FALL 2016 News for the Allendale Columbia School Community Beyond the Birches NURTURING GLOBAL CITIZENS www.AllendaleColumbia.orgwww.AllendAleColumbiA.org A ALLENDALE From the Alumni Association President COLUMBIA BOARD OF A Letter from Peter Gregory ’03 TRUSTEES I am honored to serve my alma mater as the Schumacher ’55, at the annual luncheon held at the 2016-2017 incoming President of the Allendale Columbia Alumni Country Club of Rochester. Jon has served Allendale Association Board. I would Columbia School in a variety of capacities including: Mary Beth Conway, Chair like to congratulate and a member of the Board of Trustees for three terms, thank Stephen Hill ’03 for an alumnus, an AC parent to Sara ’87 and Alec ’90, Charles E. Symington ’76, his previous service as a philanthropic supporter, and a pro-bono advisor Vice Chair, Treasurer President. to name a few! Please join me in congratulating Jon Robert C. Tait, II ’75, on his award. If you wish to nominate an alumnus/a Secretary I am always proud to be an Allendale Columbia for this award or would like to read more about the Charles F. Bradford ’99 alum, but during the 2016- criteria, please visit allendalecolumbia.org/alumni. Lisa Campbell ’83 2017 year, we all will have Finally, there are numerous ways you can get involved! Diana Clarkson ’99 reason to be especially Join us for an event, serve on the alumni board, C. Kieran Draper proud as the school moves refer families to the admissions offce, make a gift, or Stephen Hill ’03 into year two of implementing the dynamic and volunteer as a class agent. If you are local and can Elisabeth W. Judson ’64 impressive strategic plan. As an alumni board, we too only make one event a year, join us for the annual James McKenna ’94 are focused on the vision for AC to be a thriving, alumni holiday gathering at Pomodoro Grill and Wine Deborah McLean diverse community of learners that engages locally Bar which always has record-setting attendance and Robert J. Moore and internationally to create opportunities to design, is hosted every December. If you are out of town, Tracey Morrell imagine, learn, and make a positive impact. As we keep an eye on our alumni events calendar—we may Mauricio Riveros seek to engage in even more meaningful ways across be visiting your area soon! Please also reach out if the region and the world, the Alumni Association will you are visiting Rochester. There is always an open Bridgette E. Rivers ’81 continue to host signature events and integrate new invitation at AC for lunch and a tour! Stephen Van Arsdale elements into long-standing traditions. Elizabeth Wehle ’90 I am looking forward to continuing AC traditions and Kevin Wilmot Looking back, the June 2016 reunion included fantastic building new ones together as we all beneft from the events for all attendees. The keystone event—the exciting path set by Mick Gee, the faculty, staff, and the Keith Wilson Reunion Cocktail Reception—provided an excellent Board of Trustees. Jill Wynn venue for catching up with former classmates and Best, faculty members. Each year more and more alumni attend Reunion to enjoy reminiscing, reconnecting, laughing, and having fun at a variety of special events. Also in June, as part of Reunion Weekend, the Peter Gregory ’03 alumni board had the distinct honor of presenting President, Allendale Columbia Alumni Association the Distinguished Alumni Award to honoree, Jon L. Welcome New Board Members Jill Wynn is a real estate Stephen Hill is an assistant agent with Nothnagle Realtors professor in the School of and a freelance writer. She is a Management at Nazareth graduate of Daemen College College. A graduate of Hobart and is currently enrolled in College, Stephen participated the MSW program at Roberts in the Tuck School of Business Wesleyan College. She has Bridge Program and also served as the Board of Trustees went on to receive his Ph.D. President for the Chili Public Library and currently in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the serves as a board member at St. Ann’s and Young University of Akron. Since 2009, Stephen has been Women’s College Prep Charter School. She has also an active member of the AC Alumni Association been an advocate for Summer LEAP as a member of Board, frst as a member and most recently as the Advisory Board at AC. Jill and her husband Jeff President from 2014-2016. Stephen ’03 and his wife have two daughters, Jordan ’18 and Jocelyn ’22. Caroline ’06 reside in Brighton. 1 BEYOND THE BIRCHES FALL 2016 About the cover “Kids in the Window” was taken by AC student Evelyn Van Arsdale ’20 on From the Head of School her research trip to Madagascar in June. A Letter from Mick Gee Dear AC Community: in this issue Letter from Alumni Association We celebrated our 125-year President: Peter Gregory ’03 legacy with remarkable community 1 engagement last year. The Letter from Head of School: numbers tell one great story— 2 Mick Gee enrollment was up again, we FEATURE: DEVELOPING had over 450 people attend our 3 GLOBAL EMPATHY record-setting Make Your Mark The life-changing nature of global engagement Gala, we visited with dedicated alumni in over 10 cities worldwide, FEATURE: GLOBAL and we raised over $1M to 7 ENGAGEMENT AC offers new Global continue our commitment to Engagement Scholar Diploma fnancial aid, scholarships, global engagement, new course development, a nimble strategic plan, Summer LEAP: Inspiring Students, Connecting and more—but, I continue to say that the energy around the 9 Communities We have partnered with over 50 organizations Alumna Profle: Nancy Northup ’77 over the past few years and our AC students 11 On the power of listening to yourself and AC Summer LEAP students are Class of 2016 collaborating, creating, designing, and making a 13 positive impact in our region and the world. 15 Make Your Mark Gala teaching and learning at AC today is palpable, and the impact Alumni News: Reunion, AC is making regionally is indisputably even more remarkable Class Notes, In Memoriam than any statistic. We have partnered with over 50 organizations 19 over the past few years and our AC students and our Summer Alumni Profle: LEAP students are collaborating, creating, designing, and making a 26 David Crofton ’88 positive impact in our region and the world. Within and beyond Annual Report of the classroom, AC students and teachers are learning with passion 27 Philanthropy at AC and purpose as they tackle societal challenges facing all of us. MAGAZINE STAFF In year two of our strategic plan, the faculty and staff are as Executive Editors: Courtney Dixon and inspired as I have ever seen them—they are designing new Karyn Vella courses, re-aligning curricula across multiple disciplines, thinking Editors: Emily Gillette, Katherine Lapa, broadly and innovatively, collaborating to expand May Term, some John Reese are teaching year-round with Summer LEAP, and others are taking Design: Blender Inc. students on life-changing global immersion trips. It’s worth coming Contributing Photographers: to see AC in action today. Join us for a showing of Most Likely Amy Oliveri, Sarah Potter, Tony to Succeed on campus later this year with alums, past parents, Tepedino, Karyn Vella, Pete Wayner, current parents, and friends. Get together with fellow alums in Matt Wittmeyer, AC Students your city or return for your reunion next spring. When you are in Contributing Writers: the Rochester area, stop in and say hello, take a tour of campus, Conor Brennan-Burke ’11 and stay for lunch with faculty and students. I look forward to Courtney Dixon Emily Gillette connecting with you. Katherine Lapa Malcolm Taylor ’55 Karyn Vella Pete Wayner To request additional copies of Beyond the Birches, please email Mick Gee [email protected] Head of School www.AllendAleColumbiA.org 2 “Global empathy means that you are able to put yourself in any situation anywhere in the world and contribute to that environment, and to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes. .as opposed to going to another country and imposing your values or your beliefs. I absolutely saw our AC students demonstrate their global empathy when we were in Senegal. I watched them live and connect with their host brothers and sisters, happily immersed in their culture. ” —Ariane Baer-Harper, Director of AC Center for Global Engagement 3 BEYOND THE BIRCHES FALL 2016 FEATURE STORY The life-changing nature of global engagement. Creating opportunities for students to engage regionally and and two faculty members embarked on a science research trip globally so they can make a positive impact, even before they to Madagascar in collaboration with the Seneca Park Zoo, the graduate from Middle School or Upper School, is among Head of Smithsonian Institute, and National Geographic. During the same School, Mick Gee’s highest priorities. If you have heard him speak time period, a group of ten AC French students traveled to Senegal recently, you have probably heard him emphasize the importance for a language immersion and service trip to a partner school of developing global empathy, not just by talking about it in a and with Tostan, a world-renowned Human Rights Organization classroom, but by immersing oneself in another culture to serve dedicated to empowerment for women in West Africa. others, research, and connect with While in Madagascar, students communities around the world. participated in the One Cubic “When I came to AC, we had Foot project in collaboration with international students on campus David Liittschwager, a nationally and that was appealing to me, but recognized photographer known I wanted to create a robust global in the Rochester area for his work engagement program that offered measuring biodiversity in the ways for AC students to immerse Genesee River.