Reflections 2009:Reflections v4 - Manlius Pebble Hill School

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Peter ManolakosManolakosto be 2009CommencementSpeakerPeter Manolakos, presidentemeritus of the Board ofTrustees of Manlius Pebble Hill School,will present the 2009 commencementaddress to the 65 members of thisyear’s graduating class.“To a great many of us, Peter hasbecome an icon of MPH,” says Head ofSchool Baxter F. Ball. “He has workedtirelessly for MPH for 16 years. Andwhile his commitment to this Schoolmay have sprung initially from the factthat he was the parent of three MPHstudents, it almost immediately grewinto a genuine dedication to makingthis the very best School for all ourstudents. He is an eloquent championfor MPH and continues to devoteincredible energy to ensuring that thisreally is the finest school in CentralNew York.”Elected to the Board of Trustees in1997, Peter became president in 2000and served seven years in that capacity.He helped pilot MPH throughincreased enrollment, development ofa new master site plan, construction oftwo buildings (the MezzalinguaHumanities Building and the LaurieMezzalingua ’86 Center for EarlyLearning), and close to a doubling ofthe School’s endowment. Hecontinues, as president emeritus, to bean earnest fundraiser for the School,serving as co-chair of Manlius PebbleHill’s current $6 million capitalcampaign. That campaign – the mostambitious in the School’s history – willfund construction of a new librarymedia center and another $2 millionincrease in the endowment.Vice president of Merrill Lynch, Peterjoined the financial management andadvisory firm in 1981. He earlierworked for a private manufacturingfirm and served in military intelligencewith the United States Army. Agraduate of Bowdoin College in Maine,he pursued doctoral studies inphilosophy at Syracuse University.A staunch believer in the importance ofgiving back to the community, Peter isa former board member of theSyracuse Children’s Chorus and haslong been a very active member of St.Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church. Heis also a former president of theSyracuse chapter of the nationalAmerican Hellenic EducationalProgressive Association (AHEPA).“For a very long time now, ManliusPebble Hill has been the beneficiary ofPeter’s wisdom, leadership, anddevotion,” says George Urist, currentpresident of the MPH governing board.“I am very pleased that my son Joeland his fellow members of the Class of2009 will hear at their commencementfrom a man of such great integrity andcommitment.”10 MPH REFLECTIONS 2009
From aFormerMilitary SchoolZach Sanzone, third from left, and three of his students.By R. Zachary Sanzone ’00To aCurrentMilitary SchoolIn 1994, when my parents told methat I would be attending ManliusPebble Hill School, one of the facts thatmy mother cited was that it had oncebeen a military school. Despite the factthat I loved military history at the time(and still do) I was not swayed by mymother’s attempts to make me build aninterest in the school. During my sixyears at MPH and for six years after Ihad graduated, the military past ofMPH was something that I didn’t thinkabout very often unless I was speakingto Manlius alumni at Clam bakeWeekend and even then I didn’t havemuch interest in the former ManliusSchool. That all changed, though, whenI took a job at Hargrave MilitaryAcademy in Chatham, VA.Taking a job at a military school insouthern Virginia was definitely achange for me. Transitioning fromhaving attended a progressive highschool like MPH to teaching at aconservative school like Hargrave hadits professional challenges. It was notlong, however, before I began to seemany similarities that both MPH andHargrave share, many of which I putinto practice as an English teacher.Above all else, the main connectionbetween the two is how they both sharethe mission of helping today’s teenagersreach their potential.After a few years at MPH, like mostteenagers, I eventually shed the distainthat I originally held when I began torealize the benefits that the School heldin store for me. Between the time Ientered the school in 1994 and when Igraduated in 2000, my GPA went fromCs and Ds to As; I made magna cumlaude twice my senior year. (Ironically,during those hard years, I swore I’dnever study English more than I wouldhave to in my life. Now, I hold an M.S.in English and teach it every day).These achievements would not havecome my way if it had not been for thefaculty and staff that never gave up onme while I was attending ManliusPebble Hill School. Teachers like TomDenton, Susan Foster, and SilvianaDooher stuck by my side through thickand thin and were there to help meeven when I didn’t feel I needed it. Thatis some thing that I will never forget andnow, as a teacher myself, is somethingthat I try to emulate everyday.Over the last month, several of mycurrent and former students have beenbringing me college essays, Englishreports, and short stories to proofreadand edit for them. While it is a lot ofwork to do, I feel a very strong obliga -tion to read through each piece ofwriting that comes across my desk –because of Tom Denton. To this day, Idon’t know how my constant requeststo read and re-read my own essaysdidn’t put him in the nut house, buteach request was answered with apleasant “yes.” I’m thankful that hispatience rubbed off on me.Each year, I have several students whoare always teetering on a failing gradein my class. When I work with thesestudents, I think about the patience thatSusan Foster had when she spentcount less hours working with me inbiology class so I could squeak by witha passing grade. She never seemeddisappointed in me unless she knew Iwasn’t putting forth the effort that sheknew I could show. That characteristicis something that I now try to practiceas a teacher. While I have a long way togo to match her persistence, I feel that Iwouldn’t have much of it myself if shehadn’t been my teacher.Being a teacher at a military school, Iwork with many teenagers who enrollat Hargrave with little-to-no motivationand more than enough attitude. Theycome here because they know that theirprevious academic path would not endwith a college acceptance or even a highschool diploma. Working with thesekinds of students can be very challeng -ing at times. In some ways, it remindsme of myself when I would get angry atSilviana Dooher, whose calm approachbut firm discipline never let me havethe last word with her unless it was,“Yes, ma’m, I’ll make sure I finish mySpanish work.” How she kept herselffrom ringing my neck is a truedefinition of patience and is somethingthat I work to practice as an Englishteacher at Hargrave Military Academy.While Manlius Pebble Hill School andHargrave Military Academy are two verydifferent schools today, as someonewho left MPH almost nine years ago, Ican’t help but think just how muchboth schools have in common. Bothschools do an excellent job at nurturingstudents’ potential by giving them thetools needed to succeed. I don’t thinkthat I would have found the successand happiness that I have found atHargrave Military Academy if it hadn’tbeen for the years I spent at MPH.I’m very proud that I attended andgraduated from Manlius Pebble HillSchool and that the teachers there gaveme the tools I use to help the nextgeneration of students at HargraveMilitary Academy. My only hope is thatI can do as good a job as Tom Denton,Susan Foster, and Silviana Dooher didfor me.MPH REFLECTIONS 2009 11
Page 1 and 2: SPRING 2009T H E O F F I C I A L M
Page 3 and 4: The Spring 2008 editioncontained a
Page 5 and 6: passed down from class to class and
Page 7 and 8: (continued from page 5)As a result
Page 9: Witnessingthe InaugurationAn Alumna
Page 13 and 14: A Land ofBy John L. Marsh ’46BUse
Page 15 and 16: ALUMNI PROFILEColonelJohn M. Brooks
Page 17 and 18: Alumni Phonathon Connects the Gener
Page 19 and 20: MPHGrammyMUSICIANS GETGigjazz virtu
Page 21 and 22: Alumni ScrapbookCalifornia Regional
Page 23 and 24: Thank Youto our recent reunion host
Page 25 and 26: Goodyear-Burlingame Class of 1947Lu
Page 27 and 28: Bruce Fraser ’59A lives in New Yo
Page 29 and 30: Nathan M. Adams ’54 retired to th
Page 31 and 32: The local MPH alumni in the class o
Page 33 and 34: depending on kids and activities.Lo
Page 35 and 36: Marshall. Phillipe Schwimmer ’92
Page 37 and 38: Claude Dallas ’00 was recently st
Page 39 and 40: for academic excellence during the
Page 41 and 42: 21 at his summerhome at Norway Lake
Page 43 and 44: Manlius Pebble Hill SchoolClambakeW

Reflections 2009:Reflections v4 - Manlius Pebble Hill School

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?