Oak Leaves, Spring 2012

Alumni in the

WorldHomecoming AFS UpfrontClass Notes

oakleavesSpring 2012

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Learn more about the Annual Fund and opportunities forgiving and volunteering at www.abingtonfriends.net

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THE AFS ANNUAL FUND

Letter from Head of School

1

2AFS Upfront

Classnotes

Oak Leaves is a publication of the AFS Development and Communications Offices.

Richard F. Nourie Head of SchoolDebbie Stauffer Associate Head of SchoolJon Harris Assistant Head for Institutional AdvancementJudy Hill Director of Communications, EditorMarji Burke Communications AssistantGabrielle Giddings Assistant Director of DevelopmentAnna Stiegel Glass Director of Alumni Affairs

Peapod Design Publication Design

in this issue

Life at AFS: Six Month Scrapbook

4 36

In Memoriam40

10

AFS Alumni in The World12

On the hill behind the house where I grew up, in Massachusetts, was a meadowthat was filled with milkweedstalks. Each fall, I remember aspectacular period of days whenthe large seedpods would breakopen and the milkweed seedson their silken parachuteswould take off on the autumnbreezes. After a spring andsummer of hidden growth, theseeds were scattered to thewinds, some landing nearby,others traveling great distancesto start the cycle all over again.

Coming into an Upper School Meeting for

Worship recently, where the students were

packed in closely on the benches in that

familiar space on a cool, early spring

Wednesday, I couldn’t help but think of the

metaphor of the milkweed seeds. I could see

that the seniors on the facing bench would

soon be scattering in their first independent

steps into the world and I felt great affection,

hope and excitement for them, thinking

ahead to Commencement in the Grove.

As teachers and as a Friends school

community we nurture seeds of potential in

each of our students over many years of their

development. We then have the wonderful

satisfaction of seeing their lives come to

2 OAK LEAVES SPRING 2012

letter from the

head of school

At a recent alumni gathering in Boston at

the Museum of Fine Arts, I talked with

graduates from the class of 1960 to the class

of 2011 about continuity over time. I shared

some research we had done during strategic

planning last year, which included reading

promotional materials about the school

found in our archives from the 1890s to the

1970s. They were remarkably consistent.

AFS has always cultivated an intellectual

community that prizes multiple perspectives,

well-developed writing skills, diversity in

many forms, connection to contemporary

events and a focus on education that is

inherently, personally meaningful rather

than preparatory alone.

We all agreed that these threads, along

with the Quaker values of profound respect

for individuals, nurturing of a reflective,

inner life and strong communal values,

were the powerful elements shared across

the generations.

It has been common for me in my time at

AFS to hold up the idea that “great schools

are lit from within”. By this I mean that

schools that have an intellectual and

spiritual vitality at their center, one that is

living and generative, create the most

powerful context for genuine learning and

growth for both teachers and students. I

also believe, reinforced by the portraits in

this edition of Oak Leaves, that we intend

our students to live lives that are lit from

within. We seek to cultivate and nurture an

inner vitality in our students, a sense of

authentic learning, reflection, values and

drive to create that is meant to power a

life of personal fulfillment and meaning

contribution. I am grateful to our alumni

who share their stories in this issue. Enjoy!

Rich Nourie

Head of School

fulfillment in ways that may have been only

foreshadowed in their time at AFS. This

issue of Oak Leaves brings into focus

portraits of a range of AFS alumni who are

creating, contributing, learning and building

lives, careers and communities out in the

wider world. In their values, sensibilities and

accomplishments, they are inspiring

examples for our current students and bring

great satisfaction to their former teachers.

Somehow, this diverse group of adults

reflects a common experience of education

at Abington Friends School. We are a

school that has grown dramatically over

the past 50 years and yet there is a strong

common ground that connects the

generations at AFS.

3

“We seek to cultivate aninner vitality in our students...to power a lifeof personal fulfillmentand meaningful contribution.”

Head of School Rich Nourie met with AFS alumni from the class of 1960 to the class of 2011 at a recent gathering at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

HalloweenEach October, the all-school Halloween

Parade puts smiles on the faces of students,

teachers and parents alike, as students

unleash their creativity and sense of humor.

Who needs expensive, pre-fabricated

costumes when a little imagination and a

few art supplies can take you where you want

to go? This year’s parade featured Thing 1

and Thing 2 , the Mad Hatter, cowgirls by the

score, super heroes, watermelons and more.

»

6life at AFS:

4 LIFE AT AFS: SIX MONTH SCRAPBOOK

october

month scrapbook

SukkotFamilies gathered behind the Muller cafeteria on October 16 for a potluck to celebrate the

weeklong Jewish festival of Sukkot. The School’s Jewish Families Affinity Group planned the

Sukkot potluck as an opportunity to both celebrate and educate. Students from Lower, Middle

and Upper school were all involved in building the sukkah, the temporary shelter constructed

for use during the festival.

»

5

Homecoming

More than 90 alums, from the Class of 1969

through 2011, returned to campus for

Homecoming Day on November 23, excited

to greet old friends and former teachers over

breakfast, share stories and laughs, attend

Meeting for Worship and compete in a

student/faculty/alumni soccer match. During

Meeting, many alums paid tribute to the

time and space devoted at AFS to identity

development and to the arts of listening and

reflection. “AFS taught me how to listen, how

to really look into a person and truly see who

they are and understand how they see the world,"

said one alum.

november


Transition Day »Although learning to live in the moment

is an important stress management skill,

sometimes it is exciting to think ahead!

That’s exactly what AFS eighth graders had

the opportunity to do on 8th-9th Transition

Day in early October. The day was an

opportunity for eighth graders to tour the

Upper School, attend classes, meet teachers

and chat with Upper School students

about their questions or concerns over a

pizza lunch.

Our Town «Staging Thornton Wilder’s classic play in the

Meetinghouse lent the production a unique

atmosphere. With a simple set of just a few

chairs and a couple of tables, the play was

magical, creating a spellbinding illusion of

small town life in Grover’s Corners, New

Hampshire.

7

Consortium Gift Drive »The joy was palpable throughout Upper

School in mid-December, as students

gathered in their advisories to sort and wrap

gifts for special needs children attending the

Consortium Early Intervention Program in

West Philadelphia. The students coordinated

a division-wide gift drive, distributing wish

lists for each of the 50 or so children at the

Consortium. Director Linda Wise accepted

more than 200 festively wrapped packages

when she visited AFS on December 14.

Winterfest «AFS ushered in the winter holidays and

celebrated its rich cultural diversity during

Winterfest, the joyous all-school celebration

held each December in the Hallowell Gym.

Students from every division helped decorate

Kwanza and Hanukah tables and a Christmas

tree, sang yuletide favorites and traditional

cultural songs and recited in unison the AFS

“holiday poem.” Members of the class of

2012 stood off to the sides raising signs to

emphasize key words and phrases.

january

Alumni Basketball »A spirited group of alumni and current

parents played in the 10th Annual Alumni

Basketball Game on Saturday, January 7.

The competitive game was exciting to watch,

and many alumni came out to cheer on their

former classmates.

MLK day of Service »More than 400 people gathered at AFS

on Monday, January 16, for a morning of

community building and service in

celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr. The Day of Service began in the

Meetinghouse with a program that included

reflection, poetry and song. From there,

volunteers traveled to the Lower School and

Early Childhood buildings to begin work.

Together, they baked approximately 300

cookies, cooked 288 Aid for Friends meals,

assembled 150 hygiene kits, crafted 70 hats

and scarves, baked 20 casseroles and made

25 teddy bears.

Spirit DayRoughly 60 after-school students in grades 1

- 5 settled into the "Kangaroo Pouch,” a spe-

cial, reserved section of the Hallowell Gym,

to cheer on the AFS Varsity Girl's Basketball

team on Spirit Day. Before heading to the

game, the students learned proper fan eti-

quette and some basic rules of the game.

They also created posters and cheers with

the help of the AFS Upper School Pep

Squad. The event exposed Lower Schoolers

to the joys of team athletics and helped to

build cross-divisional relationships as well.

»

Greek FestGreek Fest, a fifth grade tradition, is the

culmination of an intensive unit of study on

Greek mythology and features an Olympics

event, a feast and student-created skits. After

participating in discus throwing, baton races

and hurdle jumping, students settled in for

a delicious meal of stuffed grape leaves,

spanakopita, feta cheese, kebabs and

hummus. Afterwards, the students drew

laughs and cheers from their families and

other lower school students with their witty

tales of intrigue, romance and warfare.

»Chinese New YearThird grade students celebrated the end of

Chinese New Year with music, story telling

and shadow puppet plays.

»


februaryRudin LectureDoug Blonsky, President of the Central Park

Conservancy, presented this year’s Rudin

Lecture on February 9, to a full house of

Upper School students, faculty, alumni

and other interested guests. Fifth grade

ambassadors met with Blonsky to share

dioramas their grade members had

created to depict their vision for the Lower

School nature playground, part of the AFS

Outside initiative. Susan Rudin ’57 and

six other members of her class also toured

the playground site and viewed the

architect’s plans.

»

Talent ShowOn a snowy February night, some of our talented faculty, staff, parents and Meeting members

gathered in the cafeteria to share their musical and literary talents. All of the merriment was in

support of the Post Prom.

Blood DriveEighty eight individuals (including 60 students) collectively contributed an impressive 60

pints of blood during the 2012 Abington Friends School Blood Drive. The event took place

February 14, in the Faulkner Library, and the amount collected was expected to assist up to

180 individuals in need. To brighten the surroundings, Council members created a large

banner that read: “AFS Blood Drive: Let the Love Flow!” Students also distracted nervous

donors by reading aloud to them from children’s picture books.

»

»

9

Manstein Family Funds Upgrade of Wrestling RoomFriends of the AFS community, including

students, teachers and parents and alumni,

gathered in the Triangle Gym on January 17 for

a reception to celebrate a recent gift from AFS

parents Carl and Marla Manstein.

The gift was in memory of Marla Manstein's

parents and brother, and it funded the dedication

of the wrestling room in the Triangle building

and facility improvements to the room. The first

upgrade was a new score board.

In the photo are: Carl and Marla Manstein, with

children Ely ’12, Max ’08 and Arielle Manstein.

Two AFS Seniors Named National Merit FinalistsAFS seniors Elizabeth Gurin and Zach Atkins (pictured with their

advisor, Upper School Classics Teacher Matt Slagter) have been

named National Merit Finalists.

Established in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation

(NMSC) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that

conducts annual competitions for recognition and college

scholarships. Its goals are to identify and honor academically

talented U.S. high school students; to stimulate increased support

for their education; and to provide efficient and effective

scholarship program management for organizations that wish to

sponsor college undergraduate scholarships. Since its founding in

1955, NMSC has provided over 350,000 scholarships worth more

than $1.4 billion.

“Elizabeth and Zach are both extremely capable, thoughtful,

hardworking, and conscientious students, and it has been a real

pleasure to be their advisor,” says Matt, who adds that it came

as no surprise to him that they had received the recognition.

“Becoming a National Merit Finalist adds one more laurel to the

already exemplary academic careers of each of these students.”

afs upfront


Diversity Leadership Conference along with

AFS Director of Diversity and Inclusion Toni

Graves Williamson.

One of the PoCC workshops, entitled

Courageous Conversations: Using Literacy to

Explore Race and Identity, featured several

of our fifth and sixth grade students who,

together with their teacher Jane McVeigh-

Schultz (and former teacher, Dave Bass),

shared how they have managed to create a

safe place for conversations about race in

their classrooms.

“As adults, Dave and I set the stage for the

workshop,” says Jane. “We handled the

introductions and set up the videos, but our

students quickly took over. Audience members

addressed all of their questions to the students,

and we simply stepped off to the side, which

was exactly what we wanted to see happen.”

“Everyone wanted to know what our

program was like and how it got started,”

says sixth grader Cameron Hodges. “We told

them that we start talking about race and

identity in first or second grade. It usually

takes place in English class.”

“We wanted to say that we really have to be

careful about stereotyping,” says fifth grader

Josiah Campbell. “I see it all of the time in

movies. If you don’t talk to other people and

get to know them, you’re going to make a

judgment about them based only on what

you see on the outside, and that’s not right.

We make time to talk in our classroom.”

“This experience was extraordinary for me,”

says Jane. “The adults were astonished by

how open, honest and articulate our 10 and

11 year olds are. This experience was one of

the highlights of my life.”

Many AFS presenters and PoCC attendees

were approached by faculty and

administrators from other schools that

were impressed with the work that AFS has

been doing in the area of race and identity.

“This kind of work is not linear and can be

messy and confusing and of course we

haven’t figured everything out, but we are well

into the process of discovery, development

and support on the issues of diversity and

inclusion,” says Catalina Rios, Lower School

and Sixth Grade Spanish teacher.

While PoCC was unfolding in center city on

December 2, AFS hosted its own on-campus

Professional Development In-Service Day

focused on race and identity. Area educators

were invited to attend. Guest speakers

included Peggy McIntosh, PhD. of the

Wellesley Centers for Women and Rosetta

Lee of the Seattle Girls School.

11

On December 1-2, Philadelphia hosted

The National Association of Independent

Schools People of Color Conference (PoCC)

at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Four

thousand students and adults from across the

country attended, and Abington Friends School

faculty and students were well represented.

AFS Lower School Director Crissy Cáceres

co-chaired the event; our Choral Group

(featuring students in grades 4-12) performed

songs in English, Zulu, Liberian and French

during the opening ceremony; many AFS

faculty and staff members had the opportunity

to attend the conference; and Head of School

Rich Nourie, along with 10 other faculty or

former faculty members, presented workshops.

In a separate, nearby location, 20 Upper

School students also had the opportunity to

attend the closed-door, two-day Student

AFS Well Represented at National People of Color Conference

hen we decided to devote an entireissue of Oak Leaves to alumni followingtheir passions in a variety of fields, weknew we were setting ourselves up for a challenging task.

Alumni from AFS are making their mark all over the UnitedStates and beyond, in every field imaginable, from veterinaryscience to financial services to farming. The couple of dozenmen and women we chose to focus on for this issue came toour attention as people who have pursued their interests withgusto and tenacity. We were delighted to get to know thembetter. And we know we could repeat the format for this issuetwice a year for decades without ever running out of fascinating alumni to interview.

Thank you, AFS alums, for making our job so interesting, and infinite!

Got an interesting story? Get in touch with us at [email protected]


Wworldalumni in the

alumni in:

sustainabilityAtlanta is not known as a pioneer ingreen building. It’s known more for its sprawl and bad urban planning, says Abe Kruger, a green building consultant who started his own business in the city three years ago. “What better place to be than a place that’s the

model of what not to do?” says Abe, though

energy efficiency, he notes, is gaining traction

in the city, and he is happy to be playing a role

by providing green building certifications,

developing curricula for local colleges and

consulting with builders, contractors and

homeowners. This year, with co-author Carl

Seville, he wrote the first textbook focusing

on residential green building.

As the only fulltime employee in his business,

the Kruger Sustainability Group, Abe wears

many hats. But that, he says, is what makes

his job fun: “One week I’ll be developing a

semester long green building course for a

technical college in South Carolina, the next

I’ll be doing work with a utilities energy rebate

program.” He also spends plenty of time on

his hands and knees in attics and crawl

spaces, figuring out the best ways to make

a home energy efficient.

People often assume Abe’s background is in

engineering. In fact, he was a liberal arts

student at Oberlin College in Ohio, where he

double majored in history and environmental

studies. While at Oberlin, he was inspired

by the opening on campus of the new

environmental studies building designed

by sustainable architecture guru William

McDonough. A showcase of how to build in

tune with the environment, the building

embodies passive solar principles, capturing

free heat in the winter and keeping it out in

the summer. Designed as a teaching tool,

the building also incorporates solar panels,

native species landscaping and onsite

wastewater treatment.

After graduating from Oberlin, Abe moved

directly to Atlanta, where he got a fellowship

with the South Face Energy Institute, finding

his niche in contractor and homeowner

education. After a short stint working for a

contractor in Charlotte, Abe returned to

Atlanta and soon after began his own company.

Abe loves his adopted city. “It’s really a fun

town,” he says. “From an urban design

standpoint it’s got some issues, but because

it’s the capital and the planning was really done

without a plan, lots of people are discovering it

and working to improve it. And it’s fun when

you go to a dinner party or a bar and meet

people getting, say, a PhD in air quality science

from Georgia Tech or an MBA from the Goezueta

School of Business at Emory University.”

Of all the things he learned at AFS, which

he entered as a fifth grader coming from

Oak Lane Day School, Abe says the most

important was the ability to think critically and

analytically about an issue. He mastered the

art of the persuasive essay so well, he says,

that when he wrote an essay about

vegetarianism for an Upper School English

class, he was so convinced by his argument

that he stopped eating meat.

13

As an academically strong and “probably

slightly nerdy” student, Abe enjoyed the

challenges of technical theatre and he and

his friends can take credit for introducing

ultimate Frisbee to the school. Since it was

a club at that time, rather than an official sport

that counted toward the athletic requirement,

Abe and his friends felt free to express

themselves with a “uniform” of kilts and spray

painted shirts. Competing in a tournament,

Abe remembers getting “destroyed,” but

winning the spirit award. “We were there to

have fun. Look, we were in kilts!”

ABE KRUGER ’00Green Building ConsultantAtlanta

alumni in:

sustainabilityDavid Mildenberg can trace his passion for the outdoors to an Englishclass he took in Upper School withRenie Campbell. “We were readingThoreau’s Walden,” he says, “and itjust spoke to me and took me into adifferent realm intellectually.”

Inspired by Thoreau, David decided to

embark on an ambitious backpacking trip

for his senior independent project. That was

his first camping experience, and it was

transformative, he says. With two friends

he hiked and camped for three weeks in the

Adirondacks and Catskills, reading poetry

and philosophy as they hiked. “I was totally

out of my comfort zone,” he says, “and it

was an awesome, life changing experience.”

Now, David, who lives in the Fishtown

section of Philadelphia, is launching his own

kayaking expedition he undertook in

Patagonia, Chile while taking a year out from

St. John’s College in Annapolis. Returning

the next year to St. John’s satellite Santa

Fe campus, David deepened his outdoor

competence level, becoming a wilderness

first responder and a Leave no Trace Master

mature, to find and develop leadership

skills and followership skills, which are

equally important and crucial to the

Quaker tradition.”

Ideally, he says, he would have gone

straight from the Southwest to Valley to

Summit, but, “I still had in me an itch

for civil rights that began at AFS, and I

wanted to practice law with my brother.”

After graduating from law school, David

passed the bar in Pennsylvania and

New Jersey and went to work as an

associate attorney at Mildenberg Law

Firm in Center City.

David’s work as an attorney focuses on

civil rights, including employment

discrimination and defending clients

against predatory lenders in mortgage

foreclose cases. The whole mission, he

says, is to help people, and he connects

that back to his AFS experience, too,

where he was exposed to the works of

great civil rights leaders and became

involved with the student PRIDE group

as well as student government.

“I will always remain an attorney,” he

says. “It’s important that I continue to

advocate for people whose civil rights

have been violated. It’s equally important

for people to immerse themselves in the

wilderness and to experience what nature

has to offer.”

14 ALUMNNI IN THE WORLD

“The whole thing about this outdoor experience I’vehad and my experience with AFS is that there’s asynergy there. You’re allowed to get lost at AFS andthen find yourself again. Being lost requires you tomature, to find and develop leadership skills andfollowership skills, which are equally important andcrucial to the Quaker tradition.”

outdoor venture, Valley to Summit, which

will provide guided wilderness adventures

and environmental awareness workshops for

schools and the general public. “We’re going

to offer ultimate adventure trips for folks,

with white-water rafting, back country hiking

and rock climbing for folks who want to get

more of a taste of nature.”

Between SIP and Valley to Summit David

honed his own outdoor skills on trips

including a mountaineering and sea

Educator through the National Outdoor

Leadership School. Being involved with a

search and rescue team gave David a

clearer understanding of risk management,

teamwork and patience, as well as tolerance

for the unexpected.

“The whole thing about this outdoor

experience I’ve had and my experience with

AFS is that there’s a synergy there. You’re

allowed to get lost at AFS and then find

yourself again. Being lost requires you to

DAVID MILDENBERG ’99Wilderness Guide and EducatorPhiladelphia

Violinist Maureen Nelson has whatshe calls an “itinerant lifestyle.” Whenshe’s not working with her string quartet Enso in New York City, she’sliving in Houston, where her husband,a clarinetist, teaches at Rice University.And when she’s in neither of thoseplaces, she’s traveling around the worlddoing concerts and touring.

“It’s never boring,” says Maureen, who met

the other founding members of Enso while

she was pursuing her graduate degree in

music at Yale University. As well as performing

throughout Europe, Asia and South America,

Enso has had success in the recording studio,

winning a Grammy nomination for their 2010

release of the quartets of Ginastera. This

summer the quartet will be recording works

by Puccini, Verdi and Richard Strauss. A

10-concert tour of New Zealand is also on

the calendar, as well as the usual round of

summer festivals and concerts.

As fast paced as Maureen’s life is now, she

was never one to dawdle. Arriving at AFS

in seventh grade, Maureen was already an

accomplished pianist and violin player. Her

mother, she says, had wanted her to play

classical guitar, “but I kept taking the little

1515

guitar and flipping it around under my chin

like a violin.” Though neither of her parents

is musical, they both knew how to train—

her father is a doctor and her mother was

a taekwondo champion—and that, says

Maureen is where the work ethic came from.

AFS, she says, was supportive and

accommodating of her musical talent,

though the balancing act was still tough.

“The thing about music when you pursue it

like I did is that it’s kind of all consuming,”

she says. “It’s like becoming an athlete. Your

time is taken up by it. It was extremely hard.

I would come home from school and either

have a lesson or practice for four hours.

By that time it would be about 11 p.m. and

I still had to do my homework.” Because so

much of her time outside of school was

taken up with music, Maureen was not

part of the music program at AFS, other

than accompanying students on the piano

occasionally and playing at holiday concerts.

Instead, when it came time to choose

electives, she opted for the visual arts, another

creative outlet she enjoyed tremendously.

In her junior year, Maureen was accepted

into the highly selective Curtis Institute of

Music in Philadelphia. So that she could

still graduate from high school, AFS figured

out a way for her to consolidate most of

her classes into one day and do the rest

of them by credit. It was a daunting time

for Maureen, though, since most of her

fellow Curtis students were much more

experienced in the musical world and many

already had management and record deals.

Being a professional musician is an

extremely intense lifestyle, says Maureen,

but she loves it. “There’s nothing like having

a fantastic performance. I could even just be

playing Bach to myself and thinking, ‘This is

amazing!’ I can’t believe I’ve gotten to this

level and get to play with such good friends.”

Getting to this point, though, requires more

than just talent, says Maureen. “You have to

have nerves of steel. I’ve heard even super

famous musicians say, ‘I’m so nervous I

want to die, I never want to do this again.’

Eschenbach said when he performs piano

he just feels like a bowl of jelly. But the

satisfaction afterwards makes it all worth it.”

alumni in:music

MAUREEN NELSON ’91ViolinistNew York City and Houston

called “ASAP: the Afrobeat Sudan Aid

Project.” The album hit number one on the

iTunes World Music charts in US and Europe

and raised over $140,000 for humanitarian

aid in Darfur.

In high school Dave was interested in

politics, social justice, music and computers.

“In a lot of ways, music production makes a lot

of sense for me as a career because here I am

making music with computers.” A member of

the jazz band, he also played music outside

of school, spending summers at University of

the Arts and Berklee College of Music.

“My career as a music producer and engineer

stems directly from the opportunities I

received at AFS,” concludes Dave. “In a larger

sense, morally and spiritually I am who I am

today because of the AFS community and all of

the love and support I received from all of my

teachers there.”


the world differently because of the wide

range of material I’ve worked on.”

Dave studied music throughout his time at

AFS, where he began in the 1st grade. Chris

Buzby, he says, gave him essential band and

music instruction through middle and high

school. In Chris’s computer music lab he

learned how to sequence programs and

arrange music. Chris recorded Dave’s first

album, “Last Stop: Underground” at AFS

and put him in touch with his friend Brett

Kull, with whom Dave did his senior project.

At Wesleyan, where Dave was a music and

government double major, he worked in the

university’s recording studios and also started

his own studio recording bands at Wesleyan,

including the very successful MGMT.

During his senior year at Wesleyan, he and

two friends produced an all-charity album

There’s really no such thing as a typicalday for Dave Ahl, owner of StepwiseSound, a music and sound productioncompany in Brooklyn, NY.

Stepwise has worked with artists from

around the world including Brazilian

guitarist Allison Carvalho, afro-funk group

Ikebe Shakedow, indie-pop visionary Eight

Two and even Stephen Colbert.

Recently Stepwise has gotten a lot of work

writing and producing music for commercials

including Amazon, United Airlines and

Maxwell House.

“Commercial work is really interesting to

me,” says Dave, “because the entire music

creation process—from composition, to

production, to mixing—can be compressed

into a single day and a 30-second song.”

Asked to submit a song for a national hotel

commercial, Dave looked at the video for the

TV spot then wrote the music quickly and

heightened the emotion by adding layers

of percussion to plucked string parts that

were playing the melody. “I played piano

and the bass parts on the keyboard and

tapped out the drums. I sang the vocals

on the chorus and recorded handclaps to

make it more exciting.”

Another interesting recent project involved

working on the soundtrack of a Hong Kong

movie called “14 Blades.” Dave was hired to

find and record Middle-Eastern singers in

New York for a movie from the other side

of the world. “We communicated through

different languages and time zones,” says

Dave, “emailing every day.”

Dave’s guiding principle is to take on the

most challenging projects he can. “If it’s

different or hard, I want to do it. If I get an

opportunity to make a Brazilian classical

guitar album, I want to do it. If I’m asked to

produce an African hip-hop track in French,

I’m excited to bring it to life. I think I hear

alumni in:

music DAVID AHL ’01Music ProducerBrooklyn

“I am who I am today because of the AFS communityand all of the love and support I received from all ofmy teachers there.”

17

systems for moving underwater are just

propellers, and they become easily

damaged. Propellers don’t do well in coastal

environments and rivers and fish do very

well, so learning about more complex ways

of maneuvering could be very valuable.”

Though Jeff works in a lab every day, he

sees himself as just as much a writer as

a scientist. In fact, when he graduated

from AFS he thought he wanted to write

professionally. Starting out at Cornell as a

prospective English major, Jeff realized that

there was something missing. At AFS, in

addition to flourishing in Mary Lynn Ellis’s

English classes he had enjoyed solving

problems with Jordan Burkey in physics class

and thinking critically about calculus with

math teacher Niall Hood. He missed thinking

like that. A transfer to Swarthmore made

sense because there he was able to feed both

sides of his brain simultaneously. “I could

write creatively and engineer at the same time.”

Jeff still writes fiction for two hours every

Sunday and says he will always be grateful to

Mary Lynn. “She engendered trust, and the

space she created, where we could share our

feelings and put really personal stuff out

there, was incredible. That’s a space I return

to when I write fiction.”

Writing is important in the lab, too, says

Jeff. “You have to do so much writing to be

successful and in order to communicate

to people who want to fund research

you have to be able to write and present,

to communicate.”

Part of the writing experience for Jeff at AFS

was about taking risks and trying new things.

One of his hobbies that reflects that, he says,

is cooking. “It’s nice when you’re a robotics

engineer to spend time cooking because the

results are a lot faster. You can experiment

with something and find out right away if

it works.”

Jeff Kahn spends his days thinkingabout robotic fishes. A PhD candidatein the mechanical engineering programat Drexel University, Jeff and his teamare trying to understand how fish usetheir senses while swimming.

Using robotic fish, or rather robotic fish fins

equipped with sensors, gives them the ability

to repeat trials over and over with the same

experimental conditions. “It would take years

longer observing an actual fish,” says Jeff.

“We can make a robot fin flap identically

hundreds of times in a row.” The team is

working in tandem with a biology lab at

Harvard that is studying the fish themselves,

monitoring their nerve and muscle activity.

Jeff, a graduate of Swarthmore College,

relishes the challenge of designing systems

and experiments to better understand fish

behavior. So many questions remain, he says

about why fish swim the way they do. How

do fish use their fins to swim? How does a

fish change its swimming patterns? “We’re

also discovering nerves along fish fins and

we have no idea what they do,” says Jeff.

“So engineers get to ask, ‘What could those

nerves be sensing?’ One of the things we

thought is that the fish is sensing some sort

of bending. So what I do is using robotics I

program this fin to flap and maneuver the

way a fish does and I take sensory data from

the robot. Then we analyze the data and get

information about it.”

And why is this important? “Fins do very

complex things,” says Jeff. “I think it’s

important for us as humans to understand

how other animals move in their

environments. We’re a highly technical

society and we don’t do ocean navigation

very well because we’re not underwater

animals. This is an opportunity to

understand underwater vertebrates better.”

Jeff sees many potential applications for the

research, including coming up with better

alternatives to propellers. “Most of our

alumni in:

science

JEFF KAHN ’06Robotics EngineerDrexel University, Philadelphia

kayaking and has also worked with Beam

Reach Marine Science and Sustainability

School in the Pacific Northwest.

Though she says she was more than ready to

leave by the time she graduated from AFS,

she now realizes, “it set me up well for

basically everything.” As well as teaching her

to question everything “instead of just going

through the motions of getting a high school

diploma,” her time at AFS instilled in her a

sense of community. “Most of the places I’ve

gone, and enjoyed, it’s been because I was a

member of a community. In Chile it was

hard living there with little heat and difficult

conditions, but everyone had each other’s

back. That feeling started for me at AFS.”

Emily is considering going to graduate

school for applied ecology. The applied part

is important. “I don’t want to sit in an office

and do research on something that’s not

useful,” she says.


role was to link the two organizations and

put together trips where they would work

together. One collaboration she

masterminded was a six-day river trip from

the border with Argentina to the ocean. A

geologist and social historian accompanied

the group. For the research center, says

Emily, it was a great opportunity to have

data collection from rural sites, with Emily

taking macro invertebrate samples and

the geologist collecting rock samples.

Meanwhile, the guide school students were

learning about water safety, geology, river

ecology and social history. “The guide

school students got a science background,”

says Emily, “and the research center got

access to a whole new data set.”

This was by no means Emily’s first

adventure. A University of Pittsburgh

graduate, Emily has completed programs

with the National Outdoor Leadership

School in rock climbing and white water

Science and the outdoors run inEmily Pierson’s family. After all, herfather, Jim Pierson, has been a fixturein the AFS Science Department for 18 years. But Emily’s interest in science, and conservation in particular, is not just inherited; it’s also deeply personal.

“The reason I care about the environment

and protecting places that are still wild is

because I enjoy them and I play in them,”

she says. “I figure you care more about the

things you understand and have a personal

stake in.”

Emily’s passion for ecology led her most

recently to live in Coyhaique in Southern

Chile for a year on a Fulbright Scholarship.

While there, Emily worked with two separate

organizations, a guide school and a research

center focused on the natural sciences. Her

EMILY PIERSON ’05Fulbright Scholarship RecipientPatagonia, Chile

alumni in:

science

19

probation officer for sex offenders, Jesse

landed the head coaching job at Chestnut

Hill College, which was turning co-ed and

starting a men’s basketball team.

Jesse loves his job. “I love waking up on

game day and having that feeling in the

pit of my stomach,” he says. “I love the

relationships with the kids. So much that

goes into coaching has to do with teaching

kids how to make decisions in their lives.

You get to meet great kids and watch them

grow. I always say the second best thing to

being called Dad is being called Coach.”

Jesse is called Dad by three children,

Isabella, 14, Jesse Jr., 11, and Angelina, 7. His

wife, Amy, is a guidance counselor at Mount

St. Joe’s. Chestnut Hill College has an amazing

sense of community; “just like AFS” says Jesse,

“and the feeling of safety there is similar to

AFs, too. Kids come in and they grow so much

here. I compare that a lot to AFS. It’s pretty

neat how everything has come full circle.”

A Catholic school student until hecame to AFS in the middle of hissophomore year, Jesse Balcer wasstruck immediately by three things:There were no locks on the lockers,students left their bags in the hallwaysand teachers were known by theirfirst names. “And just the overallfriendliness of the community stoodout,” says Jesse, who transferred toAFS because he wanted to play sports.

A good athlete who somehow never made

the team, Jesse arrived at AFS eager to play.

And play he did. He was on the first baseball

team that won the FSL championship, in

1990, and he also played soccer and

basketball for the School. “The sports

were great,” he says, “and I met some

unbelievable friends, which I think is what

athletics is all about.”

A dozen years later, when Jesse became

Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Chestnut

Hill Academy, it was Coach Chadwin’s

example he kept in mind. He called him

often, too, to ask for advice. “And he gave

great advice,” says Jesse, “Which I still use

to this day.”

It wasn’t all about sports for Jesse at AFS,

though. Something he says he would never

have done at his previous school was to join

the choir and become a member of the

chamber singers. “Here,” he says, “It was

cool for an athlete to be in the choir.”

Jesse chose Philadelphia University for

college mainly because his best friend

Dave Fields ’91 (aka Chewy) was a freshman

there. A psych major, he made the basketball

team as a walk-on and played baseball for

four years. He ended up being captain of the

basketball team and starting frequently in

his senior year. “I was a good player,” he

says. “Not great, like Chewy, but tough. I

played hard.”

After almost a decade of sporadic coaching

work and a fulltime job as a juvenile

alumni in:

sports

JESSE BALCER ’92Head Basketball CoachChestnut Hill College, Philadelphia

“Kids come in and they grow so much here. I compare that a lot to AFS. It’s pretty neat howeverything has come full circle.”

ALUMNNI IN THE WORLD20

The photography bug bit Ryan in his

sophomore year of high school when he

took a photography class to fulfill his arts

requirement. He picked up the techniques

quickly and enjoyed spending time in the

darkroom listening to music with his friends.

His teacher, Donna Russo, became a trusted

mentor and advisor. “I’ll still go to her and

show her what I did and see what she

thinks,” he says.

In college, Ryan, who graduated from the

University of Pittsburgh last year, bolstered

his photography skills by working for the

student newspaper. He recalls how covering

the sporting events was the most highly

prized assignment, and to be in the running

you had to be willing to shoot whatever else

was needed. “I was good at sucking up to

my bosses and taking things nobody else

wanted to take,” says Ryan. Shooting the

Backyard Brawl and other Pitt sporting

traditions deepened Ryan’s experience and

taught him much of what he needed to know

to enter the arena of professional sports

photography.“There’s nothing out there in

photography like it,” says Ryan of his chosen

specialty. “I’m a personable person but it’s

tough for me to say, ‘Move your head a little

to your left.’ In sports, the players aren’t

paying attention to me. You get great

reactions and great action.” The company

Ryan photographs for has a contract with the

Philadelphia Union soccer team, which, in

combination with high school sports, some

portraits and magazine work, keeps Ryan busy.

AFS, says Ryan, taught him to always ask

for help and use the resources around him.

Meeting with Brian Cassady three times a

week outside of class is what got him

through high school Spanish, he says, and

knowing how to advocate for himself put

him in a good position for college. Today he

still prefers to be upfront when something is

not working, rather than saying afterward,

“I don’t know why it didn’t work.”

Looking to the future, Ryan says nothing

could make him happier than taking

photographs for the rest of his life and

getting to travel. “I could be out in the

freezing cold and I wouldn’t care. I would

never trade it for sitting in an office all day.”

Ryan Sansom had always loved sportsbut never particularly excelled atthem. Tired of not being on the varsity level with his friends at AFS,he decided, “I’m not going to do thisanymore, I’m just going to take photos.” Using his father’s camera, hedid just that, and the response he gotwas resoundingly positive. “I reallyenjoyed helping out my friends andhaving my school appreciate what Idid,” says Ryan, who now works as a professional sports photographer in Philadelphia.

alumni in:

sports

RYAN SAMSON ’07Sports PhotographerPhiladelphia

2121

“If you’re not having fun how can you expect listeners tohave fun?” asks Ben Livingston, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh and the sports director of its student radio station 92.1 WPTS. “The way to do it right,” he says, “is toenjoy yourself and be excited to go into work every day.”

As well as working at the student station, Ben also produces radio

shows at least twice a week at 93.7 The Fan, a CBS radio station in

Pittsburgh. Add to that his double major in English writing and

economics statistics, and Ben is a busy man.

At the student station Ben is in charge of sports programming,

covering all Pitt athletics. When he’s not assigning regular shows,

he’s sending reporters on the road, coming up with games for the

station and mentoring the station’s hosts. Over at 93.7 The Fan, Ben

can be found on Thursday and Friday nights behind the glass running

the control board, “making sure the commercials play so we don’t

lose thousands of dollars,” advising hosts and handling technical

issues as they arise.

Ben is well aware of the stereotype of sports talk—the “Should Pete

Rose be in the Hall of Fame?” kind of chat—but he tries to find a way

to spice the show up, he says, and do something people will enjoy by

being unique and different. “It’s very much about making sure the

host is ready for the show,” he says. “You don’t want to get them in a

bad mood. If they’re touchy about a certain subject, you don’t want to

push it. You just need to give them the tools they need to do well.”

Being captain of the Varsity wrestling team at AFS helped prepare Ben

for his current role, he says. “It’s very hard when you’re in charge of a

student organization to motivate people, so I think being in a situation

like that and being in a place that encourages you to let people do their

own thing and helps them generate their own interests has really

helped a lot.”

One teacher in particular at AFS helped Ben pursue his interests, and

that was Upper School English Teacher Kristine Long. “She noticed a

passion I had but was shy about,” he says, “and she encouraged me to

pursue it.” By his senior year, Ben was a fixture on Smith Field, calling

out play by plays and keeping the crowd entertained at Varsity softball

games. “Having someone reach out to me and really encourage me

and make the dream happen was unbelievably big for me.”

When Adam Lefkoe traveled to games with the AFS Varsity basketball team, he would often joke around and“fake broadcast” the action. “You’re kind of good at that!”said his friends. Today, he’s even better. Adam is currentlythe sports anchor for WHAS TV in Louisville, Kentucky,as well as hosting his own radio show.

“I anchor and go out in the field and do reports,” says Adam. “I’m

working constantly, but it’s enjoyable for me because I love telling

stories. I think that part is sometimes lost in sports journalism. I

write everything myself and feel a lot of ownership.”

Adam credits AFS, and Upper School English Teacher Don Kaplan

in particular, with honing his ability to write. “It’s what’s most

important in my profession, and at AFS I really learned how to

write. That’s helped me a lot.”

Coming to AFS in tenth grade, from public school, Adam was struck

by the warmth of the community. Determined to be open to everything,

Adam, who describes himself as “definitely a clown” in high school,

also took pride in his work. He remembers Jordan Burkey’s physics

class being the first place where he wasn’t afraid to say he was smart.

In his senior year Adam played Varsity basketball alongside such

notable alums as Jason Love, Andrew Jones and Aaron Cohen.

Excited about the idea of a career in sports broadcasting, Adam

applied to the Si Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse

University. Though he didn’t make the cut initially, he did get into

Syracuse, and after a hard-working freshman year was admitted

to Newhouse.

After a post college stint at a rural TV station in Hastings,

Nebraska, Adam felt ready for anything. “When you work at a small

station you do everything. I was lead reporter, lead fill-in anchor,

sometimes even the news director.”

After picking up several awards and putting together an impressive

highlight reel, Adam got the job in Louisville, which he describes as

an incredible sports town. “You’ve got the Kentucky Derby. It’s one

of the birthplaces of boxing. And it’s a city that really cares about

sports and about the people that cover sports.” That’s not to say he

won’t try to come back to Philadelphia after his contract is up in a

year and a half. “I’m definitely thinking that might be a possibility,”

says the diehard Phillies and Eagles fan.

BEN LIVINGSTON ’08Radio Station Sports DirectorUniversity of Pittsburgh

ADAM LEFKOE ’04Sports AnchorLouisville, KY

22 ALUMNNI IN THE WORLD22

drop me off at the Abington Club at 7 a.m.

and pick me up at 8 p.m.” By 8th grade

Andrew was playing for the Upper School

Varsity golf team with Coach John Savage

helping him improve his game.

A golf scholarship to Temple followed and

Andrew learned how to balance his course

load with three to four hours of golf a day,

during the golf season. In the winter, he

hits balls at Temple’s indoor range in

Conshohocken. It has been at Temple,

Andrew says that he has ramped up his

mental game, whereas in high school he

was focused on mastering the fundamentals

and improving his golf swing.

A member of Huntingdon Valley Golf Club,

Andrew still sees Coach Savage every once

in a while. “He’s unbelievable,” says

Andrew. “He really helped me along.”

For the future, Andrew stays he’s still

weighing whether to turn pro. Right now, he

is working for a startup asset management

company. In the business world, he notes,

there’s a big upside to playing golf. “You

get to go out and play with people, get to

have some one-on-one time.”

It’s been quite a year for golfer Andrew Mason. As well as winning thePhiladelphia Open Golf Tournament,he took the State Amateur prize and qualified for the US Amateur Tournament. He also won the Patterson Cup and was named Playerof the Year in Philadelphia. As if thatwasn’t enough, he made the academic all-conference team at Temple University, where he will graduate in May with a double major in real estate and finance.

“It’s tough to win golf tournaments, no matter

what,” says Andrew, “You almost always lose,

so it’s nice to win. This has been by far my best

year. I worked really hard in the winter on my

putting and stuff like that and I got a little

smarter and more mature.” Golf, says Andrew,

is the ultimate game of strategy. Like chess,

but with more walking. “In golf you get

brutally penalized for poor strategy.”

Andrew, an AFS lifer, learned the game from a

friend a year or two older than him. “I asked if

I could go and play with him and I just kind of

lived at the golf course. My parents would

ANDREWMASON ’07GolferTemple University, Philadelphia

alumni in:

sportsThe last year has been an excitingone for writer Mat Johnson. Hismost recent novel, Pym, tells the tail of a failed academic who sails to Antarctica seeking the mythicalworld of Edgar Allen Poe’s onlynovel The Narrative of Arthur GordonPym of Nantucket. Described by critics as “blisteringly funny” and“uproarious and hard driving,” thenovel blends comedy, high adventureand searing social satire. Such wasthe response to the book that Mat,who teaches in the Creative Writing Program at the Universityof Houston, has been much in demand to give interviews and speak at conferences. We got in lineto talk to him.

OL: I know Pym wasn’t your first novel or published work but it did get a lot of

recognition. What has the last year

been like?

MJ: It’s been nice. Sometimes you write abook and they go to a lake and throw it in

the dark water and there’s barely a ripple

and I’ve had that happen, so to have a big

response has been very enjoyable. I’ve

been a published writer for 10 years, with

three novels and several non-fiction books

so I’ve seen books do well and not do well

and I prefer them to do well.

OL: I read that it took you nine years towrite Pym. How did the idea arise and what

was it like living with it for nine years?

MJ: I’ve gone around for the last yearspeaking about this, and I always seem to

give a different answer. I think it started

with a fascination with Antarctica and I

traced that back through Poe and once I

got into Poe I started looking at the text

and seeing racialized images. Poe’s book

is this challenge to so many writers. Jules

alumni in:

literature

23

Verne and several others had tried to write a

sequel but nobody had done one in a long

time and I became fascinated. The first

versions I tried to make more literal. It was

kind of like a 19th-century book and the result

was sort of like if you can imagine building a

Model T and taking it out on I 76 and getting

run over. I had to learn how to turn it into a

contemporary novel. So it went through a lot

of different rewrites. The book and I got

divorced about three times. I did not

maintain the faith. At year 6 I tried to walk

away from it. My wife and one of my best

friends said ‘You can’t walk away!’ At year 8

I called my agent and said ‘I can’t do it!’ and

she convinced me to do one more edit and

we’d take it to a publisher, and it turned out

that was it.

OL: Critics have talked about how you incorporate comedy and adventure. Is that a

hallmark of your writing, to get your reader

engaged with serious issues by using humor

and action?

MJ: You don’t get to be the writer you want tobe. You get to be the writer you are. I wanted

to write like Toni Morrison or William

Faulkner but it just didn’t work out. I didn’t

intend for it to be a funny book. All the

critics focused on the humor a lot, which

I was happy with. Sometimes it’s hard to

see what you have before you.

OL: A reporter called Pym “loony, disrespectful and sharp.” Does that

describe you as a high school kid at AFS?

MJ:When I was at AFS I was never a goodstudent, which is a great irony because

when I’m not writing and talking now I’m

teaching. I transferred in for junior year and

was there for junior and senior. When I was

in grade school I had gone to Greene Street

Friends and then I went to public high

school for two years. I’m a city guy and not

used to being in the suburbs, so it was a

different culture. I was also used to being

in a predominantly black environment.

The thing I got most out of at AFS was the

one-on-one relationships with teachers,

which I hadn’t had as a teenager. In a big

school you can just get written off. When I

got to AFS they had to do a lot of repair work

on me. I had a hard time focusing on things

I wasn’t directly interested in and at 16 that

was a pretty limited list of things. Luckily

because of what AFS is several teachers

instead of just getting annoyed actually

encouraged me. [Upper School English

Teacher] Kristine Long formed this book

club where we read different major works and

one of the first books we did was Catch 22.

That book had more influence on who I

am as a writer than anything else. People

like Larry Wilkins also worked with me. He

read the first stories I tried to write, which

I’m sure were torturous. I came out

feeling empowered.

I went to West Chester University, but I was

really driven by then. I worked harder than

ever, did a year at the University of Wales in

Swansea, and then went to Earlham College.

The kind of encouragement I got at AFS put

me on the right track. In fact, Larry and

Kristine were at my wedding.

At college I was just a literature major. I

didn’t do any story telling. And now I’m so

glad that’s what I did. Instead of focusing

on my voice, I was learning about literature.

When I graduated I got a Watson Fellowship

to travel around world. I had a remaining arts

credit that I needed to do and I did a creative

writing class at Temple University. After that, I

wrote for the next three years on my own and

then went to Columbia’s MFA program.

OL: You still have one more remaining connection to AFS I believe.

MJ: That’s right, I’m married to Meera Bowman, who I met at AFS. I worked on the

grounds crew during the summer and she

worked at AFSEP. We’ve been married for

13 years and have three small children. My

schedule is very hectic. I drop them off at

school at 8 and then I write until 11 and then

I work on my teaching and the day is usually

over at six. I also do a lot of speaking

engagements so I tend to steal any time that

I can to write. The thing is, nobody sits down

and writes 300 pages. You write two here,

three there.

MAT JOHNSON ’89WriterHouston

alumni in:

literature

Without poetry, says Princeton seniorCara Liuzzi, she might never havegotten into the Ivy League university.And without Upper School EnglishTeacher Mary Lynn Ellis, she mightnever have gotten into poetry.

Cara, who is majoring in English at

Princeton, and also pursuing a Creative

Writing Certificate, won the prestigious

Morris Croll Poetry Prize, awarded by

Princeton’s English Department for the best

poem, in her sophomore year. This spring

she read her poems alongside fiction writer

Jane Smiley and poet Mary Ruefle at

Princeton’s Creative Writing Reading Series.

Long before Mary Lynn transformed Cara’s

life as a poet in Upper School, she had been

introduced to the wonders of the form by

Fifth Grade Teacher Jane McVeigh Schultz.

Cara remembers being inspired by Jane’s

teaching and memorizing a poem for 5th

Grade Poetry Night by Naomi Shihab

Nye, a poet whose work she would

come to love in Upper School.

In Cara’s junior year, she found herself

in Mary Lynn’s English class. “She was

the first person who took me seriously

as a poet,” says Cara. “She was so

supportive. I can’t say enough great

things about Mary Lynn. I think she

does such a great job of exposing

everyone to a range of poetry. Jane and

Mary Lynn both really appreciate the

creativity that kids naturally have. Jane

gets kids at a really creative point when

they’re not embarrassed about anything,

and then Mary Lynn gets them when

they’ve gotten a little older and are able

to write detail and write with nuance a

little bit more.”

As Cara explains it, Mary Lynn happened

to catch her at just the right moment,

when she was really getting into writing

poetry. “I don’t think I would have

learned much at all about poetry without

her helping me refine my aesthetics.

I submitted poems as part of my

application to Princeton and wrote my

application essay about my life as a

poet. I later learned from a couple of

admissions people that they really liked

my poetry and that became a way for

them to get to know who I was.”

24 ALUMNNI IN THE WORLD24

CARA LIUZZI ’08PoetPrinceton University

Spice

“Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul’s blood,The land of spices, something understood.”—George Herbert

The Middle Ages were bland until explorers brought spices from India.Just salt, no curry or fennel seeds.No sage or sumac, no tarragon or cardamom.

Can you imagine never having tasted cinnamon? Imagine yourself tasting it for the first time.What haven’t you tasted before?I think of you, looking sideways

at me over the cutting board, knife poised in mid-chop, hands dampwith apple sheen, your close-lipped smile.I’ve had cobbler and pie, the warm syrup

of brown sugar cradling apple slices.What I haven’t tasted is the applein your hand—no nutmeg, no cinnamon.I have never tasted the bare apple

spiced only with the faint salt from your palms.

Cara Liuzzi

alumni in:

politicsAs busy as Charles is, especially with the

election season upon us, he made time to

chat with Oak Leaves about his life in politics

and his memories of AFS.

OL: Though most of your work is in DC, youstill write for the Philadelphia Tribune. Why?

CE: That’s a total labor of love. I grew upwith that newspaper.

OL: Through the work you do in all of yourdifferent media venues what do you see as

your overarching mission, your vocation?

CE: I have a love for politics. Over the pasttwo decades I’ve crafted myself as a major

political strategist, a communicator and

thinker as well. I’m in two worlds so to

speak, the one behind the scenes advising

individual candidates and also the public

work. My mission is all about making

people aware of the political process and

educating them about it. There’s a lot of

mis-education out there and that’s not a

good thing for a democracy.

One of the things AFS taught me is being

open to new ways of thinking, fresh

perspectives on a variety of critical issues.

There’s a lot of important things happening

in the world today in this country so it’s

really important for people to pay attention

to what’s going on in the headlines and I’m

really big on letting the larger audience know

the stuff that goes on behind the scene. I

think transparency is key in any democracy.

OL: Tell me the brief version of how you got from AFS to being a public figure in the

political arena.

CE: I went to college in DC [American University, before transferring to the

University of Maryland] and really immersed

myself. I interned on Capital Hill, became a

congressional staffer and then worked as

a speechwriter for Newt Gingrich. That

catapulted me in a big way. I transformed

myself from being a congressional staffer

to someone in the public eye.

OL: When did your interest in politicsemerge?

CE: I’ve always had a love for it. My formerteachers at AFS will tell you I was a political

animal back then. That was my adolescent

laboratory. Toward the end of Middle School

I started getting involved in extra curriculars

like Model UN, Operation Understanding

and the World Affairs Council and realized

it was something I was really good at.

OL: I know you started at AFS in fifth grade.What kind of a kid were you by high school?

CE: I was very curious and I liked to debate. I was very philosophical and idealistic and I

could be very outspoken. I’ve cooled down a

bit since then. I never really clashed with the

teachers because they encouraged open

discourse and that’s how I learned the

importance of it. I loved history, literature,

Latin and Greek. I particularly loved Ray

Schorle’s medieval history classes

AFS was where I learned public speaking

and built my confidence. I do radio and TV

almost every other day now. When I started

at AFS I didn’t have that kind of confidence.

I came from the public school system and

I was very shy and then I found out ‘Wow

I can actually talk to people.’ I’m a

communicator and a message person

and those first lessons I learned at AFS.

Charles Ellison, a political strategist and analyst with nearly two decades of applied expertise inpolitics, public policy, campaigns,elections and social media, is managing editor of Politic365.com,and the Washington correspondentfor The Philadelphia Tribune.

Charles has also provided advise to senior

ranking elected officials and state, local and

federal candidates over the years. Best

known as the Host of “The New School”

a weekly politics program on Sirius/XM

satellite radio, Charles is also the author of

an urban political thriller TANTRUM. He is

frequently featured as a political analyst on

Sirius/XM satellite radio, FOX News, and

Roll Call TV. Charles frequently guest hosts

“Stand Up w/ Pete Dominick” and “Press

Pool” on Sirius/XM’s all day politics channel

POTUS and he also works as a strategist for

DDCAdvocacy, a political messaging and

public affairs firm.

CHARLES ELLISON ’92Political Strategist and AnalystWashington, DC

25


confidence to go ahead and apply to Vassar

and the White House internship.”

When she had interned in Senator Spector’s

office, Maryrose remembers thinking, “I’m

going to go and experience the West Wing

TV show and it’ll be so exciting.” She was

disappointed to learn that real life was not

quite like that. So when she began at the

White House she kept her expectations in

check. “In fact,” she says, “it was just like

the show. People were so passionate and

worked so hard.”

“It’s kind of like a utility player position,” says Maryrose Myrtetus ofher job as assistant to the chief of staffof US Senator Tom Carper. “I’ll helpfacilitate the day, draft memos and correspondence, work with the scheduling team, sit in on legislativemeetings, supervise interns, a bunch of different things every day.”

Though the work can be high stress, it suits

Maryrose, and it’s not her first experience of

living and working on the Hill. The Vassar

graduate interned in Senator Arlen Spector’s

office while in college and last year she

interned at the White House in the Vice

President’s Chief of Staff’s office.

“That was a fantastic experience,” she says.

“Half of the time I was working with the Chief

of Staff’s office and the other half I was doing

research in the policy office of the Office of

the Vice President. Not everybody is as lucky

to get that kind of a dual experience. When

I started in January the policy office was

working on a huge speech launching a new

initiative in April so that’s what I devoted my

time to, and eventually that research turned

into a memo that turned into a speech. It

wasn’t just me, but it was really cool to be

part of it.”

Maryrose has always had a civic-minded

orientation. At AFS, which she attended from

the 10th grade, she served on the community

service committee and found herself loving

the work. At Vassar she was class president

and treasurer of her dorm, as well as serving

on a variety of different committees. After

graduating, she worked for a domestic

violence agency in Philadelphia.

The White House internship was extremely

competitive, with thousands of people

applying for just over 100 spots. “What I

learned through the process is you don’t get

what you don’t try for,” says Maryrose. “I am

so grateful to AFS for giving me the self

MARYROSE MYRTETUS ’05Assistant to the Chief of Staff for US Senator Tom CarperWashington, D.C.

alumni in:

politics

While Maryrose remembers many AFS

teachers fondly, in a larger sense she thinks

the School provided her with an internal

grounding that allows her to stay true to

herself and her values in times of stress and

pressure. “AFS also taught me to think and

listen to others before reacting, and that

serves me well when I’m trying to do lots

of things at once.”

“I am so grateful to AFS for giving me the self confidence to go ahead and apply to Vassar and the White House internship.”

27

Nobody ever said getting work as anactor in Los Angeles was easy. MaxKleinman found that out when hedrove across country five years ago inpursuit of his dream. Through hardwork and a bit of luck, though, he isgetting to fulfill that dream, thoughlike legions of his fellow actors he alsowaits tables to pay the bills.

While many of Max’s acting friends

gravitated to New York City and the theater

world after college, Max was interested

specifically in film and TV and to give that

a shot meant moving to LA. For his first

couple of years, Max, who graduated from

Drew University, took acting classes and

acted in films made by film school students.

For his first paid gig he received $25 to be

in an online sketch comedy. Web video, it

turns out, can be a means to getting into

the Actors Union, which otherwise is a

frustrating and difficult task. Max proceeded

to write, produce and star in a five-episode

web series called Friendzone that got him

his union eligibility as well as a lot of good

footage. More recently Max has fallen in

with a young production company called

Finite Films for whom he has played two

large roles, as well as co-written and

co-produced a short film.

Juggling a shooting schedule with his

waiting job at the trendy A-Frame Restaurant

takes some finessing. “It’s a lot of getting

shifts covered,” says Max. “For one film we

did 30 days of filming nights. That would

entail me going to work from 5 to midnight,

then hopping in the car, racing across town

and filming a fight scene or car chase or

dialogue until sunrise.”

The youngest of three AFS lifer siblings, Max

was first cast in a play in 7th grade, for Alice

in Wonderland. After that he was in every

show until he graduated. He kept himself

busy with other activities—the jazz band, the

chorus, sports—but for Max it was always

about the plays. When his soccer team won

the FSL championship for the first time in

20 years, he remembers running over to the

theatre and asking Theatre Teacher Megan

Hollinger, “We just won. Can we celebrate for

half an hour and then come to rehearsal?”

Being exposed to the strong writing program

at AFS has been very helpful, says Max,

in college and beyond in terms of both

creative writing on screenplays and in being

able to read others’ work critically. Having

real life examples of professional theater

people as teachers was inspiring to Max,

sending a clear message that this was an

actual possibility.

Max hasn’t turned his back on theater

acting. He was recently cast in a play and

will start rehearsals soon. “But I’d never

done any film acting before I came out here

and didn’t feel I was properly equipped to

decide which to pursue without first giving

camera acting an honest try. Only now am I

getting to the point where I can start to say

whether acting itself is something I enjoy

or not, and I’m finding that I do.”

alumni in:

theatre

MAX KLEINMAN ’03ActorLos Angeles


and she had also gained experience as a

prop designer and an assistant costume

designer.

When she got to college Whitney was

stunned by how many students had only

known high school theater as an extra

curricular activity taught by an English

teacher. To have been taught by professional

actors with connections in the theater

community, was something “you really can’t

put a price on,” says Whitney. “Unbeknownst

to me, I was going to a school doing

something so rare and special.”

Having teachers she called by their first

names, who gave her their home phone

numbers, helped make Whitney feel

Acting is not the only option for those with theatrical dreams, and for Whitney Estrin it turned out not to be the right option. Though she hadstudied theater at Drew Universityand received positive feedback on her forays into acting, she realized the lifestyle required a certain kind of personality, one she wasn’t sure she possessed.

It was a hard decision, says Whitney, but

having done internships that included work

on the administrative side she discovered that

doing that kind of work incorporated a lot of

creativity, problem solving and strategy. After

earning an MFA in Theater Management at

Yale University, she felt sure the producing

side of things was the right place for her.

On graduating from the program Whitney

took her current job running a seven million

dollar capital campaign at the Shakespeare

Theater Festival of New Jersey. Whitney has

also done some freelance producing in

Manhattan and is on the board of Space

on Ryder Farm, an organization that offers

fellowships and residencies for artists who

want to work on their projects in a peaceful,

rustic space.

Whitney’s career goal is to be managing

director of a non-profit theater. In most

theaters, she explains, there is an art director

and a managing director. “Those two people

are partners, the left and the right side of the

brain if you like. In that model it’s imperative

that the managing director understands the

psyche of the artist and knows how to allow

for artistic freedom while ensuring fiscal

responsibility.”

An AFS lifer, Whitney was introduced to all

things performance related by Debbie Pizzi,

who gave Whitney her first role in a play in

first grade. By her senior year she was

stage-managing the Middle School musical

WHITNEY ESTRIN ’98Capital Campaign ManagerShakespeare Theater Festival of New Jersey

alumni in:

theatre

comfortable talking to adults. “Now,” she

says, “when I’m asking people 40 years

my senior for twenty five or fifty thousand

dollars I attribute that level of comfort

to AFS.”

At AFS, she says, “we didn’t spend a lot of

time in elementary school learning our times

tables, but we were so focused on learning

how to solve problems and how to tell a

good story. And that’s really all that theater

is, and the business side is all about

problem solving. So I track that back all

the way to first and second grade.”

29

When Ben Weitz ’was trying to comeup with a way to help his eleventhgrade students with their writing, he remembered something that hadhelped him at AFS and handed outwriters’ notebooks, similar to one hehad used in Anne Field’s class in fifthgrade. That’s just one of the lessonsfrom AFS that has helped Ben navigate a challenging year as ateacher in a public school in Washington, D.C.

Being a teacher was never part of the plan

for Ben when he graduated from AFS after

attending the school since kindergarten.

While at Middlebury College, though, he

became involved with several educational

initiatives, including an organization called

College for Every Student that helps

underserved students on the path to college.

Ben became the president of the Middlebury

chapter of the organization.

His interest spurred, he signed up with DC

Teaching Fellows, a highly selective program

that trains recent college graduates to

become high-impact teachers in schools

serving high-need students throughout the

D.C. area. Ben prepared to become a fulltime

teacher by spending his post graduation

summer teaching ninth grade English

summer school for students who had been

in prison or juvenile hall. “It was pretty much

trial and error,” says Ben, “and it was rough

at times. I had a lot of experiences where I’d

try to call home to talk to a student’s parents

and I’d get a parole officer.” More than

teaching them English, he says, it was about

teaching them the benefits of school.

With his summer immersion experience

under his belt, Ben was ready to enter the

classroom fulltime, while working toward his

teacher’s license. The large urban school Ben

teaches in is far removed from the small

community of AFS, but though class sizes

hover around 30 students, the school has

made an effort to break things down with

smaller learning communities, similar to

advisories at AFS, says Ben.

Seventy percent of the students speak

English as a second language, having

recently come to the US from Cameroon or

Central America, so Ben is teaching them

how to speak and write in English. On the

tennis team he coaches, his 20 players

come from 9 or 10 different countries.

“I’m still learning new things every day, and

I still make mistakes,” says Ben. “When

I’ve been struggling this year I’ve been in

close contact with [former teachers] Andrew

Bickford, Don Kaplan and Mary Lynn

Ellis, who have given me a lot of good

suggestions. Mary Lynn sent me packets

of material and Don has taken me out for

drinks at the Drake Tavern to tell me his

philosophy on education.”

Because a sense of community was so

important to Ben at AFS, he is trying to build

something similar at his public school,

attending all his students’ basketball or

football games and performances and giving

them his cell phone number. He was

fascinated to discover that every faculty

meeting at his school starts off with a

Quaker reading, though the school is non-

religious. “I brought that to my classroom,”

he says, “giving students the opportunity to

step into the circle.”

Ben says he is reminded of AFS every day as

he teaches. The writers’ notebooks of course

bring to mind Anne Fields. When students

come into his room at lunchtime to do

homework or talk, he remembers the lunch

periods he spent in Jordan Burkey’s room

playing Temple of Doom.

Perhaps his biggest revelation in his year

of teaching has been this: “I remember

thinking that teachers worked from 7:45

in the morning to 3:45 in the afternoon.

I realize now that’s not the case.”

alumni in:

education

BEN WEITZ ’0711th Grade English Teacher in a Public SchoolWashington, D.C.

Barbara Ruch has been a pioneer inthe field of Japanese studies for morethan 40 years. She is ProfessorEmerita of Japanese Literature andCulture at Columbia University and Director and Founder of the university’s Institute for MedievalJapanese Studies. It’s the work she’sbeen doing in the last decade, though,that excites her the most.

For the past 10 years Professor Ruch has

been focusing much of her attention on two

projects: establishing a classical Japanese

music curriculum and instrumental

ensemble at Columbia and restoring and

preserving Japan’s 13 remaining Imperial

Buddhist convents.

Traditional Japanese classical music, says

Professor Ruch, had, until recently, all but

ceased to exist in Japan. When the country

opened to the west 120 years ago, the

ensuing westernization led to traditional

Japanese musical instruments being banned

from schools and a western curriculum

taking over. Professor Ruch realized that

everything about Japan is being taught in US

universities except the music, and since

Columbia has a long history of musical

instruction, she has been working on

establishing there an interdepartmental

program where students can be trained by

masters from Japan. In Tokyo she is working

on founding a conservatory of Japanese

music on the scale of Juilliard that can

become a mecca for students of Japanese

instruments from around the world.

On a recent trip to Japan, Professor Ruch

met with the presidents of several of Japan’s

top companies to talk about the music

project. She also had meetings to discuss

her other passion, saving the imperial

Buddhist convents of Japan. Founded

thousands of years ago by women of the

Imperial family, these convents were also

cultural centers where the most elite women

of the day wrote poetry, painted and

preserved Japanese culture. Many of the

convents were destroyed after the 1868 break

between the Imperial family and Buddhism.

Only 13 survived and are maintained on a

shoestring by one or two nuns each. The

challenge now is not only to restore the

remaining buildings and their many

treasures, but also to ensure that cultured

women with knowledge of Buddhist rituals

can be found to succeed the present

Abbesses. “The ongoing viability of these

gorgeous convents depends on it,” says

Professor Ruch.

Professor Ruch’s abiding interest in Japan

began several years after she graduated from

AFS. A Philadelphia Quaker and member of

Abington Monthly Meeting, she enrolled

at Earlham College and then joined an

American Friends Service Committee

group that was repairing war damage to

orphanages and nursing homes in Japan.

For Professor Ruch, it was a life changing

experience. “The people are just so cultured

and wonderful you can’t help love being

there,” she says, “but I was lonely and I

couldn’t speak Japanese well so I went to a

big bookstore and started reading Japanese

literature in translation.” When she lit on

Arthur Waley’s translation of The Tale of

Genji, she was astonished. “I was a double

major in English literature and social

psychology and I said, ‘Wow, this doesn’t

follow any of the rules I learned for what a

novel is or what poetry is about.’ It had an

entirely different emotional language and

structure, but it was a great masterpiece.

I figured I had to find a way to read it in

the original.”

Returning to the United States, Professor

Ruch entered the master’s program at the


alumni in:

education

BARBARA RUCH ’50Professor Emerita of Japanese Literature and CultureColumbia University, New York City

University of Pennsylvania to study

the Japanese and Chinese languages.

Knowing that one of the biggest names

in Japanese literature studies, Donald

Keene, was at Columbia at that time,

Professor Ruch applied for a Ford grant

to go there for a doctorate and keep

studying Japanese literature. “I had no

idea what I wanted to do,” she says, but

she ended up being a professor, first at

Harvard and then at Penn, where she

established the first institute for Medieval

Japanese studies. “It was just one move

after another chasing what was thrilling

and beautiful,” she says.

While studying for her doctorate at

Columbia she returned to Japan and

studied for a year and a half at Kyoto

University where, as she puts it, “I got

rid of my street Japanese and learned

something more suitable for a scholar.”

After she gained tenure at Columbia,

Professor Ruch made an arrangement

with Professor Keene that they would

each teach half a year in New York and

then go to Japan for the other half of the

year. She got spring and he got fall.

“If there’s anything that seems to have

characterized me,” says Professor Ruch,

“It’s that I was always trying to work in an

area that had been neglected or avoided

or not noticed. The last thing I wanted to

do was to become one more scholar of

The Tale of Genji or do something

everybody else was doing.”

She adds that her two current projects are

what she is most proud of because they

will continue after her lifetime. “Rather

than making a name for myself, I’ve

wanted to be an institution builder,” she

says. “I want to institute things so that

they will go on without me in areas that

were neglected, and unjustly so.”

Russell Nadel teaches music in themiddle school at the Potomac Schoolin McLean, Virginia, an independentschool on a 90-acre campus close toWashington, DC. He learned his profession, though, in a very differentsetting, at a large public school with a90 percent minority population. It was that experience, says Russell,

that made him into the teacher he is today.

“It was very challenging, but I couldn’t have

learned anywhere else,” he says. “That

school had some real problems, but some

real strengths, too, and by the time I left

those kids had built an incredible skill set on

their instruments and were great musicians.”

When Russell himself was at school (he

came to AFS in seventh grade), he was an

enthusiastic and eclectic musician. “I’ve

always been a musical omnivore, and at

AFS there were an amazing number of

opportunities for growth for someone

globally interested in music.” As well as

playing the piano, Russell taught himself

guitar, participated in jazz band, spent time

in the keyboard lab and was a member of

the chorus and the madrigal singers.

Russell was drawn to composing, and that’s

how he got his first inkling that teaching

might be his profession. Having written a

piece for the band, Russell was given

permission by music teacher Chris Buzby

to conduct it. “It was my first experience of

waving my arms and having to go through

the rehearsal process.” In Upper School he

also started a tutoring club and discovered

how much he enjoyed being able to help

younger students.

Though composing still drew him, Russell

was reminded by his mother how much he

liked working with people. At the Peabody

Institute of Johns Hopkins University in

Baltimore, Russell completed a bachelor’s

and a master’s degree in music composition

and a bachelor’s degree in music education.

In his teaching, Russell practices a pedagogy

called Orf Schulwerk, which integrates

movement and poetry into music and

incorporates mallet instruments, recorders

and hand drums. One of the key tenets of

Orf is the sheer power of creativity, which

speaks to the composer in Russell and

inspires him in his work with students. “It’s

such a thrill for me to watch my students

compose and gain ownership of material,

to see them growing more competent and

learning to improvise.”

Russell also gains satisfaction from watching

minds open. “One of my passions is

teaching music from other countries. When

I arrived they just wanted to sing songs they

heard on radio. ‘Part of my responsibility,’ I

told them, ‘is to open your minds, to let you

hear music you would never have run into in

your life.’ I believe they’re richer for it.”

31

RUSSELL NADEL ’01Middle School Music Specialist, The Potomac SchoolMcLean County, VA

For restaurant owner Marshall Green,sustainability has been a way of lifefrom his earliest memories. Growingup on a corn farm in Plymouth Meeting, Marshall, who was homeschooled for much of his childhood,always had a vegetable garden and remembers his mother canning andpreserving jar upon jar of produce. By eighth grade he knew he wanted to go to culinary school, mostly, hesays, because he saw that the table was where people came together andbonded, and “the better the food, the better the bond.”

At his Northern Liberties restaurant Café

Estelle, where he serves breakfast, brunch

and lunch, Marshall is committed to being as

sustainable as possible. “I feel that I have an

opportunity to spend a significant amount of

food dollars in the right direction,” he says.

“Whereas an individual buys for themselves

or their family, we buy for the 750 people we

feed every week and make a bit more of an

impact when we use high quality foods and

support local agriculture.”

Marshall relies on a handful of suppliers

including Lancaster Farm Fresh, a

cooperative of farmers. In raised beds

outside the restaurant he grows green

beans, Swiss chard, beets, blueberries,

tomatoes and peppers, as well as herbs. At

his South Philadelphia home he also grows

an abundance of vegetables, including basil

in his basement.

When Marshall entered AFS in the tenth

grade he realized he needed social time with

people his own age. Being homeschooled

and working for his father in his garden

center (Primex in Glenside), Marshall found

that most of his friends were twice his age.

His earlier experience of public school had

left him confused. “I didn’t really understand

the disrespect that was shown to teachers. It

didn’t seem to make sense that someone in

a position of authority could be treated so

badly.” The classroom atmosphere at AFS

he found much more congenial, though he

says his “alternative” view of education

caused him to butt heads occasionally with

his teachers. Anxious to get out in the real

world, Marshall was nonetheless grateful to

meet people at AFS.

After graduating from the New England

Culinary Institute, Marshall worked at some

of Philadelphia’s top restaurants, including

Fork, Django and Meritage, before starting

his own venture. Though running a

restaurant is a tough profession, Marshall

finds it rewarding, especially when a dish is

a particular hit with a customer. “I was

watching a girl taking her first bite of a

dish I’d made—it was gnocci with Brussels

sprouts, dates, lamb pancetta and

gorgonzola—and she closed her eyes and

just sort of smiled. Food is transporting,

transcendent, it can take you to a memory

or a place and it can make you happy and

take over your entire body.”


alumni in:

food

MARSHALL GREEN ’99Restaurant OwnerPhiladelphia

When Jenn Mentzer saw MichelleObama on television talking aboutchildren’s nutrition, she realized shewas on her way to finding her nextcalling. A chef and caterer on CapeCod, Jenn has had a successful careerin the food industry and is currentlythe director of catering and cateringchef for Mac’s Seafood in Wellfleet.

As a lifelong foodie who remembers

childhood summers on the Cape where there

was “always something from the garden on

the table,” Jenn knows the difference access

to fresh, healthy food can have in a young

person’s life.

Poking around on the Chefs Move to

Schools website, Jenn saw that the

organization, which the First Lady had

mentioned, was pairing up chefs with

schools. Jenn jumped aboard and partnered

with her local elementary school, where she

began cooking a monthly fish lunch. The

seafood company whose catering operation

she runs provided the fish. Pretty soon she

was experimenting to find healthy

alternatives to some of the commodity foods

that were regularly delivered to the school.

Recently, she made a “chocolate hummus”

with dates, black beans and agave nectar.

“We did a tasting and put it on graham

crackers and the kids loved it,” she says.

“My next challenge is sweet potato

whoopee pies.”

Jenn’s family has a foundation whose focus

is funding programs for kids. When she’s

not catering elaborate events at museums,

yacht clubs and private homes, Jenn is also

involved in the Wellfleet locavore scene,

participating in “foraged food” dinners,

where she makes such treats as rose petal

meringues and chocolate truffles with wild

blueberries from her garden.

An AFS lifer, Jenn remembers spending her

elementary school years in the Triangle

Building. In her junior year she traveled to

Greece for a cultural experience and for her

senior project she worked on a farm in West

Virginia. With a graduating class of just 34

fellow students, Jenn, whose strongest

subjects were art and languages, admits

she was itching to graduate and enter the

real world.

A resident of Cape Cod for more than 30

years, Jenn enjoys the “controlled chaos”

of clam bakes and weddings and the

satisfaction that comes from introducing

children to home grown, healthy food.

33

JENN MENTZER ’76ChefCape Cod, MA

Artist Ellen Kahn’s connections withAFS are long and deep. A lifer, she returned to Abington Friends in the1990s to teach art in the LowerSchool. She now lives in New YorkCity with her photographer husband,splitting her time between painting in her studio and training as a psychoanalyst/psychotherapist.

Ellen moved to New York when she was 39,

mostly to pursue her painting career. “I don’t

think I would have been brave enough

earlier,” she says. Painting on canvas and

on paper, Ellen explores the convergence of

the natural and manmade world, order and

disorder, instinct/intuition and intellect.

She has shown her work regularly

throughout the United States and Mexico

in both solo and group exhibitions.

Teaching has been a constant over the years

for Ellen. She has been an adjunct faculty

at Lesley University in Boston in the

Graduate School of Creative Studies for

many years. In New York City, she has taught

art and aesthetic education at the prestigious

Lincoln Center Institute and at the 92nd

St. Y. When she reflects on her teaching

experiences, though, it is the time at AFS,

she says, that was the most rewarding. Ellen

had been working as a graphic designer,

before graduating with an MFA in painting

from the University of Pennsylvania.

“Coming back to AFS after so many years

was weird,” says Ellen, who had been in the

Triangle Building when she was in Lower

School at AFS. “But I knew how to use

Quaker education and I knew what silence

was about. I loved the Lower School faculty

and it was an amazingly creative place.”

Coming back to Philadelphia, Ellen also got

to reconnect with her own beloved Lower

School art teacher Jan Stone, who had

nurtured Ellen’s interest in art from a

young age.

Part of what made teaching in AFS’s Lower

School so rewarding for Ellen was the

interaction with families, and that instinct

led her ultimately to her decision to train to

become a psycholanalyst/psychotherapist. It

was while working on a painting series about

Alice in Wonderland that the idea began to

take hold. “I relate to and enjoy the point of

view of a young child in the world,” she says.

“I love the idea that Alice gets small and

large and I started to think more about

dreams and psychology.”

Ellen decided to take a class at The National

Psychological Association of Psychoanalysis

and really enjoyed it. “I’ve always been

interested in people and their stories and

what makes us tick, and having my paintings

affect people. I like the way that paintings

speak to people without language.”


ELLEN KAHN ’79Artist New York City

alumni in:

arts

Next time you pick up a copy of Metropolitan Home or Martha Stewart Living and flip to a gorgeousphoto of an effortlessly beautiful living room you might well be lookingat the work of New York based photographer Peter Murdock.

Peter has established quite a name for

himself shooting photographs for world-

renowned designers and architects, as well

as such magazines as Veranda, Elle Décor,

InStyle, Traditional Home and House Beautiful.

His journey toward his current success has

not been without its twists and turns, though.

Peter set out to be a filmmaker, and that’s

what he went to school for at Philadelphia’s

University of the Arts, intending to minor in

photography. There, two professors got Peter

fired up about photography and helped him

make contacts in New York City.

While still at art school, Peter began taking

pictures of models and began to get work.

He also started doing internships in New York,

commuting back and forth on the train. “I

think it’s really important,” says Peter, “to

apprentice yourself to somebody, to do those

internships. It’s how you learn the business

and develop your networking skills.”

Instead of heading straight for Manhattan

when he graduated, though, Peter went to Los

Angeles for a year. “I went because I’d never

been,” he says. “I thought I’d give it a try.

I thought there’s got to be some fashion

happening out there. Nothing happened at

all! It was basically a year off after 22 years of

schooling.” Still, while he was there Peter

continued picture on his own and sending

them back to Sax, Bloomingdales and other

clients in New York.

Back in New York, Peter became a busy,

successful fashion photographer, with Perry

Ellis as a major client. “For some reason,”

he says, “something wasn’t clicking. I don’t

know if it was the community or that it

was too competitive.” When he got an

assignment to shoot for House Beautiful,

he felt more at ease, he says, more true to

himself. Having found his niche, Peter has

stuck with that direction and enjoys the

creativity it involves, as well as the travel.

While his home and studio are in Chelsea,

he travels frequently throughout the US and

on shoots around the world.

On a typical magazine shoot, Peter will be

accompanied by his digital technician and

two assistants. “It’s always better not to

have the homeowner there,” says Peter, since

furniture is often moved around, or brought

in from other rooms to create a beautiful

composition. “There’s a big difference, too,”

he says, “Between what the camera sees and

what your two eyes see. It took a while for me

to get used to that coming a from a fashion

background. Now I know how to do it, but

it’s still a real team effort. That effortless look

we create, there’s a lot that goes into it.”

Keeping up with technology is a constant for

Peter, and a far cry from his memories of

developing film in his bathroom darkroom as

a child. At AFS for his junior and senior year,

Peter, who had previously been at a boarding

school in New Hampshire, formed lasting

friendships and enjoyed his experience.

“I think they really helped me forge my

independence,” he says. “They allowed

individuality and encouraged that.” His only

regret is that he never spoke in Meeting for

Worship. “I wanted to, but I never did.

Looking back I should have. There was

no judgment.”

And Peter’s advice for young people just

starting out? “Just enjoy what you do

because it really fills up your time and it’s

your life, so follow your bliss and have fun.”

35

PETER MURDOCK ’86Photographer New York City

36

60th Reunion

REUNION CHAIRGeralyn Roden ’52: [email protected]

Evelyn Steelman Doane writes, “While I amkept very busy as a real estate broker on Cape

Cod, I am currently in Naples, Florida,for a

few months enjoying the sunshine and

playing lots of golf. With the wonders of

technology I have sold several homes on

the Cape while down here as well as having

obtained some listings. I feel so fortunate to

be involved in such an exciting profession

while having so much fun!”

55th Reunion

REUNION CHAIRLiz Cole ’55: [email protected]

1961Susie Vansant Bartz writes, “I’ve enjoyed myrenewed contacts with classmates after our

wonderful 50th reunion in May and hope

always to welcome visitors here in Santa

Barbara. Husband Jarry and I now await the

arrival of our third grandson, to be followed

by a trekking tour of the mountains of

northern Spain, and other hiking in

California’s coastal and Sierra Nevada ranges.

Back at home, I stay busy leading geology

field trips outdoors and occasionally join Jarry

on the badminton court. Every day is a gift

and an opportunity!”

52

57

Bonnie Drummond Gross writes, “Soon I amleaving Florida to return to Newtown Square,

PA. I’m still active on the Board at the Main

Line Art Center and continue to exhibit at the

Muse Gallery in Philadelphia. Painting is my

passion, but I’m really in love with my two

new grandchildren, Winslow 2, and Hamilton

5 months. My other loves—husband Ken, all

of our children and grandchildren, and the

Girls (two golden retrievers)—complete our

happy family for which I am very grateful!

50th Reunion

REUNION CHAIRAnn Alexander ’62:[email protected]

1968Becky Van Buren continues to enjoy being

the Lead Art Teacher at Mackintosh Academy,

an IB pre-K through 8th school in Littleton,

appreciating family time, Bella and Darcy

(dogs), workouts at the gym and her

over-30-years Book Club friends who

continue to read and meet every month!

1969Robin Becker writes, “I continue to teach

creative writing at Penn State and this year

will serve as a judge for PA Poetry Out Loud.

Last year, as the Penn State Laureate, I

traveled the Commonwealth, visiting

branch campuses & bringing the good

news—poetry.”

62

40th Reunion

REUNION CHAIRKathy Lanning Saporito ’72 and Eileen Dunkleberger ’72: [email protected]

Lynda Ann Martin Paquette writes, “We aredoing well here in Alaska. Our small lodging

business (Angels Rest on Resurrection Bay),

is in the final growth phase, putting the

dressing touches on our last building “The

Gathering House,” enabling us to become

a small retreat center. My husband Paul,

classmate Lisa Nuttall and I founded a small

charity Alaskan & Aging Neighbors Giving

Equal Loving Support and Care, Inc. (AK

ANGELS Care, Inc.). I miss the many

wonderful people of Abington Friends School

and Meeting. The beauty of Alaska, the

abundance of wildlife and the joy of

grandchildren keep me fairly well distracted! :-)

Hope to hear about the upcoming reunion!”

1975Marci Abramowitz Goldshlack writes, “I amdoing well. Having fun with my twin boys, as

they turn 14 in March. Still enjoying my work

as a corporate trainer. In my spare time I have

been doing a bit of stand up comedy, as a

graduate from Helium’s Comedy Academy.

You may catch me at some local open mics

throughout Montgomery County, or

participating in some events at Helium. I

have attached a family pic of my husband and

sons on our recent trip to Denver, where my

sister, Shari lives.” (see photo top right)

72

classnotes

37

David Thomas writes, “I am in my 24th year as a Grade 5 science teacher at Friends’

Central School. My wife Deb teaches reading

in our lower school. We both run a day camp

for children aged three years to six years, at

Friends’ Central’s lower school. Our oldest

daughter Amy is an assistant kindergarten

teacher in Virginia. Rebecca, our second

oldest daughter is a sophomore studying

computer science at Harvey Mudd and her

twin brother David is studying and working

part time.”

1976Leeanne Rebic Hay writes, “I have lived inthe Dallas, Texas area for 25 years now. It has

been a wonderful place to raise a family and

have a family business. This past year, our

company received its North Central Texas

Regional Certification Agency as a Woman-

Owned minority business, one of only

two in the field of Commercial Plumbing

Construction. As the CEO and VP of

Operations, it has been a perilous time for

small businesses in the last 4 years. I am

proud that we have survived and our terrier

tough company will be celebrating our 24th

year in business this July. I am enjoying

keeping up with classmates via

Facebook...such a wonderful way to rekindle

the best memories and in retrospect,

understand more about one another then

from where we are now.”

1977Mary Wells Ogden has been teaching 1stgrade for the past 14 years at The Pingry

School. She has been in teaching and doing

Administration work in education since 1983!

She has two children ages 20 & 18, one

attends Rhodes College in Memphis TN

and the other is a senior in High School at

Pingry. She has been married for 22 years to

Henry Ogden, of Short Hills NJ. She has also

been a service-learning chaperone for the

past two years to South Africa to build and

refurbish a classroom at The Zuurbekom

School in Randfontain, and is also teaching

teachers how to teach in partnership with

Global Literacy Programs. She is on the

Board of Directors for The Summit Public

Library and City Committee member for the

Summit Republicans and was the former

Chairman of the Party from 2004- 2008.

30th Reunion

REUNION CHAIRHeidi Miller Garnick ’82: [email protected]

Kerry Pease-Coble is the owner of Art Matters Studio in Lancaster, PA. At her

studio, she teaches art to children, provides

Mommy and Me classes, Home School

education, adult craft classes, art camps and

holds “Arty Parties” for children’s birthdays

and group events. You can see all the

goings on at her studio at Facebook.com/

artmattersstudio.

1985Mark Green writes, “Over the winter holidays, members of the Class of 1985

gathered at classmate Ben Barnett’s studio in

Northern Liberties (www.mediabureau.com)

to reminisce and reconnect.” (see photo below)

(l to r back row) Marc Perry, Benjamin F.

Barnett, Diane Craig, Christie Michener

Corallo, Mark R Green, Carla Fisher and

Jason Charles Walker. front row: Dana Bower,

Rebecca Passon Dampf, Lisa Reeves-Jones,

Jill Neilson, Jacqueline Grant

Scott Krase writes, “The Krase family has relocated to London. So far, everyone is

really excited to be attending proper British

schools and enjoying this amazing experience!”

82

25th Reunion

REUNION CHAIRBob Topkis ’87 and Gary Carter ’87:[email protected] and [email protected]

20th Reunion

REUNION CHAIRMichelle Yorkman ’92 and Molly Foley ’92:[email protected] and [email protected]

1993Alisa Ruby Bash and her husband Isaac welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Scarlett, born

on November 22, 2011. Both are doing great!

Jason Pizzi writes, “I’m currently working onthe road as a stage manager with Cirque du

Soleil’s Michael Jackson The Immortal World

Tour. The show is currently playing arenas in

North America, and scheduled to go to

Europe in the fall of 2012.”

1994Missy Kosmin Renfermarried Brian Renferon December 18, 2010 and they recently

welcomed their son Tyler Benjamin Renfer

on September 8, 2011. Missy’s daughter

Marley just turned 6 in January and Missy

and Brian are currently living in Blue Bell.

Brian and Missy are both teachers. Brian

teaches 7th Grade Science at Lower Merion

School District and Missy teaches 3rd grade

at Juniata Park Academy.

1996Taryn Sklenar Fogg writes, “Jared and I justhad our 3rd child on mother’s day May 8,

2011. Shelby Lynn Fogg joined her two

brothers Austin, 10 and Tyler 2 1/2. We are

doing well our 40-acre horse farm in

southern NJ. Austin is very active in midget

football and midget wrestling. Last year

he won his 64 lb weight bracket for our

tri-county area. This year we hope to win

more tournaments. I completed my masters

in education in 2010 and I am currently

looking for a job as a school counselor in NJ.”

87

92

38 CLASSNOTES

Almost 2 decades after singing a romantic

duet onstage in the Josephine Muller

Auditorium, Karen Meshkov and Matt Pillischer are real-life sweethearts gettingmarried in July of 2012! In a nod to the

Quaker influence imparted to them, they’ll be

married in the Race Street Meetinghouse in

Center City Philadelphia. Among the bridal

party are Sunshine McBride, Nikki (Rubin)

Waxman, and Clark Loro. Karen is the 5th

generation proprietor of her family’s

Philadelphia Eyeglass Labs company. Matt

is a lawyer /advocate who just completed

the documentary, Broken On All Sides, a

movie that focuses on systemic racism in

the criminal justice system, and will begin

a film tour this Spring. They live in the

Fairmount section of Philadelphia and still

sing duets together.

15th Reunion

REUNION CHAIRJared Solomon ’97: [email protected]

1998Jamie Bromberg Tretola writes, “I have takensome time off from teaching to stay at home

with my beautiful children. Alyssa is turning 4

in June and Daniel will be 2 in September. My

little munchkins have brought nothing but

pure joy into our lives. I feel so blessed.

I hope all my fellow classmates are doing

great!” (see photo below)

2000Ryan Foley writes, “I recently completed amaster’s degree in Comparative Law,

Economics and Finance at the International

University College in Turin, Italy. It’s a great

program that focuses on understanding

the economic and legal foundations of

globalization. Leading on from that, I’m

97

currently enrolled in a master’s degree in

Social Anthropology at the University of

Oxford, where I am focusing my research on

how people interact with the rhetoric of

economic policies and currently waiting to

hear back about a PhD application to

continue studying here. Meanwhile, I’m

also working part time at Nielsen in

marketing research, so staying busy and

enjoying life in Europe!

2001Cherine Morsi writes, “I am happy to announce that this semester I am student

teaching and finishing up my last semester

of my master’s program at Chestnut Hill

College. I will be graduating in May with my

Masters in Education and my elementary

education teaching certification. I am currently

working as an Associate at Wilmington

Friends School in a kindergarten classroom

continuing my love of Quaker schools.”

10th Reunion

REUNION CHAIRBecca Bubb ’02: [email protected]

2003Asher Steinberg will graduate from Georgetown Law in May. This fall he will

begin a one-year clerkship for Judge Jerome

A. Holmes of the United States Court of

Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Asher will

draft some of the judge’s opinions. He will

be living in Oklahoma City.

2004Arin Shoemaker recently graduated LasalleUniversity in September 2011 with a master’s

in Clinical and Criminal Counseling and will

be a licensed psychologist by May 2012. She

is currently working for an adoption agency

in Philadelphia and plans to continue

her education at University of Pennsylvania

for her Phd.

2005Alana Blumenthal writes, “In June 2011, aftercompleting my term as Assistant Curator at

the National Mining Museum, I began my

current position at the Loudoun Museum

as the Curator and Collections Manager.”

02

Claire Kaplan taught last year in the Philadelphia school district, then spent

some time this fall at the Occupy Wall

Street protests. She is currently interning

at Sanctuary One, a care farm for rescued

animals in Oregon.

Maryrose Myrtetus writes, “I am working inthe U.S. Senate for Senator Tom Carper of

Delaware. I love living in DC and from time

to time I run into AFS alumni down here.

I’m still dating Matt Nunn (AFS ’05) and we

are excitedly helping prepare for the wedding

of my sister, Liz ’07, and Jeff Kahn ’06 in

September 2012.”

Ariella Singer writes, “I currently live inDurham, NC, and am graduating from

Duke University School of Nursing in May

and plan to begin Duke’s Family Nurse

Practitioner program in the fall of 2012.”

2006Rachel Gitlevich writes, “I’m currently working at an animation studio in NY,

Flickerlab, on TV content. I’ve worked on

Comedy Central’s Ugly Americans before

then, and completed a music video for

Amanda Palmer and Jason Webbley on their

album titled ‘Evelyn Evelyn.’ Another piece

of mine won first place at a Project 21

screening ‘Shorts and Shots.’ Go Uarts

art and theater departments!”

5th Reunion

REUNION CHAIRLiz Myrtetus ’07 and Lindsey Garrison ’07:[email protected] and [email protected]

Aleks Krutainis writes, “Directly after graduation, I ended filming for the

independent film ‘Portraits of Sari,’ I

performed the role of Kyle Morgan. The film

was featured in various film festivals and

celebrated a wonderful red carpet opening in

Philadelphia. This past year I just graduated

from NYU Tisch with a degree in Drama.

In my time at NYU, I performed in both

musicals and dance pieces such as Grand

Hotel, Nijinsky in Asylum, Subsistence. I

also had the opportunity to choreograph a

short film called Dueling Harmony, which

07

2010Ted Goh still plays cello and continues to keep his musical interests alive. At

Swarthmore, Ted has actively performed in

various chamber music groups, including

piano trios, string trios and quartets. Ted has

been invited to perform with his string trio

and quartet at the Ischia Chamber Musical

Festival in Italy. He looks forward to playing

in beautiful concert venues, participating in

master classes and touring Italy. He wishes

the best for his colleagues in the class of 2010.

2011Aubree Luquet has felt nothing but supportfrom the AFS community, and feels

confident and accepted enough to let the

community know she has started transitioning

into life as a male, going by the name Ryan

Luquet. Ryan hopes to receive the same

amount of support and caring that he had

at AFS as a student. Ryan is attending

Cabrini College and enjoying college life

to the fullest.

2012Daveed Buzaglo writes, “I was selected as a YoungARTS finalist and as a presidential

scholar nominee in the arts for classical

voice this year. YoungARTS is the core

program of the National Foundation for the

Advancement of the Arts and the program

selects 150 artists from 9 disciplines out of

a pool of nearly 6,000 17 and 18 year olds

to go down to Miami for a week in January.

Through this program, 50-60 kids are

selected as nominees for presidential

scholar in the arts. What this means is

that the 20 kids who are selected go to

Washington and receive awards from the

President in a ceremony in the Rose Garden.”

39

addressed issues of struggling with one’s

own sexuality. In the summers, I was

accepted to and also received scholarships

to dance with the Central Pennsylvania

Youth Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet Academy,

Orlando Ballet, the Nashville Ballet and

North Carolina Dance Theatre. Following

graduation I performed with SLK Ballet at

Baryshnikov Arts Center, in NYC, dancing

roles from Swan Lake, Raymonda and Stars

and Stripes. I am currently in my first season

dancing with the Nashville Ballet. So far this

season, I have performed in the ballets

‘Cinderella’ and ‘The Nutcracker’. I am

now in rehearsals for ‘Swan Lake’ with the

North Atlanta Dance Theatre, where I will

be performing as the lead Spanish dancer

among other roles. I was also recently

offered a full scholarship to train with the

North Carolina Dance Theatre for this

upcoming summer and I am being

considered for a position with the Company.

Outside of the Ballet world, I was also just

signed by Scout Model Management and

I look forward to getting started! I am

thankful for AFS for fueling my creativity

and pushing me to become a thoughtful

and aware individual.

Clare Steinberg graduated with honors from Johns Hopkins University last May

and was inducted into Phi Betta Kappa.

She is working at Pepper Hamilton LLP’s

Philadelphia office as a paralegal while

she considers law school.

2008Jackie Kahn writes, “I am graduating fromSimmons College this spring with a major

in Arts Administration and Marketing. My

fiancé and I will be moving to Cincinnati,

OH where we will begin planning our

wedding! I am looking forward to taking

some time off after graduation to relax, travel

and then begin the job search, looking for a

Development position at a museum or

non-profit come August/September. Hope

all is well at AFS and with alumni, can’t

believe it’s almost our FIVE year reunion

class of ’08!”

Class notes are compiled by the AlumniOffice. You can submit a class note bycalling Anna Stiegel Glass in the AlumniOffice (215-576-3966), via email [email protected]. Please submit photos as .jpgs at a resolution of300 dpi or higher.

connectwith fellow AFS alumniExpand your network

On facebook:Alumni of Abington Friends School

On linkedin: Search for the Abington Friends School group

40 IN MEMORIAM

Please submit obituary announcements of the greater alumni community to theAlumni Office. Submissions are welcomed with or without a photo (at 300 dpi or greater). Electronic submissions are preferred and may besent to [email protected].

Dorothy Yarnall McGrath ’46Dorothy Yarnall McGrath ’46 passed away on

January 1, 2012 at the Fleet Landing Health

Center in Atlantic Beach, Florida after a brief

illness. She was 83 years old.

Mrs. McGrath was born August 22, 1928, in

Philadelphia, Penn., the daughter of Charles

Ralph Yarnall and Dorothy Doughty Yarnall.

She grew up in Wyncote, Pennsylvania and

attended Abington Friends School. She had

one elder sister, Barbara.

Mrs. McGrath graduated from Bucknell

University in 1949. On January 6, 1951, she

married Henry Lockwood McGrath, Jr. at All

Hallows Church in Wyncote, Pennsylvania.

During their life together, Mrs. McGrath and

her husband raised three children while living

in Bethlehem, Pa., Chevy Chase, Md. and

Darien, Conn. The couple then spent many

happy years in retirement on St. Simons

Island, Ga., moving finally to Atlantic

Beach, Florida.

Mrs. McGrath was a devoted wife and

mother, friend and community volunteer.

Her pleasurable pastimes included knitting,

gardening, bridge and entertaining. Mrs.

McGrath was an animal lover and enjoyed

caring for a succession of family pets. In

addition, she was an avid supporter of Habitat

for Humanity. Traveling with her husband, Mrs.

McGrath visited England, France and Italy.

Mrs. McGrath is survived by her loving

husband of 60 years, Henry Lockwood

McGrath, Jr. of Atlantic Beach, Fla.; daughters

and sons-in-law Robin Olson and Jim Olson

of Mercer Island, Wash.; Lindsay McGrath

and David Kusek of Cohasset, Mass.; son

David McGrath and daughter-in-law Debby

McGrath of North Bend, Wash. She is also

survived by grandchildren James Olson, Jr.

of Seattle, Wash., Samuel Kusek of West

Newton, Mass., Michael Kusek of New

Haven, Conn. and Katie McGrath of

North Bend, Wash. Numerous nieces and

nephews throughout the country will also

mourn her passing,

Mrs. McGrath was predeceased by her

parents, sister Barbara and son, Henry,

who died in infancy.

Alice Wright ConkeyAlice Wright Conkey, 91, former AFS teacher

and Dean of Students, passed away Jan. 7 at

her home at Wheelock Terrace in Hanover,

N.H. after a period of declining health. She

had resided in Hanover since 1999 and was

a longtime summer resident of Jefferson.

She was 91 years old.

From her obituary, published in Lincoln

County News on January 10, 2012:

Before moving to Hanover, she and her

husband raised their family of five girls in

Philadelphia, Penn. Born Alice Kepler Wright

in Vengurla, India, she was the first child of

the Rev. Horace Kepler Wright and Adelaide

(Fairbank) Wright. She graduated from the

Woodstock School in Mussoorie, India, and

magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from

Mount Holyoke College in 1941, a double

major in music and English. Alice then joined

the music faculty at Germantown Friends

School (Philadelphia), where she met and

married (1942) fellow musician Albert B.

Conkey. While raising the family, she pursued

graduate studies at Temple University, was

an active volunteer with Brownies and Girl

Scouts, and was involved in musical activities

such as teaching piano, singing in and

directing choirs at the Presbyterian Church

of Chestnut Hill, and performing two-piano

concerts with Al. In 1960, Alice joined the

faculty at Abington Friends School, as both

music teacher and later Dean of Students.

She retired in 1982 after a full and dedicated

tenure, actively participating in an important

growth period for the school.

Jane Cobourn Riley ’54Jane Cobourn Riley ’54, of 13 Skipper Lane,

Salem, SC, wife of Clark Kaye Riley, passed away

Sunday, November 6, 2011, at Seneca Health

and Rehabilitation. She was 75 years old.

Mrs. Riley was born on April 28, 1936 in

Philadelphia, PA the daughter of the late

Mary Strawn Thomas & J. Earl Cobourn of

Rydal, PA. Jane graduated from the Abington

Friends School in 1954, and attended Bucknell

University before marrying her high school

sweetheart, Clark, in 1955.

Jane was a devoted mother, homemaker, and

wife who graciously accepted the many moves

away from her beloved suburban Philadelphia

area, as Clark pursued his career. She was an

avid bridge player, and wrote some very

beautiful poetry. A particular milestone in a

friend or relative’s life always prompted Jane

to write a poem specifically for the occasion.

Many will remember her for this act of kindness.

In addition to her husband Clark, Mrs. Riley

is survived by three children, Skip and Kathy

Riley of Hebron, KY, Beverlee and Stephen

McCourt of Kingston, MA, and John Riley of

the home; three grandchildren, Adam Riley of

Chestertown, NY, and David and Katherine

McCourt of Kingston; and one sister, Elizabeth

and Richard Cole of Rocky Mount, VA.

Jane will be buried on the Abington Meeting

grounds in Jenkintown, PA at a later date.

No local services are planned at this time.

in memoriam

Saturday, May 510:30 am Registration Begins

11:00 am All-Alumni/Former Faculty Meeting for Worship

12:00 pm Alumni Luncheon for all alumni classes and former facultyAlumni Tent at Roo Fest

12:00-4:00pm Alumni Reception at Roo FestRoo Fest is a family friendly event for the entire AFS Community with games, live music, food and fun.

Join us under the Alumni Tent for: Lunch, Reunion Class Pictures, Reunion Tours

Reconnect with your classmates and former faculty!

reunion weekend 2012

575 Washington Lane, Jenkintown, PA 19046

Arbor DayFriday, April 27, 2012

Roo Fest and Alumni DaySaturday, May 5, 2012

Middle School Choral & Instrumental ConcertWednesday, May 24, 2012

Lower School Spring ConcertFriday, June 8

BaccalaureateSunday, June 10

CommencementWednesday, June 13

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDHorsham, PAPermit No. 90

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