Milton Magazine - Milton Academy

Milton MagazineFall 2008Milton Academy in 2008The classroom experience defines a Milton education.What endures over times of rapid change, and why?

Contents218Features: Milton Academy in 2008Front Cover:Photograph by Michael Dwyer2 Academics at Milton in 2008The classroom experience defines aMilton education. What endures overtimes of rapid change, and why?David Ball ’885 Active Learning In and Outof the ClassroomSarah Wehle, interim principal of theUpper School, and Bridget Johnson,dean of students, respond to today’squestions: How would you describeMilton Academy’s culture? What arethe major social challenges?Cathleen Everett10 Chapel at Milton in 2008Milton’s chapel program embracesa broad vision of spirituality, onethat respects the plurality of faithsand explores the unique elementsamong them.Suzanne DeBuhr13 Twelve Graduates Working at MiltonWeigh in about the School TodayTheir student years at Milton span fivedecades (late 1940s through 1990s)and the differences among theirindividual experiences, social and academic,are many. To a great extent,these differences reflect the Miltonof their days, along with political andcultural realities over time.Cathleen Everett18 Learning Photography: Lessons inthe Language of Visual LiteracyLearning photography at Milton hasshifted from the realm of film anddarkroom to the technology of thecharged couple device and digital software.The medium has changed, butthe message to the students has not.Bryan Cheney24 Milton Academy:A Photographic PortraitA profile of the School today32 A Day in the Life of the SchwarzStudent CenterWhat happens in the hub? Life inthe Schwarz Student Center beginswell before classes and extends wellbeyond.Erin Hoodlet

24404536 Milton’s Lower Grades Are Now K–8After 18 months of concentratedresearch and discussion, MiltonAcademy decided on a new organizationalstructure. The Academy formallylaunched one K–8 division this fall.Cathleen Everett40 The Pritzker Science CenterMilton’s new science building iseagerly anticipated: It has been wellplanned. It has inspired excitementand new levels of philanthropy. It willbegin to take shape on November 8,2008, and students will file throughthe doors in December 2010.45 Commencement and Prizes, 200849 Graduates’ Weekend, 2008Departments53 Faculty PerspectiveThe Ruth King Theatre in Kellner:Forever grateful for the sharedenterprise of exposing our commonhumanityDavid Peck56 Post ScriptExcerpts from Looking Back by FritzKempner ’40 and You Must RememberThis: A Reporter’s Odyssey from Camelotto Glasnost by Lansing Lamont ’4858 SportsJasmine Reid ’09 is Milton’s fastestMustangGreg White60 In•Sight62 On CentreNews and notes from the campusand beyond83 Class NotesEditorCathleen EverettAssociate EditorErin HoodletPhotographyMichael Dwyer, Ruth Fremson, Erin Hoodlet,Nicki Pardo, JD Sloan, Karen Smul,Alexander Stephens ’83, Martha Stewart,Greg WhiteDesignMoore & AssociatesMilton Magazine is published twice a yearby Milton Academy. Editorial and businessoffices are located at Milton Academy wherechange-of-address notifications should besent.As an institution committed to diversity,Milton Academy welcomes the oppor tunity toadmit academically qualified students of anygender, race, color, handicapped status, sexualorientation, religion, national or ethnic originto all the rights, privileges, programs andactivities generally available to its students. Itdoes not discriminate on the basis of gender,race, color, handicapped status, sexual orientation,religion, national or ethnic origin inthe administration of its educational policies,admission policies, scholarship programs,and athletic or other school-administeredactivities.Printed on Recycled Paper

Academicsat Milton in 2008The classroom experiencedefines a Milton education.What endures over times ofrapid change, and why?2 Milton Magazine

“ Those of us who teach Milton students must still distinguish thefundamentals from the fads, the transcendent from the trendy.Making those decisions seems simple at times, daunting at others…students must leave this place able to explore enthusiastically, reasoncritically, and communicate clearly.”Irecently stumbled across a batteredold cardboard box lying in the cornerof a garage. Curiosity got the best ofme, and in it I discovered the remnants ofmy Class II year at Milton. Humidity hadtaken its toll on the English essays that hadspewed forth from an old dot matrix printer,and the rust on the binder rings made ithard to flip through the scrawled notes onthe Civil War and Reconstruction, limitsand derivatives. For two decades, the physicalremains of that year had been rottingaway. But something from that year restssecure in my mind, shaping the ways inwhich I think and read and speak. So whatis it about my Milton Academy educationthat has resisted time’s ravages? What is itabout the classroom experience at Milton,the defining experience at Milton, thatendures?Such questions are not for the nostalgicalone. Those of us who teach Milton studentsmust still distinguish the fundamentalsfrom the fads, the transcendent fromthe trendy. Making those decisions seemssimple at times, daunting at others, butwhenever the task seems overwhelming,I return to principles that extend across thecurriculum, penetrating every academicdiscipline—students must leave this placeable to explore enthusiastically, reasoncritically, and communicate clearly. Only arigorous, dynamic program ensures thatthey will.By necessity, that program must beginwith language, broadly understood.Generations of Milton’s English teachershave insisted that their students masterthe principles of grammar, and despitethe culture’s current embrace of imprecisionand informality, Milton’s teachersresolutely, often joyfully, continue to teachthose principles. They are not soldiers insome cultural battle, ferociously defendingpast practice against innovation. Rather,they recognize that learning grammar, likelearning vocabulary, liberates students.Understanding how words fit together tocreate meaning allows one to read withsensitivity, appreciate nuance, and recognizemultiple meanings. The complicatedlanguage that once obscured knowledgeand beauty instead introduces a reader tonew dimensions of the human experience.The world on the page comes alive. Thus,English Workshop remains a staple of theClass IV English curriculum, essentialpreparation for subsequent deep readingsof Milton, Melville, and Morrison.In other disciplines, too, language matters.We still require Class IV students toexplore a wide range of the arts—visualarts, performing arts, and music—becausewe recognize that a student who, for example,begins to understand the language ofmusic, its structure, its texture, its complexity,can discover once-hidden truthsabout love, or hope, or suffering. In themath classroom, signs and symbols canmake mysterious phenomena seem simpleand rational—but only when studentsunderstand the way in which those signswork together, the grammar, if you will, ofmath. In the Chinese or French classroom,of course, the teaching of language mayappear to be a teacher’s sole focus. Yet thestudy of another language does more thanprovide an alternative form of communication.Rather, learning new languagesprovides the basis for understanding othercultures. In a world of constant, complexcultural exchange, studying languagethus becomes increasingly important, notbecause English will lose its global reach,but because foreign languages provide theentry for deeper understanding.As they discover new knowledge, Miltonstudents enjoy many small epiphanies, butthose moments, no matter how powerful,are not sufficient signs that Milton hascompleted its work. After those flashes ofinsight, Milton students must still remainhungry, eager to learn more; they mustmake intellectual exploration habitual. Wein turn must encourage that habit, followingthe lead of the science department,which puts exploration at the heart ofevery one of its core courses. All studentsin those classes must complete a “DYO,”a “design-your-own” experiment requiringstudents to define and then test waysto explore scientific phenomena. Beforethey can explore, those students must posequestions worthy of study; they must havea sense of what they seek. Some students,mucking about in hopes that they willstumble on a subject worthy of investigation,ask many, many questions. At themoment, such incessant questioning canseem frustrating, but that questioning fostersa pioneer spirit, the very kind of intellectualapproach that endures.A similar search for answers definesanother rite of passage, the United StatesHistory research paper. This assignment,often the stuff of legend, demands thatstudents define their own path for explor-Milton Magazine 3

“ To make exploration productive and to make discoveries meaningful,students must learn to reason critically. Encouraging students to askill-conceived questions and rewarding them for sincere but incoherentanswers serves no one well.”ing the past. They cannot rely on a singlesource; they cannot assume a single,simple answer. Some students flounder, atleast temporarily, while others flourish. Inthe broadest sense, though, no student canfail, regardless of the quality of the finalpaper, if that student has scoured sources,tested and rejected hypotheses, and generatedan even longer list of questions.To make exploration productive andto make discoveries meaningful, studentsmust learn to reason critically.Encouraging students to ask ill-conceivedquestions and rewarding them for sincerebut incoherent answers serves no one well.Instead, students must learn to distinguishhasty assertions from careful arguments,and just as we give students practiceexploring, we must give them practicereasoning. We do not wish to train wellinstructedparrots, students who merelyrestate another’s wisdom with unusualeloquence, nor do we wish to foster aculture of intellectually empty but fierydebate. So how do we avoid these traps?First, the context for learning must inspireconstant exchange. The persistent butshallow critic should face, literally, a roomfull of skeptics who will push that sloppythinker to revise and expand his thinking.The classrooms in the new science buildingwill reflect this necessity. Those spaceswill integrate labs, places where studentsexplore, with areas in which students cangather around a table, asking one anotherquestions, helping one another findanswers and refine conclusions. Indeed,most every Milton classroom is designedto be a space for constructive exchange,one that allows students to admit uncertaintyand requires students to defend conclusions.Gently but vigorously, we pushone another away from weak reasoning.The tasks that we ask students to completealso develop reasoning skills. ClassIV students, for example, must write,among other papers, a critical essay anda personal narrative. Though different inmany respects, both assignments requirestudents to use evidence—a text in onecase, experience in the other—to convey amessage that a reader, even the most criticalone, will find compelling. Moreover, inevery core history course, Milton studentsmust write a research paper, as we insistthat each student demonstrate the abilityto define an original argument and defendthat argument with evidence. Lab reportsserve a comparable function, and in artscourses, students must also experiment,constantly making choices. Two years ago,I had the opportunity to work with a colleaguein the performing arts departmenton an oral history project. This teacherasked each student both to contribute tothe construction of the script and to providesuggestions for the staging of the finalperformance. As he led the class throughthe exercise, he insistently but patientlyasked students to defend their choices, toexplain why successful elements worked,and to explore why less successful elementsfailed. The building of that performance,like the construction of an essay,required constant, careful reflection.The very tools that so often promote clearthinking also encourage effective communication.Every teacher discovers thatteaching an idea forces one to develop adeeper understanding of that idea. Theunderlying principle here—clear communicationrequires the precise definition ofone’s thoughts—operates for students, too.Thus, our insistence that students explaintheir thinking in class and on paper stemsin part from a belief that practicing communication,written and oral, providespractice in reasoning. Yet we encourageeffective writing and speaking for anotherreason. We recognize that knowledgelocked away from our students does themno good. We also recognize that knowledgeand innovations locked in one student’shead deprives everyone access to that student’sinspiration and insight. So when weask students to articulate their own ideas,we do so both because we have great faithin their capacity as individual thinkers,and because we all suffer when we do notshare our thoughts with one another.If we build our curriculum around exploration,reasoning, and communication, wecan avoid many tiresome debates. Are wetraditional or progressive? Choose eitherlabel—a student who explores the worldeagerly will embrace the study of Vergilwith the same verve with which she studiescontemporary politics in our new climatechange course. She will look forwardand backward with equal excitement, andif she can reason critically, she will drawmeaningful conclusions from both exercises.Twenty years from now, whether sheis a banker, a professor, or a painter—orall three—she will still pursue new knowledgeceaselessly, and she will share herdiscoveries with the world enthusiastically.Like so many of us, she will have learnedenduring lessons at Milton.David Ball ’88, Academic Dean4 Milton Magazine

Active LearningIn and Out of the ClassroomToday’s questions:How would you describe MiltonAcademy’s culture?What are the major social challenges?And the answers, from:Sarah Wehle, faculty member for 31 years:interim principal of the Upper SchoolBridget Johnson, administrator withfresh eyes on Milton: dean of studentssince 2007Milton Magazine 5

On the Milton culture,Bridget and Sarah say:Then and now, the Milton experience isessentially built on relationships.• Faculty care enormously about individuals.They reach out to make Milton workfor each student.• They are very interested in what schoollife is like for students, not just insidetheir classrooms. Students then look tofaculty as one of the main connectionsbetween them and the School.• Faculty are eager to work outside of classto help anyone experiencing difficulty orconfusion.Then and now, at Milton the culture feedson an expectation of energy, passion andinvolvement. The students we enroll, thefaculty we hire—they don’t sit and watchthe grass grow.We focus on defining community here.That means students’ experience oftenruns counter to the self-centeredness oftoday’s culture.• Living in one house for all your Miltonyears, with a surrogate “family” that youknow very well, helps you learn aboutaffection, respect and responsibility.• You experience your house as homebase. You can’t walk away from yourmistakes—you learn from them—andyour support net surrounds you.• We communicate in many ways what itmeans to be a leader, helping the olderstudents (who usually do a very goodjob) understand how to lead the youngerby example.• We work hard at making sure the environmentis continually positive in buildingattributes and skills.Discipline practices at Milton are deliberateand thoughtful. They reinforce ideasabout how a person lives in a community,and they show how much we value eachteaching moment.• We see discipline as a responsibility thatis difficult for all parents, and is coretraining for adulthood.• Because discipline at Milton is a process,it allows teenagers to be reflective,to consider what led them to make anincorrect choice, to review other optionsthey might have had, and to consider theimpact of a mistake—on themselves andon others.• Because it’s a process, it has a beginning,a middle and an end. Teenagerslearn that a mistake is a mistake: they“pay their dues” and resume a role in thecommunity, wiser and better preparedfor their future.Positive risk-taking has always been a keyelement of a Milton education.• Opportunities to try activities are almostendless.• You know you’ll have support if youtry something for the first time; bothstudents and faculty urge people to trythings that are new to them.6 Milton Magazine

Other cultural critics weigh inMilton’s house heads speak.*The assetsAdults are always accessible. “My advisormeetings are never short. Students arein my home frequently.”Students see us as people. “We’re teachersand we live with them as well. Manyteenagers have never interacted withadults in this way; they learn to know uswell and to trust us.”The brotherhood and sisterhood bondsare so strong. “This week [graduationweek], they were both so excited and sosaddened to leave the dorm. They can’treally describe the experience and theirfeelings about it.”Bonds between our students are muchstronger because they stay in one dormfor all their Milton years. “The consistency,and having older and youngerstudents living with them, makes thisexperience different from other schools.”This is a four-year conversation—an education,really—about what a communityis. “It’s a process. It’s a learning curve.They ultimately develop an understandingof what a community is, how to takeresponsibility, and what will happenwhen they don’t.”Students know that the adults in thedorms are choosing to live there, yearafter year, with teenagers. “That’s astrong commentary on how we feelabout what we’re doing. There’s such aconsistency that students are likely tointeract with the same adults for fouryears.”Milton students love the traditions of thehouses. “I’m always amazed at how theyactively participate in creating and sustainingtraditions and rituals.”Upperclassmen help lowerclassmen.“The cross-class connection is huge, andit works. The opportunities in this settingto learn about official and unofficialleadership are unparalleled.”Among the dorms, there is consistencyabout standards. “A ‘no’ is a ‘no’ acrossthe board. Perhaps this is easier thanparenting, in that this consistency is possiblehere.”The social challengesTechnology: video games absorb boysmore than girls; social networkinginvolves girls somewhat more thanboys. “Adults are excluded from theseactivities.”Cell phones: at first glance, they’re agreat way for parents to keep in touch.“Connecting with parents three and fourtimes a day ironically leads to much lessindependence and ownership of dailydecisions.”Digital communications: emails andtexts often put a spin on a situation thatisn’t right. “Students have to untanglesomething they never intended. Keepingface-to-face communications alive takeslots of time, but it can thrive in a house,and we work to sustain it.”Contemporary culture and mores: themessages seem to be getting steadilyworse. “For girls, regarding body imagein particular, the onslaught is relentless.”Intensity of the college process: it’s morecompetitive than ever. “Society asksstudents to juggle so much. Everythingis denser and faster. We work hard onkeeping that fast pace at bay, and helpingstudents find a balance between thestress that causes anxiety and the stressthat stimulates your creativity and keepsyou on your toes.”Parents: coaching parents is a big part ofour work. “Parents are trying to navigatenew frontiers in raising their teenagers,many without helpful experience. Weearn their trust in this process, ultimately,and many express tremendous appreciationfor what they’ve learned.”* House heads in the conversation: BradMoriarty (Millet House, formerly CentreHouse), Chris and Michele Hales(Forbes House), Ned Bean (GoodwinHouse), Heather Sugrue (HallowellHouse), Lisa Baker and Tarim Chung(Hathaway House), Karin Roethke-Kahn(Hathaway’s new house head in 2008),Steve Darling (Norris House), Ricky andJohn Banderob (Robbins House), WellsHansen (Wolcott House)Milton Magazine 7

“ Rather than makingassumptions aboutwhat familieshave or have notcommunicated totheir children, weneed to define ourbehavioral standardsand expectations foreverybody. We’velearned that we needto be explicit abouteverything we’re tryingto teach teenagerstoday.”8 Milton Magazine• The multifaceted student is a commoncharacter at Milton: someone whoruns for elected office, plays footballand dances in the dance concert; asquash player who acts and plays in theChamber Orchestra; a runner who editsthe arts and literature magazine andraises funds for children with AIDS.Milton’s boarder and day mix creates awhole that is greater than the sum of theparts.• Students at Milton, from across thecountry and around the world, generatea rare vitality, in and out of the classroom.Their geographical diversity aloneenergizes the conversations aroundthe Harkness tables or in the StudentCenter.• Boston families welcome their children’sfriends from far away, extendingan inclusive warmth and sense ofconnection.• Metropolitan parents share their diverseand interesting professions with us:speaking on campus, inviting studentsinto their labs or studios, introducingus to renowned figures and groups, orarranging internships, for instance.Bridget Johnson, Dean of Students• Activities at Milton continue day andnight, weekend and weekday; all students,boarding and day, can count onplenty of friends and plenty to do.Naming and meeting challenges:Bridget and Sarah name works inprogressWe are always exploring and testing newways to foster leadership—in the Self-Governing Association, in dormitories, asheads of the many student organizations,and simply as seniors in the School.Character education is a positive force inthe School.• It’s a four-year, integrated and requiredprogram that involves meeting weeklywith one faculty member and one groupof classmates.• It introduces and explores values.• It raises and explores with studentsissues such as racism, classism andgender.• It serves as a ready-made and safe discussiongroup to respond to the teachingopportunities that arise during the year.• Community relations assemblies, speakerson campus, and Monday morningassemblies strengthen the messages.• As students come into contact withinformation and discussion about ideas,they get the message that we believe it’simportant to raise, think and talk aboutthese life matters.• In the continual effort to improve thisprogram, we’re working now on makingsure that each year builds well on the last.

• We’re identifying age-appropriatethemes to weave through each week ofthe year.Each family is unique. Rather than makingassumptions about what families have orhave not communicated to their children,we need to define our behavioral standardsand expectations for everybody. We’velearned that we need to be explicit abouteverything we’re trying to teach teenagerstoday. For instance, we spend time articulatingand demonstrating the concept ofintegrity—personal and academic. Asanother example, we find ourselves teachingstudents about maintaining decorumand courtesy as they listen, speak and writeelectronically, the modalities of their time.Helping students (and families) findappropriate balance between the positivestress of challenge and the negative stressof overload has become a central challengeas they negotiate a ramped-up, ambitious,highly competitive set of culturalexpectations.Sarah Wehle, Interim Upper School PrincipalMore about Sarah and Bridget:Sarah Wehle joined Milton’s ClassicsDepartment in 1977, is the departmenthead, and holds the Sarah Storer GoodwinChair in Teaching. Educated at RadcliffeCollege and Harvard University, Sarahearned both the Classical Associationof New England’s Matthew I. WeinckeTeaching Award and Milton Academy’sTalbot Baker Award. She has long been afaculty parent in Forbes House.Before coming to Milton, Bridget Johnsonworked for eight years at the EpiscopalHigh School of Alexandria, Virginia.A graduate of Georgetown University,Bridget has been active with the NationalAssociation of Independent Schools, servingas part of a delegation for diversity toboth India and South Africa, participatingin the Equity and Justice Call to ActionCommittee, and presenting at the Peopleof Color Conference.Cathleen EverettMilton Magazine 9

Chapel at Milton in 2008A point of view about relevanceMy two years’ experience withthe chapel program at MiltonAcademy has included thoughtfulanalysis of its status and its potentialdirection. Given Milton’s nondenominationalstatus, and the diversity of its students,the chapel program must embracea broad vision of spirituality, one thatrespects the plurality of faiths and exploresthe unique elements among them. Mygoals for the future of the chapel programfocus on three separate, yet interrelatedthemes.First, chapel is about education. Currentevents have dictated that the average individualhave more than a passing knowledgeof various faith traditions. Educationabout different religions involves investigationinto each religion’s particularhistory, its relationship to similar faiths,its belief structures, and its current rolein the world. In addition, I hope that thechapel program can engage critically withparticular religions, acknowledging boththe successes and the ills that emerge fromreligious faith. A second part of this education,in some cases, may also include are-education. For those who see religion aslimiting or irrelevant, the chapel programoffers an opportunity to examine the differingways of believing that are not asconstrained as one may assume.10 Milton Magazine

Second, the chapel program is about personaland spiritual exploration. Studentsor adults in the community can share withtheir peers a reflection of their own, basedon an idea, their spiritual experiences, oran observation about some reading. Aschaplain, I would like the chapel programat Milton to mirror the work that is accomplishedin the classroom—an engaged,critical, personal questioning of what weread, study and experience. Spiritualityis the process of figuring out what giveseach individual a sense of meaning andpurpose. This practice is not limited to thefollowing of one religion, but rather mayextend to all parts of our lives.Third, the chapel program is about community.Sunday evening is the only timethat the boarding community gathers asone group (or two groups, as the case maybe). Chapel gives us a chance to share aspace that is focused on reflection andtogetherness. While each individual mayget something different out of the experience,there is meaning and power insimply dedicating a separate time to communityand being in each other’s presencefor the sake of exploring what gives us, asindividuals and a community, meaning inour lives.Suzanne DeBuhrInterfaith ChaplainFour ExcerptsChapel talks by Suzanne DeBuhr,2007–2008On the search forpersonal spirituality,the role of inquiryI directed my energies to questioning inan attempt to find answers. Since I was incollege, it seemed natural to accomplishthis through academic study—throughreading philosophy, reading holy texts,studying Buddhism and learning the historyof Christian theology. I wanted tofigure out the truth—truth with a capital“T.” In a way, academic study became myspiritual path. I believed that through acommitment to learning in the pursuit ofmy questions, I would eventually discoverthe answer. Although every class I tookand every book I read certainly helped toincrease my knowledge base, overall, theyfrequently upset my purpose. Not only wasI no closer to the answers, I felt farther andfarther away instead, being consumed bymore and more questions. Every questionseemed to lead to another question.Now what, you may ask, makes questioninga spiritual endeavor? I think it is acombination of the intent of the questionsand the motivation for inquiry.Questioning is spiritual when it involvesthe elements of wonder and mystery, whenthe questions seek to discover somethingthat is beyond the objective world. Weask spiritual questions when the answersare not evident through observation orexperimentation. In addition, I think wemust ask yet another question: Why am Iseeking these particular questions relatingto wonder and mystery? For me, the motivationis personal. I want to discover whatgives me meaning and purpose. I want tobe aware of how I perceive the world andhow best I can be effective within it.On the search forpersonal spirituality,the role of experienceDarkness is a common theme in spiritualwritings, as well as among the spiritualpaths of various religions. Indeed, religionsoften offer a solution to the sufferingthat seems innate to human nature. As aspiritual metaphor, darkness is associatedwith negative feelings; it can mean evil,danger or suffering. It is often correlatedwith the unknown. Darkness seems tomake us feel closed in, while light opensus up. Darkness makes it difficult to knowwhere we are going, but light allows usto clearly see the path we are following.Paradoxically, we often need the darkmoments to decipher what our pathsneed to be. Suffering tends to force us tofigure out how to endure difficult timesand, in the process, discover what givesus strength and provides meaning in themost uncertain moments.Milton Magazine 11

On considering theinterests of othersWhether we like it or not, we have all beenborn on this earth as part of one greathuman family. Rich or poor, educated oruneducated, belonging to one nation oranother, to one religion or another, adheringto this ideology or that, ultimately eachof us is just a human being like everyoneelse: we all desire happiness and do notwant suffering. Furthermore, each of ushas an equal right to pursue these goals.Today’s world requires that we accept theoneness of human ity. In the past, isolatedcommunities could afford to thinkof one another as fundamentally separateand even existing in total isolation.Nowadays, however, events in one partof the world eventually affect the entireplanet. Therefore we have to treat eachmajor local problem as a global concernfrom the moment it begins. We can nolonger invoke the national, racial or ideologicalbarriers that separate us withoutdestructive repercussion. In the context ofour new interdependence, considering theinterests of others is clearly the best formof self-interest.I view this fact as a source of hope.The necessity for coopera tion can onlystrengthen humankind, because it helpsus recognize that the most secure foundationfor the new world order is not simplybroader political and economic alliances,but rather each individual’s genuine practiceof love and compassion. For a better,happier, more stable and civilized future,each of us must develop a sincere, warmheartedfeeling of brother- and sisterhood.On seeking fullness of visionand understandingThe example of the tree translates to thelevel of humanity as well. We recognizeand identify our friends, acquaintancesand family by their appearances, by whatthey look like. You know me asMs. DeBuhr perhaps because of my short,blond hair or glasses, or short stature,by the shape of my face, or by the kindof clothing I wear. But I am, as we allare, more than our appearances. We aredefined by our mothers, fathers and siblings.We are defined by the geographicallocation in which we grow up, the religionor nonreligion with which we were raised,the books we read, the friends we make,the food we eat, the land that producesthe food, the buildings in which we live,the contractors and builders who constructedthem, the experiences we endureand the ones in which we rejoice. As ZenBuddhism states, our identities are empty,empty of an independent existence. Ourlives are defined by interdependence, theinterweaving of other individuals, theearth, and our own experiences.Seeking more deeply the nature of realitymeans seeing things as they are and recognizingtheir emptiness and interdependencewith the universe. Ultimately, we areall connected.12 Milton Magazine

Elaine Apthorp ’75: since 1999—9 yearsDavid Ball ’88: since 1999—9 yearsJane Brewer ’62: from 1981 to 2008—27 yearsMeg Foley Burke ’91: since 2003—5 yearsSally Dey ’69: since 1981—27 yearsSuzie Greenup ’75: since 2000—8 yearsAndre Heard ’93: since 2000—8 yearsPatrice Jean-Baptiste ’88: since 1999—9 yearsAnne Kaufman ’79: since 2002—6 yearsBrad Richardson ’48: since 2005—3 yearsCaroline Sabin ’86: from 1993–98 and 2006–08—7 yearsRod Skinner ’72: since 1999—9 yearsTwelve graduates working atMilton weigh in about the School todayWhat is the same?“The teachers,” Elaine Apthorp ’75 says.“Literally.”Elaine is right. From their first MiltonAcademy faculty meeting, most of the 12graduates were starkly aware that theirown revered mentors and teaching legendswere now officially peers.This transition was one of many that eachof them made in coming back to Milton,to work. None had planned to return;they were generally surprised, in differentdegrees, to find themselves on the Miltonroster. They came from the nonprofitworld, from the corporate world, fromcounseling, and from other schools—primaryschool through higher education.Their student years at Milton span fivedecades (late 1940s through 1990s) andthe differences among their individualexperiences, social and academic, aremany. To a great extent, these differencesreflect the Milton of their days, along withpolitical and cultural realities over time.For everyone in the group, life outside ofclass was powerfully influential—sports,The Milton Paper, drama, the Speech Team,senior projects. Across the board, however,they agree that two strong themes defineMilton. The first is the quality and challengeof the intellectual experience; thesecond is the powerful role of connectionsbetween faculty and students.“I thought school was fun,” David Ball ’88says. “The idea of a research paper? Bringit on. My teachers thought that attitudewas normal. My friends thought it wasnormal, too. My teaching in other schoolswas not particularly personally rewarding,because that enthusiasm for learning isn’tthe model in lots of other schools.”“‘Good is the worst enemy of excellent,’ weused to hear batted about by faculty whenwe were here,” says Brad Richardson ’48.“There has always been a great sense ofwhat excellence is here.”“I loved my teachers in the Girls’ School,”says Sally Dey ’62. “I feel like a differentperson, now; Milton changed me,” MegFoley Burke ’91 says. “I was shy and quietin the classroom as a student here, andnow I’m an overtly outspoken person. Itturns out that Milton’s Harkness tables,which I found intimidating then, werereally effective in helping me find myvoice. While at Milton, I don’t think I reallyappreciated the emphasis placed on writingthe ‘Milton Way.’ At times, I lovinglyreflect on the process as ‘writing bootcamp,’ but that is what I took away andvalue the most in my profession today, justas I did in my undergraduate and graduateprograms beyond Milton—the ability toput my voice into words on paper.”Having come to Milton from a large publichigh school in Los Angeles, ElaineApthorp found that “At Milton I wasn’t thesmartest student in every class, and I reallyenjoyed that. If someone was talented, otherswanted to bring that out. I thought I’ddied and gone to heaven.”“Other than the much more healthy comfortlevel now between boys and girls inbeing genuine friends with one another,”says Caroline Sabin ’86, “Milton is thesame place it was then, and that’s why Ilike it. I have 12–15 teenagers around theHarkness table every day who have donethe reading. They’re not trying to get awayfrom challenge, and they are truly excitedabout our discussion. They ask great questions.They love language. They stuck withme and tackled Beloved by Toni Morrison,and even the least confident studentdecided that The Kite Runner was not agreat book: ‘The writing was flat; the clichécliffhanger was uninspiring,’ they told me.At Milton you become a critical judge. It’sMilton Magazine 13

“ I thought school wasfun. The idea of aresearch paper? Bringit on. My teachersthought that attitudewas normal. My friendsthought it was normal,too. My teaching inother schools was notparticularly personallyrewarding, becausethat enthusiasm forlearning isn’t themodel in lots of otherschools.”always been that way, and that’s one of thethings I loved. We have serious discussionsabout words, and how to use wordspowerfully. Every minute, every classperiod is packed, unlike in college. Onedifference: my students now say ‘thankyou’ at the end of class. I don’t rememberdoing that.”“I’m not only connecting with students inthe classroom,” says Patrice Jean-Baptiste’88, who teaches in the performing artsdepartment, coaches Speech Team andhas been a dorm parent in Hathaway. “I’mconnecting in the dorm, and in performance,but I really work at a whole otherlevel with students as a Speech Teamcoach. I have to find out exactly who everyperson on my team is to help them choosematerial that will allow them to expressthemselves best in competition. And wetravel together—weekend after weekendwe spend in a close-knit group traveling tocompetitions.”“Connections with teachers are central atMilton,” says Rod Skinner ’72 (director ofcollege counseling), “but the irony is thatmy classmates talk about faculty not ‘getting’them, probably because of the politicaldissent and the general challengingof authority that was happening on manycampuses. That was peculiar to my timeband at Milton; ground rules were shiftingin significant ways. But there was neverany hierarchical barrier between us andteachers. People like Chuck Duncan, PaulMonette, A.O. Smith, Ethan Bisbee andthe Schorrs ended up being very specialto me.”Whatever the era, you can’t escape beinga teenager when you’re in high school;the social perils of negotiating those yearsare a chapter in personal histories. Miltoncould be a kind place to spend those years,however. “You had the opportunity to movefreely between roles and reinvent yourself,”Rod says. “You could be an actor, amusician, an athlete and a student.”André Heard ’93 says, “My class had aterm called social side-stepping. Thatmeant that while there were circles offriends, you could, and did, move in andout of the circles, but you were no cooler,or less cool, for whatever group you hungwith at a given time.”Back row (L to R): André Heard, Rod Skinner, David Ball. Middle row (L to R): Elaine Apthorp, Sally Dey, Meg Foley Burke, Anne Kaufman, Patrice Jean-Baptiste.Seated (L to R): Suzie Greenup, Brad Richardson. Missing from photo: Caroline Sabin, Jane Brewer.14 Milton Magazine

“I was impressed when I came that atMilton, everybody was special,” Elainesays. “And we still have so many wonderfullyquirky students who aren’t ostracizedfor being unique but celebrated for whatthey contribute to the mix. There are artistsand jocks and techno geeks and Speechies,and they blend. In my dorm [Goodwin] acouple years back, it was the football playerwho led the cheer to congratulate the chessplayer’s big win. Any musician is instantlyaccorded a certain respect. Coolness atMilton can be acquired in lots of ways.”Caroline feels that people who are verbal,as in “not afraid of healthy debate” and“comfortable with expressing themselves,”thrive at Milton. “We seem to breedsocial activists,” says Suzie Greenup ’75,“students who question everything.” Allagree that a sense of humor persists here:Miltonians are serious students who don’ttake themselves overly seriously.The mix of boarding, day and Boston isstill, also, the recipe for a unique Schoolculture. Milton is urban, and studentsunfailingly mention Boston’s proximityas a plus. Day families still embrace theirchildren’s boarding friends. Perhaps morethan ever, day parents bring their diverseprofessions in metro Boston to campus,guaranteeing Milton’s connection withthe world. On the other hand, with avigorous dorm culture, students from allover the world, and a very active campus,Milton is the place where you meet incrediblefriends, and you can count on beingwith them, having fun, after class and onweekends.Students “Dare to be true.”“Sometimes we think that ‘Dare to be true’means be true to yourself and who you are,do what feels good to you and resist anythingthat challenges you to do things differently,”Elaine says, “but to me, it meansto live with integrity: dare not only to speakthe truth, but to reflect on and accept theconsequences of your beliefs and youractions.”What’s different?“When I came for my interview to work atMilton, I was struck by a tall, black malewalking confidently and easily across thequad, hanging out with three or four studentsof different ethnicities,” says Patrice.“Students of color today feel free to bewho they are, and we found it hard to dothe same in the ’80s.” Not only are “thedemographics different,” as Elaine says,but Milton is truly involved on all issues ofdifferences among people.“I think the mix at Milton today is terrific,”says Brad. “We weren’t the diverseschool—we weren’t the national school—that we are today. We weren’t differentracially, or in terms of religion, or socioeconomically.I think of it as something Ireally missed out on.”“For me to come back, the demographicshad to be different,” says Rod. “Before, notmany students even had experience livingoutside of New England. Students todayhave a much broader awareness of and tolerancefor difference.” Milton tries hard toask the questions, explore the values, andhold the discussions that will prepare studentswell for their world. “Milton makesyou feel uncomfortable in a good way,”says Jane Brewer ’62. “That is, you cannever be complacent.”Milton Magazine 15

With tuitions for schools and collegeshigh enough to preclude most families,financial aid is no longer simply an instrumentof socioeconomic diversity; it is acrucial tool to maintain quality. “We wantthe classroom to be a place of excellence,”says David. “Having vigor in the classroomrequires that we attract the top 10 percentof students. For the overwhelming majorityof that top 10 percent, Milton is financiallyout of reach. Having financial aidas a resource is the insurance we need tokeep Milton the place we’ve known it to bein the past.”As the digital culture marches forward,its ramifications are inescapable. Email,texting, cell phones, cameras, and infiniteinternet options are enticing anddemanding. In the “old days” speakingwith someone was the main way of connecting.Today, the quality of relationshipsat Milton is as strong as ever, but “it takesa whole lot more time, effort and focus tobuild those relationships, because peoplereflexively use electronics and there are somany electronic distractions,” Patrice says.Not only does the internet age bring itsown pressures, all the alumni faculty16 Milton Magazinebelieve that adolescents today wrestle withstresses that are completely unlike thosein the past. Societal and parental pressureto “succeed” is overwhelming. In the past,doing well at academics and perhaps oneother solid skill (a sport, acting, playing aninstrument) were plenty to assure matriculatingat the most competitive colleges.Today students’ list of responsibilities andcommitments goes on and on. Getting intocollege is a different experience, and thelevels of competition are so high that studentshave to decide what to do well, andthen do all the other things also. “You haveto be incredibly energetic and organized; Idon’t know how students who aren’t makeit,” Caroline says.“Right, and time management is the keyskill they all have to work on,” André says.“But they need private time, play time, resttime, downtime. We have to schedule funtime, and when we provide opportunitiesfor simple, old-fashioned fun, they’re reallywelcome.”Why do you stay?When we ask students why they choseMilton they invariably say that it seemsto them a friendly, happy place. It seemslike a place where really motivated, smartpeople are studying and having fun. Whydo the adults in the community chooseMilton, and why do they stay?“The place feels absolutely alive to me.There’s so much going on. That made itappealing to come back,” says Sally. “And Ilove being in my department [history]. Wetalk together constantly, share reading andideas. It feels collaborative, even thoughwe don’t teach together. We inspire oneanother.”“I really enjoy other faculty,” Caroline says.“They’re smart, interesting and funny.They talk about and care about real things.They’re passionately involved people. Youdon’t see shirkers.”Meg believes in the importance of representingthe School, as an alumna, to potentialstudents across the country, as wellas helping make the decisions that buildMilton’s classes and figuring out how toapply the financial aid resources. “There’sreal value in talking about this place froma firsthand point of view. The admissionteam all represent different interests; weread and evaluate files with points of view

shaped by living with students, coachingthem and advising them, even though wedon’t teach.”Suzie sees her work with Milton’s developmentoffice as extending her family tradition.“Because it was his family, Miltonwas important to my father, and my fatheris important to me,” she says. “I receivedan incredible education here, and I believein furthering the mission of excellence.I want to give back.”“Witnessing what you’ll gain from takingrisks is one of Milton’s compellingfeatures,” Patrice comments. “I’m herebecause of the creative opportunities tomake ideas come to life. That requiresresources and support, but as a teacher Iknow that it can happen here. Along withmy family, I’m surrounded by music andperformance artists who could make thattheir way of living. The community valuesthe arts, and as an athlete, I’m glad that wevalue sports as well.”“I feel like I’m a tree on this campus,”Elaine says. “I’m part of it. I have noobjectivity about this place. Being partof family continuity that began way back“ You have an activeintellectual life here,and because we diginto complex issues,you have an activephilosophical andemotional life, too.Typically, there’s atleast one momentin every day when Ifind some part of mythinking challenged.”with Headmaster Apthorp, and my grandmotherEsther Williams Apthorp—whotaught English, geography and coached(maybe even started) field hockey—is aprofound gift. When I drove with my dadcross-country to take this job, Stoky [ for-mer athletic director] came into the headof school’s office and told us a story aboutmy dad, back in the 1930s, stealing firstbase to Cap Hall’s dismay. I love teachingat Milton and I love living with thoseGoodwin boys. I want to keep teaching thepeople who are going to make changes inthis world.”“I am never bored; every day has somethinginteresting in it,” says Rod. “Younever feel as though you are running inplace. Instead you’re doing somethingmeaningful for somebody, or helping getto an idea. It’s a constant state of percolation.It’s hard to imagine a more interestinggroup of students; the students arereally fun. You have an active intellectuallife here, and because we dig into complexissues, you have an active philosophicaland emotional life, too. Typically, there’sat least one moment in every day when Ifind some part of my thinking challenged.There’s also always at least one good laughevery day. With all the sophisticated mindsaround, there’s true wit, and that nuancedhumor is so satisfying. Milton is an environmentwhere you feel very much alive.”CDEMilton Magazine 17

Learning Photography:Lessons in the Languageof Visual LiteracyBryan Cheney’s enduring challenges take a new form in 2008.Jessica Serventi-Gleeson ’10Learning photography at Milton hasshifted from the realm of film anddarkroom to the technology of thecharged couple device and digital software.The medium has changed, but the messageto the students has not: rediscover theexperience of seeing, gain fluency in thelanguage of the visual image, and learn thecraft of writing with the pencil of light.A project that has always been essentialin my teaching of photography is thatof making a composite or manipulatedimage, referencing the exceptional work ofphotographers such as Jerry Uelsmann, aswell as such surrealist painters as SalvadorDalí and René Magritte. Working in thedarkroom with sandwiching negatives;exposing images in sequence; masking,blending, or painting developer, studentsconfront a whole new set of technical andconceptual challenges. In the process, and18 Milton Magazinethe processes, they learn just how “plastic,”and thereby how truly creative, a mediumphotography can be.Whether created with the digital tools ofAdobe Photoshop or the traditional wetdarkroom techniques, composite imagesrequire a creative process much like thecomposition of a poem: the collectionand rearrangement of normally separateelements into a new order as a vehicle ofexpression—original, unique, and potentiallyfree of the necessity to representexperienced reality directly. Imaginationgains an outlet, finds a voice, can be madevisible on a page.In learning to write, we learn to distinguishbetween fiction and nonfiction,prose and poetry. In learning to paint anddraw, we learn to distinguish betweenobservation and imagination, realism andabstraction. In photography, the instantaneouscreation of an image, the “taking” ofa picture, often leads to the narrowing ofthe otherwise potentially creative processof “making” an image. This traps us in thecomparable realms of prose nonfiction andobservational realism.To write a poem or paint from imagination,we must draw upon resources of themind and spirit that challenge our powersof perception as well as the control of thelanguage—verbal or visual. This challengebecomes the artist’s opportunity togrow, to discover new horizons of self andworld. That same opportunity has alwaysbeen inherently available in the mediumof photography—indeed it has actuallycreated great tension between photographersand traditional artists throughoutthe history of photography. The advent ofdigital image technology has facilitatedthe chance to rearrange and reshape theelements of a picture, to build rather thansimply capture, to express rather than simplycommunicate.

Scott Sewall ’10The tools of digital software such as AdobePhotoshop provide the interested andinspired artist—and student—with theflexibility of creative choice that a writertakes for granted in arranging words andphrases, or that a visual artist in traditionalmedia assumes in exercising “artisticlicense” about what and how to paint orsculpt.Assembling a composite image inPhotoshop requires a perception of theworld in far greater detail and sophisticationthan seems, at first, necessary instraight photography. The artist must seethe object not only for what it is, or represents,but also for the quality of light, thedirection of shadow, the scale in juxtaposition,the quality of focus and edge. Tomake a new—imagined—reality that isboth convincing and comprehensible (likeany good piece of writing) also requiresa fluency in control of the respective languageof the artist. This requirement isarguably greater than that required forstraight, accurate description of observationalreality; therefore, the challenge tocreate a composite image becomes a fantasticteaching tool.To build a composite image also requiresa definition of intent: to what end are thecreative choices made? What is the messagethat the medium must be shapedto serve? This is not only a creative challengein the nature of the assignment, butit becomes an effective, if not essential,teaching tool for exemplifying the importanceof the creative choices, whetherintentional or accidental, in the “making”of any straight photograph that is “taken.”To “take a picture” is to choose from thecontinuum of time and the array of objectivethree-dimensional reality, to choose amoment, a point of view, and a collectionof two-dimensional representations boundby the borders of a fixed frame—all withthe intent to communicate an observationor an interpretation that matters.It is, at its best, a process that requiresunderstanding of self, world and language,no matter how simple the goal. The challengeto “make” a composite image, withno limit to the creative choices available,enlarges the range of opportunities for discovery,and thereby the opportunities forthe growth of the eye, the mind, and thespirit of the student.Bryan CheneyVisual Arts DepartmentMilton Magazine 19

Dougan Khim ’0920 Milton Magazine

Ahmed Bakkar ’08Milton Magazine 21

Dan Reynolds ’0922 Milton Magazine

Dougan Khim ’09 Mary Lopez ’10Christine Sanchez ’08Sacha Perold ’10Milton Magazine 23

ADMISSIONNumber of completedapplications in 2008: 900Percentage of applicantsaccepted: 30%Percentage of boarders/daystudents: 50/50Percentage of male/femalestudents: 50/50Percentage of students of color:40%Where are our students from?Milton Academya photographic portraitUnited StatesArizonaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaIdahoIllinoisKansasMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMontanaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkOhioOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasVermontVirginiaCountriesAlbaniaBermudaBrazilBritish Virgin IslandsCanadaChina (P.R.C.)Hong KongIndiaJamaicaJapanKazakhstanKoreaMalaysiaMexicoSaudi ArabiaSingaporeSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwan (R.O.C.)Thailand24 Milton Magazine

ACADEMICAverage number of studentsper class: 14Number of Upper Schoolfaculty: 139Percentage of Upper Schoolfaculty with postgraduatedegrees: 75%Classes:Tried-and-true favorites:• Craft of Nonfi ction• Spanish Film and SocialChange• Statistics• Art History• Chamber OrchestraNew, innovative and popular:• History of Modern China• Engineering for Failure• Issues in EnvironmentalScience: Climate Change• Multivariable Calculus• Advanced Drama:ImprovisationRecent Class IV Talk topics:• The Complexities of Abortion• Reality TV: Its Hypnotic Powersand Illusions• Spiritual Inspiration Found inChristian Summer Camp• The Healing Power of Laughter• Disney Films and Their Racism• The Pros and Cons of BeingShortSample of Ethan Wyatt BisbeePrize history papers:• The Loftiest Crusade: TheRole of the Catholic Churchin Transforming the SpanishCivil War• Depression’s Beauty: The FarmSecurity Administration’s Useof Documented Imagery• Blacks and Jews in America:Jewish Impact on the CivilRights Movement• Rail Retaliation: Laissez-FaireBacklash Through PassengerRail Reform• The Dawes Act and AmericanIdentityMilton Magazine 25

HISTORY/FINANCIALSThe year Milton was charteredas a coeducational land-grantschool: 1798The year Milton separated intogirls’ school and boys’ school:1901The year coeducation returnedto classes at Milton: 1970Number of living MiltonAcademy alumni: 8,705Market value of Milton’sendowment: $190 million(as of June 2008)Annual fund gifts 2007–2008:nearly $3.6 millionOperating budget: $48 millionFinancial aid budget:$6.1 millionPercentage of students onfinancial aid: 32%26 Milton Magazine

STUDENT LIFENumber of students in the UpperSchool: 680Number of boarding students:340Number of houses on campus: 8Smallest house: 31 studentsLargest house: 48 studentsHow students describethemselves and each other:Hard workingMotivatedInterestingTalentedEnergeticUniqueActiveDedicatedAdventurousCreativeTraditions:• Halloween pumpkin carving• Dorm bowling•“Wills” on graduation eve• Milton/Nobles Day• Dorm softball in the spring• Decorating and caroling aroundthe holidays• Dinners in Boston•“The Wall” (near studentmailboxes where they hang theircollege rejection letters upsidedown)• Dorm dodgeball• 1212 Plays• Poems on Jim Connolly’s wall• Class IV Talks• Senior Spring Projects• Orange & Blue Competitions• Class IV book signing• Dorm “open houses”• Alumni as graduation speakersSample of active clubs oncampus:• AIDS Board• Hip-Hop Club• LORAX (environmentalorganization)• Speech and Debate Team• Jewish Student Union• World Health Organization(WHO)• ONYX (African-Americanculture)• Young Republicans• Improv Club• SIMA (Students Interested inMiddle Eastern Affairs)• French Club• Community Service Board• Asian SocietyStudent publications:• The Milton Paper (weeklynewspaper)• Milton Measure (biweeklynewspaper)• The Milton Academy Yearbook• Magus-Mabus (literarymagazine)• Mille-Tonnes (French newspaper)• La Voz (Spanish newspaper)• The Asian (cultural periodical)• M3 (Milton Music Magazine)• Helix (science magazine)• The Issue (current events onlinepublication)• Aché (celebrating diversecultures)Milton Magazine 27

ARTSNumber of productionsmounted each year: 10Sample of plays presented inrecent years:• Broadway’s A Chorus Line• Hecuba by Euripides• To Kill a Mockingbird byHarper Lee• Shakespeare’s The Tempest• No Mother to Guide Her byAnthony Forsythe• Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov• Broadway’s Seussical theMusical• Rosencrantz and GuildensternAre Dead by Tom StoppardNumber of students inorchestra: 110Singing groups on campus:• Glee Club• Chamber Singers• Chapel Choir• Gospel Choir• The Miltones (all-malea capella)• Octet (all-female a capella)• Epic (all-female a capella)• Three for Each of Us (coeda capella)COMMUNITY SERVICENumber of service sites Miltonworks with: 29 sites in GreaterBostonNumber of students involved:250 students volunteer weeklyor monthlyNumber of Special Olympicstournaments hosted on campuseach year: 3 (soccer, basketball,track and fi eld)Sample of communityservice sites:• Greater Boston Food Bank• Mujeres Unidas (ESL tutoringfor women)• Boston Partners (tutoringin Boston public elementaryschools)• Massachusetts HospitalSchool (for mentally andphysically disabled youth)• Rosie’s Place (shelter forwomen and children)• working with Sidewalk Sam(a mural artist focused on citybeautifi cation)• Boston Home (residence foradults with multiple sclerosis)28 Milton Magazine

ATHLETICSSports offered:• Fall —Cross Country, FieldHockey, Football, Soccer• Winter—Alpine Skiing,Basketball, Ice Hockey,Squash, Swimming & Diving,Volleyball, Wrestling• Spring—Baseball, Golf,Lacrosse, Sailing, Softball,Tennis, Track• Intramural—OutdoorProgram, Pilates, Soccer,Squash, Strength &Conditioning, Tennis, UltimateFrisbee, YogaNumber of athletic buildings: 4Number of fields: 12Number of tennis courts:13 outdoor, 4 indoorISL Member Schools:Belmont HillBrooksBuckingham Brown & NicholsGovernor’s AcademyGrotonLawrence AcademyMiddlesexNoble & GreenoughRiversRoxbury LatinSaint George’sSaint Mark’sSaint Paul’sSaint Sebastian’sThayerRecent championships:In recent years, Milton teamshave achieved 28 undefeatedseasons, won 13 New Englandchampionships, 21 leaguechampionships, and onenational championship.Recent championship teamsinclude boys’ and girls’ skiing,volleyball, fi eld hockey, girls’soccer, baseball, boys’ and girls’tennis, and coed sailing.Milton Magazine 29

COLLEGE MATRICULATIONS 2006–2008 (4 or more)Amherst 7Babson 6Bates 5Boston College 10Boston University 9Bowdoin 11Brown 22Carnegie Mellon 5Chicago, University of 8Claremont McKenna 5Colby 13Columbia 11Cornell 14Duke 7George Washington 16Georgetown 12Grinnell 4Hampshire 4Harvard 34Johns Hopkins 4McGill 6Middlebury 8MIT 4Northwestern 4NYU 8Oberlin 4Occidental 4Penn 18Princeton 10Skidmore 5Trinity 11Tufts 14Tulane 5Vanderbilt 10Vermont, University of 4Wellesley 4Wesleyan 16Williams 5Wisconsin, University of 6Yale 1630 Milton Magazine

CLASS OF 2008SAT I: Middle 50%• Critical Reading: 630–730• Math: 640–740• Writing: 650–750ACT: Middle 50%• 25–31National Merit Recognition• National Merit Letters of Commendation: 39• National Merit Semi-fi nalists: 11• National Achievement Semi-fi nalists: 3Milton Magazine 31

A Day in the Lifeof the SchwarzStudent CenterWhat Happens in the Hub?Life in the Schwarz Student Centerbegins well before classes andextends well beyond. Early morningfinds clusters of students gathered athigh-top tables on the main floor, huddledover books or notes, sometimes calculatorsin hand, discussing a question or workingon a problem set. At the midmorningbreak between classes—recess—studentsfrom every corner of campus pour in,seeking out friends, classmates, teammates,for “business” or a few momentsof pure socialization among backpacks,bulletin boards and lacrosse sticks. Youcan count on seeing Academic Dean DavidBall standing midstream in the happymaelstrom, coffee cup in hand, banteringwith students who have plenty of ideas andopinions to share. At lunchtime, studentson the lower level, at the door leading outtoward Forbes dining hall, man tables thatshout their wares: tickets for the upcomingdance concert; pizza fund raisers forAIDS initiatives; student-made jewelry tosupport orphans in Tibet. Students at theCentre Street level check email at the variouskiosks, connecting with teachers andchecking on the status of assignments.Throughout the day, during “frees,” studentsplay foosball, grab bagels aroundtables, and confer at clusters of chairs thatoverlook the quad. The atmosphere quietsdown in the late afternoon; students movethrough on their way to team practices,play tryouts, concert rehearsals and athleticcompetitions, stopping for instant energyin the form of granola bars and smoothies,and yes, French fries, from the snack bar.Guitar strummers and their fans locatenear the front windows, overlookingCentre Street. Meanwhile, on the level onefloor above, editorial boards hunker downin The Milton Measure office, or in the denof the Magus-Mabus, brainstorming ideasand making assignments. The StudentActivities Office “lives” right in the middleof the Student Centre. Hope Rupley,student activities director, mixes withstudents—especially the crew who workwith her (Student Activities Association)to put together small and large events onthe weekends, from watching the Patriotsgames on the big-screen TV with pizza tostaging a winter carnival or a casino night.Banners advertising the upcoming Onyxdance and “Senior Showcase” circle thewall above and around the windows. Atthe center, cascading from the peak of thethree-story ceiling to just above studentson the lowest level, is the amazing sculptureby Sarah Sze ’89, “The Edge of Oneof Many Circles,” a gift of Lisa and RichardPerry ’73 with Tracy Pun Palandjian ’89.Dedicated to Rae and Marshall Schwarz’54, the beloved Student Center gatherspeople together and provides the locusand the opportunity for shared projects,both serious and frivolous. Students haveshaped the building to fit the needs of abusy community. The Schwarz StudentCenter is both literally and figuratively atthe center of Milton student life.Erin E. Hoodlet32 Milton Magazine

“ The Student Center is a place where we all meet upto go do other things. It’s the gathering place, thecenter of everything. It’s where everything starts.I was in ‘The Box’ [Class IV common room] earliertoday, and that’s where people always want to meetup first. The Student Center is the ‘hot spot’ oncampus.”— Hannah Smith ’11Millet House (formerly Centre House); Millboro, Virginia“ [The Student Center] is a place where we allcome together. You strike up conversations younever thought you’d have—maybe not major,intellectual conversations, but the down-to-earth,fun, balancing conversations you have withfriends and new people.”— Jake Jolis ’09Forbes House; Bromma, SwedenMilton Magazine 33

Hope RupleyDirector of Student ActivitiesHope Rupley affects every student’sMilton experience. “I just want tomake students’ experiences here positive,to help them make connections thatlast, to serve the greatest number ofpeople possible, in different ways.”Most students know that Hope is theagent behind the social activities of allkinds—large and small, spectacular andsimple—that liven their lives outside ofclass. From her lookout, a glassed officeperched in the center of the nonstopSchwarz Student Center, she says, “Youcan tell plenty by observing, and we’re soavailable to students right here. It’s easyfor them to be in and out and for us toget to them.”Week in and week out, Hope and herteam of Student Activities Association(SAA) members design and run gatherings—vansto movies or shopping,Boston ventures, showcase campusevents, parties, or simple snacks andbig-screen TV viewing, some bound toappeal to students.In the past, SAA members were allelected. Hope has built lots of responsibilityinto their roles, so while the headsare still elected each year, she set up analternative to election several years agofor building her working group. Anyonecan apply; candidates go through aninterview process; and then Hope andthe senior leaders choose the new members.You need to want to do the job toget it. SAA members run weekly meetings;they delegate tasks and follow up;they attend most events; and—a majorresponsibility—they bring ideas to thegroup. Members’ “homework,” as Hopeputs it, is to ferret out ideas from conversationson the fields, in the hallways, inthe common rooms, or over lunch.What’s new and well reviewed in theweekend world at Milton? Oktoberfest,with live bands, booths and food gottop billing, as did a holiday party withextremely popular cider muffins andglass mugs to paint and take home; atrip to Boston’s Improv Asylum with facultymember Peter Parisi; and the JewishStudent Union’s (JSU) Bar Mitzvahdance. Old favorites continue to buildprestige and appeal, too: A Capella Night(college groups that include Miltonalums); the hypnotist’s visit; and thewell-loved Beatnik Café, a student-ledopen-mike night with a laid-back, coffeehousefeel.Hope has learned that simple thingsreally work: TV and snacks; free moviepasses or free dinners off campus; a vanto the Ice Cream Smith in Milton LowerMills; film and discussion groups (withsnacks, of course). “Students learn,”Hope says, “that if an idea is reasonable,we give it a shot, and most requests arereasonable.”Hope’s office is in the middle of the Student Center.34 Milton Magazine

“ You can walk through the Student Center andhear all kinds of conversations going on. Some areless serious, but a lot of times you hear studentstalking about political or social issues betweenclasses. We get to ‘nerd out’ like that. We haveincredible conversations offering so many differentperspectives.”— Cam Nevin ’10Forbes House; Moretown, Vermont“ In the Student Center it’s sort of like every gradehas their own special spot: Class IV students hangout near the foosball table; Class III is always inthe TV room; Class I and II hang out upstairs nearthe computers. It’s a meeting place for everyone. Ifyou want to meet up with someone in your grade,you never even need to say where—you just knowthat’s where you can find them. You can even getyour Vitamin Water fix at the snack bar.”— Rachel Black ’11Needham, Massachusetts“ A lot of people’s real personalities come out in theStudent Center. I’ve never been to a school whereyou can sit down for five minutes between classesand have such an incredible conversation abouteverything and nothing.”— Yael Acker-Krzywicki ’11Millet House (formerly Centre House); Glen Spy, New YorkMilton Magazine 35

Milton’s Lower Grades Are Now K–8Some things new; some things tried and true36 Milton Magazine

The Academy has always educatedyoung learners. Few people realize,however, how fluid the constructswere, over the years, that put faculty andstudents together. Factors from economicsto trends in pedagogy affected decisionmaking.Students as young as ten wereamong the 23 girls and boys in the originalAcademy. Children in grades 4, 5 and6 were among the 40 students in theAcademy when it reopened after reincorporationin 1885 (Visions and Revisions, APictorial History of Milton Academy). Theearly history included a number of mergersand acquisitions. In the 1930s, Milton’sLower School took over control of theMilton Preparatory School, and it mergedwith the Brush Hill School. For a period,three facilities served young children inthree separate locations. At one time, threedistinct seventh- and eighth-grade programsexisted simultaneously on campus.After 18 months of concentrated researchand discussion—led by faculty and administration,and including parents—MiltonAcademy decided on a new organizationalstructure. The Academy formally launchedone K–8 division this fall.A K–8 Committee of faculty and administrationbegan work on the K–8 idea inJanuary 2007. They researched best practices,visited other K–8 schools, and developedtheir recommendations. These wereaccepted by the board in January 2008.The plan integrates the nine grades undera single leadership structure. What will thechildren, educators and parents gain?The most important answer is curriculumcontinuity. Faculty and parents agree thatproviding excellent preparation for theUpper School and smooth, carefully developedtransitions from grade to grade is apriority. When the structure itself helps theadministration and the faculty focus on thecontinuum from K–8, the optimal level ofcollective oversight on that issue, year inand year out, is more likely.Equally important to a well-articulatedcurriculum is the context for teachingand learning. Faculty and administrationbelieve that a K–8 structure will strengthenfaculty awareness of and support for thegrowth of each child, because it implementsa nine-year continuum of facultychildrelationships. In every grade, theMilton Academy experience is rooted inrich relationships between faculty andstudents.Organizing children’s experiences indevelopmentally appropriate groupings islogical, and provides settings for childrento do their best learning. In the day-todayworld of K–8, faculty meet, formallyand informally, with colleagues closest totheir work. Operationally, Milton studentsand parents still have Lower School andMiddle School experiences. An overarchingK–8 structure, however, helps ensurethat a full range of opportunities is availableto respond to “diverse developmentalneeds,” while at the same time “preservingthe experience of childhood,” as the K–8Committee findings state. Children neednot and should not grow up any fasterthan is healthy, but options for challengeand inspiration should be within reach, atall grade levels.Milton has always honored traditions thatprovide leadership experiences for children.A K–8 structure only enhances theoptions, making both serving and leadingother children part of growing up. Crossgradecollaboration becomes easier as well.Right now fifth graders work with theirkindergarten buddies once each week, andsixth graders read with “literacy buddies”in the first and second grades. Over thepast year, seventh-grade science studentshave worked with third graders, plantingbulbs, and with second graders, who studythe ocean all year, on a marine biologyproject. The new K–8 structure will fostereven more cross-age connections.Organizing as a K–8 entity can helpMilton, now and in the future, achievemaximum efficiency and effectivenessfrom the resources focused on our youngerlearners. For instance, with unity ofpurpose and a consensus on themes we’dlike to explore, we can extend the impact ofa professional development fund. In addition,we can be more effective in identifyingand achieving important developmentopportunities.Recruiting a first-rate administrativeteam to lead the division was a top priority.During the late spring, Rick Hardy,interim head of school, happily madethree successive announcements—resultsof concurrent searches—that introducedthree outstanding professionals to theSchool community. (Faculty and many parentshad already met the candidates andprovided their feedback.)Marshall W. Carter assumed the role ofK–8 principal this past July. He camefrom the Rashi School in Newton,Massachusetts, where he was the middleschool director, managing the 6–8 gradedivision within a K–8 setting. Mr. Carterhelped make Rashi’s middle schoolMilton Magazine 37

program a vibrant, stable and thrivingacademic, social and emotional culture.He chaired the technology committee andtaught seventh-grade language arts andeighth-grade social studies classes.“I am thrilled to be joining the Miltoncommunity,” Mr. Carter said. “It wasapparent to me throughout the hiringprocess that among Milton’s faculty andfamilies is uncommon strength, commitmentand dedication. As an educator,I have long been committed to the K–8model, and this is the leadership role that Ihave been working toward for many years.I look forward to connecting with students,faculty, fellow administrators and parents,listening to their ideas and hopes, andleading a collaborative vision for the newK–8 division.”Mr. Carter’s teaching experience spansmore than 15 years. Before the RashiSchool, he was a faculty member at ShadyHill School in Cambridge for sevenyears. He taught fifth- and eighth-gradeclasses, and served as assistant director ofShady Hill’s well-known Teacher TrainingCourse, working closely with apprenticeteachers as they honed their craft. Prior tothat, Mr. Carter taught at Campbell HallEpiscopal in North Hollywood, California,and at Kent Denver School in Englewood,Colorado. Marshall Carter has led wildernesseducation programs, coached boys’and girls’ soccer, directed and producedstudent theater productions, and advisedstudent newspapers.Following on Marshall Carter’s appointment,Rick Hardy introduced RosalieTashjian, K–8 assistant principal, to faculty,students and parents. Mrs. Tashjiancame to Milton from the Francis J. MuracoSchool, a K–5 school with 380 studentsin the Winchester Public School systemwhere she served as principal since 1993.“Mrs. T,” as she has been known by childrenand parents, has had 20 years’ experiencein regular and special education, inboth independent and public schools, inall grades K–6, including a bilingual independentschool, a bilingual-centered publicschool, and special-education classrooms.“Mrs. T” was the MassachusettsOutstanding Principal of the Year in2007; was named National DistinguishedPrincipal in October 2007; and is aNational Principal Mentor. “Coming toMilton,” Mrs. Tashjian said, “will allow meto return to my first love, working closelywith teachers and children on teachingand learning, on a day-to-day basis.”Among other activities, Mrs. Tashjianchaired the full-day kindergarten study forthe Winchester Public Schools, and wasa member of the Compass Schools PanelReview Team, Exemplary Schools Program(Massachusetts Department of Education).She chaired the Math Committee forthe Winchester elementary schoolsfor six years, and was a member of theSteering Committee for Systemic Changein the Teaching of Math and Science(Massachusetts Department of Education).Joining these two to form the administrativeteam is curriculum coordinatorGretchen Larkin. Ms. Larkin comes to38 Milton Magazine

Milton from the Fay School, where she hasbeen since 2006. Prior to that, she workedas the educational coordinator at DedhamCountry Day School and as the K–6 learningspecialist at the Advent School.“Since May we have met regularly,”Marshall Carter says, “and I am thrilledat the synergy we have already developed.Because of the range and depth of our verydiverse professional backgrounds, ourdiscussion is rich and varied. Our commonvision for children, however, is clearand unified. We’ve all been so impressedand invigorated as we discover, each day,aspects of the curriculum, program andteaching that have made Milton’s K–8experience so excellent.”Planning for more than a full year tointegrate these two strong programs hasallowed the two faculties to connect, discussshared reading, reflect, and set priorities.Many of the outstanding features thatdistinguish the 6–8 program were developedby faculty and former principal MarkStanek over the last five years. During thatperiod, Milton devoted time and energy toshaping an academic and social experiencetruly focused on preadolescent children.Key features of the 6–8 grade life include“focus days” on major contemporaryissues, a carefully attuned life skills curriculum,an emphasis on experientiallearning, and opportunities for studentsto experience finding their own voicesand their leadership styles. Likewise, theLower School faculty can point to valuablehighlights of young children’s schoolexperience that have been refined overmany years. These include individualattention to students and their best learningmodes, writing across the curriculum,cultivating a love of reading, and teachingskills through the window of major subjectareas.These distinctive elements of a developmentallysensitive program continue. Thefaculty have already set to work, figuringout how the proximity of other grades andthe wealth of interesting ideas can evolveinto new traditions, new projects, andopportunities for innovations that wouldnot have been possible before. Vision isnot in short supply.“Nevertheless,” as Mr. Carter points out,“on the ground, in the classrooms, Miltonis Milton. A K–12 school is able to shape,over time, so much of a young person’sintellect, ethical depth, cocurricularstrengths and sense of identity. We believein certain things at Milton Academy, andwe teach in certain ways. When enlivened,these central values may look different atdifferent ages, but each manifestation isdistinctly Milton, appropriate to the age ofthe child. Whether in a kindergarten scienceexploration, a sixth-grade literaturestudy, or Class I and II multivariable calculus,the hallmarks are clear: critical andoriginal thinking, a collaborative spirit ofinquiry, and individual responsibility.”CDEMilton Magazine 39

the pritzker science centerThe Groundbreaking Is November 8, 2008Milton’s new science building iseagerly anticipated: It has beenwell planned. It has inspiredexcitement and new levels of philanthropy.It will begin to take shape on November 8,2008, and students will file through thedoors in December 2010.J.B. Pritzker, Class of 1982, has made itpossible for Milton to fully realize a promisingplan for taking a leadership role inscience teaching and learning. J.B.’s loyaltyand generous commitment to Milton hascome to fruition in a gift that does morethan recognize the critical importance ofscience. In making the Pritzker ScienceCenter a reality, J.B. explicitly affirmsMilton’s long tradition of cultivating apassion for learning—of educating youngpeople to question, to explore, and to thinkcritically and broadly. When the shovelgoes into the ground on November 8,Milton will begin to build a center wherethe key elements of a Milton educationwill thrive.Powerful themes drive thebuilding designCentrality: Science is a critical forcein our livesVisibility: Seeing science at work enticesthe curious and converts the indifferentTransparency: Exploring togetherand collaborating demystifies scienceWilliam Rawn and Associates have led thisbuilding design, an evolution away fromthe earlier design for science. Why a “new”iteration of science now? The board soughtmaximum effectiveness—spaces thatenabled the most advanced science learning—coupledwith efficiency. The trusteesopted to restudy how we might achieveour most energetic goals, secure controlof costs, rely on sustainable features, andenhance the campus.The design that won the day telegraphs theimportance of science across the campusand to the world. It takes direction fromthe teaching and learning in inquiry-basedscience that has flourished in Milton’sinterim science classrooms. All the programneeds are fulfilled, costs are undercontrol, and sustainability is the watchword,in a new building, on a new site.All eyes on ScienceThe Pritzker Science Center is a presenceon the Milton campus. Connected bothto major academic buildings and greenspace, it defines a new quad, bordered byCox Library on the east and the KellnerPerforming Arts Center on the south.Science is visible across green sitelinesfrom key locations across Centre Street.Science, the building and the activityinside, is visible from the street itself.40 Milton Magazine

CoxKellnerScienceCenterHead ofSchoolCentre StreetWigglesworth StrausMiltonCampusGreenHallowellChapelScience is visible across green sitelines from key locations across Centre Street.The Pritzker Science Center is connected both to major academic buildings andgreen space; it defines a new quad, bordered by Cox Library on the east and theKellner Performing Arts Center on the south.NThe most practical classroom building design is the double-loaded corridor,classrooms off both sides of a long hallway. The Pritzker Science Center takesadvantage of its location: the double-loaded corridor bends to fit the site shape.The bend in the building provides the perfect location for an entry point and acentral gathering place, inviting students and faculty to relax, take a break froma project, enjoy their connections with science.Balconies, and stairs with multiple landings, unite the floors and maximizeinteraction.Materials reinforce the themes of transparency and accessibility: interiorglazing makes the classroom activity visible from the hallways.Milton Magazine 41

A scaled entryBrick, glass and copper resonate withother campus buildingsScience buildings tend to be the bulky,oversized buildings on campus. Makingsure that the new building related well tothe scale of Milton’s buildings—Straus,Wigg, Kellner and the Student Center—was a challenge met by developing anentry element with a narrower proportionthan the width of the building. ThePritzker Science Center is two stories tall,graduated across the front, and steppedfrom the ground floor to the roof.Brick and glass are the envelope materialson the side of the building facing Kellnerand Centre Street. The east side walls, andpart of the Centre Street front, use copper,which provides interest on the long side ofthe building and also salutes the materialityof science.An efficient building planThe most practical classroom buildingdesign is the double-loaded corridor, classroomsoff both sides of a long hallway. ThePritzker Science Center takes advantageof its location: the double-loaded corridorbends to fit the site shape. That bendopens up the inside, where balconies, andstairs with multiple landings, unite thefloors and maximize interaction. Materialsreinforce the themes of transparency andaccessibility: interior glazing makes theclassroom activity visible from the hallways.Clear glass spans the lab table areas;translucent glass protects the concentrationthat the conversations around theHarkness table need.The bend in the building provides the perfectlocation for an entry point and a centralgathering place, inviting students andfaculty to relax, take a break from a project,enjoy their connections with science. Stillexploiting the bend in the building, thefaculty room is located directly across fromthe central gathering space.Learning spacesExploration, collaboration and discussionare integrated in inquiry-based science.Generating questions, hands-on workpursuing answers, probing issues togetheraround the table—it all goes on in 14 classlabs, one for each faculty member and hisor her discipline.Making sure that the new building related well to the scale of Milton’s buildings—Straus,Wigg, Kellner and the Student Center—was a challenge met bydeveloping an entry element with a narrower proportion than the width of thebuilding. The Pritzker Science Center is two stories tall, graduated across thefront and stepped from the ground floor to the roof.42 Milton Magazine

Exploration, collaboration and discussion are integrated in inquiry-basedscience. Generating questions, hands-on work pursuing answers, probingissues together around the table—it all goes on in 14 class labs, one for eachfaculty member and his or her discipline.Scientific inquiry that is specialized, or independent, or that needs to continuefor longer periods of time, takes place in four inquiry labs. Larger than theclassroom labs, the inquiry labs are on the first floor, open and beckoning to allwho pass. The Pritzker Science Center locates the “cool stuff,” the excitementof pursuing an idea, in the center of activity.Milton Magazine 43

Scientific inquiry that is specialized, orindependent, or that needs to continue forlonger periods of time, takes place in fourinquiry labs. Larger than the classroomlabs, the inquiry labs are on the first floor,open and beckoning to all who pass. ThePritzker Science Center locates the “coolstuff,” the excitement of pursuing an idea,in the center of activity.To provide ultimate flexibility and preparefor potential new teaching strategies, severalof the inquiry labs and the classroomlabs are separated from one another by“garage door” type partitions. Those laboratoriescan double in size, allowing forvariable uses of the space.Solid strategies for sustainabilityDesigned to meet silver LEEDspecifi cations• The Pritzker Science Center uses naturallight extensively; sensors as well asmanual controls regulate light for peakefficiency.• Continuous filtration of roof water gathers,recharges and disperses rainwater toirrigate landscaping; a dry-grass swale isa major landscape design element framingthe entrance and lining the building’seast side.• The roof has two sections: a green roofon the overhang of the stepped, westside of the building at the base of thesecond floor. The top of the buildinguses highly reflective TPO shingles;TPO is a chemical alloy made withrecycled materials, and the shingles are100% chemically recyclable.• Demonstration solar hot water and photovoltaicpanels produce energy for thebuilding; their number and capacity canincrease if the technology proves itselfeffective and efficient in this building.• The building’s “Dashboard” demonstratesreal-time energy use and savingssimultaneously.• Use of recycled and renewable materialsis maximized throughout, and use oflocal materials is extensive.• Green landscape design makes use ofa dry-grass swale and subgrade stormwater retention tank. The grasses andother native plantings in the swale survivewith this recycled rainwater, giveyear-round color, and require minimalmaintenance. Reused bluestone paverswill be featured at the front entrywayand east side gathering space; NewHampshire granite will be used forcurbs and benches. The landscapedesign features native plantings and preservesmany existing trees. An existingstone wall will be reused along the westface of the building.Multiple workshops with faculty yielded many gains for the design. Facultywere sure that they wanted the classroom work clearly visible through the glasswalls to any or all in the building. A central faculty room, large enough for conversationand collaboration among all the science faculty, has always been acrucial element for them. Locating the faculty room across from the gatheringspace addresses the faculty’s supervisory role as well.A building “Dashboard” demonstrates real-time energy use and savingssimultaneously.44 Milton Magazine

Commencement 2008Commencement SpeakerMilton Academy 2008 Awards and PrizesJehane Noujaim, Class of ’92,is not only a provocative, successful,young documentaryproducer and filmmaker; sheis an international activist whobelieves passionately in thepower of film to help movepeople toward global acceptanceof diversity.Jehane started making moviesat Harvard College, from whichshe graduated magna cumlaude in 1996 with a degreein visual arts and philosophy.After college, her professionallife began in the MTV newsdocumentary division, whereshe was a producer for theseries Unfiltered. She was botha producer and director for theaward-winning documentaryStartup.com, and in 2003, shemade the documentary filmControl Room about Al Jazeera,the U.S. military’s CentralCommand, and their contrastingways of reporting theUnited States invasion of Iraq.After the 2004 release ofControl Room, Jehane wasawarded a 2006 TED prize.TED began in 1984 as a conferencedevoted to the convergingfields of technology, entertainmentand design. Each yearthe conference gathers 1,000of the world’s leading thinkersand doers; offers them fourdays of rapid-fire stimulation;and facilitates the implementationof their ideas.Jehane Noujaim ’92 was Milton’s2008 commencement speaker.The TED Prize takes threegreat ideas each year andseeks to achieve goals of globalimpact. The three exceptionalindividuals who win the TEDPrize each receive $100,000and, much more important,the granting of “One Wish toChange the World.” Jehane’swish for a world-unitinginternational celebration wasto bring together millions ofpeople from all over the worldin a unique shared experience;use the power of film to createa better understanding ofone another; and form a globalcommunity striving for a betterfuture. That celebration, calledPangea Day, was a live videoconference—featuringfilms,speakers and music—that tookplace in New York City, Rio deJaneiro, London, Dharamsala,Cairo, Jerusalem, and Kigali onMay 10, 2008.Cum LaudeClass IAlyssa Marie BlaizeElizabeth Claire BloomMary Elizabeth BruynellCorina Louise ChaseAngelica Joan CristelloElla Kaille Cohen DershowitzWilliam Edward EnglishRebecca Bartlett EvansMichelle Qianye FangSpencer Kames GaffneyCatherine Prentice GibbonsMatthew Ross GottesdienerHyo Jung HongAndrew Michael HreskoAllan Claude Jean-BaptistePrutsdom JiarathanakulLillian Dawson KaiserHo Chan LeeSabrina Gharib LeeIrene Shiang LiElaine LinChelsey Jayne LocarnoNathaniel Pender MorrisOlamide Elizabeth OladipoKatherine Elizabeth PerzanBrooke Alicia RiceEmily Ann Rider-LongmaidDavid Anthony SamuelsonGordon Watters SayreMariya Borisovna ShapiroJoo Young SongElizabeth Regard Stark*Sophia Pelerossi TopulosVinay Chetan Trivedi-ParmarTomas Lothian MangabeiraUngerOlivia Montine FreemanWoollamJessica Rachel YanovskyClass IILee Hamilton RodmanJordan Herbert Windmueller*Elected to Cum Laude in 2007The Head ofSchool AwardThe Head of School Award ispresented each year to honorand celebrate certain membersof Class I for their demonstratedspirit of self-sacrifice, communityconcern, leadership, integrity,fairness, kindliness, and respectfor others.Ahmed Bashir BakkarElizabeth Claire BloomIrene Shiang LiZachary Pulitzer MooreZachary Mansfield PierceCynthia SituMassimo Christian SorianoJonathan Ryan TsangThe James S. WillisMemorial AwardTo the Headmonitors.Sabrina Gharib LeeHenry Edwards LitmanWilliam BaconLovering AwardTo a boy and a girl, chosen bytheir classmates, who have helpedmost by their sense of duty toperpetuate the memory of agallant gentleman and officer.Elizabeth Claire BloomStephen Jungmin SuhThe Louis AndrewsMemorial ScholarshipAwardTo a student in Class II who hasbest fulfilled his or her potentialin the areas of intelligence,self-discipline, physical ability,concern for others and integrity.Kelsey Michaela CreeganMilton Magazine 45

The Leo Maza AwardAwarded to a student or studentsin Classes I–IV who, in workingwithin one of the culture oridentity groups at the School,has made an outstandingcontribution to the communityby promoting the appreciation ofthat group throughout the rest ofthe School.Irene Shiang LiThe H. AdamsCarter PrizeAwarded to the student orstudents who, in their years atMilton, have shown a dedicationto the pursuit of outdoor skills,demonstrated strong leadership,and reached high levels ofpersonal achievement in one ormore outdoor activities.Sydney SmithCatherine Amara WarrenThe A. HowardAbell PrizeEstablished by Dr. and Mrs. EricOldberg for students deemedexceptionally proficient ortalented in instrumental or vocalmusic or in composition.Elizabeth Claire BloomAllan Claude Jean-BaptisteWilliam Edward EnglishHarrison Otis ApthorpMusic PrizeAwarded in recognition of helpfulactivity in furthering in theSchool an interest and joy inmusic.Alexandra Rasmi SopheaNorodomStephen Jungmin SuhThe George SloanOldberg Memorial PrizeAwarded in memory of GeorgeOldberg ’54, to members of theSchool who have been a uniqueinfluence in the field of music.Sarah Frances Hetzler McBrianStephen Kaapuni Wagner46 Milton Magazine

Elected by their classmates to be the Class of 2008 valedictorian speakers,Liz Bloom and Sam PanareseThe Science PrizeAwarded to students whohave demonstrated genuineenthusiasm, as well asoutstanding scientific ability inphysics, chemistry and biology.Prutsdom JiarathanakulBrooke Alicia RiceSophia Pelerossi TopulosThe Wales PrizeAwarded in honor of DonaldWales, who taught Class IVscience for more than 36 years.It recognizes students in ClassIV who have consistentlydemonstrated interest andexcitement in science.Nikita BhasinKatherine Claire CaineNaveen Mohan JastyJaclyn Duker PorfilioDaniel Aaron SchwartzThe RobertSaltonstall MedalFor pre-eminence in physicalefficiency and observance of thecode of the true sportsman.Stephen Richard Aborn Jr.The A.O. Smith PrizeAwarded by the English departmentto students who displayunusual talent in expositorywriting.Bingham DeVault BryantMichelle Heyon KimTomas Lothian MangabeiraUngerThe Markham andPierpont Stackpole PrizeAwarded in honor of two Englishteachers, father and son, toauthors of unusual talent increative writing.Corina Louise ChaseTomas Lothian MangabeiraUngerThe Dorothy J.Sullivan AwardTo senior girls who have demonstratedgood sportsmanship,leadership, dedication and commitmentto athletics at Milton.Through their spirit, selflessnessand concern for the team, theyserved as an incentive and amodel for others.Marguerite Ann BouscarenThe PerformingArts AwardPresented by the performingarts department for outstandingcontributions in production work,acting, speech, audiovisuals,and dance throughout his or herMilton career.Kathryn Danielle DwightKyle Louise KankondeRachel Sloane KayHenry Edwards LitmanZachary Pulitzer MooreGordon Watters SayreMilton Magazine 47

The Kiki Rice-Gray PrizeAwarded for outstanding contributionsto Milton PerformingArts throughout his or hercareer in both performance andproduction.Alison Schuster BraceZachary Pulitzer MooreThe PriscillaBailey AwardTo a senior girl who has been amost valuable asset to MiltonAcademy athletics and to theMilton Academy Community—an athlete who has demonstratedexceptional individual skillsand teamwork, as well as truesportsmanship.Chelsey Jayne LocarnoThe Henry WarderCarey PrizeTo members of the First Class,who, in Public Speaking andOral Interpretation, have shownconsistent effort, thoroughnessof preparation, and concern forothers.Lillian Dawson KaiserThe Robert L. Daley PrizeCreated by his students of 1984in his memory and honor, thisprize in Classics is awarded to thestudent from Latin 4 or beyondwho best exemplifies Mr. Daley’slove of languages.Sarah Elizabeth LoucksThe Richard LawrenceDerby Memorial AwardTo an outstanding student of theSecond Class in Mathematics,Astronomy, or Physics.Alexander Robinson HarrisInji JungThe Alfred ElliottMemorial TrophyFor self-sacrifice and devotionto the best interests of his teams,regardless of skill.Matthew Edward O’SullivanThe Gorham PalfreyFaucon PrizeEstablished in 1911 andawarded to members of Class Ifor demonstrated interest andoutstanding achievement inhistory and social science.Matthew Ross GottesdienerIan Lawrence MahmudNathaniel Pender MorrisOlamide Elizabeth OladipoThe Benjamin FosdickHarding Latin PrizesAwarded on the basis of aseparate test at each prize level.Level 5: Charles Codman CabotLevel 4: Timothy JamesBarry-HeffernanLevel 3: Elias Ibrahim DagherThe ModernLanguages PrizesAwarded to those students who,in the opinion of the department,most exhibit the qualities ofacademic excellence, enthusiasticparticipation, and support offellow students, both in and outof class.Angelica Joan CristelloLillian Dawson KaiserWilliam Edward EnglishCynthia SituThe Milton AcademyArt PrizesAwarded for imagination andtechnical excellence in his orher art and for independent andcreative spirit of endeavor.Mary Elizabeth BruynellIrene Shiang LiDavid Anthony SamuelsonSamuel Dodge PanareseMariya Borisovna ShapiroMiranda McKnight Wheeler48 Milton Magazine

Graduates’ Weekend 20081. Didi Belash ’78 and JohnBelash ’482. Gorham Brigham ’333. Bird’s-eye view of the festivitiesin the Schwarz Student Center onFriday night4. Chloe Waters-Wallace ’03 andChris Kwok ’035. Charlotte Bacon, Lisa Donohue,Cindy Powell, Louisa Winthropand Gwenna Williamson enjoyingtheir 25th Reunion6. Friendly competition onNash Field7. Muffy Handy Nichols ’382 34156 7Milton Magazine 49

1. John Luce ’68 and PeterWhittemore ’682. Enjoying a grassy seat on theQuad—some things neverchange3. Interim Head of School RickHardy with members of theClass of ’584. Mom’s lap is always theperfect seat5. Members of the Class of ’83 tryto determine whether they’rebetter looking now than back intheir Milton days6. There’s nothing better than icecream on a hot day7. Peter Gleason ’63 and RicFaulkner ’63 doing science in20088. Gerald McClanahan ’8312 34 567 850 Milton Magazine

1. Melissa Chase ’83 and friends2. Feels like coming home3. Mike Descoteaux ’98, MikeStanton ’98 and performing artschair Peter Parisi4. Star Martin Hopkins, JoyEmerson Howard and JoanCorbett Dine at the Class of 1958symposium5. Ed Lincoln and Ed Gorman—bothClass of ’43—capture the moment6. Ken Tokusei ’88 and AdamTowvim ’887. Lindsey Schwoeri ’03 and EdithEustis ’031234567Milton Magazine 51

1. Bob Cunha ’83 and Lisa Donohue’83 were elected to the Board ofTrustees in September2. Caroline Aiello ’98 and HarrisonBlum ’983. Milton “Speechie” AmeliaWhalen ’10 performs for grads’weekend celebrants4. Lans Lamont ’48 at the keyboard5. Chris Kwok, Andy O’Connor,Patrick Pettiti and DennisReardon—all Class of 20036. Class of ’83 hamming it up forthe camera: Sarah Andrikidis, LizDunn and Pamela Parizek12 345652 Milton Magazine

Faculty PerspectiveThe Ruth King Theatre in KellnerForever grateful for the shared enterprise of exposing our common humanityTwenty years ago an acre of lawnstretched between Milton’s healthcenter and the library. Those of uswho came to the campus to interview forthe position of theatre teacher and directorthat year saw blueprints for the new performingarts facility which was to rise fromthat empty plot. It was to be an impressivebuilding with two theatres, a large sceneshop, a beautiful dance studio and ampleroom for orchestra, chorus, jazz and thespeech program. That empty expanse ofgrass fairly danced with potential.It is, of course, reasonable and sensible tothink of buildings as mere aggregationsof brick and glass and mortar. For the betterpart of a year, as we watched Kellnerrise from the earth, it was fascinating tosee those pieces come together. From thevery beginning it was clear that the buildinghad an inner sanctum, a space at thecenter which was set apart. I think we didnot know at that time what the theatrewould be called, but Ruth King’s namesakespace was taking its distinctive form inbrick and steel day by day before our eyes,shaped by its purpose. A concrete platform.A large, open space set deep into thefoundation and surrounded by walls risingto the top of the building. Even the mostcasual observer could not fail to recognizethe form as either a theatre or a place ofworship.Theatres and temples are, after all, notreally very different. In most of the greatcultures of the world the theatre was bornand nurtured in places of worship. Butwhile sacred architecture customarily soarsin spires, cupolas, steeples or minarets,theatres more often sweep downwardto the performance space. The majesticsemicircle of the seats at the Theatreof Dionysus, the tiered balconies of theopera house and the intimate galleries ofthe Globe all direct the eye downward tothe stage—the compelling focal point foran entire audience caught up together inlaughter or tears or a single, shared gaspof recognition. And now at Milton the gallerieswere rising around a performancespace. Though it was still only bricks, mortarand steel, it would soon be much more.In the meantime, in Wigg Hall and Room1212 and the boys gymnasium we actedand made music and built scenery anddanced, but we knew that soon the seatswould be in place and the curtains wouldbe hung and the new theatre would cometo life.Some buildings do remain aggregationsof brick and glass and mortar, but anyonewho has walked onto an empty stage thathas been in use for more than a few yearsknows that theatres are made of muchmore. Ruth King Theatre, 17 years after itopened, is a rich concoction of memory,old paint, echoes, sweat and the first subtleintimations of next year’s musical. In avery real way it is now a creation of allof those who have played upon its stage,brought up a light on cue, or risen fromone of those red upholstered chairs inspontaneous applause. Costumes that havebeen worn in a dozen different productionsform unseen connections betweenactors or dancers of different eras whohave never met one another. Layer uponlayer of color on the stage floor formsMilton Magazine 53

the archaeological strata upon which ourseniors will walk and dance and sing andplay their baccalaureate moments. Thewear and tear and glory and inspiration ofyears of use have given Ruth King a richpatina that is uniquely hers and ours.It is no strange thing that the idea of thetheatre ghost is such a common one. Whatwe put on stage, when we are most successful,is life. Life at its most intense andprofound. Life wearing its most ridiculouscountenance and life caught in its mostvulnerable moments of humanity. Withour music and dance and words and lightand scenery, we unite performers andaudience in a celebration of that life, whichmay be painful, funny or ecstatic. That lifepersists. It seeps into the cracks and cranniesand soaks into the velour and hemp.It vibrates in the walls and clings to themotes of dust suspended in the light fromthe spots. You cannot enter the theatre, ourtheatre, without touching it, hearing it andbreathing it.For the last seventeen years I have beenprivileged to share Kellner and Ruth Kingtheatre with thousands of artists and audiences.Together we have changed Kellnerand the work done in the building haschanged us. Great performances and thepreparation that leads up to them bringinto ever sharper focus the potential of thehuman spirit for either glory or ignominy.In performance we open ourselves forall to see, and in doing so we tear awaythe veil that often obscures our commonhumanity. This is profound work and itseffects are very powerful, though they arenot always recognized immediately. As aresult of having shared this enterprise withmy fellows in Kellner, student and adultalike, parts of me will remain there fordecades after I walk out its doors for thelast time, traces in the rich mixture of theplace. I will take with me much more thanI have left behind and be forever gratefulfor it.David PeckPerforming Arts faculty 1988–2008Reprinted with permission from The MiltonPaper; first published May 23, 2008.“ The most memorable Miltonconcert in recent times.”Dr. Don Dregalla on Dame Evelyn Glennie’sGratwick PerformanceInternationally renowned percussionistDame Evelyn Glennie performedthe 2008 Gratwick Concertin Kellner Performing Arts Center onFebruary 5, 2008.Throughout her career, Evelyn Glenniehas commissioned 143 new works forsolo percussion, composed and recordedmusic for film and television, and shegives more than 100 performances a yearworldwide. Her diverse collaborationshave included performances with artistssuch as Naná Vasconcelos, Kodo, BélaFleck, Björk, Bobby McFerrin, EmanuelAx, Sting, King’s Singers, MormonTabernacle Choir and Fred Frith. Her firstalbum, a recording of Bartok’s Sonatafor two pianos and percussion, won aGrammy in 1988.According to the Drummergirl.com Website, “Much media attention has beengiven to the fact that Evelyn is a deafmusician. Evelyn is profoundly deaf, andshe doesn’t feel the need to make a bigdeal about it. After she lost her hearingwhen she was young, Evelyn spent timewith her percussion teacher, Ron Forbes,refining her ability to detect vibration.She can distinguish the rough pitchof notes by associating where on herbody she feels the sound. Truth be told,Evelyn’s hearing is something that bothersother people far more than it bothersher. Since she is one of the world’s topinternational musicians, it must notmake much of a difference to the orchestras,conductors or venues.”For Dr. Don Dregalla, music departmentchair and also a percussionist,Dame Evelyn Glennie’s performancewas particularly electric. His own reflectionsinclude those of students who filledKing Theatre to listen and watch withastonishment:“Judging by the response from all thosewho attended (about 350 people), thiswas the most memorable Milton concertin recent times. Students were fascinatedby Evelyn’s playing and captivated by hervital energy and persona. Great excitementwas in the air all evening. Morethan a few in the audience called the concertthe ‘best of the Gratwick series.’“Evelyn Glennie began her campus visitwith an hourlong master class, workingwith percussionist Liz Bloom ’08.Liz played three pieces, one each forsnare, timpani and mallets. The rapportbetween Evelyn and Liz was terrific. Atleast 60 people witnessed the masterclass in the orchestra room, and it wasvideotaped for an upcoming documentaryabout Dame Glennie.“Dame Evelyn was a very encouragingteacher, but also very challenging. Hercomments were always positive. Shewas demanding of Liz, however, askingthat Liz do a few things that were quitedifficult—especially in front of a crowd—such as switching around the dynamicsof a piece and the place on the drumwhere Liz played those dynamics. I cantell you, as a percussionist, that this isquite hard to do, but Liz did it very well.“Witnessing some of Evelyn Glennie’srehearsal was a treat for me—like gettinga chance to hear a private recital, and insome cases, a private lesson. She workedover and over on a piece, getting it justright. It was riveting.54 Milton Magazine

Dame Glennie began her campus visit with a master class, working with percussionist Liz Bloom ’08.“Then of course came the concert inthe evening. King Theatre was a perfectvenue for this concert. The stage set createdan intimacy quite different fromother theatre events. The concert featuredmusic from the 20th century; except forone piece, all was composed for DameGlennie. The first piece by Rzewski,based on a seventh-century poem, waswritten for voice and for flowerpots. Thenext two pieces were for solo marimba.Following that was a piece for maracasand prerecorded tape by the Mexicancomposer Javier Alvarez. The first halfconcluded with another multipercussionmarimba piece called Barracuda. Thatpiece was my favorite. It was very difficultand included not only marimba, but alsoother percussion instruments. It alsowas extremely rhythmic, and coordinatingthe marimba and other instrumentswas very hard.“The second half featured four pieces,probably highlighted by a piece forsolo snare drum called Prim by AskellMasson. Students mentioned thispiece, which required incredible concentration,as a favorite. The pieceended with a long roll on the snaredrum, perhaps four minutes long.Dame Glennie started it very slowlyand then sped it up gradually. It gotlouder and louder, then softer andsofter, creating harmonics on the drumitself. It then ended not only with thisroll, but also with a few extra soft notes,and finally, a loud bang. Everyone inthe theatre was held spellbound.”The Gratwick Concert is always eagerlyanticipated and long remembered. Dr.Mitchell Gratwick, a former Academy facultymember, established this series as agift to the School in memory of his wife,Katharine Perkins Gratwick, Girls’ SchoolClass of 1924 and a cellist. The concertseries has continued as an unbroken traditionfor 78 years. Designed primarily togive students the rare opportunity to hearworld-class artists in an intimate setting,the concert is usually held in Straus andhalf of the room is reserved for students.This year, due to the nature of the performanceand requirements of space, lightingand sound, the concert was held inKing Theatre.Milton Magazine 55

Post ScriptPost Script is a department that opens windows into the lives and experiences of your fellowMilton alumni. Graduates may author the pieces, or they may react to our interview questions.Opinions, memories, explorations, reactions to political or educational issues are all fair game.We believe you will find your Milton peers informative, provocative and entertaining. Pleaseemail us with your reactions and your ideas at cathy_everett@milton.edu.Looking Back by Fritz Kempner ’40Excerpts from Chapter 21: Back to MiltonThe atmosphere that I enjoyed somuch as a student in 1939, I feltduplicated as a member of the faculty.“Halo effect?” Perhaps. I now knowthat my years as teacher of Latin and Greekand coach of soccer and basketball atMilton gave me a running start into a lifeof teaching.It must have been “real love,” since my livingconditions were not exactly luxurious.I lived in Robbins House, a dormitory of50 boys. My third-floor bedroom/study wasconnected by one door to an area of sevenninth graders, themselves called “alcoves”after their habitation, and by another toa stairway leading to the quarters of foureighth graders on the fourth floor. The 12of us shared a common bathroom. Could Ientertain friends? I don’t think the thoughtever occurred to me. I accepted everythingas a given, happy to have a job at a topnotchschool.In addition to being responsible for these11 boys in the dormitory, it was my dutyto preside over a table of ten boys at mealtime,three times a day. After supper Ienjoyed a period of “rest and relaxation”during which my immediate superiorserved coffee in his quarters, which werepalatial compared to mine. He was JimCarter, also my boss in Latin and, at thetime, a bachelor. As a commander in theNavy he had been nicknamed “SmilingJim,” because he never smiled. He was aspredictable as a well-functioning alarmclock, with set times for coffee as well asstock remarks. He was easy to work forprovided you accepted his routine, which Idid. This very predictability made life easy,but it came at a price: the price of restrictingmyself to a certain behavioral rut.During six years of doing the same job outof the same room, though with differentboys, I gradually became aware of this as atrap and was ready for a change. My UncleFritz, frequent giver of sage advice, wroteme: “…routine is the worst enemy of truegrowth since it counterfeits a security thatis not based on inner growth. It cannotonly fool others, but also yourself.”The siblings: Martha and Max on my right, Franon my left, at the 1999 family reunion in Austria.Behind us a genealogical display.Fortunately, I had some provocative friendson the faculty who prevented my succumbingto a deadening routine. One was TedHolmes, teacher of English, fresh out ofPrinceton’s avant-garde English department,where he had been a protégé of R.P.Blackmur, one of the leaders of the NewCriticism movement. What got us goingwas a discussion about Robert Frost’s“Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.”Ted convinced me that this poem wasabout much more than a sleigh stoppingby woods in winter—that in fact it dealswith the whole human condition. He suggestedthat to arrive at the meaning of anypoem, it was not necessary to know anythingabout the author’s life, but that whatevermeaning a poem had was containedin the words of the poem itself. The poetmay have intended this or that, but if themeaning was not contained in the wordsof the poem, if it required knowledge notcontained in the poem itself, it was—forthat very reason—a poorer poem. We discussedthis issue at length, and in the endI had become his disciple.My closest friends on the faculty were TobySmith, Air Force major in World War II,teacher of English, with a strong convictionin favor of teaching the canon; andhis wife, Audrey, vivacious and innovativeteacher of Spanish and chef extraordinaire.Teach Moby-Dick or Malcolm X? JohnKeats or Wilfred Owen? Our conversationswere ongoing.56 Milton Magazine

While Milton took academics seriously, itdid not neglect the spiritual. There weretwo compulsory Chapel services: one onSunday evenings, with a sermon by a minister,and one on Wednesday mornings,with a talk by a faculty member.When it came my turn for a Wednesdaymorning talk, I used the opportunity todescribe my view on religion, as revealedin Lessing’s 1779 play Nathan The Wise. Iknow it well, having recited it in a familysetting as a teenager. Here it is, in brief:Once upon a time in the Orient therelived a man who owned a ring of greatworth that had the special power to makethe wearer beloved in the eyes of Godand men. This ring passed from fatherto favored son until it came to a father ofthree sons, all equally deserving. What todo? The father had two identical copiesmade and gave each son a ring; he thendied. Each son believed that his ring wasthe true one. They argued fiercely. Unableto agree, they sought out a judge to decidethe issue. Said the judge, “Since it isimpossible to prove which ring is the genuineone, I suggest this: Let each of youdemonstrate his belief in the power of hisring by conducting his life in such a mannerthat he fully merits the love of God andmen. The outcome of your lives will be areflection of the power of the ring.”The three “Religions of the Book”—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—each relyon a written tradition handed down overmany centuries. Setting aside conversions,believers base their faith on what they haveread or what they have been brought upto believe. Which faith is the most valid? Icannot consider one tradition superior tothe other two. To me, what’s most importantin our lives is not our faith, but howwe act. Or, to use the parable of the threerings: It is up to the owner of each ringto prove his or her ring genuine. The realtest will be the quality of life that a personhas led. As Matthew 7:16 puts it, “You willknow them by their fruits.”You Must Remember This:A Reporter’s Odyssey from Camelot toGlasnost by Lansing Lamont ’48Excerpts from Chapter 5:A.O., Sally Rand and the Athenian EffectMy mother was convinced I neededstricter supervision at a moregenteel correctional facility thanthe one my father and brothers had attended.So to Father’s dismay, I was air mailednot to Exeter but to Milton Academy, anivied cloister of Yankee rectitude situatedjust south of Boston.Milton was a brief trolley ride from downtownBoston. The school authorities spentas much time protecting us from the sinsof Scollay Square’s burlesque and moviehouses as they did promoting the virtuesof Horace and Cicero. Mostly our sinningwas confined to the occasional hike to thevillage ice-cream parlor.Life as a lowly boarder was predictablymonastic: bone-chilling New Englandnights, cramped dormitory cubicles, bullyingupperclassmen, an endless diet ofchipped beef on toast. Chapel and Sundaychurch were mandatory; we dosed out onGod. Our housemaster, a genial formerpro baseball player, urged us to persevereand “keep rounding the bases.” His deputy,a dead ringer for Sidney Greenstreet,took to calling me “fer-de-lance” (a pitviper), which, in my ignorance, I took as acompliment.The Academy’s headmaster, a dapperchap with a clipped mustache, was adeptat cajoling checks from the Brookline andBack Bay mothers whose young chargeshe supervised. The Academy also harboreda separate girls’ school down the road, avery good one, which was run by a formidabledreadnaught named Miss Faulkner;Milton wasn’t yet coed, a term that vaguelyoffended Brahmin sensibilities. The boys’school principal was a tweedy beanpolenamed Arthur Perry, who came from adistinguished line of educators and whoseeyes perpetually twinkled behind a pair ofrimless glasses. Mr. Perry’s annual readingat assembly of Dickens’ A Christmas Carolwas as eagerly anticipated as the Great TreeFrog Dissection conducted each spring inMr. LeSourd’s science class.Milton’s motto was “Dare to Be True,”proclaimed in plain English with none ofthe fancy Latin varnish favored by otherschools. The teachers were a sturdy lot,disciplined, demanding, occasionally firedwith passion. If they were more sage thaninspired, it may have been because mostwere seriously aging, their younger colleaguesstill finishing off the war. All thatchanged for me with the arrival in 1946 ofAlbert O. Smith, our new English teacher.A.O. was lately discharged from the AirForce and eager to get on with his career.He was unmarried and unconforming, alanky character with smoke-stained teethand a quizzical smile. Most days he worea frayed button-down shirt and a tiredsports coat that dropped to his knees. Hewas rumored to knock down a bourbon ortwo and some mornings appeared in classa little worse for wear. His classroom stylewas Socratic-casual, something we wereMilton Magazine 57

SportsJasmine Reid ’09,Milton’s FastestMustangLansing Lamont ’48 when he served as foreigncorrespondent in Time’s London bureau, 1971.unused to. Shortly, he became the mostsubversive, liberating influence in ouracademic life.A.O. prodded us to avoid the banal, tothink critically and argue succinctly. Hepumped us up with the intellectual oxygenwe needed, and did so with infectioushumor. He seemed free of pedantry, ablithe spirit thumbing his nose at churchschoolformalities. He became my friendand mentor.A classmate and I put out a mimeographedfour-page newspaper for the lowerclassmen, my initial foray into journalism.But the writer in me wouldn’t crystallizefor a while. My first short-story effort wasreturned with the comment that it lackeda plot. I began polishing my letters home,describing the terrors of boarding life.That would prove a more useful run-up tothe trade I eventually chose.I wrote for the lit magazine and took upsmoking. The ads and movies suggestedcigarettes lent spice to life, Bacall languidlyblowing smoke into Bogart’s eyes, Bogiesingle-handedly turning the cigarette intohis personal swagger stick. Cigarette-wise,my father was the essence of cool. At thebreakfast table he inhaled the nicotinethrough a silver-and-black cigarette holderhe’d bought under the illusion it was afilter. He’d blow a ring or two, then restthe holder in the ashtray, letting tendrils ofblue smoke from it curl alluringly acrossthe table’s mahogany surface. So I wentout and bought my first pack of Camels.Nice girls didn’t smoke, at least not theones in cashmere sweaters who strolleddown Milton’s Centre Street. But then we58 Milton Magazineweren’t interested in nice girls, we toldourselves. We figured that with the rightdate, a smooth line, and a few suave Camelexhalations, we could turn nice into bad. Itdidn’t work out that way, but I fantasizedabout it along with the rest of my hormonallyactive little pals, especially whenspring prom rolled around.There in the gymnasium, strung withcrepe paper decorations, dimmed coloredlights and a revolving sphere that sprayedflecks of blue and tangerine gleamsacross the dance floor, we lost ourselvesin a bower of gardenias and romance.All those girls in red velveteen dresses oroff-the-shoulder tulle gowns, me and mypanting pals in our scruffy black shoesand crooked bow ties—shuffling cheekto cheek through the perfumed air. For acouple of hours we foxtrotted through adarkened world full of ridiculously imaginedpromise.I’d made good friends at Milton, somewith stars in their futures. One wouldbecome a Harvard dean, another a classicaldancer; one or two would becomespies. Flender would become my banker;Richardson would marry my first cousin.Stevenson, son of a soon-to-be presidentialnominee, would become a U.S. senator.One classmate would confide years laterhow thoroughly he abominated his yearsat Milton. Another would commit suicide.The boys in the class above us would gooff to Korea to die and win posthumousmedals for gallantry. We clung to our ownlittle Zeitgeist. Our senior class voted “Li’lAbner” its favorite comic strip and, wonderof wonders, Harvard decided I was anacceptable risk.Avoice echoes across the track andfield calling runners to assemblefor the next event. The top 100-meter hurdlers in New England collect atthe starting line. Among them, Milton’sJasmine Reid ’09 sets in lane four. Fora moment, Jasmine studies the runnerslining up against her. A girl she hadbeaten by only a fraction of a second in thequalifying heat earlier that day stretches inlane three. Beside her is another threat, ahurdler whom she has not yet run against,but forewarnings by teammates haveattested that she is fast and hungry to win.Milton’s coach, Richard Buckner—a manJasmine describes as “a grandfather figureand a sort of life coach”—shouts from thedistance, “Don’t worry about them! Yougot this!” She focuses on her lane. Thegun fires and her body races ahead of hermind. She only gains a clear perspective ofwhere she is at the final hurdle of the race.Jasmine crosses the finish line neck andneck with the girl in lane three. Too closeto call with the naked eye, the runners waitfor the official results to be announcedover the loud speaker. Ten long minutespass. As the times are read, Jasmine turnsto see her life coach pump his arm inexcitement. “Yes!” he shouts. She catchesa quick glimpse of her mom jumpingup and down in the metal stands justbefore her teammates lift her up into theair. Jasmine Reid at 16.03 seconds FullyAutomatic Timing (FAT) is the 100-meterhurdle NEPSTA champion—the best inNew England.The 100-meter high hurdle wasn’t theonly title Jasmine took home at this year’sNew Englands on May 17, 2008. Breaking

Jasmine knows that mental preparation is asimportant as physical preparation.See, practices can be fun. Pictured from left to right: Shavonne Hart ’08, Kelsey Creegan ’09, BeverlyLeon ’10, Liz Bloom ’08, Jasmine, Sam Barkowski ’09.the all-time Milton record at 47.22 secondsFAT, Jasmine was also named the300-meter intermediate hurdle NEPSTAchampion.Apart from these record-breaking accomplishmentsin the postseason, Jasmine alsostood out on a weekly basis in meets andpractices leading up to the New Englands.Why? Simply put, “Because she wins,”jokes head coach André Heard. “It’s easyto stand out when you’re in front.”Jasmine consistently took first place in herindividual heats and, when a formidableopponent could not be found, she wouldrace against herself—beating her ownrecords in the 300-meter intermediatehurdles and the 100-meter high hurdles.She was also a part of Milton’s successful400-meter relay team with SamanthaBarkowski ’09, Shavonne Hart ’08 andElizabeth Bloom ’08—a team that brokethe third all-time record with a time of50.50 seconds FAT.“Jasmine developed as a result of theprogram at Milton,” says Coach Heard.“Coach Buckner saw her talent early onand has been working with her over theyears. Jasmine understands how her raceshould be run and she trains for it. Sheknows that the 300-meter hurdles is nota 300-meter race. It’s longer than that, soshe trains like a quarter-miler.“The track season is so short that everytime a runner steps on the track should bean opportunity to prepare for the ISL’s anda chance to work out issues to better theirtime. With Jasmine, that plays out. Everytime she steps on the track, she addressessomething, whether to work on her raceor help out the team. There aren’t manyyoung runners who understand that theyneed to maximize the time they have onthe track. Jasmine gets it.”When asked about how she prepares for arace, Jasmine admits using visualization—a technique used by many athletes that isdescribed by About.com as “creating a mentalimage or intention of what you want tohappen.”“I use visualization mainly to overcomepre-race jitters,” says Jasmine. “Thinkingabout how I’m going to run the race overand over again calms me down and helpsme prepare.”Jasmine also prepares herself by expectingthe pain that comes from a good race.“In order to win, you have to fight for it.There’s not a race in track when you won’tfeel pain, and a great runner will knowhow to fight through the pain.”Next year looks even brighter for Jasmineand the entire talented pool of runners onthe girls’ track team. “The girls’ team hasbeen teetering on the edge of a championshipfor a number of years,” says CoachHeard. “Next year, we have a lot of younggirls coming of age that will be contributorson the team, and we will have strongleadership from the senior runners,including Jasmine.”Greg WhiteMilton Magazine 59

In•SightStrutting their stuff:Milton’s youngest membersshare creative costumes withthe rest of the community onOctober 31, 2007, during theannual Halloween Parade.60 Milton Magazine

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OnCentreA Powerful Mentoring BondYuleissy Ramirez, Class IV, triumphs at the Frank Millet InvitationalTechnically, Mr. Millet coachesonly the boys’ squash team;he began the boys’ program in1964 and remains at the helm ofthe team. His presence, personalityand values, however, informall-things-squash at Milton.Milton teams are perenniallyamong the best in New England,and this past year both the girls’and boys’ teams finished inthe top 10 at the High SchoolNational Championships.As the coach of the girls’ teamthis year, I had the pleasure ofsharing the successes of theteam with Mr. Millet while alsorelying upon him as soundingboard and mentor. He took akeen interest in the success ofthe girls’ team, attending all ofour matches at High SchoolNationals and coaching thegirls whenever he had a chance.Needless to say, the girls on theteam were honored and pleasedby this attention.One player who especially benefitedfrom his coaching andsupport was the lone Class IVgirl on the varsity team, YuleissyRamirez. From the James P.Timilty School, an inner-cityBoston public school, andthe wonderful urban squashprogram—Squashbusters—Yuleissy is a talented studentathletewho was highly rankedin Massachusetts squash beforecoming to Milton. Upon herarrival, she and Mr. Milletdeveloped a friendship, bondingover their love of the gameand of Milton. Dealing with therigors of Milton academics asa varsity athlete is never easy,especially for a ninth grader.Mr. Frank Millet and Yuleissy Ramirez ’11 pause between matches during theFrank Millet Invitational Tournament, January 2008.Mr. Millet immediately recognizedYuleissy’s potential as astudent, an athlete, and a leader.This January, Yuleissy wasthrilled to be invited to play inthe Frank Millet Invitationalalong with five other Miltonplayers. In 2006, U.S. Squashnamed one of its three nationaljunior selection tournamentsafter Mr. Millet, honoring hislong-standing contributions tothe game in the United States.The Frank Millet Invitational—now held annually at the MurrCenter at Harvard—is one ofthe largest junior tournamentsin the country and boasts a fieldof nearly all of the top players inthe country in every age group.Yuleissy had earned a specialopportunity to represent Milton,while challenging herself againstthe best players in the country.She was able to prove to herselfexactly what Mr. Millet had toldher from the start: “You are herebecause you are one of the bestplayers in the country.”As one of the seven membersof the varsity team that was ina playing position, Yuleissy hadevery right to be nervous at herfirst National Championshipsthis February. After playing atight first game, she came off thecourt where Mr. Millet had beenwatching her play. After a briefconversation with him about thedepth of her service and the paceof her shots, Yuleissy boundedback to the court ready for gametwo, her confidence bolstered.Her opponent was not so lucky,and Yuleissy marched to a 3–0win, securing critical points forher team. With her first win atthat level, and her friend andmentor Mr. Millet coaching heralong, Yuleissy came into herown at Nationals, winning allthree matches that she played,including a thrilling five-gamematch that secured the matchfor her team. Her successes continuedas she won the clinchingmatch to defeat rival Nobles afew weeks later and capped offher season with an incrediblethird-place finish at the numberseven position at New England’s.While the success of the squashprogram certainly pleases him,Mr. Millet is more proud of theleaders he has helped shapeand the relationships he hasdeveloped with his players. Onthe squash Web site, he lists theMilton graduates who went on tocaptain their college teams, butdoes not list the many individualachievements of those very players.The team is what matters,and being chosen by your peersto lead the team is the greatesthonor.Even more impressive than hisrecord as coach is Mr. Millet’sability to adapt to the changesin the game, in the nature ofyouth, and in Milton over 66years. From wooden rackets,U.S. Courts, and hardball squashto titanium rackets, internationalcourts and softball squash he hasadapted to the changing gameand helped coach the programto great heights. The world isa different place today, but Mr.Millet has never lost his touch orpassion for his role as teacher,coach, mentor, and—mostimportant—friend.Chris KaneAdmission officer and girls’ varsitysquash coach62 Milton Magazine

Jake Hooker ’91 Wins 2008 Pulitzer Prize“Toxic Pipeline” grabbed global attentionfrom the New York Times front pageIn the spring of 2003, JakeHooker ’91 was tending theAppalachian Mountain Club’sCarter Notch Hut, nestled inthe White Mountains, near theNew Hampshire-Maine border.It was peaceful up there at 3,228feet, chopping wood, keepingthe place clean for the hikerswho passed through to spendthe night and share their storiesfrom the wilderness.He’d ended up in the WhiteMountains after serving a twoyearstint as a Peace Corps volunteerin Wanxian, China, a remotevillage along the Yangtze River,teaching English to middleschoolstudents and contemplatingwhat to do with the rest ofhis life.“I knew I couldn’t live in thewoods forever,” says Jake, in aphone interview from his apartmentin Beijing. “So I decided tostart looking for jobs in China.”He soon landed a job with a nonprofitorganization doing medicaloutreach in eastern Tibet.After four months, he embarkedon a writing career, which in2008 brought him to the heightsof the journalism world, winningthe 2008 Pulitzer Prize for investigativereporting for a series ofstories he wrote with legendaryNew York Times reporter WaltBogdanich.The series, called “ToxicPipeline,” detailed how counterfeitingredients made their wayfrom a Chinese factory to anoverseas pharmaceutical companythat used them in medicationsthat subsequently killedhundreds of people around theworld.In May, he was again on thefront page of the Times, reportingon the devastating earthquakethat killed more than 50,000 inthe Sichuan province.Jake Hooker ’91 takes notes for the Times’ Yellow River series in the city of Kaifeng, in Henan Province.The Pulitzer Prize came justtwo years after he was hiredby the Times bureau in Beijingas a researcher/reporter. He’dalready published articles in anumber of publications, includingthe Boston Globe. But hisbiggest calling card was his fluencyin Chinese. While servingas a Peace Corps volunteer, hehad spent long hours learningthe language. Jake never had ahuge love for foreign languages.At Milton, where he credits hisEnglish teachers for developinghis writing skills, he learnedFrench well enough to pass theAP exam, exempting him fromlanguage study at DartmouthCollege.Once in China, however, hededicated himself to learning thelanguage, spending four to fivepainstaking hours a day learningthe characters.“That’s what I did in my sparetime for two years—study thecharacters four or five hours aday,” he says. “You start withsimple pictures, and learn theway Chinese elementary schoolchildren learn, by copying acharacter 100 times in ricepapernotebooks. Pretty soon,you develop motor memory andthings begin to make sense.”His ability to read and writeChinese proved a boon in theTimes’ Beijing bureau.During his yearlong investigationof the Chinese industrialnetherworld, he traveled severaltimes to the rural villagewhere the lethal chemicals weremanufactured. He’d travel alone,without a translator. That madefor less-threatening interviews. Italso kept him under the radar ofthe Chinese security apparatus,which keeps an eye on rovingforeign journalists. Instead ofstaying at hotels, where he’dhave to show his passport, Jakestayed at small guesthouses,where he’d fill out the guest formin Chinese.Photo: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times“It spared me all kinds of trouble,”says Jake. “I didn’t want toleave any tracks. I was speakingto governmental officials, theywanted to tell me the truth, andwith one slip, you give up a lot ofpeople.”Jake’s involvement in the projectwasn’t intended to be so deepwhen Bogdanich contacted himto do some legwork for him inthe investigation’s early stages.Bogdanich figured Jake wouldhelp him for a week or two, andthen he’d arrive in China to dothe heavy interviewing.But Chinese authorities didn’twant Bogdanich snoopingaround and refused Bogdanich’svisa request. By then, Jake hadfiled a slew of 30-page memosthat showed his eye for detailand dedication to tracking downthe truth.“The government did me ahuge favor because I was ableto turn to Jake to handle it all,”Milton Magazine 63

Spring’s Endowed Speaker SeriesBrings notable women toMilton’s campussays Bogdanich. “When doinginvestigative reporting, you haveto work with someone you trust.You need someone who haschecked every fact and [checkedthat] every sentence has beenthought out, the context is there,and the emphasis is right. Iquickly came to the conclusionthat Jake was somebody I couldtrust. I was one lucky fellow towork with him.”Now in his fifth year in China,Jake says he misses his friendsas well as the great outdoors heenjoyed growing up in Newton,Massachusetts, and later, in NewHampshire while attendingDartmouth. Jake lives in Beijing,where the air hangs heavy withpollution over the sprawlingmetropolis. He occasionallydrives a couple hours out of townto hike along the Great Wall.“When I first got here, it wasfine, I was in love with the cultureand the city itself and didn’tmind the air pollution,” he says.“Now I’ve been living here fiveyears and it wears on you. Itgets harder to go outside andexercise.”Jake, an art history major atDartmouth, says his experiencein the Peace Corps provided asolid foundation for his currentwork. Living in a remote village,he met people from all walksof life, and fell in love with theChinese people.“Once I got over the lonelinessand culture shock, and I workedthrough the distrust, it was wonderful,”he says. “The amount Icould learn in a single day wasincredible. I’d meet manuallaborers or pensioners and I’dpractice my Chinese and learnabout their lives, in their ownvoices. I earned enough to travelon school holidays, and it mademe want to write.”That urge to write has servedhim well, and it seems certainto take him on a world of adventuresin coming years. Since theuprising in Tibet this spring,Jake has been working on findinga way to travel west to talk tothe monks who led the protests.It can be a treacherous drive over17,000-foot passes where mudslidescan unexpectedly wash outthe roads. By May, he’d yet to getthere.“I’d love to go to the towns whereprotestors were fired upon, butthe roads getting in there areblocked,” he says. “I need to goback and visit the monasteriesand get closer to the action.”Whether he’ll write that storyfor the Times, or in the memoirhe is contemplating, remains tobe seen. Deep down, Jake sayshe’s yearning to try his handat long-form journalism, writinga first-person account ofhis experiences in China. Thatwould include his experiencesteaching English to Chineseteens and working in Tibet. Hiscommentary on Tibet wouldlook beyond the uprising and therepressive policies of the Chinagovernment.The Pulitzer may just provide theticket to a book contract.“I’d be writing in first-person,so the reader would have a trustworthyguide,” says Jake. “I’d bemore comfortable writing frommy subjective experience, ratherthan in the authoritative voiceof daily journalism. I would belooking for a different level ofmeaning.”David McKay WilsonSamuel S. Talbot SpeakerDr. Cheryl Sandford JenkinsDr. Cheryl Sandford Jenkins,along with her husband, Dr.Jeff Jenkins, visited Milton onFebruary 13 as the Samuel S.Talbot Speaker. A psychologistspecializing in adolescence, Dr.Jenkins has 30 years of experiencecounseling independentschool students in boarding andday schools. Dr. Jenkins has beenthe principal investigator of theIndependent School GenderProject, a project conceived byEllie Griffin, Milton’s director ofhealth and counseling services.The project’s goal is to addressequity issues for men andwomen, and boys and girls, inindependent schools.Dr. Cheryl Sandford JenkinsAccording to the HumanDevelopment Institute, “the missionof the Independent SchoolGender Project was establishedin 1997 to ‘create a frameworkof research, assessment, andstrategies for change throughwhich schools can addressgender-based practices and attitudesaffecting girls and womenin order to promote wholeand healthy environments forboth females and males in ourschools.’”The Project has gathered surveydata from students and facultyin independent schools acrossthe United States and Canada.During her visit, Dr. Jenkinsshared the results of the surveywith the Milton community. Shehas presented these results, overthe years, at national conferencessuch as the National Associationof Independent Schools, theAssociation of Boarding Schools,and the Hotchkiss Conferenceon Women and Girls.Licensed as a psychologistin New Mexico, Dr. Jenkinsbecame director of counselingat Albuquerque Academy. After15 years in the Southwest, shereturned to New England andserved as director of counselingat the Loomis-Chaffee Schoolbefore taking her present positionas director of counselingat St. George’s School in RhodeIsland.Class of 1952 Endowmentfor Religious UnderstandingSpeakerDr. Karen L. KingDr. Karen L. King, WinnProfessor of EcclesiasticalHistory at Harvard Universityin the Divinity School, spokewith students on February 27 asthe Class of 1952 Endowmentfor Religious UnderstandingSpeaker. The title of Dr. King’stalk was “What Else Didn’t WeKnow? Ancient Gospels from theEgyptian Desert,” and it exploredhow we approach historicaltexts, in our research and in ourinterpretation.In talking with students, Dr.King explained, “History doesnot just exist; it is interpreted,and often injected with our ownpreconceived ideas. History ismuch more complicated than thestories can tell. If we reject thiskind of complexity, we lose the64 Milton Magazine

Keyes Seminar DayStimulating ideas and conversationsDr. Karen L. Kingability to know a fuller version ofhistory that we can think about,research and consider goingforward.”Dr. King’s research interestswithin the history of Christianityinclude women’s studies, orthodoxyand heresy, and the NagHammadi texts. She has writtenbooks on the Gospel of Mary andthe Gospel of Judas (with ElainePagels), which are texts withinthe Gnostic canon. Her currentinterests focus on the diversityof early Christianity; women andgender in early Christian life;and how violence, martyrdomand suffering shaped Christiantheology and practice.A former student of Dr. King,Milton Chaplain SuzanneDeBuhr describes her as “a brilliantscholar and educator whotakes an inquisitive approach,encouraging us to read what iswritten but also to look for whatis not being expressed in a particulartext.”Bingham Visiting ReaderLouise GlückAward-winning author LouiseGlück was on campus March 12as part of the Bingham VisitingWriters Series. Louise is theauthor of numerous books ofpoetry, including The Seven Ages;Vita Nova, winner of The NewYorker magazine’s Book Awardin Poetry; Meadowlands; The WildIris, which received the PulitzerPrize and the Poetry Societyof America’s William CarlosWilliams Award; Ararat, forwhich she received the RebekahJohnson Bobbitt National Prizefor Poetry; and The Triumphof Achilles, which received theNational Book Critics CircleAward.She has also published a collectionof essays, Proofs andTheories: Essays on Poetry, whichwon the PEN/Martha AlbrandAward for Nonfiction. Ms. Glück’s tenth book of poetry, Averno,was nominated for the NationalBook Award in 2006 and waslisted by the New York Times BookReview as one of the 100 NotableBooks of the Year. Her honorsalso include the Bollingen Prizein Poetry, the Lannan LiteraryAward for Poetry, and fellowshipsfrom the Guggenheim andRockefeller foundations, andfrom the National Endowmentfor the Arts. In September2003, Ms. Glück was appointedUnited States Poet Laureate bythe Librarian of Congress. Sheis a writer-in-residence at YaleUniversity.Louise GlückKeyes Seminar Day—alively day of informationand discussion—has been oneof Milton’s most importanttraditions since 1977. Recentlyrenamed, it honors its founder,faculty emeritus Peter Keyes, alegendary promoter of studentinterest in political process aswell as public and governmentalaffairs and service. In the Miltonspirit of developing students’confidence and competence tolive by our motto, “Dare to betrue,” Seminar Day brings tocampus individuals who havemade compelling choices. Ourguests during Seminar Day arescholars, business people, scientists,educators, writers, politicalleaders and artists making a differencein the world. More than20 speakers were on campus onApril 30, including many MiltonAcademy graduates; these menand women are experts and activistson a wide range of publiclydebated United States and internationalissues.Dr. Graham Allison, author ofthe book Nuclear Terrorism: TheUltimate Preventable Catastrophe,was this year’s keynote speaker,leading off the day. Dr. Allisondirects the Belfer Center forScience and InternationalAffairs at the Kennedy Schoolof Government, HarvardUniversity. He has served asspecial advisor to the secretaryof defense under PresidentReagan and as assistant secretaryof defense for policy and plansunder President Clinton. Dr.Allison has twice been awardedthe Department of Defense’shighest civilian award, theDistinguished Public ServiceMedal. Nuclear Terrorism: TheUltimate Preventable Catastrophe,published in 2004, is now in itsthird printing and was selectedby the New York Times as one ofthe “100 most notable books of2004.”Dr. Graham Allison, keynote speakerat Keyes Seminar Day, 2008Other speakers engaged withstudents throughout the dayincluded health-care policyexperts; social entrepreneursworking on issues such as educationalreform, sustainableagriculture, or malaria prevention;environmental activists;filmmakers; journalists; politicalactivists and shapers of publicpolicy; and a graduate promotingsocial change in and throughsports, who was a member of theU.S. National Soccer Team anda member of the U.S. OlympicTeam in the 1996 and 2004Paralympic Games.During each time block studentschoose from among many presenters.Exchanges that occuron Seminar Day stimulate ideasand conversations over weeksto come. Seminar Day is heldevery other year and alternateswith Community Service Day—another occasion that encouragesstudents to think beyond theirimmediate community and concernthemselves with the complexityand opportunity affordedby the world.Milton Magazine 65

2008 Keyes Seminar DayPresentersDan Wasserman, P’11 and ’12Political Cartoons in an ElectionYear Mr. Wasserman is a politicalcartoonist for the Boston Globe.He is syndicated in 40 papersacross the world and is theauthor of two books, We’ve BeenFramed and Paper Cuts.Paula Johnson Does Your GenderMatter? The first woman in thehistory of Brigham and Women’sHospital to be chosen as chiefmedical resident, Dr. Johnson isa women’s health specialist and apioneer in the treatment and preventionof cardiovascular disease.She conceived of and developedone of the first facilities in thecountry to focus on heart diseasein women.John E. McDonough TenThings Everyone Should Knowabout Health Care PolicyDr. McDonough is the executivedirector of Health Carefor All, Massachusetts’ leadingconsumer health advocacy organization,and a teacher at theHarvard School of Public Health.From 1985 to 1997, he served asa member of the MassachusettsHouse of Representativeswhere he cochaired the JointCommittee on Health Care.Rachad Itani Oil Cube, IceCube: CO2 reductions CEO ofBalderrie Enterprises, Inc., andexecutive partner and CEO ofXenel-Balderrie, Mr. Itani’s companywas the first private CleanDevelopment Mechanism (CDM)in the countries of the MiddleEast. He has also co-authored abill for an emissions reductionsystem based on the UpstreamCarbon Offset model, a betteralternative to the cap-and-tradesystem being considered by theU.S. Senate.Galt Niederhoffer ’93 Film andFiction in 2008: Conflicts andConvergence Ms. Niederhofferis the producer and director ofthe films Prozac Nation (2001)and Grace Is Gone (2006), andauthor of the novel A Taxonomyof Barnacles.Jim Peyser P’10’14 Closing theAchievement Gap: America’sGreatest Social and EconomicChallenge Mr. Peyser is a partnerin NewSchools Venture Fund,which works to transform publiceducation, particularly for lowincomeand minority children inhistorically underserved urbancommunities.Jacqueline Bhabha P’02’06Addressing Trafficking inHumans: The Human RightsDilemma Professor Bhabha isthe Jeremiah Smith Jr. Lecturerin Law at Harvard Law Schooland the executive director of theHarvard University Committeeon Human Rights Studies. Shewas previously a practicinghuman rights lawyer in Londonand at the European Court ofHuman Rights in Strasbourg.Her writings on issues of migrationand asylum in Europe andthe United States include a coauthoredbook, Women’s Movement:Women Under Immigration,Nationality and Refugee Law.David Stowlow Education Reformand the Rise of Out of School TimeMr. Stowlow is the director ofstrategic development at CitizenSchools, a leading national educationinitiative that uniquelymobilizes hundreds of staff andthousands of adult volunteers tohelp improve student achievementby teaching skill-buildingapprenticeships after school.Kerry Healey P’11’13 MovingBeyond Rhetoric to AuthenticPolitical Change Mrs. Healeyserved as lieutenant governorof the Commonwealth ofMassachusetts from 2003 to2007. She assumed a broadrange of responsibilities in theRomney-Healey administration,including leading the administration’ssuccessful efforts tostrengthen drunken drivingpenalties and establish witnessprotection and gang violence preventionprograms. Mrs. Healeyalso served as a senior advisorfor governor Mitt Romney’spresidential campaign.William Janeway ’81 P’12Combating Climate ChangeMr. Janeway was the recipientof the 2006 Advocate Awardfrom Environmental Advocatesof New York. He is the directorof government relations for TheNature Conservancy.Robert Greene Diversity andRacism in Schools Director ofadmissions at Beacon Academy,Mr. Greene helped begin theschool after more than 12 years’experience in private school education,having taught middle andhigh school mathematics at TheFessenden School, The WinsorSchool, and The SteppingstoneFoundation.Dan Rea Politics, Talk Radioand Journalism Mr. Rea is a talkradio host on WBZ 1030 AM.Many of Mr. Rea’s assignmentshave involved political coverage,including all of the presidentialelections from 1976 to 2000.He has traveled to Europe on tenoccasions to cover stories affectingNew Englanders, includingfour trips to West Germanywhere he covered the return ofAmericans who were injuredor held hostage in the MiddleEast. Mr. Rea has won a NewEngland Emmy Award and alsoreceived the 1987 United PressInternational Award for outstandingnews reporting.Theo Spencer ’84 The Work ofthe Natural Resources DefenseCouncil Mr. Spencer is a seniorproject manager with the NaturalResources Defense Councilworking on global climatechange issues. He has extensiveexperience as a journalist, workingpreviously as a reporter withFortune magazine, New YorkNewsday, the Albuquerque Tribuneand the Stamford Advocate. Hehas written numerous freelancearticles for national publicationssuch as the New York TimesMagazine, New York Magazineand Art Forum.Elise Forbes Tripp ’60 IraqWar Soldiers’ Stories Ms. Trippeis a professor at HolyokeCommunity College and theauthor of Surviving Iraq: Soldiers’Stories (2007). She earned herPh.D. from the Johns HopkinsSchool of Advanced InternationalStudies and was an internationalrelations counselor for UNaffairs at the World Bank.Nick Morton ’02 Iraq WarSoldiers’ Stories Mr. Morton isa veteran of Operation IraqiFreedom, serving as a sergeantin the U.S. Army, and a contributorto Elise Forbes Trippe’s book,Surviving Iraq: Soldiers’ Stories(2007).Caroline Sabin ’86 Teach forAmerica Program Ms. Sabin wasa charter member of Teach forAmerica; she taught Englishfor three years at an urban highschool in Pasadena, California.She now teaches English atMilton Academy.Jesse Robinson ’94 Teach forAmerica Program Ms. Robinsonstarted her teaching careerthrough Teach for America in amiddle school in the Bronx. Shelater taught in charter schools inSan Jose and Boston and is workingto become a principal at anurban school.66 Milton Magazine

Elected in AprilTwo new trustees join the boardEmma Clippinger ’04 A NewKind of Student Activism: Lessonsin Social Entrepreneurship fromRwanda Ms. Clippinger is thefounder of Gardens for HealthInternational. GHI is partneredwith the Rwandese Network forPeople Living with HIV/AIDS(RRP+). Established in 2003, theRRP+ coordinates the activitiesof Rwanda’s nearly 1,000 communitygroups of HIV+ individuals.GHI works with the RRP+to mobilize associations of HIV+individuals around enhancednutrition through sustainableagriculture training and nutritioneducation.Eli Wolff ’95 Disability in SportsMr. Wolff is the manager ofresearch and advocacy at theCenter for the Study of Sportin Society at NortheasternUniversity and works to supportand enhance student and facultyresearch and advocacy initiativesat local, national and internationallevels. He has encouragedthe application of the scholaractivistmethodology with respectto sport and social issues; hewas also a member of the U.S.National Soccer Team from 1995to 2004, and a member of theU.S. Olympic Team in the 1996and 2004 Paralympic Games.Ian Cheney ’98 King Corn andThe Greening of Southie Aftergraduating from Yale University,Mr. Cheney—along with his bestfriend from college—moved tothe corn fields of Iowa, and withthe help of friendly neighbors,genetically modified seeds, andpowerful herbicides, planted andgrew a bumper crop of America’smost-productive, most-subsidizedgrain. This experience ledto his co-directing the acclaimeddocumentary King Corn. Morerecently, he directed The Greeningof Southie, a documentary aboutthe construction of the first“green” residential building, theMacallan, in South Boston.Robert Radtke ’82 MalariaPrevention at the End of theRoad Dr. Radtke is the presidentof Episcopal Relief andDevelopment (ERD), an organizationthat responds to humansuffering around the world,providing emergency assistanceafter disasters, rebuilding communities,and helping childrenand families climb out of poverty.Arnold Saltzman GP’09Did We Win or Lose the ColdWar? Perspectives from a FormerAmbassador Mr. Saltzman servedthe United States under fivepresidents in a wide range ofpolicy-level diplomatic and economicassignments in EasternEurope, Latin America andwithin the United States. Healso served as a naval officer inWorld War II. He was recentlyawarded the Order of Honorfrom the Republic of Georgiaand has received a PresidentialCommendation for his effortson the International NuclearNonproliferation Treaty.Patrick Cook-Deegan Burma:What You Can Do? Mr. Cook-Deegan was an All-Americanlacrosse player at BrownUniversity and has traveled andcycled through New Zealand,Australia, Southeast Asia andthe Middle East. He founded theCycle for Schools project and isworking with a grassroots advocacyorganization called the U.S.Campaign for Burma, a groupthat promotes freedom, democracy,and human rights in thecountry.Erika Mobley ’86Erika Mobley ’86 was electedas a member of the Board ofTrustees in April 2008. Activein global business developmentat Apple, Inc., Erika recentlymoved back to California fromAustralia, having just completedan international assignmentas senior product marketingmanager, iTunes for Australiaand New Zealand. In her workwith Apple, RealNetworks,Amazon.com and Palm, Erikahas had extensive experiencein legal matters, global businessstrategy and deal-making,international law, global productmarketing, strategic branding,anti-piracy and copyrightlaw enforcement in the musicindustry, from the traditionalthrough the digital era.Erika is a graduate of YaleUniversity and GeorgetownUniversity Law Center. A memberof Milton’s Head of SchoolCouncil, Erika has also servedas a class agent and a reunioncommittee member, andhas faithfully attended manySan Francisco Milton events.She lives with her husband,Andrew Speight, and theirchildren, Colin and Avery, inBrisbane, California.V-Nee Yeh ’77V-Nee Yeh ’77, one of the firststudents to enroll at Miltonfrom Hong Kong, was electedto the Board of Trustees inApril 2008. V-Nee is the founderand director of CheetahInvestment ManagementLimited. Cheetah is a HongKong–based investment advisoryfirm that specializes inabsolute return strategiesand hedge funds. With extensiveexperience in corporatefinance—including roles withthe Lazard Group in London,Hong Kong and New York—V-Nee has held positions onthe Listing Committee of TheStock Exchange of Hong KongLimited and on China’s CSRCListing Committee. Accordingto Cheetah’s Web site, V-Neeis a “pioneer in applying valueinvesting in Asia, having beena co-founder of one of the largestvalue fund managers inHong Kong.”V-Nee is a graduate of WilliamsCollege and ColumbiaUniversity’s School of Law.He is an active volunteer forMilton’s admissions effortsin Hong Kong and in 2007established the Yeh FamilyScholarship Fund, whichassists students from GreaterChina. He and his wife, Mira,have one daughter, Nadya.Milton Magazine 67

“Can we question the culture of distraction?”Maggie Jackson ’78, author and journalist, talks with faculty aboutreinvigorating the ability to pay attentionMaggie Jackson ’78 has writtenabout our “distractionplagued,split-focus” culture.Not only does this culture defineadults’ lives, it affects everyaspect of child development,including their experience oflearning, in and out of the classroom.Milton faculty begin eachschool year by exploring a timelyissue integral to teaching andlearning. On September 4, theytalked with Maggie about herbook, Distracted: The Erosion ofAttention and the Coming DarkAge. Distracted was publishedin June and has been featuredon National Public Radio, in theNew York Times, BusinessWeek,Vanity Fair, the London SundayTimes, and in publicationsaround the world. It was chosenas a best summer book of 2008by the Seattle Post Intelligencer.Maggie’s argument, bolsteredboth by recent research as wellas philosophical and historicalanalysis, is that the split-focus,plugged-in, multiprocessinglife—where we must “layer themoment” or we don’t feel successfulor productive—can belinked to a decline in the abilityto focus. The very communicationtechnologies that informus and connect us all in virtualspace also distract us, and fragmentour efforts. More than 60percent of students multitaskwhile doing their homework,not with one but with multiplecommunication tools. The average“knowledge worker” todayswitches continually amongtasks, every three minutes onaverage—and it takes 25 minutesto cycle back to what youwere doing when you shiftedgears. “Scattered and diffusedpeople are not creative people,”Maggie asserts. “We risk becominga society of black-and-whitethinkers, unable to deal withnuance, stuck on the surface ofinformation.”Our connected culture may beundermining our ability to paysustained attention to anything:work, play, building relationships,raising children. Maggienotes that the erosion of our abilityto focus and to think deeplywill have a larger impact thanwe may imagine, for adults andfor the children who have neverknown another cultural modality.Building the skills related to payingattention are crucial developmentalsteps leading to personal,academic and ultimately professionalfulfillment.Attention is not a singleactivity but a complicatednetwork of interdependentactivities. According to Maggie,“Researchers are finding thatattention is crucial to a host ofother, sometimes surprising,life skills: the ability to sortthrough conflicting evidence, toconnect more deeply with otherpeople, and even to develop aconscience.“We do not have to settle forconfusion and disconnection,”Maggie convinced the faculty.She advocated for strategiesto “change the climate of distraction,”and techniques to“purposefully strengthen the personalskill of attention.”A number of corporations thatdepend upon the production ofnew ideas have already takensteps to change the climate. Theyhave created “white space”—botha place and uninterrupted timefor thinking, brainstorming, testingand learning. Several schoolshave seen the need to adopt thisplan. Families can structure thepockets of white space time andplace into family life, as well.During an interactive workshop,Maggie and the faculty testedideas for strengthening student’sattention skills in classroombasedactivities. These included“speaking the language ofattention—putting the idea onthe table”; waiting for students tothink before answering; honoringthe skill and habit of listening;and figuring out what thewhite space is for different kindsof learners.“Fundamentally,” Maggie says,“help build a meta-cognitiveawareness of your mind. We canquestion our culture of distraction.Giving attention is honoringwhat is worthy of a givenmoment.”After Milton, Maggie graduatedfrom Yale and the London Schoolof Economics. She is an awardwinningauthor and columnist whowrites the “Balancing Acts” columnin the Boston Sunday Globe. Shenow lives in New York, with herhusband and her two daughters.CDEMaggie Jackson ’78Photo: Karen Smul68 Milton Magazine

Alumni AuthorsRecently published worksBlack Sailor, White NavyJohn Sherwood ’85Black Power. White Racism.Confrontation. On our Navyships. “I want it now.” A senseof urgency. The demand to makethe promises of 1776 a reality forall Americans, especially blackAmericans. The energy of the1960s and the civil rights movement.All appear on the pagesof John Sherwood’s book BlackSailor, White Navy. SubstituteAdmiral Zumwalt for BobbyKennedy, Adolf Newmann forBull Conner, Craig Atkinson forStokely Carmichael, and youhave another chapter of blackAmericans’ push for equalityand freedom in the land of theDeclaration of Independence.However, instead of the streetsof Selma and the churches ofMontgomery, this struggle forhuman rights is played out onthe decks of the aircraft carrierKitty Hawk. A different gestureof respect, the Black Powersalute was repeatedly giventhere, challenging the traditional,Protestant, white naval culturethat had existed for decades.One of the most hierarchicalinstitutions in American life, theU.S. Navy had a history of elitismand paternalism. It was oneof the last places in Americanlife comfortable with the languageof democracy and sharedpower. Sherwood writes, “Thehistory of African Americans inthe U.S. Navy can be traced allthe way back to the nation’s colonialroots. Black seamen oftenserved on Royal Navy ships andprivateers well before the onsetof the war for Independence...But African Americans joinedthe fledgling American cause...Whatever the case, black sailorsfought not only in theContinental Navy but also in theeleven state navies and privateerforces...” (p. 1)Despite their contributions tothe cause of American independence,Negroes and Mulattoswere banned from the servicein 1798. I am reminded of thewriter James Baldwin’s insightthat history constantly moves usand ultimately sits there, staringat us in our present lives.Sherwood’s central argument inhis thoroughly researched bookreminds the reader of Baldwin’sview of history. He argues thatin 1972—almost 200 years aftertheir documented contributionsto American freedom—blacksailors were still struggling to berecognized as fully developed,thinking human beings.They could just as easily havequoted Thomas Paine as MartinLuther King when they werespeaking to their superior whiteofficers about the dignity andsacred essence of all mankind.Because using King’s approachwas often ignored, Sherwoodargues, they began to appeal tothe rhetoric of Malcolm X andimplement the tactics of StokelyCarmichael as they desperatelytried to be heard on several floatingships headed for Vietnam.Broken bottles replaced opendialogue, sharp knives from thekitchens trumped face-to-faceconversations between whiteand black colleagues as the civilrights movement was played outin the United States Navy.Sherwood does not end hisbook in despair. Thirty yearsafter the well-known and documentedincident on Kitty Hawk,Sherwood writes, “thanksto efforts begun by AdmiralZumwalt, institutional racismdoes not plague the service inthe same way it did in 1970.Minorities and women may stillhave a less favorable impressionof the service than maleCaucasians, but these groupsno longer feel that the systemis aligned against them. A 2005survey revealed that two-thirdsof officers and half of enlistedforces are personally committedto diversity or actively supportit. That is a ‘sea change’ of tremendousproportions from the1970s, when groups of whiteand black sailors squared offagainst one another to engage inviolence fueled by institutionalracism and a climate of fear anddespair.” (p. 269)Not a revolution, maybe, butenough change to make onebelieve that a few courageousmen, led by one AdmiralZumwalt, and many black sailors,with fewer titles and lessprivilege, were able to resist theforces of power and history tomake significant progress forfreedom. This book will havea central place in my AfricanAmerican history course thisfall, and I highly recommendit to anyone who wants toexpand their understanding andappreciation of the civil rightsmovement.Mark HilgendorfHistory DepartmentU.S. vs. Them: Howa Half Century ofConservatism HasUndermined America’sSecurityPeter Scoblic ’92The post-Iraq invasion debateson the war have made much ofthe neoconservative movementand its impact on the Bushadministration’s decision to goto war in Iraq and Afghanistan.In his new book, U.S. vs.Them: How a Half Century ofConservatism Has UnderminedAmerica’s Security, J. PeterScoblic, Class of 1992, dismissesthis assertion and makes thecase that George W. Bush is thedescendent of traditional ColdWar conservatism.Peter Scoblic starts by presentingthe reader with the “mystery”of the Bush administration post9/11, “[Why] was the administrationinclined toward unilateralism,militarism, and deceit? Thatwas the mystery—a mysterymade infinitely more puzzlingby the fact that, on more thanone occasion, the administrationbehaved in precisely theopposite fashion.” Peter definesconservatism in foreign policyas “a distinct attitude in whichthe world is conceived in termsof ‘us versus them’ or ‘good versusevil,’ with the United Statesassuming the role of ‘a righteousprotagonist facing a monolithicenemy.’”The first half of Peter’s bookoffers a very concise and detailedanalysis of the conservativemovement starting in the 1950sand culminating in RonaldReagan’s election in 1980, whichthe author argues, is actually theculmination of the 1964 BarryGoldwater election. Peter framespart one of the book with thecareer of William F. Buckley, Jr.and his National Review maga-Milton Magazine 69

zine, which the author creditswith turning the fanatical anticommunismof the post-WWIIconservatives into a nationalmovement that led to the nominationof Barry Goldwater forpresident by the RepublicanParty, thus making conservatismpart of mainstream politicalthought.Peter Scoblic makes a convincingargument that conservatismhas undermined the security ofthe United States. John LewisGaddis, in his 1997 book WeNow Know: Rethinking Cold WarHistory, analyzes the centralparadox faced by then PresidentEisenhower and the conservatives’demand for a biggernuclear arsenal. Upon comingto office, Eisenhower stated tohis advisors, “Modern warfareimposes its own limitations.What do you do with the worldafter you have won a victory insuch a catastrophic nuclear war?”Yet political pressure demandedthat the United States and theUSSR engage in a massive armsrace for the next four decades.Gaddis argues that the ColdWar should have ended in thebeginning of the 1960s, but asPeter Scoblic expertly argues,the fanatical anti-communismof the conservative movement inthe United States prevented anymovement toward ending theCold War until Reagan betrayedthe conservative movement inthe late 1980s and engaged the“evil empire.”Peter’s analysis of the legacy of ahalf-century of conservatism hasbeen supported by recent developmentsin North Korea and theMiddle East. George W. Bushcame to office in 2000 rejectingthe Clinton administration’s policyof negotiation and dialoguewith the Kim Jung Il governmentin Pyongyang over the PDRK’squest for nuclear weapons. Peterdescribes the Bush policy towardNorth Korea as “Anything butClinton.” George W. Bush’s foreignpolicy of strict “moral absolutism”has failed in the realmof nuclear nonproliferation. “[M]idway through Bush’s secondterm, North Korea was processingplutonium; Iran was enrichinguranium; India was eagerlyawaiting an infusion of nucleartechnology that could spur theproliferation in South Asia; andA.Q. Khan was resting quietlyunder house arrest far frominconvienent questions. Which isnot to say that the Bush administrationhad no success in haltingproliferation.” Peter argues thatthe Bush administration, likethe Reagan administration, hasbeen successful only when itabandons the “moral absolutism”of the conservative ideology andengages in diplomacy and multilateralnegotiations.This year’s keynote speakerto the Milton community onSeminar Day was GrahamAllison, a founding dean ofHarvard’s John F. KennedySchool of Government. In his latestbook, Nuclear Terrorism: TheUltimate Preventable Catastrophe,Dr. Allison supports PeterScoblic’s analysis of the very realthreat posed to the United Statesby the proliferation of nucleartechnology and material sincethe collapse of the Soviet Union.The true danger of conservatism,as Peter presents it in his book,is the fact that “[c]onservatism,unfortunately, is not an ideologyof leadership; it is an ideology ofdominance or isolation.”Peter’s analysis of the ColdWar and the transformation ofconservatism from a disorganizedintellectual movementinto a mainstream movementin American politics is verystrong, although his argumentthat the present administrationand the 2003 invasion of Iraq inparticular are the results of policiescreated by “standard-issueconservatives” such as “DickCheney, Donald Rumsfeld, andJohn Bolton” is problematic.Scoblic dismisses the argumentsput forth by John Mearsheimerand Stephen Walt in their bookThe Israel Lobby and U.S. ForeignPolicy and Kevin Phillips’ bookAmerican Theocracy: The Peril andPolitics of Radical Religion, Oil,and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury. Both books argue thatthe neoconservative movement,through their think tanks inWashington, D.C. (the AmericanEnterprise Insitute and theProject for the New AmericanCentury), have been calling fora reassertion of American militarydominance in the MiddleEast since the beginning ofthe Clinton administration.According to Chalmers Johnson(author of Blowback, The Sorrowsof Empire and Nemisis), in 1992Defense Secretary Dick Cheneyasked a young Paul Wolfowitz towrite a report on how the UnitedStates should capitalize on thecollapse of the USSR. In a March8, 1992, New York Times articleentitled “U.S. Strategy Plan Callsfor Insuring No Rivals Develop,”this plan for a unipolar worlddominated by an imperial UnitedStates is a radical departurefrom the rabid anti-communismof the Cold War conservativemovement. The events of 9/11provided the opportunity for theneoconservatives to implement aradical policy of empire buildingand regime change on a globalscale that had previously notbeen considered by “standardissueconservatives.”Joshua EmmottHistory Department70 Milton Magazine

Surviving Iraq:Soldiers’ StoriesElise Forbes Trippe ’60In Surviving Iraq: Soldiers’ Stories,Elise Forbes Trippe ’60 bringsto light the realities of war andthe specifics of Operation IraqiFreedom as seen from the frontline. Her book is a compilationof 30 stories, firsthand accountsfrom military veterans of diversebackgrounds, ethnicities, ages,and political persuasions, as toldin their own words. We meetAndrew McConnell, a mastersergeant in the army, deployed atage 34; Andre M. M. Queiroga,a corporal in the marine corps,deployed at age 20; Tanya M.Karst, a petty officer secondclass in the navy, deployed at age22; and Russell W. Anderson,Jr., a first sergeant in the armyreserve, deployed at age 53. Eachstory speaks to locations, emotions,experiences, fears andsurprises.Elise writes, “Oral history hasa cadence that is different fromwritten history. When veteranswrite their stories they are incommand of presentation andlanguage and select their topicswith some care. Oral history as Irecorded it (without an outline)was extemporaneous—veteranscreated many of their storiesas they talked. In their narrativesthey shifted in mood andstyle from clever and funnyto thoughtful and candid tophilosophical and alienated.They brought up what was mostbasic: loss, fear, frustration,hope, relief, friendship and family.”The men and women Eliseinterviewed were from all overthe United States—California,Kentucky, New York and theDistrict of Columbia—and otherswere naturalized citizensfrom Puerto Rico, Jamaica andPortugal. Because their storieswere recorded just as they weretold, the reader can hear thedifferent accents native to eachhometown, recognizable throughcolloquialisms. Elise provides aclear picture of just who is fightingthe war in Iraq.Elise is a graduate of HarvardUniversity and has a Ph.D. fromthe Johns Hopkins School ofAdvanced International Studies.While a former internationalrelations counselor for UNaffairs at the World Bank, sheadmits to having a “civilian’sview of the war” and being “unfamiliarwith many aspects of themodern U.S. military.” “My lackof military background…had theunintended benefit of havingveterans explain to me the paraphernaliaof war as they spoke,”she says, “which in turn makestheir stories more accessible tothe general reader.”While the details of each soldier’sstory is different, the commonalityElise points out becomesevident in learning each man’sand woman’s tale: “Veteransconfirmed that no one comes outof war unscathed, unchanged,untouched, unthinking.”Andrew Carroll, editor of theNew York Times bestsellers WarLetters and Behind the Lines,says of Surviving Iraq, “[These]extraordinary stories and opinionsrange from the profoundand the patriotic to the humorousand the heartbreaking. Dr.Trippe has done a masterfuljob of finding a diverse andthoughtful group of individualsand weaving their oral historiestogether in a way that makesthem, individually and collectively,unforgettable.”Elise returned to Milton on April30, 2008, as a speaker for SeminarDay. Accompanying her duringher presentation was Nick Morton’02, a former sergeant in the armyreserve and a veteran of OperationIraqi Freedom—also one of the 30men and women represented inSurviving Iraq. Elise spoke withstudents, faculty and staff about herexperiences in writing this book,and Nick shared his own experiencesof the war in Iraq.EEHThe Cure for GriefNellie Hermann ’96The story of Nellie Hermann’sdebut novel The Cure For Griefwill be familiar to many in theMilton community. In the courseof the novel, teenager RubyBronstein faces the unthinkabletragedies of the death ofher father, and, one year later,her brother—events drawnfrom Nellie’s own experience oflosing her father, Akiba, and ayear later, her brother, Ben ’91.Described by one reviewer as a“stunning debut…a gorgeouslyreadable meditation on mourningand survival,” the book isboth tragic and full of hope,the story of a young girl as shestruggles with adolescence andworks to find an uneasy peacewith her father’s Holocaustexperience and her own family’stragic events.Released in August, the novelis now attracting national attention,with great reviews in Kirkusand Time. I spoke with Nellie byphone from her mother’s homein Cambridge, Massachusetts, onthe day Amazon.com began shippingthe book.Will Rizzo: When did you startthe book?Nellie Hermann: Officially, thesummer after my first year atColumbia’s MFA writing program.Several parts were originallyshort stories that I wroteyears ago and revised. Withoutfully realizing it, I began thisbook a long time before the“official” start. I always knew Iwas going to write it, but I wasn’tsure what it would look like.WR: Was it something else first?NH: It was a group of scenesand preoccupations that recurredfrequently. Then a teacher atColumbia, Nathan Englander(The Ministry of Special Cases)Milton Magazine 71

was talking about a short storyI wrote and said, “You know, Ifeel that your stories always havethese damaged men on the side.”[laughs] “He’s right,” I thought,“I always write the same thing.”At that point I realized I couldn’tget around it anymore. I had towrite this book.WR: Did you consider writingthe story as a memoir?NH: That didn’t feel right. I hadto tell the story in the third person,to fictionalize it. A writerfriend who read the novel in itsfirst form said publishing it andmaking money would be easier ifit were a memoir. But fiction canmake something that happenedto one person universal. I wantedpeople to be able to read andinterpret and relate to the bookhowever they chose. I wanted itto be larger than a memoir, morethan just a story of my family.WR: Were you worried thatfictionalizing this story wouldchange your memory of yourfather and brother?NH: Now that it’s written, I cankeep in my mind both the way itreally happened to me and howI wrote the story. I can pictureRuby’s experience as well as myown. Putting those memoriesdown, even some of the morepainful scenes, has been a bigrelief. I’ve put the memories in adifferent place, given them overto other people. That has freedup the place inside me wherethey were festering. Dealing withthe memories in a contained wayhas made the rest of my life happier.My relationship to the pasthas changed, but only in a goodway. I have actually preservedsome of those moments, in away that won’t disappear.WR: The book begins and endswith scenes in which landmarksimportant for the family areeither gone or changed beyondrecognition. In the beginning,the family goes to theCzechoslovakia concentrationcamp, where the father washeld, but finds it’s an army barracks.The soldiers don’t knowthe building’s history. Then atthe end of the book, Ruby goesto Maine and finds that theirrecently sold summer home hasbeen torn down and replaced bya McMansion. Was writing thenovel a reaction to the experienceof loss, trying to create somethingpermanent in a changinglandscape?NH: I hadn’t thought aboutthat, but it could be true. Onebonus of this writing experienceis hearing different interpretationsof the story. The Kirkusreviewer wrote that the tragedieswere enacted on Ruby so shecould understand her father’sexperience in the Holocaust. Ididn’t intend that, but I think itis another interesting readingof the book. It’s cool that peoplecan point these things out to me.Writing this book was a projectabout memory, whether or notremembering things bringsthem back enough for you tobe satisfied. If your landmarksare gone and people are gone,is memory enough? That’s sortof Ruby’s central struggle in thebook.WR: How long did it take to finda publisher?NH: Once I got an agent—theharder part, which took over ayear (although I did revise thebook during that period)—Ihad a publisher in only threemonths.WR: Is it weird, now that thebook has been published, thatthese characters—so close tothose in your own story—arealive in the world and discussedin places like Time?NH: Yes! Seeing the book’ssummary in reviews, basicallythe summary of my life, is definitelyweird. I’ve talked aboutthe book mostly with people whoknow my family. Realizing thatpeople whose lives Ben and mydad really affected have read it,and get it, is a beautiful thing.Last month I got a call fromsomeone who knew Ben in college.My book brought him tocall me and to tell me that Benhad taught him to play guitarand that he thought Ben was agenius. When I first heard thatthe book had sold, I was ecstaticfor about an hour and then dissolvedinto tears... [laughs] I saidto my mom, “This story willbecome just another book sittingon a shelf and it won’t matter.”After the call from Ben’s friend,my mom reminded me of ourconversation and said, “Lookwhat’s happened already; you’vebrought a tiny piece of Ben backto you.” Even though the act ofwriting the book doesn’t changethe fact that my dad and Ben aregone, there’s something that’s sowonderful about bringing themback in this tiny way.WR: The title is The Cure ForGrief. Was writing this book thatfor you?NH: Yes. The story of the title isa pretty good one. My first titlewas “Robot, Now Fly.” [laughs]My publisher said, “That’s notgoing to work,” but no onecould agree on another. Thenmy editor did a Google searchand found that, in ancient times,rubies were thought to curegrief. The coincidence was amazing.So she suggested The CureFor Grief, which I thought wasperfect. Writing this has helpedme immeasurably. There reallyisn’t a cure for grief, but writingof this nature has real value. Itbrings up topics that people havea hard time talking about witheach other, but the need to processwhat is happening to peopleis human nature. For some,writing fiction, or even writingprivately, is easier than talking,and is the best we can do.Will Rizzo ’91 is a freelancewriter based in Livingston,Montana.72 Milton Magazine

The Majesty ofYour LovingOlivia Ames Hoblitzelle ’55Patience, generosity, discipline,diligence, contemplation, andwisdom: the six perfectionsin Buddhist teaching are thecornerstones of Olivia AmesHoblitzelle’s book, and of herlife with her husband, Hob,as they lived through the lastchapter of his life, and their lifetogether. Reading Olivia’s book,I shared in the sadness, frustration,anger, humor, joy, patienceand impatience, and celebrationof being the spouse of someonewith a life-threatening illness.Olivia writes about the challengesof Alzheimer’s, but this bookspeaks honestly and optimistically,to the daily process of caringfor and loving a person witha challenging illness.Faced with a serious illness,most of us wonder how we willcope with the challenges. Willwe be strong enough? Can we becourageous enough? Will we beable to face death when it comes?How will we cope with the weaknessand debilitation? How willwe help those we love both carefor us and let go of us when thetime comes, and how will wewho remain endure the sadnessand loss?“The psychic toll was the heaviest,”says Olivia. “I needed to beaware—immensely aware—allthe time. I lived on the edge ofthe moment, always awaiting thenext step.” Olivia shares the mostpersonal, demanding, sad andtriumphant journey of her lifewith her husband, Hob. Hob wasdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s diseasein his early seventies. Oliviasays, “The compelling questionis: How do we accept the processof aging, diminishment andloss? In the case of dementia,how do we find meaning amidstwhat appears to be a ruthless andmeaningless process? Is it possibleto find something redeemingwhile living with a heartbreakingillness? Hob and I lived tenderlywith these questions. The Majestyof Your Loving shares some of theways we found peace with them.”Olivia and Hob discovered thereare only the questions, and fewanswers. Little by little, we learnthat the best place to be is inthe present, as our worst fearsusually come from living in theuncertainty of the future. ForOlivia and Hob, years of trainingin the Buddhist tradition allowedthem to keep coming back to thebreath and the blessings in thepresent moment. “Yes, there wasgrace even in the midst of thisdisease.” In the times when it allbecame too much, Olivia learnedthat our human need to rail,scream and vent are as holy asour moments of quiet, reflectionand generosity. Allowing herselfto experience the full range ofemotions allowed her to regainthe courage she needed to go on.Each moment has its challenges,and many moments are excruciatinglypainful, but the blessingof our brain’s ability to cope withemotional pain is that it seemsto limit the amount of time weare able to experience that emotionalpain. And then, we learnpatience.Generosity. Generosity—to ourselvesand others—is demandedof us daily: The generosity oftime spent, just being with theone who needs us. The generosityof spirit that helps us tobe whatever we need to be inthat moment. The generosityof forgiveness and understanding,when the one we love isunable to be generous toward us.“Taking care of him will becomea meditation for you, a practice…It may not be visible to others,but our helping each other is amerit-making process… Maybehardship will be involved, butthen you cultivate patience.”These were the words of wisdomgiven to Olivia by a TibetanBuddhist monk.Discipline. Getting up eachmorning and facing the dayrequires discipline. Some days,the fatigue of caretaking isoverwhelming. In finding thediscipline to just get up and doit, a sense of control returns.Inertia, getting stuck in the feelings,hampers us and keeps usfrom taking charge of what wecan and deciding which thingsare best let go. In either case, wehave a choice, and choice helpsus cope. Olivia shares, “I graduallylearned coping mechanismsthat worked for me; finding timeto be alone, taking a walk, workingout vigorously, or talkingwith friends. Finally, there wasroaring. Several times I walkedout of the house with such abuild-up of intensity that my ultimaterefuge was the car. ThereI could release all my volcanicfeelings by roaring—repetitiveroaring, the roars of a caged wildanimal. I roared until the ragewas spent and copious tearsspilled over. Then there was theother extreme—a totally differentresponse to the same triggers. AsI gained insight into the dynamicsof my anger, whenever I feltthat first flash, I would move ina counterintuitive direction. Icould feel the moment of innershift. There was a split-secondpause, with its delicate balancepoint. I would sink deep into thenext breath and choose to expandinstead of contract. Choose softnessinstead of hardness. I wouldmove towards Hob, sometimesin silence, other times saying, ‘Ineed a hug.’”Diligence. New hurdles presentthemselves every day; theproblems have to be solved;life has to go on. The mundanechores of daily life—laundry,groceries, cooking, cleaning,working, child-care, errands,appointments—have to be done.Attending to these details isboth challenging and comforting.When everything else inlife feels beyond our control, themeditative experience of washingdishes and cleaning the kitchencan bring back a sense of peaceand control. We cannot restorethe health of our loved one, butMilton Magazine 73

we can restore calm and peaceto the environment in whichwe’re living. Fresh flowers on thekitchen counter every week canbe a reminder of beauty, and acalming focus amid chaos. Olivianotes, “Sometimes I wonderedhow it was possible to feel, evenin the midst of difficult circumstances,that at some level all waswell. The emphasis here is onthe word level. The wisdom traditionsspeak about the relative andabsolute levels of reality. Relativereality is the world as we knowit—conditioned, governed byduality—whereas absolute realityis unconditioned, beyond duality,free. We can have glimpses ofthat level even in the presence ofdeath.”Contemplation. “This situationwith Hob is teaching you how todie,” a teacher advised Olivia at ameditation retreat. “Everything’sfalling apart. You need to feel it,all of it—your frustration, youranger, your grief, whatever—andexperience your full humanness.Accept that the old securitiesare collapsing. It’s all going, andit’s showing you the process ofdeath. This is the biggest thingyou’ve ever done, so you needto be easier on yourself.” SaysOlivia, “Showing me the processof death. Those were illuminatingwords. I knew that Hob wasin the final chapter of his life,but I hadn’t focused on howmuch I was living in a parallelprocess. Together we were learningabout loss and acceptance,letting go and death. This washard, but these were the gifts.”Wisdom. As Hob’s illness progressed,he lost his ability toarticulate his thoughts andinnermost feelings, and little bylittle, death was happening bystages. Be happy only. “More thanalmost any teaching, Hob hadembraced this very one aboutfinding happiness in the presentmoment—a statement that ispreposterously obvious, deceptivelysimple, but not always soeasily lived out... Those were thelast words I heard him speak.How fitting—words that couldbe heard as a universal wish forall beings. Everywhere.”Patience. The full circle comesback to patience, and the journeyof life and death continuesthrough the six perfections;patience with ourselves, patiencewith the other, patience withthe process, patience in the living,patience in the waiting, andpatience in the moment, whichis all one really has.Thank you, Olivia, for sharingthe immense challenges of learninghow to live and how to die,for sharing your family’s courageousjourney, and for teachingus, once again, that we are allhuman.Ellie GriffinDirector of Health andCounseling ServicesWalkoffs, Last Licks,and Final Outs:Baseball’s Grand (andnot-so-grand) FinalesJim Kaplan ’62 and Bill Chuck“Many of baseball’s most memorablemoments come fromendings, otherwise known as‘last licks.’ But even the mostcelebrated last licks have aspectsfans are not aware of.” (ACTASports) In Jim Kaplan and BillChuck’s book, they provide a collectionof game-by-game detailsrecounting the little knownfacts about some of the greatestmatch-ups in American baseballhistory. In Jon Miller’s forewordhe writes, “In this treasure ofa book…you’ll learn the insidestory of how Roberts achievedthe most important stolen basein Red Sox history.” And whilewe all remember, “the Iron Man,Cal Ripkin, Jr., breaking LouGehrig’s consecutive gamesplayedrecord in 1995, [this bookreveals] the story of the night‘The Streak’ ended.”The publisher writes, “Indeed,there is no end to the anecdotes,humor and trivia associated withlast licks. Some of the final actsdescribed in this book include:summary and analysis of someof the great postseason finishes;a comprehensive list of everyperfect game thrown in MajorLeague History and analysis ofthe most impressive streaks;great last moments in some ofthe most famous stadiums inhistory, including Old Comiskey,Crosley Field and the PoloGrounds; eulogies and careerstatistics for ballplayers whopassed before their time, includingUrban Shocker, RobertoClemente and the recent tragedyof Josh Hancock; heroic, andnot-so-heroic endings to Hallof Fame careers. [The book]contains box scores, line scores,career statistics and photos forsome of the greatest games andplayers in MLB history. A musthavefor any baseball library.”Jim Kaplan is a former writer forSports Illustrated, the author ofLefty Grove: American Original,and coauthor of a book aboutAmerican baseball player andmanager Casey Stengel, TheGospel According to Casey.74 Milton Magazine

Retiring in 2008Marilyn D’AlessandroJoined the Health andCounseling staff in 1988George H. FernaldJoined the faculty in 1960Marilyn D’Alessandro is aconsummate professional,an empathic caregiver, and afun person. A graduate of CurryCollege, Marilyn first demonstratedher exceptional skills andexpertise as a nursing internat Milton, joining the HealthCenter staff full-time in 1988.Since then, Marilyn’s responseto nearly everything has been,“Sure, I can do that!” When ournurse practitioner resigned andnurses needed to take the on-call,Marilyn was immediately willingto do it. On many mornings, shehad escaped home for only a fewhours of sleep before arrivingfor the next day’s work, havingbeen called in during the nightto attend to an ill student. Sincethe Health Center has staffed theon-call night, and on-duty eveninghours, Marilyn has covereda weekend each month of daycall, in addition to her full commitmentto Milton. Marilyn hasstrong diagnostic skills, excellentknowledge of medicine and ofnursing protocols, and a ferventdesire to see that everyone getsthe best care possible.Marilyn is a thoughtful, compassionate,and meticulous nursefor whom crossing every “t” anddotting every “i” is just businessas usual. She has kept everyoneon his or her toes in the HealthCenter, and her attention todetail has improved many of ourpolicies and procedures. Wholoves to train the new nurses?Marilyn does it. Who makes surethat the nursing protocols areupdated regularly? Marilyn. Whohas helped numerous familieswork through the morass ofinsurance details to get the benefitsthat they deserve for theirchildren? Marilyn.The cellar has flooded, AGAIN,and there’s a foot of water onthe floor! Who found it? Marilyndid when she came in to checkon something during thesummer. Who notices that thepaint needs refreshing, thehandicap ramp railing needsreplacement, the rugs needcleaning, supplies need ordering,that the health forms needto be processed? Marilyn doesthat and more. When the budgetis limited, Marilyn has shownup with a D’Alessandro cast-offto enhance our furnishings. Themany birds outside our windowsare due to the diligent feeding ofthose “lovelies,” who get specialpraise from their caretaker forbringing their cheer and beautyto our garden. Marilyn talks tothe birds and they flock to seeher every day.Marilyn has given of herself,her time, and her energy overand over again. Whenever andwherever there is a need, Marilynvolunteers. We all wonder howwe’ll ever survive without her.Thank goodness she lives downthe street and has already volunteeredto be our substitute nursewhenever we need someone.We will miss you, Marilyn, andwe want to take this opportunityto thank you properly and wellfor all that you have done for allof us and for our School. Youhave been incredible, and yourlegacy will live on in all that youhave done for us.Ellie GriffinDirector of Health andCounseling ServicesMarilyn D’AlessandroFor 48 years, you have givenselflessly and generously toMilton Academy—a half centuryof service to this School andyour entire professional life tothis community. Your colleaguescall you “the ultimate schoolperson,” an apt description. Youhave been so much to so many:a superb advisor, a dorm parentfor 30 years, house head for bothHallowell and Forbes, a coachfor 15 years, and the lead manon the Discipline Committeefor nearly four decades. Theseare many roles, but first andforemost, you have always beena teacher. You came to Milton in1960 without having seen theSchool, hired through cable communication,while you studied atthe University of Paris—and youhave remained an educator. Yourlegacy as a French teacher isassured as you have taught over2,000 students—that’s a lot ofRhinocéros! The inclusion of theabsurd in your classes comes asno surprise; your sense of humoris renowned. You’ve often beendescribed as a master of the pun.One of your colleagues describedyour teaching style: “Georgealways knew how to have fun.‘If you get the students to buyinto the fun of the language, youget them to learn it.’” You arefamous for your inventive waysof helping students learn. Yourpuppet theater is a fond memoryfor countless students, and yourshtick as Julia Child to teach elementsof French cooking is legendary.Lest anyone think yourclasses were just fun and games,it’s important to note the seriousnessof your teaching of literature.You brought Les jeux sontfaits alive for your students in somany imaginative ways; but whattruly helped them understandexistentialism were the stories ofyour youthful encounters withGeorge FernaldSartre. You have always believedthat reading literature should bean essential part of the languageexperience for our students.Your insistence on the value ofthe classics has secured them acentral role in our department’scurriculum.Students have a special fondnessfor you, George. Your rapportwith them is special andtheir admiration for you is clear.One graduate said, “MonsieurFernald was a compassionate,enthusiastic and engagingteacher who gave me what isundoubtedly one of my favoriteacademic Milton experiences.”Another student wrote, “As notonly a great teacher, but also agreat person, Monsieur Fernaldnever gave up on any student.”Another remarked, “Mr. Fernaldis a truly unique teacher. I alwaysfelt like I came out of the classdiscussions learning somethingnew, whether it was aboutFrench grammar or a viewpointon the human condition.”You have been affirmed onnumerous occasions as one ofMilton’s finest teachers. Twiceyou were honored with the TalbotBaker Award. Upon learningabout your first award in 1974,your first reaction was to spendMilton Magazine 75

Retiring in 2008Jane H. BrewerJoined the faculty in 1981a couple of extra hours preparingfor the next day’s classes,lest your students question theaward’s validity. In 1990 youwere named Master Teacher, andthis past January your colleaguesin the modern languages departmenthonored you and yourdevotion to Milton by renamingyour room on the language floorThe George H. Fernald Classroom.And since you yourself taughtSpanish in our department, Iknow you won’t hold it against usif this room ultimately becomesa Spanish classroom.Your colleagues, present andformer, all note that you havebeen someone whom the Schoolhas called upon, particularly indifficult circumstances. You havebeen a steady rudder. You alwaysrose to the task requested of you.That is how you began your workon the Discipline Committee.Your legacy as secretary ofthe D.C. is among your mostimpressive and lasting contributionsto this School. For fourdecades, you have guided youngmen and women who made mistakesin their young lives, helpingthem develop sound moralcharacter. With your thoughtfulquestions and careful listening,you have been a model for bothstudents and faculty serving onthe committee.A Milton Paper article this yearquoted your sage advice tonew faculty “to find a mentor…someone with whom you havean affinity and somebody thatyou can trust, confide in.” Manyof your colleagues, includingmyself, found that mentor inyou. We turned to you countlesstimes for advice; you providedwisdom, perspective, andunderstanding. In the words ofa colleague: George has “seenit all, heard it all, taught it all.George has persuaded us andtaught us, his colleagues, byexample mostly, or through kindadvice. Just George’s presence,with his profound knowledge ofthe classics, the history of theSchool, and of human nature—and his willingness to impart afew words of good sense—hasbeen enormously reassuringand comforting.” We will missthat reassurance, that comfort,but most of all we will miss you,George. Your service and loyaltyto Milton are inspiring and standas a lasting example for all of us.From the bottom of our hearts,we thank you for making somany great memories. We wishyou the best as you retire to NewHampshire in the company ofyour trusty canine, Dickens.Au revoir et bonne chance!James RyanChair, Modern LanguagesDepartmentSince the day Archer Harmanreturned from the Pacific tomeet his first child, Jane Brewerhas never been far away from acampus. Westminster, St. Paul’s,Peck, St. George’s, Milton—schools are so thoroughly inJane’s blood that full retirementwas never a possibility. Instead,Jane will hunker down this winterwith a cup of tea and a stackof folders from the Tufts admissionsoffice, happy in the knowledgethat she is helping to shapeyet another school community.After several years as a stay-athomemother, Jane began to getrestless in a way that signaled theneed to get out of the house, soI said to her, “Jane, you shouldcome work in admissions.”Milton Academy has never beenthe same since, and it will neverbe the same now that Jane isleaving—and for two reasons.First, no one loves life more thanJane. She gets up in the morning,convinced that any number ofgreat things could happen beforerecess. In the days before answeringmachines, I always hung upafter one ring at Jane’s housebecause she could pick up thatquickly from the shower. She wasso afraid she’d miss somethingfun or exciting.The greater reason, though, isthat Jane has a heart as big as theworld, and children have alwaysfelt embraced by it. She wasMiss Harman, the second-gradeteacher, before she married Ned,and, even though she had threechildren of her own, she neededa bigger audience. She found oneat the New England Home forLittle Wanderers, where she wasa trustee for years, at DedhamCountry Day School, where shealso served on the board, andmost importantly at Milton. Forthe old-timers on the faculty,Jane’s reappearance was “déjàvu all over again,” as Mr. Berrawould have said.Jane BrewerIn the admissions office, Janewas always the most excitedabout a student she was interviewing.Charlie Flood, father ofCaperton ’95 and Lucy ’97, stilltells the story of Jane’s emergingfrom her office with Lucy in towand saying, “She’s great—butyou knew that.” The first yearshe went back to coaching, shewas wearing an ISL champion’sjacket at the end of the season.As a class advisor, “Dean Brew,”as I called her, she always had thestudents’ love and respect, evenwhen she had to take them totask over a disciplinary incident.They knew she was invested inthem for the long haul and in allof them. Jane learned from herparents, who became leading figuresin the world of independenteducation, that schools such asMilton were for everyone, notmerely the privileged, and shehas made that a cornerstone ofher work here.Usually, someone who hasknown a person for 30 years saysa few words about weatheringlife’s ups and downs together,but, with Jane, there are neverany downs. Like Auntie Mame,who taught her nephew “Life’sa banquet!” or Maude, who told76 Milton Magazine

David A. PeckJoined the faculty in 1988Harold, “LIVE! Otherwise, yougot nothing to talk about in thelocker room,” Jane is always onthe lookout for the next adventure,the next child who needshelp. In the best of all worlds,she would be leaving us and flyingoff to Myanmar or China tohelp all the children of the world,even if her first official act mightbe hiring a life coach to take onAngelina Jolie.John Charles SmithEnglish DepartmentDavid Peck joined the facultyof Milton Academy in 1988after years of crisscrossing thecountry teaching at colleges inTexas, Ohio, Pennsylvania andFlorida. It took some convincingto lure him from the world ofhigher education but, always upfor an adventure, David took aleap of faith and joined the performingarts department and theMilton community.During his 20 years at Milton,David has taught a range ofcourses from Grade 5 Drama toAdvanced Acting, from Grade7 and Class IV to upperclassmenin Moving Image andCurrent Events/Public Speaking.Naturally curious, seeking andabsorbing new ideas, Davideagerly shares these with studentsand faculty. His Miltoncolleagues recognized David’shigh expectations, for himselfand others, and his careful attentionto the needs of individualstudents, when he received theTalbot Baker Award in 2002:You bring out the best in youractors in class and on stage.Gently, but with determination,you urge your players to raise thestakes, to take risks.To gain a window into his passion,look through David’s directing.From first read-through tofinal curtain call, he painstakinglyworks with actors to createresonating, honest performances.One graduate remarked:“I remember when David and Iwere both struggling with gettingan overall feel for a character. Hefound me at some point duringthe day and there was a glint inhis eye as he excitedly told methe phrase he’d come up with topinpoint the character’s overallobjective for the play. ‘To sit atthe head of the table!’ he toldme—all on fire and excited. Tobe honest, I thought he was alittle crazy until we dove backinto rehearsal, and looking at thecharacter through the lens hesuggested, things all started tofall in place. To this day I thinkof David’s excitement—‘To sitat the head of the table!’—and Ilook for something to make mefeel that excitement and clarityfor whatever I’m working on.”As chair of the performing artsdepartment, David has been apowerful voice representing thedepartment to the broader community.Within the departmenthe leads more quietly—trustinghis colleagues to make goodchoices and supporting theirefforts to set and meet high standards.Closing each conversationwith “Take care,” he espousesLao Tzu’s description:“A leader is best when peoplebarely know he exists, when hiswork is done, his aim fulfilled,they will say: we did it ourselves.”David, as you journey on to yournext adventure, know that youhave had a profound effect onmany lives. Our hope is thatwhether in Beijing, Kentucky,Maine, or wherever your road oryour motorcycle may lead, thatyou continue to raise the stakes,maintain your excitement andclarity, and continue to shareyour voice in bold and tenderways. As the next act in the magnumopus of your life begins,look back on your time at Miltonwith happiness and pride knowingthat you have truly made adifference. And remember thatyou will always have a seat at ourtable.Your time has come to shine.All your dreams are on their way.See how they shine.If you need a friendI’m sailing right behind.Take care.Peter ParisiPerforming Arts DepartmentDavid Peck and the cast of The Tempest, 2005Milton Magazine 77

Retiring in 2008Frances A. and Thomas J. FlahertyJoined the faculty in 1982When Tom Flaherty arrivedat Milton, he was already alegend at Pentucket High School,in West Newbury, Massachusetts,because of his outstandingrecord as head varsity footballcoach. During his 10 years asMilton’s head varsity footballcoach, five years as head ClassIV football coach, and then 11years working with coach KevinMacDonald, Tom added to thatreputation. Tom’s leadership inteaching generations of footballplayers the importance of competingfearlessly, holding to thehighest standards of sportsmanship,and listening to instruction,led to his induction into the NewEngland Private School AthleticConference Coaches Hall ofFame in 2007. Tom has alsoserved as Milton’s head varsitybaseball coach since 1983, teachinghis baseball players the samelessons. Tom is known throughoutthe Independent SchoolLeague for maximizing the athletictalent of the boys who havebeen on his teams, whether theywere varsity, junior varsity orthird-squad players.Tom and Fran Flaherty joinedMilton in the fall of 1982, at theencouragement of their longtimefriends Dick and Ellie Griffin,moving right into WolcottHouse, where they lived until2003, having served as househeads for 21 years (1984–2003).During reunions, graduates fromthe 1980s on seek out Tom andFran because of the effects theyboth had—whether in WolcottHouse, in athletics, or in thedeans’ office—on students’ lives.Tom and Fran gave their ownlife to the tradition of in locoparentis, that concept essentialto boarding-school life. Studentsknew that Tom and Fran representedkindness, wisdom andunderstanding, and so did theirparents.Tom and Fran FlahertyAs athletic director for boysbetween 1984 and 1994, Tomworked tirelessly to cultivate thehigh standards of competition,sportsmanship, and learningamong all Milton teams, at alllevels, that he demanded in hisown work. Tom injected fun andtradition, as well. We have himto thank, largely, for the adoptionof the Mustang as Milton’smascot, including the Mustangcostume—now a staple at ralliesand special athletic contests.Tom believes passionately in thebenefit of competitive athletics.To that end, he worked creativelywith fellow athletic directorsto develop ISL football seasonscheduling that ensures fairand educationally sound sets ofcontests among all 16 schools,a challenging goal, given therange of school sizes and studentcompositions.Tom and Fran have helped makeMilton a warm and supportiveplace in so many ways duringthree decades of the School’shistory, touching, since theirarrival, virtually every UpperSchool student. Their workhas involved countless interactions,weighty and light, everysingle day of the academic year.Many students have discussedan attendance case with eitherTom or Fran over the years, forinstance, or negotiated a workprogram assignment. In thisand every other facet of theirwork with students at Milton,Tom and Fran have ensured thatMilton upholds reasonable standardsbut also recognizes life’scomplexities.Fran Flaherty’s love for youngadults has shaped all her manycontributions to the School.Sharing the responsibility ofhouse head with Tom, Franfound not merely a way to integrateher family into the life ofWolcott House, but rather theway to make the Wolcott boyspart of her own now very largefamily. A constant presence atcheck-in and always available,Fran set a standard for bestowingboundless attention that fewcould match. With food and asympathetic ear, she guided andsupported the more than 200young men who came to livein her house. As she patientlyexplained the reasons behindthe rules, all of them understoodthat she cared deeply about theirsafety, character and growth.In addition to her work inWolcott, Fran helped in variouscapacities in the Upper Schooloffice. Ever the team player, shepitched in wherever needed.Recently, her most importantrole was making sure we knewwho was here: patiently butfirmly monitoring lists of stragglersand doggedly trackingdown those who failed to checkin. Many times she went throughthe dormitories, waking studentswho were sleeping during anexamination or for whom onemore unexcused absence wouldresult in dire consequences.From morning until afternoon,her cheerful smile and warmhello formed a bright spot inthe day for both faculty andstudents. She even made a tripto the deans’ office less forebodingfor students summoned to ameeting. Her conviction shonethrough that, whatever the mistake,the student was “a goodkid.”Laura and I, along with Tom andFran’s other neighbors, watchedfrom Robbins House as Tomand Fran raised three of theirchildren at Milton. We could notmiss the fact that Tom and Frantake huge pleasure in their closefamily, in parenting (and nowgrandparenting), and have raisedan impressive group of individuals.We are not alone in seeingTom and Fran as inspirations toour own parenting.We will miss Fran and Tom—their warmth, decency andready laughter. Their manylucky grandchildren will be thebeneficiaries of our loss. Miltonwithout Tom and Fran is hard toimagine, but we know that theircontributions will live on. As theMustang is here to stay, so is theaffection of 26 years’ worth ofstudents, parents and faculty.John WarrenMilton faculty, 1981 to 200678 Milton Magazine

Mark StanekMiddle School Principal from 2005 to 2008 is appointedHead of School at Ethical Culture Fieldston SchoolDottie PittJoined thefaculty in 1989When Mark Stanek came toMilton five years ago tolead the Middle School, he facedhis share of challenges—someexpected, some unexpected. Heapproached them with energy,good humor, and the will to succeed.During those years, in collaborationwith enthusiastic andtalented faculty, Mark establishedan innovative Middle Schoolprogram that engages studentsin challenging academics, developmentallyappropriate learningactivities, and a warm, supportivecommunity culture.In the unexpected category,Mark’s crucial assistant, JanetGardiner, suffered a brain aneurysmjust as Mark was gatheringthe reins of his new role. Markcut his vacation short, wiledhis way into the hospital’s ICUto visit Janet, and then saw herthrough the long recovery, managingthe flow, somehow, untilher return.Undaunted, Mark began chippingaway at a long list of significantchanges: identifying adedicated Middle School faculty;establishing a schedule andprogram suited to the learningneeds of preadolescents as wellas to rigorous preparation forthe Upper School; defining thephysical spaces for the workof the Middle School; movingparents toward being an enthusiasticand informed community.Then came the treats, relativelyspeaking: working on a sense ofteam among his faculty; offeringnew activities for students;implementing exciting newfocus days on the media, community-building,Earth Day, andthe Congress.Under Mark’s leadership thechanges continued. In 2004, incollaboration with Middle Schoolfaculty and Grade 6 teachers,Mark led the development of asixth-grade program at the middleschool level that honored traditionand childhood, and at thesame time transitioned childrento the new opportunities andresponsibilities of being middleschoolers.Mark gets everyone involved atfaculty meetings, using chartsor games, deftly modeling bestpractices for teaching middleschoolers, and reminding teachersthat having fun is an essentialpart of learning. One teacherremembers Mark moving everyoneat morning assembly out oftheir seats to demonstrate howthe Iowa caucuses worked. Ineverything he did, he remindedteachers to put students first,to include everyone, and mostimportant, to listen.A man of many talents, he wastapped by Robin to lead theDiversity Committee at a crucialtime, when a mission statementand strategic plan were the nextsteps on Milton’s trajectory. Hejoined the orchestra’s trumpetsection on many occasions andeven marked one Milton-NoblesDay with a special performance.He has continued to pursue hisfavorite pastime—surfing inCalifornia—and perhaps that isthe linchpin of his success. It’s abit closer from New York City toSan Diego than from Boston.Mark’s ready sense of humorcame to his aid often; he smileseven in difficult situations—perhapsespecially then. He modelskindness, offering warm supportto all, and the willingnessto work hard but also have fun.He’s an expert listener to bothstudents and adults. He alwaysremembers to thank studentsas well as teachers for whateverthey did for the group, whether itwas a morning talk, a well-deliveredlesson, or for simply beingthemselves.Although we will miss him, wewish Mark all the best at EthicalCulture Fieldston School. Markleaves a legacy of thoughtfulleadership, concern for others,and can-do optimism that hisstudents and colleagues willcarry with them for years tocome.Rick HardyInterim Head of SchoolDottie came to Milton in1989 to teach third gradeafter 13 years in the publicschools. Since then, she hasfilled numerous roles in theLower School. Awarded theTalbot Baker Prize in 1996,Dottie was recognized as a teacher“who thinks clearly, expressesherself articulately, and listensopenly.” She is both knowledgeableand spontaneous. Mostimportant, as one colleague putit simply, “Dottie gets kids.”While her particular interest andtraining are in language arts,she is skilled in other subjectsand is generous about sharingwhat she knows. One of herfellow teachers recalls when,in 1999, he began exploringthe teaching of mathematics tosecond-grade children and foundhimself working with Dottie.After years playing with secondgraders in after-school programs,he thought he knew plenty ofmathematics. “How hard couldit be?” he asked himself. Hequickly realized he had a lot tolearn about how second graderslearn—particularly how theylearn mathematics—and Dottiewas a gracious and wise mentor.She understood how to pace alesson to give all students theoptimal experience.Her training in reading andspecial education, as well as inadministering and interpretingstandardized tests, has servedthe Lower School well. Withinthe past few years, she hastaken workshops in “Attuning aStudent,” applying this diagnosticlens to develop plans for childrenwith learning challenges,and has served as a member ofthe Child Study Team since itsinception.Her dedication and resourcefulnessare well known amongher Lower School colleagues.Mark StanekMilton Magazine 79

Retiring in 2008William M. MooreJoined the faculty in 1978Dottie PittA number of years ago, beforeword processors and email, shededicated her summer to writinga spelling curriculum for theLower School, ferrying the workback and forth from the Vineyardto Kathy Burek in Falmouth—collaboration across the ocean!For the last six years she hastaken on administrative tasks,first as assistant principal of theLower School and the past twoas interim principal. Duringher tenure as interim principal,she also served on the senioradministrative council, fieldedparental concerns, acted as liaisonto the Lower School ParentsAssociation and the DiversityCommittee, and managed hiringand evaluation of faculty.Dottie includes and recognizesher staff members in the Miltoncommunity, sensing needsbefore they are expressed, offeringsupport or comfort at justthe right time, and bringingeveryone “into the fold.” Herenergy is remarkable—she probablyholds the record for fastesttime covering the distancebetween Greenleaf and theJunior Building—as is her abilityto “think outside the box” orsimply to offer a joke to relievethe tension.Outside of her busy life atMilton, Dottie is a committed,fun-loving, and caring individual.She checks in with faculty andstaff colleagues every morningand still has time to planher daily agenda. An efficientworker, she maintains a fullslate of “extracurricular” activities,including singing in theBack Bay Chorale in Boston. Aself-reliant adventurer at heart,Dottie, along with her husband,Chris, has climbed manyof the peaks and dipped intomany of the ponds in the WhiteMountains of northern NewEngland.We are thankful for Dottie’swisdom, humor, and spirit ofcollaboration over her nearly 20years at Milton, and we wish herall the best in the years to come.Rick HardyInterim Head of SchoolBill Moore cannot be with usthis afternoon. He is somewherebetween here and Tijuana,tracing the route of a cross-countryroad trip that his father tookas a 21-year-old in 1926. This is atypical Bill Moore project, a combinationof meticulous scholarlypreparation and high aestheticpleasure. Working with a vintageroad map and his father’s journals,he has pinpointed the site ofeach of 182 photos in an albumfrom the trip and will, À la recherchedu temps perdu, replicate themwith his own camera. He asksus to think of him “perched on ahigh rock in a national park, photographingwith a ‘Kodak Junior’and writing about all I feel andsee, happy to be alive.”Many at Milton Academy, in the30 years since Bill arrived here,have been happily infected withthe joie de vivre that he brought tohis work. An academician to thecore, he was so much more thanan academician that no whiff ofchalk dust ever clung to him, andhe moved instead through theSchool day like an artist blotchedwith the bright drips from hislatest canvas or humming a fewbars of a new composition. Yes,his classes—whether in French,the subject that he originallycame to Milton to teach, or inEnglish, to which we welcomedhim enthusiastically during a dipin French enrollment 15 yearsago—were about plumbing thestructure of language and explicatingtext. But they were alsoabout inhaling, as deeply as possible,the spirit of an intellectuallife. His comments on studentpapers took the form of cultivatedconversation—usually gentle andappreciative, often in the form ofquestions rather than answers,sometimes breaking out into slyhumor. My son, who relishesa satirical barb even when it isaimed his way, was delighted toreceive a note instructing himto push the spell-check buttonbecause “correct spelling lends acertain cachet to bombast.”On behalf of his students, Billwas always working to get literatureto stand up from the pageand dance. Because Shakespearemeant more on the stage than itever could in the classroom, heorganized a trip whenever therewas a production in town. Anaccomplished cook, he markedthe end of To the Lighthouse byreenacting the great dinnerparty scene, complete with Mrs.Ramsay’s boeuf en daube. LikeMrs. Ramsay, he knew how tomake people around a tableawaken to each other, a skillequally valuable to hostesses andteachers.Colleagues, too, enjoyed Bill’stalent for organizing revelry. Onthe day he was dubbed MasterTeacher in an all-School assembly,he laid on a dancing girl towarm up the crowd. Becausehe found himself temperamentallyunsuited to the position ofacademic dean, his tenure in itwas rather brief; what sticks inmemory is the panache of thefaculty shindig that he organizedto lift us out of one winter’s doldrumsand christened, impishly,“The Other Dean’s Ball.” On asmaller scale, the delicacies andamenities that he supplied forEnglish department sherry hourslent refinement to what mightotherwise have devolved intoafternoons of grumpy shop talk.The word “glamour,” etymologiststell us, derives directly fromthe word “grammar”: it is themagical aura that plays aboutdeep learning. Bill fused theseprinciples perfectly, often makingthe glamour so delightful that80 Milton Magazine

the grammar went down withoutmuch fuss. Not far beneath themboth, however, for most of hisrecent years with us, was his sorrowin the long illness and deathof his beloved Nina. His ownloss only deepened his compassionfor students; the odd, thetroubled, and even the outrightrefractory will not forget the kindnesshe showed them.When the department movedto Warren Hall seven years ago,Bill made his home in the crow’snest of the Student Center andtransformed that lofty classroominto a small art museum, bathedin serene light and set just farenough back from the rumble inthe stairwell. There, in a settingthat epitomized him, he and hisstudents could stick their headsinto the clouds and forget aboutthe turmoil below. I like to thinkof him leaving us by a kind ofapotheosis, as if he came to thehead of the stairs but kept righton going, to emerge at last into aworld entirely composed of booksand music and travel and theaterand food and art.David SmithChair, English DepartmentBill MooreMilton Magazine 81

Gratitude comes in many shapes and sizesJoanie Brewster ’82Offering to another student theopportunity that my grandfathergave me—to attend Milton,even though that was not within my ownfinancial capability—is crucial.While I am not a lawyer or a doctor oreven a mother, I have held the Miltonmotto foremost in my path in life: Dareto Be True. I am more grateful as timegoes on for all the ways Milton challengedme, as well as for the incrediblepeople I met there, many of whom arestill my friends. Milton required meto stretch myself and be more than Iever thought I could, even if that meantchoosing a way of life that might yearsago not have seemed “successful.” Ilearned to question, to reflect and toenjoy learning.That is why I choose to give to the AnnualFund and also to name Milton in myestate. While my donations are not large,I remind myself that consistent giving ismost important, and I hope that what Ican contribute will help others have theincredible experience I was given.* * *I came to Milton in seventh grade and graduatedin 1982. My grandfather valued educationhighly, and assisted me with tuitionfor both Milton and Amherst College. Iwasn’t conscious, at the time, of what a hugegift that was. For me, not the best or thebrightest student by any stretch of the imagination,the challenges of studying, competingin athletics, and managing the commutewere enough stress without having to worryabout the financial side of things.I have not chosen what might be consideredto be the traditional career path afterattending institutions such as Milton andAmherst. The proverbial “one ski seasonafter college” in Breckenridge, Colorado,ultimately turned into a lifetime of service inthat community. Plans to move to Chicagoor New York and become a famous advertisingexecutive yielded to my sense that Ishould choose a quieter, more simple life inthe mountains of Colorado.For 25 years, as administrative services coordinatorfor the Community DevelopmentDepartment at the Town of Breckenridge,I have immensely enjoyed serving co-workersand the public, whatever their needs andrequests.“ I am more grateful as timegoes on for all the ways Miltonchallenged me, as well as forthe incredible people I metthere, many of whom are stillmy friends.”82 Milton Magazine

Class Notes1933Francis Harrington Brookspassed away on March 15, 2008,at the age of 93. Husband toPamela; father to Christina,Laura and Holly; and grandfatherto Arin and Brenden, Franciswas an avid outdoorsman wholoved skiing, sailing, playingtennis and hiking. His manyadventures included sailingacross the Atlantic to the Azoreson a friend’s yacht, a trip to theAmazon, bicycling in Ireland,and horseback riding in Spain.Francis was a tireless storytellerand active in both the WestonForest and Trail Association andthe Weston Housing Committee.He was a dependable, thoughtful,friendly and dignified manwith legendary good looks. Hehad a twinkle in his eye andloved sharing a good laugh.1951Joanna Fischer writes, “I havejust published a small book entitledBest Foot Forward. It is thestory of Jon and Vivian Williamsand the series of cotillions theycreated first at the BroadmoorHotel and then eventually in51 cities across the country. Indoing so, they met many famouspeople, including Ava Gardner,Elizabeth Arden, Claire BoothLuce, the famous Hildegarde,Jack Benny and Edgar Bergen,among others. Small worlddepartment: Although Jon andVivian have passed, their sonJon Williams is based in Denver,Colorado, and conducts aWilliams Cotillion at the MiltonHoosic Club!”Rebecca Faxon Knowles reports,“There are two Faxon siblingsremaining: sister Sally, six and ahalf years my junior, and me. Welost Blue, two years behind usat Milton, to breast cancer, andour baby brother, Bob, to braincancer last year. ‘Ma Fax’ held onuntil the ripe old age of 89 withall her marbles intact. She hadbeen a widow for many years.“With my husband, Bob, wehave seven combined children,16 grandchildren and twin greatgrandsons.We love Naples! Wedon’t miss ice, snow, slush orany of that dreary, wintery stuff.After two new hips and one newknee, I am back on the tenniscourts three times per week,including play in an inter-clubleague. You can also find mebasking by the pool, walking thebeach, enjoying fabulous NaplesPhilharmonic and teaching ESLto a darling woman originallyfrom Costa Rica.”Bickley Flower Simpson says, “Iam living in South Miami nearthe University of Miami and itsmarvelous music school andFairchild Tropical Garden, whereI spend time watching butterflies.I have three granddaughtershere and I enjoy babysitting,although that term is hardlyaccurate. The rest of my days arein the Dependency Court, workingwith a nonprofit that supportsresearch and reform. Twomore grandsons are in New YorkCity where my M.D. daughteris head of the Anxiety DisordersClinic at Columbia University.Two adopted siblings are in SanFrancisco, where my engineeringdaughter is working forVerigy. They are all nice placesto visit, and I get to see them allfrequently.”1952Emery Bradley Goff writes,“Sorry I missed our 55th—I willtry to make the 60th! I havehad a difficult spring; I’ve beenlame and aching since January,and the consensus is almost inon Lyme disease. Symptomsare atypical, so it’s been a realpuzzle. I’m still hoping to beFrancis Harrington Brooks ’33—a family man, outdoorsman and adventurer—passed away on March 15, 2008. As described by his family, “He was a dependable,thoughtful, friendly and dignified man with legendary good looks. He hada twinkle in his eye and loved sharing a good laugh.”active in the antiques businessthis summer, and DorothyNewbegin Davis and I are stilltrying to get together! Husband,kids and fabulous grandkidsare all blooming, and so are mygardens without much help fromme. Miss you all.”1953Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr. cowroteUnchecked and Unbalanced:Presidential Power in a Time ofTerror.1954This past August, David Ehrlichand his wife, Barbara, traveledto western Montana for a familycelebration, stopping en routein Salt Lake and Yellowstone.On the way east, David droveacross North Dakota heading forMinneapolis, where he enjoyedthree magnificent days with KitBingham and his wife, Carolyn.Kit has just completed the fiveyearprocess of fully retiringfrom his Statistics professorshipat the University of Minnesota,where he’s been the past 36years.Milton Magazine 83

Class of 1943, front row (L to R): Ed Lincoln, Mary Pillsbury, White Smith, RogerPerry; second row (L to R): Tony Ware, Steve Washburn, Ed Gorman, JohnGoodhue; back row (L to R): Bob Potter, Bill GannetClass of 1963, front row (L to R): Katharine Weston Reardon, Judith MusgraveFairbrother, Lynn Huidekoper; back row (L to R): Peter Forbes, Ric Faulkner,Arthur Chute, Ben Wellington, David Taylor, Jeff RossClass of 1948, front row (L to R): Mike North, George Harris, Brad Richardson,Lucius Wilmerding, Robbie White; second row (L to R): Joe Ullian, Libby Meek,Trench More; third row (L to R): Peter Lawson, John Belash; back row (L to R):George Ames, Kim Faulkner, Lansing Lamont, Humphrey DoermannClass of 1968, front row (L to R): Peter Whittemore, Ann McClellan, SarahForbes; back row (L to R): John Mahn, David Cornish, Jay Davis, Kate Baker,John LuceClass of 1953: Phil Andrews, Cecilia Andrews, Mike Robertson, Sheila Twombly,Bob TwomblyClass of 1973, front row (L to R): Danny Lawrence, Jane McDermott Hoch,Sarah Meeker Jensen, Gordon Means; back row (L to R): Jill Shaw Woolworth,Anne Marie Nesto Filosa, Rich Lamere84 Milton Magazine

Class of 1958, front row (L to R): Ella Clark, Freddy Gamble, Andrea Forbes Schoenfeld, Jody Emerson Howard, Star Martin Hopkins, Georgia Bradley Zaborowski,Ralph Forbes, Nat Goodhue; second row (L to R): Peter Grote, Moyra Byrne, Eliza Kellogg Klose, Mary Whitehead, Tally Saltonstall Forbes, Kitty VanVoorhisCarlson, Steve Chesebrough, Sam Otis, Sherry Bingham Downes; third row (L to R): Neil Goodwin, Neilson Abeel, Ted Wendell, Joan Corbett Dine, Doug Bingham,Jan DuBois, Elisabeth Morgan Pendleton, Betsy Farnham Blair, George Davidson, John Pruitt; back row (L to R): Philip Stockton, David Gannett, Arthur Holcombe,Tom Yeomans, John Scholz, Randal WhitmanClass of 1978, front row (L to R):Brad Blank, Didi Belash, JonathanWells; second row (L to R): CharlieDuffy, Jennifer Trakas-Acerra, AlisonMacdonald von Klemperer, De Grice,Carin Ashjian, Matt Hoffman; backrow (L to R): Laura Appell Warren,Tim Marr, Steve Heckscher, SusanWoods Spofford, Telly Jorden, PruMurray BoveeMilton Magazine 85

T. Stephen Jones ’59, Jeffrey Koplan ’62 and Larry Altman ’54 are physicianswho worked as epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention in Atlanta. This photo was taken at a reunion in July 2008 of epidemiologistswho participated in the program that eradicated smallpox from theworld.1955Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle’s book,The Majesty of Your Loving:A Couple’s Journey ThroughAlzheimer’s, was published in2007.1956Rupert Hitzig reports, “I am havingmore fun every year. I’m juststarting a new movie in Alaskaand will be living outdoors withthe wolves in a tent city for twomonths. It’s not exactly theBeverly Hills Hotel. Miss you all,and love the memories of Miltonmore and more. Come visit, notin Alaska, but if you come to LosAngeles.”1962James Kaplan, Bill Chuck, andACTA Sports recently wroteWalkoffs, Last Licks, and FinalOuts: Baseball’s Grand (and not sogrand) Finales, which was publishedin March 2008.1964Judith Rivinus Fuller died peacefullyat home, in the embrace offamily and friends, on April 19,2008. A nurse by profession,Judith spent her career caring forthose in need of medical attention,making a huge impact onthose she cared for and workedamong. Wife to Henry Weld86 Milton MagazineFuller and mother to Susannaand Michael, Judith was “full ofenergy and vitality that infectedall who knew her.” She was anavid gardener, cyclist, quilter,weaver, and an actor with theSt. Ann’s Bay Players. Her husband,Henry, writes that “shewas, indeed, larger than lifeitself, through her pure force ofcharacter.”1967Gretchen Feero writes, “Manyof the women from the Class of1967 had a spectacular ReunionWeekend in June 2007 at thehome of a classmate. It waswonderful in every way. As weapproach our 60th birthdays,we find ourselves to be strong,happy, and supportive of eachother, and very grateful that wehave such amazing connectionsthat have not only weathered butthrived over 40 years.”1968David Kunhardt writes, “Sorry Imissed our 40th Reunion celebration.I’ve been busy with solarenergy finance work and familyhere in Northern California. Iwill have to see you at our 50th.”1969Elizabeth Hobson reports, “After30 years of working in the publicschools in Arizona—the lastten in administration—I haveretired, effective June 17, 2008.I look forward to catching upwith classmates in New Englandand between Tempe and theCape where my dad still has ahouse and we still gather to sailand watch little children play inthe sand and waves.”1975William Nixon’s first full-lengthpoetry book, My Late Mother as aRuffed Grouse, was recently publishedby FootHills Publishing, asmall poetry press.1979Tedd Saunders was presented anaward from the EnvironmentalLeague of Massachusetts for providingextraordinary leadershipon behalf of the Massachusettsenvironment. Co-owner andexecutive vice president forenvironmental affairs for theSaunders Hotel Group, Tedd isalso the president of EcologicalSolutions. He sits on nine environmentalboards and is a foundingmember of the Coalition forEnvironmentally ResponsibleConventions (CERC), an organizationcreated to promoteenvironmental best practicesfor large conventions, startingwith the 2004 Democraticand Republican NationalConventions. The SaundersHotel Group is working withCERC, leading the effort to“green” Boston’s entire conventionand lodging industry.1983Congratulations to PamelaParizek and her husband,George, who welcomed their sonSpencer on May 3, 2005.1984Lisa Miller reports, “Pleaseextend my spirited appreciationto Mr. David Smith, who welcomedme into Milton Academyas a new Class II student. Thefirst novel we shared in class wasby Mark Twain, reflecting a bit ofhome for a girl from Missouri.Please also share with him thatI often think of his encouragementand genuine interest in hisstudents.” Lisa is a tenured professorof psychology at ColumbiaUniversity Teachers College,where she studies spirituality inchildren and adolescents. Shealso co-hosts a television show,somewhat related to her scholarlywork, on children with psychicexperience on A&E called“Psychic Kids.”1986Dave Andrews legally marriedhis partner of 15 years, ClydeYoshida, in a casual and lovingceremony at their San Diegohome. Their time together hasalready been their honeymoon.Mark Boynton was recentlyappointed to the firm KilpatrickStockton’s Winston-Salemoffice in North Carolina. Markcompleted a term as LitigationSection Chair of the NorthCarolina Bar Association, andis joining Kilpatrick Stocktonas counsel, where he will be amember of the firm’s litigationdepartment. Early in Mark’scareer, he practiced at KilpatrickStockton as an associate in thelitigation department.Mark Boynton ’86 was recentlyappointed counsel as a member ofthe Litigation Department at theWinston-Salem, North Carolina, officeof the firm Kilpatrick Stockton. Priorto this appointment, Mark completeda term as Litigation Section Chair ofthe North Carolina Bar Association.

Gabriel Tyler Pereira Henrikson, the son of Katharine Henrikson ’88, enjoyssome light—and fascinating—reading. Gabriel was born on New Year’s Day,2008, in Bogotá, Colombia.1987Kiersten Blest and her husband,Sean, welcomed their son, SeanMichael Blest, Jr., on May 8,2008. The family resides inCharlotte, North Carolina.1988Congratulations to KatharineHenrikson, who welcomedGabriel Tyler Pereira Henriksonon New Year’s Day, 2008, inBogotá, Colombia. He surprisedhis parents and big brother Abelon their vacation outside ofBogotá by coming three weeksearly.Marlowe Tessmer received herPh.D. in pathobiology fromBrown University. Marlowe isan immunologist and will continueher research at BostonUniversity.Anna Winger (née Levine)’s firstnovel, This Must Be the Place, waspublished by Riverhead Books(Penguin) in August 2008.1989Jill Bernheimer was featuredin the April 2008 issue ofEntrepreneur magazine forlaunching the start-up Web siteDomaine547.com, one of a newbreed of sites that combinealcohol sales with online socialnetworking features. Accordingto Entrepreneur, “What setsDomaine547 apart from theold guard of online liquor andwine retailers is its dedicationto social features. The site’sfriendly design, blog and forumareas make it attractive to consumerswho are eager to learnas well as purchase.” Jill livesin Los Angeles, where she is anindependent film producer and awine entrepreneur.1991Congratulations to DenielleBertarelli-Webb who reports,“My husband, Andrew, and Iwelcomed our second daughter,Juliet Anderson Webb, onAugust 16, 2007. Juliet joins bigsister Cecelia, who loves her newrole. We live in Summit, NewJersey, and I work in marketingand communications for a children’sentertainment company,HIT Entertainment, based inNew York City.”Brendan Everett and his wife,Anna Rutherford, welcomedtheir son William Kerr Everetton January 4, 2008. Big sisterAmelia (3) adores her littlebrother.1992Congratulations to Sophia Kovenand her husband, who welcomedtheir third child, a baby boy,named Charlie. Charlie joins histwo older sisters, Lucy (7) andAnnabel (4).Kathleen Lintz Rein ’92 and Jenna Bertocchi Stapleton ’92 got together inAugust for Jenna’s baby’s christening. Kathleen is godmother to Jenna’s son,Craig Roberts Stapleton II, and Jenna is godmother to Kathleen’s daughter,Alexandra Louise Rein.Ned Roberts ’93 and his wife, Michelle, welcomed their first child—a son,Finley Harrison Roberts—into the world on May 20, 2008.Ohene Asare ’96 and Regine Jean-Charles ’96 welcomed BediakoDessalines Jean-Charles Asare intothe world on September 6, 2007.Congratulations to Michael O’Brien’96 and his wife, Beth, who welcomedMolly Anne on January 27, 2008.Milton Magazine 87

Class of 1983, first row (L to R): Wyman Davis, Maude Chilton, Charles Ford, Michelle Peirce, Anne Torney, Roanne Kaplan, Margo Johnson, Emily Bingham;second row (L to R): Susan Schorr Rockefeller, Cristina Ashjian, Stephen Smalzel, Debbie Carr, Ann Smith, Gwenna Toncre Williamson, Elisabeth Strekalovsky,Sarah Manchester, Ted Kane, Jim Griffin; third row (L to R): Randall Dunn, Julie White, Alexander Stephens, Cynthia Powell, Sarah Kaufman Andrikidis, Liz HopkinsDunn, Pamela Parizek, Charlotte Bacon, Meg Cabot, Lisa Donohue, Bob Cunha; back row (L to R): Ned Cabot, Chris Robertson, Austin Keyes, Chase Bradley,Gerald McClanahan, David Wood, Laura Sloan Ongaro, Peter Creighton, Stephen Epstein, Fred Gallagher, David JacobsClass of 1988, front row (L to R): MarkFriedman, Adam Wolfberg, JenniferHershfang, Marc Goodman, Molly deRamel, Annie Elliott, Cecilia Harris,Jessie Howland Cahill, JonathanDonner; back row (L to R): KenTokusei, Cub Griffin, Damon Bizuka,Matt Katz, Mike Kobb, Amanda Roth,Katherine Ulman Mertens88 Milton Magazine

Class of 1993, front row (L to R): JessYager, Jessica Haynes McDaniel,Andre Heard, Liz Hanify, Al Yu, CalebClark, Sadia Shepard, Julia Travers;second row (L to R): Christine Griffin,Rosie Sargent, Emily Reardon,Greg Hampton, Nancy Lainer, GigiSaltonstall, Ali Burnes Balster, SimonTang, Demetrios Efstratiou, TinaAspiala; back row (L to R): SheldonIson, Greg Wislocki, Jen FrankLustbader, Talia Kohorn Senders,Katie Leeson, Julian Cowart, GrahamGoodkin, Leeore SchnairsohnClass of 1998, front row (L to R): Jennifer Driscoll, Tim Harrington, Erica Keany, Sarah Needham, Rosemary Doherty, Katherine Snead, Harrison Blum, TorreyAndroski, Cara McKenney, Paul Bercovitch, Tze Chun, Ian White, Emily Sussman, Ben Weiss, Bill Hilgendorf; second row (L to R): Rachel Nance, Nia Jacobs,Katherine Burrage, Lindsay Haynes, Sarah McGinty, Mike Stanton, Simon Rasin, Dave Sclar, Kay Ch’ien, Reif Larson, Elizabeth Carroll, Andy Kelly-Hayes; back row(L to R): Mark Mallek, Mike Lanzano, Justin Basilico, Alexander Henry, Mayhew Seavey, Nathan Link, Ian CheneyMilton Magazine 89

Jenna Bertocchi Stapleton andher husband, Walker Stapleton,welcomed their first child, CraigRoberts Stapleton II (Craigie), onFebruary 21, 2008. Craigie wasnamed after his grandfather.1993Edward Roberts reports, “Mywife, Michelle, and I are stillbeaming with joy followingthe birth of our first child. Ourson, future Milton alum FinleyHarrison Roberts, was born onMay 20. Alas, we weren’t quiteready for travel in early June, andwere not able to join in the 15thReunion festivities. The entireRoberts family sends its bestwishes to the Class of 1993, andhopes everyone had a whikidgood time!”Bob Seltzer writes in, “My wifeof five years (college sweetheart,Stacey) gave birth to ourdaughter Adela Rose Seltzer onNovember 9, 2007. Everyoneis happy and healthy. Life as afather has been a fun whirlwind.When I’m not changing diapers,I’m a principal at Care Capital,a life sciences venture capitalfirm in Princeton. Since I live inHoboken, New Jersey, and workin Princeton, I’m being especiallyvigilant in teaching Adela toroot for the Boston sports teams.So far, Adela’s career as a fan isgoing well.”1994Congratulations to JessicaManchester and her husband,who celebrated the birth ofAlling Kyle Lubitz, on April 8,2008.Charlie Everett and his wife,Caty James Everett, celebratedthe birth of their daughter GraceCatherine Everett on March 27,2008.Nicolas Howe, who is with theDepartment of Geography atUCLA, was recently awardedthe prestigious Charlotte W.Newcombe Doctoral DissertationFellowship from the WoodrowWilson National FellowshipFoundation, which supports thefinal year of writing for Ph.D.90 Milton Magazinestudents whose work addressesethical and religious questionsin the humanities and socialsciences.1996Ohene Asare and Regine Jean-Charles welcomed BediakoDessalines Jean-Charles Asareinto the world on September 6,2007. The family looks forwardto moving back to Boston, whereRegine will begin an assistantprofessorship at Boston Collegeand Ohene will continue workingas a project manager in thebiotech industry.Michael O’Brien reports, “Mydaughter, Molly Anne O’Brien,was born on January 27, 2008,at 11:30 p.m. Molly was eightpounds, 12 ounces, and 20.5inches. Both Molly and hermother, Beth O’Brien, are doingwell.”Margaret Ridge writes, “Ihave resigned from my positionat Maybelline to take a jobat VOICE Charter School inQueens, New York. I am thrilled,as singing is my first love, and itwas at Milton where my passionfor music was first fostered andinspired. At VOICE, all childrenwill learn to sing, play an instrumentof their choice, write, andread music. We will open withkindergarten and first gradeand add a new class each yearup through middle school. Bestregards to all my former Miltonteachers and classmates, andmay you all find a way to do whatyou love every day!”1997Peter Curran writes, “My wife,Sarah, and I moved to Coloradolast year from Switzerland,and I am working as the deanof students at Fountain ValleySchool. I am enjoying the RockyMountain lifestyle and wouldlove to reconnect with any Miltonalumni in the Rockies!”Congratulations to MichaelSilverstein and his wife, Kim,who welcomed their first baby, agirl named Ivy Bess Silverstein.Ivy Bess Silverstein was born on June 7, 2008. She is the daughter of Kim andMichael Silverstein ’97.Nate Dewart ’97 married Solana Rice in Saint Louis, Missouri, on May 25, 2008,and many Milton grads were there to help them celebrate. Pictured from left toright are Richard Kornbluth ’66, Murray Dewart ’66, Nate Dewart ’97, SolanaRice, Wilder Dewart, Caleb Dewart ’92, Lily Pollans ’97 and Brian Cheigh ’96.Chris Cheever ’98 and wife Whitney were married on September 15, 2007.Joining the celebration were (front row, left to right) Rob Higgins ’99, PrentissHiggins ’57, Roger Cheever ’63, Whitney and Chris Cheever, John Reidy ’56;(back row) Dave Sclar ’98, Nick Hobbs ’98 and Fritz Hobbs ’65.

Andy Mittleman ’04 and Stephanie Shui ’04 celebrated their graduation fromMiddlebury College in May.Leif Jacobsen ’08 won this year’s New England PGA Junior Championship, heldat Brookline Golf Club in July. The accomplishment earned him a trip to theNational PGA Junior Championship held just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.Michael writes, “She was bornon June 7, 2008, at 2:34 a.m.and weighed nine pounds andtwo ounces at birth (a chubbymonkey!). Mom, Dad andbaby are doing great. We livein Los Angeles, where I workfor Overbrook Entertainmentand Kim works for PlannedParenthood of Los Angeles.Friends and well-wishers canemail me at michaelasilverstein@gmail.com.”Nate Dewart married Solana Ricein Saint Louis, Missouri, on May25, 2008. In August, they movedto Oakland, California, whereNate started his first year in themaster’s of public policy programat University of California,English faculty member MariaGerrity visited with two young Miltongrads on her recent trip to China,Julian Fu ’07 in Shanghai and JiemingSun ’07 (pictured here) in Beijing.Berkeley, where he will focus onenergy and the environment.Solana is working for a nationalnonprofit. They welcome anyand all (re-)connections fromMilton grads and can be contactedat natedewart@gmail.com.1998Congratulations to Chris Cheeverand Whitney Cheever, who weremarried on September 15, 2007.Milton alums celebrating withthem included Robert Higgins’99, Prentiss Higgins ’57, RogerCheever ’63, John Reidy ’56,David Sclar, Nicholas Hobbs andFranklin Hobbs IV ’65.1999Andrew Houston married KatieAlexander in Chicago, Illinois,on June 7, 2008. Other Miltonalumni in attendance wereArmen Sarkis, James Tracy andAdrian Rossello-Cornier ’02.Andrew and Katie will continueliving in Chicago, where bothhave careers in the insuranceindustry.2000Julia MacIntosh and her husbandwelcomed a baby girl,Jacqueline MacIntosh, on April7, 2008. Julia reports, “Sheweighed eight pounds and nineounces. Nine weeks later, mysister, Sophie Koven ’92, and herhusband welcomed their thirdchild, a baby boy named Charlie.My parents now have eightgrandchildren! I am also startinga new job as a computer studiesteacher at the local middle schoolhere in Derry, New Hampshire.”Daniel Weisman is living inBeverly Hills with his dog, Brady,a Hurricane Katrina rescue. Hehas started his own management,consulting and marketingcompany, Elitaste, and is managingthe D.C.-based hip-hop artistWale. Daniel connects with fellowMilton grads Brian Foley andAndre Hardaway ’02 weekly intheir basketball league.2002Caroline Carlson and ZachPezzementi were married in Julyin Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.Laura Faulkner, Sara Perkinsand Momoko Hirose did doubleduty as proud Milton representativesand courageous bridesmaids.Caroline and Zach livein Maryland, where Zach isworking toward a Ph.D. at JohnsHopkins and Caroline is an editorat an educational publishingcompany.2003Thomas Coleman graduatedfrom Temple University’s Schoolof Communications and Theaterwith a B.A. in Theater and isheaded to Glasgow, Scotland, inSeptember to attend the RoyalScottish Academy of Music andDrama for graduate school.2004Peter Colombo has beennamed a Fulbright Scholar to ElSalvador for 2008–2009. Aftera lengthy civil war, El Salvadorwent through a series of monumentalchanges in regard togovernance. Peter’s research willfocus on the peace process thatfundamentally shifted a oncemilitary-dominated governmentto a functional democracy. Hewill also be working with anNGO in San Salvador that educatesSalvadoran people aboutdemocratic values and the role ofcitizens in a democracy.Albert-Hyukjae Kwon graduatedfrom M.I.T. with a B.S.in Biology. He will continuehis studies at Harvard MedicalSchool this coming fall.2008Leif Jacobsen won this year’sNew England PGA JuniorChampionship, held at BrooklineGolf Club in July. Leif shotrounds of 71 and 74 to finish thetwo-day tournament at three overpar. Tied with another player, hemade a two-putt par on the 18thhole to clinch the trophy and atrip to the National PGA JuniorChampionship.Milton Magazine 91

Class of 2003, front row (L to R): Chloe Walters-Wallace, Jamal Shipman, Cecil“Jay” Hunt; second row (L to R): Matt Basilico, Marlady Ho, Chris Kwok, AlexRoberts; back row (L to R): Alex Larrieux, Austin Watson, Tod ChubrichDeaths1928 Robert Saltonstall1930 Benjamin BealeHenry Saltonstall1931 Mary Driver Young1933 Francis H. BrooksMelvin A. Traylor, Jr.1936 John L. Bremer II1938 Martha C. BoyajianJohn W. Straus1939 William A. Atchley1940 Gregor A. GambleAustin G. Olney1941 Donald I. Perry1942 A. Irving ForbesJudith P. HandyPhilip Maher, Jr.Honor Case Runyon1943 Foster Darling1944 Fred B. Lund, Jr.1948 Faith Wildes MacArthur1949 Diana Cameron Pierce1950 Marjorie Jackson BardJanet B. MannEdward L. Reed1951 Nonya Stevens Wright1957 Paul Byard1964 Judith Rivinus FullerFriends Drusilla WithingtonMilton AcademyBoard of Trustees, 2008–2009David AbramsChestnut Hill, MassachusettsGeorge AlexCohasset, MassachusettsJulia W. Bennett ’79Norwell, MassachusettsBradley BloomWellesley, MassachusettsJames M. Fitzgibbons ’52EmeritusChestnut Hill, MassachusettsJohn B. Fitzgibbons ’87Bronxville, New YorkAustan D. Goolsbee ’87Chicago, IllinoisCatherine GordanNew York, New YorkVictoria Hall Graham ’81New York, New YorkMargaret Jewett Greer ’47EmeritaChevy Chase, MarylandAntonia Monroe Grumbach ’61New York, New YorkFranklin W. Hobbs IV ’65PresidentNew York, New YorkOgden M. Hunnewell ’70Vice PresidentBrookline, MassachusettsHarold W. Janeway ’54EmeritusWebster, New HampshireLisa A. Jones ’84Newton, MassachusettsF. Warren McFarlan ’55Belmont, MassachusettsCarol Smith MillerBoston, MassachusettsErika Mobley ’86Brisbane, CaliforniaTracy Pun Palandjian ’89Belmont, MassachusettsRichard C. Perry ’73New York, New YorkJohn P. Reardon ’56Vice PresidentCohasset, MassachusettsH. Marshall Schwarz ’54EmeritusNew York, New YorkKaran Sheldon ’73Milton, MassachusettsFrederick G. Sykes ’65SecretaryRye, New YorkV-Nee Yeh ’77Hong KongJide J. Zeitlin ’81TreasurerNew York, New York92 Milton Magazine

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8CELEBRATE 2008GROUNDBREAKING FORPRITZKER SCIENCE CENTERDEDICATION OF MILLET HOUSELEADERSHIP RECOGNITION DINNERA GRAND TAILGATETHE MILTON-NOBLES GAMECelebrate 2008A Time for MiltonSaturday, November 8, 2008Honoring the generosity of Milton donors,marking the beginning of a new era, andbuilding on the Milton tradition: Join us for twohistoric events and the camaraderie that willfollow.Dedication of Millet HouseGroundbreaking for Pritzker Science CenterMillet House and 127 Centre Street, 10 a.m.A Grand TailgateNorth Tennis Courts, 11:30 a.m.The Milton-Nobles GameStokinger Field, 1 p.m.Leadership Recognition DinnerFitzgibbons Convocation Center, 6:30 p.m.To support the Millet tribute, visit the “Alumni”section of www.milton.edu.

Milton MagazineMilton AcademyCommunications OfficeMilton, Massachusetts 02186Change Service RequestedNon-Profit OrganizationU.S. PostagePAIDBoston, MAPermit No. 58423