Charlotte Latin Magazine, Spring 2026

Music Roundtable

State of the School

Students

Good Neighbors How Special Olympics Mecklenburg County became a spotlight community partner 24

40 Alumni News Hawks flocking together

Thank You for Being a Friend Latin students of all ages know that friendship makes each day sweeter

Life at Charlotte Latin in 2014

A powerhouse Varsity Football team — and how “Swag” became NFL star “Indiana Jones”

Class Notes News from our far-flung alumni, including interviews with escape room impresario Christian Vernon ’03 and live-music staffing entrepreneur Nikki Sanz ’14

Riffle through the pages of this magazine to see an animation by Jordan Filanowicz ’28!

2025-26

School Leadership

Administrative Team

Chuck Baldecchi Head of School P ’21 ’23 ’25

David Gatoux Director of Athletics

Jim Huffaker Chief Technology Officer

Kerry Johnston Director of Advancement

Beth Lucas Director of Human Resources P ’35

Rob McArthur Interim Chief Financial and Operations Officer

Erica Moore Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Mary Yorke Oates ’83 Director of Enrollment Management P ’12 ’15 ’18

Louisa Polos Head of Middle School P ’38

Tricia Tam Director of Marketing and Communications

Mark Tayloe Head of Lower School P ’15 ’20

Sonja Taylor Associate Head of School

Tracey Vanneste Head of Upper School

2025-26 Board of Trustees

Rael Gorelick Chair P ’24 ’26 ’27 ’29

John Comly Vice Chair P ’28 ’30

Phil Colaco Treasurer P ’19 ’22 ’26

Dave Shuford Secretary P ’28 ’30

Mackenzie Alpert P ’30 ’32

Irm Bellavia P ’19 ’20 ’22 ’25

Susan Bliss P ’25

Mark Calloway P ’14 ’19 ’25

Paige Ford ’06

Don Gately P ’98 ’04 GP ’30 ’32 ’33 ’35 ’37

Stacy Gee P ’19 ’21 ’22

Anna Stiegel Glass ’01 P ’33 ’35 ’36

Donnie Johnson P ’33 ’33

Chris Kearney P ’04 GP ’35 ’36 ’38 ’39

Ed McMahan ’93 P ’22 ’24 ’30

Katie Morgan P ’21 ’24

Uma O’Brien P ’29 ’30 ’33

Jack Purcell P ’30 ’32

Christian Robinson P ’32 ’34 ’36

Margaret Siegel P ’24 ’28 ’29

Jason Strife P ’28 ’30

Jan Swetenburg P ’98 ’00 ’07 GP ’32 ’34 ’34 ’37

Charles Thies ’90 P ’32 ’35 ’39

Ex-Officio

Chuck Baldecchi Head of School P ’21 ’23 ’25

Rob McArthur Interim Chief Financial and Operations Officer

Ken Leonczyk ’96 2025-26 Alumni Governing Board President

Mandy Hicks 2025-26 Parents’ Council President P ’28 ’29

Editorial Staff

Editorial Director

Gavin Edwards P ’27

Graphic Designer

Monty Todd

Communications Manager

Matt McClenathen

Creative Content Producer

Sacia Matthews

Webmaster

Nikki Williams

Contributors

Jordan Filanowicz ’28

Alex Kern ’11

Meredith Kempert Nunn ’98 P ’31 ’33

Additional Photography

Ernie Cutter P ’22 ’26 ’29

Scott Moulton P ’28 ’30

St. John Photography

Angel Trimble

Director of Marketing & Communications

Tricia Tam

On the cover:

Lower School Musical The Claw

Please send address corrections to Office of Advancement Charlotte Latin School 9502 Providence Road Charlotte NC 28277

Or email philanthropy@charlottelatin.org

When I flipped open the Fall 2025 issue of Latin magazine, I was FLOORED to see my childhood home staring back at me.

Throughout the summer of 1992, my parents ran an ad nauseam marketing campaign to sell me on the virtues of our move from Savannah to Charlotte, confident that the right talking points could assuage my terror of starting Middle School in an unfamiliar city. “Charlotte has more than one mall” helped; “we bought a house quite literally next to your new school” did not.

What my twelve-year-old self couldn’t see was a future my parents very clearly could. Our proximity to Latin meant our house served as a natural gathering spot: a place to primp before Middle School dances, convene ahead of football games, and snack between classes and sports practices. It provided me with an easy way to build friendships and an unobtrusive way for them to maintain a pulse on my social life.

Once I got my driver’s license, my parents indulged my preference for driving to school instead of walking — and then tried not to gloat when I’d quite literally run home during first-period yearbook to retrieve a forgotten binder.

My parents have since passed away, but both would be thrilled to know that 9416 Stonemark Drive will once again be a hub for Hawks. When I read that “the kitchen needed to be well-equipped for a catering service’s needs,” I knew my mom — who had insisted on the addition of a butler’s pantry during their early 2000s remodel — is somewhere nodding smugly in approval.

Reading the article was such a gift. It immediately transported me back home and, in doing so, filled me with gratitude for my parents’ foresight and for a school community that will continue to make that address meaningful.

With gratitude,

Kris (Bush) Campbell ’99

Send your letters about this issue of Latin to communications@charlottelatin.org.

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear Friends of Charlotte Latin School —

We didn’t choose “curiosity” as our theme for this school year to wake up a slumbering community — the theme is a celebration of all the ways our wide-awake students, faculty, and staff explore the world around them. At Latin, we investigate every mystery, we flip every rock to discover what’s underneath, we turn every page. This year, we’re making a point of sharing the different methods we use to encourage our students to become curious learners and the places curiosity has taken us.

The result of curiosity? Exploration. Every day at Latin, our explorers chart paths to new knowledge and new passions.

I regularly have lunch with small groups of seniors, during which I ask them to tell me their favorite thing about Latin and what they would like to see changed. But when I open the floor and tell them “You can ask me any question you want,” I see their curiosity in action. They’ll ask for the reasons behind the new waterfall schedule or the programming decisions that go into Hawk Block — not because they’re lobbying for a change, but because they want to understand how their school works.

When I mention the school’s strategic plan, which launched in 2023, sometimes they’ll ask why we have a strategic plan at all; I explain that it gives us a road map forward. The world of education is in transition: while many schools used to believe that they best prepared students by mandating memorization and regurgitation, we now emphasize problem-solving and leadership. At Latin, we’ve maintained excellence but we now inculcate intellectual agility and creativity — and curiosity.

If you are curious about how we’ve put that strategic plan into action, and how Charlotte Latin School is evolving, I encourage you to peruse the State of the School supplement to this issue of Latin, starting on page 15. And then keep reading for more discoveries: as this magazine demonstrates, our campus is full of energized students and adults who, through the power of curiosity, are constantly making their worlds larger.

With gratitude for a job I love,

Chuck Baldecchi

An Exit Interview With Mark Tayloe

a cold Wednesday morning at the Lower School carpool line, smiling young students emerge from cars and buses and head to school. Some lug tote bags almost as big as they are; all of them are greeted enthusiastically by Mark Tayloe, Head of Lower School. “Good morning, Piper!” he says. “Good morning, Jordan! Good morning,

Tayloe has two trademarks, both of which are on display today. One is his collection of over 200 colorful neckties that he rotates, although he favors a taco tie on Tuesdays; today, he’s sporting a camel tie for Wednesday (aka “Hump Day”). The other is his knowledge of the names of the 600 Lower School students. “I don’t them,” he emphasizes. “I learn

He puts students in the right frame of mind for a day of learning with a personal greeting, a high-five, or a joke. When a student passes by wearing a Duke pompom hat, Tayloe tells him, “I like your Carolina hat.” In return, he gets a brief look of indignation and then a wide grin. “The same jokes work for years and years,” Tayloe confides.

After 20 years of cracking favorite jokes and fostering a community where each student and teacher feels seen as an individual, Tayloe is stepping down this summer. “Last year, I realized I had one more in me,” he explains. “Twenty years is enough for me and it’s enough for everyone else.”

That gives him a dwindling number of weeks to welcome students. “Good morning, Charlotte!” he says to a young girl in a blue jacket. Charlotte runs up to him and wraps her arms around him. “Number one hugger right here,” Tayloe says, hugging her back.

What do you want the experience of a child to be as they go through Lower School?

You want to create a love of school and a love of learning. If you don’t do that in Lower School, it’s not going to happen anywhere else. When I hear from a parent that their child doesn’t like school, we take that really seriously. That’s an all-hands-on-deck moment. Kids are malleable, so a lot of times it’s easy to flip that switch by paying attention to the kid’s needs. And we want to instill confidence, so our students are comfortable contributing to a classroom or standing up and making a presentation. We want them to leave Lower School believing in themselves.

What do you look for when you’re hiring Lower School teachers?

First, love of children. And then, someone who can work collaboratively. It’s natural to want like-minded people, but we look for teachers who will bring something different to a grade level: a diverse opinion or perspective.

What are you proudest of in your time at Latin?

We have a joyful community that our parents and teachers love to be part of, and our children absolutely love coming to school. From the day I got here, parents have been cheering me on and we’ve all been committed to each other’s success. So I’m excited that this is a great job for somebody to come into. Our Assistant Heads for Teaching and Learning, Andria Quintero and Avery Teichman, have both been so handson with our teachers, involving them in determining how we can best meet the needs of our students.

I’m really excited for the next ten

years, and I’m excited for our next Head of Lower School, Casey Martin: I think we’ve set him up for success.

What were you like when you were Lower School age?

I wouldn’t say I was a really dedicated student, but I did like school a lot. Right from the beginning, I loved my teachers

and I tried to get to know them really well. We lived in Washington, North Carolina, right on the Pamlico River. My father was a pediatrician: all the kids I went to school with, he was their doctor. We lived in a neighborhood full of kids, so I couldn’t wait to get home and play whatever game was in season. My family put a basketball court in our

backyard, so everyone came over to play basketball at our house. Across the street, there was a really big field we called the horse lot, and we’d play football there. Friday night was big for games like kick the can.

Was there a teacher who particularly made a difference in your life?

Absolutely. In fifth grade, I had Mrs. Swain. I was really disorganized and I had a horrible fourth grade year. I didn’t have any student skills, what we now call executive functioning. She stayed on me all year and she was really tough, but she loved me.

Did your parents expect that you would be a doctor too?

Not really. I’m the last of five children and we all get along great, but there’s a span of 12 years between us. There also wasn’t any expectation that I was going to be a teacher. I graduated from Carolina in the winter of ’83 with a journalism degree. I loved to write, especially about sports, but I didn’t want to go work for a newspaper. In January, I started a job at a boarding school in Georgia. They needed a tennis coach and they had a really sorry newspaper. I needed four English credits to meet their requirements to be a teacher, but they said I could take them at night. I was really excited. I told my father I’m going to live on campus, I have all my meals and utilities paid for, they’re going to pay me $10,800 a year. And he flipped: “There is no way you can make a living doing that.” We fought for a few years about it and then one day he said, “Mark, how long are you going to do this?”

“We have a joyful community that our parents and teachers love to be part of, and our children absolutely love coming to school.”

I said, “Daddy, I don’t know. I just really love teaching.”

He said, “I guess you really do.” It took him a while, but he came around.

How did you make the transition from teaching ninth graders to working with younger kids?

I loved the kids, but I discovered I didn’t love the repetition of teaching: if I had four classes of freshman English, by the time I got to the third class of teaching the same material, I was just bored. I so admire people like Mike Weiss who love teaching so much they can do it for 36 years straight. I didn’t have that — but I loved schools and the way they worked, so I was always asking questions about admissions, curriculum, anything that involved administration. I had a conversation with my headmaster about wanting to do something different. Our director of public relations was leaving, and I had a journalism degree, so they asked me to do it. I was a one-man shop for five years: I did a monthly newsletter, I wrote every press release, I did the magazine. I was a terrible photographer, but I made it work.

My father stayed on me to get a master’s degree, so I got a guidance and counseling degree. I realized my ultimate goal was to be a division head in middle or lower school — I didn’t feel I was intellectual enough to go toeto-toe with upper school teachers. Our head of school was very supportive, but said it wasn’t my time yet, so he

asked me to be the school counselor. I did that for four years. I was not very good, but I was a good listener and I learned everybody’s names in the upper school. After four years, our head of lower school retired and the head put me in that role. I said, “I’m glad to do it but I don’t know a lot about lower school.”

He said, “Well, don’t worry about it. The teachers will train you.”

You came to Charlotte Latin 20 years ago when the school was looking for a new Head of Lower School. How is the Lower School different two decades later?

There’s a whole generational difference: the needs of the kids are different, the needs of parents are different. There’s been this neurological revolution — we know so much more about how the brain learns and our teachers are all seeking innovative ways to reach children. There are so many tremendous resources that we can plug in. And coming out of Covid, we put a greater focus on executive functioning and social-emotional learning, because we learned how important those skills are for students to be successful.

How will you be spending your time once you step down from the Lower School?

I love being part of this community, so I’ll be working part-time in the Advancement office. I’m not planning to even show my face in the Lower School — that would be unfair to Casey. But

I’m excited for him, because there’s so much fertile soil here. I’d like to spend more time with my family — we have three adult children. And I’d like to get back to playing tennis and going to the theater.

What’s something about you that might surprise people?

I’m introverted. I’m very extroverted in this setting, but when I’m away from here, I like spending time by myself, or with a small group of friends. I’ll even go to a ballgame by myself. I was sitting at my desk on the day Indiana and Oregon were playing in the college football national semifinal. Around lunchtime, I decided to go to the game. I ran home, threw some things in the car, and drove to Atlanta.

Tell us something you’re curious about.

What the next ten years are going to look like in our country. And whether North Carolina is ever going to be back on the map as a basketball power.

Do you have a favorite day of the school year?

Grandparents’ Day is magical. It’s one of those days when everybody is at their best. Alicia Long is so talented — she gets so much out of those kids, and the children are so proud of themselves. The whole community comes together.

What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you?

When I was teaching English, I was frustrated by how much basic grammar I needed to teach. My head of school said, “Mark, whatever they need, teach them.” I carry those words with me to this day. Sometimes you’ll hear more about what a child can’t do than about what a child needs, and I’ll say, “Just teach them.”

What do you know about each other that most people don’t?

Lucas: “He’s an Eagle Scout.”

Avery: “He taught himself to play guitar.”

Describe each other in three words: Lucas on Avery: “Resourceful, moral, loyal.” Avery on Lucas: “Energetic, funny, helpful.”

Quinn: “We became really good friends in sixth grade.”

Carolyn: “Our sisters are friends, so we see each other a lot.”

Quinn [joking]: “Actually, she’s my arch-nemesis.”

Describe each other in three words: Carolyn on Quinn: “Energetic, funny, optimistic.”

Quinn on Carolyn: “Funny, bubbly, understanding. She’s never going to say ‘That’s a you problem.’”

Ramona: “I have a twin sister, and he knew her. Our freshman year, we were both on the debate team and I forced him to be my debate partner.”

Describe each other in three words: Ryan on Ramona: “Is ‘out of pocket’ one word? Charismatic, passionate, quirky.”

Ramona on Ryan: “Kind, funny, smart.”

J.B.: “We like to be flying squirrels.”

S.P.: “Today we’re playing iguanas.”

Elsa: “She invited me to one of her first dance competitions — I was happy she trusted me enough to see her perform.”

Charlotte: “Whenever she writes stuff, she asks me to look at it and edit it.”

Ally: “In fourth grade, we were standing next to each other in the lunch line and we started talking.”

Dottie: “She would do this thing where she laughed and then suddenly put on a serious face.”

Ally: “She always saves a seat for me in history. She can be really funny but also really locked in on her work.”

Dottie: “When I forget a snack, she always brings me her food. She’s just a caring person. If you’re lucky enough to know her, she’ll be your best friend.”

Ryan: “I’m an exchange student from South Africa. My first week, I was kind of lonely. I asked Graham if I could sit with him and we’ve been hanging out every day since then.”

Graham: “I told him about a girl I like. I haven’t told most people.”

T.E.: “We like to run around together.”

W.B.: “We like to play with each other. He’s my best friend.”

Charlotte Latin School

STATE OF THE SCHOOL 2026

A walking tour of the Charlotte Latin campus is a kaleidoscope of students fueling their curiosity in classrooms, eagerly making discoveries in science labs, and joyfully reconnecting with peers who they haven’t seen for an hour or two. These moments of bliss and illumination may feel spontaneous, but they happen with such great frequency on our campus because of diligent planning behind the scenes.

Charlotte Latin works constantly and carefully to lift up our students and help them become the best possible versions of themselves. Our goal, as distilled in the Latin Leads Strategic Plan:

Charlotte Latin School develops courageous, honorable leaders, fueled by intellectual curiosity and guided by a commitment to excellence, who can navigate and thrive in a complex global society.

We launched that Strategic Plan in January 2023, establishing five goals as priorities in the following five years: The Latin Leader; Teaching and Learning; Community Wellness; A Community of Purpose and Belonging; and Access and Affordability. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made on all those fronts since then; we’ve established signature programs and found new ways to ensure that our community thrives. In this annual report, we’ll update you on some of the achievements in each of those areas.

At a robust and complex school like Charlotte Latin, everything proves to be interconnected. Some people decry that as a limitation — any significant change has ripple effects across the campus, which can inhibit innovation. We see that quality as an asset. Whenever we roll out new programs and resources — including this year’s new waterfall schedule for the Upper School and Middle School, a reinvented Advisory program, a wide range of educational experiences in Hawk Blocks, or a curriculum that accentuates the flow of learning all the way from Transitional Kindergarten through Grade 12 — we find opportunities to improve multiple aspects of the Latin experience.

This work is never done: the world keeps changing and the needs of our students keep evolving. We’re already thinking about the next strategic plan, which will take us all the way to 2033 — not to mention a campus master plan that will address our physical plant and ensure we have the facilities that the school needs. We will continue to keep you informed, but rest assured that in an ever-changing world, our commitment to our students is unwavering. Another constant: the collaboration between our students, faculty, families, staff, trustees, and alumni. Together, we illuminate each other and enlighten the world.

Finances

Thanks to decades of thoughtful stewardship, Charlotte Latin School is in a strong position financially. We currently educate 1,545 students and employ 366 full-time faculty, staff, and administration members. Our endowment stands at $64.2 million, having doubled since 2020 because of wise investments and the generosity of the Latin community.

2025-2026 BUDGET: $58,045,000 REVENUE

We have worked hard to keep Charlotte Latin’s operating expenses close to the rate of inflation while ensuring that we can invest in the school. Every year, our greatest investment is in the employees of Charlotte Latin: to attract and retain our top-notch teachers, we need to keep pace with the consumer price index.

Tuition does not fully cover the cost of a Latin education. To make up the difference, we draw conservatively from our endowment and rely on donors to the Latin Fund, who allow us to maintain the first-rate nature of a Latin education.

Access and Community

Charlotte Latin strives to strengthen the school by making it open to students who can thrive here, independent of their backgrounds and economic status, and by making our campus a welcoming environment for all students. A community with a wide range of life experiences and perspectives benefits everyone in it — and prepares students for the real world.

Two goals of the strategic plan address that priority of a robust community from different angles: Latin is working toward eliminating the barriers to a full Charlotte Latin experience for all families and also striving for an environment where each community member finds a sense of purpose and belonging.

Kurt Coleman, Scholarship and Supplemental Support Manager, has been focused on the issue of “supplemental support,” making sure that students with financial need have support not only with their tuition, but other crucial elements of the Latin experience: books, lunch in Founders’ Hall, sports team fees, and testing fees. His work has identified not only areas of financial need but moments at which the school can proactively offer assistance to families.

Part of Coleman’s job is reaching out to underserved communities, educating them about the opportunities available at Charlotte Latin, and matching deserving students with appropriate scholarships. “I believe we have over 27 different scholarships,” he says. “You see families

that may not know what independent schools are, but they have the drive and the desire — everything we want in this community.”

Looking back at Latin’s past efforts in this sphere, Coleman says, “There were times where families would leave through attrition, and it’s not because their students weren’t having a great education — it’s just that they felt at times that they were out of place. And you never want a family to feel out of place because of a financial burden or an unspoken inequity.”

Dovetailing with Coleman’s efforts in the Admissions Office is the work of the Academic Transition and Student Success Office, led by Isa Stokes. With Program Coordinator Nick Davis, Stokes makes sure that new arrivals at Latin are prepared for the school’s rigor — both with a yearlong class to shore up core academic areas and with a ten-month executive functioning module with an emphasis on time management and goal setting.

“Transition happens at different levels,” Davis points out. It’s not only new arrivals at Latin who need support: it’s Latin Lifers facing challenges as they enter a new division or students trying to stay organized even as they take on a major role in a sports team or other extracurricular. Outside of the formal programs they offer, Stokes and Davis keep the door to the office in the McIntosh Leadership Center open to any student trying to navigate new waters at Latin.

“If I have information that will help the next generation push farther than I did, it is my job to do that,” Davis says. “Although this work doesn’t cover every obstacle that I’ve ever faced, it does cover a lot of them. I think if we can give students more support or an alternative pathway of less resistance, then we ought to do it.”

To make the Academic Transition and Student Success programs more effective, the office has found ways to measure the slippery but essential qualities of belonging and engagement. When Stokes and Davis see a problem, they intervene — but they also gather data on how well their efforts worked, so they can refine them in future years.

Davis, who has a background as a teacher and a master’s degree in sports management, came to Charlotte Latin when he drove by the campus every day and decided that he would reach out to Varsity Football Coach Drew Dayton: “It was just another way for me to find

a community to help and to try to move forward,” he says. Davis now serves as the team’s quarterback coach.

Coleman played as a safety in the NFL for ten seasons; his three seasons starting on the Carolina Panthers included a Super Bowl appearance in 2016. His football experience has proved essential in areas away from the game, giving him the ability to connect with athletes and nonathletes alike: “If you want to be a leader in a locker room,” he says, “you have to work hard but you also have to know when to listen. I learned to dial in on the details, and to know when to roll up my sleeves and say, ‘Hey, we got to get to work.’”

Coleman lights up when talking about Latin scholarship students who have gone on to do extraordinary work at top-flight colleges and to spearhead medical innovations. “Opening up these opportunities makes for generational change,” he says. “It’s really cool to see how gifted and special our children truly are.”

WHAT’S NEW

The Academic Transition and Student Success Office is sponsoring a summer program for new students, so that when the first day of school comes, they’re one step ahead instead of one step behind.

WHAT’S NEXT

The school will be hiring a Director of Community, Belonging, and Global Education, who will be responsible not only for Latin’s many opportunities to travel and study abroad, but for integrating those wide-ranging experiences and perspectives into the school’s curriculum.

Leadership

WHAT’S NEW

This year’s community partner is Special Olympics Mecklenburg County. To learn more about how the school and the organization are working together to benefit both sides, turn to page 24 of this magazine.

WHAT’S NEXT

Look for continued expansion of the leadership classes available to students and the addition of our fourth community partner.

“Building on our belief that every student can lead,” the Strategic Plan declares, “we will leverage our signature leadership programs to develop the leadership potential in every student in a curricular thread that begins in Transitional Kindergarten and continues through Grade 12.”

Charlotte Latin has thoroughly integrated the Portrait of the Latin Leader into school life. Even Lower School students can name its six pillars — Curious Learner, Dynamic Communicator, Conscientious Thinker, Humble Collaborator, Courageous Advocate, and Resilient Navigator — and discuss how they support their own edifices of leadership. While these attributes are spotlighted in the Upper School and Middle School leadership curriculum, Lower School students engage with them via Take-Home Initiatives and special projects (such as the second grade’s biography program) — and faculty members discuss them during their performance reviews.

Although Latin now offers a robust suite of classes on leadership (and Speech and Debate, which is aligned with the same values), what’s proved especially inspiring is how those values spill out of classrooms.

Middle School students periodically nominate peers for “Latin Leader” awards, illuminating individuals who exemplify the values of leadership inside and outside of the classroom. When Latin engages with community partners such as Habitat for Humanity and Baby Bundles, it makes sure that their values align with the school’s, that the partnership benefits both sides, and that it creates a long-term opportunity for Latin students to put the principles of leadership into action.

That work is crossdivisional: for example, prior to the Winter Break Service Day, our Baby Bundles student leaders spoke with our sixth graders about the organization and taught them how to make blankets for the benefit of new mothers and their children. Those partnerships spur meaningful experiences on campus for many of our students, but the work extends off campus and into the rest of Charlotte.

Latin leadership goes even further afield in our partnerships with our sister schools, including the new Cultural & Comparative Leadership class that is held, for credit, while traveling through South Africa. No matter where in the world Latin students and graduates end up, they are ready to lead.

Community Wellness

Through the history of Charlotte Latin School, the wellness of our students had the best possible foundation: the care and attention of the adults working closely with them. While we have long fostered a positive learning environment for our students — and a positive working environment for our employees — to achieve greater physical and mental health in an increasingly fraught world, we recognized the need for a more comprehensive plan.

The hiring of Michele King as the school’s first Director of Student Support & Wellness was a harbinger of greater collaboration between the school’s support systems. To enhance the wellness of our students, we attend to their physical health (the purview of our school nurses), provide social and emotional support (the province of our counselors), and bolster their academic success (via learning resources staff and other teachers). Over the years, we have seen how health issues can cut across those three areas, so we have

opened up lines of communications: a nurse who spots a student who could use emotional support can alert the relevant counselor, while a counselor who identifies a struggling student can loop in a learning resources teacher. Some of these collaborations happened before in an ad hoc way, but now we’ve set up systems to help everyone achieve better outcomes.

Since 2020, Latin has been administering the High-Achieving School Survey from Authentic Connections, gathering data on the wellbeing of our students. With this longitudinal data, the school is better equipped: not only can we measure ourselves against peer schools and our own past, we can see how programs make a positive impact with our students. Armed with data — not just good intentions — we can devote our resources where they make a difference and fine-tune them for maximum impact. Our results are real, not anecdotal: our rates of anxiety and depression have declined.

WHAT’S NEW

The new daily schedule is a signal achievement for wellness at Charlotte Latin, not least because it builds short mentalhealth breaks into the day to help students avoid becoming overwhelmed. It also makes time for signature Hawk Block programming on subjects ranging from financial literacy to sleep habits — and a dramatic expansion of the Advisory program in Upper School, helping students discuss and grapple with real-world issues.

WHAT’S NEXT

Building on the successes of Launch, the program that prepares Upper School students for life after graduation, and fifth grade advisory time, which prepares Lower School students for the Middle School, Latin is planning more wellnessfocused experiences to help younger students with big transitions.

Teaching and Learning

Since Charlotte Latin’s founding in 1970, the classroom experience has been one of the school’s greatest strengths: our world-class teachers illuminate the world to our students, helping each of them become the best version of themselves. Curiosity, the theme for the 2025-26 academic year, has been a value at Charlotte Latin from the start: the more our students learn, the more they want to learn.

(See pages 26 through 31 of this magazine for some examples of how students in all three divisions, with their curiosity stoked, take charge of their own learning.)

Our commitment to excellence in the classroom continues unabated, but the world keeps changing and we learn more about how young minds learn, so we’re not on cruise control. Fifth grade has been a particular locus of innovation this year: the addition of a dedicated science teacher has not only prepared students for the science curriculum in Middle School, but allowed Jill Flynn and Jen Keith to team-teach math, which has proved extremely effective. Lower School Assistant Heads Andria Quintero and Avery Teichman have encouraged the division’s teachers to pioneer new approaches — and provided them with personal learning communities that burnish their skills.

The result for fifth graders is echoed across campus in every grade: a daily culture of intellectual curiosity that centers student choice and voice, connects learning to the real world, and prepares our students for the future..

WHAT’S NEW

The focal point of academic change this year is the new schedule. Having a waterfall schedule, where classes rotate through different time slots, means that no individual class falls victim to students’ circadian rhythms. Now that the Middle School and the Upper School share class times, they also share classes and other resources more easily. And the extralong class times on “Blue Days” and “White Days” give teachers regular opportunities to go in-depth with students on scientific explorations and classroom projects.

WHAT’S NEXT

The school will be hiring a Director of Teaching and Learning, who will report to Dr. Sonja L. Taylor, Associate Head of School. While a multitude of teachers and department chairs and division heads do superb work at Latin, too often they are siloed from each other: the new director will coordinate curriculum alignment and faculty development so that students more smoothly develop their knowledge and skills from one grade to the next.

Meet Jordan Filanowicz ’28, created the flipbook featured in this issue of Latin

f you haven’t done it already, check out the flipbook on the lower-righthand corner of every page in this magazine issue. Hold the magazine in your left hand and use your right thumb to riffle through the pages. You will see a short animation featuring a hawk taking flight — and absconding with the magazine’s page numbers for its own purposes. If you’ve already experienced the flipbook, do it again and make sure you check out the grace note: the final panel on the inside back cover.

That 41-panel sequence was wholly created by budding animator Jordan Filanowicz ’28. A few years ago, he was looking at two side-by-side doodles he had made of the same character and began to think about the implied movement between doodle #1 and doodle #2. He remembers, “I kept looking back and forth between them and said I’ve got to do something with this. And that was the first animation I made.”

Filanowicz has been working on his animation chops since then: “from simple blinking to walk cycles,” he says. Two years ago, he won a Gold Key in the Scholastic Art Awards for a short animation he made about Poland. “I love to show emotion and movement in my art,” he says. “Even in a still image, my characters wouldn’t usually be standing there: they’d be leaning on one of their legs, maybe.”

For this flipbook, Filanowicz started with very rough sketches: basically, ovals in motion. “My next step was to add a birdlike layer to it,” he explains. “I spent an hour going through Pinterest and finding a bunch of hawk photos, so now my Pinterest is covered in hawks.” From there, he added the finer details of line art, and then color.

Filanowicz enthusiastically praises the Latin art department: “The teachers are always there to help you improve your skills,” he says. He draws every day, trading pictures with friends, inventing new original characters, and taking requests. “I’m not always working on animation,” he says. “I’m just trying to improve my all-around art skills.” New artistic challenges await, but he already has the power to make a bird fly.

Charlotte Latin Partners with Special Olympics Mecklenburg County

“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”On the world stage in Berlin, Germany, with ESPN’s cameras rolling — amidst thousands of athletes from 190 countries competing in the 2023 World Games — Philip Blount quietly repeated the Special Olympics oath to steady his nerves before the shot put finals. Moments later, Blount, one of just two athletes representing North Carolina in Berlin, launched the 8.8–pound sphere nearly 22 feet. That day, he stood atop the podium as a gold medalist.

Blount told the Charlotte Latin community this story in November, during an all-school Gratitude Assembly announcing Special Olympics Mecklenburg County as the school’s 2025–26 spotlight community partner. Charlotte Latin and Special Olympics have worked together since 2024, through the school’s Good Neighbor program — but this year, the relationship has evolved into something deeper. Now Special Olympics events are led by student leaders, designed to be developmentally appropriate and aligned with the school’s mission, vision, Principles of Good Practice, and Core Values. For the visiting athletes, these experiences create a genuine sense of belonging.

“In the beginning, it was simply about being a good neighbor,” says Eric Smith, Assistant Athletic Director for Middle School. “We opened the doors to our gyms and courts, and from there the relationship blossomed. Once students got involved, it added a whole new layer to the partnership.”

Working with Special Olympics creates opportunities for students to take on leadership roles, organize events, and experience firsthand the values of service, teamwork, and inclusion. “We believe that our student body can and should have opportunities to engage with our community partners,” says Director of Student Leadership Development Dr. David-Aaron Roth.

“We discussed with community stakeholders how central athletics is to our students’ experiences. This partnership allows them to leverage their talents in sports while contributing to the community.”

A quartet of senior student leaders — Coleman Casey ’26, Collin Kiefer ’26, Charlotte Tune ’26, and Claire Zhang ’26 — helped bring that partnership to life.

The group organized soccer, pickleball, and tennis events in the fall and hosted a basketball invitational in December, coordinating volunteers, managing logistics, and creating a welcoming atmosphere. Students developed deeper connections with the visiting athletes. What began as event planning evolved into something more.

“It was exciting to pull my teammates into something that really mattered,” says Tune, a varsity basketball player. With Zhang, she prepared a slideshow to prepare Latin students for the visit and studied the Special Olympics website, ensuring the events ran smoothly.

Their work came into focus during the basketball invitational, where students organized teams, refereed games, and guided athletes through drills. A joyful cacophony filled the Beck Student Activities Center: sneakers squeaked on the hardwood court, balls bounced in percussive staccato patterns, and students of all ages waved handmade signs and cheered at the top of their lungs. “It gave me a new perspective on positivity,” Casey declares. “The athletes are so determined and joyful. It reminded me that leadership isn’t about running something perfectly — it’s about those human moments.”

“The initial awkwardness disappeared the moment we started playing,” Tune adds. “We were dribbling, high-fiving, celebrating every basket. They left as much of an impression on us as we hoped to leave on them.”

The partnership reaches throughout the Charlotte Latin community, giving students opportunities to engage with community partners from TK through 12th grade. Lower School students, particularly in first and third grade, interact with Special Olympics athletes

through reading, games, and other structured activities.

“For our first and third graders, this partnership is about exposure — learning about the world beyond Charlotte Latin and the needs of others,” says Amy Ballaban, Lower School Community-Engaged Coordinator and fourth grade teacher. “They learn to be local collaborators with people who may be different from them, to bring compassion and empathy.”

For Ballaban, the work is about normalizing difference early — giving students repeated, age-appropriate touchpoints that help them navigate the world beyond their day-to-day lives. “Kids can walk away understanding the world outside themselves, how to use their strengths, and what they can learn about themselves to help serve others,” she says. “We want these experiences to be reciprocal and meaningful for both sides.”

Jamey Petrucci, Mecklenburg County Director for Special Olympics North Carolina, says that reciprocity has become a reality. “Our athletes love being on campus,” she affirms. “Students and staff treat them like anyone else and that’s what they want. It’s made Charlotte Latin a place they genuinely enjoy coming to.”

That sense of belonging, from Petrucci’s point of view, is built through consistency and engagement that extends beyond opening doors.

“The commitment stands out,” she says. “Everyone at Charlotte Latin is willing to step up — to host, to problem-solve, to say yes. That kind of consistency makes us want to keep building the partnership. My hope is that real friendships come out of this. The more our athletes and students get to know each other, the more inclusion becomes something that lasts beyond the event or the season.”

Roth believes that consistency and commitment reflects the leadership efforts of the students and is the epitome of the school’s collaboration with its community partners. “We’re not saying, Here’s one day where you can come to our campus,” he explains. “What we’re really saying is, Your athletes are always welcomed and celebrated in the Latin community.”

For Tune, the experience has been a capstone on her years at Charlotte Latin, underscoring how the lessons of Latin leadership will extend past her graduation. She says, “Using athletics to build connections, and seeing how meaningful that could be, made the whole partnership feel bigger than just Latin.”

ome of the greatest moments at Charlotte Latin happen when students exercise agency over their own reading and research, following their intellectual passions and stoking their own curiosity. In Lower School, fifth graders lead the way with the annual You Choose project, which serves as a crowning achievement of their time in the division: they spend time in the library, learn how to research a subject, work with a mentor,

and prepare a speech with visual aids that they present to their peers and adults. You Choose prepares them for life in Middle School and beyond — but what drives the students through months of hard work is that they get to pick the topic themselves. We caught up with a dozen Lower School students as they began their You Choose adventure, asking them what their topic was and why they selected it.

“I went there on a trip — it was really cool and I want to know more about it. I know there’s hot springs and they can burn you. I think there was a volcano there, but I don’t know if it blew up.” — Wes

“I picked her because she’s a young activist and she inspired a lot of people to fight for what they want. I think that she’s Swedish.” — Betsy

“Why aren’t there Vikings anymore? They had a really strong culture.” — Charlie

“I picked the subject because we have the same name. I know he was king during the Revolutionary War — I want to know what he did as a kid before he became king.” — George

“Last summer I visited a prison in Tennessee. I wanted to learn more about Alcatraz, which I heard is a famous prison that they might be opening up again. My parents said that when the project is done, they’d take me to visit it.” — Coco

“When I was little, I loved volcanoes, but I was never able to learn more about them — now is my chance. I know it was in Italy and a guy named Pliny the Elder was involved, but I want to find out how long the eruption lasted for.” — Caleigh Rae

“I know it’s a celebration of freedom from slavery, but I want to learn more about how the holiday happened, why we celebrate it, and why it’s important.” — Carter

“It’s incredible how an iceberg can sink a ship that was very big that they said was unsinkable. I know they saw the iceberg: it looked small but it was big under the water. I want to know more about the structure

The Olympics

“The Olympics have all the sports, so it relates to P.E. How good do you have to be in there? I really like watching gymnastics.” — Lyla

“I visited it in Italy and I thought it was fascinating. I want to find out who told people they could take away the stones.” — Louise

“My older brother and younger brother have it, so I want to know how I can help them because sometimes they get overwhelmed.” — M.

“It’s the heads of four presidents who are important. Why was it made?” — Willett

STUDENTS CHOOSE: MIDDLE SCHOOL

hey’re not soldiers, but they’re still saving lives,” says Middle School student Reina K. “The book keeps mentioning just how young they were. That’s a common theme through the book and it helped me a lot when I annotated it.”

She’s discussing The Enigma Girls, a book by Candace Fleming about the teenage British girls who worked at Bletchley Park in England during World War

II, part of the Allied effort to break German military codes such as the Enigma cipher.

In Sallie Caddell’s eighth grade English class, students have books open for a class discussion, but they’ve moved their chairs into small clusters, and each group is engaged in deep conversations about a different book — one that the students picked themselves.

WELCOME TO MIDDLE SCHOOL BOOK CLUB, WHERE STUDENTS TAKE CONTROL OF THE READING LIST

This is the Middle School Book Club: at its core, it’s all about choice. In each grade of Middle School, English teachers curate a list of titles around a central theme and students rank their preferences before joining small discussion groups. Sixth graders explore books with an environmental lens; seventh graders focus on heroism; and eighth graders dive into dystopian themes before wrapping up with World War II nonfiction that aligns with their history studies.

Book Club meets two or three times a week: sometimes for quick check-ins, and other times for longer sessions allowing deeper analysis of themes, symbolism, and vocabulary. The structure allows students to craft their own reading experience, choosing what to read, how to read it, and at what pace.

“I like that we can choose for ourselves,” says eighth grader Mary Byrne B. “You enjoy a book more when you’re not forced to read it.”

“We think it’s really important to have variety beyond our whole-class books,” says Caddell. “When adults are in book clubs, we read with our friends and choose books that interest us. That’s what we’re trying to model here — giving students as much choice as we can.”

The World War II unit in eighth grade begins with the whole class reading

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, a memoir that introduces students to the history and human impact of the war. After this shared text, Book Club begins and students can choose from four titles: Unbroken, the survival story of Olympian-turned-POW Louis Zamperini; D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy, 1944, a detailed account of the Normandy invasion and its soldiers; I Have Lived 1,000 Years, a memoir by Livia Bitton-Jackson recounting her experiences as a teenager during the Holocaust; and The Enigma Girls.

Each book provides a different point of view, giving students a better understanding of the war and the myriad human experiences it encompassed.

“We are always trying to bring in other stories of World War II,” says Alyssa Harrigan, a Middle School English teacher whose class participates in Book Club alongside Caddell’s. “We try to share different perspectives.”

Both Harrigan and Caddell are also open to student feedback, adjusting selections each year to keep the conversation fresh and reflective of students’ interests. One book, however, has remained constant in recent years because of sustained student enthusiasm: Unbroken

For self-described history buff Cannon H., the choice was easy. He was immediately

drawn to the story of Zamperini: an Olympian who fought in the Pacific theater, survived a plane crash, and endured years as a prisoner of war. He enjoyed the process of reviewing brief book synopses before making his choice, and says the process made him more invested in reading.

“When you get to choose your book, it will likely be something that you enjoy,” Hilton says. “You are able to consistently annotate and read to your fullest potential.”

Eighth grader Avery L. values, more than the choice of book itself, the flexibility that Book Club allows. Students determine their own reading schedule within an allotted timeframe, deciding as a group how many pages to read on a given night and when to meet certain deadlines. “You can pick your own schedule,” she says with a grin.

That structure has benefits beyond giving students greater autonomy: “We’ve seen in Book Club that students hold each other accountable much more than with a whole-class read,” Harrigan says. “They are more likely to speak up because if someone hasn’t done the reading, it impacts the discussion. In that way, they really take ownership of their own learning — and that accountability really matters.”

Avi Stone ’29

“This year my topic is ultraprocessed foods. Recently after a medical checkup, they ran blood tests and discovered that pretty much everyone in my family was nutrient deficient. That was a personal issue in my life, but it’s a widespread problem. It turns out that a lot of foods you might think are healthy are ultraprocessed foods, which are foods made mostly or entirely from substances not commonly used in home cooking.”

Meet the orators of the Upper School

Shivani Kaw ’27

“I’m speaking about how the world is too fast-paced nowadays and there’s a constant rush to adulthood. I encourage people to incorporate mindfulness into their days and maybe take a step out of the cycle.”

Claire Siever ’28

“I wrote about ageism in the United States — we view it as affecting only the elderly, but it hurts everybody. I volunteer at a nursing home, so I’ve gotten to connect with some older people and realize that the way we view them can be very different from who they really are. And I’m working on something right now about how people learn language; I wanted to research how that works in our brains. There are 800 different sounds in human languages, but most languages zero in on just 40 sounds.”

he Upper School students on Charlotte Latin’s award-winning Speech & Debate team compete in a wide range of forensics events, ranging from dramatic reading of children’s literature to two-vs.two debates on governmental policy. Some of those specialties emphasize thinking on your feet, while others — original oratory, informative speaking, and declamation — require students to immerse themselves in a particular area of knowledge and prepare a speech.

Bilal Butt, Director of Speech & Debate, says: “We know that when students start researching a topic, they won’t end up in the same place they started. When they find an interesting piece of information, it can become the center of their argument. The process is dynamic, so they learn fluidity.”

“Charlotte Latin’s writing curriculum already emphasizes student choice in meaningful ways, but often within one narrow subject,”

Sophia Smith ’26

observes Megan Butt, Assistant Director of Speech & Debate. “When students have free rein to choose anything, the learning stops being an obligation and starts becoming an opportunity for them to chase their own curiosities. Students have to think about their own values and passions, so while they’re learning about the larger world, they’re also learning about themselves.”

Margaret Odhiambo ’28

Grace Chiu ’28

Isabel Yang ’26

“My topics have included body neutrality, women’s tendencies to feel aggression towards other women, and grind culture — the nature of kids today, and humans in general trying to be better than their past actions, and why we can’t just be present in the moment.”

“Last year I did a persuasive speech about how society perceives women as one-dimensional and we need to expand our view to see them as multidimensional. I learned that when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of Great Britain, she took voice lessons to deepen her voice because a masculine-sounding voice was seen as more suitable for leadership.”

“For declamation, you memorize somebody else’s speech, like a TED Talk, and you pick one that has a personal connection to you. Last year, I did one about procrastination, but this year I’m doing Canwen Xu’s ‘I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype.’ She plays off the ‘model minority’ myth and then delves into her childhood experiences, being the only Asian in most scenarios in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Idaho. While Charlotte is more diverse, I’ve had that same experience of being the person of Asian descent in a group.”

“My topic is the history and societal effects of wigs: I chose something that might seem superficial but has a very deep meaning in society. Wigs can be a way to express creativity, but they have a history where Black women were forced to cover their natural hair or scarves — they were first used to cover up part of someone’s identity.”

A roundtable conversation with the Latin music faculty

alking through the Horne Performing Arts Center is like dialing the knob on your car radio, except that all the music is being made by joyful Middle School and Upper School students. The sound of a young musician diligently running through scales in a practice room segues into an orchestra practicing Tchaikovsky’s “Marche Slav” and then to a choral arrangement of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”

At Charlotte Latin, students learn the fundamentals of music in Lower School; beginning in fifth grade, they are given the opportunity to begin playing with an instrument in either band or orchestral ensembles, or to sing in choir. They can then work with the faculty in that program until graduation.

“The arts are a priority at Latin because they’re part of our well-being as humans,” says Alicia Long, Director of Performing Arts. “We have a gorgeous collection of instruments and a beautiful building — this is a collegiate-level music facility.”

For a conversation about awakening and developing the musical passions of Charlotte Latin students, we sat down with the seven members of the Middle and Upper School music faculty: Sabrina Howard and Laci Wargo teach string instruments for the orchestral ensembles; Ben Hingle and Pam Sweer lead the bands; Ryan Harrison and Amy Morris lead the choirs, accompanied by collaborative pianist Jennifer Kempka.

“Every one of them is a musician who loves their craft and loves teaching the next generation,” Long says. “It takes a special person to do that on a daily basis — but they have no shortage of passion.”

What’s your goal as a music teacher?

Morris: To share the joy of music with as many kids as I can.

Sweer: Making positive memories so that our students will want to be involved in music in some way for the rest of their lives, and one day pass on their appreciation to their own children.

Hingle: To give every student in the program the opportunity to play a variety of music in a variety of styles. And to decompress from the rigors of their other classes.

Howard: To provide opportunities for students to use music as a creative tool so they can find their inner selves. Music permeates everything we do: it’s easy to be a consumer, but there’s very few people who can say they’re a creator.

How does curiosity about music turn into proficiency?

Howard: Every child who walks into a room and sees a musical instrument, they want to touch it. It’s amazing to have the ability to put that instrument in a fifth grader’s hand and say “This is your instrument and we’re going to learn to play it.” Their curiosity is immediately pricked because it’s something they don’t know. At first, they’re interested in how many different sounds they can make, and then they learn how to tap into it.

Hingle: In the first couple of weeks, we do basic introductions: “This is a flute. This is a clarinet. This is a saxophone. This is what they sound like.” They pick their top three, and then we mouthpiecetest them as they learn the fundamentals of tone production. That curiosity grows into a work ethic.

Sweer: Nine times out of ten, if you let a student play their first choice, it’s the right choice.

Wargo: We have some students who are so curious, they’ll figure out how to play anything we throw at them, plus music we haven’t taught them. But other kids, you can see their curiosity awaken when they make a connection: “Oh, if I move my finger from F natural to F sharp and back to F natural, I can make that sound spooky.”

Harrison: I’ll ask them “What do you think we can do with this

Harrison: I’ll ask them “What do you think we can do with this music that will help it connect more?” Sometimes they’ll have great ideas; other times, it might not be the best idea, but I’ll say, “Let’s try it and see what happens.”

Kempka: They ask such deep questions when they see something they’re not familiar with.

Morris: We expose them to all the different ways that we can sing, developing their ears. Often I’ll ask them to sing something three different ways: maybe singing with a choral tone, and then with a Southern accent, and then singing like Ariana Grande in Wicked. They learn that there are other ways that people sing, but there’s a particular way we’re looking for in choir.

What phrase do you find yourself saying to students most often?

Harrison: “One more time.” And as with all music directors, it’s never one more time, it’s seven more times.

Kempka: “Lock in.”

Morris: My Upper School choir made a bingo card of things that I say. The top two would probably be “watch me” — meaning I’ll cue you and show you when the music gets louder and softer — and “vowels are not unified.”

Howard: For the younger kids, “Don’t play in my rest.”

Wargo: This is a Sabrina-ism: If they forget their instrument and say, “Oh, I left it at my house,” I say, “Well, we’re not having orchestra at your house.”

Sweer: “That was lovely” or “that was R-O-N-G wrong.” I try to talk as little as possible because they join band to play their instruments, not to listen to me talk. When I had student teachers, I would time them and sometimes I would need to tell them, “You had a 50-minute class where the kids played for only 12 minutes.”

How has your approach to teaching music changed over the years?

Sweer: I took myself out of the equation. When I stopped thinking that performances were a reflection of me as a teacher, and started thinking of them as a vehicle for students to experience success, my students got better and our performances got better.

Harrison: The way I teach music theory is different because I’ve done a lot of professional development. There’s a system we use called Takadimi that helps to read rhythm when we’re doing melodic sight reading. There are a lot of shortcuts students can use that I didn’t know in high school. Most of them are not going to go to school for music — if they are, we give them extra attention to round out their knowledge, but otherwise, we want them to work smarter, not harder.

Wargo: It’s eye-opening how many resources are available now.

Hingle: I started my career teaching choir, band, and piano in a public middle school, so I was just trying to stay above water. Now, my focus on education in the band room is to give the kids the best opportunity to be successful through my choices in music and through their energy level. We’re here to earn the appreciation of our audiences and hopefully entertain them. It’s more than notes on a page: I want them to be proud of what they’re doing.

How do you get your students to listen to each other?

Kempka: We talk a lot about blend. There’s a difference between a solo singer and a choral singer: you don’t use the same voice in choir as you would use singing in the car on the way to school. We tell them not to outsing each other — listening is a huge part of choral work.

Harrison: We’ll have sopranos circle up in a corner, altos in another corner, and so on. As they circle up, they’re forced to listen to each other, which helps solidify their parts. If we want them to listen across the entire choir, we’ll do a big semicircle around the room.

Wargo: Sometimes we do partner work, where students need to correct their partner. We don’t want one student telling another the wrong thing, but they do group work in all their other classes: they’ll help each other with math problems. We have one Upper School student who plays cello better than most of the professional cellists I work with – I can see students particularly listening to him. They honor the fact that he’s so talented and he’s not a diva and willing to share what he knows.

Morris: It’s important to create a safe space for people to take risks. Singing can put you in a very vulnerable place.

Hingle: When we’re first learning a piece of music, they’re so concerned with the ink on their page that I don’t harp on it much, but once they get comfortable, I will often ask, “Okay, who has the melody here?” That reminds them that this is the saxophones’ moment, or this is the flutes’ moment — we teach them to be responsible for listening.

Howard: It’s organic. Listening to each other musically carries over into conversations and relationships.

How does the music department work together?

Harrison: This fall, I had a motorcycle accident and I was out for a long time. Everything’s healed up now — I have a new bike, but I’m going to be much more careful. When I was gone, the department really came together to support Amy Morris and Jennifer Kempka, coming into their classes and helping out.

Hingle: It’s a great department. I’ve been at other schools where you’re on your own, but here, everyone’s always asking each other what they can do to help. Morris: We collaborate all the time for the benefit of our students. We have one student who’s a phenomenal singer and a phenomenal cellist. Choir and orchestra meet at the same time, so we’ve created a plan for her to do both, which requires constant communication.

What are the benefits of working with the same student musicians across multiple years?

Hingle: The longer a student stays in the band program, the more you build trust, the better the relationship becomes — and they become more willing to take musical risks.

Morris: It’s a community. When I send communications to new choir parents, I’ll say, “Hello, welcome to the choir family.”

Howard: It’s such a joy watching that growth, even through the stumbles and the missteps. They include us in their lives, and even in the lives of their pets. You know these students so well that you can tell if something’s wrong when they walk in the room. Even if they’re not ready to share anything, sometimes they’ll come in and say “Can I just sit today?” That room is a safe space for them. And then after they graduate, we can see them continuing their musical journey because music has become such a part of the fabric of their everyday lives. Wargo: I almost feel like it’s not fair to the other teachers who don’t get them for seven or eight years.

Why do you teach music?

Sweer: Because it’s the best job in the world.Who else gets to play for work?

Kempka: I feel very fortunate that I can do something I love for my job. Especially here, where the people are so amazing. Howard: I have a passion for sharing what I love with kids. I think it’s super-important to give them an outlet that they control. There’s no bench in a musical ensemble — everyone plays. Teamwork, community, and all the values that Latin stands for are inherent in making music together. Morris: I teach music because everybody deserves to have that as part of their life.

Celebrate Latin 2026

historic “bomb cyclone” snowstorm in Charlotte on January 31 prevented us from gathering in person for A Night in Blue and White, but that couldn’t slow down Celebrate Latin and the extraordinary Latin community. Celebrate Latin continued with partygoers snuggled up in warm blankets in the safety of their own homes — and with an undimmed spirit of generosity that raised approximately $340,000 in support of Parents’ Council initiatives that enrich our school and strengthen our community.

As the snow continued to fall, our selfless donors funded signature events over the next two years that bind the Latin community together: Touchdown Tailgate, Book Fair, Faculty and Staff Appreciation Luncheons, Quarterly Treats, May Day Play Day, Service Recognition and Retirement Luncheon, and much more.

Thank you to cochairs Ginny Comly and Laura Helsabeck and our team of 35 parent volunteers, who labored mightily over the past 14 months and pivoted nimbly when the weather upended their plans.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Summa Cum Laude

Cum Laude

Founders’ Friends

HAWKS FLY TOGETHER TO SHOW THEIR GRATITUDE

Since 2018, Fly Day has been an annual day when Charlotte Latin comes together, celebrating our community, donating to the Latin Fund, and letting teachers and staff know how much everyone appreciates the work that they do so that Latin’s students become the best versions of themselves.

BELLS & WHISTLES

On Fly Day, hundreds of volunteers show up in the Beck Student Activities Center, transforming Alumni Hall into a buzzing hive of goodwill. The Charlotte Latin Advancement Team works long hours to facilitate phone-banking and note delivery. The day is punctuated by team members ringing the bell: always an announcement of good news.

SPECIAL DELIVERY

Community members all over the country use Fly Day to send notes of appreciation to the teachers, coaches, and staff of Charlotte Latin. The work of a teacher can feel subtle and invisible; on Fly Day, Latin’s top-notch employees are reminded that they are seen and that the work they do makes a difference. Students and parent volunteers deliver the notes from parents and alumni (and parents of alumni!) — which sometimes bring teachers to tears.

THANK YOU

Gratitude is a virtuous circle: on Fly Day, staff and students and parents write postcards to thank people for their donations, letting them know that their contributions to the Latin Fund provide essential funding for the Latin experience — and that they are making a difference as people, not as lines on a spreadsheet.

PARTY ON THE QUAD

One Fly Day tradition is that three classes (one each from the Lower, Middle, and Upper School) win a unique and enriching treat. The classes are determined by the highest percentages of Fly Day participation by parents — a way to have some friendly competition and to ensure that students of all ages know that they are part of the Fly Day festivities.

The Latin Fund’s work doesn’t happen on just one day: it contributes to the school’s budget 365 days a year, and so our community supports it year-round. Fly Day reminds everyone of how important that work is and how each gift makes an impact. Charlotte Latin School is special because of the people who work here, the families who choose to be part of this community, and the alumni who celebrate their bonds with classmates and the school. On Fly Day, we celebrate the great things we do together and all the people at Latin who make a difference.

ALUMNI NEWS

Hawks Fly Together

For the past 19 years, Latin alumni have gathered at Andy Henson ’98’s Angry Ales for the Young Alumni Holiday Party, a beloved December tradition — this year was no exception. Following the Panthers game on December 21, Hawks came together to reconnect and celebrate. The annual gathering brings generations of alumni together and proves that Hawks always fly together.

Taco Thursday

Our college-age Hawks kicked off the holiday season on December 18 with an on-campus lunch provided by Tacos 4 Life. Alumni from the classes of 2022–2025 enjoyed seeing friends and catching up with faculty, staff and current students — who were excited to welcome them back to 9502 Providence. It was a festive way to start winter break!

From 9502 to What’s Next

Post Holiday Alumni Panel

Some of our recent graduates returned to campus immediately following the school’s Holiday Break, sharing the lessons they’ve learned since leaving Charlotte Latin. Seniors kicked off their final semester by hearing from Sophia Cartafalsa ’24, Maggie Hyder ’25, Will Larsh ’25, Ella Livingston ’22, and Tyler McAndrews ’25, who reflected on their college experiences and answered questions about life after Latin. Organized by the Offices of Alumni Relations and College Counseling, the conversation offered valuable insight into how seniors could make the most of their final months at Latin and prepare for the transition to college. Panelists shared candid advice, including “advocate for yourself by meeting with your college professors,” “be nice to your parents the summer before you leave,” and “learn how to do your own laundry.” The session encouraged the class of 2026 to embrace what comes next and stride confidently onto the exciting road ahead.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

On December 23, more than 300 alumni, current parents, and Hawks returned to campus for a day of friendly competition, camaraderie, and school spirit. With alumni facing off against current players, cheered on by coaches (current and past), the day brought new energy to favorite Latin traditions: the fifth annual Hawks Holiday Hustle 5K (which welcomed over 100 runners and walkers!), alumni basketball in Belk Gym, soccer and lacrosse matchups, and wrestling practice capped with a pancake breakfast. Hawks of all ages proved one thing: when Hawks take on Hawks, everyone wins.

The holiday season brought Hawks back together as members of the classes of 2010, 2015, and 2020 gathered for milestone reunions. The class of 2010 kicked things off in November, followed by the classes of 2015 and 2020, who reunited in December for their tenand five-year celebrations at Giddy Goat Coffee Roasters and Emmy Squared.

At this year’s Alumni Town Hall, on March 5, Hawks of multiple generations came together to learn more about Latin’s athletic philosophy, recent facility improvements, and the overall student-athlete experience. The evening kicked off with a welcome from Head of School Chuck Baldecchi, followed by an update from Alumni Governing Board Chair Ken Leonczyk ’96, who shared how the Board is working to strengthen connections among alumni, students, and the broader Latin community.

Presenters included David Gatoux, Director of Athletics, along with coaches Drew Dayton (Varsity Football), David Paige (Varsity Wrestling), and Nikki Williams (Varsity Girls’ Lacrosse), who discussed how athletics plays a key role in shaping student leaders on and off the field.

In a student-athlete panel, current Hawks answered alumni questions and shared what being a student-athlete at Latin means to them. The evening celebrated the connection between past and present Hawks — and the lasting impact athletics has on the Latin experience.

The Home Stretch

On February 10, the class of 2026 celebrated a major milestone: 101 days to Commencement!

Christian Vernon ’03 is now an escape room impresario: turn to page 54 to learn more about Doors of Divergence.

1975

A new tradition is born! The Class of 1975 kicked off a lasting legacy during their milestone reunion by leaving a physical mark on campus. Ahead of reunion weekend, planning committee members Doug Ausbon, Jean (Trice) Deason, and Jon Michael returned to campus to paint the rock outside the IO building blue and stencil “Class of 1975.” On Friday night, following the football game and class recognition, the full group gathered at sunset to sign their names on the rock.

During his 50-year reunion weekend, Cross Country legend and Athletic Hall of Fame member Jon Michael spent time with current XC and Track Hawks. Holding the oldest school records on the books — Men’s 5K, 3200m, and 1600m — Jon shared valuable advice on finding success through self-discipline, courage, and, most importantly, having fun.

1977

Hawks and friends forever, Donna (Reid) Nogay and Carol (Lomax) Fortenberry enjoyed time together in Bermuda in July 2025.

1978

Former girls’ golf coach, Robin (Waters) Griffith, traveled to Greensboro, NC, to cheer on the Charlotte Latin Girls’ Golf Team during the NCISAA State Championship at Greensboro National. The team took home the state title for the first time in program history!

1980

It was a Latin reunion on the ultimate field! Longtime ultimate coach Ed Fox crossed paths with Graham Davis ’27, Wesley Dudas ’14, and Ryan Manuel ’23 at the Charlotte Ultimate hat tournament in November 2025.

Ed Fox ’80, Graham Davis ’27, Wesley Dudas ’14, and Ryan Manuel ’23 reunited at an Ultimate tournament in Charlotte.

1983

John Anderson, Jimmy Barnhardt, Rick Booth, Hank Greenberg, Joe Luter, Michael Nesbit, and Michael Newman enjoyed spending time together at the beach in the summer of 2025.

1985

Hawks out West! Blair (Carriker) Donald explored Jackson Hole, WY, in August with her children, Marion ’20 and Alexander ’19. The family enjoyed fly fishing, scenic hikes, relaxing hot springs, and plenty of delicious food.

1986

Go Hawks and go Panthers! Thomas Layton and his sons Thomas ’18 and James ’16 headed to Green Bay, WI, in November to watch the Panthers take on the Packers — and celebrate a Carolina victory.

1991

Congratulations to Katherine Lambert, who — after nearly 12 years as CEO of the Western Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association — has accepted a new role as Territory Vice President for the Lakes to Coast Territory, a larger and more diverse region spanning the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan. While the transition is bittersweet, Katherine is excited and energized to shape this work on a broader scale.

1992

Kudos to Boyd Holland and his wife, Christy, on launching Holland Living, a home management service focused on aging and caregiving at home. The team draws on Boyd’s background in construction and interior design, as well as his certification as an Aging-in-Place Specialist, inspired by his experience caring for his mother after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Learn more at www.hollandliving.com.

Christy and Boyd ’92 Holland have launched Holland Living, a specialized home management service.

1993

A ‘93 Hawk tropical tradition! John Cattie, Currie Gilbert, Joey Holder, Brad Huffstetler, Doug Lowry, and Bryan Mclean enjoyed their third annual Grand Cayman trip in August 2025.

Go Hawks and go Pirates! While visiting Annie Smith ’25 during ECU’s Family Weekend in September, Nick ’27, Eric, and Katie (Ivanoff) Smith ran into fellow ECU Hawks Taylor Aljian ‘25, Colin Murray, and Jerry Singleton ‘23.

1995

’95 Hawks are better together. Justin Brown, James Bryan, Logan Dickerson, Megan (Kempert) Morrow, and Frazier Wallace reunited over the summer.

1997

Congratulations to proud parents Bill White and his wife, Drica, who welcomed their baby girl, Ellie, in November 2025. The family is overjoyed with their newest addition.

16, 2025.

1996

After years of dreaming about it, Katie Archer relocated to France and lives in Nice, where she works in real estate and design consulting. She is building a business, navigating French bureaucracy, and adjusting to a new pace of life — and enjoying the rewarding process of settling into everyday French life.

consulting.

Congratulations to Shanna Dickerson and Luc van Egdom, who were married in October 2025 during a sunset ceremony on Grayton Beach in Florida. The couple looks forward to building a life together in both the U.S. and Africa, as Luc is originally from Cape Town. Shanna is the owner and CEO of Blue Sky Luxury Travels, an ultraluxury travel company specializing in private islands, villas, yacht charters, and private jet travel across the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

1998

Congratulations to Emmynominated Scott Turner Schofield on the release of his one-man show documentary, Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps. Blending live performance, archival footage, animation, and cinematic storytelling, the film redefines the transition narrative with humor and honesty while exploring identity, authenticity, and the belief in

change. Celebrated by People ahead of its release, the film is available to stream on Kinema.

1999

’99 Hawks fly together! Jennifer Bickett, Rebecca Davenport, Laura (Van Dyke) Pitale, Katrina Tschekunow, and Karen Ubell enjoyed reuniting on a trip to Las Vegas, NV, in summer 2025.

’99 Hawks in Las Vegas.

2000

Welcome, Ozzy! Congratulations to Lindsey Austen and her husband, Curran, on the arrival of their son, Ozzy Lewis Conner, on April 5, 2025. Mac is already enamored with the newest addition and his promotion to big brother. The happy family of four live in Jersey City, NJ.

Pat Whalen returned to campus in August as this year’s Convocation speaker. Owner and founder of the 5th Street Group, he is the force behind several beloved Charlotte restaurants, including La Belle Helene and Church and Union, with additional restaurants in locations including Charleston, SC; Denver, CO; Miami, FL; and Nashville, TN. In his address, he encouraged students to lead with curiosity, reminding them that the pursuit of knowledge can be armor against ignorance and malice.

2001

’01 Hawks fly together! Brick Bryant, Will Chapman, Reed Gaskin, Brian Kennelly, Thomas Porter, Tommy Poulos, Matthew Rankin, Andrew Schaeffer, Lee Sigmon, and J.P. Tsahakis reunited in December for their annual holiday get-together.

Bravo to Ashley (Moody) Sigmon, who took the stage as part of Mission 34’s Rock the Cause event in February 2026. Ashley, a proud Latin lifer and current Latin parent, is the co-founder of Mahj in the City. She was joined by fellow Latin alumni Pheriby Bryan ’21, Jackson Edwards ’20, and Ed McMahan ’93. Together, these Hawk rock stars are leaders behind Mission 34’s mission to end the stigma surrounding mental illness and encourage a “new type of tough” — one that isn’t afraid to ask for help.

2002

Congratulations to Robbie Clarke and his wife, Mary, who welcomed their son, James Richard Clarke, on July 29, 2024. James joins his older sisters Louise and Mary Margaret at home in Fort Worth, TX. He is a wonderfully bright and joyful addition to the family.

2003

Congratulations to Mike Owens and his wife, Hannah, on the arrival of their daughter, Leena Noelle Owens, on August 19, 2025. The proud parents, at home in Raleigh, NC, are smitten with their newest addition.

Matt Yagey returned to campus in March 2026 to speak with students about his unique career path and the founding of his business, Medchat AI. After leaving college to pursue music, Matt taught himself to code and built Medchat to help healthcare organizations communicate more efficiently with patients using AI-powered tools. He encouraged students to take risks and embrace paths that don’t always follow a straight line.

Congratulations to Mike and Sterling (Masters) Deeney on the arrival of their daughter, Ivy Sterling Deeney, born on January 12, 2026. Ivy is already adored by her big brother, Dylan, at home in Charlotte, where Sterling is the Head of the Dance Program at Charlotte Latin.

Kudos to Clay Sealey, who was appointed by the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners to the Metropolitan Public Transit Authority in December 2025. A longtime transit rider and advocate, he has spent years engaging public officials and creating accessible content to elevate mobility issues across Charlotte. Clay is excited to bring his on-the-ground experience to this leadership role as he helps shape a more connected and reliable regional transit system.

ESCAPE CLUB

Christian Vernon ’03 returns to Charlotte to open the escape room Doors of Divergence

For anyone who’s never experienced one, what’s an escape room?

Escape rooms are immersive spaces where people solve puzzles and complete challenging tasks to follow a story or achieve an objective, such as escaping from the room. As soon as I started getting into them, I realized, “Oh, this is a subset of immersive theater.” You’re surrounded by four walls and a story happens. But a lot of them were passive stories, and I was more interested in telling active stories, the things that don’t happen until you walk in the room. With Doors of Divergence, we wanted to design a show that can’t move forward without the audience being there: the audience is a protagonist.

You’ve been working in the theater?

I did a big stint in children’s theater in Chicago. I’m a believer that immersive theater is just children’s theater for adults.

How did Charlotte Latin prepare you for this life?

I think the main thing I learned from my time at Latin was a work ethic: going the extra mile and putting in the work. But I got into theater as a freshman. At that point, I had a fear of heights — I figured the best way to get over that was to join the lighting crew and get up on the 35-foot-high catwalk in Thies Auditorium. I think I was one of Jay Scott’s first theater kids. One day I was hanging lights while they were holding auditions for a show and I looked down and said, “I can do that.”

Latin gave me a really good foundation for all aspects of theater, and an understanding of how they need to be coordinated. My first job out of college, I was working as a box office intern for a theater company in Chicago. They needed a stage manager, and I got the job when they realized I could field-strip a Leko [stage light], repair it, and get it back on the grid in five minutes flat. I was like, “Yeah, that’s just tech theater from Latin.”

What has running an escape room taught you about human nature?

People love being given choices, but they also freak out about being given choices. And some people show up for the chaos. Chapter one of our escape room requires players to release a Mesopotamian demoness, which causes World War I by the time they get to the second chapter. Asked if they want to correct the situation, some people will double down instead.

I’ve also learned about a psychological effect called “the doorway effect.” When you walk through an entryway, your brain dumps short-term memories. So you have to design around that: you can’t give players important information and then immediately ask them to walk through a doorway.

Will your Latin classmates be surprised that this is where your life has taken you?

No, it’s weird and nerdy and full of drama. I think they’ll say, “Oh, that makes sense.”

2004

Theresa Campobasso ’04 served as this year’s Veterans Day featured speaker, reflecting on her unexpected path from her Latin theater and humanities classes to a position as a Marine Corps intelligence officer. She spoke with Upper and Middle School students about the importance of communication, adaptability, and service, themes that have carried into her current role as senior vice president of strategy and business development at Exiger. Theresa also visited an Upper School Literature of War class to discuss intelligence work more deeply, including field operations, counterespionage, and the impact of emerging technology.

Congratulations to James and Lizzie (Hibberd) Elder who welcomed their son, Henry Foster Elder, in July 2025. Henry joins his proud big brother Will at home in Tuscaloosa, AL, where Lizzie is the program director and associate professor of the Athletic Training Program for the University of Alabama.

2005

Congratulations to Lindsay Anderson and Dan McCool who were married on June 21, 2025, in Mystic, CT. The newlyweds honeymooned in Paris at the start of 2026 before returning home to Brooklyn where Lindsay is a lyricist, writer, and performer.

Welcome, Poppie! Congratulations to Julie Devore and her husband, Anthony, on the birth of their daughter, Poppie Iris Pearson, on February 28, 2025. Poppie was born weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces; Julie and Anthony are thrilled to raise her surrounded by love both near and far.

Congratulations to Teddy Schwab and his wife, Rebecca, who welcomed their son, Finley Allen Schwab, on July 31, 2025. The happy family of three call Charlotte home and look forward to raising Finn close to family and friends.

Allen Schwab, son of Teddy Schwab ’05, born in July 2025.

Congratulations to Kate Anderson and her husband, Dave, on the arrival of their precious daughter, Mollie Emma Reynolds, on November 6, 2025. The happy family of three live in Los Angeles, CA, where Kate works as a writer and songwriter.

2006

Kudos to Lisa Morales on her promotion to partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at Simpson Thacher Bartlett LLP in New York, NY, effective January 1, 2026. Simpson Thacher is one of the world's leading international law firms; Lisa is thrilled to have the opportunity to continue serving clients across a variety of industries.

Congratulations to Jenna (DeCarlo) Stiles and her husband, Andrew, on the arrival of their second son James Julian “JJ” Stiles on August 27, 2025. Big brother Jack already adores baby JJ. The happy family of four live in Charlotte.

Kudos to motorsport and automotive photographer Jamey Price, who released Racing Unfiltered, a 256-page hardcover book capturing candid moments from the world of racing through the lens of vintage NASCAR film cameras. Shot throughout 2024 at events including IMSA, Formula 1 races, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Monterey Car Week, the project took Jamey around the globe and used nearly 100 rolls of film.

Congratulations to Elizabeth (Barry) Gallanter and her husband, Arthur, who welcomed their son, Sebastian Ernest Gallanter, on May 29, 2025. Big brother Christian is embracing his new role with joy at home in San Francisco, CA.

2007

Congratulations to Scot Robison and his bride, Leah Smith, who were married on September 19, 2025, in Pittsburgh, PA. The couple tied the knot in a beautiful outdoor ceremony and were joined by many fellow ’07 Hawks.

Welcome, Miles! Congratulations to Caroline (Hawkins) Pfister and her husband, Matt, who welcomed their son, Miles Hawkins Pfister, on January 22, 2026. Miles joins his proud big sister Ramsay at home in New York, NY.

’07.

Rayburn, party of five! Congratulations to Ellen and Cowden Rayburn on the arrival of their son, James McCord Wardlaw Rayburn (“Mac”), on April 20, 2025. Mac joins big siblings Paul and Lottie, who are loving their new roles. The family lives in Charlotte, where Cowden practices law and Ellen teaches Middle School English at Charlotte Latin.

Congratulations to proud parents Meghan and Ryan Marklewitz, who welcomed their son, Rowan Rhodes Marklewitz, on May 13, 2025. The happy and healthy family of three live in Maryland, where Ryan teaches science and coaches Varsity Cross Country at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.

2008

Kudos to Elizabeth Weisner, who was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, making her eligible to argue cases before the Supreme Court. A Georgetown Law School alumna, Elizabeth is a litigation attorney in Charlotte.

Congratulations to Bella Bellitto and her husband, Matt, on the arrival of their son, Davis Grant Gerber, in May 2025. The family of three lives in Charlotte, where Bella recently earned her master’s degree in School Psychology from Winthrop University.

2009

Welcome, Peyton! Congratulations to Katherine and Cameron Foster on the arrival of their second daughter, Peyton Kilroy Foster, on September 10, 2025. The family of four is overjoyed — big sister Madison is loving her new role.

A new Hawk joins the nest!

Congratulations to Meggie (Trusty) and Collin Breeney on the arrival of their daughter, Mia James Breeney, on October 11, 2025. The family is enjoying their start to life as a family of three in New York, NY.

Congratulations to Annie (Booke) McLendon and her husband, Rob, on the arrival of their son, Robert Sidney McLendon III (“Mac”), on July 30, 2025. The happy family is settling into life as a family of three at home in Charlotte.

Proud parents Tayler Sipperly and his wife, Cora, welcomed their son, Kai Henning Sipperly, on March 20, 2025. The happy family of three call San Francisco, CA, home. Sarah and Coach Dick Sipperly are thrilled to be first-time grandparents!

Welcome, baby sister Libba!

Congratulations to Chris and Alex (Skipper) White on the arrival of their daughter, Elizabeth Skipper White, born on December 10, 2025. Big brother Graham is already eager to teach her everything, and the whole family is happy, healthy, and settling into the joyful chaos of life as a family of four.

Elizabeth Skipper White (“Libba”), daughter of Alex (Skipper) White ’09, born December 2025.

Congratulations to Catharine (Ellerbe) Knight and her husband, Seth, whose family grew with the arrival of their son, Wade Ellerbe Knight, on August 13, 2025. He joins big brother Tommy and big sister Lucy at home in Charlotte, where the whole family is thrilled to welcome their newest addition.

2010

Congratulations to Davis Finnen and his wife, Cat, on the arrival of their son, Paul Tate Finnen, born on April 26, 2025. The happy family is thrilled to welcome Tate to their home in Charleston, SC.

’09.

Congratulations to Anita (Griffin) Postal and her husband, Rhett, on the birth of their second daughter, Sofia Sams Postal, on July 24, 2025. Big sister Anita is happily settling into her new role at home in Charlotte.

Congratulations to Bess (Asimos) and Brooks Whitmore on the arrival of their daughter, Lena Christine Whitmore. Lena was born on October 9, 2025, and the family is thrilled with another little girl. She joins big sister Sophie at home in Charlotte.

Becky (Green) Hardaway and her husband, Rob, joyfully welcomed their son, Jones Harris Hardaway, on November 23, 2025. Jones joins Layton, his proud big brother, at home in Charlotte.

Congratulations to Andrew ’09 and Effe (Ghartey-Tagoe) Gibson, who welcomed their son, Barrett David Kobena Gibson, in December 2025. The family of three is happy and healthy at home in Charlotte.

Barrett David Kobena Gibson, son of Effe (Ghartey-Tagoe) ’10 and Andrew ’09 Gibson

Kudos to real estate agent McCallie (Jones) Winstead, who was featured by Upstate Real Producers in its August 2025 issue. After transitioning from coaching college soccer to working in real estate, McCallie has quickly emerged as one of the Upstate’s rising stars. McCallie lives in Simpsonville, SC, with her husband and two children.

Congratulations to Caleb Steen and Lex Seigen, who were married on May 3, 3025 at the French Leave Resort in the Bahamas. Many Hawks joined the happy couple for their tropical celebration including Davis Austin, Reid DeCarlo, Cameron Foster, Robert Jones, Nate Mathis ’06, Will O’Brien, Ian Shorkey, and Isabel Steen ’12

Congratulations to Caroline (Rand) Michel and her husband, Noah, on the arrival of their daughter, Sloane, in July 2025. The happy family of three now live in Wilmington, NC, after relocating from Washington, DC, in 2024.

Proud parents Robert Jones and his wife, Cici, welcomed their son, Robert “Bobby” Arthur Jones III, in June 2025. Fletcher is thrilled to be a big brother! The family of four and their King Charles Cavalier, Poppy, moved across the pond in January for a new adventure in London.

Kudos to John Barry, who was featured by Hits Daily Double as a “Noisemaker.” A North American Office Partner at Analog Agency, John was recognized for his influential work in the electronic music space, including booking major artists and shaping standout live events.

John Barry ’10 was featured by Hits Daily Double as a Noisemaker in October 2025.

Welcome, Ginny! Congratulations to Coley (Collett) Hull and her husband, Teddy, on the arrival of their third child, Virginia Shields Hull, in July 2025. Baby Ginny was warmly welcomed home by big sister Milla and big brother Evans. The Hull family lives in Charlotte, where Coley is the founder of Coley Home.

Caroline (Gill) Waters and her husband, Tim, joyfully welcomed a baby boy, John Bradley Waters, on May 16, 2025. John joins his big sister Ruthie at home in Augusta, GA, where Tim is completing his orthopaedic surgery residency.

John Bradley Walters and big sister Ruthie, children of Caroline (Gill) Waters ’10.

Welcome, Rob! Mary Kate (McAlister) and Marshall Sykes welcomed their son, Robert Marshall Sykes Jr., on December 10, 2025. The family of three lives in Charlotte and is overjoyed to welcome their newest addition.

Congratulations to Katherine (Williams) Ambrose and her husband, Jack, on the arrival of their precious daughter, Carter Lea Ambrose! Carter was born on October 16, 2025. The family of three lives in Charlotte; the parents are thrilled to raise her close to family and friends, including her three big-girl cousins, daughters of Blair (Williams) Bruckmann ’09

Hawks in DeBordieu! Hunter Murphy, Thomas Armstrong, and Paul Paschal reunited while vacationing in DeBordieu in July 2025.

Congratulations to Patrick and Sinclair (Knauff) Zatloukal, who welcomed their daughter, Avery Colette Zatloukal, on January 7, 2026. The newest addition joins her proud parents and big sister, Sloane, at home in Jupiter, FL.

2011

Congratulations to proud parents Taylor and Robert Miller who welcomed their son, Bennett Bruce Miller, on May 5, 2025. Ann Violet is thrilled to be a big sister! The happy family of four live in Huntsville, AL, where Robert is a manufacturing manager for 3M.

Congratulations to Casey and Charlotte (Magee) Gray on the arrival of their son, Wyatt Parker Gray, in May 2025. Charlotte and Casey relocated to Charleston, SC, from Salt Lake City, UT, before Wyatt’s birth and are thrilled to raise him close to family and friends.

Charlotte (Magee) Gray ’11 welcomed Wyatt Parker Gray in May 2025.

Welcome, Wells! Kameron (Spence) Phelan and her husband, Kevin, welcomed their second son, Wells Tyler Phelan, on September 6, 2025. Wells joins his big brother, Hayes, and fur brothers, Wrigley and Banks, at home in the Cotswold neighborhood of Charlotte.

Best wishes to Ashley Hall and her husband, Clayton Van Ekeren, who were married in Vail, CO, on August 9, 2025. Hawks joined their beautiful celebration in the Colorado mountains, including Ellen Gray Gregory, Zach Hall ’15, Marshall Jackson, and Alex Kern. The happy couple live in Denver, where Ashley works as an interior designer, with their beloved dogs, Freddie and Wilma.

Hall ’11 and Clayton Van Ekeren were married on August 9, 2025.

Congratulations to Katherine (Peters) Engle and her husband, Kyle, on the birth of their daughter, Eliza James Engle, on November 11, 2025. She joins big sister Avery and the family’s beloved pup, Luke, at home in Larchmont, NY, and is the perfect addition to the family.

Ann Louise (Seaton) and Conor Keeley joyfully welcomed their son, Laursen Meeks Keeley, on October 8, 2025. Heidi is thrilled to be a big sister! The family of four live in Charlotte with their pup, Beau, and Ann Louise serves on the Alumni Governing Board.

Big sister Heidi and new addition Laursen Meeks Keeley, son of Ann Louise (Seaton) ’11 and Conor ’11 Keeley.

Congratulations to Jalen Ross and his wife, Beth, who were married on August 23, 2025, overlooking Lake Michigan in Chicago, IL. Jalen was joined by many Hawks to celebrate the big day, including best man Alex Sanz, and friends Patrick Burton ’10, Charlotte (Magee) Gray, Noland Griffith, and Alex Taylor

Congratulations to Zach Kern and his wife, Abbie, who welcomed their daughter, Amelia Meade Kern, (“Mimi”), on December 6, 2025. The happy family lives in Charleston, SC, where Zach is an employment defense attorney.

December 2025.

Proud parents Stephen Devore and his wife, Sydney, welcomed their son, Charlie, in November 2024. The happy family of three live in Waxhaw and look forward to raising Charlie close to family and friends.

Congratulations to Jonathan Grad and his wife, Brooke, who were married on August 16, 2025. Hawks Katie (Grad) Berger ’13, Marty Berkowitz, Jackson Evans, and Eric Sipperly stood by the couple’s side as members of the wedding party. The newlyweds honeymooned in Indonesia before returning home to Los Angeles, CA.

Porath and Jonathan Grad ’11 were married on August 16, 2025.

Congratulations to proud parents Michael and Jordan (Barnhill) Porfilio, whose family grew in 2026 with the arrival of their son, Lawrence Drew Porfilio (“Drew”). Big brother Aaron is smitten with the newest addition, and the happy family of four calls Charlotte home.

2012

Congratulations to Alexis and Chris Jones on the arrival of their son, Andrew Thomas Jones, on November 12, 2025. The family recently relocated to Charlotte from Austin, TX, and are looking forward to raising Drew close to family and friends.

Congratulations to the Shoffners! Ryan Shoffner and Jami Murray were married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Camarillo, CA, on September 6, 2025. Several Hawks celebrated with the happy couple, including David Belk, Chase Cisne, Will Gardner, Hayden (Shoffner) Hendrix ’14, Ryan Fine, and Ann (Baynard) Woodside. Ryan and Jami live in Charlotte with their beloved golden retriever, Butter.

Cheers to the Covingtons! Grant Covington and Rachel Rihtarchik were married on October 4, 2025, in a beautiful beach ceremony on Isle of Palms, SC. Grant’s siblings, Anna (Covington) McCrary ’17 and Davis Covington ’14, served as a bridesmaid and best man. The happy newlyweds live in Charleston, SC.

Congratulations to Liza (Robinson) Williams and her husband, Rob, on the arrival of their second child, Robert “Grier” Williams III. Big sister McNair is thrilled and already embracing her new role!

Ryan Shoffner ’12 and Jami Murray were married in September 2025 in Camarillo, CA.

Welcome, Betsy! Ann Lawrence and Fitz Ellerbe welcomed their daughter, Elizabeth Frances Ellerbe (“Betsy”), on October 22, 2025. The family of four, smitten with another little girl, live in Greenville, SC.

Congratulations to Annie (McAlister) Foster and her husband, Austin, on the arrival of their son, Charles Hudson Foster, on March 27, 2025. The family live in Winston Salem, NC, and are delighted with their newest addition.

Cheers to the Massardos! Michael Massardo and Peyton Baer were married in Pinehurst, NC, on September 20, 2025. The wedding party included Michael’s siblings Alex ’15, Natalie ’24, and Hawks Carson Clough and Brandon Jordi. The happy couple lives in Charlotte with their golden retriever, Murph.

September 2025.

Congratulations to Ann Lyndon (Griffin) Duckworth and her husband, Michael, who welcomed their first child, Michael Jonah Duckworth Jr., on April 28, 2025, weighing 8 pounds and 15 ounces. The proud parents are smitten with their newest addition to the family.

Congratulations to Virginia and Drew Papadopulos on the arrival of their son, Samuel Mathie Papadopulos, born on April 4, 2025. The family — including big brother Moore — is over the moon with the newest addition to their home in Charlotte, NC.

Kudos to actor Will Branner, winner of the Henry Award for Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical for his role as Orin in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ production of Little Shop of Horrors. His performance wowed audiences with energy, humor, and impressive costume changes. In January 2026, Will was also cast as Tom Buchanan in the North American Broadway tour of The Great Gatsby. Catch a show near you!

Will Branner ’10, winner of the Henry Award for Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical for his portrayal of Orin from Little Shop of Horrors at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Congratulations to Harris Oates and his wife, Meagan, who welcomed their son, Harris Whitney Oates (“Whit”), in October 2025. Big sister Marion is leading the way and loves her little brother. The family of four live in Charlotte; Harris serves on the Alumni Governing Board.

2013

Congratulations to Emma Price and Davis Dudchock, who were married on May 2, 2025, in Nashville, TN. The couple honeymooned in Saint Vincent and are enjoying married life together in Nashville. Emma and Davis celebrated with Hawks on their special day, including matron of honor Liza (Price) McNair ’09, bridesmaid Eve Davis, and friends Leah (Davis) Benfield ’07, Vic Davis, Ashley (Finke) Kaloudis, and Mary Lauren Shea

Emma Price ’13 and Davis Dudchock were married in May 2025.

Rory (Keeley) Smith and her husband, Phillip, joyfully welcomed their first child, Lee Baker Hughes Smith, in June 2025. They are thrilled to be new parents and are currently based in Georgia. Rory is especially excited for Lee to make memories with his cousins, Heidi and Laursen, children of Conor Keeley ’11

Cheers to the Herrmanns! Adam Herrmann and Annie Duke were married on July 12, 2025 in Vail, CO. The happy couple was joined by many Hawks to celebrate their special day including Charlie ‘18 and David ‘15 Herrmann, Jonathan Garwood, Jake McGlone, Allen Tate, and Jordan Williams. After honeymooning in Scandinavia, the pair returned home to Denver, CO.

Congratulations to Cape Rowan and his wife, Mallory, who were married on June 7, 2025 in Richmond, VA. The wedding party included Cape’s sister Elizabeth (Rowan) Rainwater ’07 and groomsmen Mitchell Adams, Vic Davis, Walter Lovejoy ’14, and Allen Tate.

Sarah (Tomlin) Harrell and her husband, Grant, joyfully welcomed their second son, Henry Jackson Harrell, on September 4, 2025. Big brother Copeland is already thriving in his new role at home in Charlotte.

Congratulations to Natalie Gaines and John Ellis, who were married on April 12, 2025, in Charlotte. Natalie’s bridesmaids included Hawks Elli (Morrison) McAdams and Laura Gill, and the beautiful celebration was planned by Jackie (Andolino) Fogartie ’01. The newlyweds are beginning their married life at home in Charlotte.

Cheers to the Thorps! James Thorp and Toddy Collett were married on September 13, 2025, in Linville, NC. Many Hawks joined to celebrate the happy couple in the mountains, including mother of the groom Alison (Davis) Thorp ’80, groomsmen Marshall Burlingame ’12, Walter Lovejoy, and Rostan McBryde ’14, and bridesmaids Addy (Collett) Hakim ’14, Hayden (Shoffner) Hendrix ’14, Peyton Thorp ’10, and Mary Corbin (Burlingame) Turner ’14. After honeymooning in Fiji, the newlyweds were happy to return home to their beloved corgi, Frank, in Charlotte.

Toddy Collett and James Thorp ’13 were married in September 2025.

Kudos to artist BA Thomas ’13 on the opening of her solo show, The Suit That Goes Everywhere, at the Brigitte Mulholland gallery in Paris last spring. On view from May 16 to June 7, the exhibition was inspired by a residency in Paris and paid tribute to the city’s fashion history and the creators behind it.

Congratulations to Caroline Beuley who married Alan Newman on October 25, 2025, in Charlottesville, VA. The newlyweds honeymooned in St. Barts. Caroline is a writer and a current MFA candidate in fiction at UNC Wilmington.

2014

Welcome, Sonny! Addy (Collett) Hakim and her husband Nick welcomed their son, Sonny John Hakim, on September 17, 2025. The happy family of three live in Charlotte where Addy owns The Health Club, a boutique fitness and recovery club.

Congratulations to the Barnhardts! Lucas Barnhardt and Lizzie Mitchell were married on January 3, 2026, in Charlotte. Fellow Hawks Joe Baynard, Ross Caldwell, Rostan McBryde, and Jack Zollicoffer served as groomsmen.

Cheers to the Acostas! Sarah Barry and Matthew Acosta were married on August 23, 2025, in the North Carolina mountains. The wedding party included the bride’s sisters, Elizabeth (Barry) Gallanter ’06 and Hannah Barry ’08, her brother John Barry ’10, and close friend Cannon Clough ’14.

Sarah Barry ’14 and Matthew Acosta were married in August 2025.

Congratulations to first-time parents Morgan and Madison Jaulin! William Glenn Jaulin was born on September 3, 2025. The family of three call Charlotte home; Madison and Morgan are thrilled to raise William surrounded by family and friends.

Congratulations to Lizzie Chaconas and her husband, Steven Kinghan, who were married at the Adare Manor in Ireland on June 28, 2025. Many Hawks headed across the pond to celebrate Lizzie and Steven, including maid of honor Ali Ozmeral, bridesmaid Madeline Stefan, and friends Emma Cooley, Tricia (Belk) Foster, Anna Garwood, Tricia Murphy, Rosemary Parker, Margot Sprow, and Carter Tate

Welcome, Shepard! Congratulations to John Robinson and his wife, Heather, on the birth of their son, John “Shepard” Robinson IV, on January 7, 2026. The first-time parents are over the moon with their newest addition at home in Charlotte.

THE LOAD-OUT

Nikki Sanz ’14 is the founder of Giggs, the jobs website for people working in the live music industry

Does knowing the chaos going on behind the scenes make a concert more or less magical?

Oh, more. The people working backstage are performing every night as well. If I’m watching the Taylor Swift tour, I’m not just seeing something enormous and impactful — when she dives into the stage, I know the guy who built the rollercoaster structure underneath the stage and is pushing her so she pops back up perfectly on time. When the band and the smoke and the lasers and the monitor guy are all on the same track, it’s way more magical because human beings are performing with the artists onstage.

How did you get into the live music business?

I studied sports and event management in college — I thought I wanted to work for the NFL. I got an internship that involved working at the Greensboro Coliseum. I worked at a Dolly Parton concert and realized, oh my gosh, I don’t think I care about sports at all. I want to be on a tour bus. The day after I graduated, I moved to Nashville. I didn’t know a soul, but I networked as hard as I could because the only way to get on the road was to meet the right people.

Who did you tour with?

I was on tour with Eric Church, and then I moved over to George Strait. I loved it so much. I was supposed to go on a world tour in 2020: I was doing all the travel logistics. And

then March 2020 happened. A year later, I realized I really liked being home. But I knew how hard it is to staff and find good people in this word-of-mouth industry, so I spent all my savings to create Giggs, wanting it to be the LinkedIn for the live event industry.

How did that go?

There were a lot of challenges: I got the wrong development team in Poland, got the second wrong development team in the Ukraine, and then finally found the right CTO. But the day we launched, the website crashed for four days. Entrepreneurship is just character development: you fail over and over and over the whole time, but that doesn’t mean the business is failing. To date, I’ve raised over $1.2 million from 35 different angel investors. We launched two years ago, and we now have 40,000 professional users on the site and 2,000 employers.

What aspect of Latin’s culture resonates with you now?

I don’t think I’ll ever get Honor Above All out of my mind. There’s so much that comes with that, including honoring your parents for putting you through this amazing education. You do that by being a good student and by being a good person. And that will take you so far.

2015

Congratulations to the Gardners! Ryan Gardner and Stephanie Feeback were married on June 14, 2025, in Charlotte. The newlyweds honeymooned in Italy before returning home to New York, NY, where Ryan is the assistant stage manager for the Broadway production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Ryan Gardner ’15 and his wife, Stephanie Feeback, were married on June 14, 2025.

Congratulations to Rae Hargrave and Stephen Moxley, who were married on October 12, 2025, in Blacksburg, VA. Sarah Hargrave ’21 and Alison Bonner ’14 stood by Rae’s side in the bridal party. The celebration took place at the beautiful Mountain Lake Lodge, where the movie Dirty Dancing was filmed!

’15 Hawks Jack Gitlin, Alec Hanff, David Herrmann, Alex Massardo, John Oates, and Kanyon Tuttle headed to Indianapolis this fall to cheer on the Colts — and, more specifically, their quarterback, Daniel Jones

Congratulations to Joth Gass and Meghan Hurley, who were married on May 2, 2025, in Charleston, SC. Julia Gass ’18 stood by the couple’s side as a bridesmaid while Matthew Swimmer served as best man. The newlyweds call Charlotte home and are enjoying married life with their golden retriever, Shem.

In December, labor and delivery nurse Audrey (Beaussart) Davis returned to campus to participate in an alumnae panel as part of the Young Women’s Leadership Program. Morgan (Holt) Johnson ‘09, Addy (Collett) Hakim ‘14, and Coley (Collett) Hull ‘10 also served as panelists, alongside a group of virtual alumnae. Together, the group shared valuable life advice with junior and senior female students, encouraging them to follow their passions and strengths, persist through setbacks, and find the path that’s right for them.

2016

Welcome, Daisy! Congratulations to Hannah and Bentley Dalton on the birth of their daughter, Daisy Elizabeth Dalton, on July 7, 2025. Proud parents and fur brother Louie are smitten with their new addition.

Congratulations to Jackson Monnin and Margaret Manley who were married at The Ranch at Rock Creek in Phillipsburg, MT. Many ’15 Hawks headed west to join the happy couple and celebrate their special day, including Jack Gitlin, Chip Griffin, Alec Hanff, David Herrmann, Daniel Jones, Alex Massardo, Clifton Mathis, Toby Okwara, Denzel Pearson, Emerson Schaeffer, Carson Song, and Matthew Swimmer.

Congratulations to McKenzie Needham and Brady Whitmore, who were married on April 5, 2025, in Knoxville, TN. College sweethearts from Wake Forest University and proud dog parents to Bella, the couple celebrated their special day surrounded by family and friends. Brady’s groomsmen included Hawks Ryan Eubank, Gray Goodwin, Caleb Jordan, Parker Julien, Mitchell Malak, Raley Orndorff, Wilson Salisbury, Ben Scott, Hunter Sheridan and his brother and best man, Tommy Whitmore ’14

Congratulations to Gauri Goswamy, who married Ayush Makhija on May 21, 2025, in Barcelona, Spain. The couple met while attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and celebrated their marriage with a joyful three-day event that honored both their Indian heritage and American upbringing in a beautiful Spanish destination. Hawks Simona ’14 and Somaya Gupta joined to celebrate the special occasion. Gauri and Ayush live in New York City, where Gauri is completing her MBA at NYU Stern.

It was a full-circle moment for Caleb Jordan when he returned to campus in December 2025. Now the Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach at Spartanburg Day School, Caleb and his team traveled to Charlotte to take on the Varsity Hawks in Belk Gym for the annual throwback game.

Cheers to the Goodwins! Gray Goodwin and his wife, Nell, were married on October 25, 2025, in Charleston, SC. Gray’s groomsmen included Hawks Benjamin Eady, Ben Scott, and Brady Whitmore

Congratulations to Caroline Ficca, who graduated from The University of Edinburgh/The Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh, Scotland, in July 2025. Caroline is now completing her equine veterinary internship at Montana Equine Medical and Surgical Center in Bozeman, MT.

Kudos to Kaelin Bush, who graduated from NYU School of Law in May 2025. During her time in law school, she was actively involved in the Black Law Students Association and the Women of Color Collective, where she served as Co-Chair of the Private Professional Development team. Kaelin also served as a staff editor and later executive editor of the NYU Law Review, and she is set to join Paul, Weiss as a full-time associate.

Hunter (Willis) Roach and her husband Aaron joyfully welcomed their son, Shepherd Roberson Roach, on August 15, 2025. Healthy and happy, they are enjoying life as a new family of three in Louisville, KY.

2017

Cheers to the Clarks! Denton Clark married Caroline Cabe in May of 2025, in Gastonia, NC. Hawks Grant Balogh and Jacob Sossoman stood by Denton’s side as groomsmen. The happy couple begin their married chapter at home in Charlotte.

Denton Clark ’17 and Caroline Cabe were married in May 2025.

Congratulations to Hannah Burlingame and her husband, Talley, who were married on December 6, 2025, in Camden, SC. Hannah was surrounded by Hawks on her special day, including members of the wedding party Kathryn (Watts) Burlingame ’12, Marshall Burlingame ’12, Gillie McBryde, and Mary Corbin (Burlingame) Turner ’14, as well as the mother of the bride, Ashley (Davis) Burlingame ’83

2018

Celebrations are better with ’18 Hawks together! Hawks Caroline Balogh, Olivia Clements, Liza Crutchfield, Jack Felkner, Kennedy Fertitta, Ashley Foley, Colin Geraghty, Charlie Herrmann, Will Hull, Sutton Jones, John Love, Janie Lucas, Mary Elliott McCabe, Callahan Phillips, Lindsey Robelen, JP Smth, Livy Smith, and Lilly Surles gathered together over the holidays.

Hawks Ashton Barlow, Emma Hallock ’19, Lily Hallock ’17, and Catie Meanor, headed to Kansas City to cheer on Ellie Perrigo and the Chiefs! Ellie serves as a player personnel assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs and was featured by NFL.com in June 2025 as part of the Next Woman Up series, spotlighting successful women across professional football.

Congratulations to Cady Hammer and her husband, Daniel, who were married on October 19, 2025. Together since high school, the happy couple tied the knot in Stephenson, Virginia, with Morgan Hammer ’22 by their side as maid of honor. Cheers to the Sages!

2019

Congratulations to saxophonist Veronica Leahy, a NYC-based composer, multi-woodwindist, and music director, who held a reed chair in the Broadway hit musical, Just in Time, starring Jonathan Groff, which opened in April 2025 and ran through February 2026. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Jazz Saxophone at The Juilliard School.

Kudos to Merrill Dowdy, Digital Content and Marketing Coordinator at the Frick Collection in New York City, where she manages the Frick’s social media, email marketing, events, and creator outreach at the historic art museum housed in the former home of Henry Clay Frick. Hawks, next time you’re in the city, be sure to stop by the Frick.

Congratulations to the Hobens! Sutton Orndorff and Collin Hoben were married on November 1, 2025, in Boone. ’19 Hawks flocked to the mountains to celebrate the happy couple including Jimmie Anderson, Grace Armstrong, John Beecy, Katie Burleson, Merrill Dowdy, Britt Fuller, Ruthie Jones, Caroline Juckett, Parker Nielsen, Rob Schleusner, Megan Tomlin, and Kathryn Vandiver

2020

Congratulations to Chicago Marathon finisher Carter Barlow! A former XC Hawk, Carter conquered all 26.2 miles with her family cheering her on, including her sister Ashton ’18.

Congratulations to Abby Adams and Luka Botha, who were married on April 18, 2025, in Washington, DC. Fellow hawks Abby Owens and Jessie Adams ’25 joined the celebration. Abby moved to Washington, DC, in 2024 and has been working as a business analyst at McKinsey & Company.

Kudos to Sarah Watson, who completed the Ironman Triathlon in Sacramento, CA, on October 18! The grueling 140.6-mile race consisted of swimming, biking, and running — a true test of endurance and determination.

2021

Congratulations to Grant Barlow, who passed the Certified Financial Planner exam in early November. A May 2025 graduate of Virginia Tech, Grant is a client service associate at Bogart Wealth in the firm’s McLean, VA, office.

Grant Barlow ’21 passed the CFP exam in November 2025 after graduating from Virginia Tech.

Kudos to Hope Morrow, project manager for the Coastal Carolina University Space Program! A computer science and graphic design major at Coastal Carolina University, Hope leads the university’s satellite mission, overseeing the development of ChantSat-1, a student-built CubeSat slated for launch later this decade.

2022

Quinn Edwards, Brandon Lavitt, Walker Mermans, David Mosrie, Jack Mosrie ‘23, Christopher O’Leary, Max Rimler, Jackson Simerville, and Wilson Thrift formed Team Doodle Bop and took home the trophy at Mission 34’s 2025 Kickball With Sean Tournament, held in memory of Sean Bonner ’16.

Congratulations to Mary Schleusner, who continues to shine in her senior season on the Washington and Lee University women’s basketball team. In December 2025, Mary became the first player in program history — and just the fifth in Old Dominion Athletic Conference history — to surpass 2,000 career points.

Kudos to Paige Klingenberg, who graduated from Florida Tech in December 2025 with a BS in Aviation Management with Flight. After beginning her college career as a Division I women’s lacrosse student-athlete at the University of Denver, she pivoted (following an injury) to pursue aviation and is now working toward a career as a commercial pilot or aviation executive. She hopes to see Hawks in the skies soon!

Madeleine Pease returned to campus in January to speak with students about her experience in the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech. She shared insights into pursuing a military career in college and answered questions about ROTC programs, the U.S. Military Academies, and various military pathways.

2023

Congratulations are in order for Ned Hull, a guard for the Elon Phoenix Men’s Basketball team. After walking on as a freshman, Ned earned a full scholarship to continue playing throughout his college career. He was surprised with the exciting news by his coaches and teammates in May 2025. Go Phoenix, go Ned, and go Hawks!

It was a class of 2023 reunion in Germany this fall. Bennett Egge, Liv Eubank, Kate Godwin, Thomas Hunter, Wyatt Mayberry, Sutton Shumate, George Smith, and Avery Swartz reunited to celebrate Oktoberfest in Munich during their semesters abroad.

in Rome! Regan Frail, Emilio Llerenas, and Morgan Smith reunited while studying abroad in Rome in the summer of 2025.

In December, Hawks Brendan Miles ’25 and Sean Rose attended the Army-Navy game, cheering on their fellow Midshipmen at one of college athletics’ most storied rivalries. Go Hawks, go Navy!

2024

Kudos to Ardyn Henry, midfielder for the University of California women’s lacrosse team, who was named to the 2025 All-ACC Academic Team. To qualify for the honor, student-athletes must maintain a career grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, earn at least a 3.0 GPA during the most recent academic semester, and participate in at least 50% of their team's competitions.

It was an SEC and Hawk meetup in October! Ben Anderson ’22, long snapper for the Oklahoma Sooners, and Neil Salvage, running back for the South Carolina Gamecocks, met for a pregame photo on the field.

2025

In early January, college-age alumni Sophia Cartafalsa ‘24, Maggie Hyder, Will Larsh, Ella Livingston ‘22, and Tyler McAndrews returned to campus to serve on an alumni panel. The five panelists shared valuable advice with Latin seniors about transitioning to college life, enjoying their final semester of high school, and making the most of their college years.

’25 Hawks dominated the crosscountry trails at this year’s Hawks Holiday Hustle 5K! Ethan Khouri was the first male finisher, while Bridget Yu finished first among women. Both Ethan and Bridget are collegiate runners — at Washington and Lee University and Tufts University, respectively.

Kudos to Norvy Clontz, who was named to the 2025–2026 USA Swimming National Junior Team! Now in his first year swimming for the University of California Golden Bears, Norvy earned this distinction for the fourth consecutive year, recognizing him as one of the nation’s top swimmers in his age group.

Norvy Clontz ’25 was named to the 2025-26 USA Swimming National Junior Team for the fourth consecutive year.

We love when Hawks come home! ’25 Football Hawks Hudson Freno, Titus Ivory, Gavin Provencher, Timothy Schwindt, and Asher Weiers returned to campus for Homecoming to cheer on the Hawks.

IN MEMORIAM

Heidi Carpenter

Former World Languages Teacher and Director of Exchange and Study Abroad Program

September 15, 2025

Dana (Lawing) Ferrero ’98

November 19, 2025

Sara Lowe

Former Office Staff

August 10, 2025

Mary Catherine (Ross) Kelly

Former Lower School Physical Education Teacher, Coach, and Women’s Athletic Director

August 9, 2025

Harris Trace Swindell ’03

August 13, 2025

James William “Jim” Thompson

Former Trustee

September 2, 2025

Ceres Gregory Vandiver

Former Kindergarten and First Grade Teacher

June 11, 2025

John Spaugh Welfare ’78

June 2, 2025

A few of the 36 artworks made by Charlotte Latin students that received recognition in the Regional Mid-Carolina Scholastic Art Awards, clockwise from top left:

Baba’s Magic Trick by Isabel Yang ’26 | Honorable Mention Polis by Margaret Marsh ’31 | Gold Key

The Weight of a Lamb by Kathryn Wu ’27 | Gold Key and a nomination for a national American Visions medal

The Reality of Fantasy by Reina Kashyap ’30 | Silver Key

Bird Chase by Sloan Ellison ’26 | Gold Key

For a complete list of Latin’s Scholastic honorees, visit the School News page at charlottelatin.org.

Hawks fly high in Patten Stadium: Charlotte Latin football has won 12 state championships in North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association, dating back to 1986. Through those decades of excellence and tradition, the Hawks have produced a long line of standout talent – perhaps none more notable than quarterback Daniel Jones ’15.

Affectionately known as “Swag” during his Latin days due to his grit and toughness, Jones earned a new nickname, “Future,” as a walk-on at Duke. Selected by the New York Giants with the sixth pick in the NFL draft in 2019, Jones came to be known to New York fans as “Danny Dimes,” and after taking the league by storm with the Indianapolis Colts in 2025, he acquired yet another nickname: “Indiana Jones.”

Long before he was suiting up on Sundays, Jones lit up the scoreboard on Friday nights at Patten Stadium. Team captain as a junior and senior, Jones led the Hawks to back-to-back NCISAA state championship appearances in 2013 and 2014, earning All-State honors in 2014. More than his records or accolades, Jones’ leadership and commitment to playing the right way helped lay the foundation for the 2016 undefeated

state championship season — led by his brother Bates Jones ’17 — and for a culture that still defines the program today.

“Latin has such a great tradition of athletic excellence, it was an incredible joy and honor to be a part of it,” Jones said in 2024 when he was inducted into the Charlotte Latin Athletic Hall of Fame. “Through Latin athletics, I began to learn the valuable lessons of hard work, discipline, toughness, teamwork and so many more. Without these lessons, I would not be where I am today.”