Harvard-Westlake • Studio City • Volume 34 • Issue 7 • May 28, 2025 • hwchronicle.com
Class speakers elected By Erin Ryu The school announced Executive Managing Editor Zoe Goor ’25 and Jacob Massey ’25 as the valedictorian and salutatorian for the 2024-2025 academic year. The valedictorian is elected from a group of students with the highest grade point average (GPA) by a panel of faculty members, who judge candidates based on academic ability, standing among faculty members and their potential speaking ability. The salutatorian is chosen by a popular class vote. President Rick Commons said he is glad Goor and Massey were chosen because of his familiarity with them. “It’s always nice when I have a personal relationship with the speakers,” Commons said. “[Goor] is a reader, and a long time ago, she came into my office for something and saw my bookshelf. We immediately got to talking about books. I’ve had a lot of fun chatting with her over the years. [Massey], of course, is a personality you cannot miss.” Goor said she approached academics at the school with a passion for learning. “I never chose classes based on anything but whether or not I was actually interested in the course,” Goor said. “I think that it’s best to be motivated by your genuine interests. The goal should be learning, growing your mind and thinking about interesting things that make you excited to go to school.” Massey said he appreciates the support of his fellow classmates and the time they have spent together. “If I could thank my class for one thing, it would be everything,” Massey said. “This is probably the best class in Harvard-Westlake history. We’ve overcome so much and grown as people more than I could have imagined.”
BEAMING WITH JOY: A parent signs the last beam of the River Park gymnasium at the school’s “topping out” ceremony, when the last steel beam is placed on the largest structure of a construction project. School leaders, trustees and project visionaries gathered at the site to celebrate the milestone.
School leaders celebrate construction milestone of River Park campus, to be completed in fall of 2026 By Connor Tang and Charlotte Fowkes
Leaders of the school gathered at the River Park construction site to commemorate the official “topping out” of the campus May 23. Joined by trustees, donors and project visionaries, participants were able to sign the last steel beam of the River Park gymnasium, which was eventually lifted and put into place. The River Park property, known formerly as Weddington Golf and Tennis, was purchased by the school in 2017 for $42 million dollars. It is set to be completed in the fall of 2026. The athletic campus will have two athletic fields, eight tennis courts, a gymnasium and an Olympic sized swimming pool as well as walking paths and green spaces for Studio City residents to use. President Rick Commons, who addressed the crowd on-site, spoke about how the campus will positively impact the school and Studio City communities, while thanking benefactors and supporters of the project. Head of Athletics Terry Barnum and
Board of Trustees Representative Jean Kaplan also spoke about the future of River Park. “We will have an extraordinary third campus,” Commons said. “A place for all grades to gather, a place where our athletes, our community members, our dancers, our students, our parents and our alumni can gather. We will have a place that takes care of the environment. We will have a place that stands for our intention to share our facility with the neighborhood, the city of Los Angeles. That’s not something that we do with the Middle or Upper School. It is something that we aim to do with our River Park campus. It is historic.” Gensler, the LA-based architectural firm that designed River Park, has directed other projects for professional sports teams, such as the Los Angeles Rams’ new practice facility in Woodland Hills, and Crypto.com Arena. Matt Construction, the company that also constructed the middle school campus in 2008, is in charge of building the property. JD De Matté, the head of construction for the school, said the project will greatly
serve student-athletes and the operation of athletics at the school. “I’m really proud of this project, because what it’s going to allow the kids to do is get home earlier and be able to go home with their family and do their homework,” De Matté said. “We have to double up on sports at the Upper School with late practices, where we sometimes don’t have enough facilities. All the campuses have been special to me, but this one even more.” Alan Wilson, the chair of the Board of Trustees, said although the community was initially unreceptive to River Park, it will accept and support the campus upon completion. “Change is hard for people in general,” Wilson said. “Once the community gets a chance to get exposure to the facility and realize what good stewards we are for the property, they will realize, ‘you know what, this actually turned out to be better than I thought.’ We’ll really have to prove it to people, so they can see the promises kept.” Steven Chung ’89, who is the Gensler architect in charge of the
project, said topping out in a construction project is always a remarkable achievement. “Many will tell you, [River Park] is not done yet,” Chung said. “And it’s not, but I think it’s really important to pause here, because this is a milestone in construction. When you put the last piece of steel in place, you can double the amount of workers that you can get on a job site and work that much faster. We’re sprinting towards the finish line, but we have to take a moment to reflect before we do that, because it’s a lot of hard work to get to this point.” Additionally, Chung said he is grateful to be able to give back to the school through the architectural design of River Park. “The way I think and the values that I have developed at Harvard,” Chung said. “What that means though, is how I think and what values I have exactly shaped how I design projects. So when I started hearing about this project, I felt uniquely well equipped to bring everything the school gave me to maximize this project for this school.”
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Trip Down Memory Lane: The Class of 2025 flocked to the Middle School for their senior prank, creating chaos and visiting teachers.
Wolverine Connections: Editor-in-Chief Eden Conner ’25 advises seniors to use the strong alumni network provided by the school.
Contemplating Colleges: Students and faculty discuss the various factors involved in a senior’s commitment process to a college.
Big Apple Acapella: Various singing groups will head to New York City this summer to attend shows, perform music and explore.
Advancing Athletics: Athletic Director Darlene Bible discusses her long history at the school, and her post-retirement plans.