Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin | Spring '26

A pedestrian bridge spanning Christian Street, connecting the north and south parts of campus just east of Rosemary Lane, will provide an accessible route linking visitor parking areas and athletic facilities. The wooden bridge is thoughtfully designed to blend into the landscape and improve pedestrian safety. The anticipated opening of the bridge this summer reflects the School’s ongoing commitment to safety, accessibility, and environmental stewardship.

DEPARTMENTS

Trailblazing Athletes Redefine What It Means To Be in Your Prime 3 4 22 26 44 48 52 56 8 14

Remarks From the Head of School Letter From Alex Curtis

On Christian & Elm News From Campus

Alumni Association News

Max Stenbeck ’03 Series, Alumni Events & Gatherings

Classnotes

Profiles of Jordan Fried ’76, Senior Counsel, Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office; and Ulysses de la Torre and Chris Dommers ’91, Co-Chief Operating Officers, Greystone Medical Technologies

In Memoriam

Remembering Those We Have Lost

Scoreboard

Recap of Winter ’26 Athletics

Bookshelf

Reviews of Works by William Fuller ’71, Christina Cook ’87, and Jamie Kirkpatrick ’66

End Note

An Homage to Humanities

FEATURES

Hidden in Plain Sight

The Stories Etched Into Choate’s Architectural Gems

The 7-5-3 Mindset

Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin is published for alumni, students, their parents, and friends of the School. Please send all change of address requests to Alumni Records and all other correspondence to the Communications Office, 333 Christian Street, Wallingford, CT 06492-3800.

Choate Rosemary Hall does not discriminate in the administration of its educational policies, athletics, other school-administered programs, or in the administration of its hiring and employment practices on the basis of age, gender, race, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetic predisposition, ancestry, or other categories protected by Connecticut and federal law. Printed in U.S.A. CRH201201/17.75M

Chief Communications Officer

Alison Cady P ’23, ’26

T: (203) 697-2526

Email: acady@choate.edu

Editorial Manager

Ryan Shepard ’14

Lead Design and Production

Beth Ann Strong

Design

Todd Meagher

Ann Marie Nolan

Classnotes Editor

Henry McNulty ’65

Contributors

Kimberly Ashton

Christine Bennett

Nicole Brothers

Alison Cady P ’23, ’26

Cyrus Cook P ’14, ’18

Ned Gallagher

Stephanie Gold

Kim Hastings P ’15, ’18, ’18

Kathryn Rose-Noonan

Steven Scarpa

Nolan Silbernagel

Andrea Solomon

KeriAnne Tisdale

Photography

Choate Rosemary Hall Archives

Joey Avena

Michael Branscom

John Giammatteo ’77, P ’26

Tom Kates

Choate Rosemary Hall

Board of Trustees 2025-2026

Danya Alsaady P ’17, ’19, ’23, ’28

Marc E. Brown ’82

Seth J. Brufsky ’84

Yahonnes S. Cleary ’96

Alex Curtis P ’17, ’20

Elizabeth M. Ferreira ’92, P ’28

Katherine B. Forrest ’82

David A. Fraze ’84

Kristen Mautner Garlinghouse ’85

Gunther S. Hamm ’98

Jungwook ”Ryan” Hong ’89, P ’19, ’22, ’25

David A. Javdan ’86

Kelly Green Kahn ’86

Daniel G. Kelly Jr. ’69, P ’03

Patience P. “Duby” McDowell ’78

Christian B. McGrath ’84, P ’18, ’21

Michael Moh ’88, P ’18, ’28

Takashi Murata ’93, P ’25, ’29

George F. Pyne IV ’84

Julian C. Salisbury P ’26

Life Trustees

Edwin A. Goodman ’58

Cary L. Neiman ’64

Stephen J. Schulte ’56, P ’86

William G. Spears ’56, P ’81, ’90 Stay Connected

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Dear Choate Community,

This has been a memorable winter on campus, the kind we used to have more often. We had two major storms that each brought more than two feet of snow and, at times, true blizzard conditions. There was plenty of sledding and snowman building afterward, along with the simple pleasure of being indoors together while the weather did its work outside.

In the middle of a true winter, we also had a transformer fail, resulting in a prolonged power outage across parts of campus. While we all remained safe and well fed, this situation created new logistical challenges for us. Despite that, what stood out most was how our community responded. Classes continued, students and faculty gathered in buildings with generator power, and our day families immediately stepped forward to offer lodging to boarders when it seemed we might be without power overnight. At the same time, our facilities team worked throughout the day to locate the issue and restore power by early evening. It was an impressive, collective effort and a clear reminder of the strength of this community.

It has been an excellent year overall. There is a steady sense of purpose in classrooms and across the school, along with the kind of curiosity and engagement that make Choate such a special place.

In this issue, you will read about members of the Choate community, past and present, who have pushed themselves to remarkable heights. Their stories are inspiring not only for what they have achieved, but also for the discipline, persistence, and sense of possibility behind those achievements. They reflect something enduring about Choate, a willingness to take on challenges that may at first seem out of reach.

You will also find an invitation to take a closer look at the campus itself. Even for those who know it well, Choate is full of details that are easy to overlook. The features highlighted here remind us that the campus is not just a setting, but a place shaped over time, with layers of history and character built on stories that continue to reveal themselves.

Finally, Cyrus Cook’s reflection offers a thoughtful look at transition, something that is very much in the air at this time of year. As students prepare to move on, and as colleagues mark changes in their own professional lives, there is an opportunity to reflect on what has been shared and what endures.

I hope you enjoy this issue and that it gives you a sense of the life of the school, both in its daily rhythms and in the broader arc of the Choate community.

Warm Regards,

Alex Curtis Head of School

Guest Speakers Frame the Future of Sustainability

In November, the School welcomed author, scientist, and educator Robin Wall Kimmerer as the featured speaker for the Ambassador S. Davis Phillips ’61 Family Lecture Series. In her keynote address, the New York Times bestselling author of books such as The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World and Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom offered insight into her expertise in ecology and restoration while challenging students to examine their relationship to their environment. Kimmerer followed her keynote address with a visit to the Kohler Environmental Center, where she toured the site and spoke with community members about how they can contribute to the campus landscape.

As part of Diversity Day programming in January, a group of young climate advocates, including WaicUp.org Founder Jerome Foster II, Climate Cardinals Founder Sophia Kianni, and Futureswell CEO Carissa Cabrera, visited campus for this year’s sustainability-themed program. In a panel moderated by Annie Cady ’26 and Coyan Mobarak ’26, the trio shared their journeys into climate advocacy, urged students to remain optimistic about the future, and encouraged them to identify solutions to environmental challenges in their communities. The keynote session led to an afternoon of 26 eco-focused, student- and faculty-led workshops and film screenings, ranging from “Plastic to Purpose: Fiber Arts as Youth Activism” to a discussion of Generation Greta.

Thalheimer Speaker Encourages Empathy

In January, Jamil Zaki, Director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab and author of The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World, visited campus as part of the 2026 Thalheimer Educator in Residence Program. During an hour-long presentation and Q&A session, Zaki urged students to lean into compassion and understanding amid division and polarization, emphasizing that empathy strengthens not only individuals but entire communities.

“People tend to be happier, less stressed, and depressed,” he explained. “They tend to have stronger relationships and to do better at work. Empathy helps the people around us.”

Zaki’s messages about the importance of empathy to pertain not only how we treat others but also to how we treat ourselves. In high-achieving environments, self-criticism is often normalized as a motivator, but research from his lab shows that persistent self-criticism leads to chronic stress, depression, and diminished long-term performance, including lower grades.

“When students are very self-critical, that can drive them to perform over the short term, but over the long term, it doesn’t help them at all,” Zaki told students. “Over the long term, self-criticism tracks things like chronic stress and depression, but also worse performance.”

Empathy, thankfully, is not a fixed trait but a skill that can be practiced and strengthened over time. As Zaki prepared to return to Stanford, he left students with a simple challenge: reflect on how they want to become more empathetic over the next year.

“Spend three or five minutes writing about how you might want to become more empathic between now and then,” he told the seated crowd. “Take whatever you write, try to remember you can stick it on your wall or monitor, and check in with yourself.”

Stevenson Fellow 2026: Robin Sparkman ’87

In February, ProPublica CEO Robin Sparkman ’87 came back to campus as part of the 50 th Stevenson Lecture Series, which honors the legacy of Adlai E. Stevenson II 1918, by bringing civic leaders to campus and encouraging thoughtful engagement in public service.

Following an introduction from Stevenson Junior Fellow Nev Rathbun ’26, Sparkman engaged students with a trip down memory lane,

Will Gilyard ’98 Appointed as Head of Student and Academic Life

Six years after returning to Wallingford, Will Gilyard ’98 has been appointed as the next Head of Student and Academic Life. Dr. Alex Curtis shared the news on March 3, 2026, in an email to students, parents, and guardians, writing, “Those of you who work closely with him already know the qualities he brings to this role: compassionate leadership, intellectual agility, humor, careful listening, and integrity.”

Will is a Bronx native and Prep 9 alum who spent his four years at Choate playing football, hanging out with friends, and attending CALSA meetings before heading north to Williams College. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Williams and later returned to the classroom to earn a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Saint Joseph in 2016. In addition to advancing his education in the classroom, he has gained valuable leadership experience as the Dean of Students and Head of School at The Cathedral School of St. John the Divine in New York and the Dean of Students at KingswoodOxford in Connecticut. Along the way, he served as a trustee at the Montessori School of Greater Hartford and The Foote School and as a core faculty member at the Interschool Leadership Institute for Educators of Color.

In the summer of 2020, Will returned to his home away from home to begin his latest chapter as an educator. He began as a Form Dean and Senior Associate of Alumni Engagement before transitioning into his role as the Dean of Students in 2023. As Jenny Karlen Elliott leaves behind a strong legacy as the first Head of Student and Academic Life, Will hopes to continue her work by “strengthening the connection between student life and the academic program so that students feel supported, challenged, and known.”

“I am honored to step into a role that is fundamentally an act of service — service to students, to faculty and staff, and to the mission that binds us all,” Will said. “I am committed to listening deeply, aligning our work thoughtfully, and ensuring that academic excellence, the pursuit of passions, a sense of mattering, and student wellness continue to reinforce one another as we prepare students for a rapidly changing world.”

recalling her fall visit as a prospective student, her admissions interview, and her first significant breakthrough at Choate. During her third form year, the founding CEO of StoryCorps found herself struggling in geometry and questioning her ability to pass the class. While venting to a trusted teacher, she was stopped short by a simple question: “What’s the worst that can happen?” Though an extra-credit assignment ultimately helped her pass, it was that mentor’s words that eliminated her fear of failure — a mindset that has shaped her journalism career ever since.

As Sparkman rose through the ranks at The Choate News and The Wellesley College News, and later in newsrooms, she carried that fearlessness and commitment to truthful reporting with her. As editor-in-chief of The American Lawyer, she supported reporting that revealed a major firm had kept two sets of books, exposing falsified financials that preceded its collapse and legal consequences. At ProPublica, she later backed reporters whose work uncovered undisclosed trips and favors involving Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and billionaire Harlan Crow — reporting that earned a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

Concluding her remarks, Sparkman left students with a clear message: be courageous. Courage, she explained, isn’t always dramatic or heroic, but found in “painstaking, hard work, late nights, endless stress, and choosing to speak the truth anyway.”

Bulletin Committed to PrintReleaf

Sustainability isn’t just part of the School’s core values and vision for the future; it’s integral to how the Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin is printed and published. Each issue is printed in partnership with PrintReleaf, an industry innovator in automated environmental offsets. By tracking paper consumption and translating it into the number of trees required to produce it, PrintReleaf guarantees that each page printed supports reforestation efforts at certified locations worldwide. Over five issues, the Bulletin has offset 418,000 pounds of paper consumption by reforesting 5,035 trees.

“We don’t just print on paper — we give it back,” Jon Tardiff, President and CEO of J.S. McCarthy, told Printing Impressions as his company expanded its partnership with PrintReleaf. “Sustainability is no longer a value-add. It’s a necessity.”

The impact of offsetting paper consumption through reforestation runs far and wide. Trees play a vital role in supporting ecosystems, creating habitats for wildlife, preventing soil erosion, safeguarding waterways and natural resources, and capturing carbon from the atmosphere. PrintReleaf audits all of its forestry projects every eight years to guarantee each tree grows to maturity and benefits the environment. Additionally, reforestation projects address several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, including clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, climate action, and life on land.

PrintReleaf’s Certified Reforestation program is one of many ways the Bulletin keeps sustainability at the forefront. Each issue of the Bulletin is printed on acid-free, Accent Opaque White Smooth paper with UV inks that emit zero volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions. Accent Opaque White Smooth paper is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), contains at least 30% post-consumer fiber, and is manufactured using sustainable practices. Additionally, 100% renewable wind power is used in all prepress, printing, and bindery operations. The Bulletin’s approach to sustainable publishing underscores Choate’s enduring belief that progress and responsibility go hand in hand.

Wild Boars Named Presidential Scholar Candidates

As Commencement nears, a select group of sixth formers have yet another reason to celebrate this spring because they have been identified as candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program:

• Lily Honney ’26 (Centennial, Colo.)

• Alexandros Antonopoulos ’26 (Durham, Conn.)

• Jiaxuan (Bryan) Liang ’26 (New York, N.Y.)

• Deyi Meng ’26 (Orange, Conn.)

• Alex Yuan ’26 (Woodbridge, Conn.)

• Alex Zhao ’26 (Woodbridge, Ill.)

• Paul (Tripp) S. Madill III ’26 (Incline Village, Nev.)

• Elias Starr ’26 (Dover, N.H.)

• Isabelle L. Marvin ’26 (Hyde Park, Vt.)

• Jason S. Chang ’26 (McLean, Va.)

Each year, the program acknowledges as many as 4,000 highachieving candidates across the country who impact their schools and communities through academic achievement.

Dr. Elad Levy ’89 Accepts Alumni Award

Few moments are more gratifying for an alum than hearing the Head of School say a graduate embodies the best of a Choate education. That was how Dr. Alex Curtis P ’17, ’20 introduced Dr. Elad I. Levy ’89 when presenting him with the 2026 Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Award, the School’s highest honor.

“It is such an honor to be back here,” Levy told students. “While so much of the physical space has changed, the ethos and cultural bedrock of excellence still thrives.”

Levy arrived at Choate as a rising fifth former, both excited and intimidated by a community of “brilliant students from all over the globe.” Though he initially felt lost, he found his footing by building friendships, pursuing academics, and developing his love for crew.

“For the first time in my life, I felt a fire, a sense of purpose and trajectory,” he said. “I found another gear within me.”

His passion for crew persisted through his time at Dartmouth College, where he rowed. Afterward, he matriculated at George Washington University for medical school, then completed his neurosurgical residency at the University of Pittsburgh. Today, he is Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiology and Chair of Neurological Surgery at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo.

Reflecting on his achievements, Levy credits Choate as a foundational part of his maturation. He urged students to embrace uncertainty and possibility: “You are breathing rare air at Choate … an ecosystem where passion, grit, and resilience are cultivated so that you can be the stewards of future, positive change. So breathe in deeply, and savor this atmosphere of excellence.”

2026 Pratt Packard Declamation Contest Finalists Shine

Not even a late winter snowstorm could stop this year’s Pratt Packard Declamation Contest Finalists:

• Gopika Sheth ’27 (Hamden, Conn.)

• Jinx Hartong ’27 (Chanhassen, Minn.)

• Katherine Zhou ’27 (Guilford, Conn.)

• Esther Schonberger ’28 (New Haven, Conn.)

From Jinx’s speech about living with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome to Katherine’s speech about choosing a life that feels authentic rather than one that only looks successful, students, staff, and faculty were dialed in as their peers fearlessly poured their hearts and minds into each address. In the end, Gopika was named the 2026 Charles Krause Junior Fellow in Public Speaking. Her speech explored how accents shape identity, belonging, and power, weaving together memory and heritage. “Accents do something almost impossible: they make time feel tangible,” she said, describing how her parents’ voices carry the sounds and rhythms of home. As finalists, Gopika, Katherine, Esther, and Jinx continue a longstanding Choate tradition. Led by John Cobb, the contest honors longtime faculty members E. Stanley Pratt and H. Jeremy Packard, whose influence helped establish public speaking as a core part of the curriculum. Now open to third, fourth, and fifth form students, the annual competition invites students to share their ideas while fostering confidence, connection, and community.

Boars & Wolves: Connecticut’s Only Sled Hockey Team Calls Choate Home

From Robert McVey ’54 to Hilary Knight ’07, the list of accomplished hockey players to grace the ice at Choate Rosemary Hall is extensive. Still, too few know about the Gaylord Sports Association’s Wolfpack Sled Hockey Team, the only sled hockey team in Connecticut. The co-ed squad features a dozen members with a wide range of diagnoses, including spinal cord injury, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, amputation, and multiple sclerosis, who build community, find purpose through a shared love of hockey, and chase championship glory. From September through May, Choate donates ice time for the team to practice and host league tournaments as they jockey for position in the Northeast Sled Hockey League standings.

The two-time national championship-winning program sent four members of its teams to the Para Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship last year and finished second in the Flyers LC Group A, posting a playoff record of 3-1. “This was a major year for the growth of our team as we continue to build our program and improve upon what we have going on, and a lot of it’s owed to the support from Choate,” said Gaylord Wolfpack Sled Hockey Coach Trevor Doyon. Moving forward, Doyon and company will continue to expand their efforts as they partner with current and former Team USA members to lead the Connecticut Cubs, the state’s only youth sled hockey program. With a growing pipeline through the Connecticut Cubs youth program and a team culture rooted in inclusion and determination, sled hockey in Connecticut is gaining momentum, and Choate is helping lead the movement.

Memorable Hill House Paintings Refreshed and Revitalized

If you visit the Hill House Dining Hall in the near future, you may notice something different about the two paintings hanging above the fireplace — “An Old Clipper Ship” by Frank Otto Walther (Choate 1928) and “The Old Order Changeth” by Robert Van Vorst Sewell (P Choate 1914, 1918). In early March, a group of talented artists worked diligently to restore, clean, and color life back to each piece, rejuvenating artwork dulled by years of dust and dirt yet etched into the memories of many members of the Choate community.

Walther’s work depicts Galatea, a medium-sized clipper ship owned by W.F. Weld & Co., launched on March 16, 1854, in Charlestown, Mass. Known for its speed, the ship would travel around the world, making stops in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America before disappearing from sailing records in 1887. Nearly 40 years later, Walther would be inspired by the ship and use his artistic gifts to produce a painting especially for the Hill House fireplace before leaving Choate, according to then-Head of School George St. John. St. John’s love of fine art also led him to the painting on the opposite side of the fireplace. Painted by Robert Van Vorst Sewell, “The Old Order Changeth” is one of 12 paintings depicting the Arthurian Legend, a foundational body of medieval stories and romances. The painting is enclosed in a wooden frame with the words of Tennyson inscribed — “The old order changeth, yielding place to new and God fulfills himself in many ways.” St. John first learned of the paintings after seeing them in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Boudinot Keith (P Choate 1911), who later gave them to the School in honor of Elisha Boudinot Keith (Choate 1911), who was killed in World War I.

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The Stories Etched Into Choate’s Architectural Gems

by Ryan ShepaRd ’14

If a picture is worth a thousand words, each piece of architecture around Choate’s campus may be worth a million. Whether it’s the story of how former Head of School George St. John closely directed the construction of Hill House in the early 1900s or how I. M. Pei designed the Paul Mellon Arts Center to serve as a symbolic gateway between what were then the separate campuses of The Choate School and Rosemary Hall, every building at Choate has its own unique backstory. Some of these stories are preserved through prominently positioned plaques, and others are passed down through campus lore. However, some stories have been tucked away in the archives, known only to a few until now.

W-W-W-W: Weathervane, Weathervane, Weathervane and ... another Weathervane

(1) It’s not a bird nor a plane, but a boat. Many of the School’s hidden gems are hidden well above sea level, and the boat sitting atop Seymour St. John Chapel is no different. Instead of the standard cross that crowns most chapels, the Seymour St. John Chapel features a four-footlong, three-foot-wide schooner called Adonis, complete with rigging, spars, and tackle, and two decks. Led by architect Ralph Adams Cram, the decision to position a ship atop the Chapel reflects the building's history of hosting non-religious events. Through the years, the Chapel has been the site of Matriculation, Fringe Festival, and form meetings, among other events.

(2) Across Christian Street, another weathervane serves as a tribute to the School’s history. At the Andrew Mellon Library, a Rosemary Girl weathervane honors a family that kindly housed seven students for the school year after a fire in 1923 decimated Rosemary Hall’s main building. The weathervane initially sat on the rooftop of Rosemary Hall’s main building when it was reconstructed in 1926, but was moved to Wallingford in 1971.

(3) Keep your head up! The ship perched above the Seymour St. John Chapel is not the only gem hidden above eye level. The flagpole outside the Paul Mellon Humanities Center is capped by a weathervane modeled after a Bellanca Monoplane. Donated by Mrs. W. W. Caswell in 1928, the weathervane honors her son, Vaughan J. Weatherley, Choate 1920, who tragically

died in a plane crash during a test flight in 1928, along with pilot Sir Royal Thomas. Architectural gems dedicated to late members of the School’s community can be found around campus, including fountains near Archbold celebrating the life of Jennifer Johnson ’98 and a tablet commemorating Caroline Ruutz-Rees and Elizabeth Mary Lowndes at the Ruutz-Rees building, among others.

(4) The weathervane resting on the rooftop at Archbold completes the quartet of unique vanes found hanging high in the Wallingford skies. Archbold’s weathervane boasts a dragon in honor of George St. John’s fascination with the legend of Saint George and the Dragon, popularized in the 13th-century book The Golden Legend

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(5) Just across the street from the Library, owls adorn the Paul Mellon Humanities Center as a symbol of wisdom and independent thinking. However, they weren’t originally installed to promote curiosity and intellectual exploration in the humanities, but instead in the sciences. Originally dedicated as the Paul Mellon Science Hall in 1939, the building was rededicated in 1990 to house the History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences Department.

(6) From aves to amphibians, one of the School’s most recognizable sculptures can be found in the pond outside Archbold. The green fish sculpture sitting in the pond has appeared in the background of hundreds of Physics Phlotilla and Commencement photos over the years, but few know how it got there. According to a September 2003 issue of The Choate News, Larry Hart, Choate 1932, donated the bronze fish sculpture in 2000 after keeping it in his home for four decades. More than a quarter-century later, the sculpture swims in the collective memory of all Wild Boars post-2000, keeping Hart’s love of art and aquatics alive.

(7) Similarly, the legacy of Andrew Mellon is preserved within the Andrew Mellon Library Reading Room. As visitors walk in, they’re greeted by an artistically designed doorway reflective of the Georgian Revival era. Still, one aspect deviates from the period’s standard design — a melon. Georgian Revival architecture often includes pineapples in key places as a symbol of wealth, social status, and hospitality, but the library’s bookplate features a melon instead. In a letter to George St. John, Mellon’s nephew, Edward, thanked the former Head of School for the clever tribute.

“I have received your letter of September 30th enclosing the bookplate, which was made by Mrs. Saint-Gaudens for the Choate School,” Mellon told St. John in a letter in 1926. “I am very much pleased with this plate. I think the composition is excellent and believe that no one could have done any better. I particularly like the reproduction of the little melon on the top.”

Each new architectural or campus feature marks a unique moment in the School’s history. Most recently, the renovation of Hill House following the 2019 lightning strike and subsequent fire has provided an opportunity to add another architectural gem to the list. Can you spot the lightning bolt near the entrance? Be on the lookout for it the next time you stop by campus, and let us know if you have the inside scoop on any other architectural gem.

THE MINDSET

Trailblazing Athletes Redefine What It Means to Be in Your Prime

By Steven Scarpa

It’s 5:44 a.m., May 15, 2025, on the top of Mount Everest. The sun has been up for 14 minutes. After hiking for much of the night, Emma Schwerin ’26 and her dad, Sam, stand at the summit — the conclusion of their 50-day quest to reach the peak of the highest mountain in the world.

“We could see the massive triangular shadow of Everest across all the other mountains in the distance. You could see all the other Himalayas. You could see Nepal and Tibet,” she says.

For a 17-year-old to climb Everest is unusual. But for Emma, who set a world record as the youngest woman to ascend all Seven Summits, it was an age-defying victory, one of many for a group of gifted Choate Rosemary Hall athletes.

For three members of the Choate community — Emma Schwerin, Hilary Knight ’07, and Dede Trimble Griesbauer ’88 — age is merely a construct. They have, through a series of remarkable accomplishments, defied time.

Dede, a three-time Ironman triathlon champion, has won races well into her 40s and 50s. Hilary, a five-time Olympian, achieved glory yet again as she led the United States women’s hockey team to a gold medal in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Emma, the youngest of the three, excels as a mountaineer, reaching the Seven Summits.

Seven summits, five Olympic appearances, and three championships — all prime numbers. But in athletics, contrary to popular belief, an individual can define their own prime. However, the key to doing so isn’t necessarily physical — it’s quieting the thoughts in your mind that say something isn’t possible.

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: EMMA SCHWERIN ’26 MAKES HISTORY

On Mount Everest, the winds and snow swirl at temperatures well below zero. Through a carefully planned ascent, the human body can become acclimated to the conditions of a mountain 29,000 feet above sea level. But frostbite can happen almost instantly if you’re not completely swaddled, as Emma was in that moment of accomplishment. She viewed the summit through thick goggles.

“It felt like a dream,” she says. “You know how in dreams you can see everything that’s happening, but you can’t feel any of it? It was kind of like that. I could [feel] the wind and snow hitting me hard. I knew that it was cold, but I couldn’t feel any of it. It was just beautiful.”

During the previous 17 months, Emma became the youngest person to climb the highest peaks on every continent — Aconcagua in South America, Denali in North America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Elbrus in Europe, Vinson in Antarctica, Kosciuszko in Australia, and Everest in Asia. It was a dream hatched by an eighth-grader who had just watched a documentary about Everest.

“I love challenges. It was something that really excited me,” she says.

To ascend Everest, climbers must first traverse the Khumbu Icefall, an ever-moving, evercrumbling glacier, at an elevation of almost 18,000 feet. Because of the glacier’s movement, crevasses and overhanging ice can collapse without warning. It is one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Often, those attempting to reach the summit will traverse this area at night because colder, nighttime temperatures help stabilize the ice.

Emma felt something she had not felt ascending the other summits: fear. It’s a natural response, but at the moment, she didn’t quite know what to do with it. “I learned to rely on the climbing buddies I had up there. We spent 50 days together, every single meal. We got really close, and we learned to help each other out with that stuff,” she says.

By being intentional and focused in her thoughts and preparation, Emma overcame this fear.

“I never thought, ‘This [is] crazy; what am I doing?’ There were moments where I thought it was hard, but I never once thought about not doing it or turning around,” she says.

To get ready for those moments, her training regimen involved a few hours of preparation on weekdays and up to six hours a day on weekends, including four hours on a StairMaster and 900 squats. To prepare for Denali, she dragged a large tire around campus to replicate carrying a gear sled up the mountain. All of this was done while navigating the rigor of a Choate education.

“I loved the idea that I could train for an hour or two a day for six days a week for two years, and I could do something small like that, and that could lead me to something really big like completing the Seven Summits,” she says. “I wanted to be overly prepared for every mountain I went to.” Emma says most of the challenges in mountaineering are mental, not physical. As the youngest person in her climbing group, Emma put pressure on herself to ensure she didn’t hold anyone back. She credits her loving family and friends for her success. But she also believes that before embarking on a big goal, a crucial thing needs to be addressed: “Believing in yourself is the number one thing. I think if I hadn’t done that and if I had self-doubt along the way, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

When she returned to campus, Emma caught up with her friends and played junior varsity hockey for the first time. She wanted, for a time, to just be. “Climbing Everest is, of course, very hard,” she says. “But that doesn’t make other things less hard. So, my next hard thing is graduating from high school.”

And she has a plan for that, too. She’s thinking about going to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland to major in sports psychology.

“We’ll see about the next mountains after that,” she says.

Everest

Nepal/China

8.9 km/29,032 ft

Aconcaqua

Argentina

Kilimanjaro

Tanzania

5.8 km/19,340 ft

Kosciuszko

Australia

2.2 km/7,310 ft

6.9 km/22,838 ft

Vinson Massif

Antarctica

4.9 km/16,050 ft

Elbrus

Russia

5.6 km/18,501 ft

Denali

U.S.A.

6.2 km/20,320 ft

Some Heroes Wear Capes, Others Wear Skates: HILARY KNIGHT ’07 EARNS GOLD GLORY

Hilary Knight, the captain of the 2026 U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team, was unsatisfied as she entered the locker room after the third period of the gold medal game against Canada.

After dominating the competition in the preliminary rounds, the United States came out flat against Canada.

“I was doing a lot of barking and yapping in the room,” she recalls.

There were a lot of people talking, and Hilary was unsure of who said what, she explains. But according to The Athletic, Hilary rallied her teammates. She looked around the room. “Who is going to be the hero? We need the hero. The hero is in this room!” she said.

Hilary was one of those heroes. Trailing 1-0 with 2:04 remaining in the third period, the United States pulled its goalie for an extra attacker. Hilary situated herself in front of the net, screening the goal. Her teammate, Laila Edwards, fired a hard shot, and Hilary gently altered its direction. The puck fluttered past the Canadian goalie to tie the game. With that, the tide turned in favor of a U.S. victory.

“I knew we had the group to get it done,” she says. “We came out a little slow. I think if you looked at the way we navigated that tournament, the team that showed up in the first period was not the team that you saw throughout that tournament.” In her final appearance at the Winter Olympic Games, Hilary became the all-time leading scorer in women’s Olympic hockey history. She was also one of two athletes, selected by her fellow Olympians, to carry the U.S. flag in the closing ceremonies of the Games. The little girl who slept with a puck under her pillow had become one of the faces of women's hockey. “I owe a lot of my success to Choate,” she says.

Her success begins with what she described as “mental reps.” At a young age, her father taught her how to visualize the process and her preferred outcome. She set both her short-term and long-term goals. It was something she continued to do throughout her storied career at Choate, the University of Wisconsin, the international stage, and in women’s professional hockey leagues. “Hockey is a complicated sport,” Hilary says. “There’s no way you can draw it up and have it go the way you have in your mind. So, it’s about the process. The mental reps are huge.”

As Hilary, 36, progresses in her athletic journey, the mental piece becomes even more important. Like many veteran athletes, Knight’s body doesn’t always cooperate the way it used to. “It’s gotten harder as I’ve gotten older. You’re familiar with the game — the momentum, the ebbs and flows of everything. You’re really attached to how you want things to go and how you want that process to look on the way there,” she says.

She battled through injuries during the Games. She also served in a leadership role as captain, offering encouragement and guidance to her less experienced teammates. “You want to be able to play loose and focus on the task in the moment,” she says.

Hilary carries over the visualization techniques honed on the ice to other moments of her life — moments like appearing on Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show

“I love big moments, those high-pressure situations,” Hilary says. Away from the spotlight, she describes herself as “chill.” But, she says, “I just love whenever there is a lot of pressure. It’s like, go, game time. Action. It’s awesome.”

She has more she wants to accomplish. She wants to win a championship with her professional team, the Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women’s Hockey League. She will marry U.S. Olympic speedskater Brittany Bowe. She plans to continue playing, but knows she’ll need to think about a life beyond competition. One of her long-term goals is to become a hockey team owner.

“I have this wealth of knowledge,” she says, “specifically in hockey and women’s sports, that I would love to tap into when I launch a second career.

Iron Will: DEDE GRIESBAUER ’88 TRANSFORMS FAILURE INTO FUEL FOR SUCCESS

Like many people following the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001, Dede Trimble Griesbauer had a moment of personal reckoning. She had been a competitive swimmer previously, but had since transitioned to a good yet stressful job on a Wall Street trading desk. Still, she was unfulfilled and had the feeling that being at a trading desk wasn’t what she really wanted. “It wasn’t me,” she says.

An Ironman race on television showed her something new and exciting. “I didn’t even know what a triathlon was when I stopped swimming,” Dede says.

In an ideal race, Dede found quiet peace in the rhythm of her swim stroke, her pedal stroke, and her running stride. “You get in that groove, and everything else melts away,” she says.

After a few glasses of wine with her husband one night in 2005, Dede decided to take a risk and return to competition. More than two decades later, she has retired from her second high-level athletic career as a three-time Ironman champion. In 2022, at 52, an age when ordinary people might be happy to get on a treadmill a couple of times a week, she won the Ultraman World Championship in Hawaii — a three-day, 320-mile odyssey of swimming, biking, and running. She is also a coach and broadcaster.

Dede’s story is one of reinvention, beginning at Choate, where she established herself as arguably the greatest swimmer in the School’s history. She took swimming seriously and shared her Olympic aspirations with a school friend after watching the 1984 Olympics. She didn’t train year-round during her first three years of high school, but knew she would need to during her sixth form year to compete at the highest level later on. “I think that’s when I first felt real athletic aspiration, that I wanted to be great at something,” she says.

There were other races where every step was a mental and physical battle. Like life, you can make a mistake in an Ironman race. Unlike her Olympic trial, an Ironman race allows time to adjust, even against younger competitors. “It’s way more of a journey than a moment in time.”

The journey is what’s important: “You can’t be afraid to take a risk, so make sure it’s calculated and based on educated decisions.”

The only way to get to that place was through hard work. Failure proved essential to her development as a swimmer, a lesson she learned in Larry Hart Pool. Longtime Choate swimming coach Robert Burns pushed her, but gently, pitting her against difficult opponents.

“I thought (failure) was terrible when I was an athlete,” Dede says. “But now, as a coach, I think it’s important to have an athlete flirt with failure and straight-up fail. I’ve run face-first into a brick wall more times than I can shake a stick at. Failure is

the only way you are going to get to any meaningful success,” she said. “It makes you realize that you need to find a way to be better.”

Her latest retirement from athletic competition is already short-lived. She's currently training to see how fast she can run a marathon. “Yes, I am competing against other people, but I’ve always had this mindset of being the best me.”

Dede had a stellar career at Stanford University alongside teammates who went on to become Olympians. In 1992, she competed in the Olympic trials, missing a spot on the team by less than a tenth of a second. She describes the outcome as “soul-crushing.”

While she would make another effort to join the 1994 world championship team, her swimming career was over. Griesbauer decided on business school and a life working on Wall Street. “I had other things going for me, but I was a swimmer,” she says. “It was very wrapped up in who I was. Suddenly, your life as a student is over, and you are faced with the job market … you are back at the bottom of the pecking order.”

While she still ran marathons to stay in shape, her days as a competitive athlete were long behind her, or so she thought. After graduate school, a cross-country bike trip with a boyfriend demonstrated that she could spend long periods of time on a bike. The relationship didn’t survive the journey, but a love of cycling did.

The athletic trifecta — swimming, running, and cycling — was now in place.

“When I decided to get into triathlon, the engine was there,” she says.

Dede was certainly willing to work hard, be tough, and not quit. “I actually think if you got a psychologist in the room, they might say my entire triathlon career is based on the fact that I didn’t make the Olympic team,” she laughs.

We Can All Extend Our Primes

The accomplishments of these three athletes, each at a different stage of life, defy expectations about when someone’s peak might be. They offer an example to the Choate community, whether on the field, in class, or in the workplace. Believe in yourself. Visualize the process and the outcome. Be willing to take a calculated risk. Whether it’s within Choate’s campus or in the wider world, this is a recipe for success.

In the words of Emma Schwerin, in moments when the going gets tough, and doubt creeps in, look inward and say:

“If it weren’t scary, it wouldn’t be big enough.”

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

The Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Association’s mission is to create, perpetuate, and enhance relationships among Choate Rosemary Hall alumni, current and prospective students, faculty, staff, and friends in order to foster loyalty, interest, and support for the School and for one another, and to build pride, spirit, and community.

OFFICERS

President

David Javdan ’86

Vice Presidents

Justin Graham ’98

Ashley Holt ’11

Lena Sullesta Jessen ’92

Dewey Kang ’03

Members

Sam Chao ’04

Rebecca Zubaty Cohen ’99

Marisa Ferraro ’92, P ’27

Ray Happy ’79

Chris Herzog ’99

Arvind Kadaba ’03

David Kestnbaum ’00

Lambert Lau ’97

Brad Mak ’96

George Ramirez ’11

Austin Rees ’09

Becky Vitas Shamis ’91, P ’21, ’26

Will Gilyard ’98, P ’29

Faculty Representative

Additional Executive Committee Members

Chief Advancement Officer

Anne Bergen

Director of Alumni Relations

Andrea Solomon

Alumni Association

Past Presidents

Susan Barclay ’85

David Hang ’94, P ’25

Chris Hodgson ’78, P ’12, ’14, ’17

Elizabeth Alford Hogan ’82

Parisa Jaffer ’89

Woody Laikind ’53†

Patrick McCurdy ’98

REGIONAL NETWORK

LEADERSHIP

Boston

Gabby Rundle Robinette ’06

Chicago

Maria Del Favero ’83

Jacqueline Salamack Lanphier ’06

Connecticut

David Aversa ’91

Katie Vitali Childs ’95, P ’24, ’26

Los Angeles

Wesley Hansen ’98

Alexa Platt ’95, P ’29

New York

Conrad Gomez ’98

Leah Lettieri ’07

Rosemary Hall

Anne Marshall Henry ’62

San Francisco

Albert Lee ’02

Washington, DC

Dan Carucci ’76

Tillie Fowler ’92

Olivia Bee Moore ’10

Beijing

Matthew Cheng ’10

Gunther Hamm ’98

Hong Kong

Jennifer Yu Cheng ’99

Lambert Lau ’97

Sandy Wan ’90

London

Tatiana Donaldson ’13

Elitsa Nacheva ’08

Seoul Rae-Eun Sung ’97

Shanghai T.C. Chau ’97

Thailand

Uracha Chaiyapinunt ’13

Isa Chirathivat ’96

Natapitt Sethpornpong ’14

Tokyo

Kirk Shimizuishi ’96

Miki Ito Yoshida ’07

WHERE IDEAS MEET IMPACT

The Max Stenbeck ’03 Series Debuts

On February 11, 2026, Choate Rosemary Hall launched the Max Stenbeck ’03 Series on Entrepreneurship and Innovation, a new initiative designed to bring alumni together for conversations with leaders who are building companies, shaping industries, and redefining what entrepreneurship can mean in a rapidly evolving world.

The series honors the late Max Stenbeck ’03, who believed entrepreneurship was not simply about launching ventures, but about connecting people, ideas, and institutions across borders. A champion of bold thinking and collaboration, Max viewed enterprise as a bridge between disciplines and cultures. His enduring impact continues through the Max Stenbeck Charitable Fund, which supports institutions focused on education, healthcare, creative leadership, and global partnership.

The inaugural event drew more than 70 members of the Choate community for an evening that felt both celebratory and forward-looking. Alumni traveled from across the region and beyond. Some drove in from Connecticut, one flew from Austin to attend, and others discovered the gathering while visiting New York and rearranged their plans to be there. Graduates spanning the classes of 1984 through 2025 filled the room, united by curiosity and shared purpose. The entire board of the Max Stenbeck Charitable Fund attended, including Max’s brother and sister, adding a deeply personal dimension to the launch.

The evening’s centerpiece was a lively conversation between Duolingo CFO Gillian Munson ’88 and Steve Chen, current Choate parent, YouTube co-founder, and Draco Capital Partners co-owner. Their exchange explored the realities of building and scaling organizations, and the evolving skills leaders need to navigate a rapidly changing landscape.

Reflecting on the evening, Munson said, “It was a pleasure to join Steve Chen for a conversation on entrepreneurship with alumni and friends of Choate. It was especially rewarding to step back into a room shaped by the kind of c uriosity and thoughtful engagement that defines a Choate audience.”

Chen likewise emphasized the importance of cultivating entrepreneurial thinking early. “In this era of rapid technological transition, entrepreneurship is more vital than ever,” he said.

“Choate provides an excellent platform to cultivate the mindset necessary for this evolution, and I am excited to have had the opportunity to engage with the community.”

The discussion opened with reflections on opportunity beyond traditional technology hubs. While Silicon Valley remains an important incubator, today’s founders are no longer constrained by geography. With access to global talent, digital infrastructure, and distributed teams, companies and communities can be built from almost anywhere.

As the conversation turned to leadership and career evolution, both speakers described how their definitions of success have shifted over time. Early milestones often centered on rapid growth and valuation. With experience came a deeper emphasis on durability, impact, and the people behind the work. Risk emerged as a recurring theme, with each reflecting on moments when stepping into unfamiliar territory created the greatest growth opportunities.

Audience questions added further depth. A budding engineer posed one of the evening’s most compelling prompts: Can engineers be founders? And if so, should they? Both speakers underscored the value of technical voices at the decision-making table. Chen also spoke candidly about the importance of a strong co-founding partnership, someone to share both the uncertainty and conviction required to bring an idea to life.

For Gregory de Haydu ’03, Max’s roommate and a member of the board of the Max Stenbeck Charitable Fund, the evening carried special significance. “It is incredibly meaningful to partner with Choate to carry Max’s vision forward,” he said. “To launch this series with such a strong program and turnout is exactly the kind of energy he would have loved.”

The debut of the Max Stenbeck ’03 Series established more than a new event. It set in motion a tradition rooted in exchange, ambition, and shared purpose. The energy in the room made it clear that the series had struck a chord across generations, honoring Max’s spirit while opening the door to many more conversations to come.

CLASSNOTES | News From Our Alumni

1940s

’47 C Igor Sikorsky writes, “At 96, I feel my years. Let’s just say, ‘What doesn’t hurt, doesn’t work!’ My career was in the ‘bread-and-butter’ solo practitioner role, with an emphasis on domestic and civil rights litigation. Let me tell you, representing people who were just fired is not a path to affluence. I have published three books: Quimby: Maine’s Godfather of New Thought; AA’s God Parents; Jack Alexander, Emmet Fox, and Carl Jung; and Sikorsky and Lindbergh, whose friendship spanned the golden age of aviation. None of those books was the type of work that appears on the best-seller lists. I’ve just completed a novel titled Walls, set in the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.”

1950s

’51 C Denny Kempner writes, “I am extremely fortunate to be reasonably healthy. I am also extremely fortunate to enjoy decades of marital bliss, four daughters, nine grandchildren, two great-grandchildren on the way, and a 94th birthday celebration this summer. No matter what, I have won the jackpot.”

’53 C Bill Crosby writes, “I can report that I am still ticking at 91 years ‘young.’ Since my family and I migrated from Peru to Australia and then Canada, I have always kept the memories of Choate at the forefront. I am fine … some creaking bones … but ‘todo va bien.’ ... Four years ago, the President of Peru appointed me Commander of the Order of Merit, in part for my 15 years of service as Consul General of Peru for all of Western Canada. My class buddies can contact me via email. My email address is updated in the alumni directory.”

’58 C Wells Doty writes, “I spent 26 years cruising the world in our rich uncle’s yachts and one year hiking, camping, and picnicking with his army in Vietnam. After retiring from the Navy, I went back to school for my doctorate and taught at Clemson University and Southern Illinois University. Now fully retired in upstate South Carolina. I believe that learning to write well at Choate has been a key to my happy and successful life.”

’59 C Morris Everett Jr. writes, “My photo leasing company, The Everett Collection, is now the third largest behind Shutterstock and Getty. My movie poster store, The Last Moving Picture Company, will hold its 34th annual movie memorabilia sale early in October on PAG4U.com. Our store has 2,000,000 movie and TV photos for sale (1913-2018) and 150,000 movie posters and lobby cards. Lastmo is our eBay handle, and we ship 50 orders per week. I see Fred Garner and Scotty Low in Florida.”

Jeffrey Faigle writes, “I installed a sculpture park on my 70-acre farm in Stockton, N.J. They are all by one sculptor, Christoper Hilary, which is unique, and number 26. Chris was influenced by Alexander Calder, so some of the sculptures have that influence. The park will continue to evolve with new sculptures as time goes on.”

Ivan Light writes, “I am editing a biweekly environmental newsletter called Climate Defenders.”

’59 RH Betsy Ross Horn writes, “Having lived between Southampton, N.Y., and Vero Beach, Fla., for 15 years, I’ve given up the Sunshine State and am dipping back into the Big Apple part-time. With so much culture available to me, I’m dizzy with delight, overwhelmed by dazzling choices.”

1960s

’61 C Clip Kniffin writes, “In late February, I returned from my latest trip to Liberia. This trip and work in Liberia stem, in part, from our chapel services at Choate, during which the Head Seymour St. John and the Rev. Bob Bryan stressed the importance of giving back. I served in the Peace Corps in Liberia in the mid-1960s. After the Liberian civil war, I returned to Liberia and founded ELWA Ministries Association USA (EMAUSA) in 2008. ELWA are the call letters of the radio station, which stand for “Eternal Love Winning Africa.” We have raised around $3 million to support hospitals, rural clinics, schools, and a radio program in Liberia. I’m grateful to have been part of the Choate community, which has stressed the importance of giving back.”

’61 RH Sue Bristoll Sayles writes, “This is the eighth year that I have been working with kids with different needs. Such joy, they bring, and challenges, too. They keep me on my toes and I love the responsibility. I’ve been sidelined a bit, though, with two nasty surgeries, but I will return to work soon. It’s nice to be able to walk without falling over. I’m still living on the Vineyard in my senior apartment right on the water. I really hit the jackpot with this place, and it was well worth the seven-plus years it took me to get in here.”

’62 C F. John Wilkes Jr. writes, “Following my knee replacement surgery in March 2025 and a continuing schedule of physical therapy, I successfully navigated the Giant Slalom course at the Masters Race in Okemo, Vt., this past February. It was good to be in the gates again. Placing third in my age group was something I haven’t done in a long time. Now, I must work on upping my speed. I look forward to getting back on my Merlin bike again this Spring. Gini and I are planning to visit Watch Hill, R.I., and Newport, R.I., this summer, two places that I know very well.”

’63 RH Rozzie Chubb Davis writes, “Another winter has come and gone with some very interesting weather swings. My birthday celebration included a fabulous dinner party with family and close friends at our club. Then, I went back to hunting and playing golf. I still ride and had a successful day at our Retriever Trial in a sleet storm in January! Labs don’t care. My grandchildren are getting quite old and grown up. The oldest three are either in college or have graduated into the real world.”

Donna Dickenson writes, “Our Christmas holiday was warm and affectionate, summed up by granddaughter Ruya (Anders’s child) who, when asked what she had enjoyed the most, said, ‘Being together.’ An added bonus to our holiday was the presence of daughter Pip’s new fella, new only in the romantic sense. She’s known him since he was fourteen and Chris’s flute pupil, as well as Anders’s running mate. Fast forward 40 years, and they give every sign of being in love. Chris and I came through our separate health difficulties in 2025 and are both fine now. In professional terms, I’m very satisfied that my mentee is about to become the first Sri Lankan author to publish in a prestigious Cambridge UP series.”

Alice Chaffee Freeman writes, “Things are fine here, very busy. There’s not much to report except preparations for moving. I’ve sold a lot of paintings lately, which is encouraging, and I’m looking forward to having more time for artwork after the move. This hard winter is confirming our suspicion that we can’t handle our old house anymore; there will be many advantages to leaving it, but doing so is still a wrench to the heart.”

Doreen McClennan Gardner writes, “More than two years have gone by since my dear husband, Michael, passed away, so I considered a move to assisted living in the area, gave it a month, and decided I wasn’t ready for that lifestyle just yet.”

Jean McBee Knox writes, “Our daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband, Mike Yamaguchi, and their children, Maxwell (9) and Ava (4), kept us well entertained through the holidays. We’re grateful that they live just two hours away in Bedford, Mass. Also, our daughter, Sierra, and her partner, Patrick Lawler, moved to Portsmouth, N.H. Sierra has a new job as an environmental graphic designer. Dick sings and writes program notes for the NH Master Chorale and serves as a court-appointed special advocate, representing children in child abuse and neglect cases. I am on the Sandwich Conservation Commission, help manage a book review series, and participate in two poetry workshops. In July, we frolicked in a reprise of ‘Elderville’, a homegrown farce about old age, and in August, gathered with friends to celebrate my 80th birthday. In December, we joined a local choral group for two performances of Messiah with soloists from New England Conservatory. In April, I am going to Cornwall again to see my sister, Hetty ’61, who was known as ‘Chickie’ while at Rosemary Hall. She was the fire captain, and her roommate was Judy Hetzel’s sister, Didi ’61. We mourn the death of Jean’s brother, Burrett McBee, on October 6, following his long and valiant journey with prostate cancer.”

Angela Treat Lyon writes, “I have become the ultimate hermit. Days full of discomfort from a chronic, naughty back make me stay home, puttering and playing in my studio. I have, as a result, created over 3,500 designs for fabric, wallpaper, pillows, and other goodies. I’m a maniac; I guess. I moved back to Chico, Calif., in 2018 after more than 50 years living in Hawaii. This year, I plan to create and publish at least five more books; we’ll see if December will prove it happened! If you’re curious, you can see a selection of my books online.”

Margo Melton Nutt keeps happily busy with a bunch of church committees and the many cultural activities offered by being near Dartmouth College. She loves being the unofficial class secretary for RH ’63 because it gives her an excuse to keep in touch with classmates.

Betsy O’Hara writes, “Life has been very quiet here in the Algarve, the southern part of Portugal. After my 80th birthday with the whole family here, we had a very quiet Christmas at home. We celebrate the seasons with the locals, fireworks, and music on the Village Square on New Year’s Eve, and then the rain came. It rained for five or six weeks off and on. Yet we were spared the ravages of the major storms that decimated and flooded large swaths of Central Portugal. We are very lucky and protected in our little Mediterranean microclimate on the border with Spain. My three children are doing well, their kids are doing well, so no news is good news!”

’64 C Kim Masters completed a master’s degree program and a biomedical Egyptology diploma certification at the University of Manchester in the U.K., and now is teaching Ancient Egyptian History/ hieroglyphs reading to adults in Asheville, N.C., and 4th grade students at Buckley School in New York.

Roger Williams writes, “Choate gave me many things. One was choral singing, under Duncan Phyfe, both in the Chapel choir and The Maiyeros. And here I am, still a tenor 1, happily singing in the small group of the Chester River Chorale on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. What a gift I was given by all that Choate had to give, though I had no idea at the time. I get more thankful by the day.”

’65 C C. Addison Hanan writes, “After retiring in 2013, Renee and I decided to live year-round in our home in Nantucket, Mass. After the winter that we’ve had this year, we decided to buy a place in Pompano Beach. We’ll be seasonal residents in both locations.”

Peter Rugg writes, “My brother, Dan ’64, died on February 6, 2026, after a long cancer battle.”

Jim Smith and his wife, Rita, enjoyed a 55-day cruise around the Mediterranean in the fall, visiting 44 ports on the Silver Spirit, after successfully selling Jim’s real estate brokerage to a group from Century 21. He remains a broker at the brokerage but may retire by next January, when he and Rita embark on a 77-day cruise circumnavigating South America. Life is simpler, too, having sold their home in 2022 and become lock-and-leave renters.

’65 RH Wesley Cullen Davidson writes, “We are still in Vero Beach, Fla. I am active with our evergrowing VB Museum of Art with its own collection and traveling exhibits. When I am in New York, I find time to use my Metropolitan Museum, J.P. Morgan Library, and MOMA memberships. I am in touch with classmates, Lesley Hencken Starbuck, Kathy Ketcham Wikowitz, and Leslie Blake Kotiza, as well as Gwendoline ‘Annie’ Harris ’66. I am a longstanding member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and I serve on the Board of Finch College, which raises money for girls who deserve scholarships to four-year colleges. I am currently writing and researching a self-help book for parents and others who are struggling with friends’ or relatives’ substance abuse. If anyone knows an addiction M.D. who could supply quotes on my interviews, please let me know. My email address is available in the alumni directory.”

’66 C David R. White writes, “I am now annoyingly mired in retirement after 40-plus years as a widely awarded producer and enabler of generations of contemporary dance and performing arts at NYC’s Dance Theater Workshop, or DTW, and The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard. I have had the privilege of introducing, commissioning, and or producing more than 800 artists, including Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Irwin, Bill T. Jones, Mark Morris, Eiko and Koma, Ronald K. Brown, and Susan Marshall. I am thankful to have been the recipient of the NY State Governor’s and NYC Mayor’s Awards, Dance/USA Honors, and the designation of Chevalier in France’s Order of Arts and Letters (indicating the vindication of my winning the French Prize at my Choate graduation, the nerdiest award ever). I founded the National Performance Network, a model of cultural diversity and deep social engagement now embedded in dozens of communities after four decades, and the New York Dance and Performance Awards, aka the BESSIES, that recognize outstanding achievements in contemporary dance and performance (now also 40 years on).”

’67 C James Dissette writes, “I’m a long way from 1967, but still enjoying work as publisher on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and a limited edition book designer and letterpress printer, where we recently printed a fine press edition of The Wind in the Willows.”

Jonathan Farkas writes, “I believe I am the only American in history to have a mother and wife who have served as U.S. Ambassadors. My wife, Somers White Farkas, is the U.S. Ambassador to Malta and my late mother was the U.S. Ambassador for Luxembourg from 1972 to 1975.”

Bradley Fenton writes, “I’m enjoying retirement after 39 years of practicing internal medicine in Philadelphia, Pa. Marie Savard-Fenton, MD, (married 46 years in December) and I moved back to Denver, Colo., after seven years of having a home in Boulder, Colo. Marie and I finished our medical training in Denver. We had met as interns in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. We did fellowships in Denver, bought our first house there, and got married in that house. Our son, Zachary ’99, was born there. We moved back to Philly in 1981. Zach now lives with his family in the Denver suburbs, and Ben and his family live in Boulder. Aaron remains in Mill Valley, Calif., working in San Francisco, Calif. We’re blessed with nine grandchildren. Marie and I are fortunately able to remain physically active. This past September, we had our first cruise and spent two weeks exploring Alaska’s Pacific coast from Juneau to Seattle, Wash. We’re now spending more time at our home in Montauk, N.Y., where the entire family will gather for a few weeks in the summer. I’ve had some medical challenges along the way, but all goes well thanks to great care at the University of Colorado in Denver.”

’68 RH Carol MacNamara Post writes, “I just published my first book, Miss Anna Potcake: The True Story of an Island Dog. It’s the story of a very sick street dog from the Bahamas, her rescue, and life in her Maryland home — loved, safe, and healthy. It’s a book for children from two dog lovers. I’m working on a second, a collection of memoir essays, and yes my time at Rosemary is included — the good, the bad, and the hilarious.”

’69 C Brad Warner writes, “My wife, Pam, and I welcomed our second grandchild, John Warner, into the family this past year. Our other grandchild is Anne Warner. We are blessed they live within walking distance of us in Hingham, Mass. We also enjoy our second home in Jupiter, Fla. I retired from the Board of Capital One Financial after completing nearly 50 years in banking. I was saddened to learn of the passing of Gary Jones, who was my roommate at Choate.”

William Woolverton is pleased to share the news that his second granddaughter, Juliette, was born on November 23, 2025. Bill also is a partner in Tidal Investments, an ETF firm, and he serves on corporate boards. Bill lives in Brookline, Mass.

’69 RH Vickie Spang writes, “I’m finally getting used to retirement (was head of marketing at 1,000-attorney law firm) and am starting to travel; next up is a cruise to see the fjords in Iceland and Norway. I see my classmate (and former roommate) Helen Halpin often, as we both live in the Bay Area.”

1 Bradley Fenton ’67 and his wife Marie Savard-Fenton, winding down their active Alaska cruise

2 Kate Mowlem (right) visited Penny (Heald) Whitehouse-Vaux, both ’67, in London, where they celebrated together with their husbands their 40th wedding anniversaries (less than two months apart).

3 Helen Halpin and Vickie Spang, both Class of 1969, at one of their frequent get-togethers in the SF Bay Area

4 Choate 1968 grads at lunch together in Burlington, Vt. Left to right: Bret Hall, Rory Cartwright, and Philip Nadeau

5 Philip Snyder ’68 and Robert Snyder ’69 won Best Science Fiction Comedy Award in the 2025 Venus on Broadway Film Festival for their film Chaos in the Kitchen Pictured here with Katherine Miccio (Festival Director)

6 Carol MacNamara Post ’68 — Just a girl and her Potcake

1970s

’73 C Jim Bertles writes, “It’s hard to believe we have all hit 70. Does anyone really feel or act that old? I would love to see any classmates who find themselves in the Palm Beach, Fla., area. We love living here despite the crush that has occurred postCOVID. Thankfully, I am still married (45 years!) with three great kids, their spouses, and soon-to-be eight grandchildren. I’m still working full time and playing golf despite having a spinal fusion several weeks ago, spending winters in Palm Beach, and summers and falls in Connecticut and Jackson, Wyo.”

’73 RH Susan Rittenhouse Sokoloski writes, “I’m happily retired since 2019 from a 30-year career as a medical director for life insurance companies. My husband and I live in Portland, Conn., and enjoy spending time with our daughters and their families, as well as working at various volunteer gigs. We recently purchased Seaquel, the fourth Catalina sailboat we’ve owned; we hope to spend lots of time on her in the summer months. Happily, our three grandsons all love to be on our boats with us, and we love nurturing the next generation of sailors.”

’74 C Jesse Bogdonoff Dean writes, “I am celebrating my return to vibrant health after an eight-year battle with stage 4 prostate cancer, now in remission. It was a grueling gauntlet of continual medical interventions, healthy lifestyle changes, multiple operations, hormone therapy, and radiological infusions. Despite all the challenges dealing with severe illness, my journey has deepened my appreciation for my loving wife, Akiko, my excellent medical team, and life itself. I am looking forward to a healthy new chapter.”

’75 C Bradford Bancroft writes, “It seems like yesterday we were all together at the Reunion, but time seems to keep playing games with my head … or is that from the extended guided trips up to

the Skeetfields? I have just published my book on creative arts therapy, Rehearse for Life: Using the Arts in Therapy and Life. I’m excited that I got to get the last 25 years of this wild work down on paper. I think you’ll enjoy it. I praise our time at Choate to high heaven in the book, and seeing many of you recently really reminded me of how important that time was and how special you were to me. Ok, enough of this cloying sentimentality. If interested, go to Amazon and look up Bradford Bancroft … it should lead you to the FBI. With humor, as always.”

Timothy Barnard writes, “In 2025, I celebrated 45 years as a sculptor, working from my Sonoma County studio and gallery in Healdsburg, Calif., where I continued creating my abstract, Möbius-inspired forms in stone and bronze. It was a milestone year filled with meaningful moments, including International Sculpture Day, participation in Art & Found Day, a Santa Fe exhibition at Victory Contemporary, and open studios during Sonoma County Art Trails.”

John Geoghegan writes, “I had a great time in February with Chip Lamb, who was visiting California for a workshop production of a musical he’s developing. I gave Chip a tour of Silicon Valley, which included a stop at Stanford, where we posed in front of Rodin’s “Gates of Hell.” Fortunately, we lacked the price of admission.”

Warren Roos writes, “Our older son, Sam, and his wife welcomed a baby girl, Max Roos, right before Christmas. Helen and I are smitten. Our younger son, Jack, will walk the plank next year. Sam is a lawyer. Jack is a doctor. We’re proud as prunes of them. They even know how to call, but texting rules. In my retirement, I seem to fix a lot of things. Yesterday I performed open heart surgery on an espresso machine. It lived. Cappuccinos coming right up. We moved from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, to Davis, Calif., eight years ago. It is a copacetic tonic for us. Your sixties are the go-go years. Your seventies are your slow-go years, and your eighties are the no-go years. How true. Some days or weeks, I span all three decades. Who’s with me?”

’76 C Daniel Porter writes, “After a long career working as an art college administrator and for a division of Time-Warner, I have retired in Tampa, Fla. I now spend half the year with my wife of 22 years in Costa Rica and half the year in Tampa. Despite all of our political divisions, we are living in a golden age.”

’76 RH Leslie Atkinson writes, “I'm still living happily in Valencia, Spain. Now that I’m happily retired, I’ve been spending time in Siem Reap, Cambodia, during the winter. Both are wonderful. My visits to the U.S. are usually planned around family weddings, so lately, I’ve been taking at least one trip each year. I’m happy to be healthy and able to take every wonderful day as it comes.”

’77 C James Cott writes, “Lee Hockstader ’77 attended my son’s wedding in Kingston, N.Y., in September 2025. Lee had been an usher in my own wedding in 1985!”

’79 Barbara Ulrich Arnold writes, “After many years in the food industry, I recently founded CFG (Community for Good) Foods, a female-owned, Chicago-based company grounded in the belief that food can serve a purpose beyond the plate, supporting both individual well-being and the wellbeing of our communities. While CFG is committed to thoughtful innovation in functional foods, our mission is equally centered on giving back by supporting local food insecurity initiatives. We have just launched our first brand, Unabashed Honey, “Honey Bear Friends with Benefits” — functional honeys formulated to support immunity, energy, relaxation, and recovery. Though my time at Choate was many years ago, its influence remains. Choate instilled in me the understanding that leadership is not simply about achievement, but about responsibility — the responsibility to use what you build to lift others.”

Brooke Thomas-Cohn and Greg Ballard reconnected on Facebook. Brooke writes, “Greg is coming to visit me in OKC. I am really looking forward to seeing him!”

1 George Whipple ’73 at the Sundance Spring Festival with his daughter, Elizabeth Marie Whipple, who turns nine in April

2 Stacie Hewit Elliott ’73 is having the time of her life with her first grandchild, Weston James, born October 16, 2025 in Providence.

3 Jesse Bogdonoff Dean ’74 is healthy, happy, and hopeful.

4 Bradford Bancroft ’75 with his new book, Rehearse for Life: Using the Arts in Therapy and Life

5 Chip Lamb and John J. Geoghegan (both Class of ’75) met up in February in front of Rodin’s “Gates of Hell” at Stanford University to renew old ties.

6 T Barny (Timothy Barnard ’75) and friends celebrating his 45th anniversary as a professional sculptor

7 Warren Roos ’75 with his granddaughter, Max Roos

Barbara Ulrich Arnold’s Unabashed Honey — Honey Bear Friends with Benefits, from her company, CFG (Community for Good) Foods:

“Though my time at Choate was many years ago, its influence remains. Choate instilled in me the understanding that leadership is not simply about achievement, but about responsibility — the responsibility to use what you build to lift others.”

1

2 Three generations of Choate Rosemary Hall alumni met for the first time at a Central Texas wedding in 2025: Daniel Marovitz ’90, Bob Norman ’76, and Eliza Marovitz ’21. Always good meeting fellow alums!

3 Caroline Arlen ’79 published a collection of short stories centered on her 20 years in Durango, Colo. It’s called The Tent & Other Stories

4 Daniel Porter ’76 retired in Tampa, Fla.

5 Leslie Atkinson ’76 is happily retired in Spain.

6 Lee Hockstader ’77 and James Cott ’77 at the wedding of James’s son, Matthew, last September

7 Greg Ballard ’79 sent flowers to Brooke Thomas-Cohn ’79 on Valentine’s Day.

Jordan Fried

’76

Jordan was curious to see what the world looked like outside of his familiar surroundings and in his last year at Choate, an opportunity to study in Germany took him across the Atlantic. It was 1976, before the illusion of constant contact via smartphones and laptops. He wrote letters home, then disappeared into Europe to get another stamp on his passport. He went to school, traveled, visited relatives in Czechoslovakia, hitchhiked, wandered, and became an 18-year-old ready to take on the world, or at least see what it had to offer.

“I was always just sort of a free spirit. I mean, it was 1976,” he recalled. “But in all seriousness, it ultimately gave me the opportunity to do what I wanted and become the person I wanted to be.”

Back then, he remembers, the expectation was simple: school, college, job. However, the leap of faith to switch schools and take on new challenges disrupted that rhythm just enough to widen his sense of what could be.

Jordan took his curiosity to Trinity College and then to nearby New York City, where he cycled through a variety of jobs, more focused on the present than long-term goals or dream jobs. As he inched toward his 30s, he began wondering if he was still maximizing the curiosity and ambition that he possessed. The answer to his question crept into his life while living in Hoboken in his late 20s. He shared an apartment in a rent-controlled building that became the site of a legal dispute with his landlord.

“We lived in this rent-controlled building, and then we got into a fight with our landlord,” he said. “So I kind of got interested in just some exposure to what the law could do. And I think that sort of spurred my idea that if I was going to do something, I could go to law school.”

Wallingford to the World

While he grew up down the road, Jordan Fried ’76 had to step outside his comfort zone to attend Choate and open his worldview.

His ambition brought him to Washington, D.C., and the George Washington University Law School. A clerkship in New Mexico followed before he returned to the East Coast and took what seemed like the logical next step: a job at a prominent New York law firm. On paper, it was the culmination of a successful career shift that would pay dividends. However, in practice, it felt hollow.

“Frankly, I hated it,” he says. “It was boring. It was a lot of work, but … mind-numbing work, like looking through documents for 18 hours a day, and I didn’t feel like what I was doing was important.”

That dissatisfaction forced a reckoning. “You only have one life,” he remembers thinking. “Was there something else I could do as a lawyer that would be more interesting to me, and that would be meaningful to me?”

Less than two miles separate the Wallingford home Jordan ’76 grew up in and Choate, but geography can lie. To a student who grew up hanging out along East Center Street and took trips to see Mrs. Beaumont on her farm, Choate felt like another country.

“I was much different from the image I had of the people who I thought would go to a place like Choate,” Jordan says, looking back.

Growing up, he knew of the prep school in town, but he didn’t feel connected to it beyond the occasional skate at the Remsen Arena and Hockey Rink. Jordan came from a working-class orbit: loving family and friends, familiar routines, and a social life shaped by the town itself. He did well academically and knew where he felt most comfortable, but being pushed out of his comfort zone is precisely what he needed.

As a teenager, Jordan believed he was headed to the nearby public high school where his mom taught. Choate wasn’t on his radar until his father gently nudged the idea forward for him and his young brother.

“I was just a local kid whose father thought that I had done well in the Wallingford school system, and thought that I … would benefit from an education like that. Also, my mother was a teacher at Lyman Hall High School, so I think there was some sense that, you know, like, don’t go to school where your mom’s a teacher.”

What followed wasn’t an overnight transformation so much as a slow loosening. Jordan found his footing at Choate through sports and schoolwork, but the thing that stuck with him most was the permission to explore what could be.

The answer was a resounding yes, but spelled p-u-b-l-i-c s-e-r-v-i-c-e. Back in Washington, Jordan began looking for new challenges and eventually landed at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1994, not long after the Northridge, Calif., earthquake had pushed emergency management into the national spotlight.

“I sort of fell into the mission,” he says. “When there’s a disaster, it’s one of the worst days of anybody’s life … and to be part of an agency that could be there and try to help appealed to me.”

With that mindset, Jordan gravitated to the consequential work of preparing communities before trouble arrives. He has spent much of his career on programs that sit at the intersection of law and real-life community support, such as disaster mitigation, flood insurance, and climate adaptation.

Now, more than 30 years into his work in Washington, the arc from Wallingford to Choate to New York City, and now, FEMA feels connected. From a kid who once saw Choate as another country to a public servant helping communities prepare for their worst days, Jordan’s path has never been linear, but it has been consistent in spirit. Each step was less about chasing a title and more about following his curiosity and being useful. In the end, the distance that mattered most wasn’t measured in miles, but in the willingness to cross into the unknown and see what might be possible there.

by Ryan ShepaRd ’14

Ryan Shepard is the Manager of Editorial Services at Choate Rosemary

1980s

’80 Michael Lewyn was named Chair-Elect (a fancy name for vice-chair) of the Association of American Law Schools Section on State and Local Government Law. He just became a great-uncle, but is not yet a grandfather. He continues to blog.

Jim Sherman writes, “I did my usual 3-week winter break away from NYC and headed to Miami, the British Virgin Islands, and St. Barth’s. Highlights were meeting up with Brian Harris ’80, who lives in Miami, one day for lunch, meeting Richard Branson on Necker Island of the BVI, and spending a week soaking up the French ‘Mediterranean’ vibe in St. Barth’s.”

’81 Gwen Strauss writes, “My last book, The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany, hit the New York Times bestseller list in August 2025. The Nine has been translated into seventeen languages. My most recent book, Milena and Margarete: A Love Story in Ravensbrück, also a work of narrative non-fiction, was recently released. Both books explore the often-silenced corners of history and the power of friendship and resistance. I continue to work as the Executive Director of the Dora Maar Cultural Center in southern France, where I have lived for 20 years.” Michael van der Veen and his family purchased the Carousel Marina and Whale’s Tale Restaurant in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, five years ago, and for the past three seasons the marina has been named a finalist for Best Marina by Down East magazine. The marina is also home to the largest charitable bluefin tuna tournament on the East Coast. The van der Veen family is looking forward to the visit of Rick Happy ’81 and his family this summer at the marina. All Choaties are welcome to visit. Michael, his wife Marion, and their two daughters, Jax and Emma Rose, are actively involved in operating the marina, the restaurant and their marine construction business. In September 2025, Michael’s oldest daughter, Jax, was married at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Boothbay Harbor. In addition to his work on the waterfront, Michael continues to run his law firm with a national practice based in Philadelphia, Pa.

’82 Curt Raffi writes, “In 1982, I was either the last or one of the last students to use the Dodge Shops to restore a classic car for course credit. Recently I purchased another 1957 Thunderbird, created a classic car YouTube channel, and had an early 80’s Choate flashback! Nirma and I will celebrate 40 years of marriage in about a year, and today we have five beautiful, adult kids. I work on AI products when I’m not restoring old cars.”

Bert Ulrich has been hired by famed Italian producer Andrea Iervolino to produce and film movie, TV, and web content, including live concerts and sports, in outer space. Bert, NASA’s liaison with the entertainment community, “is a visionary in space storytelling. His experience is invaluable in inspiring audiences around the world,” Iervolino says. Bert adds: “I’m thrilled to help shape a new era of entertainment on Earth and in space. With Andrea and the team, we’re ready to explore storytelling in a way the world has never seen.”

’84 David Mills writes, “I just won a New York State Council on the Arts Grant to start a collection of poems about slavery in Brooklyn. There’s a leitmotif here, around slavery and the North. I also received a Flushing Town Hall Grant to write about a forgotten poet of the early 20th century, Theodore Henry Shackelford, who, though born in Canada, lived a good amount of his adult life in Jamaica, Queens. I am featured (interview/some poems) in a literary journal from James Madison University called Fight and Fiddle.”

’85 Eric Costello writes, “I’m continuing to serve as the guest writer on the Dick Tracy comic strip; a story of mine ran earlier this year and another one or two stories are due later in the year.”

Will Polese writes, “My partner, Vira, and I are moving to Bali in June. My son will be starting as a management intern at Nusa Dua Beach Hotel, so we decided to move nearby. Please come and visit!”

’86 James Pratt recently co-founded Fyve Health, an Austin-based company developing technology to support healthy aging. The team is building AI-enabled tools to help older adults stay socially engaged while providing families with helpful insights into cognitive and daily well-being. James enjoys the challenge of building something new and meaningful at the intersection of technology and care. He notes that the curiosity and willingness to explore new ideas that Choate encouraged are still useful. “Proof that the spirit of ’86 continues to find its way into unexpected places.”

’87 Paul Grabowski writes, “I’ve been selected as a Fellow-Elect of the College of Law Practice Management, Class of 2026. The College of Law Practice Management is an honorary and educational association that recognizes, promotes, and inspires excellence in law practice management through its elected fellows. It serves as a catalyst for positive change and helps advance legal service quality.”

Amanda Murray is based in Quogue, N.Y., and sells real estate as the lead of Corcoran’s Murray Team in Westhampton Beach. She had a great time touring Choate with her daughter last year — such fun seeing so much that’s new, and so much that’s stayed the same.

’88 Hannah Flournoy Buchan writes, “I have moved to Morocco with my husband and am enjoying show jumping in Morocco and Spain, and working in real estate back at home in the U.S.”

Dede Trimble Griesbauer writes, “After 21 years of professional Ironman racing, I turned in my pro card in November at Ironman Arizona in Tempe. We took the month of December to unwind from it all, and drove our three dogs from Boulder, Colo., to Cape Cod. It was cold, but peaceful, which was exactly what I was craving. Now, back in Boulder, I’m still coaching endurance athletes of all abilities and was recently certified as a strength coach. I’ll continue on as part of the live commentary team for Ironman, and am patiently seeking my next opportunity in sports management or administration. And since I’m not one for stamp collecting or bird watching, I’ve joined a run group and begun chasing some goals at the amateur level.”

1 3 4 2

5

1 Curt Raffi ’82, shooting an episode of “Thunderbird Garage”

2 Gwen Strauss ’81 with her most recent book, Milena and Margarete: A Love Story in Ravensbrück

3 The group (widely known as the MPU) from the Class of 1983 (and one from ’84) has made Thanksgiving in Millbrook, N.Y., a family tradition. And they did it again last November with some new additions, the football game and enough turkey for a Marine company. Front row: Justin Dorazio ’83, Deb Pasculano, Mark Pasculano ’83, Andy Lipsky, Holly KellyLipsky, Hayden Lipsky. Back row: Samantha Dunham, Sarah Hamlin ’83, Jon Griffin, Susie (Tonetti) Griffin ’83, Matthew Griffin, Morgan Griffin, Glen Griffin, James Dorazio, Marco Dorazio, Beth Mendillo, Katie Dorazio, Kevin Danforth, Scott Danforth, Ella Pepper, Jack Mendillo, Avery Mendillo, Carey Danforth, Nick Palumbo, Christine Danforth, Teddy Danforth, Cy Hamlin, Leslie Palumbo ’83, Tag Mendillo ’83, Tess Lipsky, Ted Danforth ’84.

4 Dede Trimble Griesbauer ’88, with Mike Reilly, “The Voice of Ironman,” who came out of his own retirement to call her across the Ironman finish line one last time

5 Alexander von Cramm ’82, taking advantage of record snow and beautiful sunshine

’91

Ulysses de la Torre and Chris Dommers

Friendship Fueled Start Up

Roommates turned business partners have transformed decades of trust, skill, and confidence into a fast-growing company reshaping how medical devices reach patients.

In early 2023, as Chris Dommers ’91 was launching his medical device commercialization company, he was talking to his wife about some of the challenges he was running into as he wrangled the knottier technical and compliance issues of the business.

“You should call Ulysses,” Chris says his wife told him. Taking her advice, he reached out to his longtime friend and former Choate roommate.

“[Chris] said, ‘I’m starting a thing,’” Ulysses de la Torre ’91 remembers. “I said, ‘Let’s go. I don’t even care what it is.’” The idea of working with Chris was enough for him.

The two spoke for an hour, beginning to untangle the startup’s complexities and to build a working partnership. The result is Greystone Medical Technologies, a La Jolla, Calif.-based enterprise that helps U.S. and international medical devices manufacturers enter and expand into the American market. The company has grown rapidly in just two years, from just a few sales reps in January 2024 to over 100 today.

In a sense, Chris and Ulysses’s partnership began decades ago at Choate, where Chris started as a third form student and Ulysses as a fifth form student.

“My earliest memory of Chris is generally that he was the only other guy up late at night in the dorm, at odd hours, scheming pranks to play on people, and I just thought that sounded more interesting than sleeping or studying,” Ulysses says.

Chris came to Choate as one of the top students in his local school in Madison, Conn. For him, Choate represented the best, and he knew since the sixth grade that it was where he wanted to be. And he had an idea, he says with a laugh, of whom he wanted to be one day: a doctor or the CEO of American Express. “I love optimization. I like trying to make things better, more efficient, to amplify,” he explains.

However, when Chris got to Choate, he realized he was suddenly in a school full of top students. “My initial reaction was, ‘Oh, shoot.’ I responded by sort of taking the role of class clown,” he says.

Chris had found his stride at Choate by the time Ulysses arrived on campus their fifth form year. He remembers Ulysses as the guy in Hill House, often “found plastered on the couch in the middle of the common room. His heart rate never got above 70 while at Choate. He was just super chill.” But also, Chris notes, “He was brilliant.”

Ulysses had come to Choate looking for a change from Montclair, N.J., where he’d been at a small school with the same classmates since fourth grade. He wanted a change, but that wasn’t all. “I started becoming increasingly at odds with my parents,” he says. He started looking at boarding schools. Some of his former classmates had already left for Choate, and the School’s football coach became actively involved in recruiting him.

At Choate, Chris and Ulysses became friends and decided to be roommates the following year. Remembering that time, Chris laughs and says, “Ulysses used to have a radio that would wake up with hard rock. But he would never wake up. So we’d have to be throwing pillows at him, going, ‘Ulysses!’ So, you know, we were definitely very diverse personalities who came together. He’s super mellow and does his thing; I do things my way.”

Though they stayed in touch after graduation, their paths diverged. Ulysses went to the University of Vermont, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering and dreamed of heading to one of three destinations: Hollywood (because he liked movies), Wall Street (because he liked math), or Asia (because his mother is Chinese and he wanted to understand her homeland).

After college, he achieved two of those goals, landing a job at Wall Street Systems in Singapore as a systems analyst and account manager. But within a couple of years, during a move to Tokyo, he realized he was burned out.

“There’s a thing that happens where you have a thing, it’s cool, it’s awesome, and then one day you realize you’re a slave to that thing,” he says. He left for Latin America, where he spent two years backpacking and writing.

Ulysses submitted his travel writings to NYU for admission to its journalism school, from which he later earned a master’s degree. What followed was “a multiyear detour through journalism and then what we call post-journalism, which is public relations and then strategic communications. And then I was ghostwriting,” he says. Eventually, he gravitated back to finance, drawn by the prospect of working with startups where finance and technology intersected.

Chris, meanwhile, had taken a more straightforward route to building his career. After earning a degree in biology from the University of Redlands, he embarked on what would become an 18-year tenure at the medical equipment manufacturer CR Bard, first as a sales rep and later as a corporate executive, and settled in San Diego.

He enjoyed the intellectually demanding nature of his work. During the early years, he learned about many types of surgery, which he says “really kind of tickled that biology love of mine.” His job was to synthesize data on certain surgical implants so doctors could make the best decisions for their patients’ care. “I got a lot of gratification, because we helped a lot of patients.”

After a while working as an executive and seeking a more elevated position, he left for MiMedx, regenerative medicine company. Four years later, he moved to Kerecis, where he worked as its surgical director of medical affairs and later as its national director of regenerative surgery.

Along the way, however, he began to feel consumed by his career, as Ulysses had felt years earlier, and was “becoming professionally and intellectually unfulfilled and miserable,” he says, adding, “which really kind of led us to the Greystone venture.”

A New Venture

Over his years in the medical device industry, Chris had noticed that medical equipment manufacturers need help accessing the American healthcare market, which is complicated and highly regulated. They might need help smoothing out supply chain issues, managing regulatory compliance, developing competitive pricing strategies, or getting their products in front of key opinion leaders and decision makers.

Chris knew he was well-positioned, in terms of expertise and relationships, to make the connections necessary for these businesses to grow. He knew the people who ran the hospitals, the surgeons, and the manufacturers. But he needed someone who could manage logistics.

“One thing I can’t do is create algorithmic ways of organizing the business so that we can comply with all the with all the FDA and financial reporting, as

well as comply with contractual reporting requirements of our manufacturers, hospitals, and clinics,” Chris says. But his wife knew who could.

Soon after that hourlong call, Ulysses, who was back in fintech and living in California because of his wife’s fellowship at Stanford University, joined Greystone as its chief operating officer. He built custom software that includes financial models that enable dynamic pricing to respond to market demand, as well as portals where customers can see inventory status and manufacturers can see where their products are in the supply chain.

“This guy can take all the variables, sit back … and build a new arm to our software to accommodate the complexities,” Chris, the company’s CEO, says of Ulysses.

“Yeah, it’s managing information,” Ulysses adds.

Chris laughs and says, “That’s a Ulyssesism right there: ‘Yeah, I manage information.’”

Ulysses sees a common thread through his training as an engineer and his jobs in financial tech, journalism, and at Greystone. “It’s how you manage for detail and information, and channel it appropriately in an efficient way,” he says.

What Ulysses has built, Chris says, has been crucial to Greystone’s success: “We do a tremendous amount of business, but we’re able to do it at a high level, because of him and what he’s built.”

For example, Chris says, one of the biggest manufacturers of regenerative products in the U.S. engaged Greystone for help with a discrete problem they were having. But Ulysses started noticing other inefficiencies and mistakes in the company’s operation. The client was so impressed that they eventually asked Greystone to take over their front-end sales and operations. In December, Greystone was engaged by London Regenerative Institute, an advanced regenerative-medicine and longevity research company with clinics around the world.

“Bringing new technologies developed by some of the world’s most renowned clinical professors and surgeons into the U.S. market is beyond gratifying,” Chris says of the new relationship. “These technologies are remarkable and have far-reaching benefits, including improved surgical outcomes and new aesthetic applications. This partnership has enabled us to acquire and launch the first FDA-approved regenerative product in an entire category.”

A Choate Foundation

For both Chris and Ulysses, their success is partly attributable to the lessons they learned at Choate. Chris gained confidence that would carry him through a sales career and into a CEO role. “After being intimidated by being surrounded by the best of the best when I arrived at Choate, I soon learned that I could post up with anybody,” he says. “And now … we deal with some extraordinarily high-level, world-renowned people. There’s not any daylight of intimidation.”

And Ulysses absorbed a quality crucial to his role. “What I really learned at Choate was competence,” he says. “There’s no class in it, but it’s an attitude.”

But confidence and competence don’t fully explain why their partnership works. It also comes down to the mutual trust they built at Choate. “Obviously, this is rooted in our shared upbringing [and] school years,” Ulysses says, explaining that he thinks about the concept of trust in three ways: Can I trust this person not to lie? Do I trust this person’s judgment? Do I trust this person to do what they say they’re going to do? He trusts Chris in all three ways, he says, and it’s why he was able to join his friend’s venture.

Chris agrees that this longstanding trust dates back to their time at boarding school together. “He never ratted me out,” Chris, the former prankster, jokes. But, really, he says, “Once you have that connection, you never lose it. And there are very few relationships I’ve had in my life that are stronger and more important than those at Choate, starting with Ulysses.”

by KimbeRly aShton

Kimberly Ashton is a Massachusetts-based writer and editor.

Jillian Backus Sullivan and Cassie Farren were brought together again by their sons’ playing together on the boys junior varsity hockey team. Cassie and Jillian (Captain) were members of the girls hockey team at Choate and always dreamed of their sons playing on their home ice.

1990s

’90 Jillian Backus Sullivan and Cassie Farren were brought together again by their sons’ playing together on the boys junior varsity hockey team. Cassie and Jillian (Captain) were members of the girls hockey team at Choate and always dreamed of their sons playing on their home ice. Tristan and Lachlan, Classes of 2027 and 2028, have shared their love for hockey over the last couple of years and have become good friends. And Cassie and Jillian have enjoyed meeting up at all the games (home and away!) to cheer them on.

’92 Samantha Coleman Ritchey writes, “After two busy and rewarding years, my husband and I have been hard at work refurbishing a classic 76-foot 1975 Broward wooden motor yacht. The restoration has truly been a labor of love, bringing new life to a beautiful vintage vessel. We’re excited that the project is finally nearing completion and are hoping to take her on a voyage to the Yucatán Peninsula in the near future.”

’93 Dev Finley and his wife, Jude, are in Berkeley, Calif., raising their two dogs, Stella and George. When he’s not working for four-month-old Stella, Dev’s running his brand strategy studio, where he helps early-stage tech companies position for growth.

’96 Nikisha Pitter Alcindor writes, “I am a winner of Unstoppable Women of Web3, Most Inspirational Women in Web3 & AI. I was invited to Las Vegas, Nev., to be recognized. I will also speak at the virtual conference and share my research.”

Josh Martino is the host of the new podcast Unreasonable, a production of the Jacksonville Civic Council that celebrates community leaders, bold visionaries, and fearless business leaders shaping the future of Jacksonville.”

’97 Shira Brisman has published her second book, The Goldsmith’s Debt: Conceptions of Property in Early Modern Art. She is an Associate Professor in the History of Art Department at the University of Pennsylvania.

’99 Joanna Spencer-Segal writes, “I saw Ellyde Roko Thompson when our families vacationed together in Mexico this year. My family (me, my husband Yaniv Segal, and our two boys, Rami and Shoshan, ages 11 and 9) will relocate from Ann Arbor, Mich., where I am faculty at the University of Michigan, to New York City, where I will join the faculty of Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons as an Associate Professor of Endocrinology in the Department of Internal Medicine. I hope to connect with many more Choaties in N.Y.!”

1 ’93 classmates Carissa Baquiran, Susan Kurien, Alexis Morley, Kalimah Fergus, and Kristen Clarke have enjoyed getting together for seasonal trips in Hyde Park, N.Y.

2 Chris Nelson ’95 was married to Trisha Lynn Boyd in Elkin, N.C., on October 4, 2025. A reception followed at Raffaldini Vineyards, where Chris has been the winemaker since 2019. In attendance were several classmates, including Tim Booth ’94, Chris Casey ’94, David McGill, David Crisp ’94, Chris, PJ Orthwein ’94, Matt Nelson, and Amelia Nelson (future Class of 2032).

3 Many 1994 Choate friends came to honor and mourn Katie Oliver Challenger’s father, Robert G. Oliver, after he died in September 2025. Left to right: Amanda Frazer, Nancy Cutler Sedecki, Amanda Redmond Arcand, Celeste Peterson, and Katy Oliver. Not pictured: Mary Patterson ’95 and David Aversa ’91. The New Haven funeral included military honors.

4 Josh Martino ’96 (left) is the host of the new podcast Unreasonable

5 The sons of Joanna Spencer-Segal and Ellyde Roko Thompson, both Class of 1999. Joanna’s sons Shoshan (left) and Rami (right), with Ellyde’s son, Julian (center). Three happy boys at the beach!

6 Matt Milikowsky ’98 was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve on Lexington Green in front of family and friends. Left to right: Marc Wein, Michael Bright, Rob Mandle, Justin Reid, Matt Milikowsky, Josh Dolin, and Matt’s children, Myles, Sadie, and Sam

2000s

’05 Shanellah Verna Harris is now Of Counsel at the law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, working on commercial real estate and hospitality transactions nationwide and internationally.

2010s

’11 Alexandra Friedman writes, “I am thrilled to share that I’ve been appointed the Arts & Culture Advisor at the Royal Norwegian Consulate in New York, where I am working to promote the crosscultural exchange between Norway and the U.S. For alltid sant! (That’s Forever True in Norwegian!)”

’12 Alex Poltash and Ericka Robertson Poltash welcomed their first son, Miles Poltash, on November 10, 2025, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Ketchum, Idaho.

’14 Ashley Kim just completed a three-week residency at the Vermont Studio Center, where she continued work on her first full-length poetry collection. She has poems forthcoming in two literary magazines.

Ryan Shepard returned to Choate, working as the Manager of Editorial Services and living in Hartford, Conn.

’17 Mattie Drucker writes, “After competing with Team France at the World Ultimate Frisbee Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, I decided to put a pause on my frisbee career to pursue an MA in Global Communications at the American University of Paris. If you find yourself in the Paris area, do not hesitate to reach out!”

Benjamin Wendel recently wrote and produced their first play, Anthropocene, which opened at the Baron’s Court Theatre in London as part of the Camden Fringe in August 2025. The production played to a sold-out run, received multiple five-star reviews and several award nominations, including an OffWestEnd OffFest Award and multiple Fringe Theatre Award nominations, and went on to win the London Pub Theatres Standing Ovation Award for Best Black Box Production in October.

2020s

’20 Lambo Perkins writes, “In December, my co-founder, Will Spartin, and I were honored to be

included on the 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Food & Drink category for our work building Triple Cannabis Beverages. This recognition is something I’m deeply grateful for, and I truly give all glory to God for every opportunity and blessing that has come our way. It’s been a humbling reminder of how much support, guidance, and grace play a role in any accomplishment. I also want to express my gratitude to Choate for being one of the places that first encouraged my curiosity, creativity, and drive. I carry those lessons with me every day.”

’23 Raye Osayimwese-Sisson spent last summer as a community relations intern at the Rhode Island Football Club. When she arrived at the team’s brand-new facility, she realized that the team was closely linked to Choate. RIFC is the brainchild of Brett Johnson ’88 and Dan Kroeber ’00, and is supported by a group of Choate alums, trustees, and parents. Raye worked to promote the new team among local businesses, organizations, and universities. Then, on a game day in July, in the pre-game chaos at the stadium, a familiar voice called her name: it was Dr. Curtis, attending his first RIFC game. It was the perfect ending to an exciting summer.

2 Mattie Drucker ’17 playing against Team China at the World Ultimate Championships in Gold Coast, Australia

3 Raye Osayimwese-Sisson ’23 and Dr. Curtis at a Rhode Island FC game

4 After graduating from college, Brian McGlinchey ’18 has started coaching FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) team 30393, which, in their rookie season, qualified for the World Championships in Houston, Texas. Pictured with their robot!

5 Chimemeka “Chimmy” Uduanu ’23 connected with Senior

Send Us Your Notes!

Do you have news to share with your classmates? We’d love to hear from you. Submit your news and photos online at choate.edu/classnotes. When submitting photos, please make sure the resolution is high enough for print publication — 300 dpi preferred. To update your alumni records, please contact Christine Bennett at alumnirelations@choate.edu or (203) 697-2228.

LEARNING DOESN’T STOP WHEN SUMMER BEGINS Choate Rosemary Hall’s unique summer programs offer engaging and innovative opportunities for learners to widen their worlds as they pursue their creativity, curiosity, and passion for discovery. Students of all ages explore new concepts and advance their skills through programs at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

1 Sarah Acheson ’93 married Andrew Semmel on October 18, 2025 in Redding, Conn. They exchanged vows at the First Church of Christ in Redding Center and celebrated afterward at the Redding Roadhouse, surrounded by family, friends, and beautiful fall colors.

2 John Uppgren and Samantha Kelly Uppgren, both Class of 2012, welcomed their son, John Kelly Uppgren, in December 2025.

3 Kaitlin (Kunkler) Wright ’06 and her husband, Josh Wright, welcomed their daughter, Bridget Riley Wright, on November 24, 2025 in Denver, Colo.

4 Kelsey Craig Birney ’07 and her husband, Daniel, welcomed their son, Finley Edward Birney, on September 9, 2025.

5 Max Mastrella ’09 and wife Francesca welcomed a son, Luca Joseph, on December 13, 2025.

6 Alex Tenney ’11 and Max Katzenstein ’11 welcomed their third child, Nell, pictured alongside his sisters, Grey (4) and Lane (1).

7 Olivia Jorgensen Hardy ’10 and her husband, Will Hardy, welcomed a daughter, Winslow, on November 10, 2025 in Greenwich, Conn.

8 Nihal (Nicky) Eisa Cassady ’03 and Samuel Cassady welcomed their second son, Robert Rexton Cassady (Rex), on February 9.

9 Isabelle Lirola Quay ’11 and her husband, Charles, welcomed their son, Leon Charles Henri Quay, in November 2025.

IN MEMORIAM | Remembering Those We Have Lost

Alumni and Alumnae

’45 C Brian B. Acworth, 97, an entrepreneur, died January 8, 2026, in New York City. Born in London, Brian and his sister were evacuated from England during World War II. He came to Choate in 1941, played league sports, and was a Campus Cop. He then returned to England and earned a degree from Merton College, Oxford. In the 1950s, he founded Seafarer Yachts in Amsterdam, later moving the firm to the north shore of Long Island. Twenty years later, he converted the Seafarer factory into business condominiums, which he developed and managed for decades. In his 80s, he founded the MuseumLight Co., which put artwork into a cylinder and illuminated it from within. He leaves four children, nine grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.

’48 C Jerry Peter Helck, 94, the retired owner of a firm marketing tools for equine hoof care, died September 21, 2025, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Born in Yonkers, N.Y., Jerry came to Choate in 1944; he was the electrician for the Dramatics Club and won a School prize in practical mechanics. After graduating from RPI and serving in the Army, he worked for 20 years at Air Reduction Co. in Murray Hill, N.J. He then founded Summit Technical Products, a business that

sold farrier supplies. Jerry, the son of the artist and auto historian C. Peter Helck, collected antique cars, one of which, a 1906 Locomobile, is now in the Ford Museum. He leaves his wife, Linda Helck; six children; two stepchildren; 16 grandchildren; four step-grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

’48 RH Jorie Butler Kent, 95, a conservationist, businesswoman, and philanthropist, died January 16, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. Born in Chicago, Jorie attended Rosemary Hall for one year and was on the first Riding Team. In 1998, she was given the School’s Alumnae Award. After graduating from Finch College in New York, she joined Butler Aviation Co., which her father had founded, eventually becoming its comptroller. Jorie’s real love was horses, and she was a trailblazer for women in polo. She was also a polo instructor, once instructing Prince (now King) Charles III of Great Britain. In 1972, she was one of the first two women admitted to the United States Polo Association. Seven years later, she married polo player Geoffrey Kent and became a partner in his Abercrombie & Kent travel firm, chairing its philanthropy and conservation efforts. She won many awards for protecting wildlife and the environment. She leaves a daughter and a sister.

’49 C James L. Macdonald, 94, an art historian, died January 31, 2026, in Rye, N.H. Born in Washington, D.C., Jim came to Choate in 1947; he was in the Cum Laude Society. After graduating from Yale and serving in the Korean War, he worked with the Merrill-Anderson Co., which created advertising for the trust departments of banks. For them, Jim wrote about art and artifacts that were of interest to wealthy clients. He enjoyed tennis, photography, and the history of Rye. He leaves two daughters and four grandchildren.

’50 C John Halliwell Morgan, 94, a retired corporate real estate appraiser, died January 25, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., John came to Choate in 1946; he lettered in hockey and was a member of the Chess and Ski clubs. After graduating from Middlebury, he was the Lieutenant Commander of a Coast Guard PT boat. John worked on the American Stock Exchange before starting his own appraisal business in Darien, Conn. A gifted athlete, he enjoyed tennis, windsurfing, golf, and skating. He leaves three children and seven grandchildren.

Thomas R. Wall III, 94, a retired executive of department stores, died January 23, 2026, in Sarasota, Fla. Born in Saint Joseph, Mo., Tom came to Choate in 1948; he lettered in golf and was in the History and Western clubs. After earning degrees from Washington & Lee and NYU, he returned to Saint Joseph and joined the family business, the Townshend & Wall department store, eventually succeeding his father as President. In 1979, he sold the store and moved to Bermuda, where he was chief merchandise officer for Trimingham’s department store, which closed in 2005. Tom was active in both Saint Joseph and Hamilton, Bermuda, serving on various community boards. He was Executive Director of the Bermuda Economic Development Corp. for 10 years and was CEO of the Bermuda Housing Corp. He leaves his wife, Linda Wall; five children, Thomas Wall ’76, Joshua Wall ’77, Christopher Wall ’80, Jonathan Wall ’82, and Cinda Ball ’83; eleven grandchildren, including Catherine Wall ’12, Charles Wall ’15, Sophia Ball ’17, and Lily Ball ’20; and two great-grandchildren.

’48

Jorie Butler Kent’s real love was horses, and she was a trailblazer for women in polo. She was also a polo instructor, once instructing Prince (now King) Charles III of Great Britain. In 1972, she was one of the first two women admitted to the United States Polo Association. Seven years later, she married polo player Geoffrey Kent and became a partner in his Abercrombie & Kent travel firm, chairing its philanthropy and conservation efforts.

’51 RH Marilyn McManus Largay-Bauch, 91, died November 20, 2025. Born in Greensburg, Pa., Marilyn came to Rosemary Hall in 1946; she was Head Day Boarder Marshal, on the Rules Committee, and on the Tea House Committee. She graduated from Vassar. Marilyn enjoyed wildlife and the outdoors, whether on the New Jersey shore or in Carefree, Ariz., where she later lived. She leaves two children, four grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.

’53 RH Margaret Victoria Fry Guthrie, 91, died December 23, 2025, in Reading, Pa. Born in Reading, Vicky came to Rosemary Hall in 1949. She was the manager of the A. A. Tea House, a member of the current events discussion group, a Marshal, and a member of the Fire Squad. She then attended the Garland School in Boston. Vicky was an avid rose gardener who enjoyed cooking and entertaining friends and relatives, needlepoint, and serving on the Altar Guild of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. She leaves two sons and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

’56 C Theodore Lee Gaillard, 86, a retired educator, died May 25, 2025. Born in New York City, Lee came to Choate in 1952; he was a member of the Cum Laude Society and won School prizes for ranking highest in the sixth form and for excellence in English. After attending Westminster School in London, he earned degrees from Yale and Middlebury. He then served in the Marines. Lee began his career as a marketer for Time-Life Publications, then entered the world of academe. He taught at Athens College in Greece, St. Mark’s School in Massachusetts, the Hockaday School in Texas, Brunswick School in Connecticut, Lake Forest Academy in Illinois, and elsewhere. He was also a freelance writer and an expert on the Osprey helicopter, writing a monograph on it for the Defense Department. He leaves his wife, the Rev. Ann Gaillard; two children; a brother; a stepsister; and a half-sister.

’57 C Thomas R. Dyer, 86, a retired shipyard manager, died January 21, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. Born in Astoria, Ore., Tom came to Choate in 1954; he was a member of the Dramatic and Western clubs. After graduating from Stanford, he was a Fulbright Scholar in the Netherlands and earned a master’s degree in naval architecture from MIT. He then served four years as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Moving to Seattle, Tom was a construction manager, consulting engineer, and general manager at several shipyards; he was a member of many maritime organizations, including the Society of Naval Architects. He also served on the Port of Seattle Waterfront Development Panel. He leaves his wife, Sallie Dyer; two children; a stepson; and a grandson.

Arthur E. Trotman, 85, a retired food company marketer, died July 14, 2025. Born in New Haven, Art came to Choate in 1954. He lettered in soccer, basketball, and baseball, winning a School award in baseball (pitching); was on the Student Council and in the Cum Laude Society; and played saxophone in the Orchestra and the Golden Blues. Although he was recruited to play minor league baseball, Art instead chose college, earning degrees from Yale and Harvard Business School. He spent 32 years with General Foods, including time spent in Puerto Rico, Mexico, France, and Australia. Art then returned to Connecticut and marketed Gevalia coffees. Interested in helping the homeless, he was on the board of the Union Theological Society in New York and led several anti-poverty initiatives. He leaves his wife, Kate Trotman; three children; and six grandchildren. His father, the late Stanley Trotman Sr. 1930, also attended Choate, as did his brother, the late Stanley Trotman Jr. ’61. (see next page)

’58 C William Marble Gale, 85, died January 15, 2026. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bill came to Choate in 1957; he was a member of the Altar Guild and the Western Club. After graduating from Trinity, he served in the Navy in Vietnam, then returned to Cincinnati to begin a career in business and

finance. Bill enjoyed fly fishing. He leaves a daughter, two grandsons, and a sister.

Gordon McDowell Grubbs, 85, an actuarial consultant, died January 13, 2026. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, and reared in Texas, Gordon attended Choate for one year and was a member of the Cum Laude Society. After graduating from Rice, he worked as an actuary at Coopers & Lybrand before becoming a consultant. Gordon enjoyed composing music, birding, and singing in barbershop quartets. He leaves four children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Harold Henry Krider, 85, a retired executive of a shipbuilding company, died December 9, 2025. Born in Canton, Ohio, Hal came to Choate in 1954; he lettered in crew, was on the Board of The Brief, and was in the Ski and French clubs. He earned degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, served as a Captain in the Army, and later worked as an executive at Scott Paper. Hal was the CFO of Marinette Marine in Wisconsin. In retirement, he and his wife sailed their 43-foot Shannon ketch more than 30,000 nautical miles and traveled the world. He also enjoyed rock climbing, hiking, ornithology, studying history, chess, and canoeing. He leaves his wife, Kristen Krider; three children; four grandchildren; and two sisters. A cousin, Charles Vicary ’54, also attended Choate.

’58 RH Dorothy Hubbard Lobl, 85, a retired social service worker, died on November 5, 2025, in Greenwich, Conn. Born in New York, Dorie came to Rosemary Hall in 1954. She was President of the third and fourth forms; was Head Day Boarder Marshal; was Secretary-Treasurer of the Athletic Association, and played hockey, basketball, and tennis. After spending a year in the Netherlands with the Experiment in International Living, she married and moved to Paris with her husband. There, she worked with the American Aid Society of Paris, providing financial assistance to indigent Americans stranded in France. They later moved to Nantucket. She leaves two children, four grandchildren, and a brother.

Harold Henry Krider was the CFO of Marinette Marine in Wisconsin. In retirement, Hal and his wife sailed their 43foot Shannon ketch more than 30,000 nautical miles and traveled the world.

’58

’60

Kenneth

W. Wydro and his wife created and directed Mama, I Want to Sing, the longest-running Black off-Broadway musical (1983 to 1991). They formed the Mama Foundation for the Arts in 1998. He was the author of several books and lectured frequently on how to work under pressure in the commercial world. His Broadway producing credits include Evita, The Best Man, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and more.

’60 C Kenneth W. Wydro, 81, a writer and producer of Broadway shows, died January 21, 2025. Born in New York City, Ken came to Choate in 1956; he lettered in basketball and baseball, was in the Glee Club, and served on the Board of The Brief. He then earned degrees from the University of Rochester and the UC Berkeley. Ken and his wife created and directed Mama, I Want to Sing, the longestrunning Black off-Broadway musical (1983 to 1991). They formed the Mama Foundation for the Arts in 1998. He was the author of several books and lectured frequently on how to work under pressure in the commercial world. His Broadway producing credits include Evita, The Best Man, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and more. He leaves his wife, Vy Higginsen, and daughter.

’61 C Stanley Trotman Jr., 82, an investment banker, died December 10, 2025. Born in New Haven, Stan came to Choate in 1958. He lettered in cross country and was President of St. Andrew’s Cabinet, Vice President of the Band, and on the board of the Press Club. After earning degrees from Yale and Columbia Business School, he started his career at Drexel and later joined Kidder Peabody, Paine Webber, and UBS. Stan served on several healthcare-related boards, including those of the Tisch MS Research Center and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Stan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 33, but never stopped playing golf, scoring two holes-in-one despite having to swing the club with one arm. He leaves his wife, Susie Trotman; two children; and five grandchildren. His father, the late Trustee Stanley Trotman Sr. C 1930, attended Choate, as did his brother, the late Arthur Trotman ’57. (see previous page)

’64 C Steven W. Boswell, 78, a retired educator, died November 16, 2025, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Born in Vienna, Austria, the son of a foreign service officer, Steven came to Choate in 1960; he was a member of the Current History Club and the French Club, and won first place in a statewide French competition. After graduating from Lafayette College, he joined the

Peace Corps and taught English in Chad. He then spent 40 years teaching in Laos, Kuwait, Burundi, the West Bank, China, Turkey, Vietnam, Tibet, and Cambodia, retiring in 2009. During those years, he earned a master’s degree from Indiana University. Steven was the author of King Norodom’s Head, a guide to little-known sites in Cambodia. He leaves his wife, Dany Ham; a son; and three brothers, including Peter Boswell ’60. Another brother, the late Philip Boswell ’66, also attended Choate.

Daniel M. Rugg III, 80, owner of a sailmaking company, died February 6, 2026, in Centreville, Md. Born in New York City, Dan came to Choate in 1959; he lettered in soccer, hockey, and baseball; was Sports Editor of The Choate News, and was Secretary of the Sailing Club. Later, he was a longtime Class Agent. After Choate, Dan’s life centered on sailing and the sea. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was the first two-time All-American sailor on the USNA sailing team, then served on a destroyer in the Vietnam War, earning a Navy Commendation Medal. For two years, he was in the Canadian Navy in the Canadian Naval Exchange. He later was a professional sailor and owner of Hood Sailmakers in Clearwater, Fla. He leaves two children, five grandchildren, and two siblings, including Peter Rugg ’65. His father, the late Daniel M. Rugg Jr. ’40, also attended Choate, as did his brother-in-law, Lawrence Rogers ’70.

’65 C Thew “Terry” Wright III, 78, a computer programming executive, died July 11, 2025. Born in New Haven, Conn., Terry came to Choate in 1960; he rowed crew and was SecretaryTreasurer of the Republican Club. After four years in the Air Force, he graduated from Wright State in Fairborn, Ohio. He then developed programs for Ponderosa Steak House, Cooper Tire, and other companies. Terry enjoyed playing folk, country, and jazz guitar. He leaves a stepson, a daughter, a brother, and a sister, Sandy Wright ’70.

’66 RH Marian Rea Haight, 77, an active community member, died in May 2025 while on a trip to Italy. Marian came to Rosemary Hall in 1963. She was in the Choir and on the Student Government Committee. She was President of the Women’s Board of the Museum of New Mexico for two years, volunteered at the Santa Fe Botanical Garden, and supported the Santa Fe Conservation Trust. She leaves her husband, Robert Haight; two children; two grandchildren; and three siblings.

’69 C Gary Hungerford Jones, 75, a retired salesman of air handling systems, died on January 23, 2026, in Brunswick, Ga. Born in Waterbury, Conn., Gary came to Choate in 1966; he lettered in football and was a member of the Spanish, Ski, and Glee clubs. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he worked for Cone Mills Corp. in San Francisco while living on a houseboat. Gary spent his later career in sales of industrial-grade airhandling systems for arenas, hospitals, factories, and universities. He served a term as Mayor of Berkeley Lake, Ga.; he enjoyed saltwater fishing. He leaves two sons and a sister.

’69 RH Jennifer Robin Berol Bliss, 74, a retired horse trainer, died February 6, 2026. Born in New York City, Robin came to Rosemary Hall in 1966. She was in the Riding Club and was a team cheerleader; she then attended Bennett College in Millbrook, N.Y. Robin was an accomplished equestrian rider and became a decorated horse trainer, managing three national champions over her career. She leaves her husband, Mark Bliss, and three children.

’70 C George B. Storer II, 74, a certified public accountant, died February 6, 2026. Born in Atlanta, Ga., George came to Choate in 1965. He lettered in football and skiing, was President of the Automobile Club, and was in the Camera, Ski, and Glee clubs. He then graduated from the University of Wyoming. George, later known as “Hap,” enjoyed sailing and was a member of several yacht clubs as well as a youth sailing leader. He

was also a trustee of Miami Country Day School. He leaves his wife, Teresa Brown Storer; three children; six grandchildren; and a brother. John E. Thomas, 73, a civil and environmental engineer, died November 29, 2025. Born in Englewood, N.J., John, known at School as “Buzz,” was at Choate one year; he lettered in football and baseball. After graduating from Harvard, he co-founded the Massachusetts-based company Beals & Thomas, which provides environmental planning and engineering services in the Boston area. He retired to Florida in 2014, where he was President of the Florida Botanical Gardens Foundation in Largo, Fla. He leaves his wife, Kathy Thomas; a son; a grandson; and two siblings.

’74 C Douglas K. Andrews, 69, involved in international trade, died November 4, 2025. Born in Passaic, N.J., and raised in Mexico City, Doug came to Choate in 1970; he was on the staff of The Choate News and won a School prize in Spanish. After graduating from Kenyon, where he studied international business, he launched his career in Mexico City, focusing on international trade. Doug enjoyed motorcycles and vintage militaria. He leaves a son and three siblings.

’76 C John H. Kramer, 67, a retired insurance executive, died November 20, 2025. Born in White Plains, N.Y., John came to Choate in 1973; he was a member of the Spanish and Outing clubs and served on the staff of The Choate News. After graduating from Duke, he owned a river rafting company in Seattle, then spent decades in reinsurance in Seattle, New York, and Philadelphia. John enjoyed rafting and golf. He leaves his wife, Ruie Kramer; two children; two grandchildren; and a brother, Terry Kramer ’61.

’76 RH Wendelin Evans Knight, 67, a retired lawyer, died December 3, 2025, in Middletown, Conn. Born in Washington, D.C., Wendy came to Rosemary Hall in 1973; she was in the French Club and the Chorus, and was

President of her fifth form class. After earning degrees from Williams and Tulane Law School, she spent many years practicing environmental law in New Orleans. Moving to Old Lyme, Conn., in 2005, Wendy volunteered at the First Congregational Church and the town library. She leaves a daughter; a stepdaughter; a stepson; and two siblings.

’84 E. Richard Wrinn, 59, died March 2, 2026. Born in New Haven, Rich came to Choate Rosemary Hall in 1980, where he was Varsity Baseball Co-Captain. He then graduated from Holy Cross. Rich enjoyed fly tying and fly fishing. He leaves his parents and two brothers, Stephen Wrinn ’87 and Daniel Wrinn ’90.

’92 Jonathan A. MacDonald, 52, a lawyer, died July 8, 2025, in Carlsbad, Calif. Born in Boston, Jon attended Choate Rosemary Hall for one year after graduating from Edgewood High School in Madison, Wis.; he lettered in hockey. He graduated magna cum laude from Boston College and earned a law degree from Duke. Jon then moved to San Diego, Calif., where he specialized in real estate law. He leaves four children, his parents, and two siblings.

’94 Kirk LeMoyne B. Harwell, 50, a digital designer, died November 24, 2025, in Seattle. Born in Nashville, Tenn., LeMoyne came to Choate in 1992; he was on the Student Council, was President of his sixth form class, and was a student representative to Choate’s Standing Committee on Academic Affairs. After earning degrees from Bates and UCLA, he worked in digital design as an architect, artist, engineer, and carpenter. He leaves his wife, Azimahana “Mas” Amir; two sons; and his father. His grandfather, F. T. Billings Jr. 1929, also attended Choate, as did two uncles, the late K. LeMoyne “Lem” Billings 1935, and John Billings ’68.

Trustees

Margot Paul Ernst ’64, a Choate Rosemary Hall Trustee from 1973 to 1976, died February 8, 2026. She was 80. Born in Charlottesville, Va., Margot came to Rosemary Hall in 1961. She was in Philomel and the Choir. She was an “R” Team cheerleader and a Marshal. She graduated from Bennett College and later from Columbia. After spending a year in Japan, she was Associate Director of the Japan Society Gallery in New York. Margot was on the boards of several organizations, including National Public Radio, Island Press, the Adirondack Museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and National Audubon. After years of study, she became a Urasenke tea master. She leaves her husband, John Ernst; a daughter; two stepdaughters, including Alexandra Ernst ’82; six grandchildren; and two siblings. Her father, the late Norman S. Paul ’36, attended Choate, as did a cousin, Susan Cullman ’67.

Our sympathy to the friends and family of the following, whose death are reported with sorrow:

Alice Dodge Berkeley RH ’61 December 16, 2025

Anne D. Gilchrist ’88 March 20, 2025

Soo-hyun (Susan) Chung ’91 October 1, 2025

Two historic snowstorms and record-breaking temperatures could not slow down the Wild Boars this season! This winter, Choate teams earned thrilling wins, celebrated overtime victories, and competed in numerous NEPSAC postseason tournaments and championships. The Girls Varsity Wrestling Team collected the most hardware this season, winning the Class “A” Wrestling Championship and their secondstraight New England Championship. The Wild Boars also earned a second-place finish at the National Prep Championships, where nine wrestlers were named All-Americans. Alongside the Girls Varsity Wrestling Team, the Boys and Girls Varsity Squash teams also earned national recognition, finishing in the top 10 at the National Team Championships. The Boys and Girls Varsity Swim & Dive Teams also put together strong seasons, setting a combined 14 school records and earning six All-American honors. Punctuating a strong winter campaign, the boys won their fifth-straight Founders League Championship, and the girls finished second. On the ice, the Boys and Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Teams each had one of their best seasons in recent years, both qualifying for the Large School Postseason Tournament. The Girls Varsity Basketball Team also qualified for the playoffs in the Class “A” division.

CO-ED VARSITY ARCHERY

Record: 3-0

Captain: Ari Peres ’26

Highlights: Swept the season series against local rival Meridan Archery Boys and Girls Club. Also traveled to the Wilton YMCA for an exhibition event.

BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL

Record: 12-13[RS1.1]

Captain: Tanner Raymond ’26

Highlights: Battled against the top competition in New England. Earned wins over Exeter, Taft, Kent, Salisbury, and Williston Northampton.

GIRLS VARSITY BASKETBALL

Record: 9-13

Captains: Payton Collins ’26, Abby Kim ’26, Sky Burke ’27

Highlights: Qualified for the NEPSAC Class “A” Playoffs as the #6 seed. Had big wins over Deerfield, Exeter, Kingswood-Oxford, Greenwich Academy, and Hotchkiss.

BOYS VARSITY ICE HOCKEY

Record: 11-12-3[RS2.1]

Captains: Owen Morris ’26, Paul Stearns ’26

Highlights: Qualified for the postseason tournament for the first time since 2015. Swept Avon Old Farms with two big wins and defeated Westminster, Taft, and Lawrenceville during regular season play.

GIRLS VARSITY ICE HOCKEY

Record: 14-10-1

Captains: Natalie Beach ’26, Maggie Swanson ’26, Kate Tortorella ’26

Highlights: Qualified as the #2 seed for the Large School Tournament and earned its first postseason win since 2020 after defeating Kent in overtime in the opening round. Also defeated Taft to advance to the championship game.

BOYS VARSITY SQUASH

Record: 15-10

Captain: Lucas Carlson ’26

Highlights: Earned its first-ever top-10 finish at the Squash National Championships. Earned regularseason wins over Deerfield, Taft, Belmont Hill, and Avon Old Farms.

GIRLS VARSITY SQUASH

Record: 11-3

Captains: Mira Parapatt ’26, Maria Jose ‘Majo’ Soria ’26

Highlights: Tied for 9th at the National Team Championships. Enjoyed a perfect 35-0 set win-streak during the regular season. Earned wins over Deerfield, Loomis, Taft, and St. Paul’s.

BOYS VARSITY SWIMMING & DIVING

Record: 7-2

Captains: Dylan Kim ’26, Ryan Liu ’26, Neil Alejandro ’27, Andrew Furtado ’27, Kaz Kousaka ’27

Highlights: Claimed its fifth-straight Founders League title. Finished third overall at the New England Championships, its highest finish in 19 years. Defeated Deerfield, Loomis, and Hotchkiss during the regular season.

GIRLS VARSITY SWIMMING & DIVING Record: 5-4

Captains: Annie Cady ’26, Isabelle Jiao ’26, Claudia Li ’26, Nicha Tongdee ’26, Sienna Barhorst ’27

Highlights: Finished as the runner-up for the second-straight season at the Founders League Championships. Scored 194 points at the New England Championships, the most since 2020. Defeated Loomis, Deerfield, and Hotchkiss during the regular season.

CO-ED VARSITY WRESTLING Record: 15-7

Captains: Leanna La ’26, Sara Mclaughlin ’26, Lily Runez ’26, Nathaniel Skelly ’26, Luke Benanto ’27

Highlights: Finished second in the Founders League standings. Team featured nine All-Americans, eight Class “A” Champions, four All-American honorees, and two national champions.

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3 Landon Geren

uses his height and impressive vertical to win the tip-off to start a home competition.

4 The Wild Boars pose with their trophies at the 2026 National Prep Wrestling Championships.

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1 Captain Isabelle Jiao ’26 was recognized with the prestigious Andy Lowe Memorial Award at the New England Division I Championships.

2 Kyndal Box ’26 (#3) dribbles by a defender at midcourt.

3 Henry Radin ’27 shakes his opponent’s hand after a hard-fought match on the mat.

4 Annie Forker ’26 (#13) and Lexi Berger ’28 (#23) on the attack as they protect home ice against the Williston Northampton Wildcats.

5 Kanami Yazaki ’29 stands tall and stares down the bullseye on her target.

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Celebrating Coach James Davidson

Record: 150-0

JD. Coach. Mr. Davidson. Jim Davidson.

He goes by many names because he wears many hats, but the place he holds in the hearts of Wild Boars is singular. In 1976, JD made his way to Choate Rosemary Hall and began coaching cross-country, basketball, and track & field while teaching humanities courses. Since then, he has led student-athletes to success on the field and helped them become stronger, more resilient, and more tenacious young adults. From winning the Founders League’s Nadal Award to being named Coach of the Year by the Connecticut State Board of Approved Basketball Officials, his excellence as a coach and mentor cannot be denied. Celebrating 50 years at Choate and 150 seasons of coaching, we say, “Thank you, JD!” No trophy is big enough, and no awards ceremony is grand enough, because we will forever be indebted to you for your sage advice, calming smile, and unwavering commitment to generations of student-athletes. 5

This issue features three reviews that explore how we navigate complexity — in politics, language, and imagination. Together, these works reflect the habits we continue to cultivate: intellectual agility, curiosity without borders, and the courage to engage a world that resists easy answers.

Author: William Fuller ’71

Publisher: Flood Editions

About the Reviewer: Ned Gallagher teaches English and history at Choate Rosemary Hall.

Signal Flow

By William Fuller ’71 | Reviewed by Ned Gallagher

William Fuller’s ninth book of poetry, Signal Flow, arrived at the end of 2025, managing to meet the mood (moods?) of the present day while simultaneously mining timeless themes of humanity’s grappling with the surrounding world. This slim volume contains 66 entries, divided evenly into three sections, that explore existence from a delightfully cock-eyed vantage point. No single poem extends beyond a single page, and some consist only of two or three lines, but each demands careful attention to the often unpredictable turns in language within.

The title of the collection (and one of its constituent poems) refers to a technical concept in audio production concerning the path between a sound’s sources and destinations. Mr. Fuller is interested in how the world’s messaging is received and processed by each of us. We spend our days focusing on the reception, without much regard for the connections and infrastructure in between. Still, it’s that liminal space that serves as fertile ground for a poet’s investigation.

The opening lines of the book juxtapose the natural — “an animal darts into a clearing” — with the modern and mundane — “a train roars past” — before looking past this intersection of events to consider something “sitting all by itself in the dark, thinking about what it might be.”

Repeatedly, we are presented with moments of sudden transition that are pregnant with meaning, just as a haiku does, albeit within a more formal poetic structure.

Throughout the poems that ensue, the reader is consistently confronted with a view of reality from a slightly askew angle. We are asked to be open to worlds full of possibilities beyond the routine. This is an expansive view of existence, untethered to the everyday or engaging it more thoroughly through wordplay than most of us take the time to do. Perhaps, such leaps of imagination are precisely how we should equip ourselves to face the chaos in our world today?

Like all good art, Mr. Fuller’s poetry leaves us with more questions than answers. This collection is discomfiting in the best way. And it’s a lovely ride!

Roaming the Labyrinth with Marie-Claire Bancquart

By Christina Cook ’87 | Reviewed by Kathryn Rose-Noonan

Christina Cook and Marie-Claire Bancquart weave poetry, literary criticism, and memoir into Roaming the Labyrinth with Marie-Claire Bancquart, a cohesive literary effort that reimagines mythologies and reshapes archetypes synonymous with Western literature. Early in Christina Cook’s work, we encounter our first reference to Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, who fell in love with Theseus and provided him with a spool of thread to find his way out of the labyrinth after slaying the Minotaur. Without that thread, Theseus would have lost his way and perished in the twists and turns of the maze. Early in the text, as she makes her way to Bancquart’s Parisian home, Cook visualizes Theseus amid the maze of produce stalls, reimagining the myth with Paris as both backdrop and foundation.

As the reader ventures further into the labyrinth of Cook’s work, however, it becomes evident that Cook herself is Ariadne, not Theseus, guiding her reader through the labyrinthine turns of Bancquart’s erudite oeuvre, evocations of Greek mythology, Cook’s own poetry, and reflections on her friendship with the renowned poet and her husband. The book’s masterful organization becomes our Ariadne’s thread, preventing the reader from losing their way amid the shifts of form and style. A newcomer to Marie-Claire Bancquart’s work is offered not only careful translations from the original French, but also Cook’s reflections on the process of translation: “I saw the critical importance of disregarding the meanings I’d personally made of the poems in order to create the same collaborative space for Anglophone readers.” In this way, she leaves the reader free to construct their own meaning in Bancquart’s poetry while also providing a clear account of her guiding method.

Roaming the Labyrinth is at once highly erudite and intensely personal, and Cook moves between registers and tones with ease. During her visit with Bancquart, Cook’s internal reflections on matter, antimatter, and existence itself are punctuated by interruptions from Bancquart’s cat Argos, shading the philosophical with the domestic. The echoes between these two poles — the metaphysical and the intimate — are present not only in Cook’s reflections, but in Bancquart’s work as well.

As the reader walks the labyrinth with Cook, they see that she shares her own poetry with restraint, placing it sparingly and intentionally in dialogue with Bancquart’s work and her reflections on their time together. By foregrounding their friendship, Cook enables the reader to appreciate the profound influence Bancquart’s work has had on her own. And yet Cook’s poetry remains entirely distinctive, the fruit of an exchange with Bancquart that has its own shape and voice.

Finally, the reader comes to appreciate the labyrinth of Paris itself, a palimpsest of the city’s layered history: Bancquart’s recollections of World War II, Cook’s experience of modern Paris, and the city’s deeper past. We are encouraged to see Paris in its strata, both physical and historical, “far beneath the catacombs, beneath the fossil-riddled bedrock, in a place of original darkness.” Again, Cook does not leave us to wander the cobblestone streets alone, but guides us through the city as she perceives its layers and resonances.

Roaming the Labyrinth challenges its reader with its erudition, invites reflection on friendship and artistic inheritance, and offers a rich series of narrative turns. Leaving the labyrinth of this book means carrying Cook’s reflections and invitations to make meaning in our own lives. It is a journey well worth taking.

ROAMING THE LABYRINTH WITH MARIE-CLAIRE BANCQUART

Author: Christina Cook ’87 (with Marie-Claire Bancquart)

Publisher: Aim Higher

About the Reviewer: Dr. Kathryn Rose-Noonan teaches French at Choate Rosemary Hall.

Author: Jamie Kirkpatrick ’66

Publisher: Köehler Books Publishing

About the Reviewer: Nicole Brothers serves as a Teaching & Resource Librarian at Choate Rosemary Hall.

The People Game

By Jamie Kirkpatrick ’66 | Reviewed by Nicole Brothers

Declan Shaw has navigated many difficult places in the world and has seen enough sorrow for someone much older than his 30-odd years. As an Irish reporter for the U.K.-based The Manchester Guardian, he has lived through his fair share of battles. In Tunisia, he covered the North African campaign during World War II, and later spent time in Palestine amid the tensions that led to the birth of the State of Israel. He has seen war, conflict, the death of his brother and mother, and had his own close brushes with mortality, one in the harsh deserts of Jordan and one of his own making. He has faced the crushing weight of his own personal losses. Shaw’s next assignment may be far from the battlefields and soldiers, but our seasoned reporter has learned that you don’t have to be on the front lines to be in the thick of conflict.

As the bureau chief of his newspaper’s Washington, D.C. office, he will come to learn that while the battles may be more subtle, they are no less dangerous. From the beginnings of the Cold War and the Korean War to the rise of McCarthyism, Shaw must decode this emerging world power for his paper’s European readership. But to an outsider like Declan, the United States is a cryptic place, with the Civil Rights Movement and the 1952 presidential campaign as confusing in the concentrated space of Washington, D.C., as in the rest of the country. Luckily, our man, Declan, is a natural at playing what he calls “the people game.” With the ease of one born to it, he can gain intimate access to some of the most influential players in D.C., including presidents, generals, civil rights activists, Washington’s localites, and a young but popular congressman named Kennedy.

Kirkpatrick weaves his protagonist’s story through history with the ease of one who has already survived the experience. The character’s journey is an expedition through parts of history often overlooked or overshadowed by greater news stories and events. Still, Kirkpatrick makes these moments seem all the more critical to our fundamental understanding of the world because they happened to our friend Declan. He feels as real as if the author had known him all his life and had only transcribed his story told over a few pints of Guinness. His mentors and friends are truth-tellers we can rely on. His hardships and uncertainty are ours to struggle with. His homecoming and belonging are ours to rejoice in. In this final book of Kirkpatrick’s Declan Shawfocused trilogy, readers can be satisfied that, like Homer’s Odysseus, his trials and hardships serve a greater purpose. As Homer declared, “Even his griefs are a joy long after to one that remembers all that he wrought and endured.” I am confident that readers of Kirkpatrick’s trilogy and The People Game can agree, finding in the conclusion not only narrative satisfaction, but intellectual provocation and an emotional resonance that lingers well beyond the final page.

FOR LIFE: USING THE ARTS IN THERAPY AND LIFE

Author: Bradford Bancroft ’75

Publisher: Created with Artistic License Publishing

THE GOLDSMITH’S DEBT: CONCEPTIONS OF PROPERTY IN EARLY MODERN ART

Author: Shira Brisman ’97

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Publisher: Books Publisher Hub

An Homage to Humanities

When classes commence at Choate in the fall of 2026, for the first time since the Paul Mellon Humanities Building reopened in 1990, neither a Cook nor a Shea will be teaching English there. Arriving at the newly renovated home of the Choate Rosemary Hall English Department in the fall of 1990, I joined a seasoned faculty of the likes of Ann Nesslage, Doug James, Ramen Menon, and Ben Foster, among others, who settled into the most impressive teaching digs on campus at the time. Megan joined the department in the fall of 1991, and we would marry in 1993.

During our first five years of marriage, we served as the Third Form Boys’ and Girls’ Deans, and our lives took a very straightforward path — quite literally. We lived in Nichols House, walked next door to our Deans’ offices in Memorial, took a few hundred steps to teach our classes in Humanities, and then crossed Christian Street to eat at the dining hall. I’m sure we mused at times that our existence had become terribly routinized, but in retrospect, I take solace in the fact that such geniuses as Immanuel Kant and Wallace Stevens spent years walking the same kind of daily linear routes between home and work and back in Konigsberg, Prussia, and Hartford, Conn., respectively.

In addition to teaching in Humanities, our roles as form deans meant that we would spend hours in the Lieutenant Pierce Room on the second floor of the building during Judicial Committee hearings. When our daughter, Emma ’14, was elected to be the student chair of the JC in her sixth form year, Megan and I felt that this was preordained since she had sat through many hearings while in utero.

After the school downsizing, the History, Philosophy, Religion, and Social Sciences Department would join English in the building, making it a true humanities center. As comfortable as the classrooms were, my favorite teaching spot in my early years was on the roof of Humanities. There was no better place to engage in discussions of Thoreau and Whitman than up there under the sky and the trees. (Sadly, such a refuge was eventually closed off for safety reasons.) The faculty offices offered wonderful space for class preparation and student conferences as well. In her own first-floor study, Megan was the proud keeper of the last remaining chalkboard in the building. As she emphatically puts it, “I want assurance that it will not be removed when I retire!”

Throughout their early years and the eight years that Emma and our son, Eben ’18, were Choate students, the building could almost feel like an extension of home. Eben (somewhat) fondly recalls doing his homework in our offices on Monday evenings while his parents attended English Department meetings down the hall. As independent as our kids were while attending Choate, it was a wonderful boon to bump into them between classes. This kind of access is such a blessing for those of us on the faculty whose children go to school here. The Humanities Building will always be part of the essential scenery of our lives.

by CyRuS CooK

Cyrus Cook retired in 2020 after 30 years of teaching at Choate.

Megan Shea retires this spring after 33 years of teaching at Choate.

For society

Every day, students are developing tools to navigate complex conversations without losing their values or voice. In classrooms and community spaces, they’re learning to listen deeply, speak thoughtfully, and lead with integrity.

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Students are turning the stage into a playground of creativity this year. The fall production of The Old Man and the The Old Moon earned recognition from the Stephen Sondheim Awards. By winter, Airness, a shred-or-be-shredded comedy about competition, identity, and Rock, amplified that momentum with wit, nerve, and communal joy. All performers look forward to returning to the renovated PMAC stage in fall 2026.