJISAA—New Jersey Independent Schools Athletic Association NJSIAA—New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association NNJSRA—Northern New Jersey Squash Racquets Association PDA—Players Development Academy SCANJ—Soccer Coaches Association of New Jersey SCIAA—Somerset County Interscholastic Athletic Association WIHLMA—Women’s Interscholastic Hockey League of the Mid-Atlantic SUMMER 2016

College Athlete Accolades

Men’s Lacrosse

Eric Rogers ’14 (Middlebury College) was named to the All-NESCAC First Team. Clayton Wright ’15 (Bowdoin College) is the first player in the history of the Bowdoin men’s lacrosse program to be named NESCAC “Rookie of the Year.” He led all conference rookies by tying for sixth in the league with 27 assists to go along with 20 goals for 47 points.

Women’s Lacrosse

Jenn Wilkens ’15 (goalie, UC Berkeley) earned four honors as a freshman: MPSF Rookie of the Week, MPSF Defensive Player of the Week, Cal Lacrosse Rookie of the Year, and All-MPSF Second Team. In February, following her collegiate debut against Ohio State, Jenn was named MPSF “Rookie of the Week” after recording 12 saves and eight ground balls and causing a

turnover. Her efforts helped the Golden Bears come back from a six-goal second-half deficit to send the game into overtime before Ohio State eventually prevailed, 16-15. In March, she was named MPSF “Defensive Player of the Week” for making a careerbest 20 saves in Cal’s 10-9 overtime victory against San Diego State University—that 20-save effort tied for third in the school’s single-game history. Jenn made 12 of those saves in the first half and finished with four ground balls and a caused turnover. Most recently, she was named to the All-MPSF Second Team, having finished the season first in the conference and tied for 10th in the country in saves per game (9.47), and first in the conference and tied for 22nd in the country in ground balls per game (2.87). She posted six double-digit save performances and made at least eight saves in 12 of the 15 games in which she played, impressive stats for which Cal Lacrosse named her “Rookie of the Year.”

Jamie Finnegan ’15 won an individual title in the 100 freestyle at the NESCAC Championships.

Men’s Swimming & Diving Three Pingry swimmers competed in the NESCAC Championships. Jason Ring ’12 and Jamie Finnegan ’15 both helped to lead Williams College to its 14th consecutive NESCAC Championship. Jamie won an individual title in the 100 freestyle (45.27) and was part of the victorious 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams that set conference and pool records. All three of Jamie’s swims were provisional “B” qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. Alex Wolfson ’15 (Trinity College) scored points in all three backstroke events, set

the school’s record in the 200 backstroke (1:53.38), and was part of the 200 and 400 medley and 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams that set school records.

Women’s Swimming & Diving

Two Pingry swimmers competed in the NESCAC Championships, Alli Dorneo ’14 (Tufts University) and Morgan Burke ’13 (Middlebury College). Alli scored in the 200 backstroke, and Morgan placed fourth in the 100 freestyle, earning a provisional “B” qualifier for the NCAA Championships.

Scholar-Athlete Accolades Credit: Courtesy of Cal Athletics

Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad Brigid Bruno ’13 (Field Hockey | Williams College)

Jenn Wilkens ’15, honored four times as a freshman goalie for the California Golden Bears.

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ECAC—Eastern College Athletic Conference MPSF—Mountain Pacific Sports Federation NESCAC—New England Small College Athletic Conference NFHCA—National Field Hockey Coaches Association

Celebrate! 2

SUMMER 2016

Reunion 2016 [ 1 ] Alumni gathering at the entrance of the Basking Ridge Campus, adorned for Reunion Weekend. [ 2 ] Bill Baker ’66 and former Pingry administrator and English teacher Peter Cowen ’66. [ 3 ] Grant Smith ’77 with his children Ulysses ’22, Sophia ’28, and Mariah ’19. [ 4 ] Betsy (Lucas) Vreeland ’84, P ’11, ’12, ’15 and Anne Vreeland ’12. [ 5 ] Members of the Class of 1966 at the 50-Year Club Luncheon: Rick Hadley, Alan Gibby, George Lockwood, David Budd, Dr. Art Vedder, Jon Cumpton, Bruce Schundler, Bob Gibson, Dr. John Cornwall, Don Roberts, Jr., Dr. Bill LaCorte, Gil Roessner, Walter Peters, Dick Shepard, Bill Baker, Jr., Peter Cowen, Bill Sterns III, and George Ellis. [ 6 ] Goodies as gifts at the 50-Year Club Luncheon: The Greatest Respect: Pingry at 150 Years, a Pingry tie, and a 50th Reunion booklet. [ 7 ] A spread from the commemorative 50th Reunion booklet. [ 8 ] Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20 leading members of the Class of 1966 on a tour of the former Hillside Campus. [ 9 ] Matt San Miguel ’17, Gil Roessner ’66, and Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20. [ 10 ] Bob Parsons ’51, Sydney Woode ’17, and EmmaClaire Marvin ’17. [ 11 ] Scott Bevill ’91, Cort Corbin ’91, Isabel Corbin, Nicole Tullo, and Jon Bowden ’91. [ 12 ] Brad Bonner ’93, P ’20, ’23, ’25 with his children Douglas ’25 and Elizabeth ’23. [ 13 ] Christian Hoffman ’94 and Jane (Shivers) Hoffman ’94 with their children. [ 14 ] Holland (Sunyak) Francisco ’02, Kiara Smith ’17, Mike Hilgendorff ’57, P ’89, ’89, and John Leathers ’57. [ 15 ] The Balladeers and Buttondowns performing at the 50-Year Club Luncheon. [ 16 ] Members of the 1995 Boys’ Soccer team: Pat Reid ’97, RT Treveloni ’98, Mike Roberts ’99, Colin Bennett ’96, Kevin Schmidt ’98, Steve Lewis ’00, Head Coach Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, Assistant Coach Adam Rohdie, Jeff Boyer ’96, Tyler Umbdenstock ’97, Chris Marzoli ’97, Nick Ross ’97, David M. Fahey ’99, and Jake Ross ’96.

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Reunion Giving Awards These awards are current as of Reunion 2016. While the official winners of these awards are not determined until the close of the fiscal year, Pingry provides an update during Reunion Weekend. The Trustees’ Cup (presented to the Reunion Class that raised the most money for The Pingry Fund): Class of 1956 ($39,393.30)

The Headmaster’s Cup (presented to the Reunion Class with the highest percentage of participation in The Pingry Fund): Class of 1956 with 60% participation The Vincent Lesneski Cup (presented to the Reunion Class whose overall participation in The Pingry Fund increased by the largest percentage since the previous year’s Pingry Fund): Class of 1951 The 50-Year Club Cup (presented to the Reunion Class in the 50-Year Club with the highest contribution to The Pingry Fund): Class of 1956

SUMMER 2016

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Kimber Family Accepts 2016 Nelson L. Carr Service Award on Behalf of Warren S. Kimber, Jr. ’52 The identity of this award’s recipient traditionally remains a secret until its presentation, but, this year, tradition was broken to posthumously honor an alumnus who truly embodied the spirit of the award. Named in 1992 for Nelson L. Carr ’24, who served as PAA President (1942-43) and received Pingry’s Letterin-Life Award (1982), it is given for faithful and dedicated service to Pingry. This year, the award went to the late Warren S. Kimber, Jr. ’52, P ’76, ’79, GP ’07 and was presented to his wife Bobbie during the PAA Annual Meeting. While a student at Pingry, Mr. Kimber was a member of the football, basketball, and baseball teams all four years. His early interest in journalism also led him to become involved in The Pingry Record in his last three years. He was well-loved by all of his peers and teachers, and, although schoolwork did not always come naturally to him, his hard work in the classroom and on the field paid off. He brought his enthusiasm to Hobart College and spent much of his career as CEO and chairman of Kimber Petroleum Corporation in Liberty Corner, which ran or franchised about 100 fullservice gas stations and convenience stores in New Jersey.

Bobbie Kimber P ’76, ’79, GP ’07 accepting the Nelson L. Carr Service Award on behalf of her late husband.

Throughout his career, Mr. Kimber remained an active part of the Pingry community. For 19 years, he served the School on the Board of Trustees, including a tenure as chair from 1988 to 1995. In 1983, he received Pingry’s Letter-in-Life Award, and, in 1995, the Cyril and Beatrice Baldwin Pingry Family Citizen of the Year Award. He and his family have been generous stalwarts of institutional support, most recently in funding the World Cup soccer field renovation. Mr. Kimber also demonstrated his commitment to service and honor by serving on the boards of many other organizations, including Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Summit Bank, Chatham Savings Bank, CrossAmerica Partners, the United Way, and Amoco.

Reunion 2016 [ 17 ] Connie Fayen and Fred Fayen (Parents ’90, ’02). Mrs. Fayen worked in Lower School Admissions, and Mr. Fayen was an Upper School history teacher and college counselor. [ 18 ] Former PAA President Bob Pyle, Jr. ’56, Laura Pyle ’91, and her children/his grandchildren. [ 19 ] Jack Youngelson ’85, recipient of Pingry’s Achievement in the Arts Award, with his parents Theresa and James. Read more about his honor on page 78. [ 20 ] “Celebrate Pingry!” at Beinecke House. [ 21 ] Doris Schechter, Catherine Pack ’01, and Maryann Pack P ’99, ’01. [ 22 ] Members of the 1995 Football Team. Front row: Head Coach Tom Boyer P ’96, ’98, Assistant Coach Jeff Utz, Marshall McLean ’98, Billy Houston ’98, Greg Cortese ’97, Caton Clark ’97, Chris Cuneo ’96, Nolan Convery ’98, Kaushal Kulkarni ’97, Anthony Bowes ’96, Michael Ames ’98, Noel Musial ’98, and Mike Webster P ’24, ’27, ’27 (Director of Athletics at the time). Back row: Bob Blackstone ’96, Arjuna Sunderam ’96, Chris Kwak ’96, Esat Unusan ’96, Ted Harvey ’96, Sam Wilson ’96, Assistant Coach Jim Sala, David Greig ’98, John Crowley-Delman ’97, Casey Hannon ’97, and Kevin O’Brien ’97. [ 23 ] Marshall McLean ’98, Kim (Barbieri) McLean ’98, David Greig ’98, Sarah Greig, and Kevin Schmidt ’98. [ 24 ] Steve Kamen, Trustee Genesia (Perlmutter) Kamen ’79 (Parents ’11, ’13), incoming PAA President Woody Weldon ’91, P ’23, Campaign Manager Judy Brown, and Dr. Aaron Welt ’67, P ’06.

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Reunion 2016

[ 25 ] Tom Boyer P ’96, ’98 and Jeff Boyer ’96. [ 26 ] Adam Rohdie. [ 27 ] Emma (Harvey)

Giamartino ’01, Gerald Harvey P ’96, ’01, Scott Knackmuhs, and Elan DiMaio ’03. [ 28 ] Bruce Schundler ‘66 with his seventh-grade pen pals. [ 29 ] Dr. Bill LaCorte ’66, Karen LaCorte, and Dr. John Cornwall ’66 with their seventh-grade pen pals. [ 30 ] Sara Tindall-Woodman ’97. [ 31 ] Class of 1951: Frank Mountcastle, Peter Jasper GP ’05, ’09, ’13, Dr. David Lemal, Judge Landis, Jennifer Landis, Judy Burks, Dr. Bill Burks, Joan Jasper GP ’05, ’09, ’13, Bob Parsons, Jr., and Peter Maucher. [ 32 ] Class of 1956: Standing: Margot Meyer P ’88, Don Van Duyne, Bob Meyer P ’88, Ev Shippee, Ted Hauser P ’86, Bob Klein, Jeff Boehlert, Bob Pyle P ’91, Judy Burks, Bob Shippee, Stan Stevinson, Karen Stevinson, Dick Bassin, Lou Ruprecht P ’79, ’82, ’87, Judy Wahrenberger, Michael Joy Hauser P ’86, Suzanne Lockett, Dick Goldberg, Mark Forrester, Walker Lockett, Jr., and Liz Goldberg. Sitting: Curt Champlin, Roz Van Duyne, Bob Murphy, Val Borg, Bob Burks, Elaine Klein, and Kathy Bassin.

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Reunion 2016 [ 33 ] Class of 1961: Joe Barnard II, Pete Benedict, Doug Leavens, David Archibald, David Rogers, John Szarko, Robby Robinson, Bill Mogensen, Bob Popper, Dr. Jack Martin, Jr., Carl Haines ’60, Terry Montgomery, Tom Hackett, and John Manley ’60. [ 34 ] Class of 1976: Ken Robson III, John Apruzzese P ’06, ’08, Dr. Susan (Yeomans) Breen, Connor Seabrook, Andrew Brenner, Tom Ward, Rob Williams P ’06, ’08, ’12, Richard McGeehan, and Ron Sirois. [ 35 ] Class of 1981: Rich Corino, Lisa Fraites-Dworkin, Sandy Black, Dr. Jay Lasser, Ross Thalheimer, Hester Fuller, Michael Galkin, Bruce Liroff, Scott Jazmin, Mike Cook, Dr. Julie Kawut Sagalow, Dave McIlwain, Zia Gajary, Karen (Schatman) Benton P ’16, ’22, Karin Walsh Rutledge, Dr. Eduardo Fernandez, Dr. Lisa Goldfarb, Dr. Lynn Brody, and Elyse Post. [ 36 ] Class of 1986: Gil Lai, Kent Dougherty, Reed Kean, Anne Louria Ludes, John Feeley P ’18, ’20, Christian Donohue, John Campbell III, Dr. Theresa Sohn-Shum P ’21, ’23, Dan Marshall, Dr. Maria Bajas-Boulos, Mohit Govani, Dr. Ida Miguelino P ’18, ’19, and Vik Kapila. [ 37 ] Class of 1991: Front row: Brian Kane, Dr. Sandra Lee, Aparna Sundaram, Rachel Rochat, Joe Oh, Woody Weldon, Peter Murray, Gina StanziolaMackenzie, Wendy (Kasserman) Dwyer, Mara (Baydin) Kanner, Spencer Tullo, Alex Walsh, Blake Beatty Hubbard, Jack Meyercord, Nikki Blumberg, Laura Pyle, and Beth Blanchard Field. Back row: Scott Bevill, Mike Grandis, Cort Corbin, Peter Londa, Adam Gardner, Kevin Sachs, Hunter Hulshizer, Jeremy Goldstein, Blythe Henwood Harris, Jill (Griffinger) Herbert, Tom Kuchler, Mike Conlon, and Jon Bowden.

SUMMER 2016

Reunion 2016 [ 38 ] Class of 1996: Robyn Siperstein, Cara Pellicano Sviokla, Rahul Vinnakota, Bob Blackstone, Peter Dolce, David Leibowitz, Catherine Yatrakis, Bess Oransky, Chris Franklin, Katie DeFoe, Susan (Morris) Lahey, Brian Kelley, Susanna Towers, Jake Ross, Anthony Bowes, Judy Chiu, Colin Bennett, Jackie (Hayes) Hofmann, Sarabeth Gaver, Leslie Plumeri, Jeff Boyer, Arjuna Sunderam, Chris Cuneo, Neel Shah, Hilary (Sunyak) Ulz, Jay Crosby, Lauren (Gruel) Diemar, Jennifer Lee Koss, Thomas Diemar, and Frederique (Lear) Schachter. [ 39 ] Class of 2001: James Miller, Blake Silverman, Andrew Holland, Arjun Iyengar, Kara (Belofsky) Miller, Margaret Kelleher, Gary Liu, Christina Burgess, Alexis Fershing, Jonathan Jacobs, Brian Ramirez, Lauren (Anderson) Holland, John Corcoran, and Tommy Ellis. [ 40] Class of 2006: 41 Frances Callaghan, Bard Ricciardi, Margot Gianis, Charlotte Williams, Jodie Francis, Marisa Stock, Robert Tilson, Kristin Maletsky, Brian Combias, Nick Molé, Dana Apruzzese, Adam Goldstein, Jennie Ellwanger, Andrew Donnantuono, Mike Bayersdorfer, Katie Jennings, Chantal Berman, Katy Pinke, Lisa (Harris) Himelman, Juliette Jordan Whitten, and Will Welt. [ 41 ] Class of 2011: Kristen Tripicchio, Alexandra Rajan, Ariana King, Matt Sheeleigh IV, Matthew Vitale, Michael Lucciola, Benjamin Rogers, Adam Jacobs, Victor N’Diaye, Victor Hsue, Victoria Meyer, William Fischer, Arvin Alaigh, John Varvaro, Ratish Malhotra, Emily Crooker, Steve Palazzolo, Rachael Williams, Shaan Gurnani, Eric Stock, Stephanie Hanchuk, Luke Vreeland, Alex Fagella, Schuyler Bianco, Pranav Maganti, Rebecca Spicehandler, Will Bartlett, Andrew Young, Kate O’Connor, Harlen Shangold, Tierney Griff, and Matt Damstrom.

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John B. Brescher, Jr. ’65 Receives Letter-in-Life Award The Letter-in-Life Award is the most prestigious award bestowed upon a graduate by the Pingry Alumni Association. First presented in 1938, it honors those who, in gaining distinction for themselves, have brought honor to the School. This is Mr. Brescher’s citation, presented at Commencement. John B. Brescher, Jr. has devoted his career to helping advance the interests of his clients, the legal community, The Pingry School, and his local community. He has adhered to the highest ethical standards during four decades with the law firm of McCarter & English and 19 years on Pingry’s Board of Trustees. He has also displayed exceptional character by setting high personal standards, balancing his family and career to support and encourage his wife Toni and son John, and acting as a role model for his son, who is also now a devoted father and husband. Mr. Brescher praises his parents and his four years of Pingry education for playing the largest role in preparing him for life; thus, he has always believed he owes Pingry a debt of gratitude.

Hall University Law School for three years, has lectured about law, and has written for various legal publications. Mr. Brescher’s areas of practice include federal taxation, employee benefits, and trusts and estate law. He interacts with clients in a straightforward manner. During his career, Mr. Brescher is most proud of helping many clients transition the ownership and operation of a family business from generation to generation. He has been recognized multiple times as a Chambers USA “Leaders in their Field” lawyer and a “New Jersey Super Lawyer,” and is listed in numerous editions of The Best Lawyers in America. In 1995, Mr. Brescher joined Pingry’s Board of Trustees. He spent 19 years on the Board, a term that included serving as Chair from 2008 to 2014. As Chair, Mr. Brescher treated all members of the Board with respect and tried to make decisions by consensus. Under his leadership, Pingry weathered the 2008 recession and, by temporarily overriding the School’s restrictive financial aid policy, the Board increased financial aid to ensure that many families who were impacted by the recession could remain at Pingry and new families could enroll. In just two years, the financial aid bud-

get increased from nearly $2 million for 100 students to more than $3 million for 150 students. Pingry also began its largest fundraising initiative, the Blueprint for the Future Campaign, increased its endowment despite the financial crisis, and modernized facilities on both campuses. Mr. Brescher has continued to offer his counsel since being named an Honorary Trustee in 2014. As if Mr. Brescher’s dedicated service to Pingry’s Board were not enough, he has also devoted his time to other associations. His numerous affiliations have included serving as Chair of the Taxation Section and editing the newsletter for the New Jersey Bar Association, as well as being involved with the Estate Planning Council of Northern New Jersey, the Small Business Council of America, the New Jersey Historical Society, St. Phillips Academy, The Community Foundation of New Jersey, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, Support Center of New Jersey, and New Jersey SEEDS. Pingry is proud to present John B. Brescher, Jr. with the 2016 Letter-in-Life Award, recognizing his legal career and diligent efforts on behalf of Pingry and his community.

At Pingry, Mr. Brescher was a member of numerous organizations, served as Sports Editor of the Blue Book, and played baseball and football, serving as captain of the football team his senior year. Mr. Brescher received a Bachelor of Science in Business and Economics, cum laude, from Lehigh University in 1969. Thereafter, Mr. Brescher studied at Georgetown University Law Center. While at Georgetown, from which he graduated with a J.D. in 1972, Mr. Brescher decided to pursue tax law for his career and, as a result, he received an LL.M. in Taxation in 1976. After receiving his LL.M. degree, Mr. Brescher began his tenure with McCarter & English—serving as an associate for six years and rising to Partner in 1982, a title he still holds. Along with his legal work, Mr. Brescher served as an Adjunct Professor at Seton

Jessie Brescher, Robert Brescher, John B. Brescher III ’99, John B. Brescher, Jr. ’65, Toni Brescher, and Toni Brescher’s sister Joan Kazlouskas.

SUMMER 2016

Athletics Hall of Fame Inducts Two Alumni and Two Teams Sara Tindall-Woodman ’97, Catherine Pack ’01, the 1995 Football Team, and the 1995 Boys’ Soccer Team For more than a quartercentury, Pingry has been inducting new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame during Reunion Weekend. The Hall honors former studentathletes, varsity coaches, and members of the athletics staff who have demonstrated leadership and whose accomplishments in Pingry athletics have been of the highest caliber. These are the citations for the 2016 inductees.

SARA TINDALL-WOODMAN ’97 TRACK AND CROSS COUNTRY STAR BROKE RECORDS An accomplished runner who earned nine varsity letters during her Pingry career, Sara Tindall ran with such heart that some called her “The Animal” because of her ability to outkick her opponents. In cross country, she captained the team as a senior and won three individual Prep State Championships (1993, 1995, 1996), a Parochial B State Championship (1996), and a Colonial Hills Conference Championship (1996). Sara led Pingry to four consecutive Prep State Team Championships (1993-1996), she finished undefeated in dual-meet competition during her junior and senior seasons, and she garnered All-State honors as a senior. On the track, she was the Parochial B State Champion (1600m) and the Colonial Hills Conference Champion (800m and 1600m) as a senior captain. Sara also brought home Somerset County Championships in the 800m (1996, 1997) and the 1600m (1997) while on her way to earning All-State honors as a senior (1600m). She broke multiple Pingry records in both cross country and track, and her 1600m time of 5:01.7 remained a School record at the time of her Hall of Fame induction. Sara continued her athletics career at Brown University and became a two-time Ivy League Champion in cross country (1999, 2000). She also led the Bears to their first-ever Ivy League Cross Country Team Championship (1999) and their first two appearances in the NCAA Division I National Championships. Sara captained the cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track teams 76

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as a senior and was named an NCAA Division I All-American. She is a member of the Brown University Athletics Hall of Fame. Coach Tim Grant P ’03, ’06 said Sara was a fierce competitor and earned her title of “The Animal” through her daring and brilliant moves that few, if any, runners would think to use. Referring to her Pingry records and Top 15 finish as an All-American at Brown, he said, “Being called ‘The Animal’ is the biggest compliment to current runners.” Expressing her gratitude to Coach Grant for the lessons he taught, Sara also recalled a comment from former Pingry coach Michael Barrett about taking the time to invest in her sport. His words helped her learn that “talent won’t go anywhere if you don’t put in the effort.” Taking a broader view, she said, “Sports is about humanity and accountability—how to be a good human being.”

CATHERINE PACK ’01 CHAMPION FENCER MASTERED MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES A versatile athlete who earned eight varsity letters in four different sports, Catherine Pack remains one of the best fencers in the history of the Pingry program. Twice named “Girls Fencer of the Year” by The Star-Ledger (2000 and 2001), she was the first girls sabre State Champion in New Jersey history (2001) and remains the first and only girls fencer to win back-to-back individual state championships in two different disciplines: foil (2000) and sabre (2001). Catherine earned First Team All-State

honors three times—twice for foil (1999 and 2000) and once for sabre (2001)—and finished her senior season at Pingry undefeated with a perfect record of 76-0. In competitions around the world, Catherine brought home 14 international and national finalist medals and captained the U.S. Women’s Sabre Team, winning a silver medal at the 2000 Junior World Championships. During the 1999 season, she completed the rare double of winning gold medals at both the Junior National Championships (U-20) and the Cadet National Championships (U-17). Catherine continued her fencing career at Princeton University, earning four varsity letters and serving as a cocaptain during her junior season. This two-time NCAA Finalist and two-time First Team All-Ivy League selection was also honored for her perseverance, sportsmanship, and outstanding service to her Princeton teammates.

1995 FOOTBALL TEAM One of the best teams in Pingry gridiron history, this squad finished the regular season with a record of 8-1 and earned a share of the Colonial Hills Championship. A punishing ground attack averaged over eight yards per carry and amassed 2,381 yards, while an efficient passing attack gained another 641 yards. The smothering defense shut out six opponents, and Pingry outscored its conference opponents 258-28. Coach Tom Boyer P ’96, ’97 said these savvy and experienced players formed a special bond and were “one of the best teams to represent Pingry on the gridiron…with spectacular offense and defense. It was a season of unselfish play, as they set aside personal egos for the good of the team.” Anthony Bowes ’96 called Coach Boyer “the heart and soul of Pingry football.”

Coach Ted Li described Catherine as being at “the forefront of women’s sabre” and singled out her undefeated season as unique in Pingry history. Coach Victor Nazario P ’90, ’94 said, “Catherine was the coach—I learned from her.” Catherine was honored to represent Pingry’s female athletes and fencers and described her three-pronged “secret to success”: she loved to compete and loved to win, she loved figuring out her opponents, and she knew she could improve, so she had to keep fighting. “Fencing is a team effort,” she said, “and I say thank you to Coach Nazario for his example of leadership and to Coach Li for setting high expectations.”

1995 BOYS’ SOCCER TEAM With a record of 20-0-1, this Pingry team brought home the Colonial Hills Conference Championship, the Somerset County Championship, and the Parochial B State Championship. Outscoring opponents 98-8, the squad also posted 15 shutouts and began a 47-game win streak that stretched into the 1997 season. The team finished the season with the No. 2 state ranking from The Star-Ledger and the No. 10 national ranking from Umbro before sending 11 players off to join the rosters of Division I and Division III teams. Former coach Adam Rohdie described this team as “tough young men who willed themselves to victories. They never gave in, and they had team chemistry.” Their tenacity and family atmosphere contributed greatly to their successes, and Coach Rohdie singled out Head Coach Miller Bugliari ’52, saying, “Miller’s values have transcended generations.” Jeff Boyer ’96 described the season as “an unforgettable experience,” and Jake Ross ’96 recalled the high energy in Pingry athletics at the time. SUMMER 2016

Pingry Honors Documentary Filmmaker Jack Youngelson ’85 Words of Wisdom from Jack Youngelson

Credit: Netflix

A cameraman records footage for Mission Blue, described on its website as “igniting public support for protection of special places that are vital to the health of the ocean.”

Continuing a tradition that began during Pingry’s Sesquicentennial Celebration in 2011-2012, Pingry presented its Achievement in the Arts Award during Reunion Weekend. The award, honoring the artistic accomplishments of a Pingry graduate and highlighting the importance of the arts in the Pingry community, was presented this year to Emmy Award-winning documentary film director, producer, and writer Jack Youngelson ’85, whose projects have premiered at prestigious film festivals and been shown by numerous broadcasters, including HBO and PBS. For Pingry students interested in the behind-the-scenes aspects of documentary filmmaking, a passion Mr. Youngelson discovered in his mid20s while he was using a small Sony camcorder to make documentaries for MSNBC, he said, “There is no ‘rulebook.’ You have to immerse yourself in unfamiliar worlds and in the lives of your characters. I feel like I’m in perpetual graduate school because of in-depth studies of different topics.” For his own

filmmaking goals, he wants stories that can be told through the eyes of engaging people, he likes to be surprised as a story unfolds, and he seeks different projects so that he avoids “being pigeonholed in a certain type of film.” He added, “You need optimism to finish a project, find an audience, and believe that you can make a difference in the world.” Mr. Youngelson explored several options before discovering that documentary filmmaking was his calling, a reflection of the broad exposure provided at Pingry. “Pingry encouraged exploration and independent thought,” he says, “but didn’t demand or expect specialization from its students.” While on campus, Mr. Youngelson spent time in three Pingry classes (Art Fundamentals, Middle School Digital Filmmaking, and American Society & Culture), participated in two lunch discussions with Upper School students interested in film, and visited the Hostetter Arts Center Gallery, where four of his films were being shown—

Documenting the Documentaries • Directed the premiere episode of the three-part, six-hour series Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies (Ken Burns, executive producer), which debuted on PBS in the spring of 2015; the series was nominated for a primetime Emmy and received the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence in documentary journalism • Writer and producer of the Emmy Award-winning Mission Blue • Writer and producer of Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, for which Mr. Youngelson won an Emmy for “Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special” • Director of Tierney Gearon: The Mother Project

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• Instead of telling a story in “three acts,” a documentary can resemble an EKG image, with drama at the “peaks” and background information in the “valleys.” • Editing is a critical skill, and it is gratifying to shape a story with an editor. Successful films take many months or a year to edit because good editors want to see all of the footage. • A story might not unfold the way you expect, so be true to the moment and to what you discover. • Other people might be making a film about the same topic. You don’t want or need to know what they’re doing, and you can’t limit their work. Proceed on your own path, and make your film the best way possible. • While a documentary is never objective because it’s always told from a point of view, the ultimate “message” of the film does not have to be polemical. In the best circumstances, audiences will come away from the film with more than one interpretation. the first time Mr. Youngelson’s work has appeared in a gallery installation. To help students understand the power of images to affect social change, he showed a clip from Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, which examines how photographs that depict U.S. abuse of Iraqi prisoners wound up in American and international media. “These images started their life on someone’s hard drive in the prison. This was in the days before smartphones and rapid sharing of photos,” Mr. Youngelson said. What was the impact of their release, students and teachers wondered? “The country did some soul-searching.” His final advice to the students: “Embrace the multitude of stories all around us.”

Pingry Alumni on the Game Show Circuit Answer: This Quiz Bowl alumnus won nine games on Jeopardy! in 2016 Question: Who is Buzzy Cohen ’03? Courtesy Jeopardy! Productions Inc.

Pingry Quiz Bowl members, take note—just like trivia enthusiast Buzzy Cohen ’03, you, too, could become a champion on Jeopardy! Mr. Cohen, a member of Quiz Bowl for three years and captain in his junior and senior years, is a lifelong fan of Jeopardy! He took the show’s 50-question online test on a whim and, upon becoming a contestant, battled to become a nine-day champion. As described by former Pingry English teacher Dean Sluyter

P ’90, ’98, who joined Mr. Cohen’s wife Elisha, his sister, and his brother-in-law in the audience for the tapings on March 7 and 8: “It was a thrilling roller coaster ride as Buzzy kept nearing elimination and then pulling it out again and again.” Mr. Cohen attributes much of his Jeopardy! success to his passion for trivia…and, of course, to Pingry. “I kind of grew up loving trivia,” he says, especially immersing himself in facts during long car rides. “I read the encyclopedia when I couldn’t fall asleep at night. I loved reading as a kid and remember being the first in my class in elementary school to venture into biographies.” As a high school student, he was eager to join Pingry’s Quiz Bowl Team—in the May 2003 issue of The

Pingry Record, Mr. Cohen said that watching Jeopardy! inspired his interest in Quiz Bowl. He initially formed a Quiz Bowl team with Aaron Sussman ’03 and Tomo Gibson ’03; the trio was fairly successful competing against teams of four to six people. Wanting to compete more, Mr. Cohen organized another Pingry team his junior and senior years—to practice, they bought a buzzer system and used Quiz Bowl questions from previous tournaments—and they competed in multiple tournaments his senior year. Because Mr. Cohen describes the information in many Jeopardy! categories as “high school level,” he drew considerably on his experiences at Pingry. He highlights three classes taught by Mr. Sluyter and the Greek Drama elective with another former Pingry English teacher, Dr. Jane Ashcom. “If people actually remembered all of the details

they learn in high school, they would all be Jeopardy! champions,” Mr. Cohen says. “I’m very lucky to have the kind of mind that retains details.” He was also fortunate to master the art of “ringing in” with his buzzer. Which were Mr. Cohen’s memorable moments? One of his favorite categories was “Governmental Before and After” (“Before and After,” an example of which might be “Betty White House,” is one of his favorite categories, overall). Thanks to sailing in the Caribbean as a teenager, he also knew a Final Jeopardy! answer about the Leeward Islands. Now that Mr. Cohen’s championship run is over, what’s next? He returns to Jeopardy! during the 2016-17 season for the show’s annual Tournament of Champions. Since his job is to find and create music for advertisements, that achievement is music to his ears.

Peter Murray ’91 Would Like to Solve the Puzzle G____ Y____T The “G” had just lit up as the third letter in the opening puzzle (category: “Food & Drink”) of the May 24 episode of Wheel of Fortune when Peter Murray ’91 rang in with “Greek Yogurt.”

After Mr. Murray appeared on Jeopardy! in April 2009, friends suggested that his “next thing” could be to try out for Wheel of Fortune. “So many people apply for Wheel,” he says, describing what he perceived to be “dumb luck” at being selected. “With my acting background from Pingry, I guess I made an impression!” His wife and their two sons joined him for a long weekend in Los Angeles and were in the audience when his show taped on March 4.

Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment

On the set, with a friendly, light-hearted atmosphere among contestants, Mr. Murray was most surprised by the wheel’s weight and reports that they were tutored on how to spin it! While there are not many specific rules for the game (not even for buying a vowel— producers simply recommend it as a

smart move if the contestant wants to try to fill out the board while having more time to look at the puzzle), Mr. Murray found that the game moves quickly. “The time between spinning [the wheel] and calling out a letter goes by very fast,” he recalls. “It’s a cerebral game. I do The New York Times crossword puzzle every day, so that helped with testing my knowledge of words and my ability to quickly fill in letters.” Though he finished second on the show, Mr. Murray describes the experience as “a little bit of an adventure because you only have one opportunity to make the most of it. The best part was the night it aired—a big party with friends and family on my son’s 13th birthday.” Mr. Murray, who lives with his family in Seattle, is a fundraiser for the American Red Cross. SUMMER 2016

Pingry in Print

Where Are They Now? Gary Liu ’01 “Digg”s Online Consumer Behavior the hardest trends to track; Mr. Liu estimates that there is a new understanding of consumer behavior every few months, so a platform like Digg needs to constantly cultivate new approaches and technology. “We have to know where consumer behavior is going, not where it is now. My goal, as CEO, is to steer Digg so that we’re always looking around the next corner.”

In the Light of Humane Nature: Human Values, Nature, The Green Economy, and Environmental Salvation Dr. Arthur B. Weissman ’66 Morgan James Publishing

“As environmental problems have multiplied in gravity and scope, I have wondered what it will take for human beings to appreciate the world around them and the jeopardy they are putting it in…the overall environmental health of our planet continues to decline,” Dr. Weissman writes in the Preface. Even though this book confronts the environmental crisis, it offers a somewhat different take: that the solution can be found in our core values and attitudes. President and CEO of Green Seal, Dr. Weissman oversees a company that provides science-based environmental certification; thousands of products and services have been certified to meet Green Seal standards. Here, he takes readers through key events in the “green economy” movement, showing what has or has not worked, and encourages his audience to live up to its highest moral and aesthetic ideals to solve environmental problems. 80

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Throughout his career, Gary Liu ’01 has worked for such technology companies as Google, Clickable, AOL, Spotify, and Digg, where he is now chief executive officer. His roles have required deep understandings of technology and human behavior, neither of which, he admits, fell in his wheelhouse at Pingry. “I was a true outsider when I came to Pingry, but the School taught me how to learn,” he says. “If you’re lucky, you learn how to learn in college. Those of us who got to spend time at Pingry are incredibly lucky, because we learned it in high school.” He credits his education with enabling him to adapt and succeed in an expansive career. Digg is an online content curator and distributor that, in its own words, “cut[s] through the clutter of the Internet and make[s] sense of the noise so you don’t have to.” It was founded in 2004 and became, by 2006, one of the most popular sources of news and content on the web (by 2008, the term “Digg effect” was widely used to describe the massive boost in traffic a story’s position on Digg’s “front page” would generate). In 2012, it was sold to the studio company Betaworks. The company’s goal—Mr. Liu’s goal—is to “revive and reinvent the brand.” “Digg invented so many aspects of modern content distribution,” Mr. Liu explains. “When Digg was founded, there weren’t really any major content curators. Now, the market is saturated with content, and we have to continuously reinvent and look at how the world is changing and evolving.” For a media company in the 21st century, consumer behavior can be one of

Because of his education at Pingry and Harvard, he feels better prepared to teach himself about new industry patterns, technologies, and platforms more quickly than Digg’s competition. Mr. Liu’s education also helps when it comes to managing people. “I’ve worked with people from all age groups,” he says, “from interns and people right out of college to grizzled industry veterans. We’ve got salespeople, editors, tech guys, and so on, all with different skills and idiosyncrasies.” He describes his leadership approach as that of a servant-leader, focusing more on his accountability to his workers and his company than on giving commands. He aspires for an environment that feels familial, having first learned the value of such an environment at Pingry: “People at Pingry taught me what it looks like to be kind, to lead in the right way, to be humble. I’m able to express a lot of these soft skills through quality management.” Without Pingry’s foundation, he feels he would have never had the ability to transition into the technology world once he realized that finance (the industry he once assumed he would enter) did not match his passion. Without an ability to learn quickly, he says, he would never have landed the job at Google that launched his career. After spending some time away from the Pingry network, he has reconnected. “My exhortation would be for younger alumni to take advantage of the Pingry network,” he says. “High school was an awkward time, but people change—often for the better. Whatever preconceptions I had about people in high school, I’ve been pleasantly surprised and impressed.”

Alumni Events

Alumni Events [ 1 ] Cabaret 20-Year Reunion: Pictured with the 2016 Cabaret cast are Alicia Bronski

Adams ’97, Aarti Kumar ’97, Frank Morano ’97, Peter Rapp ’99, William Houston ’98, Lindsay Tasher ’96, and Rachel (Haynes) Provan ’98. [ 2 ] Boston Regional Reception: Cara Saunders, Amadi Thiam ’03, and Rachel Askin ’03. Also in attendance: Chris Milton ’65 (host), Amy Murnick McKeag ’94, Julie Johnson ’05, Dana Apruzzese ’06, Alexander Salz ’09, Gene Shea ’57, Dale Shea, Scott Ward ’77, Dan Nagler ’77, Tom Pell ’73, Dr. Mark Poster ’63, Tom Ward ’76, and Grant Schonberg ’08. [ 3 ] San Francisco Regional Reception: Front row: Trustee Julian Scurci ’99 (host), Orianne Dutka ’98, Marc Werres ’99, and Palmer Emmitt ’94. Back row: Marla Jeffrey, Amy Jeffrey, David M. Fahey ’99, Jonathan Reef ’07, Special Assistant to the Headmaster Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, Peter Wiley ’60, Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09, ’11, Alexander West ’91, Matt Alexander ’97, Kristin Hudacek ’01, William Hetfield, Jr. ’01, Anna Kamen ’11, Toreyan Clarke ’07, Joshua Dunn ’99, Dr. Sandra Lee ’91, Pingry friend, Day Rosenberg ’90, Grace Niu ’00, and Trudy Garber ’99. [ 4 ] Alumnae Cooking Event: Amy Ruth (Barr) Finegold ’98, Trustee Genesia Perlmutter Kamen ’79, P ’11, ’13, Lindsay Tasher ’96, Joanne Steinhardt ’84, P ’15, Elizabeth Kellogg Winterbottom ’87, P ’21, ’23, Alicia Bronski Adams ’97, Mary Lee (Donahue) Trousdale ’78, P ’08, ’13, Amanda Wiss ’93, Edie (McLaughlin) Nussbaumer ’84, P ’18, ’21, Ann O’Connell ’85, Stephanie Hanchuk ’11, and Morgan McCollum ’10.

SUMMER 2016

Alumni Events [ 5 ] Vero Beach Regional Reception: Attendees included Sue Thomas, former trustee Charles Thomas (Parents ’88, ’90, ’92; hosts), former Lower School staff member Nicki Doggett, Stanley Doggett (Parents ’89), former Lower School teacher Karen Pfister, Jeff Pfister, Judy Newhouse, then-Trustee Steve Newhouse ’65 (Parents ’95, ’97, ’99), Robert Newhouse, Jr. P ’64, ’65, GP ’95, ’97, ’99, Bruce Kelsey, Brenda Kelsey (Parents ’87, ’89, ’95, GP ’20, ’20), Sean O’Donnell ’75, Mimi O’Donnell (Parents ’05, ’10), Red Abbott, Director of Athletics Carter Abbott, Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09, ’11, Elizabeth Bugliari, Special Assistant to the Headmaster Miller Bugliari ’52 (Parents ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20), Chip Carver ’77, trustee Anne DeLaney ’79 (Parents ’09, ’11, ’14, ’14), former PAA President Bob Pyle ’56, P ’91, former PAA President Gordy Sulcer ’61, Barbara Sulcer (Parents ’95, ’01), Joseph Siegelbaum, Sue Ann Siegelbaum (Parents ’91, ’94, ’98), Donald Macrae, Mary Macrae (Parents ’75, ’77, ’79, ’82, GP ’15), Jim Toffey, Jr. ’48, Sally Toffey, Stephen Waterbury ’49, former PSPA President Patricia Waterbury (Parents ’82, ’85), Dr. Charles Wittmann, Jr., Jane Wittmann (Parents ’93), former trustee E. Freeman Bunn ’53, Anne Bunn (Parents ’78, ’80, ’82, ’83), Guy Leedom ’54, James Urner ’57, Sherry Urner, Joseph Cornell, Jr. ’58, Anke Cornell, John Davis ’58, Mary Lou Davis, Richard duBusc ’59, Nancy duBusc (Parents ’87, ’00), Dr. W. Lloyd Barnard, Jr. ’60, Lucinda Barnard, Art Scutro ’60, David Budd ’66, Susan Budd, George Donohue, Barbara Donohue (Parents ’83, ’86 ’90), Peter Tulloch, Vicky Tulloch (Parents ’86, ’93), Edward Benedict, Jill Benedict (Parents ’87), Joan McIlwain P ’77, ’79, ’81, ’85, and Sully Sullivan ’50. [ 6 ] West Palm Beach Regional Reception: Front row: Red Abbott, Linda Umbdenstock P ’97, ’00, Special Assistant to the Headmaster Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, Honorary Trustee William S. Beinecke ’31, P ’61, ’64, and Henry Kreh ’44. Back row: Robert Umbdenstock P ’97, ’00, then-Trustee Steve Newhouse ’65, P ’95, ’97, ’99, Tom Clingan, Kathleen Clingan (Parents ’97, ’03), Alex Bonner P ’20, ’23, ’25, Delphine Daft GP ’20, ’23, ’25, Irina Rothenberg, Liz Ehrlich, Doug Bookbinder ’98, Elizabeth Bugliari P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, Honorary Trustee William V. Engel ’67, Steven Rothenberg ’86 (host), Director of Athletics Carter Abbott, Douglas Daft GP ’20, ’23, ’25, Hank Kreh, and Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09, ’11. 82

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Alumni Events [ 7 ] Naples Regional Reception: Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09, ’11,

Midge Shepard, William Shepard, Jr. ’64, Greg Goggin ’55 (host), William Buchanan, Jr. ’55, Eleanor Lincoln, Ingrid Brimer, Susi Hochstrasser, Eric Hall Anderson ’55, former trustee Vin Apruzzese P ’76, ’78, ’80, ’85, GP ’06, ’08, Nancy Knauer, Special Assistant to the Headmaster Miller Bugliari ’52, Elizabeth Bugliari (Parents ’86, ’90 ’97, GP ’20), William Smith, and Mary Ann Smith (GP ’16, ’18, ’20, ’21). [ 8 ] Washington, D.C. Regional Reception: Front row: Jessica Westerman ’08, Andra Chernack (host), and Greg Chernack ’89 (host). Back row: Erin Palmer ’89, then-PAA President Chip Korn ’89, Sean Kulkarni ’98, Laura Yorke Kulkarni ’98, Ragnar Gearhart ’00, Kevin Walsh ’77, David M. Fahey ’99, Karin Walsh Rutledge ’81, Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09, ’11, J. P. Maucher ’51, Donald McMinn ’82, Chuck Pepe ’78, Dr. Richard Bates, Jr. ’62, Special Assistant to the Headmaster Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, David Martin ’10, Catherine Steinbrenner ’95, and Andrew La Fontaine ’10. [ 9 ] Chicago Regional Reception: David M. Fahey ’99, Reid Dubuque ’98, Dr. Marc Feldstein ’82, Samantha Dubuque, Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09, ’11, Pierce Fowler ’10, Gary Hirschberg, Hannah Bloom ’01, Chris Anderson, Joyce (Chang) Anderson ’98, Paul Anderson ’99 (co-host), Kate Anderson, Justin Manly ’98 (co-host), Emily Manly, Ilene Goldman ’83, and Special Assistant to the Headmaster Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20. [ 10 ] Los Angeles Entertainment Networking Dinner: P. J. Lewis ’95, Will Parham ’06, Tom Heller, Peter Ventrella ’82, Charles Barsamian ’01, George Heller ’97, Joseph Della Rosa ’03, Matt Fechter ’09, Sivert Glarum ’85, Eric Schonberg ’05, Rebecca Mozo ’00, David Bugliari ’97, Special Assistant to the Headmaster Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, Steve Heller P ’93, ’97, and Doug Chernack ’92. Catering was provided by Andrew Gruel ’98, owner of Slapfish.

SUMMER 2016

Networking Events and Professional Affinity Groups Bring Community Together As part of Pingry’s focused effort to create formal opportunities for Pingry alumni of common backgrounds and careers to connect, alumni involved in the entertainment industry convened at the home of George Heller ’97 on February 24 for a networking event.

and one demographic: Pingry women. Each affinity group has a presence on LinkedIn and will provide alumni and parents the opportunity to connect and discuss relevant topics.

When it comes to discovering interests and embarking on successful careers, Pingry alumni have a long history of supporting one another. At the event, Mr. Heller spoke about the influence of the Bugliaris on his own journey; when he was a junior at Pingry, he discussed his burgeoning interest in entertainment with Miller Bugliari ’52, who put him in touch with his son Boyce ’86. Boyce introduced Mr. Heller to the world of Hollywood, where Mr. Heller has worked ever since (currently for Brillstein Entertainment Partners). Inspired by the Bugliaris’ kindness, Mr. Heller vowed to be similarly available to younger alumni, building a network that helps them find their place in a vast, complex industry. Since then, an “epidemic of generosity” has spread— such alumni as Chris Bender ’89, Alan Berger ’68, and David Bugliari ’97 have joined the ranks of alumni mentors.

In finance, Pingry hosted its third annual networking event on April 13, when 125 members of the Pingry community— alumni, current parents, and parents of graduates—gathered at The Yale Club of New York City. The evening was headlined by a blockbuster panel of top executives recognized as global leaders in finance and biopharmaceuticals: Chip Baird ’89, Chief Financial Officer of Amicus Therapeutics; Stephanie Link P ’25, Managing Director and Equity Portfolio Manager at TIAA and a CNBC contributor; Jonathan Peacock P ’17, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bellerophon Therapeutics and Chairman of Arix Bioscience Ltd; and Brent Saunders P ’19, Chief Executive Officer and President of Allergan. Moderated by Stephen Buell P ’99, ’00, Managing Director and Associate Director of Research at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, the panel addressed the topic of “Chasing Alpha, Chasing Cures: Biopharma Financing 2.0.”

Overall, Pingry now has eight “affinity groups” that cover seven industries— entertainment and the arts, finance, innovation and entrepreneurship, law, marketing, real estate, and science—

Questions for the panel sparked a lively discussion about the future of biopharmaceuticals. During the hour-long conversation, the panelists touched upon many other aspects of the healthcare

Last October, Pingry hosted a women’s networking event in New York City, when then-Upper School Director Dr. Denise Brown-Allen P ’13 spoke about being a woman in the professional world (she worked for New Jersey Bell, the precursor to Bell Atlantic, before becoming an educator). “We have come a long way from the days…when a woman’s role was to be a helpmate and mother,” she said. “We are caregivers, daughters, sisters, best friends, wives, chauffeurs, confidants, students, counselors, managers, and organizers.” As with other events, there was time for attendees to openly discuss their personal experiences with one another. Pingry’s aim is to provide regular opportunities for members of all of its professional affinity groups to come together. The Pingry Alumni Association and Office of Alumni and Development encourage community members to join an alumni network on LinkedIn to learn more about future events. “Tonight was a great example of just how powerful the Pingry network is,” commented Ben Lehrhoff ’99 about the finance event. “The room was filled with current students, alums, and parents all brought together by the School. This reinforces that Pingry is not just a place for current students, but a community for all those involved.”

industry, including effects of the current political climate, the impact of federal regulations, branding, differences between domestic and international markets, orphan drugs, tax laws, drug pricing, the growth of personalized medicine, and the need to manage companies for both short- and longterm success. The sentiment throughout the night was the need to push forward and continue delivering to patients in need. “One of our issues is that we don’t tell the stories well enough of how these medicines save lives,” Mr. Baird acknowledged. Mr. Saunders agreed: “The recent rhetoric has been tough on the industry. But we need to encourage people. There’s still so much unmet need.”

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Alumni Events Finance Networking Event [ 11 ] Panelists Brent Saunders P ’19, Stephanie Link P ’25, Stephen Buell P ’99, ’00 (moderator), Trustee Jonathan Peacock P ’17, and Chip Baird ’89. [ 12 ] Shaan Gurnani ’11, Randall Jordan ’10, Michael Lucciola ’11, and Victor N’Diaye ’11. SUMMER 2016

Part II of II

Ask the Archivist Introducing Digital Archivist Peter Blasevick You worked at two universities before coming to Pingry. What are some differences between archiving for a university and archiving for a secondary school? The two university projects I worked on were grant-funded, so I was more limited in what I was able to do. Also, at Rutgers for example, there are nearly 20 people working on all of their digital library programs. At Pingry, there is more freedom to get to the end result, and the digital archivist is only me! Your responsibilities for Pingry’s Athletics Hall of Fame in the Athletics Center have changed since you joined the School. Can you tell readers how and why? My original work on the Hall of Fame was going to be archiving team photos. Now, I need to catalogue complete lists of all conference, county, and state championships won by all of our teams. I will also catalogue every trophy by taking its photo, recording the trophy’s dimensions, transcribing the information on it, and making a note of its current location in the building. There are two reasons for doing this: it will help me compile the lists of championships,

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“I’ve noticed the students’ overall, genuine fondness for so many of the faculty and staff.”

Peter Blasevick

and it will help us determine which items to put in which cases in the Hall of Fame, to best tell the story of Pingry’s athletics history. And I am also helping to select memorabilia for the Hall of Fame displays—plaques, photographs, jerseys, and sports equipment, to name a few examples. To be clear, these lists and memorabilia have always been part of the plan for the Hall of Fame, and a large team of coaches and staff members has been working hard on the logistics. Since I’m the archivist, it was a natural fit for me to become more involved in the process—a small piece in the grand scheme. The tricky thing is that recordkeeping in sports wasn’t as diligent

decades or a century ago, so I have to use different ways of finding information...newspapers, yearbooks, The Pingry Review, The Pingry Record, trophies… the usual detective work. What have you learned about Pingry’s community through your work on the Hall of Fame? I am impressed by the wonderful comments made about coaches in the yearbooks, and the number of years that some of them have been coaching. There’s a sense of community between the athletes and coaches, and I’ve noticed the students’ overall, genuine fondness for so many of the faculty and staff. It’s amazing how long many of the teachers have been here. What are some of the computer programs or equipment you use? Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, a scanner, scanning software, repository software, GoogleDocs, and OCR— optical character recognition to find words in photos. In preparation for the new Athletics Hall of Fame, Peter Blasevick will catalogue these and hundreds of other trophies that are located throughout the Middle and Upper School buildings on the Basking Ridge Campus.

Has Pingry obtained any new archiving equipment to aid your work? We obtained a book scanner, which is really overhead digital photography. If I want to scan a book using a traditional scanner, I have to take apart the binding and scan the pages one by one. With a book scanner, I hold the book open, the scanner takes photos of the individual pages, and then it manipulates the images by straightening the pages, cropping them to uniform size, and removing curves that form in the binding between pages. What are some of the quirkiest items you have uncovered while touching pieces of Pingry’s history? Photographs from the early 1900s, let’s say 1910 to the 1930s, are often of a

better quality than recent photographs. Pictures were taken far more seriously back then. Everybody had to look perfect for one or two pictures. There was more attention to detail—how people sat, who sat next to whom, what they wore, where the coaches stood, the layout. Today’s pictures aren’t “bad,” but society is more casual than it used to be. What are the most exciting aspects of your work at Pingry so far? I love interacting with people from different departments. That is superimportant because an archivist is participating in the institution’s history, so it’s exciting to get different points-of-view and ideas about projects. “Detective work” is also fun, helping to uncover and clarify information.

Seeking Pingry Sports Memorabilia b

Pingry is building its inventory of items that could be showcased in the new Hall of Fame in the Miller A. Bugliari ‘52 Athletics Center. If you have any sports memorabilia from the 1861-1961 era, please contact David M. Fahey ‘99 at dfahey@pingry.org or (908) 647-5555, ext. 1234.

Lower School Art Class, Circa 1946-47 As the Blue Book says, “Here are pictured perhaps some potential Salvador Dalis working on their canvases with pastels and inspiration.” If you recognize any of these students, please contact Greg Waxberg ’96 at gwaxberg@pingry.org or (908) 647-5555, ext. 1296.

SUMMER 2016

Part II of II

Pingry History

Daily Life at The Pingry School on Parker Road, 1945-1951 By Joseph Hanaway ’51, MD, CM, who spent six years at Pingry. His experiences at the School made a permanent impression on him.

The Middle School In the large Middle School study hall, homeroom and classroom sat about 80 students in the First and Second Forms in contained anxiety, closely watched over by Otho Vars, Head of the Middle School. An old-school, Parris Island-type disciplinarian, he ruled by intimidation, criticism, embarrassment, and ridicule (Parris Island, South Carolina is the site of Marine Corps recruit training). While we were working on assignments, he would stalk the rows between our desks, looking for something he didn’t like, snatch a paper from under a pen, hold it up, and say out loud, “Boy, typical boy! Take this mess home to your parents and show them what you have accomplished here.” He would thump students on the head, shake them at times, and even send offenders to a corner to make paper gliders out of waste basket contents. He taught math verbally, without telling anyone how to 88

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approach problems, and would ask: “If a car is travelling 60 miles per hour, it is going 1 mile in a minute. What distance in a minute does the car travel at 75 miles per hour?” Not knowing how to solve this quickly, students, seeking solace, would look at the plaque on the front wall, which read, “The Fear of The Lord Is the Beginning of Wisdom,” and hoped it was true that believing in the Lord would make them smarter. Beneath this irascible and formal exterior, Mr. Vars cared for his students and wanted them to do well. Committed to an old-world style of teaching, he felt that his methods toughened boys to meet adversity in the future. He was always quoting—the thought or saying of the day—so the author, in his senior year, visited with him one afternoon to present a 365-page daybook of pictures, flags, sayings of the day, week, or month. We sat and discussed the book for a half-hour, giving the author a

Richard Baldwin teaching Form I English.

chance to see the pleasant and graceful side of this devoted teacher. To add to the energetic atmosphere of the Middle School, Albert Booth, a short-tempered redhead from Harvard, taught basic Latin, never hesitating to throw students out of class or pelt them with chalk and erasers for talking too much or for wrong answers. This was the unusual style of one of the School’s most intense and best teachers. Next door, off the Middle School study hall, Richard Baldwin taught English to the First Form, teaching basic grammar and, equally as important, wariness of commonly misused words, such as “can” and “may,” “then” and “than,” “effect” and “affect,” “allusion,” “illusion,” and “delusion,” the sin of the split infinitive, the offense of superlatives, and the unforgivable “irregardless.” (As an aside, the split infinitive was a pet peeve of

Headmaster Springer, who mentioned to the author one day in a passing conversation that he had received a letter of inquiry, and, in it, he found a split infinitive. The author’s response can’t be recalled.) He also taught a memorable course on Greek and Roman mythology from Max Herzberg’s Myths and their Meaning (1929). Not stopping here, the talented Dick Baldwin also led an a cappella group and the Pingry Glee Club.

Younger and Older Teachers During World War II, there were few young teachers at Pingry because they were in the military. By 1945-46, the School needed a new group of young teachers, and they came: Charlie Atwater ’31, Scotty Cunningham ’38, Ed Cissel ’39, Ernie Shawcross, and Toni Bristol ’41 are people we can remember who came to Pingry after the war. A perspective on the value of a mix of ages among teachers, in a school like Pingry, which exemplified the importance of the young and the old in secondary education, is best expressed by Robert Frost in his 1930 poem, “What Fifty Said.” “When I was young my teachers were the old. I gave up fire for form till I was cold. I suffered like a metal being cast. I went to school to age to learn the past. Now I am old my teachers are the young. What can’t be molded must be cracked and sprung. I strain at lessons fit to start a suture. I go to school to youth to learn the future.” Reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Fighting Against Spoon-Feeding A problem with high school education at the time was “spoon-feeding,” a catchword around schools. In simple terms, it means teaching in a didactic way (by lecturing and handing out notes), encouraging passive learning with minimal student participation. It

was easy for a teacher with a large group to lecture to students who sit quietly and daydream and, to make it easier, to pass out notes about the lectures. At Pingry, learning-while-doing was catching on; students were challenged and questioned in class to discuss subjects, participating actively in their education.

Adventures with Ballpoint Pens The first ballpoint pen to appear at Pingry (and in the country) in 1946-47 was called the Reynolds Rocket. Made by the Reynolds Metals Co., it was an aluminum stick about six inches long that rested on a pressed aluminum rocket launcher, thus the name. One could write underwater with it, or so the ads read, so someone with a piece of cardboard on a clipboard dove in the School pool with a Reynolds pen to prove it. Writing out of water, however, was a problem because the ink was too thick. Using hot tap water made the ink run, but also made it leak its viscous, purple, indelible contents on the fingers, hands, and sleeves; and all this for $1.70. P.T. Barnum was right about a sucker born every minute, and the Reynolds Rocket proved it. Unfortunately, it took Bic decades to appear. Most of us used Parker fountain pens, which also leaked. No matter how hard Parker tried redesigns, the pens still leaked, but at least the ink was washable.

Otho Vars in the Middle School Study Hall (from the 1947 Blue Book).

Fire Drills On any given day in the late 1940s, there were 375 students and 25 teachers and staff in the Parker Road facility, a wooden fire trap. We were told that it was condemned by the Elizabeth fire code because of the unsafe secondfloor fire escapes, but Pingry remained open only by our practiced responses to random fire drills. There were bells in the Middle and Upper Schools and the lobby. When they clanged, we dropped everything and ran prescribed routes, stampeding in the halls and up and down stairs to our exits. With a large number of students running in the halls and stairs in the Upper School, the ancient wooden flooring would tremble under the weight, and we were doubly glad to get out of the building. These exercises were monitored by the Elizabeth City Fire Chief, who called for the drills and stood on the front drive with a stopwatch in hand, giving us 120 seconds to vacate the building. The students took these fire drills seriously because they knew the consequences of not getting out on time. At the rear of the Upper School study hall was a door to the top platform of a fire escape. From this level, steps went down the side of the building to a landing above the first floor, and from there SUMMER 2016

School Buses

a ladder to the ground below. The attachments for the ancient structure, probably the age of the building (1893), had loosened to the point of being unsafe. Jumping on the platform would shake the entire side of the building.

As Pingry’s reputation spread, students came from further and further away. The largest contingent came from Short Hills, Summit, and Chatham, and was carried to Pingry on ancient buses owned by the White Brothers Bus Company. These relics were 35-passenger Mack buses that chugged the hilly suburbs like The Little Engine that Could. Those of us who rode in these antique vehicles with faux, velvet-covered seats blessed ourselves every time we made it home. If there had been disability licenses at that time, we would have recommended them—not for the drivers, but for the buses. By 1948 or 1949, the White Brothers replaced them with modern rear-engine buses, also used to take sports teams and their fans to away games.

The Lunch Room Lunch was served in two shifts, one for the Middle School at about 11:30 a.m. and one for the Upper School at about 12:15 p.m. For each sitting, student waiters from Forms I and II, on weekly rotations, would go to the dining hall early to set up the tables. The kitchen was below the dining room, and food was sent in a dumbwaiter up to a stainless steel food console, where the plates were set out for the waiters. When students were seated and lunch served, grace was said. “Boisterous” is the best description of a Pingry Upper School lunch, despite the master seated at the head of each table. Some of the faculty encouraged the rowdiness; Vince “Les” Lesneski, Dave Buffum, and Ernie Shawcross could always be counted on. The reader can see the scene of a typical 1950 senior luncheon, hardly taciturn and restrained. Pranks with gullible underclass waiters became a tradition, particularly when chocolate pudding was served, which provided endless possibilities. Today, this might be considered bullying, but we all went through it, and it was never targeted toward one boy. It was just part of growing up at Pingry. In the few minutes after lunch, the seniors would go out to their cars or stand at the front entrance of the School for 10 minutes. The dietitian at the end of the war (1945) was a Ms. Wheeler who had to deal with food rationing, restrictions, and shortages. Once, someone complained about the food, which brought down the wrath of the headmaster, who lectured us about complaints under wartime circumstances. Ms. Wheeler did the best she could with limited resources, and Mr. Springer would not tolerate complaints about her meals, as she was tasked with feeding 350-375 students. After her, a no-nonsense Larry Kennedy became The Pingry Chef, and the author knew this worthy man. 90

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The author in uniform (crew cut, button-down shirt, striped tie) at age 18 in the fall of 1951, at Washington and Lee University.

Traditional Dress Pingry was a “prep school” in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and, like in hundreds of similar post-war independent schools, the coat, tie, and khakis were traditional dress (as an aside, almost all of the restaurants in New Jersey and New York required you to wear a coat and tie to be seated). The blue blazer and “rep,” or striped tie, was a familiar uniform spotted anywhere. Alternatives at Pingry were the knitted dark blue varsity letter sweater, any kind of jacket, or the blue blazer with the Pingry crest on the pocket (the blazer was sold by Goerke’s, a downtown department store, for $25.00). Students “in the know” got their clothes at Brooks Brothers, Rogers Peet, or J. Press (known as J. Squeeze for its high prices) in New York, or had jackets made by the great tailor J. Paradise in Summit. In warm weather, cord jackets, buttondowns, striped ties, and dirty white buck shoes were the summer uniform. Wash-and-wear shirts were just being introduced, and Brooks Brothers had their own brand, Brooks Weave.

Bus stops for each of the towns were arranged by the company so that no one had to walk more than a quarter of a mile. In Short Hills, we had to be at the bus stops between 7:00-7:15 a.m., and the drivers did not wait—they had a deadline to get to school. The Short Hills buses went up Old Short Hills Road, worked themselves over and descended Highland Avenue, wandering around other streets, making it to Millburn Avenue and on to Parker Road through Union. Seating, by tradition, was seniors in the back, and, in hierarchal style, underclassmen up to the front. Smaller student groups from Staten Island and east-central New Jersey were driven in leased, nine-passenger vehicles by teachers who lived in the same neighborhoods as the students. One senior, Julian Smith ’51, drove 63 miles daily, from and to Atlantic Highlands.

Tuition and Transportation Costs From Pingry records of tuition costs: from 1945-51, the tuition for Forms I-II was close to $450 per year, and Forms III-VI were close to $500 per year. The cost of bussing per annum was close to $80. For six years at Pingry, the tuition and bussing costs were close to $3,380 with some added expenses for sports equipment, dances, and other activities,

for a $4,000 total. This is about oneninth the total cost of one year at Pingry today. The average annual income for a family in 1948, from the 1949 Survey of Consumer Finances, was $3,120. An American car cost $1,550, gasoline 26 cents per gallon, a stamp three cents, a house $13,500, and minimum wage was 40 cents per hour.

Saturday Detention and “Skipping Out” Saturday morning detention from 9:30 a.m. to noon was the penalty for misbehavior, mostly Form I to Form IV (the upper Forms rarely were given detentions). Generally, it was applied for being impossible in class, study hall, and the library, and at lunch. In the late 1940s, Leander Kirk was renovating the chemistry/physics lab and used cheap labor by passing out detentions to Form IV and V students. In fact, we all loved it because he was laughing all the time, and we wanted to help. Getting to Pingry in time from Short Hills and Summit was the biggest problem with detentions. Gas rationing during and immediately after World War II meant that we had to use public transportation. The author had to walk two miles from Short Hills to Springfield to Morris Turnpike to catch the bus for North Avenue. From there, it was a mile walk to Parker Road. Leaving home in Short Hills at 8:00 a.m., the author could make it to Pingry in one-and-a-half hours.

“Skipping Out” referred to leaving School before the 4:00 p.m. closing hour. For obvious reasons, the School had to know where the students were, in case of emergency. If there were no late afternoon classes, club meetings, or athletics commitments, seniors would just leave the School. We thought we were so clever. The problem was when underclassmen began to skip out— Pingry was legally responsible for us during school hours, so it was against the rules—the School wanted the student council to call the student in to get an explanation. Apparently, a student skipping out one day saw Dave Buffum walking to the Elizabeth train station and offered him a ride, which he accepted. At the station, he thanked the student for the ride and, in parting, said, “Oh, by the way, you have a Saturday detention for skipping out.”

Final Thoughts Pingry challenged students to get involved and participate in the learning process, and the dictum of “learningwhile-doing” was beginning to take hold, replacing passive learning. All great educational institutions, like Pingry, depend on the participation and teamwork of students, faculty, coaches, secretaries, and others, all working for a common purpose, each contributing to the academic milieu. Another of life’s lessons from Pingry is “Carpe Diem, Quam Minimum Credula

Seniors at lunch in 1950 (from the 1951 Blue Book).

Postero,” liberally translated, “Seize the day, and don’t count on tomorrow.” Let us pay tribute to our mentors of the past and to the institution that endures: “In Pingry’s halls we learned to grow In friendships tried and true, And reverently we came to know Her colors white and blue. We Pingry sons will hold her dear, Our hearts swell with her fame; We loyal sons will ever revere Our Alma Mater’s name. Refrain: No matter where we roam or dwell, We’ll always dream of thee, Our hearts with song will always swell In praise of old Pingry.” - The New “Alma Mater” by Al Strickler ’48

“What Fifty Said” from the book THE POETRY OF ROBERT FROST edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright © 1928, 1969 by Henry Holt and Company, copyright © 1956 by Robert Frost. Used by arrangement with Henry Holt and Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Correction: Part I of this article referred to Beirut in Syria instead of its correct location, Lebanon. SUMMER 2016

Letters to the Editor

I was a student in the second and third grades at Parker Road in ’49 and ’50 and in the Middle and Upper Schools in Hillside from ’54 to ’60. To look at the Pingry history picture on page 59 brings a multitude of delightful and stirring memories. Most of the faculty shown were at both locations. I recognize almost everyone in the picture and studied under almost every one of them. This faculty was so individually unique and dedicated to the principle of Dr. Pingry, “the greatest respect is due to boys,” that they have remained fresh in my thoughts throughout my life. I noticed an unnumbered picture of Ms. Clifford, my third-grade teacher. She was a most friendly, soft, and encouraging teacher. Roy Shrewsbury, whose picture was not included, but referenced as being on the faculty, was a friend of my mother. He thought I should attend, so he introduced me to Pingry in the second grade. Reese Williams coached and supported me in sports from the second grade until I graduated. Every time I got too big for my pants, Vince Lesneski would grab and crush my shoulder with his 92

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vice-grip hands and set me straight. During my three years in the Middle School, Otho Vars was the taskmaster overseeing my misguided ways. In Herby Hahn’s class, you marveled at the pearls of wisdom coming from his lips. My lifesaver at Pingry was Ernie Shawcross. At the end of my junior year, Pingry was not happy with my academic accomplishments and was ready to dismiss me. Ernie went to bat for me and convinced Pingry to keep me. I had failed his chemistry exam. He had said that, if I studied and came back and retook and passed the chemistry exam, and promised that I would make all good grades in my senior year, I could stay in school. I accomplished both. My only regret is that I did not make it to his funeral. Elliot Knoke was a warm, friendly person whose son Paul was in my Class at Pingry and also graduated from VMI with me. The best throwing arm on the faculty was Albie Booth in the Latin class, who could leave a white chalk eraser mark on your forehead at 10 paces. As I am sure it is with all the boys from these times at Pingry, the stories go on and on, everlasting in our minds.

The obituary for Charlie Lerman ’65 listed his many accomplishments without talking about his brilliance at Pingry in football and track, in the classroom where he was an outstanding scholar, and in the Publications Office, where he was Editor in Chief of the Blue Book and News Editor of The Pingry Record. Charlie was a great guy and a great friend and will be missed. - Bob Dwyer ’65

Honoring Our Veterans

- John Manley ’60 ––––––––––––– Thank you for the article on the plane crashes in Elizabeth in 1951-52. I was spared the traumatic memories because my family lived that year in Seattle, WA, where my father was stationed in the Army. Upon our return to Elizabeth, I had classmates at Elmora School 12 who lived at Janet Memorial Home. So, I did get to know some of them. The reminiscences of several Pingry alumni who were interviewed show the lasting traumatic impact on the psyche of even brief horrifying events. - Mark F. Poster ’63

The Pingry Review heard from many alumni about names that were missing from the list of veterans. We are grateful for your responsiveness to our request to help make our records more comprehensive. Based on the names received, and those we receive during the coming months, we will publish an updated list in a future issue.

“Honor and Excellence” By Upper School English teacher Meaghan Singer

If you forget to take a vocabulary quiz in my English class, you automatically earn a zero. The catch is that I drop the lowest quiz each semester—I figure everyone has a bad day once in a while—but, even with the knowledge that this quiz will be dropped, what always follows is a barrage of emails and a litany of excuses. “I wasn’t feeling well…” “Our power went out…” “I was on vacation…” These may all be legitimate reasons, but one of my students scored an automatic zero on her vocabulary quiz and didn’t have a legitimate reason. She sent me an email that said, “I just wanted to apologize for forgetting to take the Membean quiz on Friday. I feel horrible, and I understand that I will get a zero. Once again, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. It is entirely my fault.” Wow. I had never received an email like this before. This student’s response got me thinking about attribution theory in psychology—how and why ordinary people explain events as they do. “Internal attribution” assigns the cause of events to some internal characteristic or personality trait, while “external attribution” assigns the cause of events to some situation or event outside a person’s control. Scientists have found that, when things go well for us, we tend to assign internal attribution to the event; we tend to take the credit. Conversely, when things don’t go our way, we tend to assign blame to outside sources. But this student flipped the attribution model on its head. She took all the credit for performing poorly. She said what so many people can never or will never allow themselves to say: “It was entirely my fault.” Our society and culture tend to place a huge emphasis on excellence, often at the expense of honor. Our School’s branding tagline is “Excellence and Honor.” Excellence is the sexy part of the equation because who doesn’t love the idea of being “of the highest and finest quality,” of being “extraordinary” or “superior to all the rest”? But I have found honor to be the more

students second. I judge you by your behavior, your character, your proven record of taking ethical action, which brings me back to my student who scored a zero. She was one of the finest, most excellent students I taught last year because of the most honorable way in which she accepted that grade. Being a truly honorable person makes you excellent in ways that winning the game, scoring 100 percent, or getting the A+ in class never will. The truth is that we remember honor more than excellence.

“The truth is that we remember honor more than excellence.” important part of our School’s mission. I think it means more than excellence ever will. If we’re constantly striving for excellence, we have to recognize that there is no being “the best,” only achieving your personal best, which varies from individual to individual. We are not excellent all the time. We fail tests. We lose games. We get cut from the team. While excellence may be something to strive for, honorable is something to be. My motto as a teacher in regard to my students is that you are people first,

I find it interesting that, when former Pingry students return, and teachers introduce them to me, I never hear about test scores or college names. They talk about the person’s character, kindness, and integrity. At the end of the day, that’s what people remember. Many people know the following quote by Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget the way you made them feel.” I hope my students remember me as someone who believed in them in spite of, and perhaps even for, their failures—someone who treated them like people first, students second. This article is adapted from Meaghan Singer’s remarks at an Upper School Morning Meeting in March 2016. Her speech was part of the Honor Board Speaker Series, in which the Honor Board invites either a faculty member or a student to address the Upper School student body. SUMMER 2016

The Joys of a Rewarding Second Career By John Green ’60

I have been truly blessed with a fulfilling 40-year career as an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and an equally rewarding second career of teaching in secondary education. My inspiration for seeking an opportunity to teach is attributable to the influence of my mother and aunt, both career teachers, and the memories of my six years at Pingry on the Hillside Campus.

government or international organizations. Speakers who were particularly interesting were Ambassadors from Kazakhstan and Kenya, an Agency for International Development official who spoke about U.S. aid to developing nations, and a physician, father of a student, who had served four years studying tropical diseases in Peru.

I can point to the impact of two Pingry teachers who greatly affected my decision to seek careers in both the CIA and independent school teaching. Mr. Weiler’s Middle School geography course awakened my interest in the world and its many cultures and peoples. His enthusiasm sparked my interest in pursuing world travel, furthering my reading, and learning more about other countries. Mr. Buffum’s American history course in my senior year explored the challenges and complexity of our country’s foreign policy in the Cold War era and enhanced my interest in what career opportunities might exist in this area.

My favorite aspect of the curriculum was “What in the World is Going On,” our daily opening class activities that involved the students monitoring current events. With my encouragement and direction, students selected articles from newspapers, journals, or the Internet and led discussions on their content and their impact on either U.S. domestic or foreign policy. As each school year progressed, it was exciting to see the depth of student interest and see their knowledge evolve on a variety of topics. One personally rewarding measure of this expanding comprehension was reflected in parents recounting how their children increasingly became

To date, my career in secondary education has consisted of eight years of teaching 6th graders at the National Presbyterian School (NPS), a co-ed independent school in Washington, D.C. (I taught from 2005-2013, at which time I left my teaching position to prepare for my wife’s impending kidney transplant.) While my teaching responsibilities included language arts and math, my favorite subject was social studies, which focused on 20th and 21st century U.S. history, world geography, and current events. I was fortunate that my prior career with the CIA and its focus on world affairs, as well as my students’ fascination with the role of this organization, enhanced my class’s interest in the topics covered in our social studies curriculum. As I had anticipated, our nation’s capital proved to be an ideal environment for teaching and studying the topics in our social studies curriculum. Instruction was not restricted to the classroom, as we scheduled field trips that included the Supreme Court, foreign embassies, 94

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Heifer International’s Global Village, and The Islamic Center, where students engaged in dialogue with one of the mosque’s Imams on topics ranging from radical Islamic movements to the lifestyles and challenges facing Moslems in contemporary America. Each year, our visit to Heifer International’s exhibit of a variety of dwellings from countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America provided an overview of lifestyles in various countries that we were studying in world geography. I selected Heifer for its reputation in promoting a greater understanding of world hunger and development for young people.

“Today’s young people are eager to be taught by individuals whose backgrounds include a range of life experiences coupled with substantive subject knowledge.” Students were introduced to Heifer through videos and written material that prepared them for our day-long visit in nearby Hagerstown, Maryland. The timing of our visits in October coincided with our study of Mexico and Central America. Counselors led students on a four-hour introduction to the culture and customs of Guatemala that included a tour of a rural family dwelling and culminated with students preparing and consuming a typical meal. Thanks to students’ parents, and other people associated with NPS, my students also benefitted from a variety of guest speakers including U.S. and foreign diplomats and parents of students who were employed with the federal

involved in family discussions of issues facing our country. An unexpected surprise in my NPS experience was a Pingry connection. One of my fellow teachers was Hannah Bosland, a Kent Place graduate, whose father Rick (Class of 1976) and uncle Jim (Class of 1980) are Pingry alumni. Additionally, our Director of Admissions, Katy (Forsyth) Harvey, and Ned Rubenstein, father of one of my students, attended John Burroughs School in St. Louis when Ed Cissel (Class of 1939) was Head. I hope that my second career in the classroom will encourage other Pingry graduates who have completed one career to consider following a similar

second career in the field of education. Today’s young people are eager to be taught by individuals whose backgrounds include a range of life experiences coupled with substantive subject knowledge. For those interested, I suggest exploring the variety of opportunities that may range from volunteer roles to full-time teaching assignments in their communities. In my case, I decided that a period of time serving as a substitute teacher would be a good gauge of whether I was truly meant to teach on a permanent basis. I served a year-and-a-half as a substitute with the Fairfax County public schools in neighboring Virginia with assignments from Kindergarten through Grade 12. Several teachers advised me to pursue the experience as a substitute teacher, as there had been so many years since my own experience in the classroom with young people. I found this decision

to experience today’s classroom and students—and how I would react to these challenges—as a wise choice prior to seeking a full-time position. I must admit to having a selfish reason for pursuing this second career as a teacher. My interest in foreign relations, history, and geography did not end with my leaving the CIA, and what better way to continue studying and following these subjects than teaching in the classroom and helping young people acquire the same fascination with and understanding of the complex world in which we live? Keeping current required further graduate study and attendance at varied and interesting conferences and seminars offered by universities and associations in the Washington, D.C. area, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I did not teach during the 2014-15 school year as I helped my wife in her

recuperation from successful kidney transplant surgery at Johns Hopkins and endured my own recovery from a knee replacement surgery; I did, however, become involved with an inner city tutoring group, working with sixthgraders from charter schools. This past fall and winter, my wife and I downsized and moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, home to our grandchildren, where I’m considering further graduate studies at one of the universities in the Raleigh/Chapel Hill/Durham area and where I’m hoping to find a similar teaching position at an independent secondary school. In the next issue, Mr. Green will share his insights about teaching and the attributes that he believes are needed to succeed in the profession. John Green ’60 with his Pingry pen pals during Reunion 2010.

SUMMER 2016

Class Notes Share all your news!

Send Class Notes to Holland (Sunyak) Francisco ‘02 at hfrancisco@pingry.org or The Pingry School, 131 Martinsville Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920.

Samuel Cole ’35 and Manton Martin ’35 at the 50-Year Club Luncheon during Reunion Weekend. Both are 98 years old!

Charles Mac Donald ’51 and his wife Patricia Mac Donald.

1951 CHARLES MAC DONALD and his wife Patricia (née Rocco) celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a two-week cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas in May 2015. They married on May 14, 1955.

1958 DR. JIM SMITH, Dr. Richard C. Weiss ’55, and Dr. Weiss’ wife Dr. Sandra R. Harmon-Weiss (GP ’17, ’18, ’21) attended Pingry’s annual Robert H. LeBow ’58 Memorial Oratorical Competition in February. Dr. Weiss is Dr. LeBow’s first cousin. Read more about this year’s competition on page 39.

1959 DAVID GELBER reports that the second season of the climate change documentary YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, of which he is executive producer, will 96

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Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09, ’11, Dr. Jim Smith ’58, Rachel Chen ’18, Dr. Sandra R. Harmon-Weiss, and Dr. Richard C. Weiss ’55 (GP ’17, ’18, ’21).

premiere in October on The National Geographic Channel. As part of the series, New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman traveled to Africa for a story about climate refugees and wrote three columns about his trip to Niger and Senegal. They were published in April.

large and diverse community of students and post-doctoral fellows, whose creative theoretical endeavors have had an enormous impact on particle physics as well as the larger scientific community.’ One of the students was Dr. Elizabeth Simmons ’81. I hope that Pingry will send me more scientists!”

1960

DON KEEL writes, “I’m going to be a grandfather for the first time in July. The boy, from my son and his wife, is yet to be named.”

JOHN GREEN is enjoying his second career as a teacher (read more on page 94). He writes, “We have moved into our new home in Raleigh, and I will begin substitute teaching at Ravenscroft, a coed independent school, in the fall. Kristin and I are enjoying being with our grandchildren and the more relaxed pace of life in North Carolina.”

1964 HOWARD GEORGI writes, “I received the 2016 DPF (Division of Particles and Fields) Mentoring Award from the American Physical Society: ‘For his unique dedication to mentoring and supporting a

BRUCE MORRISON is the dedicatee of Pingry’s 2016 Blue Book. Read more on page 40. JACK STEARNS writes, “Every year, Old Sturbridge Village has a Field of Flags along with a sign that remembers fallen heroes. I always make sure that Bill Little’s name appears on that sign.”

Alan Berger ’68, David Bugliari ’97, Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, and Boyce Bugliari ’86 met up in Los Angeles in March.

1965

1966

1972

JACK BRESCHER P ’99 received Pingry’s Letter-in-Life Award during Commencement for the Class of 2016. Read more on page 75.

DR. ARTHUR WEISSMAN has written a book, In the Light of Humane Nature. Read more on page 80.

DR. JOSEPH COSTABILE, a board-certified general and vascular surgeon, writes, “On May 14, I was installed as the 224th President

Members of the Class of 1966 joined Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20 in front of Kean University during a Reunion Weekend tour of the former Hillside Campus: Front row: George Ellis, Dr. Adam Rowen P ’05, David Budd, Andy Weltchek, Bruce Schundler, Dr. Bill LaCorte, and Rick Hadley. Second row: Joe Cralle III, Bill Baker, Jr., former Pingry administrator and English teacher Peter Cowen, Jon Cumpton, Dick Shepard, Dr. Art Vedder, Don Roberts, Jr., Miller Bugliari ’52, and Alan Gibby. Third row: Gil Roessner, Bill Sterns III, Bob Gibson, and Dr. John Cornwall. SUMMER 2016

of the Medical Society of New Jersey, which celebrated its 250th anniversary in New Brunswick in July. I am the first son to follow in the footsteps of his father in the position. My father Douglas served as the 198th president in 1990.” Goals for his one-year term include an increase in membership and activism and more care for military personnel.

out of watching Clara high-fiving the little kids in Ashland and Natick, kissing the Wellesley College girls in the ‘scream tunnel,’ hugging Katherine and Clara’s twin brother Miller and many friends along the way, making faces at the cameramen, and high-fiving the BC kids at mile 22 are memories for a lifetime. What a dream it was to run Boston with my ‘little’ girl!”

DR. STEPHEN NAUGHTON (below) writes, “The men stay boys forever by listening to the music of their youth. Absolutely fabulous time shared by all of us at a David Gilmour concert on April 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, preceded by dinner at Stout. These guys are absolute musical aficionados, and I just try to keep up. As always, great stories of our Pingry experience emerge and are relived and enjoyed!”

1985 JACK YOUNGELSON received Pingry’s Achievement in the Arts Award during Reunion Weekend. Read more on page 78.

1989

1974 DAVID C. FREINBERG P ’12, ’15 received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Jersey Law Journal. He served as LeClairRyan’s Chief Executive Officer from 2011 to 2016, during which time the firm grew to nearly 400 attorneys in 25 offices around the country. He also served on LeClairRyan’s leadership team and Board of Directors. David now focuses his practice on transactional matters.

Tom Ward ’76 with his daughter Clara at the Boston Marathon.

1976 TOM WARD writes, “What an incredible journey my daughter Clara and I have had together! Raising over $23,000 combined for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, training together, and our ‘victory lap’ of 26.2 miles in the Boston Marathon. The pride and joy I got

Christopher Naughton ’73, Frank Slugaski, Jr. ’73, Dr. Stephen Naughton ’72, and Charles (Chuck) Cuttic ’73. 98

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ALICE (POPP) CASEY writes, “Unofficial Pingry reunion in Miami, Florida (opposite page)! We had a great girls’ weekend in May, reminiscing about school days and getting caught up. The clubs could not even handle us. It was turnt up.”

Luis Monteagudo ’82, P ’14, Louis Monteagudo ’14, and Sean Carver ’14 at a party in April for the Ithaca Public Education Initiative.

Jamie Lott-Jones ’91 and Watchung Hills Regional High School Principal George Alexis.

Tanya Fickenscher Leonard ’89, Jenn (Gates) Earle ’89, Chandra (Cain) Davis ’89, Catherine Kolacy Becker ’89, Katie Bartlett Schneider ’89, Michelle Jarney ’89, and Alice (Popp) Casey ’89.

1991 NICOLA (HOWELLS) CAVALERI, a language teacher at the University of Cambridge, writes, “I think back very fondly on the years at Pingry and the incredible impact the amazing teachers had on honing our thinking and problemsolving skills and exposing us to the world beyond Pingry. I use a lot of these strategies in my everyday interactions with students today, so the Pingry legacy continues in many different ways!” JAMIE LOTT-JONES, a social studies teacher at Watchung Hills Regional High School for 18 years, was named the school’s “2016 Teacher of the Year.” Her plaque reads, “For encouraging students to think independently, for promoting a culture of acceptance, and for inspiring students to embrace

empathy, kindness, and responsibility.” Among her activities, Jamie serves on the executive committee of the “Facing History & Ourselves” New Jersey Advisory Board that develops best practices for history teachers to encourage students to participate in civic engagement; she has led seminars about how to teach social justice; and she has helped develop anti-bullying initiatives. Jamie has also made it part of the curriculum for students in her World History Honors classes to participate in StoryCorps’ Great Thanksgiving Listen, in which high school students create an oral history by recording an interview with an elder during Thanksgiving weekend. Jamie and her husband Mike have two children, Luke and Jake. PETER MURRAY was a contestant on Wheel of Fortune this spring. Read more on page 79.

Chris Newhouse ’97, Palmer Emmitt ’94, Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, Andrew Legge ’94, and Peter Blanchard ’95 met up in San Francisco in February. SUMMER 2016

Several Pingry alumni gathered for the Kentucky Derby: Hilary (Sunyak) Ulz ’96, Stuart Alford ’95, Todd Ferrie ’93, Marcus Sunyak ’93, Brad Bonner ’93, P ’20, ’23, ’25, Chris Ulz ’93, Alex Baydin ’93, P ’26, Holland Fritsche ’93, and Holly (Sunyak) Francisco ’02.

young kids Leo, Ellie, and Scarlet. I would love to hear from classmates, so reach out at stindallfly@ yahoo.com.”

1999

Dr. Kaushal Kulkarni ’97 discussing an MRI that shows a pituitary tumor in one of his patients.

1997 DR. KAUSHAL KULKARNI is a board-certified neuro-ophthalmologist practicing at Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Center in San Diego as part of the Sharp HealthCare system. He was recently featured on San 100

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Diego television in the latest episode of the documentary The Sharp Experience after helping to treat a young woman who was losing vision while pregnant with twins. SARA TINDALL-WOODMAN was inducted into Pingry’s Athletics Hall

of Fame during Reunion Weekend (read more on page 76). She writes, “I live in Rhode Island, where I am a prosecuting attorney for the Rhode Island Department of the Attorney General. My husband Keith and I are also trying our best to keep up with our three

Wynafred Anna Fahey.

DAVID FAHEY, his wife Allison, and their son Finnegan welcomed Wynafred Anna into the world on April 6. She weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and measured 21.5 inches. Everyone is happy and healthy!

Credit: John Jenks

Dan Armstrong ’01, right, with Ole Miss’s leading scorer Dan Warnecke.

DEVON GRAHAM HAMMONDS and her husband Jason Hammonds welcomed their first baby, James “Colt” Hammonds, in October. Devon writes, “We named him James after Jason’s father and picked Colt as a middle name just because it was something strong we liked. When he was born at a whopping 10.6 pounds and we were deciding between James and Colt, his size and stature

tipped the scale, literally, as he was more like a baby horse than a person! And he truly is a gentle giant, so sweet and smiley, but off-thecharts in his stature.”

2000 KATE (MARTUSCELLO) SMITH writes, “Members of the Class of 2000 got together on March 12 for

their 2nd Annual Pingry Baby Party. It was great to see old friends and get the kids together! In attendance were Heidi (Barnes) Harper ’00, Allison Weinstein ’00, Gary Silverstrom ’00, Kate (Martuscello) Smith ’00, Ted Smith ’00, Amy (Catapano) DiGregorio ’00, Patty Jeydel ’00 and her fiancé George Morano, Becka Buurma ’00 and her husband Larry Rappoport, and Melissa (Grandis) Gatto ’00 and her

Allison Weinstein ’00, Kate (Martuscello) Smith ’00 with Libby Smith, Becka Buurma ’00 with Maddie Rappoport, Melissa (Grandis) Gatto ’00 with George Gatto III, and Heidi (Barnes) Harper ’00. Not pictured: Patty Jeydel ’00, Amy (Catapano) DiGregorio ’00 with Thomas DiGregorio, Allison’s daughter Elle Silverstrom, and Heidi’s son James Harper.

husband George. The group was looking forward to getting together again for Patty and George’s wedding in June!”

2001 DAN ARMSTRONG was profiled as part of the weekly series “The Secret Life of…” on mycentraljersey.com on March 7. He is the new head coach of the ice hockey team, the Ice Rebels, at the University of Mississippi. Dan moved to Mississippi when his fiancée Amber began doctoral work in the English Department at Ole Miss. Having served as team captain his senior year at Pingry under the direction of Coach Magadini, Dan became an assistant coach at Ole Miss for the 2015-16 season. He was offered the head coaching job when his predecessor Angelo Rosena became general manager. Ole Miss’s team, which has a six-figure budget for road trips and ice time and is run by the volunteer coaching staff and student board, is a Division III member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, the governing body of club-level programs, and recently made the ACHA national tournament three years in a row. SUMMER 2016

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CATHERINE PACK was inducted into Pingry’s Athletics Hall of Fame during Reunion Weekend. Read more on page 76.

2003

Courtesy of Kara Brodgesell Photography

SONIA YASMEENA RAB ALAM married Graham Lui Paterson on September 6 at the San Francisco Zoo. Attendees included Omar Alam ’97, Zia Alam ’02, Zarine Alam ’06, Jane Sawyer ’03, Dana Zolli ’03, and photographer Kara Brodgesell ’03, who expertly captured the day. Sonia is finishing a Ph.D. in the Sociology of Science & Medicine at UCSF, and Graham is a Video Producer at Facebook. They live in Oakland, California. BUZZY COHEN was a contestant on Jeopardy! this spring. Read more on page 79.

Kara Brodgesell ’03, Jane Sawyer ’03, Dana Zolli ’03, Sonia Rab Alam ’03, Graham Paterson, Omar Alam ’97, Zia Alam ’02, and Zarine Alam ’06.

CHRISTIN GIANIS WILLIS married Jeff Willis on October 3 in New Vernon, New Jersey. Jeff is from Easton, Massachusetts, and they met at The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. The wedding party

included Margot Gianis ’06, Heather Shafi Venturo ’03, Katie Corrigan Griff ’03, and Greg Gianis ’09. Also in attendance were Will Weldon ’09, Dr. John Gianis, Jr. ’73, P ’03, ’06, ’09, Maura Donnantuono ’03, Dr. John Boozan ’75, Dr. Tom

Gianis ’69, Conor Griff ’02, Charlotte Williams ’06, Cary Corrigan ’08, Brendan Bruno ’09, Stephen Gianis ’76, Rob Williams ’76, P ’06, ’08, ’12, and (not pictured) Peter Corrigan ’08. Christin and Jeff live in Brookline.

2006 PETER CIPRIANO and his partner won the 109th National Racquets Doubles Championship of America on March 13 at the Boston Tennis and Racquet Club. Peter represents

Will Weldon ’09, Dr. John Gianis, Jr. ’73, P ’03, ’06, ’09, Maura Donnantuono ’03, Dr. John Boozan ’75, Heather Shafi Venturo ’03, Stephen Gianis ’76, Jeff Willis, Christin Gianis Willis ’03, Katie Corrigan Griff ’03, Cary Corrigan ’08, Greg Gianis ’09, Margot Gianis ’06, Charlotte Williams ’06, Conor Griff ’02, Brendan Bruno ’09, Dr. Tom Gianis ’69, and Rob Williams ’76, P ’06, ’08, ’12. 102

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Christian Portz, Peter Cipriano ’06, Tony Hollins, head professional at the Boston Tennis and Racquet Club, Lucas Walsh, tournament chairman, Leon Smart, assistant professional at the Boston Tennis and Racquet Club, Trevor Rees, and Charles Braham.

the New York Racquet and Tennis Club and is ranked world number 18. His partner Christian Portz, world number 6, represents the Queens Club, London. They defeated Trevor Rees, also representing the New York Racquet and Tennis Club, and Charles Braham, former captain of Eton College, representing the Queens Club and Imperial College, London, by the scores of 15-4, 15-12, 15-6 in a 65-minute match. KATIE JENNINGS covers New Jersey policy and politics as a statehouse reporter for POLITICO. She often sees (and interviews) State Senator Tom Kean, Jr. ’86. KELLY PEELER’s company NextGenVest (nextgenvest.com), which began as an online financial literacy course, has introduced the text-based service “Money Mentors” to help students with financial aid for college. The service provides information about financial aid, scholarships, and assistance with student loans.

Ice hockey alumni Brad Zanoni ’07, Andrew Krill ’07, and Dan Ambrosia’07 were joined by then-Boys’ Varsity Ice Hockey Head Coach John Magadini as they laced up their skates and played in the Big Apple Pond Hockey Classic in Bryant Park in late February. SUMMER 2016

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AMANDA KING ’07, an M.D./Ph.D. candidate at Yale University, is Pingry’s first visiting scientist. Students who took Form III Honors Biology in 2015-16 met her this spring and will meet with her annually for three more years, thereby watching her journey to become “Dr. King” and gaining insights into what it means to become a young scientist. She spent the day at Pingry on April 14, visiting classes, listening to AP Biology students’ poster presentations from their final projects, and talking to the Form III Honors Biology students about her path to this career and her current research about drug delivery for inoperable brain tumors. Back in 1998, a friend was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age four and died before her next birthday. “That was a huge failure with medicine,” Amanda said, “and I wondered, ‘Why can’t we fix this problem?’” Pingry prompted her interests in chemistry and problem solving, which led her on a path of chemical engineering and stem cell research. “We are hoping this ‘visiting scientist’ program will connect every class to a young scientist and be part of our students’ growth through the sciences at Pingry,” says biology teacher Deirdre O’Mara P ’17, ’19, ’21. “I would like to create a new community in which our current students see a young adult navigating an early scientific career and, hopefully, we can create a network of support and exchange as our students join the ranks of the science community.” The Science Department is looking for more young scientists for the program, especially younger alumni. Anyone interested should contact Mrs. O’Mara at domara@pingry.org.

2010 COURTNEY HULSE writes, “Had a great time running into 2010 friends at the Babbitt Ball in New York City in February.”

2012 MAGGIE MORASH was one of 178 Rutgers University undergraduate students selected from a pool of nearly 8,000 receiving degrees this year for induction into the second class of the school’s Matthew Leydt Society, named for the first and only 1774 graduate of Queen’s College, New Brunswick, which became Rutgers University. Maggie, a 3.98 GPA genetics major and computer science minor, who starred on Rutgers’ nationallyranked women’s soccer team, received the prestigious honor in recognition of her achievements in the classroom, laboratory, and the arts. Rutgers President Robert Barchi honored this group prior to the university’s 250th commencement on May 15.

2013 Front row: Nayantara Joshi ’10, Julia Blumenstyk ’10, Katlyn Casey ’10, and Kara Marciscano ’10. Back row: Cassidy Reich ’10, Kristin Scillia ’10, Morgan McCollum ’10, Beth Garcia ’10, Courtney Hulse ’10, and Maddie Garcia ’10. 104

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BRIGID BRUNO earned honors in field hockey at Williams College. Read more on page 66.

Victor N’Diaye ’11, Justin Shangold ’12, Patrick Birotte ’87, P ’20, and Harlen Shangold ’11 celebrating Harlen’s admission to Harvard Graduate School in March.

Credit: Courtesy of John O’Boyle

Look who was spotted on the U.S. Naval Academy’s Facebook page: Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Joshua King ’12 graduated from Annapolis during Memorial Day Weekend.

Maggie Morash ’12 and Rutgers University President Robert Barchi. SUMMER 2016

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MAX GOTTLIEB had a successful first season on the Brown University ice hockey team. He was named to the ECAC Hockey AllRookie Team; was the only freshman on the All-Ivy Second Team; earned the No. 1 national ranking for assists per game among rookie defensemen; holds the university’s record for assists by a freshman defenseman; and tied the record for total points by a freshman defenseman. STEPHEN RIENZI qualified for the Stevens Institute of Technology and the Empire 8 Athletic Conference’s President’s Lists (GPA of 3.75 or higher). A member of the Stevens Scholars Program, pursuing a four-year B.S. and M.S. in Information Systems, Stephen is a starting member of the fencing team and the Épée Squad Captain, and was selected twice to the

Stevens Athletics Leadership Academy. In addition, the Stevens Chapter of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society invited Stephen to become a lifetime member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the international honor society recognizing the top students studying at a school accredited by AACSB International—the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

2014 ADEDIRE FAKOREDE, a rising junior at Bates College, won the February election to be Student Body President for the 2016-17 school year. There was only one candidate on the official ballot during the nomination period. In response to student concerns that there was only one

Alli Dorneo ’14 (Tufts University) and Morgan Burke ’13 (Middlebury College) competed at the NESCAC Championships. Read more about their accomplishments on page 66. 106

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candidate, Adedire and the Vice President, Tyler Post, became write-in candidates.

graduate students with a unique opportunity to pursue an accelerated dual degree.

ALLIE MCMANUS writes, “I completed my second year at Johns Hopkins and remain grateful for skills and connections that Pingry gave me. I was recently accepted into an accelerated five-year program to obtain my Master’s at Sciences Po.” This joint program with the renowned French political science institute Sciences Po (Paris Institute of Political Studies) provides a select group of under-

ERIC ROGERS earned honors in lacrosse at Middlebury College. Read more on page 66.

2015 JUSTIN FRIEDMAN, a right-handed pitcher for George Washington University’s Colonials, was featured on NJ.com when the website profiled the top 2015 high school graduates and baseball players

Adedire Fakorede ’14, Bates College’s next Student Body President, with incoming Vice President Tyler Post (left).

Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, Evan Key ’14, Dylan Key ’12, and Patrick Birotte ’87, P ’20 at a Princeton/Dartmouth game on April 16.

now competing on college teams. As a Pingry senior, Justin racked up 101 strikeouts, ranking fifth in the state, and was selected to the AllSkyland Conference/Mountain Division First Team as well as the All-Non-Public Third Team. He was also an AP Scholar with Distinction and the recipient of Pingry’s Psychology Prize.

JENN WILKENS earned honors in lacrosse at UC Berkeley. Read more on page 66. CLAYTON WRIGHT earned honors in lacrosse at Bowdoin College. Read more on page 66.

CLASSNOTES Share all your news!

Alex Wolfson ’15, Jamie Finnegan ’15, and Jason Ring ’12 competed at the NESCAC Championships. Read more about their accomplishments on page 66.

Send Class Notes to Holland (Sunyak) Francisco ‘02 at hfrancisco@pingry.org or The Pingry School, 131 Martinsville Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920. SUMMER 2016

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In Memoriam Pingry Remembers Honorary Trustee John Peale Bent, Jr. April 16, 2016, age 79, Essex, CT and Hillsboro Beach, FL

A Pingry trustee from 1974 to 1988 and Chair of the Board from 1984 to 1988, Mr. Bent played major roles in making Pingry the institution it is today. Formerly a trustee with Short Hills Country Day School, he was instrumental in that school’s 1974 merger with Pingry, helping two schools become one; he headed a financial task force to assist with Pingry’s move from Hillside to Bernards Township; he was a member of the search committee that brought John Hanly to Pingry as headmaster in 1987; and, together with his wife Janet, he served as Honorary Co-Chair of The Campaign for Pingry from 1995 to 2000. Mr. Bent, who served in the New Jersey National Guard, received a B.S. in Industrial Administration from Yale University and worked at The Bank of New York as both Senior Vice President for Administrative Services and Corporate Secretary. He remained with the bank until 1984, when he founded and became president of Bent Financial Services, a financial consulting firm in Morristown. His background and experiences in finance served him well during his years on Pingry’s Board of Trustees. From 1976 to 1984, Mr. Bent chaired the Finance Committee. According to Dr. John P. Lewis, Pingry’s Chief Financial Officer at the time, Mr. Bent had the ability to see the “big picture” and helped to elevate Pingry’s status as an independent school by instituting solid financial plans that would ensure the School’s stable future. “John said that no non-profit can be successful without having resources and finances secure and in place. His policies for Pingry’s spending and investing were conservative with an eye to the future. He focused on the endowment and always expected a balanced annual budget—a budget that provided meaningful support for the faculty and staff. To John, preparing for the future meant creating budgets, and he was superb at being able to analyze and extrapolate information.” When Pingry was preparing to move from Hillside, Mr. Bent was heavily involved in fundraising. Working closely with Board President/Chair Fred Bartenstein, he also negotiated the loan that financed the construction of the Bernards campus. As described by Dr. Lewis, “Fred and John were a one-two 108

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team—they couldn’t sleep at night if the School’s finances were out of whack.” As Chair of the Board, Mr. Bent was known for his quiet, refined leadership, taking a logical, analytical approach to problem solving, often finding resolution for sensitive situations. In 1986, two years into Mr. Bent’s tenure, Headmaster David Wilson ’59 announced that he would resign from the position at the conclusion of the 1986-87 school year, so, for the first time in 16 years, Pingry needed to conduct an external headmaster search. Mr. Bent appointed a committee, of which he was a member, chaired by William V. Engel ’67, whose efforts were supplemented by other committees within the Pingry community. That intensive process led to John Hanly being named headmaster in 1987. As Chair, Mr. Bent also asked Dr. William Tansey III ’62, chair of the board’s Education Committee, to initiate Pingry Colloquia with notable speakers who discussed relevant issues for students and parents; two such colloquia were “AIDS: Perspectives on a Pandemic” and “The Constitution—A Vital Covenant.” “When the current campus was dedicated, [education reformer] Dr. Ted Sizer spoke about private schools having an obligation to reach beyond their boundaries, which John interpreted as reaching beyond the Pingry experience to stay relevant to the outside world,” Dr. Tansey says. He recalls Mr. Bent’s earnest appetite for lifelong learning. Along with his leadership, Pingry benefited from Mr. Bent’s philanthropy because of his gratitude for his sons’ education. He was a lead donor to the New Building Fund for the campus move to Bernards Township; supported the establishment of The Albert W. Booth Chair for Master Teachers and the John Hanly Fund for Faculty Development; donated to the building fund for the Hostetter Arts Center; supported the School’s general financial aid endowment; and was a decades-long supporter of The Pingry Fund, including serving as chair of the fund in 1983-84. Active in the broader community, Mr. Bent served on the Board of Trustees of Overlook Hospital and the Advisory Board of the Empire State Foundation of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges. He was a Director of the American Society of Corporate Secretaries, among positions he held with many other organizations. Mr. Bent leaves behind his beloved family. Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Janet; sons Dr. John Bent III ’80 (Rebecca), David Bent ’82 (Robbie), and Dr. Stephen Bent ’84 (Christine); brother Stephen P. Bent; eight grandchildren; and brother-inlaw Edward S. Blackwell III ’58.

David T. Nutt ’40

Byron Benson “BB” Morton ’48

Raymond H. Welsh ’49

Mr. Nutt, who graduated from Dartmouth College and Columbia Law School, was a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He was a reporter at The Staten Island Advance before embarking on a career in advertising. At the time of his retirement, he was a vice president at U.S. Trust in New York City. He was predeceased by his brother Robert ‘45. Survivors include his wife of 65 years, Grace; children David (Jane), Eva (Robert), Amy, Cora (David), and Kate (Patrick); and grandchildren Brendan, Rachel, Evan, Conor, Cullen, Madeline, Jordan, Blair, Grant, Bridget, Reid, and Patrick.

Mr. Morton earned a B.A. at Harvard University and served for 32 years as a Foreign Service Officer. His first posting was Moscow, where he was a specialist on the Soviet military. He subsequently served in Kobe, Japan; Belgrade, in what was then Yugoslavia; Tehran; Prague; and Ramstein, West Germany, where he was political advisor to the commanding general of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe. Hs wife of 58 years, Mary, died in April 2016. He is survived by his sister Frances (William).

Mr. Welsh attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He spent his entire career as a partner at UBS Financial Services, which had been the securities firm Kidder, Peabody & Co. when he joined the company in sales; he was known for his astute grasp of the stock markets and his meticulous research on behalf of his clients. Mr. Welsh was also a major philanthropist in the Philadelphia area, served on the boards of many organizations, including the Salvation Army and The Philadelphia Orchestra, and was a trustee at the University of Pennsylvania. He was predeceased by his son S. Randolph and brother Arthur Welsh ‘48. Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Joanne; daughter Margaret; son Scott; and six grandchildren.

May 22, 2016, age 92, Watchung, NJ

August 12, 2015, age 84, Bethesda, MD

Arthur Gilbert Welsh ’48

May 20, 2015, age 84, Ho-ho-kus and Waretown, NJ

John Elliott “Jack” Clemence ’45 March 17, 2016, age 91, Short Hills, NJ

Mr. Clemence served in the U.S. Marine Corps and graduated from Dartmouth College. He had a successful sales career in the corrugated box manufacturing and display design business. In 2009, Mr. Clemence received the MillburnShort Hills Fourth of July Patriot Award for his service to the community—scoutmaster of Troop 15, long-time usher at Christ Church, deliverer for Meals on Wheels, and driver to take children to specialized hospitals. He also volunteered for the Millburn-Short Hills Chapter of the American Red Cross for 15 years, serving as the board’s chairman for six years. Survivors include his wife Ruth; son Jack, Jr.; daughters Kris, Karen, Kathleen, and Karyl; 11 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

His brother was Raymond H. Welsh ‘49. Survivors include his wife Lorre, five children, 14 grandchildren, and three greatgrandchildren.

February 14, 2016, age 84, Haverford, PA

Charles Emerson McKenney ’50 March 1, 2016, age 84, Wainscott, NY and West Palm Beach, FL

Mr. McKenney received a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Yale University and a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy (1954-1956), he practiced patent law as a partner with Pennie & Edmonds in New York City. He was involved with the New England Society in the City of New York. Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Helaine “Bobo” McKenney; daughter Hobby (Matt); sons Wensley (Christine) and Philip; and grandchildren Preston, Emerson, Matthew, and Charlotte.

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David Robert Tennant ’51 December 26, 2015

Michael Harrison Monier ’58 March 9, 2016, age 75, Wilson, WY

Mr. Monier received a B.S. in Commerce from Washington and Lee University. He worked at Citibank and United States Trust Co. before founding several firms. Mr. Monier was president of MHM Associates and co-founder and managing director of Woodhaven Investors Inc., Landmark Management Inc., and Samson & Monier Associates Inc., independent investment advisors in venture capital, real estate, leveraged buyouts, cable television, and agriculture. He served on the boards of several private corporations. Mr. Monier also served on Washington and Lee’s Board of Trustees from 2001-2009 and was then named Trustee Emeritus. Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Carolyn; daughters Brett and Nicole; brother Joseph ’64, and four grandchildren. His father Harold ’28 also attended Pingry.

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Walter Alexander Hunt, Jr. ’59

Franklin Lewis Perlmutter ’76

Mr. Hunt earned a B.A. and a Masters of Architecture at Yale University and spent 38 years with the architecture firm Gensler, for whom he helped shape a global reputation. He served on the Board of Directors and became the Northeast Managing Director and the firm’s Vice-Chair, retiring as Vice-Chairman Emeritus. Overall, Mr. Hunt spent more than four decades in the design industry, receiving many awards and serving on the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) New York Chapter, AIA’s New York State Board, and the New York Foundation for Architecture. Mr. Hunt was elevated to Fellow in the American Institute of Architects. In his honor, the Center for Architecture Foundation established the Walter A. Hunt Jr. Scholarship Fund, which promotes and encourages the study of architecture for New York City public high school seniors accepted to a New York State NAABaccredited School of Architecture. Mr. Hunt also founded ONE@@TIME Project Consulting, providing not-for-profit organizations with pro bono consulting services for new buildings and renovations, and was an active alumnus with Yale’s School of Architecture. Survivors include his beloved wife Judith; sons David (Erin), Christopher (Sarah), and Stephen (Mary); grandchildren William, Madeleine, Eleanor, Taylor, Caroline, Ryan, Hannah, and Alexander; and sister Bonnie.

Mr. Perlmutter graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in Psychology and studied organizational behavior and management at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He and his friend Geoff Palmer co-founded Information Marketing Businesses, one of the nation’s first enterprise workforce management companies. Mr. Perlmutter served as president for 15 years until SimplexGrinnell acquired the business, and he then served as that company’s vice president. Mr. Perlmutter also founded Pondview Capital, LLC, a boutique investment banking firm specializing in merger and acquisition services for both established and emerging companies. In the education sector, he dedicated much of his time to the Dover-Sherborn School District, established the Dover-Sherborn Triathlon, and served as the president of Sports Boosters. Survivors include his wife Liz; their children Michael, Andrew, and Julia; his mother, former Pingry trustee Harriet Perlmutter-Pilchik P ’76, ’79, ’80, GP ’11, ’13; his sister, Pingry trustee Genesia (Perlmutter) Kamen ’79 and her husband Steven (Parents ’11, ’13); his brother David ’80 (Sara); 11 nieces and nephews, including Anna Kamen ’11 and Emily Kamen ’13; and his cousin Annelise Kinney ’15.

May 27, 2016, age 74, New York, NY

June 3, 2016, age 57, Sherborn, MA

Dr. Justin Meyer ’02

March 22, 2016, age 31, Jersey City, NJ

Dr. Meyer graduated from Emory University in 2007 with a degree in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. Following his years in Georgia, he moved to Durham, NC to be with his future wife while they both worked at Duke University Medical Center. He was accepted to Rutgers Medical School in 2009. The year 2013 was monumental for Dr. Meyer, with both a beautiful wedding and graduating with his doctorate in medicine. He trained in general surgery and anesthesia. Survivors include his loving wife Janice, parents Diane and Dennis, sister Carissa, and paternal grandparents Margaret and Harold. Gifts in Dr. Meyer’s memory can be made to the Justin Richard Meyer Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation of New Jersey, Post Office Box 338, Morristown, New Jersey 07963 or online at cfnj.org.

Faculty

Friends of Pingry

As this issue was going to press, we learned of the death of former second-grade teacher Billie Foil. More information will be published in the next issue.

May 3, 2016, age 78, Morristown, NJ

Billie Foil

Coach

Thomas M. Cladek

April 17, 2016, age 62, Flemington, NJ

Mr. Cladek joined Pingry in the 2010-11 school year as an assistant coach for cross country and winter track, and he volunteered as a coach for spring track. Kind, compassionate, and a beloved mentor to hundreds of athletes, he was held in the highest esteem by his fellow Pingry coaches and Skyland Conference coaches. According to Pingry coaches, Mr. Cladek knew all of the runners’ personal records and praised the runners at each meet, regardless of their skill levels; athletes gained confidence because his support was based on seeing them making their best effort. Also an artist and a calligrapher, Mr. Cladek created posters for Pingry’s teams and for all of the athletes and coaches; these posters contain motivational quotes from runners and philosophers. A lifelong runner, he ranked in the top 20 in the country in 1978 for three mid-distance runs, was a member of the Warren Street Social and Athletic Club, and ran many marathons, including those in New York and Boston (his fastest time was 2:28). Mr. Cladek earned a degree in art history at Seton Hall University, where he was a successful member of the track team, and, from 2001 to 2016, taught art to Grades K-8 at Immaculate Conception School in Somerville. Survivors include his children William, Bernadette, and Thomas; siblings Mary and William; former wife Fran, and companion Mary Anne.

Sheila Rouslin Welt

Ms. Welt was a consultant for Pingry’s Lower School Admission Office for nearly 18 years, evaluating more than 2,000 applicants for Kindergarten. Responding to formal testing is usually a new experience for four- and five-year-old children, but Ms. Welt always found a way to actively engage each child. She loved working with all of the children, and her interpretation of test results was an important part of each Kindergarten admission file. The Admission Office valued her judgment, insight, and dedication. She also endowed The Paul H. and Sarah Rouslin Excellence in English Award, named in memory of her parents, which recognizes a Pingry senior whose love of and fascination with the English language are manifested in both outstanding writing ability and the appreciation and understanding of literature. Internationally renowned as a scholar, author, editor, and clinician, Ms. Welt received a B.S. from Boston University and an M.S. from Rutgers University. Survivors include her husband Dr. Aaron Welt ’67, son Will ’06, sister Tobey (Mark), niece Elizabeth (Tim), and nephew Samuel (Pam).

Laurie Finn

February 17, 2016, age 67, Morristown, NJ

Mrs. Finn, a wellknown interior designer, helped Pingry achieve its vision for Beinecke House, the Carriage House, and the C.B. Newton Library’s reading room, including the reading room’s Vanderbilt cases (archival cases donated by the family of the late William R. Vanderbilt ’38). She also gave Pingry two major gifts—furniture for the Carriage House and china for Beinecke House—and invited the editor of Design NJ to visit Beinecke House, resulting in a feature in the February/March 2015 issue. Always budget-conscious, Mrs. Finn balanced numerous considerations, such as pleasing the groups who would be using these venues for events, and appealing to both traditional and modern tastes. An attendee of Seattle University who first worked in financial services, Mrs. Finn pursued her passion for interior design and founded La Jolie Maison in Summit. She also was committed to charitable work with the Paul J. Finn Jr. Foundation and The Valerie Fund. Mrs. Finn was predeceased by her husband of over 30 years, Paul, Sr. She is survived by her loving family, including her sister Lynn, grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews, as well as very dear friends. Mrs. Finn died of complications from her battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

SUMMER 2016

111

Closing Word

The Pingry Alumni Association President

Passes the Torch

PETER “CHIP” KORN ’89

NORBERT “WOODY” WELDON ’91, P ’23

After four years as president of the Pingry Alumni Association Board, the time has come to pass the proverbial torch. Over the past few months, I’ve found myself reflecting about what it means to be an alumnus of Pingry. It can be tempting for any institution to view its alumni community as little more than a resource to tap, especially during an ambitious capital campaign. That’s why our recent focus has been to ask ourselves not what Pingry’s alumni can do for the School, but what the School community can do for its alumni.

At Reunion Weekend in May, I had the privilege of saying a few words about Chip—words I stand by: “Chip’s leadership has broadened the definition of what it means to stay connected to Pingry after graduation.” Chip has made incredible strides when it comes to reaching out to alumni, and the Pingry Alumni Association Board is more diverse than it’s ever been. I enter the role of alumni association president with big shoes to fill, but my primary goal is to continue imagining possibilities, creating new venues for engagement, and increasing outreach and accessibility.

My hope is that we’ve come up with some worthy answers to that question. Pingry now has eight affinity groups, seven focused on professional interests—finance, entertainment and the arts, law, real estate, science, innovation and entrepreneurship, and marketing—and one for women. While they are “housed” on LinkedIn, they are far more than social media groups; they are networks that bring together alumni with common backgrounds and passions to learn from one another. All of them have either hosted or will host network events, and we hope to see you at a few! As you can see from the graphic, there are many more ways to get involved. I’m proud of the venues we’ve created to connect, and look forward to the work of engaging alumni through those venues as we, under Woody’s leadership, continue to work to redefine what it means to be an engaged alumnus. The more I think about it, the more I realize that thinking of alumni involvement in terms of what we can give to or get from our Pingry roots is too commercial an approach. It’s the relational community that makes our Pingry connection so special: the learning and growing with one another. That is the kind of community that can change the lives of Pingry students past, present, and future. I hope you continue to find, as I have, that Pingry remains a part of you whether you are 25, 45, 65, or 85. It has been an absolute privilege to serve as president, and I leave my current role in truly capable hands. 112

THE PINGRY REVIEW

When it comes to accessibility, it’s easy to think about the Pingry Alumni Association as a group of elected officials. The board is elected, but the association itself consists of all Pingry alumni. This distinction is more than a matter of semantics. To all alumni, it’s permission—permission to take ownership of their place in the school community. To the board, it’s a challenge—a challenge to empower alumni from all walks of life to participate. Speaking about what they loved most about their Pingry experience, so many alumni mention the lack of barriers between students of different backgrounds and interests. Now, more than ever, the School is making a deliberate effort to diversify its student body. By emulating these efforts at the alumni level, we carry on the great work of Chip’s tenure and ensure that any alumnus or alumna with a desire to be involved will be involved. What this requires is dedication. What it requires is a willingness in our community to continue to step up and bring our talents to the table. And what it requires, from those of us on the board, is a relentless effort in bringing new, exciting voices to the table. I hope you will take a moment to consider some of the listed ways to get involved, and I look forward to serving each and every alumnus and alumna.

Getting Involved Is Easy...

Events Come to Events Invite your Friends Host an Event Suggest a New Kind of Event Reunion

If you are limited on time, live a distance away, or are simply looking for a convenient and easy way to give back to Pingry, there are many ways to get involved.

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The Alumni Association Athletics Hall of Fame Achievement in the Arts Mentoring Career Day Golf Outing

Volunteering The Pingry Fund Reunion Speak at Career Day Supervise an ISP Be a Mentor PSPA

And Fun... To learn more about getting involved in any of these events or opportunities, please call the Development Office at (908) 647-7058.

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