Christina Lau Billings ’98, Alumni Committee Chair
Sarah Campsen
Heather Ciriello, Annual Fund Chair; McCarthey Campus Home & School Representative
Dru Damico
The Rev. France Davis
Bing Fang, Inclusion, Equity, and Outreach Committee Chair
Melissa Filippone, Investment Committee Chair
Kitty Northrop Friedman ’91
The Rt. Rev. Scott B. Hayashi, Episcopal Bishop of Utah
Chris Hill
Adam Himoff, Nominating Committee Chair
Cary Jones
Sarah Lehman, Finance Committee Chair
Mairi Leining
Katie Lieberman, Head Support and Evaluation Committee Co-Chair
Akemi Louchheim
Marina Lowe
John Miller ’96
Oscar Wood Moyle IV ’90, Capital Campaign Chair
Marty Olsen
Jennifer Price-Wallin, Immediate Past Board Chair; Head Support and Evaluation Committee Co-Chair
Laura Snow Prosper
Todd Rankin, Development Committee Chair
Jeanne Zeigler
Ex-Officio
Mick Gee, Head of School
Trustees Emeriti
Peter Billings Jr. ’63
Bob Marquardt
Bob Steiner
Kevin Steiner
Christopher “Kit” Sumner ’64
EDITOR IN CHIEF // Stephanie Orfanakis
MANAGING EDITOR // Ashley Atwood
LAYOUT AND PRODUCTION // Mason Fetzer
PHOTOGRAPHY // Kirsten Hepburn, Robert Lainhart ’11, Stuart Ruckman, Julie Shipman
As I think about the future of education at Rowland Hall, I am encouraged and inspired by what I see as limitless potential for our students.
FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Dear Rowland Hall Families and Friends,
The 2021–2022 school year was remarkable in many ways. I began the year with an appreciation for what we had previously accomplished in regard to distance learning and staying open during the COVID-19 pandemic, and with great optimism for the beginning of a return to normal. And while this year wasn’t exactly normal, it was filled with extraordinary teaching and learning despite lingering challenges. Our community rallied together, continuing to commit to health and safety while elevating the student experience, and our students left their marks on the world through many academic, athletic, and artistic endeavors and achievements. Among these, our research science students presented at an international conference; our debate program—which equips students to think critically and evaluate complicated positions—took its second consecutive state title; middle schoolers enthusiastically created welcoming spaces
to support one another; and a class of third graders worked to limit waste by bringing reusable silverware back to the dining hall.
At the 2021 Convocation, we kicked off the year with the theme Relationships Matter, a deeply held school value integral to everything we do, as relationships—between students and teachers, among faculty, and between teachers and parents—instill confidence, build trust, and propel growth. I saw this theme throughout the year, from students showing up for and supporting one another’s well-being to school-wide efforts around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging—efforts that lead us closer to being a community where each member thrives.
This year also saw the launch of our new strategic priorities and vision statement, Developing People the World Needs, which will guide us as
we continue to prepare students for the future, giving them context and meaning around what they’re learning and providing powerful opportunities to impact lives, locally and globally, all with a shared sense of values and purpose. It’s an incredibly powerful vision.
As I think about the future of education at Rowland Hall, I am encouraged and inspired by what I see as limitless potential for our students. Together, we can continue to imagine a school that is intentional in developing people the world needs—one where all members feel they belong and are empowered to make a difference; where students of all ages create knowledge, not just learn knowledge, and are excited to solve problems they care about; and where community is a catalyst for innovation and change. We are building that together now, and I look forward to our bright future.
Thank you for all you do to support our students and community.
Mick Gee Head of School
Upper School students collaborating on a class project. Our new vision and strategic priorities, announced in March, encourage further opportunities to work together, solve problems, create knowledge, and impact lives.
FROM THE CHAIR
OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
What a momentous year for Rowland Hall! From launching our new vision statement and strategic priorities to our high enrollment and strong financial position, we have much to be proud of—and even more to look forward to as we continue to set the standard for teaching and learning excellence.
With the assistance of faculty, staff, and administration representatives, the Board of Trustees approved a new vision statement and strategic priorities to guide the school in the coming years. The vision—Developing People the World Needs— succinctly captures Rowland Hall’s raison d’etre and charge, benefiting our community now and preparing our students for their lives beyond Rowland Hall.
Rowland Hall’s enrollment has never been stronger. We finished the year with 993 students, and our projected enrollment for 2022–2023 is over 1,030 students—more than 25 students above the school’s previous high-water mark. Inquiries and applications are at an all-time high. Attrition is at an all-time low. We have waiting pools in most grades.
Driven by strong enrollment, generous giving, and thoughtful planning, Rowland Hall’s financial condition is better than ever. We exceeded our Annual Fund goal of $1 million (with 100 percent participation by faculty and staff), and Rowland Hall’s endowment reached $20 million for the first time. The school continues to be debt free. Our solid balance sheet enables immediate action on, among other things, the strategic priorities.
Finally, following a year-long deep dive into existing campus plans, the Board of Trustees approved the school’s pursuit of the goal to unite Rowland Hall on one campus. The reimagined plans include simultaneously building a new Middle School and Upper School, including performing arts and STEM spaces as well as an athletic complex, on the Richard R.Steiner Campus. The school will be working with our architects to finalize building and construction plans over the next year. Ultimately, philanthropy will be critical to the project’s success. Earlier this year, I created an ad hoc campaign committee of trustees to partner with the school’s advancement team in pursuit of our fundraising goals, and we’ve received positive responses and support for our plans from donors in the Rowland Hall community.
There is much to celebrate, and I look forward to what we will continue to achieve together.
Christopher Von Maack ’97 Chair of the Board
FINANCE REPORT
2021 – 2022
For most of my seven-year tenure on the board, I have had the privilege of serving on the Finance Committee alongside CFO Gwen Fonarow and her outstanding team. I am pleased to report that Rowland Hall’s financial foundation is sound. Conservative budgeting practices, a growing endowment, and increasing enrollment have led to a strong balance sheet. Furthermore, Rowland Hall’s auditing firm, Tanner, has consistently given our financial statements an unqualified (clean) audit opinion with no management letter comments, inspiring confidence in our financial fundamentals.
In summer 2021, members of the board's Finance Committee participated in a National Association of Independent Schools tuition workshop to analyze economic factors influencing enrollment, tuition, and financial stability. We reviewed demographic and macro, regional, and local trends; conducted community research; and benchmarked ourselves against national peer schools. Our findings affirmed Rowland Hall’s financial strength and extraordinary opportunity to build upon our national recognition, and kicked off two parallel and informative streams of work: developing new strategic priorities and determining financing options to build out the Steiner Campus.
In support of developing strategic priorities, a Strategic Priorities Committee met over eight months to create what ultimately became our new vision: Developing People the World Needs. From there, we developed four pillars to achieve this vision—our strategic priorities. I believe strategy and vision need to
be rooted in financial reality, and it was through this lens the committee pushed to new heights. The 2022–2023 operating budget already reflects the strategic priorities by allocating additional resources to significantly expand the school’s computer science program.
In support of determining financing to build out the Steiner Campus, members of the board's Finance Committee conducted an extensive analysis with the assistance of Wye River, a nationally recognized financial advisory firm, to determine the school’s debt capacity as we evaluate financing options. The yearlong analysis illustrated that due to solid cash reserves, strong enrollment, and prudent operational management, Rowland Hall is in a position to consider multiple options, including debt, to accelerate the building of the Steiner Campus.
These are truly transformational times at Rowland Hall. Built on a solid foundation of wise financial management, an enduring legacy, forward-thinking leadership, and an exceptional culture, Rowland Hall is well situated to achieve and exceed our vision. I am honored to serve during such an important time in the school’s history.
Sincerely,
Finance Committee Chair
JULY 1, 2021–JUNE 30, 2022
OPERATING BUDGET
These numbers are audited each year in August after the Annual Report press deadline. Historically, very few changes are required as a result of the annual financial audit.
SALUTE TO DEPARTING TRUSTEES
Every year, the Board of Trustees and school community thank and bid farewell to several dedicated volunteers who have worked hard for many years on behalf of the school. This year, we say goodbye to five trustees who provided exemplary service to Rowland Hall, and we offer them sincere thanks for their service and contributions.
John Miller ’96 served two terms on the Board of Trustees, from 2016 to 2022. During his time as a trustee, John sat on the Development Committee and the Finance Committee, which he chaired from 2018 to 2019. As finance chair, John worked to keep the school’s tuition growth below average for peer schools across the nation. He and his wife, Andrea, also chaired the first Rowland Hall virtual Auction in May 2021, which successfully raised $350,000.
Marty Olsen began serving on the board in 2016, and was involved with the Development Committee, the Education Committee, and the Inclusion, Equity, and Outreach Committee, as Marty is passionate about the school’s commitment to build a diverse and inclusive community. During Marty’s time as a trustee, he connected with many parents and worked to advocate issues important to the parent community to the board and administration.
Dr. Chris Hill began his board service in 2018, and was a valued member of many committees: the Development Committee, the Finance Committee, and, most recently, the ad hoc capital campaign committee. A former University of Utah athletics director, Chris has provided many excellent connections between the school and the university, and we are incredibly grateful to him for making those possible.
Todd Rankin began his service in 2018. As the Development Committee chair for three years, Todd oversaw and supported all fundraising efforts at the school, including the Annual Fund, Auction, capital campaign, and Alumni Scholarship Fund, and was a vital member of the capital campaign fundraising team. Prior to Todd’s tenure on the board, he was a member of the initial Campaign Steering Committee to build the Steiner Campus.
Christina Lau Billings ’98 began her service in 2019 as chair of the Alumni Executive Board. Her leadership during the pandemic was exceptional, and we are appreciative of her flexibility and willingness to find new ways to engage with and connect alumni. Christina also served on the Development Committee and the Inclusion, Equity, and Outreach Committee, and was a valuable member of the search committee to hire the inaugural director of equity and inclusion.
WELCOME NEW TRUSTEES
Ben Dahl ’92
Ben Dahl ’92 is a managing director with Signal Peak Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm. Ben earned a history degree from Princeton University, where he graduated cum laude, before pursuing a juris doctor from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. After practicing law in Silicon Valley, Ben co-founded a technology company, then shifted to a career as a venture capitalist. Along the way, he earned MBAs from the University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University through the Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA program. He and his wife, Erica, live in Salt Lake City with their two Winged Lions, Lucy (9th) and Ben (6th).
Dr. Maia Hightower
Dr. Maia Hightower is the CEO and founder of Equality AI and senior director for health equity, diversity, and inclusion for University of Utah Health. She is an expert and nationally sought speaker in responsible AI and the intersection of digital technology with health equity, diversity, and inclusion. Maia earned her medical degree and master of public health from the University of Rochester’s School of Medicine & Dentistry, and completed residencies in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego. She also holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Maia and her husband, James, live in Park City and have two children, Tiago and Tallulah (9th).
Becky Webster ’03
Becky Webster ’03 earned a degree in speech communication from the University of Utah and is currently the director of quality and engineering for Trailhead, a Salesforce learning platform with a mission to provide accessible and equitable opportunities for people to learn, skill up, and transform careers. Becky began serving on the Rowland Hall Alumni Executive Board in 2013, and has thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with her childhood community. She and her husband, Fred, live in Salt Lake City and have two daughters, Gracie (1st) and Lucy (3PreK).
Mike Yeates
Mike Yeates is the chief financial officer at Wasatch Global Investors and a member of the Wasatch Global Investors Board of Directors. Prior to Wasatch, Mike was a management associate at Bridgewater Associates, a multi-strategy hedge fund manager in Westport, Connecticut. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, he earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Utah. Mike and his wife, Brittany, live in Salt Lake City and have three children at Rowland Hall: Zoe (4th), Ella (2nd), and Harper (4PreK).
NEW ADMINISTRATOR
Eric Schmitz
Beginning School and Lower School Assistant Principal Rowland Hall is pleased to welcome Eric Schmitz as Beginning School and Lower School assistant principal. Eric joined the Lower School in 2020, where he taught fourth grade and second grade. During the 2021–2022 school year, Eric also served as an instructional coach, a role in which he collaborated with colleagues to drive improvements and innovations in teaching and learning, and on the hiring committees for Lower School faculty and learning specialist positions.
“It is an honor to join the student support team as an assistant principal supporting students, families, faculty, and staff in the beginning and lower schools,” said Eric.
“This community has been so welcoming and supportive to me and my family, and I am enthusiastic about this next transition and the opportunity for continued learning and growth.”
Eric brings to this role more than 20 years of classroom experience (kindergarten through high school), and he has worked as a teacher training specialist, an instructional coach, and an academic advisor. Eric holds a master of education in curriculum and fine arts integration from Lesley University and a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Augustana College, as well as post-baccalaureate K–12 teaching certification and principal licensure.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2022
Rowland Hall’s class of 2022 is a group of 80 hardworking, resilient, and kind individuals who have inspired those privileged to teach, learn with, and know them. Like the two classes that came before them, their high school experience occurred during a time of unprecedented challenges, which they not only faced but deeply examined to better understand themselves, others, and the world around them. There is no doubt, based on their achievements, drive toward lifelong learning, and demonstrated care for one another, that this class will use the knowledge built during these years to truly become people our world needs.
The class of 2022 has amassed an impressive list of academic achievements. The group includes a winner, two honorable mention recipients, and a Utah finalist of the National Center for Women in Information and Technology awards; a winner of the
University of Utah Science & Engineering Fair; and several top-tier debaters, including six individual state champions, four national qualifiers, two Academic AllAmericans, and the captains who led the team to its second straight overall 3A state title. They enrolled in extracurricular studies, in subjects from calculus and digital media arts to comparative religions and Arabic. They dove into chemistry, physics, and fiction writing at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth and artificial intelligence with Inspirit AI. Some pursued summer studies at schools like Harvard, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan, or in programs offered by the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, the School of the New York Times, and the National Outdoor Leadership School.
Through internships, members of the class of 2022 explored fields such as health care, auto repair, and production accounting. Organizations that supported
our seniors in building real-world knowledge included Huntsman Cancer Institute, McNeill Von Maack, the Submarine Force Museum, Survivor Healthcare, the University of Utah, the Utah House of Representatives majority staff, Utah Spine Medicine, and the Yellowstone Wolf Project.
The class includes various creators, from a University of Utah Youth Theatre’s Conservatory actor to several musicians—a pianist recognized as superior by the National Federation of Music Clubs, several members of local jazz bands, two violinists for the 2022 Utah All-State Orchestra, and a trumpeter, and former first chair, for the 2021 and 2022 Utah All-State Band.
Winged Lion seniors led our athletics program to top-five finishes in the Deseret News 2A AllSports Awards each year of their careers. They were instrumental in the capture of 26 region and eight state titles as teams, and also earned several individual region and state championships. Twelve seniors were named All-State, 13 earned All-Region honors, two were selected to play in postseason All-Star games, and five signed athletic commitments with NCAA Division I colleges. Seventeen Academic All-State and 29 Academic All-Region honorees led their teams to top-three GPA rankings among 2A schools over the past four years. Rowmark Ski Academy’s eight graduating seniors achieved career-best performances this winter, including 25 top-10 finishes, 11 top-five finishes, and five podium finishes in Fédération Internationale de Ski races. The class also boasts a three-time state wrestling champion, a member of the US Ski Team, a dual-sport athlete who competes in the Enduro World Series, and a member of the Utah Girls Tackle Football League, as well as rock climbers, club lacrosse and soccer players, and local crew, water polo, water skiing, and hockey team members.
The class of 2022 created welcoming spaces, and their care for each other is apparent. They honored varied lived experiences by leading affinity groups and Dinner & Dialogue conversations, and represented Rowland Hall at the Student Diversity Leadership Conference. They normalized mental wellness discussions as founders and members of the Mental Health Educators group, as well as
served as tutors, Zoom buddies, and writing consultants. Most importantly, they worked to build back community after remote learning, connecting as teams, friends, and supporters, and cheering on one another’s achievements, big and small.
They also gave back to the wider community, donating hundreds of hours to organizations like the Alta Environmental Center, Crossroads Urban Center, the DIVAS Mentoring Program, Grassroots Law Project, Guadalupe School, Huntsman Mental Health Institute, the National Ability Center, the Park City Kimball Arts Festival, the Park City Police Department, Salt Lake Community Mutual Aid, the Utah Food Bank, and Utah Refugee Goats. Two members
traveled to Washington, DC, to further causes they believe in, one as a delegate for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, another to lobby for the protection of LGBTQ+ housing and employment rights. A member of Salt Lake’s YouthCity Government spoke on a panel discussing the importance of teaching Black history in schools, while a Decoding Dyslexia advocate discussed hybrid-learning challenges on Good Things Utah and a mental health educator talked about attending high school during a pandemic on the Utah House of Representatives Podcast
This class earned admission to 128 colleges and universities, with 58 percent of them receiving at least one merit scholarship. A few have chosen to take a gap year to work or pursue interests. Whatever comes next, we know their lives will be filled with purpose. Congratulations, class of 2022, on your graduation—a major achievement and just the beginning of the next chapter of your extraordinary lives.
Charles Topoleski, Bishop’s Award recipient
GRADUATES OF THE CLASS OF 2022
Jack AbuHaidar
Faustine Ainsworth Beudot
Samuel Andrew
Sophie Ayers
Emery Bahna
Sara Bakhsheshy
Briggs Ballard
Grace Baranko
Kaitlyn Bates
Zachary Baughman
Mary Bocock
Preston Bolus
Nicos Bournakel
Elizabeth Carlin
Summer Connery
Mahit Dagar
Daniel Damico
Calvin DeBellis
George Drakos
Ava Erickson
Ella Espenes
Paris Everett
Dillon Fang
Madeline Frazier
Tyler Gerstein
Jake Gilbert
Julia Graham
Arizona State University
Bates College
Boston University
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Chapman University
Colby College
Colgate University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Emerson College
Emory University
Gonzaga University
Lewis & Clark College
Loyola University Chicago
Middlebury College
Montana State University
Mount Holyoke College
Shayna Green
Isabel Hill
Mercedes Hinton
Crawford Hodgkins
Ella Houden
Connor Hughes Bellen
Henry Hunt
Jaden Jensen
Jenae Jimoh
Camryn Kennedy
Rachel Kessler-Weinstein
Kylee Lacy
Charles Lanchbury
Drew Lang
Samantha Lehman
Max Locke
Phillip Locke
Isabelle Louis
Casey Maloy
Julien Markewitz
Christian McCartney
Daniel McNally
Wynn Mellor
Remy Mickelson
Olive Milavetz
Luke Muhlestein
Max Murphy
Northeastern University
Oberlin College
Princeton University
San Diego State University
Santa Clara University
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Seton Hall University
Southern Oregon University
Southern Utah University
Stanford University
Syracuse University
Texas Christian University
The University of Alabama
The University of Arizona
The University of Texas at Austin
The University of Utah
University of California, Los Angeles
Enna Mustajbegovic
Bariyima Nenbee
Mercer Paradise
Lorenzo Parker Pillow
Quentin Pezzolesi
Ana Rodriguez
Irenka Saffarian
Jezzie Sammons
Noah Schiffman
Garrett Mason Schlopy
Zachary Schwab
Tennyson Seethaler
Kelly Siegal
Max Smart
Ozden Smith
David Frank Stearns
Cathryn Stevens
Erin Stotts
Tianyi Su
Charles Tate
Cambrin Taylor
Charles Topoleski
Olivia Tracey
Charleigh Vitek
Madelyn Welling
George Wintriss
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Connecticut
University of Kentucky
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of Notre Dame
University of Oregon
University of Puget Sound
University of San Francisco
University of Virginia
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin
Utah State University
Vanderbilt University
Westminster College
FACULTY AWARDS AT 2022
COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES
Each year, Rowland Hall proudly honors faculty who have demonstrated exceptional teaching and mentoring.
Sumner/Larsen Excellence in Teaching Faculty Award
The Sumner/Larsen Excellence in Teaching Faculty Award is given to outstanding faculty members in each division who have demonstrated a love for teaching and excellence in their fields. This award was established in 1985 by Kit and Molly Sumner, who have shown an unparalleled commitment to Rowland Hall for three generations. In 2022, Kurt Larsen, who shares the Sumners’ high regard for Rowland Hall’s faculty and dedication to the school, joined the Sumners in funding this award to increase its impact (see page 48).
The Sumner/Larsen Excellence in Teaching Faculty Award is one of the highest recognitions of excellence in teaching at Rowland Hall. Congratulations to the following recipients:
Beginning School: Gail Rose, 3PreK lead teacher
Lower School: Susanna Mellor, first-grade teacher
Middle School: Anna Wolfe, seventh-grade science teacher
Upper School: Lisa Friedman, math teacher
Cary Jones Faculty Mentor Award
The Cary Jones Faculty Mentor Award is presented to Rowland Hall faculty members who demonstrate excellence in teaching, serve as mentors to others, and contribute to the Rowland Hall community. This award was established through an anonymous gift to the school in honor of Mr. Jones’ dedication to the faculty when he was the chair of the Board of Trustees. This year, Rowland Hall proudly honored Ben Smith ’89, computer science teacher, and Christian Waters, director of technology integration, for their teaching excellence, mentorship, and contributions to the school community.
Anna Wolfe with Head of School Mick Gee.
In late 1939, riding the high of celebrity built as a bestselling author and international war correspondent, Ernest Hemingway traveled to the newly built Sun Valley resort in Idaho on a publicity trip. While the writer was familiar with opportunities like this, it’s almost certain he was unprepared for the impact this trip would have on his life. From that first visit, he saw the Wood River Valley—home to Sun Valley and the former mining town of Ketchum—as a refuge, an idyllic place in which to socialize, hunt, fish, and write. He returned often over the next 20 years, and in 1959 moved to Ketchum full time with his fourth wife, Mary, after their exile from Cuba. The home they bought would be their last together, a place in which they could recharge, write, and entertain, whispers of cottonwood leaves and the rumble of the Big Wood River their constant companions. It is also where, on the morning of July 2, 1961, Ernest’s life ended in the foyer.
Mary Hemingway kept the home after her husband’s death and continued to visit it until her own passing in 1986, when she bequeathed it to The Nature Conservancy with instructions that it be turned into a nature reference library. In 2017, ownership of the house passed to The Community Library of Ketchum, which today honors the Hemingways’ legacy in Idaho through preservation work and educational opportunities, including an annual seminar that attracts those captivated by the author’s life and work. In 2019, the library completed a renovation of the home’s ground-floor garage into an apartment for visiting writers and scholars—a space in which invited guests can take in the landscape that inspired one of the greatest writers of a generation, find sanctuary in which to create, and walk away changed by this house of light.
That night we lay on the floor in the room and I listened to the silkworms eating. The silkworms fed in racks of mulberry leaves and all night you could hear them eating and a dropping sound in the leaves. I myself did not want to sleep because I had been living for a long time with the knowledge that if I ever shut my eyes in the dark and let myself go, my soul would go out of my body.
— Ernest Hemingway, “Now I Lay Me”
For a long time I avoided seeing the house. When I went to Ketchum, I would visit the grave in the town cemetery or the monument on Trail Creek, but I did not want to see the house. It seemed like an invasion of privacy, and it was not until I was invited late last year that I laid my eyes upon it. When I was invited to stay there, I was both thrilled and frightened; I was afraid that I might not be able to sleep knowing what happened in the foyer.
My first night in the house I did not fall asleep for a long time, until I slept deeply in the wee hours of the morning and awoke with a start from a bad dream. There was a hint of light to the east, and I could hear a robin. Ecologist Aldo Leopold calculated that “the robin will give voice when the light intensity reaches 0.01 candlepower.” I’ll take his word for it. I got up and made coffee and went outside to watch the day emerge. Four geese came downstream and turned around right in front of me and landed in the channel. A house wren commenced to sing. Eventually, some pine siskins and a ruby-crowned kinglet started talking. The sun lit up the peaks of the Boulder Mountains. Like a flash, the sun came out from behind a layer of clouds on the eastern horizon, and the house lit up. Glorious! The place was alive, truly alive. I came in to make breakfast, and only then did I realize the hour had already passed of the event that I’d been afraid would haunt me too much. The life of the land and the house outshines the darkness of the foyer.
— Rob Wilson, May 2022
Rob Wilson fell in love with the writing of Ernest Hemingway in eighth grade.
To this day, he remembers the thrill of that first reading of The Old Man and the Sea: how the novella brought to mind his own fishing trips with his dad. His mind readily painted a picture of the story’s setting: the boat, the deck, the handlines so different from his own rod and reel.
He remembers, as a high schooler, discovering a hardbound copy of Hemingway’s short stories on his dad’s bookshelf late one Friday and spending hours flipping its yellowed pages, reading long into the night. He remembers bonding with college friends over Hemingway, as well as quiet evenings during his early
career as a field biologist, sitting on a cabin porch in southern Idaho and watching the sun set over the Pioneer Mountains above Sun Valley as he, again, made his way through Hemingway novels: The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Hemingway’s writings were one of the first influential connections Rob had into the life of an artist, his stories and novels windows into worlds different from Rob’s in many ways, but also strikingly similar, with familiar streams of human experiences running through each tale. With each passing year, Rob began to see beyond the adventure stories that had first captivated him. Each new reading, supplemented by his accumulating life experience, became an opportunity to get lost in a
story’s subtext. In Hemingway, Rob also found a kindred spirit—someone who, like him, respected the natural world. “Hemingway noticed the little things around him, and how they lived,” Rob said. The author’s writings are abundant with those observations: how trout hold in a clear river, for example, or the features of a wildfireblackened mountainside, all described in such honest, sharp ways that it heightens the real-world experience of being outdoors.
In 2015, while re-reading Hemingway’s short story “A Pursuit Race,” Rob’s connection to Hemingway deepened in a new way when he realized how well its understated portrayal of alcoholism and heroin withdrawal could be applied to his health class lesson on substance abuse. He thought it would complement the textbook he usually used for the lesson, but more effectively invite students to contemplate the human impact of substance abuse in a way a textbook can’t.
“What fiction is,” he explained of that choice, “is a way to invite you into examining life.”
It was a successful experiment, one that excited both Rob and then-Head of School Alan Sparrow. Over the years, Rob began adding more texts to his lesson plans, including Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac and Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, as well several Hemingway short stories: “Now I Lay Me” for its themes of metamorphosis, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” for its tie to the climate, and “Big Two-Hearted River” for its portrayal of earth systems. Like the living creatures he brings to campus—pigeons for genetics, jellyfish to animate the history of life on Earth—Rob has found that Hemingway texts are an effective resource to enrich students’ understanding of science concepts. They’re also unexpected.
Research continues to make it clear that interdisciplinary learning, combining two or more subjects into one activity, benefits students by broadening how they think and how they approach problem solving. Hemingway’s signature iceberg approach is an effective method for stretching young minds, allowing students space to lean on their own interpretations and observations.
“Students can be strict about silos,” he said, referring to the kind of thinking that draws lines around areas of study: students should reference a textbook or case study in science class and read Hemingway in English class. But research continues to make it clear that interdisciplinary learning, combining two or more subjects into one activity, benefits students by broadening how they think and how they approach problem solving. Hemingway’s signature iceberg approach—the idea that an author should allow a story’s deeper meaning to be implicitly realized by the reader—is an effective method for stretching young minds, allowing students space to lean on their own interpretations and observations.
“This is a major component of my teaching strategy,” said Rob. “If I tell you something, you are more likely to forget it. If you discover it for yourself based on what I provide, you will remember it and be proud of yourself.”
Many Hemingway stories build this skill with multiple examples of inference and deduction, forms of logic necessary to the scientific process, as well as sensory details that can deepen an understanding of natural sciences. While he was in Idaho, one of the stories Rob had his ninth-grade biology students read was “Now I Lay Me,” throughout which narrator Nick Adams, a soldier convalescing behind the front lines during World War I, refers to the sound of silkworms devouring mulberry leaves in his room. It was a natural tie to the class, which had been observing and caring for their own colony of silkworms that spring. Over the weeks, thanks to their worms’ diet of mulberry leaves, the class had watched the invertebrates grow from eyelash-sized hatchlings to fat, round, white worms. And as they read the story—for many, their introduction to Hemingway— that experience both provided a mental picture and enhanced the story’s subtext.
“It was easier to visualize the things described in the reading,” remembered Loc Ossana-Aoki, while classmate Rachel Brague added, “Having silkworms in the classroom helped emphasize the story, showed the bigger picture. Knowing about silkworms, I understood the emphasis on the man’s experience.”
It was an experience that helped drive home the ideas that science isn’t static and that interdisciplinary connections enhance learning in exciting ways. Much like a Hemingway story, the students realized, there is always another layer to discover, something new to take away, to enrich overall understanding.
“Without any knowledge or experience, you can read these stories and understand what is happening,” explained Rachel, “but once you know more, the simple writing suddenly seems like the story is much longer and filled with more information than before.”
In past years, Rob has had students share Hemingway discoveries like these in class, but this year’s trip to Idaho gave them an opportunity to make even more connections among the stories, their studies, and his experience when he invited them to ask questions
He was trying to include us in the experience. It was like we had been there too, almost.
— Winston Hoffman, class of 2025
about his time away. “They were really curious,” said Rob. “All I did was say, ‘What would you like to know?’ and they asked questions for the entire period.” Discussion flowed around the Hemingway property’s major geographic features and how they change over time, natural selection, and the landscape itself: mature cottonwoods and blue spruces the Hemingways may have looked upon, a house wren whose call Rob imitated, and pileated woodpeckers whose strikes Rob demonstrated by knocking on the whiteboard. Rob also shared how he placed the class silkworms on the writing desk as he composed his own work, a metamorphosing muse, and his own feelings of fear, peace, and reverence for the sacred space.
“It was really personal for him,” said student Winston Hoffman, “but I think all of us appreciated what he had to say because he was trying to include us in the experience. It was like we had been there too, almost.”
“As he had walked along the road, climbing, he had started many grasshoppers from the dust. These were just ordinary hoppers, but all a sooty black in color. Nick had wondered about them as he walked, without really thinking about them. Now, as he watched the black hopper that was nibbling at the wool of his sock with its fourway lip, he realized that they had all turned black from living in the burned-over land. He realized that the fire must have come the year before, but the grasshoppers were all black now. He wondered how long they would stay that way.”
— Ernest Hemingway, “Big Two-Hearted River, Part One”
I headed north on Highway 93 around 1 pm. It was cool and windy, and I could see flurries of snow in the mountains ahead of me. I always feel such great anticipation during this part of the drive, and I remembered making the drive at other times of the year, doing other things with other people, and always having the sense that I am gravitating toward Ketchum. It’s funny to think of the warm summer nights on Big Cottonwood Creek, when I sat on the porch and looked across the Magic Valley to the Pioneer Mountains and wondered who had watched them fill with snow and returned to see that the snow had melted. Nothing about the drive reminded me of my dad except loading the car, driving past the duck club on the Jordan River and the other one on the Bear River, looking for ducks when I passed canals, geese in fields, bridges over rivers, and birds circling; the exit at Tremonton that we used to take to hunt and fish in Swan Valley (in the winter, the ducks would circle over the cottonwoods and disappear and reappear over the channel under the branches, closer than you were ever used to seeing them); looking out into the sagebrush, wondering if it held sage grouse; and the drive to Magic Valley where we took our last hunting trip that winter, when I broke through the ice on the Big Wood River, and I didn’t know if it would be 10 inches deep or 10 feet. What I did not know going north is how much better I would understand this way when I took it, just a few days later, going south. I drove on knowing that I could share this experience and return to it.
— Rob Wilson, May 2022
Rob’s journey to his Hemingway House residency began in September 2016, when he received an invitation to that year’s Ernest Hemingway Seminar from his best friend from graduate school, Jeff Motychak. Titled Hemingway and Nature, the seminar was to feature discussions on “Big Two-Hearted River” and aimed to, in the words of The Community Library, “stimulate deep thinking about the role of nature in Hemingway’s works.” It was a perfect opportunity for two natural scientists fascinated by Hemingway and would play a transformative role in Rob’s life. “I was so deeply inspired,” Rob remembered. “I came back different.”
Rob has participated in the seminar each fall since, and in 2019 joined the planning committee to assist in its arrangement. His annual journey north is a pilgrimage of sorts, where he observes the landscape, reflects, and recharges. It’s also a chance for him to connect with Hemingway enthusiasts—literary scholars, scientists, art curators, educators, writers, and the curious public—who gather to examine a Hemingway novel, topic, or even passage. It was through these discussions that Rob built a relationship with the library, which in September 2021 extended a writer-in-residence invitation, initially hoping Rob would use the time to write the Hemingway lessons he had developed into teaching resources for other educators, a goal that would expand in the intervening months. And though he knew the experience would be deeply personal, he and Upper School Principal Ingrid Gustavson also knew it was a valuable opportunity, a chance to further help students perceive, seek, and discover connections in their learning, and they decided he would schedule the trip during the school year.
“So much of what we’re doing with kids in education is modeling lifelong learning,” explained Ingrid. “This opportunity allowed Rob to explore, through his biologist lens, his observer lens, the home of a literary giant and give a new perspective on it.”
It’s this kind of thinking that can change students’ lives. For upper schooler Annie Nash, who was first introduced to Hemingway in 2020 as one of Rob’s ninth-grade biology students, and who identifies as both a scientist and an artist, the confluence of subjects in Rob’s classroom felt natural, freeing her to think about how she can apply both sides of herself to her life’s work.
“I never really imagined art separate from the sciences,” she explained. “Science is artistic, nature is artistic, math is artistic—we can’t separate them.” And the older she gets, Annie said, the more she realizes an interdisciplinary approach to education is preparing her for a dynamic world that needs creative-minded and collaborative thinkers to take on its big challenges. “So many scientists know the quantitative evidence of what they’re looking at,” she said, “but the quantitative evidence doesn’t matter unless you know who you’re impacting.”
An aspiring pharmaceutical scientist, Annie knows her personal definition of success depends on more than an understanding of analytical chemistry and biostatistics. One area she’s especially concerned about is the historically negative impact of medicine on marginalized communities. She worries that the traditional approach to science education, one that focuses strictly on data, leaves scientists removed from the real-world impact of their work, and she believes applying topics like English, art, and history to her science studies helps her recognize worrying trends in her desired field so she can do her part to interrupt them. Novels and short stories are especially powerful ways to frame this history, she’s learned. More than other media, they effectively invite readers to reflect on humanity’s shared history and paint an understanding of how the human journey—what we’ve believed, what we’ve valued, how we’ve lived— has shaped the current world so readers can take away lessons for their own lives.
“You understand the time period but also separate the good and the bad—and then further the good in your own studies,” said Annie. “Scientists are sometimes viewed as being antisocial hermits who are detached from real-world issues. I want to break this stereotype so that I can encourage others to be empathetic in their research, to always strive to better the world.”
Best of all, he loved the fall. The leaves yellow on the cottonwoods, leaves floating on the trout streams, and above the hills the high, blue, windless skies.
— Ernest Hemingway, eulogy for Gene Van Guilder
I can track with my eye the flow through the deepest part of the channel that would have ruptured the beaver dam. The flow is deflected off of the bedrock wall. Parts of the channel are visible from the east-facing windows, and it is easy to imagine that residents of the house would have watched the river shape this bend over the years. They would have seen cottonwoods bloom with beet-colored catkins, fill in with lush green leaves, and fill the air with a distinct perfume; leaves yellow on the cottonwoods; and the transformation to black and white skeletons against the winter land. From here, they could watch the plumes of snow raised by the wind from the highest peaks. They would have heard the gossip of geese and had a view into the nests of hawks and private lives of kinglets, and been witness to the comings and goings of myriad birds throughout the year. It saddens me to know how much Ernest would have enjoyed this setting over the decades he could have lived here and did not. He has left us his gifts of perception so that we may enjoy it ourselves and teach others to experience the sublime and to protect it.
Teaching is a service of paying forward knowledge, skills, and values that enable another to cope and thrive in an ever-changing world. You can’t be a beacon if your light doesn’t shine. Mary could have walked away, and she chose to stay and have the house protected in perpetuity. The house on the hill of bedrock above the sea of cottonwoods is a beacon that both signals danger and radiates hope.
— Rob Wilson, May 2022
The house on the hill is designed to maximize its view. From its wide patios, large windows, or broad lawn, visitors gaze upon a landscape of colors and textures: snow-capped peaks of the Boulder and Pioneer mountains, the Big Wood River flowing over gray stones, the dark trunks and lush foliage of black cottonwoods that, in late spring as they burst into new life, fill the warming air with a honey scent.
Cottonwood forests, or galleries, tell a story of resilience: their survival depends upon the ability of seedlings to keep their roots in contact with capillary fringe, the area of soil that draws moisture from the water table. When flood conditions are met, the trees grow in cohorts, but most years, due to weather or human disruption, those conditions are not met. As a result, one cohort of cottonwoods matures to nurture the next, a process that strengthens the entire gallery.
There are times, though, when a cottonwood forest stops regenerating altogether, a process that happens so gradually the untrained eye misses the first signs. For the caregivers of the Hemingway House and its estate, a loss like this—of Mary’s desire for how the property would continue on—would especially hurt, and so Rob volunteered to conduct the first biological inventory, a task necessary to fully realize Mary’s vision.
“It’s the library’s mission, as stewards, to protect that little bit of land,” he explained. “The biggest thing I could offer was to describe the living landscape for them.”
In addition to writing teaching resources, Rob spent hours of his residency walking the property’s 13.9 acres looking for cottonwood saplings as evidence of regeneration and documenting the landscape, from the bedrock on which the house stands to the kinglets and house wrens calling into early spring mornings, all of which he included in a reference document for the land’s ongoing protection and conservation—his personal contribution to its stewardship. “This idea of stewardship is: if you’re here, it’s your job to take care of things,” said Rob. “That’s maintaining a landscape, if that’s what you have the opportunity to do, or a place, or a relationship.”
As a scientist, Rob has too often seen how our time in history is marked by a collective lack of stewardship,
A recurrent theme at Rowland Hall is: be the change you want to see in the world. That’s stewardship.
— Rob Wilson
from climate change to the imperiled animals he studies, and he believes each individual plays a role in stewarding our world. He knows that if in his classroom he can tap into our shared humanity by breaking down learning silos and showing students how their passions, whatever those are, connect to something bigger, he can better prepare them to be the people the world needs.
“A recurrent theme at Rowland Hall is: be the change you want to see in the world. That’s stewardship,” said Rob. “My message to students is they can be interested in something and cultivate it and watch it become bigger and better than they ever imagined.”
It’s a perspective that can be found in hundreds of ways across Rowland Hall classrooms, from crossdisciplinary teaching partnerships in the Upper School to experiential learning in the Beginning School. “Adults at Rowland Hall model so well how to see connections in the world, to get excited about learning across disciplines,” said Ingrid. “No one is too young or too old to discover things we really care about, then go deep and figure out how to teach them to others, support a cause, or further someone else’s learning.”
This sharing of knowledge is often viewed as a pinnacle of education, a way of students continuing the journey their teachers set them on. Just as a younger cohort of cottonwoods benefits from the stability and nourishment provided by an older cohort, students benefit from their teachers’ examples, then go on to
share what they know. “The true test of a student’s learning is not the answer they write on an exam,” said Rob. “It is how they share what they learned with the people around them.”
Ingrid remembered seeing evidence of this truth in May when she stopped by Rob’s classroom to find him and three earth science students caring for tanks of betta fish and the class jellyfish, Calypso. Rob encouraged the students to tell Ingrid about the creatures, which they excitedly did, showing her how they harvest brine shrimp for jellyfish food and test the water, and sharing who was caring for the animals over the summer. In that moment, Ingrid said, she realized the students had fully taken ownership of their learning. “This is theirs now,” she thought.
“I always thought science was supposed to be very straightforward—not bringing your own opinion, your own feelings into it,” said Hope Thomas, one of the students in the classroom that day, and Calypso’s summer caretaker. “For a while, it made it a hard subject for me because I’m a very creative person.” But being in Rob’s classes, where she’s encouraged to see connections among areas of study that another science teacher may never approach, Hope realized that making science personal wasn’t just okay, it was necessary to understanding, and taking on, the challenges of today.
“It makes it more applicable to us when we can think about science in a more personal way,” she said.
“When you care about it more, you are more willing to take action.”
And ultimately, this is the goal of education: to help students make meaningful connections about what matters to them and take action to leave the world a better place than they found it. It’s a lesson, Rob has found, that means more to him with each passing year and is especially clear when he returns to The Old Man and the Sea, the book that started his journey, and the one Hemingway himself called “an epilogue to all my writing and what I have learned, or tried to learn, while writing and trying to live.” With the benefit of time, study, and lived experience, said Rob, it’s now more than just a fishing story—it’s a reminder of what is most precious in the time he has.
“What gets me now,” he said, “is the poignancy of how brief a moment is going to be.”
Further Reading
Interested in learning more about the Hemingways or their connection to Idaho? Rob recommends starting with The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway by Ernest Hemingway, How It Was by Mary Welsh Hemingway, and Hemingway’s Sun Valley: Local Stories behind His Code, Characters, and Crisis by Phil Huss.
Visiting Ketchum
Visitors to Ketchum, Idaho, are encouraged to explore the Hemingways’ connection to the town. A Hemingway Memorial is at Sun Valley Resort, located off Trail Creek Road and Golf Lane, and Ernest Hemingway’s gravesite can be found in the Ketchum Cemetery, located at 1026 North Main Street. In addition, The Community Library, located at 415 Spruce Avenue North, maintains a Hemingway collection of artifacts and books in the library, as well as at its Regional History Museum at 180 1st Street East. An audio walking tour of Ketchum is linked at comlib.org/hemingway.
Please remember that the Hemingway House is a private residence. Help protect its sanctity by visiting only the sites open to the public.
Student Reflections
Reading Hemingway stories in the science classroom helps build students’ inference and deduction skills. Below are three responses to the Hemingway short story “Big Two-Hearted River” that demonstrate how students are connecting the reading to their own studies and experiences. Some responses have been lightly edited for length or clarity.
The story includes descriptions of landscape changes. What major Earth processes are evident? “Fires, which are necessary for the long-term survival of forests. They contribute greatly to the healthy life cycle of trees and the creatures that depend on them. Even after the fire has gone, the effect leaves behind soil rich in nutrients and perfect for regrowth. In ‘Big Two-Hearted River,’ the aftereffects of a fire are ultimately negative. In this creative fiction, an imaginary forest fire had swept through the logging town of Seney and burned so long and so violently that ‘even the surface had been burned off the ground.’ This kind of wild forest fire produced destruction without the immediate following of regrowth. Nick’s observation that the earth itself had been scorched indicates that the soil doesn’t have the same fertile nature as the aftermath of other quick-burning fires.”
— Isabel Hill, class of 2022
Do you see evidence of natural selection in the story's grasshoppers?
“The grasshoppers have evolved to match the color of their environment like the mice we studied. The soot will likely stay there for a while, so the grasshoppers evolved to camouflage in with it. Because they are harder to spot on a dark background, they will be less likely to be eaten by predators, which gives them a reproductive advantage.”
— Rebecca Miles, class of 2025
“We could possibly see natural selection with the grasshoppers turning black. Over time, the grasshoppers, through reproductive advantage, could have turned black to blend in with their surroundings to survive longer to reproduce, which is some evidence for natural selection. There is another component of natural selection, which is variation. We know this because in the quote he talks about how the black grasshoppers are much different than the big ones with yellow and black or black and red wings. There isn't any evidence for the last component in natural selection, which is heritability, but it is quite possible that the grasshoppers evolved through natural selection.”
— Thea DeBellis, class of 2025
Special thanks to The Community Library for their partnership on this story.
Photo Credits: Ernest Hemingway by Robert Capa (c) International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos; Mary Hemingway courtesy of the Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History, Dorice Taylor Collection Other photos provided by The Community Library and Rob Wilson.
An Extraordinary Vision
ROWLAND HALL UNVEILS FOUR NEW STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Our world has become more interconnected— and its problems greater and more complex. As the world changes and evolves, so too must the strategic direction of Rowland Hall.
In March 2022, the school launched a bold new vision statement—Developing People the World Needs—and four strategic priorities designed to enhance and build on our legacy of teaching and learning excellence. This strategic guidance will ensure we give students the skills and confidence necessary to be the adaptable and creative problem solvers the world needs 1 2 3 4 DESIGN AUTHENTIC LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN WHICH STUDENTS HAVE AGENCY AND PURPOSE PROVIDE AN EXTRAORDINARY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT THAT PROMOTES INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION
CULTIVATE A COMMUNITY WHERE EACH MEMBER THRIVES REIMAGINE CURRICULUM TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD
The Process
In the summer of 2021, a group of eight trustees and administrators began thinking about the school’s next set of strategic priorities. Rowland Hall was one of three schools invited to participate in the National Association of Independent Schools’ (NAIS) inaugural Vision and Strategy Lab, which challenged schools to be more nimble in their approach to strategic thinking, using Jim Collins’ BE 2.0 as a guidebook. At the end of the summer, this working group shifted to engage teachers and staff in all four divisions, as well as added in trustee and administrative representation. The committee of 12 faculty, staff, trustees, and administrators began working on the school’s new priorities and vision statement, with a goal to present a draft to the Board of Trustees in January 2022. Over the course of seven months, and with the creative and energetic facilitation of trustee Sarah Lehman, the committee created an ambitious set of strategic priorities.
As the committee was meeting, parents and caregivers were invited to join Head of School Mick Gee at several forums at which they gave input on the future of education. They were asked to think about what the world will look like when current kindergartners are 30 years old and starting to make their marks on the world. By imagining the world those students will enter, the groups started to identify both skills Rowland Hall needs to continue to teach as well as skills and knowledge we need to grow. This same question was asked of faculty, and the collective feedback informed and reinforced the committee’s thinking.
In March 2022, the committee shared the new strategic priorities with all faculty and staff, and then with the wider Rowland Hall community, and in April 2022, Tim Fish, NAIS chief innovation officer and one of the leaders of the summer strategy lab, came to Rowland Hall to work with faculty and staff. As someone who visits over 150 schools a year, Tim was an excellent resource for how we might approach our priorities in both large and small
steps. After he spoke, teachers moved into smaller subject-specific areas to begin to identify changes they could make to their teaching, in terms of how to teach and what to teach, as early as spring 2022. In addition, there’s a growing interest among faculty to create or deepen partnerships with state and higher education organizations, including the University of Utah and Westminster College, as well as nonprofits and startups.
Next Steps
Rowland Hall faculty and staff have formed strategic priority subcommittees, each dedicated to one priority and tasked with determining next steps as well as resources needed, to ensure successful implementation over the next three to five years. The implementation of these priorities will rely on the continued commitment of our faculty and staff, and our entire community. We look forward to sharing more in the months to come.
Thank You
Thank you to the members of the Strategic Priorities Committee who guided the first steps of this work. We are grateful for their leadership and vision.
Trustees: Christina Lau Billings ’98, Melissa Filippone, Adam Himoff, Sarah Lehman, Christopher Von Maack ’97, Jeanne Zeigler
Faculty and Staff: Isabelle Buhler, Beginning School; Matthew Collins, Lower School; Chelsea Vasquez, Middle School; Michelle Rasich, Upper School
Administrators: Jennifer Blake, Mick Gee, Ingrid Gustavson, Wendell Thomas, Emma Wellman
Additional Reviewers: Ryan Hoglund, Stephanie Orfanakis, Dr. Chandani Patel
Outside Input: Tim Fish, Chief Innovation Officer, NAIS
For more information, visit rowlandhall.org/ strategicpriorities.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
A YEAR IN REVIEW
Reflections from Dr. Chandani Patel, Inaugural Director of Equity and Inclusion
Thank you for welcoming me into this school community.
It is always hard to know exactly what you will find in any new place, let alone when your entire interview process is conducted through Zoom. I knew even from those early conversations, though, that the Rowland Hall community leads from a deep commitment to wanting the best for all of its students and each other. My time here over the last year has proven this commitment to be true.
I spent much of my first months asking questions to get to know the community better. There was a lot to learn about the foundational work so many folks in the community have led over the last decade to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). My goal was to better understand what has worked, where there are opportunities, what questions are
at the forefront of community members’ minds, and what has not gone well. Needless to say, it was a lot to take in, but only because so much groundwork had taken place.
I have led programs, conversations, and initiatives centered on DEI for more than a decade. This work is never easy, but it is made easier when there is a shared sense of responsibility to carry it forward. What I have found at Rowland Hall is that, as evidenced in this reflection on the year, there are many individuals who have been shouldering this work and many more who are eager to contribute to it, from students and faculty to parents/caregivers and trustees.
I am energized by our new strategic priorities, which guide us to build on our efforts to cultivate a community where each member thrives. Change is inevitable, and never more so than in this moment in history. To equip our students with the tools they need to successfully navigate an increasingly interconnected and uncertain present and future, we must support them in collaborating with each other, learning from and embracing their differences, navigating conflict, and leading with equity and compassion so they can participate in identifying solutions to some of our world’s biggest challenges.
Thank you for sharing our commitment.
Dr. Chandani Patel Director of Equity and Inclusion
A Look Back at 2021–2022
My first year on campus was filled with community connections; learning about Rowland Hall’s culture and foundational work around equity and inclusion; collaborations to advance initiatives, programs, and structures that support DEI; and building more cohesion around this work.
I began by asking community members what best supports their feelings of belonging. Students named friendships and teachers who know and support them as individuals; many middle and upper school students also remarked that affinity spaces, which bring together people who share a common identifier or life experiences, helped promote belonging. When asked the same question, parents and caregivers named communitybuilding programs, the increasingly diverse representation of voices and perspectives in the curriculum, and opportunities to learn about equity and inclusion. Overall, community members identified the need for stronger channels of communication, more opportunities to connect with one another (especially after COVID), and more representation of people of color
I want to thank the students, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni, and parents/ caregivers who have contributed to this work this year. I look forward to working with many more of you in the years to come.
2021–2022 Rowland Hall DEI Committee and Affinity Group Accomplishments
• Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee: This faculty/staff committee focused on four areas this year: community education, cost/financial aid, curriculum, and affinity groups for beginning and lower school families. They developed community resources and a community calendar, began identifying the true cost of attending Rowland Hall, collated and analyzed curriculum snapshots to understand DEI touchpoints and connections, and held two first-time affinity group events for beginning and lower school families.
• Student JEDI leaders: These Upper School students generated case studies for faculty workshops and designed “Interwoven: Building Connections between Affinity Groups in the Upper and Middle Schools.”
• Affinity groups: Middle and upper school affinity groups (see sidebar) built relationships and engaged in shared learning. A faculty and staff BIPOC affinity group, for those who identify as Black, Indigeneous, and other People of Color, shared stories and built community. The White Antiracist Educators group discussed equity and inclusion texts, and ways to activate allyship.
• Inclusion, Outreach, and Equity (IEO) Committee: This board committee worked to identify and support strategic alignment to advance DEI across the school community. The committee engages in ongoing learning and discussion, and assists in ensuring a healthy school culture and climate.
New Faculty Support for 2022–2023
In 2022–2023, divisional equity coordinators will collaborate with and provide support to faculty to advance equity and inclusion, and will work closely with Dr. Patel and principals to identify key needs and resources. We will also host a Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity seminar, where participants will consider how they can create more equitable classrooms, communities, and workplaces for all.
2021–2022 DEI HIGHLIGHTS
Below are a few of our many accomplishments this year, made possible by strong collaborations among students, faculty and staff, and leadership.
January 2022
July 2021
Dr. Chandani Patel, Rowland Hall’s first director of equity and inclusion, joined the community.
August–December 2021
Dr. Patel connected with colleagues, students, parents/caregivers, board members, alumni, and other community members to learn about Rowland Hall’s culture, especially the foundational work around equity and inclusion.
Beloved Community in Action: This three-day celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. featured events for all community members and encouraged taking action in solidarity with communities of color. (Special thanks to Sofia Gorder and Ryan Hoglund for their collaboration.)
Parent/caregiver listening sessions: Three listening sessions allowed parents and caregivers to share reflections on what contributes to their feelings of belonging, as well as what Rowland Hall can do to better foster belonging for the parent/ caregiver community.
February 2022
Gender forum: Hosted in collaboration with the Home & School Association, this event featured Dr. Kathryn Bond Stockton, distinguished professor at the University of Utah, and a panel of nine middle and upper school students, and discussed gender identity and gender-expansive students’ lived experiences.
Gender-inclusive policies: Dr. Patel and divisional principals identified gender-inclusive policies in place, including system changes for names and pronouns, overnight trips and rooming arrangements, and bathroom and locker room use, and added them to the student-parent handbook for reference.
ROWLAND HALL STUDENT AFFINITY GROUPS
Seven affinity groups, spaces that bring together people with common identifiers or life experiences, supported middle and upper schoolers this year.
Queer Straight Alliance, Upper School
Asian Affinity Group, Upper School
Muslim Affinity Group, Upper School*
Latine Affinity Group, Upper School
Jewish Affinity Group, Upper School
Girls of Color, Middle School and Upper School*
Sexuality and Gender Alliance, Middle School
*New in 2021–2022
Affinity groups are requested by students and student-led. Those interested in forming affinity groups should speak to their principal or Dr. Patel about how to start a group.
April 2022
Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism (AIM) survey: Rowland Hall participated in the National Association of Independent Schools AIM survey. Initial data indicates that while Rowland Hall as a whole is friendly and welcoming, there is work to be done to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion so all community members can be themselves, succeed, and thrive. The AIM survey will continue to shape ongoing work, with more data to be shared with the community in the 2022–2023 school year, once it has been thoroughly analyzed.
Community forum on equity and inclusion: This forum provided an overview of where Rowland Hall is in terms of culture and belonging, where we are headed, and how we can get there. Dr. Patel shared her learning in her inaugural role, including information gathered from community members about their experiences and feelings of belonging, while faculty and students who are engaged in efforts to promote equity and inclusion shared updates about their work.
May 2022
Beginning and lower school affinity groups for families: Building on Rowland Hall’s commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive community, the JEDI Committee hosted two beginning and lower school affinity group events for families of color and LGBTQ+ families. These events offer ongoing conversations with families and complement student-led affinity groups.
June 2022
Pride parade: More than 130 Rowland Hall community members marched in the Utah Pride Parade, the largest number since the school began participating in 2012. The gathering was led by two student groups: the Upper School’s Queer Straight Alliance and the Middle School’s Sexuality and Gender Alliance.
Juneteenth: Rowland Hall officially recognized Juneteenth, first celebrated on June 19, 1865, as a holiday. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, many enslavers continued to hold Black people captive after the announcement, so Juneteenth became a symbolic date representing African American freedom.
DEBATE WINS SECOND CONSECUTIVE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
For this year’s debate team, there may be one thing that feels better than claiming Rowland Hall’s second consecutive region and state titles: doing it in person.
After two years of online-only competition, debaters from across the state gathered in person once again for the 2022 regional and state tournaments. After numerous Zoom-room competitions, said Mike Shackelford, debate coach, these gatherings were welcome.
"A return to in-person debate was rejuvenating,” said Mike. “Sure, it meant more planning and earlier mornings—but it also meant pep talks and motivational speeches, real-time collaboration, bonding and playing together between rounds, and supporting one another by watching final rounds as a group. It allowed our students to be truly seen and heard by their opponents, judges, and teammates." And it was especially exciting for the team members who hadn’t yet experienced
in-person debate events. “They didn't even know what they were missing,” said Mike.
Sophomore Zac Bahna was one of these students. He experienced his first year of competition—where he placed third in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking at state—on Zoom, and now understands the contrast between the two settings.
“The in-person experience is a lot different but more fun,” said Zac, who, with fellow sophomore and partner Harris Matheson, took third place in the Public Forum event. “You get to talk to debaters from other schools and hang out with your teammates between rounds. Although last year’s debate season was still a great experience, the team felt more isolated and disconnected when we were all debating from our own homes. The state tournament was one of the first times that I could really feel the good energy of a team environment.”
That energy makes a difference for Rowland Hall not only because the team plays up a division into the 3A classification, pitting them against larger schools, but
2022 Rowland Hall Debate State Performances
National Extemporaneous Speaking: Senior Samantha Lehman took first.
Public Forum: Senior teammates Ella Houden and Kit Stevens took first, with senior Samantha Lehman and junior Micah Sheinberg, as well as sophomores Zac Bahna and Harris Matheson, closing out the top three spots.
Policy: Junior Layla Hijjawi and sophomore Joey Lieskovan took first. Juniors Ruchi Agarwal and Julia Summerfield also went undefeated, giving them the co-championship, while senior George Drakos and sophomore Gabe Andrus, as well as sophomores Marina Peng and Logan Fang, tied for third.
Lincoln-Douglas: Freshman Aiden Gandhi took fifth.
Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking: Junior Zachary Klein took third.
Student Congress: Freshman Andrew Murphy took fifth.
Impromptu Speaking: Junior Micah Sheinberg took fourth.
Congratulations, debaters, on an impressive year!
Rowland Hall Debater Creates Elo Ranking System For High School Policy Debate
Over summer 2021, debater Zachary Klein created the first-ever high school policy debate Elo rating system, a highly complicated coding system designed to rank players of various games against one another. Named The Off-Time Roadmap, Zach’s system is widely followed by student debaters from all over the country. “It takes all the data from all the debates on the national circuit, compiles it, and makes the nationwide ranking,” Zach told fellow debater Ruchi Agarwal for a story for The Gazette, the Upper School student newspaper, earlier this year. Read the The Gazette story and check out Zach’s Elo system:
also because they had to spend a lot of time preparing for individual speech events—an area they don't practice during the regular season—to be competitive.
“It was so awesome to see so many Rowland Hall debaters come together and push themselves to compete in different events than they normally would and work together to achieve a common goal,” said Zac. “We were able to foster an environment in which everyone was willing to help each other out and push each other to succeed.” And as a result, the team walked away from the state tournament with their second consecutive 3A state title (their total score, 108, was 33 points higher than the second-place team) and an impressive list of performances (see sidebar).
“The season allowed me to grow and learn about topics and ideas that I never would have explored otherwise,” said ninth grader Aiden Gandhi, who emerged as a team phenom in his novice season, taking fifth place in LincolnDouglas at his first state tournament. “I am most proud of achieving the growth that I did this year in debate. It means that I will be better equipped for next year and future debates.”
It’s this kind of attitude, found across the team, that promises continued excellence for Rowland Hall Debate. Aiden and Zac have already promised to contribute to the team’s ongoing success by challenging themselves and their teammates, cultivating a positive environment, and building community.
“I am excited for the opportunity that next year's season brings to connect, grow, and improve,” said Aiden.
Class-wide speaking drill.
RESEARCH SCIENCE
TAKING CLASSROOM DISCOVERIES TO THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
There was a lot of buzz surrounding a poster presented this spring at the Materials Research Society (MRS) meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. “Discovery of StructureProperty Relationships of Intercalated Graphite Compounds Using Machine Learning” had the potential to lead to major discoveries in the field. But that isn’t what had people talking. It was that those presenting the poster weren’t researchers or professors, but four teenagers from Salt Lake City, Utah.
Rowland Hall seniors Tyler Gerstein, Ford Hodgkins, Samantha Lehman, and Olive Milavetz, along with science teacher Tascha Knowlton and University of Utah associate professor (and former Rowland Hall teacher) Dr. Kaci Kuntz, traveled to the conference to present findings from the school’s research science class, now in its second year.
“They were the only high school students there,” said Tascha. “People were very confused and very impressed. They were taken aback—some of them literally stepped back when they found out how old they were.”
The students’ work isn’t typical for high schoolers. They started their journey with document reviews, an undertaking that isn’t very exciting but is the bedrock of most scientific discoveries. They went through thousands of pages of research on the properties of graphite sheets—or graphene—to learn all they could about how they react with other compounds. “It was a lot of data mining and very time-consuming,” said Tascha. “They might go through multiple papers and only find one small piece of data worth using.”
The document reviews were just the tip of the iceberg. The students then took that data and dove into code writing and machine learning software to predict how the graphene would react to other unknown compounds. Would it take electrons from them or donate electrons to them? And what would the movement of those electrons do? The more they worked with the software, the more accurate the predictions became.
“We were able to predict color changes in the graphene depending on the compound placed between the sheets,” said Samantha. “It’s cool because color is an electric optical property.”
There is still more work to do, though, and it will be carried on by students at Rowland Hall in 2022–2023. They will take the data gathered and the predictions made this year and begin to look at how these compounds may be useful and how to engineer them for various purposes. “Graphite is the most stable form of carbon and very lightweight,” said Tascha. “It could be used in building batteries, or in touch screens. There are some possible medical applications. Lots of possibilities.”
While the students who presented at the MRS conference won’t be actively working on the project full time anymore, that doesn’t mean they are completely walking away. “We can come back in to help in any way we can, or be a mentor to younger students,” said Samantha. “It’s cool because the involvement is whatever I want it to be.”
Beyond the scope of the project, the students can take the lessons they learned into new educational and career opportunities. They left high school with many skills most don’t acquire until college, or even graduate school. “We got a lot of experience doing scientific writing. I got some coding experience, and we had to figure out machine learning,” said Samantha. “Then on top of all that, we had to navigate presenting our work to professionals in the field. We got to experience a range of activities in the scientific spectrum.”
It wouldn’t be unlikely to see some, if not all, of these amazing budding scientists presenting at many conferences to come.
From left: Samantha Lehman, Olive Milavetz, Tyler Gerstein, Ford Hodgkins, Tascha Knowlton, and Kaci Kuntz at the 2022 MRS meeting.
THIRD-GRADE SUSTAINABILITY ROWLAND
HALL THIRD GRADERS
BRING
REUSABLE MATERIALS BACK TO THE DINING HALL
Change may be slow, but it’s worth the wait.
This truth was made clear this year to Jodi Spiro’s third graders, a group passionate about doing their part to save the earth, particularly when it comes to limiting garbage in the environment.
“We knew there was a problem, then we watched this video of how much trash ends up in rivers and oceans, and we thought it was really sad,” said class member Helena A. “We saw this island made out of trash—it’s bigger than Texas.”
“It feels like people don’t really care about what they’re throwing out,” added classmate Declan M.
And it really bothered the third graders to imagine Rowland Hall contributing to the problem—especially in one way: though the dining hall had returned to a traditional serving line this year, it hadn’t shifted back to metal cutlery. The students knew plastic utensils had to be creating a lot of waste, so in October they visited the dining hall to get an idea of just how much. They began by counting the number of utensils that fit into the cutlery dispenser, determined how many times the dispenser was filled, and were shocked to learn the McCarthey Campus was tossing around 900 plastic forks, knives, and spoons weekly.
“We realized how much we were throwing away, and we wanted to know why, and we wanted to change it,” said Declan.
And though the students were anxious to make changes right away, Jodi knew they would need the support of campus partners, including SAGE Dining Services, which was likely using plastic cutlery for a reason. Jodi saw the moment as an opportunity for her class to understand the reasoning behind that decision and learn how to respectfully present their request to reverse it. “The way you go about something is the way you’ll get lasting change,” she told students. “You’re going to get better buy-in if you’re respectful.”
The class began by writing letters to explain their concerns and propose their solution, which they sent to Julia Simonsen, food service director, in November. They received a prompt response explaining there was indeed a reason behind the use of plastic cutlery: students had been throwing away metal cutlery, as well as reusable cups and even lunch trays. This was its own problem—the dining hall simply couldn’t afford to keep replacing those items. The third graders realized that in order to address their cutlery concerns, they would first have to tackle another waste issue. So they made Julia an offer: they would teach lower schoolers how to properly use lunchroom materials if SAGE agreed to bring them back. Julia agreed.
End goal in mind, the third graders planned how to educate students on the proper use of cafeteria materials and limiting waste. Knowing they would have to talk to every Lower School class, they divided into teams, each choosing the grades they wanted to present to and the approach they thought best for that group. They also created a TikTok video demonstrating the new skills, which they played for every class. “We wanted to make sure everyone understood the problem,” explained Helena. “We showed them what’s been happening and what they can do.”
The presentations made an impact: first through fifth graders expressed a desire to help fix the dining hall’s dual waste problems through their daily actions. “I didn’t really know that I could actually convince people this well of what's been happening in the cafeteria,” said Declan. “It felt really good.”
Fellow third graders in Matthew Collins’ and Katie Schwab’s classes even created posters to remind students to pay attention when disposing of items on lunch trays.
From her perspective, Jodi was thrilled to see not only how other classes responded to her students’ hard work, but also how the experience built their confidence. Her class loved being seen as subject experts, she said, and answering questions; after each presentation, they returned to the classroom beaming and asking to talk to more people. “I think it brought out parts of themselves that they probably didn’t even expect,” she said.
It also showed them that hard work on a cause you believe in is worth it. When the reusable cutlery returned to the dining hall after April break, the moment was more than the culmination of a nearly school-year-long goal; it was a strong reminder of how young learners can address problems that seem insurmountable—such as waste in the environment—and truly make a difference.
“It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with the bigness of it,” said Jodi, “but the students learned you can start with something small and in your control. They learned change is slow but possible, and to be persistent. Just because you want something to change doesn’t mean it’s going to follow your timeline.”
They also learned that good choices add up and that, often, being the change you wish to see in the world starts by simply doing something.
“Don’t be a problem starter,” summarized Jodi. “Be a problem solver.”
WINGED LION ATHLETICS
Despite early challenges brought on by the lingering pandemic, Winged Lion coaches, athletes, parents, faculty, and administrators worked together to fortuitously handle whatever came their way, and our programs enjoyed much success, culminating in 2A runner-up recognition in the prestigious Deseret News All-Sport Award tally.
• Sixteen Upper School teams were in action this year: boys and girls cross country, boys and girls golf, boys and girls soccer, volleyball, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls swimming, boys and girls track and field, and softball.
• The girls golf and boys soccer teams were crowned state champions—girls golf for the second consecutive season and boys soccer for the first time since 2013.
• Four teams took home runner-up state trophies: girls soccer, boys cross country, boys golf, and boys tennis.
• Seven teams—girls soccer, girls tennis, girls golf, boys tennis, boys golf, boys cross country, and boys basketball—were region champions.
• Cross-country athlete Ezra Shilling Rabin ran to a second-place finish at state.
• The girls soccer team captured their seventh consecutive region championship and was the state 2A runner-up.
• The girls tennis team played their way to a second consecutive region title.
• The boys golf team earned its fourth consecutive region title and took state runner-up honors for the third year in a row.
• The boys basketball team had an undefeated Region 17 season, earning the region championship, and went on to take fourth at state.
• Junior golfer Arden Lochheim shot a record 67 at state to be crowned the 2A individual medalist for the third year running.
• The boys tennis team earned their first region title since 2018 and took second at state, missing the gold by a mere one point. Eric Lu, #2 Singles player, was crowned state champion, going undefeated the entire season.
• Track and field standout sprinter Jada Crockett ran her way to state 2A titles in both the 100- and 200-meter races.
• Head boys basketball coach Zack Alvidrez was named 2A Coach of the Year by the Coaches Association, and the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) recognized him with the Gold Star coach award for Rowland Hall.
• Boys golf and boys tennis were recognized with the Utah Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (UIAAA) Top Team GPA award.
• Five seniors signed letters of intent with NCAA Division I colleges in four different sports.
• Twenty-one athletes were selected to their sports’ All-Region teams, and 32 were tapped as Deseret News All-State athletes.
• Seventeen athletes were recognized as Academic All-State and 29 as Academic All-Region.
• Rowland Hall captured the UIAAA Directors Cup, a prestigious award based on state competitions, academic performance, and participation in the UHSAA Raise the Bars sportsmanship program. This is the third Directors Cup for the school in four years.
ROWMARK
2021–2022 TOP ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Junior Elisabeth Bocock became the youngest athlete in the country to be nominated to the US Ski Team for 2022–2023.
• Senior Mary Bocock was nominated to the US Ski Team for the second year in a row.
• Freshman Karsten Schillinger won 10 races and was the dominant U16 in the Western Region.
TOP RACE RESULTS
After working hard in the off-season in dryland conditioning and at summer and fall ski camps in Oregon, Italy, and Colorado, Rowmark Ski Academy athletes had a great competition season, highlighted by the below race results.
Bryce Astle Intermountain Cup Overall Awards
This season-long award is a combination of all US Ski and Snowboard Association Intermountain Division cup races and the Western Region FIS speed series. Recipients were Karsten Schillinger: 1st men’s SL, 1st men’s GS, 1st men’s overall; Ford Hodgkins: 2nd men’s DH; and Jack AbuHaidar: 3rd men’s DH. U18s–21s (FIS)
• Jack AbuHaidar: 2nd in FIS GS (Snow King); 2nd in FIS DH, 1st/5th in FIS SG (Schweitzer); 5th in GS, 3rd in SL (Snow Cup)
• Elisabeth Bocock: 3rd/3rd in FIS GS (Park City); 9th in combined at NorAm (Whiteface, NY); 3rd in GS, 6th in SL at U18 Nationals (Vail); 1st in FIS SL, 2nd/5th in FIS GS at Spring Series (Palisades Tahoe)
• Mary Bocock: 5th in SG, 8th in parallel at NorAm (Panorama)
• Ian Hanrahan: 2nd in FIS SL, 5th in FIS GS (Snow King)
• Ford Hodgkins: 3rd/3rd in FIS DH, 4th in FIS SG (Schweitzer); 4th in GS, 2nd in SL at Snow Cup (Snowbird); 3rd in FIS SL at Spring Series (Palisades Tahoe)
• Lili Honey: 9th/9th in SG at FIS Western Region Junior Championships (Mission Ridge); 4th in SL, 3rd in GS at Snow Cup (Snowbird)
• Cam Prichard: 5th in FIS GS (Snowbasin); 1st in SL, 3rd in GS (Snow Cup); 8th in FIS SL at Spring Series (Palisades Tahoe)
• Maddie Welling: 8th in SG, 5th in GS at U18 Nationals (Vail); 5th in SL, 5th/6th in GS at Spring Series (Palisades Tahoe) U16s
• Jack Hoffman: 1st in SL, 2nd in GS at U16 Qualifier (Snowbird); 2nd in GS, 4th/5th in SL at IMD Open (Jackson); 9th in GS at Western Region U16 Championships
• Morgan Jacquin: 1st in GS, 1st in SL at U16/14 IMD Finals (Snowbird)
• Hayden Kaufman Schiller: 4th in GS at U16 Qualifier (Jackson)
• Declan Morasch: 4th in SG at U16/14 Tri Divisional Championships
• Karsten Schillinger: 1st/6th in SG at U16 Qualifiers (Jackson); 1st/1st in SL, 1st/1st in GS, 1st overall at U16 Qualifiers (Snowbird, Sun Valley); 1st in SL, 1st in GS at Snow King Open (Jackson); 1st in SL, 2nd in GS, 4th/6th in SG, 1st overall at Western Region U16 Championships U14s
• Sophia Hijjawi: 1st in GS at U14 Qualifier (Snowbird); 2nd in SL at U14 Qualifier (Park City); 2nd in SL, 6th in GS at Western Region U14 Championships; 2nd/5th in GS, 3rd in SL at Snow Cup (Snowbird)
• Lucas Postnieks: 2nd in SL at U14 Qualifier (Park City)
• Ruby Rosh: 1st/1st in SL at U14 Qualifier (Snowbird); 4th in SG at U14 Qualifier (Snowbasin); 1st in SL at U14 Qualifier (Park City); 5th in SL at Western Region U14 Championships
• Teo Shamah: 4th in SL at U14 Qualifier (Snowbird); 4th in SL, 8th in SG at Western Region U14 Championships
Giving to Rowland Hall is a powerful way to change the world. Your gifts are an investment in our students—the leaders of tomorrow who will go on to tackle some of our most challenging problems. By investing in them, you’re helping to ensure they have the knowledge, tools, and resources to succeed in a future we cannot imagine today, but one that will require inquisitive, open-minded, and passionate people committed to advancing our shared human experience.
At Rowland Hall, our culture of philanthropy is defined by gifts in many forms—some are time, some are expertise, some are donations. They represent a collective belief that education is the greatest gift you can give. We are grateful for every gift, in every form and every size, and thank you for believing in our students’ potential to change the world.
In the pages that follow, you will read about the strong culture of philanthropy at Rowland Hall that allows us to fulfill our vision of developing people the world needs. We hope that these stories of generosity further inspire support of the extraordinary teaching and learning at Rowland Hall.
Thank you for making the school, our students, and our mission a priority in your philanthropy. Your investment creates hope for our collective future.
With many thanks,
Robyn Jensen ’02 Director of Institutional Advancement
2021–2022 TOTAL RAISED ► $1,041,485
75% of parents GIFTS FROM 1,321 DONORS
OUR DONORS
39 gave $10,000+ HEADMASTER'S COUNCIL
147 gave $1,500-$9,999 HALLMARKER SOCIETY
123 gave $500-$1,499
535 gave under $500
100% of faculty/staff
218 parents of alumni
100% of the board TO THE ANNUAL FUND
A MILLION THANKS
Each year, the Rowland Hall community rallies together with gifts of all sizes as a way to enhance the daily student experience. This year, gifts to the Annual Fund fed more than $1 million dollars—a school record—into classrooms, arts and athletics programs, professional development opportunities for faculty and staff, and every corner of our campuses to support student excellence. The collective generosity of more than 1,300 donors resulted in countless opportunities for students to explore their passions and pursue their potential.
2021–2022
CLASS LIAISONS
Annual Fund Chair | Heather Ciriello
3PreK | Adam and Carol Bowman
4PreK | Brian and Manuela Lahti
Kindergarten | Jenn and Derek Marley
First Grade | Kate and Geoff Colbath
Second Grade | Jon Melman and Aimee Nussbaum
Third Grade | Doug and Deborah Schillinger
Fourth Grade | Jordan Gaddis
Fifth Grade | Michelle Vo
Sixth Grade | Trey and Erin Bean
Seventh Grade | Jim Ngo and Holly Drury
Eighth Grade | Sendhil and Suganya Pani; Bartley and Tonya Pickron
Ninth Grade | Ginger Bower; Rachel Sweet ’88
Tenth Grade | Nitin and Jane Chandramouli; Daniel and Ann Morse; Mark and Gemma Morasch
Eleventh Grade | Liz Paige and Woody Crowell
Twelfth Grade | Alex Bocock and Amy Sullivan; Bjorn Espenes and Aleksandra Stojsic Espenes; Saveez Saffarian and Shanti Deemyad
Grandparent Chairs | Jim and Sandy Pagoaga
Parents of Alumni Chairs | Lynn and Holly Webster; George and Nancy Janes
THANK YOU
The Annual Fund’s incredible success this year is the result of many people coming together to garner support for the school. Under the brilliant leadership of Annual Fund Chair Heather Ciriello, liaisons from each grade reached out to fellow parents for gifts to help elevate the Rowland Hall experience for students. We are so grateful for the time, enthusiasm, and dedication these volunteers put forward to benefit our students and community.
WELCOME, SARAH CAMPSEN, AS 2022–2023 ANNUAL FUND CHAIR
We welcome Sarah Campsen as chair of the 2022–2023 Annual Fund. Sarah has been an active parent volunteer in the community for nearly a decade and was a class liaison for the Annual Fund in 2017–2018. Sarah is familiar with the inner workings of the Annual Fund cycle, and her warm spirit shines through in her leadership. We look forward to a great year ahead with Sarah leading the way to success.
SAVE THE DATE 2023 AUCTION
Rowland Hall is proud to announce that Mekensy and Sean Overholt and Brittany and Mike Yeates enthusiastically agreed to co-chair the school’s biennial Auction, to be held Saturday, April 29, 2023. Stayed tuned for announcements regarding the Auction theme and ways to support the all-school fundraising campaign.
Serving on the Auction Committee is a great way to make new friends and help our school. If you would like to volunteer to help, please contact Mekensy at mekensy.overholt09@gmail.com or Brittany at bpyeates@gmail.com.
THE SUMNER/LARSEN EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING FACULTY AWARD
AN INVESTMENT IN OUR TEACHERS
Kit Sumner ’64 thinks of the faculty award that bears his name as the Nobel Prize for teachers. So when he asked longtime friend and fellow Rowland Hall parent Kurt Larsen to join him in sponsoring the yearly recognition, Kurt’s answer was an immediate yes.
“He wanted to find someone who has a long-term and ongoing connection to the school,” said Kurt, “and someone with a deep appreciation for the faculty here.”
For almost 40 years, the Sumner Family Faculty Award, as it was first named when it was established by Kit and his wife, Molly, in 1985, has recognized members of the faculty from all divisions with a cash honorarium, presented at graduation. “When Molly and I set up the award, we wanted to showcase the winners—the lifeblood of Rowland Hall is its faculty,” said Kit. “The winners should be celebrated and held up as a model for other teachers. Kurt was more than motivated to join for the same reasons.”
And that partnership with Kurt, which began this year, not only ensures that Kit and Molly’s vision will
continue on, but that recipients will receive a more substantial award in gratitude for the high quality of their work.
“This award is about excellence in teaching, about engaging students on a daily basis and helping them learn how to contribute positively to their community,” said Kurt.
The desire of both Kit and Kurt to fund a faculty award speaks to their enduring bonds with Rowland Hall and its educational mission. Kit graduated from St. Mark’s School in the 1960s, and both men have served on the Board of Trustees, Kit as board chair from 1987 to 1991. They both watched their children—and, in Kit and Molly’s case, grandchildren—excel as students here, and they know that the teachers who lead classrooms every day are the heart of the school and the community.
“The faculty is really what makes Rowland Hall,” Kurt said. “This is a great environment, but everything that happens here is all driven by the bodies in the building.”
2022 Sumner/Larsen Excellence in Teaching Faculty Award recipient Susanna Mellor with Associate Head of School Jennifer Blake.
AWARDEES REFLECT ON RECOGNITION
The Sumner/Larsen Excellence in Teaching Faculty Award acknowledges the work done by teachers, and is valued not only by the recipients but also by their community of peers. This feeling of support becomes the overarching feeling of the beneficiaries.
“It is very special, validating, and humbling to hear what is said about you before receiving this award. This is a moment one remembers and feels very deeply. It is also an honor to be recognized as a teacher among so many other teachers deserving of this award. After receiving this award, there is definitely a sense of duty to live up to those words every day you teach, to try to be your best self and to impact the community positively.”
— Isabelle Buhler, 4PreK lead teacher
“I loved getting the award. Even more so, though, I loved seeing other people receive it. It was an amazing feeling of how supportive the faculty group was of whomever was recognized, and watching how pleased that person was being recognized.”
— Jeanne Zeigler, former Lower School teacher, trustee
“I loved knowing that my efforts were noticed by my administration. They had notified my family, so they were there to see me being celebrated—that meant a lot to me. My favorite part of it all was the high-fives from students and parents as I went back to my seat.”
— Mary Lawlor, sixth-grade English teacher
“It’s always my favorite part of graduation. It’s a moment for faculty to celebrate one of our own, and it meant a lot to the body of teachers to hear the recipient announced and see the joy on their faces. When I received it, it was humbling to be recognized by the administration. It meant a lot to me to know the community valued my contributions.”
— Doug Wortham, retired Upper School French teacher
Rowland Hall thanks all the following donors who generously contributed to the school’s 2021–2022 Annual Fund.
This Annual Report lists gifts made from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. While we make every effort to be accurate, mistakes occur. If you have made a gift to Rowland Hall during the fiscal year, and your name has been omitted, misspelled, or incorrectly listed, please accept our sincere apologies and advise us of the error by calling Robyn Jensen in the Advancement Office at 801-924-2961.
* 20 or more years of giving to Rowland Hall
ANNUAL FUND DONORS
2021–2022
HEADMASTER’S COUNCIL ($10,000+)
Anonymous
Michael Anderson and Bethany Coates
Lenox and Fran Baker
Benjamin and Joanna Boyer
Jeffery and Alexandra Bray
R. Harold Burton Foundation
Cumming Foundation
Ben ’92 and Erica Dahl
Willard L. Eccles Charitable Foundation
Fang Family Foundation
Melissa and David Filippone
Chris and Summer Gibson
Adam and Andrea Himoff
Gloria Horsley
Cary Jones and Kris Hopfenbeck*
The Kanter Family Foundation
Kurt Larsen and Angelina Tsu
Sarah and Paul Lehman
Mairi Leining and Ravi Adusumalli
Penny Linge and Kevin Datoo
Derek and Janet Mannelin
Seth Spain and Molly McCarthey Spain ’03
Phil and Sandy McCarthey*
John ’96 and Andrea Miller
Judy Moyle
Wood Moyle ’90
Ryan and Nora Peterson
John and Marcia Price Family Foundation
Jennifer Price-Wallin and Tony Wallin*
Adam Rosh and Danielle McGuire
Jeff and Cathy Siegal
Florian Solzbacher and Xiaoxin Chen
Steiner Foundation, Inc.
Jeff and Carol Stowell
Elizabeth Sunderman
Keith and Elizabeth Taylor
Jon and Mehridith Venverloh
Christopher ’97 and Alexandra Lee ’99 Von Maack
Andy and Tara Wakefield
Todd Wilcox and Antonio Bucio
HALLMARKER GOLD ($5,500–$9,999)
Steven B. Achelis Foundation*
Nate and Jacee Ballard
Jay and Julie Bartlett
Eric ’89 and Cyndi Baughman
Roberta Bocock
Aira and Joseph Flanagan
Kitty Northrop Friedman ’91 and Peter Friedman*
Larry and Rachel Gilbert
John and Kim Kanarowski
Brian and Shruthi Kinkead
Meglbagl Foundation
Tami and Jane Marquardt*
Sarah Moles
Sean and Mekensy Overholt
Elmira and Pedram Shojai
Michael Varner and Kathleen Digre*
Hua Wang and TingTing Hong
Mike and Brittany Yeates
HALLMARKER SILVER ($3,000–$5,499)
Anonymous (3)
Brad Anderson and Maija Holsti
Brian and Karey Barker*
Barry and Carrie Dennis
Geoff and Elizabeth Frazier
Mick and Amy Gee
Bill ’63 and Barbara Gibbons*
The Mary W. Harriman Foundation
Jim and Sue Himoff
Demitri Hollevoet and Lori Ann Cooper
Alon Israely and Allison Pearson
Desmond and Candyce Lee
Akemi and David Louchheim
Mitch ’96 and Marina Lowe
Marc and Erin Maloy
Alan and Meryl Metni
David Min and Megan Donohue
Scott and Kathleen Nichols
James and Linda Okland
Christopher Cocke-Olsen
Marty Olsen
Bong Choi and Lori Park
Ashish and Meera Patel
Bartley and Tonya Pickron
Ian Pihl and Caitlin O’Connor
Amy Redford
Doug and Michelle Regner
Ira Rubinfeld and Willamarie Huelskamp*
Josh and Autum Savage
Max and Teri Savage
Mahendra and Purnima Shah
Robert and Sara Anne Williams ’87 Spalding
Derrick and Roxana Tzau
Brent and Nancy Welling
Jackie Wentz
Wasatch Global Investors
HALLMARKER BRONZE ($1,500–$2,999)
Anonymous (3)
Apple Matching Gifts Program
Robert and Alexandra Altman
Richard and Tanya Andrew
Mark Baer and Chris Sparrer Baer*
Ruth Eleanor Bamberger & John Ernest
Bamberger Memorial Foundation
Brent and Anne Baranko
Tom and Helen Barkes
Elke Brown
Richard and Ana Karla Brown
Ken and Ann Burnett*
David and Susan Carlebach
Tom and Ashley Carlin
Nitin and Jane Chandramouli
Edward and Nancy Chen
June Chen
Lester Cheng
Erik Christiansen and Christina Jepson*
Timothy Costantino and Michelle Vo
Chris and Cindy Cutler
Dru and Amy Damico
Suzy Day*
Bill and Julie Decker
Dell Technologies
Patrick and Bonnie Donigan
Jim and Susan Downs
Bjorn Espenes and Aleksandra Stojsic Espenes
Chip and Gayle Everest*
Brian Fukushima and Tammy Park
Dee and Colin Gardner
Gibbons Family Foundation
Julie Gainer and Jennifer Busch
Spencer and Ann Galt
Michael Gao and Stella Liu
Grant and Kimberly Gooder
Virginia and Bill Gowski
Steve Han and Gabby Ou
Michael and Nams Handlon
John and Pam Hanlon
Chris and Kathy Hill
Nicholas Hodson and Mary-Lou Smulders
Dani Howe
George and Nancy Janes
Brad Jensen and Sarah Barnes
Maria Jepperson and Michael Fugate
Jordan and Krystal Lindsey ’01 Kendell
Jerry Lanchbury and Margaret Hall
Toby and Tina Larson
Whitt and Chris Lee
Rob Lence*
Ben and Katie Lieberman
Bob and Suzanne Marquardt*
Kevin and Robin Mayetani
Keren and John Mazanec
Dave and Nancy McNally
Microsoft Giving Campaign
Gina and Mark Miller
Mikelle Moore and Kevin Flamm
Mark and Gemma Morasch
Justin Morgan and Heather Kirkby
Daniel and Ann Morse
Greg and Jennifer Nelson
Jim Ngo and Holly Drury
Timothy and Lisa O'Brien
Brad Olch
Pagoaga Family Charitable Fund
Ted Paisley and Tricia Petzold
Bruce and Nicole Paisner
Mark and Allison Paradise
Frank and Brooke Puleo
Jeff and Brandie Revoy
Bob and Char Roetzel
Trell Rohovit and Jenny Wilson
Robert Rolfs*
John and Ellie Olwell ’60 Roser*
Doug and Deborah Schillinger
David and Tiffany Shewell
Allan and Thalia Papanikolas ’63 Smart
Luke and Tristan Smart
Scott Stevens and Lisa Palmieri-Stevens
Alan and Paige Stotts
June Sun and Allison He
Rachel Sweet ’88 and Scott Martin
Adria Muir Swindle ’95 and Geoff ’94 Swindle
Jeffrey Tang and Ya Ching Chen
Brian Taptich and Rachel Lyons
Bodie and Anne Tribe
Jason and Allison Varner
Saul and Ericka Weissman
Matt and Bireen Whitten
Williams Companies
Jason Wucetich and Hillary Stamm
CONTRIBUTORS 2021–2022
Anonymous (74)
Bjorn Ablad
Adobe
Miquela and Kia Afshar
Neeraj and Archana Agarwal
Jay and Cori Agarwal
Tony and Sara Aguilar
Campbell and Juliette Ainsworth
Amy Aldrich
Emina Alibegovic
Amazon Smile
Hilary Amoss ’96
Devin Anderson and Katie Rose
Tara Anderson
Michael and Adriana Andreae
Ken Aoki and Christopher Ossana
Matt Armentrout ’02 and Felicia Katz
Roger and Susan Arsht
Hamed Asghari and Maryam Soltanolkotabi
Assistance Audio
Ashley Atwood
Lauren Augusta and Jeff Courter
Amber Ayers
Coral Azarian and Danny Kerl
Eric Babych and Gabrielle Fritze
Sharon Bacon
Alec and Cassandra Baden
Richard Badenhausen and Katherine Venti*
Abe and Lisa Bakhsheshy
John Ballard and Karen Miller*
Julie and Bill Barrett*
Larry and Amanda Barusch
Susanna and Matt Bassett
Paulino and Talitha Beach
Trey and Erin Bean
Samara Bean
Andrea Beckman
Kerry Bedell
Conor Bentley ’01 and Mary Anne Wetzel ’01
Effy Bentley
Jason Bergreen and Abby Bacon
Carly Biedul
Christina Lau Billings ’98
David Billings ’98
Cheryl Birt
David and Patricia Bishop
Alex Bocock and Amy Sullivan
Kris and Phuong Bodeen
Carolyn Bone
Sharon Bookhamer
Joe ’88 and Melanie Borgenicht
Ginger Bower
Adam and Carol Bowman
Larry Bown and Savittrey Nalamlieng
Sean Boyle and Trish Coughlin
Ryan Brady and Kristy Allen-Brady
Brent and Susan Brague
Shauna Brand
Paul Bressloff and Alessandra Angelucci
Tom and Heidi Brickey
Jack Brickson
Todd and Monika Brickson
Christa and Shaun Brigdon
Lisa Brown Miranda
Kent Christensen and Andrea Brown-Christensen
Zenon Bulka
Lawrence and Isabelle Buhler*
Matt and Valerie Burnett*
Wendy Butler
Steve and Sabrina Byron
Patricia Callahan*
Martin Caravati and Wanda Updike
Rhett Card
Chris and Dani Carpenter
Lauren Carpenter*
Andrew and Taylor Carter
Lindsay Carver
Peter and Anna Chalmers
Victoria and Christopher Chase
Cheryl Chen
Tim Chappell and Jen Schones
Chad and Sarah Christensen
Pat Christensen*
Cliff Read and Mary Ciminelli
Holly Clark
Jonathan and Jessica Clark
Kevin and Yashoda Clark
Emily Clawson
Kate and Geoff Colbath
Matthew Collins
Megan and Michael Colston
Brook and Sherri Connery
Tom and Mitzi Conover
Alan Contreras Saldivar and Maria Estrada
Kelly Cook
Peter Coombs and Hediyeh Baradaran
Bruce and Julie Cooper
Dave Copeland and Susan Koehn
Chris Corcoran and Claudia Delgado Corcoran
Jeff Corey and Brittany Nelson
Thomas and Mary Jane Cork
Corporation of the Episcopal Church in Utah
Paul and Dena Corson
Keri Crockett
Adella Croft
Stephen and Nadia Cross
Carol Curci
Antje Curry
Tara Curry
John Sarbo and Kathryn Czarnecki
Leslie Czerwinski
Bill and Judy Dalgliesh*
Jorge and Niure Damico
Marty Daniels
Alan and Vanessa Davis
France and Melanie Davis
Rev. France and Willene Davis
Jij de Jesus and Claire Shepley
Michael and Kathryn Debenham
Matthew ’07 and Corby DeVico
Bryant Dieffenbacher and Emily Lammers
Sara Donnelly
Matt Douglas and Ashley Meddaugh
Kurt Dowdle and Ingrid Gustavson
Sam Duffy
James Dumas
Kris Dumas
Eric and Katrina Durham
Jerry and Kathleen Eder
Irina Eikenberry
David and Lexi Eller
Greg and Anne Elliott
Mary Grace Ellison
Jim Eng and Faye Mitsunaga*
Justin and Michelle English
Timothy Jahn and Elizabeth Enos
Dan and Anna Ernst*
Juan-Carlos Fernandez-Sanchez and Chantal Esquivias-Argelaguet
Gary and Paula Evershed*
Evelyn Falk
Peter and Bonnie Feola
Chris Felt ’06 and Andrea Hoffman ’05
Hugh and Kate Ferguson
Joe Ferriter and Jennie Trauscht-Van Horn
Adam Finkle
Rit and Brenda Fish*
Gail Flanagan
Tyler and Gwen Fonarow
Lewis Francis and Dana Costello
Raphael and Anca Franzini
Stan Freck and Tina Braun
Annjanine Freeman Etzel and Thomas Etzel*
Brett and Lisa Friedman
Charles Gaddis
Jordan Gaddis and Mike Phillips
Randhir Gandhi and Manisha Shah
Weilu Gao and Vivian Wu
Bill and Barb Gelegotis
Martin and Sheila Gelman
Bernard Geoxavier and Li Duan
Jill Gerber
Tracy Gibbons Llanos ’96*
Patrick Gibbons ’93
The Gilbane Foundation
Jeremy and Coreen Gililland
Tiffany and Rob Glasgow*
Mike Gleeson and Chiao-ih Hui
Patrick and Mardee Godfrey*
Goldman Sachs
Steve Goorman and Christa Zaro
Sofia Gorder
Sasha Gordon
Bert Granberg and Felicia Olivera
Don and Beth Granberg
Michael and Jennifer Granger
Brad and Debra Green
Rona Greenstadt
Diane Guido*
Jennifer Gully
Cory and Kimberly Hacking
Dugg and Ann Marie Hannon*
Chris and Megan Hanrahan
Aleks and Brittney Roetzel ’02 Hansen
Andy Hare and Wendy Reger Hare
Cap Harlan
Stephen and Wesley Hartsell*
Randy Hartwig
Chris and Tasha Hatton
Robert Hausser*
Dani Hawkes and Marisa Adelman
The Rt. Rev. Scott Hayashi and Amy O'Donnell
Chris and My Helms
Nancy Melich and Lex Hemphill
Kirsten Hepburn
Patricia Hepburn
Laura Hermance ’90
Adam and Aimee Hersh
Amber and Lance Hershey
Josh and Carolyn Hickman*
Eliza Hitz and Jen Brown
Paul Hochman and Carrie Sheinberg
Jack and Victoria Hodgkins
Blair Hodson and Amy Sorenson
Brian Hoffman and Jordan Capps
Louis Hogge and Debbie Roque
Ryan Hoglund and Libby Mitchell ’92
Derek Holbeck
Douglas and Ashley Holbrook
Stanley Holmes and Rebecca Horn
Jason Hone and Jeanne Falk
Ashley Hoopes
Robin and Cynthia Hori
Dawn Houghton and Mary Lawlor*
Bryan and Karen Howell
Rachel and Peter Hu
Lyen Huang and Becky Kim
Perry Hull and Jennifer Reed*
Maria Hutchings
Ann Pearson Hutton ’53
George and Beverly Ingersoll
Jeremy and Anne Innis
Bret Jackson and Clari Riggs
Quincy Jackson ’16
Ken Jacquin
Michael and Eugenie Jaffe
Mark Jansen and Carmen Sutherland
John Jarman
Danny and Beth Jasper
Ralph and Michelle Jean-Mary
Leane Jensen
Monica Jensen
Robyn Payne Jensen ’02 and Andy Jensen
Warren and Elizabeth Jenson
Alan and Liesl Jeppson
Matthew and Suzanne Jeschke
Kimberly Jew
Jon Jiang and Xu Zhang
Matt Joesten
Laura Johnson
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Dan Jones and Rebecca Mueller-Jones
Kelley Journey
Tiya Karaus
Brian and Jocelyn Karney
Panagiotis Kassavetis and Konstantinia Almpani
Ragu and Shalini Kasturi
Kathy Kauffman
Doug and Erica Keil
Jeff Keil
Garrett and Laura Leigh Kemper
Bobby and Kathy Kennedy
Caitlin Kennedy
Shuja and Emily Khan
Ethan and Kristen Kiburtz
David King and Angela Kell
David Klein
Melvyn and Roberta Klein
Tascha Knowlton
Bryce and Brooke Knudtson
Nate ’00 and Anna Kogan
Terry Kogan and Greg Hatch
Grace Kong ’91 and Abdol Soltani
Madan Kommi and Kanti Surapaneni
Beat Koszinowski and Chalaine Zuchetto-Koszinowski
Kroger/Smith's Earn and Learn Program
John and Christy Cornell ’80 Kunin
David Kuo and Sonya Song
Brian and Manuela Lahti
Robert Lainhart ’11
Matthew and Catherine Lake
Adria Lam ’14
Scott Langone
Charlotte Larsen
Josh Leger
Marc and Kaylyn Lehmann
Pete Lelis and Lauren Swift
Dick Lemons and Diana Banks*
Molly Lewis*
Edward Lieskovan and Siwen Hu-Lieskovan
Yuan Lin and Hongwei Xu
Dustin and Christine Lipson
Dave and Rebecca Livermore*
Matthew Leonard and Stacey Miller
Victor and Menerva Lobe
Joel Long
Hal and Carol Louchheim
Marianne Love
Bo Lu and Wendy Chen
Jie and Ning Lu
Judy Maack
Rachel Mabey and Curt LaBelle
John MacFarlane
Lorena Magdaleno
Mark and Stacey Mahan
Veronica Maldonado
Kristina and Daniel Maljovec
Michael Margetts and Yekaterina Voronkova
Joel and Mary Jo Marker*
Dan and Hannah Marquardt
Timothy and Claire Martin
Joseph and Laurien Martinez
Derek and Christine Mason
Paul and Andrea Matlin
Evelyn and Kyle Matsumura
Scott and Connie Maves
Rob Mayer and Carol Blackwell*
Kevin and Beatrice Mayetani
Steve and Galen McCallum
Stuart and Peggy McCandless
Andrew and SallyAnn McCrea
Martha McGraw
Mary McIntyre
Bud McManus
Rob and Susanna Mellor
Andrew and Alysse Mengason
Josh and Hillary Mettle
Laura Meyer
Travis Mickelson and Margot Miller
Brian Mickey and Amy Locke
Microsoft
James Milavetz
Rod Miles and Connie Dooley
Mark Millard
Brian and Lori Miller
Jeff Miller ’98 and Deanna Combs
Scott and Stephanie Miller
Scott Miller and Sara Lenherr
Toni Miller
Tracy Mills and Elizabeth Hruby-Mills
Mary Jane Miranda
Dan Mitchell
Brian Mock
Torry Montes
Jeff and Jan Moore
Brian Morgan
John and Jennifer Muhlestein
Stephanie and Nathan Mulford
Mateo Munoz and Alexis Chadburn
Patrick Murphy
Robert Myers and Marie-Claude Wrenn
Jennifer and Cabot Nelson
Teresa Nelson
Florian and Cheryl Nickisch
Kelly and April Nielsen*
David Nierenberg and Kathleen McKee
Kathleen Tundermann Niles ’96
Bruce and Kerry Norman
Jon Melman and Aimee Nussbaum
Tony and Julie Nuzzo
Maureen O'Hara Ure*
Chad and Kristina Obermark
Channing and Trevor Olch
Stan and Margaret Oldham
Lynn Oliva
Renn Olsen and Nicole Arrington
Quinn and Katherine Orb
Mike and Stephanie Orfanakis
Melissa and James Orford
Nate and Nicole Orgain
Brandon and Beth Ott
Ed and Debora Owens
Steve and Jenna Gelegotis ’98 Pagoaga
Liz Paige and Woody Crowell*
Nancy Paisley
Samantha Paisley
Garry Palmer
Kody Partridge*
Prashant and Elena Patel
Kelly and Jeanene Patterson*
Jim and Lee Payne*
Mike and Haas Pectol
Eric Peng and Jing Zhao
Murali Penubothu and Radhika Naidu
Gustavo Perez-Fernandez and Saeko Suzuki
Erich and Nancy Petersen*
Foreste Peterson
Susan Phillips
Jason Pickavance
Sam and Kathryn Pickford
Anthony Pinto
Erik Postnieks
Colin and Kat Potter
Troy Price
Darcey and Mike Prichard
Laura and Pierre Prosper
Adrian and Kate Puttgen
Matthew Pysher and Elizabeth Tenney
Brian and Tacy Conard ’96 Quinn
Thomas and Chloe Quinn
Allen Raab
David and Laurel Rabin
Fahim Rahim and Beena Mannan
Andre Ramjoue
Marc and Michelle Rasich
Steven and Leah Ridge
Melanie Robbins
Julie Roberts-Morris
Sean and Erin Robins
Mark and Emily Robinson
Matt Rogers ’90
Leann Roque
Gail Rose
Camilla Rosenberger
Fred and Paula Ross
Jonathan and Tina Ruga*
Thomas Rust and Raychel Gonzales
Lynn Russo
John and Jeanna Tachiki ’01 Ryan
Pete and Pat Sadoski
Saveez Saffarian and Shanti Deemyad
Sarah Saidykhan
Samer Saleh and Sarah Molokhia
SalesForce
Ryan and Nicole Salinas
Jessica Salmon
B.J. Sandberg and LaVonne Wells Sandberg
Brian Sauer and Melissa Cheng
Jack Scaife ’17
Lily Scaife ’21
Max Scaife ’18
Scott Schaefer and Andrea Miller Schaefer
Daniel and Julie Scharfstein
Josh and Mo Schiffman
Fritz and Lauri Schlopy
Eric Schmitz
Jason Schnaitter and Lisa Gravelle
Anni Schneider
Katie Schwab
Jorge Schwarzhaupt and Maureen Monsalve
Patrick and Jennifer Seagrave
Shae Searl*
Craig and Kim Selzman
Brina Serassio
Akram Shaaban and Inji Elkasaby
Mike and Carol Shackelford
Kimble and Dorian Shaw
Daniel and Traci Sheinberg
Danielle and Kylee Shepherd
Kevin Shilling and Mara Rabin
Gary and Joyce Shirkey
Lee Shuster and Linda Smith
Dave Sidlow
Stacia Sidlow
Silicon Valley Bank
Chelsea Simmons
Matt Sincell and Corinne Penka
Stephen and Cynthia Sinclair
Beth Singleton
Jane Singleton
Rajeev and Meghan Siripurapu
Passang Sivukpa and Tenzin Norzom
Ella Slaker
JP Slavinsky and Margaret Van Meter
Ben ’89 and Lindsey Oswald ’92 Smith*
Brady Smith and Chandani Patel
David Smith and Isa Soares
Gregory and Susanna Smith
Hubbert and Vicki Smith
Ken Smith and Cathleen Zick
Kerrie Smith
Pam and Darren Smith
Karma Sok-Choekore and Tenzin Lhazey
Troy and Julie Somerville
Rene and Natalie Sotorrio
Lizbeth Sorensen
Alan and Nancy Sparrow*
Jodi and KC Spiro
Katie Spiro
Tyler Stack
Jamison and KJ Stark
Garret and Bethany Stephensen
Garrett and Sara Stern
Nevah and Brad Stevenson
Kenzie Steward ’18
Lynelle Stoddard
Harry Stone ’14
Leslie and Hal Stone*
Pam Stone*
William Stone ’18
Lyndsay Strange
Fred and Linda Strohacker*
Keith Sullivan and Sara Pereira
Robert Summerfield and Isabel Moreira
Erika Summers
John and Michelle Summers
Kit ’64 and Molly Sumner*
Lei Sun
Sankar and Mary Swaminathan
Amanda and Alton Swennes
Susan Swidnicki
Steve and Sonnie Swindle
Nadeem Syed and Padmashree Rida
Steve and Becky Tachiki
Henry and June Takei
Mike and Leslie Tate*
Bill and Linda Tatomer
Kate Taylor
Ryan and Amy Hoeppner ’89 Taylor*
Skylar Taylor and Brent White
Paul Thielking and Yvonne Hsu
Rashad and Danielle Thomas
Gary and Kirsten Thomas
Wendell and Terry Thomas
Colleen and Mathew Thompson
Joan Thompson
Michelle and Sean Thompson
Tom Thorne
Troy Thorpe and David Hilton
Wiley and Christina Thuet
Kendra Tomsic and Kathy Howa*
Teresa Totorica
Steve and Lisa Towner*
Todd and Millicent Tracey
Lobsang and Dolma Tsering
Elsha Turner
Wayne and Linda Tyler*
Alex and Sally Uhle*
Carolyn Uhle*
Laurie Underwood
Sarah Uram
U.S.Bancorp Corporation
Christopher and Renee Utgaard
Pieter and Leidy van Ispelen
Gita Varner ’05
Nick and Chelsea Vasquez
Dan and Sarah Vezina
David and Barbara Viskochil
Drew vonLintel and Jessie Fiat
Huong Vu
David and Natasha Wallis
Sarah Walsh and Steven Chodoriwsky
Haibo Wang and Jun Lu
Xiaodong Wang and Sichun Mu
Adam and Stephanie Warner
Christian Waters and Kelly Henderson
Ruchi and Antony Watson
Lynn and Holly Webster
Becky ’03 and Fred Webster
David Weinstein and Helen Hu
Matthew Weinstein and Laura Kessler
Jack and Erica Weisselberg
Emma Wellman
Gayle Weyher
Mckinsee Weyher
Chuck White
Kirsten White
Ned White and Jennifer Blake
Matt and Ann Wigham
Kevin and Jennifer Williams
Troy and Katie Williams
David Wilson and Angela Corrie
Robert Wilson and Elizabeth Howard*
Marc and Marie Wintriss
Collin and Anna Wolfe
Anne Wolfer
Gregg Wood and Nicki Camp
Marianne Woolsey-Moyle
Doug Wortham and Nick Nero*
Anne Worthington ’73
Richard Vale-Zamora and Nairibes Luzardo-Hernandez
Tianxin Yang and Marianne Li
Jason and Holly Yocom
David and Sarah Yoon
John and Joan Young
Karma Younten and Sonam Chodon
Jeanne Zeigler and Kipp Greene*
Zheng Zheng and Ning Lei
IN HONOR OF
Current Rowland Hall students are not listed.
The Class of 1991
The Class of 2002
The Class of 2027
Pat Ammon
Abigail D. Bacon
Grace Baranko ’22
Peter Billings ’63
Mia Brickey ’17 and Eli Brickey ’20
Nancy Sandack Borgenicht ’60
The Christini Family
Beca Damico ’21
Rev. France A. Davis
Ray and Rita Debenham
Eric Fish ’03 and Tiffany Smith’s Wedding
Lisa Friedman
Bill Gibbons ’63
The Gowski Family
Kathy Gundersen
David Hausser ’01
Sophie Hochhauser ’12
Ford Hodgkins ’22
Jaden Jensen ’22
Olle Larsson
Margaret Lemons ’16, Samuel Lemons ’16, and Alex Lemons
Katie Nevins
Overholt Family
Kody Partridge
Val Rasmussen ’93
Rowland Hall's Debate Team
Middle School Teachers and Staff
Rowland Hall's Teachers
The Students of Rowland Hall
The Fabulous Team at Rowland Hall
Rowmark Ski Academy
Rowmark's 40th Anniversary
The Siripurapu Family
Grace Smith ’21
Alan C. Sparrow
The Sweet Family and the Employees of Sweet Candy Company
Kate Taylor
Kendra Tomsic
Tzau Family
Claire R. Wang ’15
Becky Mae Webster ’03
George Wintriss ’22
Doug Wortham
Jeanne Zeigler (3)
IN MEMORY OF
Deidra "Dee" Aguilar
Charles R. Brown (2)
Rosemarie Christensen
Angelica de Fernex
Rose Deisley
Alan Hayes (2)
Peter Hayes (2)
Sylvia Henricks (2)
Joyce and Marshall Hochhauser
Jenna Rosenberg Johns ’02
Patricia Pearson Johnston
Richard J. King
Jesus Lamas, Sr.
Tony Larimer (3)
Robert D. Maack, Esq.
Bud Partridge
Molly Orange Richardson
Linda Reeder
Helen Frank Sandack ’35
Alec Searl
Joseph M. Simmons
John (Jack) and Sue Skinner
Sutton Snook ’90
Reagan Tolboe ’92
The Rev. Lincoln Ure (2)
Edmund Tyler Wrenn
Lynne Mariani Zimmerman (3)
GRANDPARENT DONORS
Current Rowland Hall grandchildren are listed.
Ms. Sharon Bacon
July Bergreen
Drs. Lenox and Frances Baker
James Bowman, Lenox Bowman, Kade Campsen, Bailey Bowman, Baker Campsen, Jack Campsen
Mrs. Roberta B. Bocock
Elisabeth Bocock, Mary Bocock
Mr. John T. Brickson
Kaia Brickson
Ms. Elke Brown
Emily Christensen
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Card
Charlotte Moles, David Moles
Mr. David Copeland and Ms. Susan Koehn
Emma Skinner
Ms. Carol Curci and Mr. John Curci
Tessa Galen, Dylan Galen
Ms. Antje Curry
Briar Curry
Ms. Marty Daniels
Wyatt Daniels
Ms. Valli L. Durham
Miles Durham, Lucas Durham
Ms. Evelyn Falk
Zoe Hone
Ms. Gail Flanagan
Owen Keil
Mr. and Mrs. William J. Gelegotis
Ollie Pagoaga, William Pagoaga
Mr. and Mrs. William Gibbons
Sophie Llanos, Liam Llanos, Jack Gibbons, Sarah Gibbons
Alexandra Leonard, Elizabeth Leonard, Katherine Leonard
Mrs. Mary Jane Miranda
Gabriella Miranda
Mr. Brian Mock
Tessa Galen, Dylan Galen
Ms. Judith B. Moyle
Ocky Moyle
Mr. and Mrs. James Okland
Ruby Varner, Madsen Varner
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Pagoaga
Ollie Pagoaga, William Pagoaga
Ms. Nancy Paisley
Heidi Paisley
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Paisner
Asher Williams, Wyatt Williams
Mr. and Ms. David Rabin
Ezra Shilling Rabin
Mr. and Ms. Bob J. Roetzel
Florence Hansen, Juliana Hansen, Christopher Hansen
Ms. Leann Roque
Alex Hogge
Many individuals within the Rowland Hall community have made their mark as successful entrepreneurs. To celebrate and share in these individuals’ knowledge and accomplishments, Rowland Hall has created an organization of business professionals and companies: the Rowland Hall Entrepreneur’s Circle.
Mr. and Mrs. Max Savage
Olivia Savage
Mr. and Mrs. Mahendra Shah
Arya Martinez, Kirav Martinez, Sirohi Martinez
Mr. and Mrs. Gary Shirkey
Bb Earl Comeros, Deja Shirkey
Mr. Lee Shuster and Ms. Linda F. Smith
Miriam Kogan, David Kogan
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Sinclair
Henry Brigdon
Mr. and Mrs. Allan Smart
Max Smart
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Swindle
Luke Swindle, Lilly Swindle
Mr. and Ms. Steven T. Tachiki
Stevie Ryan, Elliana Ryan, Sabrina Ryan
Dr. and Mrs. Henry Takei
Arden Louchheim
Mr. and Mrs. Royal L. Tribe
Benjamin Meade, Samuel Meade
Mrs. Huong Vu
Asher Bodeen, Finley Bodeen
Dr. and Mrs. Lynn R. Webster
Lucy Webster, Gracie Webster
Ms. Jackie Wentz
Sydney Wentz, Andrew Wentz
Ms. Gayle Weyher
Allister Weyher, Elliot Weyher
Mr. and Mrs. John Young
Leo Sun, Leila Cottle
The following individuals have pledged a future gift of $50,000 to the school via the Entrepreneur’s Circle:
Anonymous
Eric ’89 and Cyndi Baughman
Stead and Kendall Sumner ’96 Burwell
Ben ’92 and Erica Dahl
Ken Jacquin
Blake Kirby
Michael Levinthal
Mary McIntyre
Dave and Nancy McNally
David Stockham ’91
Tom Stockham
Tim and Jane Sullivan
Adria Muir Swindle ’95 and Geoff Swindle ’94
Dan Urmann ’94
A CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF AN EXTRAORDINARY VISION
Rowland Hall’s new vision, Developing People the World Needs, is transformative for the school and community. This extraordinary vision for the future of Rowland Hall requires an extraordinary learning environment.
For many years, Rowland Hall has envisioned uniting all students on one campus. With the school’s new strategic vision and priorities in mind, Rowland Hall’s Board of Trustees has approved a plan to build a new, state-of-the-art facility on the Richard R. Steiner Campus all at once. This plan includes a new Middle School and Upper School, complete with performing arts and STEM spaces and an athletic complex. Beyond unifying the school on one campus, these new facilities will amplify the work of Rowland Hall students and teachers, serve as a hub for educational innovation in our local community, and bring to life our bold vision for what’s possible in education.
If our vision for the future is bold, our plans must be equally ambitious. The school is motivated to build a new campus as soon as we can. This is a transformative moment for Rowland Hall. We have the opportunity to reimagine what the future looks like for our students and the world, and the time is now.
We are currently making strategic decisions about how to structure and finance the new campus plans, the most significant capital project in the school’s 155year history. Philanthropy is the foundation upon which the campus will be built. We will look to the generosity of our Rowland Hall community to help support this new, extraordinary learning environment, and, more importantly, to help support the school in developing people the world needs.
Jij de Jesus Joins the Advancement Department
Jij de Jesus joined Rowland Hall's advancement team as the director of capital giving in January 2022. He previously served as the Lower School principal for six years. "Our family is so happy to be back at Rowland Hall,” said Jij. “I'm thrilled to be doing work that I believe in, and I look forward to contributing in new ways to a school community that I admire and hold dear.” Jij’s keen ability to build and maintain deep relationships and articulate the impact Rowland Hall has on students and families make him perfectly suited for this new role.
GIFTS TO THE RICHARD R. STEINER
CAMPUS
BUILDING FUND
This list acknowledges all gifts and pledges to the capital campaign to date. The campaign was officially launched in 2016.
Anonymous (5)
Wayne and Kathy Adams Apple Inc.
Apple Matching Gifts Program
Michael Anderson and Bethany Coates
Richard and Tanya Andrew
Richard Badenhausen and Katherine Venti
Barry and the late Amy Baker
Lenox and Fran Baker
Ruth Eleanor Bamberger & John Ernest
Bamberger Memorial Foundation
Brent and Anne Baranko
Brian and Karey Barker
Tom and Helen Barkes
Christina Lau Billings ’98
David Billings ’98
John Bird and Rin Harris
Rick and Lynn Bleil
R. Harold Burton Foundation
Roberta Bocock
Kris and Phuong Bodeen
Sarah and Jeff Campsen
Bob and Susan Card
Heather and Carlo Ciriello
Carol Clawson and Steve Hull
Ben ’92 and Erica Dahl
Dru and Amy Damico
Rev. France and Willene Davis
Lawrence T. & Janet T. Dee Foundation
DST Systems
Dryer Family
Valli Gibbons Durham ’69
Roger and Karen Edgley
Jeffrey Eisenberg and Tasha Ames Savage
Fang Family Foundation
Melissa and David Filippone
The Henry Gustav Floren Foundation
Kitty Northrop Friedman ’91 and Peter Friedman
Alex Gardner ’07
Dee and Colin Gardner
Bill ’63 and Barbara Gibbons
Gibbons Family Foundation
Goldman Sachs
Mary W. Harriman Foundation
The Rt. Rev. Scott Hayashi and Amy O’Donnell
John Hijjawi and Sarha Lee
Chris and Kathy Hill
Adam and Andrea Himoff
Vicky Gibbons Hoagland ’67 and John Hoagland
Jack and Victoria Hodgkins
Demitri Hollevoet and Lori Ann Cooper
Dani Howe
Robyn Payne Jensen ’02 and Andy Jensen
Jeff and Sharon Jonas
Cary Jones and Kris Hopfenbeck
Kanter Family Foundation
Glen Kain
Jordan Kimball and Rebecca England
Mark Klose
Kurt Larsen and Angelina Tsu
Whitt and Chris Lee
Sarah and Paul Lehman
Steve and Michelle Lessnick
Katie and Ben Lieberman
Elaine Ling-Fukushima
Jennifer Livermore ’10
Akemi and David Louchheim
Mitch ’96 and Marina Lowe
Will and Carter Lowrance
Judy Maack
Milt Markewitz
McCarthey Family Foundation
Mairin McCarthey ’06
Seth Spain and Molly McCarthey Spain ’03
Phil and Sandy McCarthey
Josh and Hillary Mettle
Gina and Mark Miller
Jeff Miller ’98 and Deanna Combs
John ’96 and Andrea Miller
The Mark and Kathie Miller Foundation
Matt Leonard and Stacey Miller
Sarah Moles
Wood Moyle ’90
Nakasone Family Foundation
Chris Nolan and Angela Keen
Christopher Cocke-Olsen
Marty Olsen
Darm and Bette Bennett ’57 Penney
Ryan and Nora Peterson
Laura and Pierre Prosper
John and Marcia Price Family Foundation
Todd Rankin
Ira Rubinfeld and Willamarie Huelskamp
Brian and Janice Ruggles
Sadie Weyher Schabdach ’98
Scott Schaefer and Andrea Miller Schaefer
Hal and Minor Shaw
Alan and Nancy Sparrow
Nick and Marcy Stearns
Nevah and Brad Stevenson
Jeff and Carol Stowell
Sharon Stubbs
Tim and Jane Sullivan
Paula Swaner-Sargetakis and Joe Sargetakis
Adria Muir Swindle ’95 and Geoff Swindle ’94
Anna and Reed Topham
Christopher ’97 and Alexandra Lee ’99 Von Maack
Hua Wang and TingTing Hong
Wasatch Guaranty & Capital
Weinholtz Family Foundation
Dave and Renee Wentz
Mike and Brittany Yeates
Jeanne Zeigler and Kipp Greene
Brian and Martha Zipp
ENDOWMENT FUND DONORS
All gifts to the endowment fund were given or pledged between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022
Anonymous (2)
Steven B. Achelis Foundation
Dirk Allen
Beau ’00 and Evan Zimmerman ’00
Burbidge
Cumming Foundation
Suzy Day
Corporation of the Episcopal Church in Utah
Annjanine Freeman Etzel and Thomas Etzel
Alex Gardner ’07
Dee and Colin Gardner
Maddie Haslam ’10
Alessa Zimmerman Maw ’03
Catherine Rogers ’17
Skinner Family
Carol Steffens
Workday, Inc.
Morgan Zimmerman ’07
Momentum around the campus and new campus plans is growing. If you have questions about the project or want to get involved, please contact Robyn Jensen at robynjensen@rowlandhall.org or 801-924-2961.
FROM THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CHAIR
Dear Alumni and Friends,
During my junior year at the Upper School, I sat in my AP US History classroom every day facing a large banner hanging on the wall. The banner read “Comfort Retards Growth,” and its message ingrained itself into my head as I listened and learned from our indefatigable teacher, Mr. George Henry. This phrase has followed me throughout my life, often as a prodding internal question: Am I getting too comfortable? Am I still growing? The impetus to not let myself get too complacent in my comfortable life influences and propels me forward to this day.
When I joined the Board of Trustees three years ago and became the chair of our Alumni Association, I was pretty confident in my ability to manage the role and looked forward to lots of engagement and connection with my fellow alums. Little did we know that my tenure would span the pandemic and serious introspection from Rowland Hall on whether or not we truly lived up to the promise that we welcome everyone to our community. These often uncomfortable and necessary conversations steadily occurred throughout the past few years, but were primed by the message I was taught decades earlier that growth was on the horizon.
One of the key areas of growth I am most gratified by is the hiring of the school’s first director of equity and inclusion, Dr. Chandani Patel. Working with her this past year and participating in the uncomfortable discussions she deftly moderates is a continual reminder that Rowland Hall is not done teaching me yet.
Our Alumni Scholarship Fund is going strong thanks to all our donors. We had the most new donors this year than ever before, and I love knowing that our alumni see the value in giving students an opportunity to attend Rowland Hall.
I am thrilled that my friend and colleague Becky Webster ’03 is your next Alumni Association chair. She will do an amazing job energizing our membership and building an even stronger alumni network. I look forward to her leadership as we all grow together.
Warmest regards,
Christina Lau Billings ’98 Alumni Committee Chair
This year, the Alumni Executive Board planned and hosted a variety of fun events to engage with our community. We hosted virtual and in-person events, including the annual Utes football tailgate party, a young alumni coffee, night skiing, virtual book clubs, virtual trivia nights, and a spring brewery party. We also loved hosting the annual reunion party at the All-School Bash—a big, all-inclusive community party where alums can see their former teachers, community, and campus while connecting with their classmates.
Thank you to Christina Lau Billings ’98, who led the Alumni Association and served as our alumni representative on the Board of Trustees. Her leadership was exceptional, and we are deeply appreciative of her commitment to the school and leadership in the community. Becky Webster ’03 will be our alumni chair for the next three years. She has been on the Alumni Executive Board for 10 years and is a current parent to first grader Gracie and 3PreK student Lucy. Thank you to Christina and Becky for their leadership and vision for the Alumni Association.
ALUMNI STUDENT INTERNSHIP
Each summer, the Rowland Hall Alumni Association hosts a student marketing internship, with an emphasis on social media and marketing strategies. Thank you to summer 2021 intern Boden Dumas, class of 2023, and summer 2022 intern Beca Damico ’21, pictured right. We appreciate your hard work and dedication to your school.
2021–2022 ALUMNI EXECUTIVE BOARD
Christina Lau Billings ’98, Alumni Association Chair
Hilary Amoss ’96, Director of Alumni Relations
Conor Bentley ’01
Christopher Felt ’06
Kelly Hannah ’90
Sophie Hochhauser ’12
Molly Jones ’07
Valerie Floyd Rasmussen ’93
Emily Sloan-Pace ’98
Molly McCarthey Spain ’03
Christopher Von Maack ’97, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Becky Webster ’03
Alex Shaffer-Wubbels ’94
Want to get involved with our alumni leadership team to help plan events and fundraise for the Alumni Scholarship Fund?
Contact Hilary Amoss at hilaryamoss@rowlandhall.org.
2021–2022 Alumni Executive Board
Boden Dumas ’23
Beca Damico ’21
ALUMS REFLECT ON
WHY RELATIONSHIPS MATTER
Convocation Speaker: Morgan Sorensen Knight ’07
Morgan Sorensen Knight ’07 came back to campus to kick off the school year as our alumni speaker at the all-school Convocation, a tradition that began in 2009 and sets the tone and vision for the new school year.
Morgan shared how one of Rowland Hall’s core values, relationships matter, can make a big impact in one’s life. “The magic of Rowland Hall lies not only in the students’ dedication to learning but also in their personal relationships,” she said. “They are an everlasting, constant positive force in your life, even decades after you graduate.” She encouraged students to discuss what's going on in the world, listen to and comfort each other, stand up for what they believe in, and cheer on others. Morgan concluded her message with a challenge to each student: touch someone’s life in a way that could never have been achieved otherwise.
“Relationships matter. Give this year your all, not just academically, but give your classmates and community your all, and magical things will happen,” she said.
Thank you, Morgan!
Each year, members of the Rowland Hall alumni community are invited to share words of wisdom and personal experiences with students. In honor of the year's theme, Relationships Matter, Morgan Sorensen Knight ’07 spoke at the 2021 Convocation about the importance of relationships, while Cyrus Akrami ’07 reflected on personal connections in his life at the 2022 Baccalaureate.
Morgan Sorensen Knight graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor of arts in communications, studying journalism, public relations, and marketing. She was the University of Utah senior class president and loved being involved on campus in different capacities and roles. “I got my love of student involvement from Rowland Hall,” she shared. Since graduation, Morgan has worked in real estate, events, and marketing, and currently runs the social media and e-commerce website for Bloomingsales in Salt Lake City. Morgan and her husband, Alex, were away from Utah for a number of years, living in Boston, Massachusetts, and Palo Alto, California, before moving back to Salt Lake City in 2020. They have two girls, Kennedy and Sophia, and love traveling, being outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.
Baccalaureate Speaker: Cyrus Akrami ’07
Cyrus Akrami ’07 welcomed the class of 2022 to the Rowland Hall Alumni Association at the annual Baccalaureate service, a tradition that dates to the 1890s when Rowland Hall was an Episcopal school. The service signals the start of our celebration of seniors, along with their parents and guardians, and showcases performances and readings that honor these students’ past and future.
At the service, Cyrus shared his personal life journey and reflected on the ways relationships and personal connections have mattered in his life by encouraging students to get to know their teachers, to remember that “if you are the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room,” and to treat their parents like they’re friends.
“Be patient, ask them questions, ask them for funny stories, about how they met—there is plenty more to explore,” he said. “And all those people—your teachers, your mentors, your friends, your mom, your dad—they are not just your network, they are who you are. I was always taught that your network is important because it will help you—who you know, what they do—and honestly, I can’t disagree with that, but I’ll leave you with one final thought: while networking is about knowing more people, maybe connection is about knowing people more.”
Thank you, Cyrus!
Cyrus Akrami studied economics and government at Dartmouth College. He has worked in sales, marketing, and management roles for technology companies, and his career has given him opportunities to work and live in New York City, San Francisco, Dublin, and London, and to manage teams across the US, Europe, Singapore, Australia, and Brazil. Today, Cyrus lives in San Francisco and is the head of sales for Faire, a company that supports retail stores in communities around the world by providing technology, tools, and insights to help them compete with the likes of Amazon and Walmart. Outside of work, he is an avid skier, a volunteer for the Bay Area Urban Debate League, and a mentor for start-ups around the world.
Alumni speakers Morgan Sorensen Knight and Cyrus Akrami
ALUMNI GIVE BACK
The Alumni Scholarship Fund was established in 2010 by generous alumni grateful for their Rowland Hall education and community. This year, the Alumni Scholarship Fund received its 2,225th gift! Each gift has made a difference in a Rowland Hall education. Thank you for making it possible to support three students with an alumni scholarship this year.
2022 Legacy Graduate
Rowland Hall Celebrates Our Multi-Generational Graduates
Zach Baughman ’22
Eric Baughman ’89
Alums celebrating the 2022 Alumni Day of Giving.
Twenty-two percent of students at Rowland Hall receive financial aid. Alumni gifts directly impact students and help provide a dynamic and diverse learning environment. Each gift, no matter the size, makes a difference and helps the endowed fund continue to grow and give back in perpetuity. Alumni support is also important because high levels of participation can inspire major donors, corporations, foundations, and friends to increase their support. People and organizations want to invest in successful institutions that others are supporting.
This year we had two important fundraising campaigns. In December, the Alumni Executive Board came together to inspire alumni to give back by matching all donations made that month, up to $2,500. In April, the Alumni Day of Giving inspired a record 241 donors, including 50 new donors, to show their support. A special thank you to Molly McCarthey Spain ’03 for her $15,000 participation challenge gift to motivate and inspire alumni to give to our scholarship. Her annual generosity and participation challenge gifts have increased our alumni support to new all-time highs.
Thank you to all the alumni who support education and our school. You're the best!
2022
$50,204
ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP FUND RAISED THIS YEAR
305
TOTAL DONORS–AN ANNUAL RECORD
13% FUND TOTAL
$494,913
GIVING PARTICIPATION
ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP
FUND DONORS
2021–2022
Financial support from Rowland Hall alumni enriches the student experience. We recognize that giving to your alma mater is a choice, and we thank you for supporting Rowland Hall.
* Winged Lion Society: three or more recent years of consecutive giving
Marc Alifanz and Tracy Manaster Alifanz ’97
Matthew Allred ’94
Anonymous (8)
Hilary Amoss ’96*
John Amoss ’98*
Susie Amoss
Apostoli Anastasopoulos ’03
Del Anderson ’97 and Stephanie Robson*
Ian Anderson ’03
Megan Andrews ’03
Alex ’94 and Becca Ashton
Bill Atwood ’63*
Genevieve Atwood ’64*
Nick Babilis ’02
Nick ’05 and Alyson Badami
Liza Badenhausen ’15
Allison Bagley ’18
Chad Baker and Kristina Reeder ’96
Lane Baker ’17
Gregory Baranko
Alex Baughman ’19
Eric ’89 and Cyndi Baughman*
Alex Beaufort ’13
Jonathan Bebbington ’12
Charis Benjamin ’12
Conor Bentley ’01 and Mary Anne Wetzel ’01*
Ethan Bergvall ’98*
Libby Biittner ’03*
Christina Lau Billings ’98*
David Billings ’98*
Tito Billings ’97 and Mika Robinson*
Chris Binger ’01 and Allison Locatelli*
Ashley Bishop ’05*
Whitney Olch Bishop ’98 and Geordy Bishop*
Brooks and Adrienne Martain ’02 Black*
Alfie and Sarah Jones ’98 Boe
Carolyn Bone*
Jonathan Bone ’94 and Clover Sanders ’97*
Susannah Bone ’99
Joe ’88 and Melanie Borgenicht*
Nancy Sandack Borgenicht ’60*
Chris Bossart ’05 and Jerica Johnson ’07*
Auden Bown ’21
Dagny Brickson ’21
Michelle Brimley
Caio Brown ’21
Libbie Brown ’03*
Stead and Kendall Sumner ’96 Burwell
Lindsay Carver
Tom and Tori Searl ’06 Cassel*
DC Chamberlain ’97
Harper Coleman-Houghton ’16
Dan ’93 and Amanda Conner*
Mike and Dana Pool ’06 Cremeno*
Justin Cutler ’10*
Beca Damico ’21
Jorge and Niure Damico
Jon and Adrienne Lee ’86 Davies
Jij de Jesus and Claire Shepley
Michael Dew ’97
Lorraine Duckworth
John and Heather Ure ’91 Dunagan*
David Dunn ’97*
Rich Eagar ’03*
Noah Edgar ’21
Claire Edgley ’11
Sloane Rampton Elkins ’99
Mike Elliott ’01*
Stuart Ruckman and Libby Ellis*
Marisa Eng ’14*
Atle and Emily Barrett ’97 Erlingsson*
Christopher ’07 and Kwynn Everest*
2021 alumni SummerWorks employees
Rudi Riet ’91 and Kirstin Fearnley*
Jon and Peggy Rosen ’61 Feder*
Kim Feeny ’73*
Michel and Rebecca Filion*
Adrienne McConnell Finnell ’93*
Joan Bennett Firmage ’51*
Woodward and Gentry Connelly ’97 Fischer
Eric Fish ’03 and Tiffany Smith
Rit and Brenda Fish*
Lori Fitzgerald
Marsh Flint ’11
David Foster and Jenny Williams ’94
Annjanine Freeman Etzel and Thomas Etzel
Kitty Northrop Friedman ’91 and Peter Friedman*
Olivia Fuhrman ’19
Garrett Furubayashi
Alex Gardner ’07*
Madeleine Gee ’21
Kristin Gelegotis ’03*
Tracy Gibbons Llanos ’96*
Patrick Gibbons ’93*
John Gilbert ’12
Jesse Goldsmith ’01*
David Gortner and Heather VanDeventer ’90*
Michael Hall-Snyder ’11
Mo ’96 and Mariclare Hall*
Kelly Hannah ’90*
Sophie Hannah ’18*
Eric and Missy Child ’85 Hansen*
Sydney Hartsell ’08*
Carole Hecker*
Laura Hermance ’90*
Megan Hillyard ’01
Noah ’97 and Anne Hoagland
Sadie Hoagland ’99
David and Christine Hochhauser
Sophie Hochhauser ’12
Chris Felt ’06 and Andrea Hoffman ’05*
David Hoffman ’02*
Ryan Hoglund and Libby Mitchell ’92*
Brandan Hovsepian-Kelly ’09*
Dani Howe
E.K. and Jodie Ray ’58 Hunt*
Karen Page Hyde*
Callahan Jacobs ’09*
Robyn Payne Jensen ’02 and Andy Jensen*
Megan Jones Shiotani ’05*
Madelyn Hauser Kelly Jones ’03
Molly Jones ’07*
Tom Jonke and Elizabeth Elliott ’07*
Landon Kawabata and Jennifer Nakao ’93*
Jordan and Krystal Lindsey ’01 Kendell
Craig Kilbane ’89
Alex Kim ’86 and Catherine Fegan-Kim
Christa Kahn Kleiner ’96*
Nate ’00 and Anna Kogan
Mark ’92 and Ali Farbman ’93 Kulmer*
Maddie Kwun ’18
Robert Lainhart ’11
Jen Beck Lair ’89 and John Lair*
Georgia Larsen ’15*
Gillian Larsen ’18
Alex Lee ’03*
Andrew Logue ’15*
Sally Logue ’20
Simon Logue ’18*
Mary Lombardi ’00*
Tom ’97 and Michelle Lombardi*
Mark Long ’97*
Jesse ’91 and Whitney Lowe
Mitch ’96 and Marina Lowe
Judy Maack*
Gabriel Madlang ’98
Michael Marquardt ’10
Jackie Martain ’05*
Mikaela Martineau Larson ’04*
Alumni volunteers at the 2021 All-School Bash
Niki Larsen Martinet ’95
Joseph and Laurien Martinez
Briggs Matheson ’04 and Juliana Yee*
Mike May ’98
Mairin McCarthey ’06*
Tim and Erika McCarthy
Sean and Sheila McCartney
Miles and Calli Payne ’99 McGann
Meredith McManus ’59*
Alex ’98 and Tara Tribe ’00 Meade*
William Michalak ’02*
Lowell and Nancy Tisdel ’47 Miles*
Courtney Prince Miller ’96
Jeff Miller ’98 and Deanna Combs
Marilee Miller ’97
Alessandra Miranda ’16*
Paul and Emily Drake ’04 Miska
Katie Moore ’21
Megan Williams Morin ’01
Dorothy Muirhead ’03
Connor Nelson ’14*
Adam and Beth Nuzzo ’96 Newmark
Preston Nielson ’01 and Amanda Dillon*
Kathleen Tundermann Niles ’96
Emma O'Neal
Ryan Olson ’02*
Emilie Orfanakis ’19
Mike and Stephanie Orfanakis
Charlotte Orford ’20
Matt Orford ’17*
Steve and Jenna Gelegotis ’98 Pagoaga*
Liz Paige and Woody Crowell
Nydia Palacios ’05
Jonathan Pappasideris ’94*
Robin Pardey ’98 and Sierra Burton ’98*
Sarah Patrick ’94*
Olivia Pecora ’14
Ron Penner and Marta Heilbrun ’89
Pimco Foundation
Jennifer Price-Wallin and Tony Wallin
Sally Adams Prinster ’60 and Anthony Prinster*
Kiersten Joesten Prucha ’05*
R&R Partners
Heather Ririe Race ’59
Hadley Rampton ’94
Alexandrea Rasmussen ’99
Brady ’94 and Valerie Floyd ’93 Rasmussen*
Brandon ’02 and Rachel Rasmusson*
Elliot Rohde ’94
Zach Rohovit ’20
Tommy Rollins ’06
KC Rommel ’06*
John and Ellie Olwell ’60 Roser
Ashley Rothwell-Campagna ’95
Sonia Rubinfeld ’14
Tyler Ruggles ’05
Colby Russo-Hatch ’15
Chase Ryan ’11
John and Jeanna Tachiki ’01 Ryan*
Joe Sadoski ’02
Lauren Samuels ’11
Alex ’02 and Jessica Sanders*
Bob and Gail Sanders*
Josh and Kate Eyre ’00 Sandfoss*
Sadie Weyher Schabdach ’98
Bradley Scott Leigh and Liza Springmeyer ’01
Sally Shaffer
Christopher Slager ’07*
Emily Sloan-Pace ’98*
Ben ’89 and Lindsey Oswald ’92 Smith*
Don Smith ’61*
Hadley Smith ’05*
Charles and Judith Smith
Seth Spain and Molly McCarthey Spain ’03*
Liv Sharp Spikes ’99
Lauren Stevens ’97
Kenzie Steward ’18*
Collin and Lauren Pardey ’01 Stivers*
David Stockham ’91
Eric Strohacker ’02*
Alumni reunion at the 2021 All-School Bash
Young alumni meet for coffee
Josef Sueoka ’19
Maxwell Sueoka ’16
Lesa Sullivan-Abajian ’90*
Ryland Sumner ’94*
Chas Swanson ’02
Sweet Candy Fund for Health & Wellness*
Rachel Sweet ’88*
Adria Muir Swindle ’95 and Geoff Swindle ’94
Christopher ’91 and Kathy Weller Swindle
Drew and Carrie Littlefield ’96 Syvertsen*
Ryan and Amy Hoeppner ’89 Taylor*
Vanessa Therson ’05*
Sam Thomas ’16*
Corin Thummel ’11
Grant Tilson ’16*
Izi Torres ’15*
Amanda Towner ’06*
Jason Tundermann ’94 and Liz Drogin
Meghan Tuohig ’98*
Kacie Turcuato ’99*
Gita Varner ’05*
Johanna Varner ’02*
Alonso and Alexandra Brown ’01 Velasco*
Nate ’96 and Liz Vinton*
Ajay Virkar ’01*
Christopher ’97 and Alexandra Lee ’99 Von Maack*
Max von Sydow and Ute Volz ’91
Kyle Walton ’98
Claire Wang ’15
Gregory Ward ’87*
David ’71 and Barbara Warner*
Sara Hames Warren ’98
Stacy Wells
Bill Weyher
Doug Weyher ’00*
David Wetzel ’04*
Brad ’89 and Raina Williams*
Pete Spruance ’94 and Michel Williams ’95*
Alexandra Shaffer-Wubbels ’94
Bill Yaggy ’63 and Amy Leveen*
Mena Zendejas-Portugal ’21
In Honor of
Pat Ammon
Grace Baranko ’22
Peter Billings ’63
Nancy Sandack Borgenicht ’60
Class of 2002
Eric Fish ’03 and Tiffany Smith’s Wedding
Bill Gibbons ’63
David Hausser
Sophie Hochhauser ’12
Olle Larsson
Tony Larimer
Hayden Mengason ’24
Katie Nevins
Val Rasmussen ’93
The Students of Rowland Hall
Rowmark’s 40th Anniversary
Scholarships
Grace Smith ’21
The Sweet Family and the Employees of Sweet Candy Company
Kate Taylor
Doug Wortham
Jeanne Zeigler
In Memory of
Steve Amoss ’65
The Class of 1991 and the wonderful time I had at RHSM during my year 1990/1991 as an exchange student
Alan Hayes
Peter Hayes
Joyce and Marshall Hochhauser
Jenna Rosenberg Johns ’02
Papa Tony Larimer (3)
Robert D. Maack, Esq.
Molly Orange Richardson
Helen Frank Sandack ’35
Reagan Tolboe ’92
Alumni tailgate
CLASS NOTES
1. Classmates Takahira Asada ’90 and Kelly Hannah ’90 visited the Upper School this spring when Tak was in town from Japan.
2. Chris Bossart ’05 and Jerica Johnson ’07 welcomed baby Iris Lillian Bossart on February 5, 2022.
3. Will Carter ’98 welcomed baby Axel Royston Carter.
4. This year, Bianca Filion ’07 became a licensed professional clinical counselor and board-certified dance/movement therapist, and opened her own private practice, Mind in Motion Counseling, in Santa Cruz, California. Find out more at mindinmotionsc.com.
5. Sonia Grunwald ’14 married Jack Litle in Claremont, California, on June 5, 2022. They met during the first week of college at Pomona College in Southern California and have been together ever since. Currently, they live with their cat, Pluto, in Seattle, where Jack is a biology PhD candidate at the University of Washington, and Sonia is a software engineer for Microsoft HoloLens.
6. Elle Culp Gail ’97 launched MotherBar, a wellness brand on a mission to make stress optional with full-spectrum CBD mints that awaken the senses to the present moment and encourage busy women to take a moment to mother themselves.
7. Giorgio Gianoulis ’20 is on the Trinity University men’s golf team and was named Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Freshman Golfer of the Year in 2021.
8. Robyn Payne Jensen ’02, along with husband Andy and daughter Lola, welcomed Kate on September 27, 2021.
9. Katie Hensien ’18 made her Olympic debut in Beijing in 2022, where she placed 26th in slalom. Katie is a five-year
member of the US Ski Team and has skied for the University of Denver for the past four years.
10. Katie Vesterstein ’17 is a senior at the University of Utah and an All-American member of the university’s national champion ski team. A dual citizen of the US and Estonia, Katie represented Estonia at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and placed 35th in giant slalom.
11. Madi Hoffman ’18 is a member of the Australian National Alpine Team and the University of Utah Ski Team. A three-time Australian National Champion in slalom and giant slalom, Madi was one of only two Aussie women to qualify for the 2022 Olympics in Alpine skiing. Unfortunately, she sustained a knee injury and was unable to compete.
12. Breezy Johnson ’13 is a member of the US Ski Team and a Beijing Olympics qualifier. A season-ending knee injury while training for the Games left her unable to complete, but prior to the injury, Breezy was a clear medal contender after reeling off seven podium finishes and nine top fives in her last 10 World Cup downhill races.
13. Katie Kern ’21 was awarded YWCA Utah's first Leader of Tomorrow Award, an honor designed to highlight the outstanding volunteerism of Utah women under the age of 19, for her work for March for Our Lives Utah. Congratulations, Katie!
15. Ben McGraw ’19 graduated early from the University of Michigan, where he successfully concluded his debate career by placing #18 overall at the National Debate Tournament. He majored in politics, philosophy, and economics, and will pursue a JD/ PhD in law and political science, with an emphasis on the courts.
16. Tristan McInnis ’14 returned to Rowmark Ski Academy in 2022 as women's ski coach and equipment manager. After earning his degree in business administration from St. Michael's College in Vermont, Tristan was a coach for the Rowmark
Junior program and has also worked as a World Cup service technician with the US Ski Team.
17. Lindsey Adams McMahon ’06 welcomed twin girls, Piper and Poppy, on May 21, 2022.
18. Rekha Shetty ’01 welcomed baby Sumi Desai in fall 2021.
19. Megan Jones Shiotani ’05 welcomed baby Moriko Shiotani.
20. Reid Silverman ’12 was honored as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for 2022, a selection of 600 entrepreneurs, inventors, and rising stars who will, in the words of the magazine, “define the next decade.” Reid was featured in the marketing and advertising category for her work as director of brand for Mayweather Boxing + Fitness. She oversaw the launch of their boxing gym franchise, which currently has 50 gyms across the country, as well as a new at-home fitness app. Mayweather Boxing + Fitness plans to open an additional 100 locations by the end of 2022. Amazing job, Reid!
21. Michael Sotiriou ’04 and his wife, Angelique Pappas, had a baby boy, Leo, named after Michael’s father, on March 28, 2022. Additionally, Michael took over his father's dermatology practice, rebranded as Salt Lake Dermatology & Aesthetics, which opened a brand-new, renovated office in mid-April.
22. In May, Rachel Sweet ’88 traveled to Poland and Ukraine to volunteer with World Central Kitchen, where she cooked and served food to Ukrainians displaced by the war. She even got to work side-by-side with Rachael Ray—their team made over 3,000 sandwiches in one hour.
23. Nickolas Sasha Urano ’03 returned to Salt Lake City after 16 years away from Utah (working and studying in Los Angeles, Beijing, Seoul, Princeton, San Francisco, and New York) to open an independent architectural practice, Cho & Urano, with his wife and professional partner, Hansong Cho.
24. Johanna Varner ’02 was honored as a life-size 3D-printed statue at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, as part of the #IfThenSheCan exhibit for Women’s Futures Month in spring 2022. This exhibit featured 120 female trailblazers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine. Johanna is a professor at Colorado Mesa University, where she teaches biology and conducts research on pikas. Congratulations, Dr. Pika Jo!
25. Hadley Rampton ’94 married Paul Chung in June 2022.
26. Ian Anderson ’03 and wife Mary McMillan welcomed Blair McCall Anderson in October 2021.
Not pictured:
• Austin Davison ’19 is playing baseball for Trinity University. In 2022, the team won their super regional and competed in the NCAA World Series.
• Daniel Livsey ’08 married Amanda Oller in May 2022.
• Marilee Miller ’97 joined the US Department of Justice as a trial attorney handling fraud cases involving Americans’ health, safety, and economic security. When not traveling for work (and pleasure), Marilee lives in Annapolis, Maryland, America's sailing capital, and sees alumni friends as much as she can.
• Milo Yeates ’20 spent summer 2022 doing field studies in Montana’s Centennial Valley and studying southern right whales in Argentina as part of the University of Utah’s Honors College Ecology and Legacy study abroad program.
IN MEMORIAM
Our condolences to the loved ones of the following alumni and friends of the school who passed away this year.
If you know of a Rowland Hall community member who should be acknowledged in this way, please contact Hilary Amoss, director of alumni relations, at hilaryamoss@rowlandhall.org.
Stephen Moore Amoss ’65, brother of Lindsay Amoss ’67, Dee Amoss ’73, and John Amoss ’74, father of Hilary Amoss ’96 and John Amoss ’98, granddad of current students Sarah Gibbons and Jack Gibbons, and former board member, passed away on January 20, 2022.
Lee Barnes, grandparent of current student George Jensen, passed away on August 2, 2021.
Gerald Carlisle, grandfather of Iris Ashby ’11, Nate Carlisle ’13, Zach Carlisle ’15, Josh Carlisle ’19, Sam Carlisle ’19, and Tess Masaryk ’05, passed away on June 9, 2022.
Margaret “Peg” Ann Chase Dreyfous, mother of Susan Dreyfous and Jim Dreyfous, grandmother of Allison Farbman Kulmer ’93, Alex Farbman, Chase Dreyfous ’03, Brooke Dreyfous Peel, McKarah Dreyfous ’13, and Jake Dreyfous ’18, and former board member, passed away on September 8, 2021.
Evelyn Berrell Edwards ’59 passed away on September 2, 2021.
John H. Firmage, Jr., husband of Joan Firmage ’51, passed away on January 10, 2022.
Duncan Flint ’13 passed away in August 2021.
Donna Grosvenor, grandmother of current students Samira Eller and Wyatt Eller, passed away on July 9, 2021.
Chip Guarente, former Rowland Hall administrative assistant, passed away in December 2021.
Andrew Hagedorn, former Rowland Hall sustainability coordinator, passed away on October 24, 2021.
Mary Hill, former food services staff member, passed away on March 27, 2022.
Warren Parrish Keuffel ’65 passed away on September 5, 2021.
Albrecht Kopp, grandfather of Dagney Brickson ’21 and current student Kaia Brickson, and father-in-law of Rowmark Ski Academy Program Director Todd Brickson, passed away in June 2022.
Mary “Mimi” MacKinnon Kingsbury ’61, sister of the late Sally MacKinnon ’65, passed away on August 30, 2021.
Joanne Spitzer McGillis ’50 passed away on December 21, 2021.
Jeannette Engelmann Murmann ’48, sister of Jeanne Jennings ’39, passed away on September 9, 2021.
Clyde Nelson, grandfather of Connor Nelson ’14 and Rachel Nelson ’16, passed away on August 10, 2021.
Michael Bernard Nirenberg ’01 passed away on August 21, 2021.
Edna Fae Firmage Richards ’39 passed away on December 27, 2021.
Emily Carlson Shaw, daughter of Peggy Jo Crump Miller and mother of Alexis Shaw ’19, passed away on August 31, 2021.
John (Jack) Skinner, husband of the late Sue Skinner ’55, passed away on July 24, 2021.
Jane Little Snider ’68 passed away on August 30, 2021.
Samuel Stewart Jr., stepfather of the late Reagan Tolboe ’92, passed away on November 23, 2021.
Reagan Tolboe ’92, former Rowland Hall alumni director, passed away on January 10, 2022.
Guy Toombes Sr., former Rowland Hall board member and student, passed away on October 24, 2021.
Martha Ann Chapman Toombes, mother of the late Guy Toombes, passed away on December 5, 2021.
Saturday, October 15, 2022
Alumni University of Utah football tailgate, McCarthey Campus
Thursday, October 20, 2022
Alumni trivia night: Rowland Hall vs. Waterford
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Young alumni coffee, Lincoln Street Campus
Thursday, December 22, 2022
Alumni basketball and volleyball reunions, Bishop Tuttle Gymnasium, Lincoln Street Campus
Thursday, December 29, 2022
Alumni holiday party
January 2023
New York reunion, details to be announced
March 2023
Alumni ski day, details to be announced
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Alumni Day of Giving
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Rowland Hall Auction
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Baccalaureate service and alumni reception
Alumni Book Club will meet quarterly, and additional trivia nights will be announced at a later date. To keep current on these and other alumni events, follow us on Instagram (@rowlandhall_alumni) and Facebook (@rowlandhallalumni).
ROWLAND HALL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
The Rowland Hall Alumni Association’s mission is to cultivate a passionate, lifelong community of alumni connected to Rowland Hall and to each other by engaging and celebrating alumni and creating a culture of philanthropy and support of the school.
STAY CONNECTED
Update Your Contact Info Submit a Class Note
Follow Us on Social Media
@rowlandhallalumni @rowlandhall_alumni Group - Rowland Hall Alumni
GET INVOLVED
Attend an event, volunteer as a class liaison, plan a reunion, share your expertise with our students and teachers, or join the Alumni Executive Board.
GIVE BACK
Support the Rowland Hall Alumni Scholarship Fund or contact us about starting your own endowed scholarship or award. We have 2,300 Rowland Hall alumni in different phases of nancial planning and goals. Wherever you are, know your gifts—whether they are small annual gifts, multi-year pledges, or estate gifts—truly transform our school and make an impact. Contact Us
Hilary Amoss ’96, Director of Alumni Relations hilaryamoss@rowlandhall.org 801-924-2985
