Spring 2018
Oasis The ESA Experience
Dear Friends, In February, a committee from the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest visited for ESA’s re-accreditation, a process we undertake every ten years. We compile a self-study to evaluate every aspect of the ESA experience, and the committee meets with faculty members, administrators, students, parents and trustees. In the end, they leave us with a report highlighting what ESA does well. This year’s commendations include: • Community – Teachers who love what they do and who share their enthusiasm with students. Students who believe in the Honor Code, who actively participate in every aspect of life at ESA, and who assume responsibility for their own learning. Parents who trust the school and its leadership. Meaningful relationships across the school community foster respect for the welfare of our community. • Academic Excellence – From early childhood through upper school, ESA’s program challenges students and prepares them for whatever they choose to do when they graduate. The Class of 2018 includes seven National Merit Finalists, and ESA students continue to excel in the arts (right and back cover), math, science, world languages, and the humanities. • The Enrichment Center – The center of the Lafayette campus, where students explore their interests in science, visual arts, music, drama, technology, and more in a state-of-the-art facility. Of course, the report also includes recommendations for making ESA even better. The committee pointed to needed improvements on the Cade campus, something we have already begun to address with a Master Plan. It’s a long-term plan that will provide the facilities to match ESA’s innovative program, and we’re looking forward to sharing it with you in the fall, as we begin ESA’s 40th school year and look ahead to ESA at 50! Paul Baker, Ph.D., Headmaster Cover photo by Hunter Ardizone '18. Works by ESA artists in ceramics, painting and photography were chosen for the 2018 LSU Statewide Juried High School Exhibition. Pop culture portraits by an entire ceramics class placed 1st overall (bottom right), and a watercolor by Madi Stelly,'20 (above), placed 2nd overall. View all of the pieces selected - including works by Isabelle Berthelot (top right), Stephen Donlan, Angela Frey and Kinsley Welsh - on ESA's facebook page. Congratulations, ESA Visual Arts!
Expanding Views Dylan Nails, Lila Mount, and Jaylen Nora represented ESA at the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California, November 30-December 2. SDLC is a gathering of upper school student leaders from across the U.S., and is hosted annually by the National Association of Independent Schools to focus on self-reflecting, forming allies, and building community. Cade campus chaplain Dr. Andrew Armond and social studies teacher Dr. Kristin Tassin accompanied the students and attended the concurrent faculty conference, the People of Color Conference. The students returned to ESA eager to share what they'd learned with the school community. In March, they gave a chapel describing the activities and discussions they'd enjoyed and the lessons they took away from their interactions. This year was the second year ESA students have attended the annual conference, and the enthusiasm of these participants has other students eager to attend next year.
Fostering Spirituality “My philosophy of life is 'Love God, Love People,' and that's in many ways the same thing. It informs everything I'd like to do here." - Dr. John Campbell, Lower School Chaplain In 2017, ESA welcomed Dr. John Campbell as Lower School chaplain. “Doc” holds a Ph.D. and MDiv from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a Bachelor’s from LSU. He has more than 20 years of experience as a teacher and a pastor. Through a chapel interview early in the fall, Lower Schoolers were excited to learn that Doc is married with three children, has a motorcycle named “Roxanne,” and loves sunsets. In addition to coordinating and leading chapel services and participating in Eucharist ceremonies, Doc is working with faculty members to evaluate and expand the Lower School’s community service program. As he spends this year building relationships and learning the culture of ESA, Doc says, “I enjoy those moments where I get to be Jesus to people in a special way - students or faculty - with an ear to listen or words of love.” He includes parents as part of the community as well. “I’d like parents and families to know that I’m their chaplain too,” Doc says. “Anyone who might need a minister. I'm available.”
Science as Discovery Lower School science teacher Beverly Burgin sees herself as a guide on her students’ journey to discover, both in the short term, as they investigate scientific principles, and in the long term, as they explore what interests them. “I don’t like to be the deliverer of information. I like them to find it,” Beverly says. “It’s so much fun teaching elementary school science. They are so into it and have such a natural curiosity.” Beverly welcomes third, fourth, and fifth graders into her new science lab in the Lafayette campus Enrichment Center. In each of those grades, the science program touches on physical, earth, and life sciences, with more concentration in one area during each year. Recently, fourth graders explored properties with a series of experiments. The exploration began with cornstarch, baking soda, alum, salt, and talcum powder. Students mixed each substance with red cabbage juice, vinegar, and iodine, one at a time to observe the reactions, from changing colors to fizzing. Next, the students formed groups and created their own mixtures of powders, then exchanged mixtures. Using what they’d learned in the first stage of the experiment, the groups tested the mixtures to identify which powders they contained. If the mixture turned green when combined with red cabbage juice, the students knew it contained baking soda. For fifth graders, who emphasize earth and life sciences, dissecting sheep hearts is the highlight of the fourth quarter.
"The students we worry about being squeamish are usually the ones who end up knuckle-deep in the sheep hearts.” “I want to take that spark of curiosity and see what it can grow into,” Beverly says. Beverly encourages those sparks through journaling and a current events project as well. Each student chooses a topic and
shares it with the class. For one child, the topic always involves animals. For others, it’s space or technology. “My biggest job,” Beverly says, “is to see what their individual interests are and to show them how those interests connect with science.” Those connections include relating what they study in science to their Louisiana environment and to their own lives. Fourth graders take a swamp tour as part of their curriculum, and Beverly accompanies fifth graders on their visit to the Teton Science Schools in Wyoming. Leading up to the trip, she incorporates the tools the students will use, such as binoculars and dichotomous keys, into their science work. After the trip, the placebased learning continues as they study abiotic and biotic factors in Acadiana, and look at the beauty and complexity of the local environment.
“The concepts we study are big, My role is to help them figure things out on their own scale.” Beverly is married to ESA alumnus Steven Burgin, '01, and has a one-year-old daughter, Lucy. She brings to ESA a diverse range of experiences. She majored in mass communication and public relations and minored in history at LSU, then spent time living and working in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She earned a Master in Health Administration from Ochsner in New Orleans, where she first worked with students and fell in love with teaching. Beverly holds alternative certifications in 6th-12th grade history and upper elementary and middle school science. Teaching science at ESA is a pleasure for Beverly in many ways, including working with parents. “ESA parents are supportive and responsive to suggestions,” Beverly says. “They want their children to do well, but also want it to be real for them. They are willing to let them fail and to let them overcome adversity.”
Right: Lower School science teacher Beverly Burgin with fourth grade scientists Reagan Barrios and Reece Hoyt
ESA Boys' Soccer - 2018 State Champs Parrish Anderson, '19 Division IV Most Outstanding Player
ESA's 80th, 81st and 82nd State Championships Boys' and Girls' Cross Country teams both took home Class B State Championships in the fall. For the boys’ team,
the 2017 championship is the fourth in a row. For the girls, the victory makes three in a row. ESA boys put four runners in the top ten: Oliver Nickel, 3rd, Daniel Magann, 4th, Oliver Vreeland, 5th, and Ellis Hernandez, 7th. Rounding out the Falcons’ finishers were Christian Herpin, 13th, Jackson Spoon, 19th, and William Lemoine, 22nd. The team score of 32 put ESA 40 points ahead of runner-up Runnels. The boys’ victory is ESA’s 80th State title. ESA girls defeated runner-up Runnels by one point for ESA’s 81st State title. ESA runners led the way, with Samantha Withers finishing 1st, Aline Malek, 2nd, and Madeline Breaux, 3rd, followed by Breigh Rodriguez, 12th, Arden Frantzen, 21st, Ava Grace Hebert, 31st, and Leigh Stokes, 40th. The victory is Samantha Withers’ third individual State title in row. At the meet, senior Abby Langford was also recognized as an LHSAA Class B Scholar Athlete.
ESA Cross Country 2017 Boys' and Girls' State Champs
ESA Boys' Soccer defeated Northlake Christian 5-0 on February 24th to win the 2018 State Championship! Following the
game, junior Parrish Anderson was named Division IV Most Outstanding Player. It’s ESA’s 82nd State Championship and the first for Boys’ Soccer since 1990. All-State honors include First Team: Will Cowan, Tommy Burns, Matthew Pisani, Parrish Anderson, Hunter Ardizone, and Adam Dakin. Offensive MVP: Parrish Anderson. Defensive MVP: Will Cowan. Coach of the Year: J.B. Brunet. Second Team: Nathan Mouton. Find photos from the undefeated team’s incredible season on ESA’s facebook page.
ESA Girls' Soccer - State Runners-Up What a year for ESA Athletics! • ESA Girls’ Soccer (above) reached the State Finals for the first time since 2004. The team fell 2-0 to Newman in the final game, held at UL’s Soccer Field on February 23rd. With so many young players, they will be back! • ESA Basketball made it to the Top 28 for the second year in a row. The team was defeated in the semifinals by eventual champion Jehovah-Jirah. • Athletic Director Mike Bourgeois (right) was voted Louisiana District IV Athletic Director of the Year by the Louisiana High School Athletic Directors Association. • Junior Samantha Withers has been recognized by The Louisiana High School Track Coaches Association as one of the Top 25 runners in the state across all divisions.
We Did It! Thanks to you, we've reached our 2017-2018 Annual Fund goal! We set our goal at $300,000, and with three months to go, we’ve surpassed it. Annual Fund supports every aspect of ESA, including academics, arts, athletics, facilities, professional development, clubs, transportation, and so much more. Your support makes the difference between tuition dollars and the actual cost of the ESA Experience. We've also reached another important goal:
$1 Million in the Tates/Tutwiler Fund ESA alumni and other donors stepped up and pushed us over the top in this fund that provides financial aid for students who could not otherwise afford an ESA education. More than 20% of ESA families rely on financial aid. Thank you for helping us grow this much-needed endowment!
Alumni Notes 1986
Will McKinnon joined the Washington, D.C. office of Russell Reynolds Associates, a firm specializing in assessment, executive search and succession planning for CEOs and other executive-level officers.
1988
John Dinkins, a municipal bonds trader, lives in Nashville and is managing director for Ziegler, a privately-held financial services firm.
1990
Matthew Wilson is the Director of the Center for Faith and Learning at Southern Methodist University. Patrick Wadsworth, a member of the 1990 ESA team that won the State Championship, coached Gulfport High to the Mississippi 6A State Championship this year.
1991
Matthew Williams has been named one of Acadiana Profile’s “Top Doctors.”
1994
Peter Lagarde met with ESA first and fourth graders to share his experience as an author. Peter recently published his first children’s book, Moonbeams. Peter worked as a linguist in the military for several years before moving to the National Security Administration. He returned to his hometown of St. Martinville two years ago. He currently works for St. Martin Bank, and hopes to publish another book soon.
1997 & 2000
Scott Chappuis, ’97, and his wife Lacie, ’00, welcomed son Dutch Cameron on December 22. The Chappuis family, including daughter Elodie, age 4, live in Playa Vista, California.
2002
Elise LaPointe Kohan trained and competed in two bodybuilding competitions in May 2017. She won First Place in three categories at the Old Glory Classic in the Classic Bikini division, becoming a pro natural bodybuilder in the ANBF (American Natural Bodybuilding Federation). Congratulations to Caroline Landry Farouki and her husband Sabri Farouki of Farouki Farouki, an architecture and interior design studio in New Orleans. Two of the restaurants they designed, Saffron NOLA and Maypop, won 2017 New Orleans’ Eater Awards.
2003
Lauren Bordes married Evan Cerilli in December. She is Founding Principal of Malane Benedetto, an architectural design studio in Providence, Rhode Island.
Thank you to ESA alumni Haillie Bowles, ’14, (far left) and Mary Scheps Scott, ’96, for joining us for chapel in January to kick off Homecoming Week 2018. Mary is an attorney with her own practice in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Haillie is a senior at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and plans to attend law school next year. View a video of the chapel at vimeo.com/esacadiana. Right: At the second annual ESA Triva Night hosted by ESA Quiz Bowl, the alumni team of Luke Ashworth-Sides, ’05, Jason Galewski, ’07, Rizwan Merchant, ’06, Scott Broussard, ’05, and friends, again took top honors. Thanks to everyone who formed a team, dressed up, competed, volunteered, and joined in the fun this March in support of ESA Quiz Bowl!
2004
Nupur Dalal and his wife Liz moved from D.C. to Atlanta, where Nupur is undergoing fellowship training in pediatric critical care at Emory. Eric Wong received BM and MM degrees from the Cincinnati Institute of Music, and is now on faculty there. He has been named Artist in Residence for May-June 2018, by the American Viola Society.
2006
Zack Autin is a structural engineer for Grand Isle Shipyard, Inc. in Idaho Falls. Marc Fernandez, M.D., is a family medicine physician with a traditional family practice at Lafayette General Health. Rizwan Merchant is CAPE-ESG Grid project manager and a member of a team of
UL-Lafayette students and alumni who are preparing to launch their third satellite. Andrew Reynolds is a Rig Engineer for British Petroleum on a deepwater PDQ oil platform. Andrew and his wife Tabitha live in Denver, Colorado. Congratulations to Mary Doris Reggie, who married Matt Eberhart in October!
2007
Devon Romero successfully defended her dissertation in March, and will receive a doctorate in counselor education from the University of Alabama in May.
2008
Jenica Guidry, who works with No Waste Lafayette, spoke in chapel and met with the National Junior Honor Society about ways to reduce waste at ESA.
2013
Camille LeJeune played soccer while earning an Art History degree at Washington & Lee. She has moved to Nashville for a job in marketing and advertising. Adela Munson graduated from the University of North Carolina with a double major in Global Studies and French. She is working the winter ski season in Vail, Colorado, and considering graduate programs in public health.
2014
Drew Broussard was named a Rucks Fellow at the E.J. Ourso College of Business at LSU.
Visit the ESA Alumni page on facebook for alumni news throughout the year.
Visit the ESA Alumni page on facebook for alumni news throughout the year.
ESA's Under 40s Two of The Daily Iberian's 20 Under 40 honorees are ESA alumni. Aaron Brown, '08, is an Assistant District Attorney in the 16th Judicial District. Aaron graduated from Birmingham Southern University with a B.S. in Business Administration, and earned a law degree from Tulane University School of Law. Last April, he married Lexi Gilmore.
Micah Nicholas, '13, (below with ESA’s Cade campus chaplain Dr.
Andrew Armond) attended Sewanee, where he majored in psychology. Micah currently serves as Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of New Iberia. In March, Micah returned to Cade to give the Senior Chapel he never gave as a student. At ESA, Micah says, he learned to push himself when things aren’t easy. “ESA teaches you to be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” he says.
From ESA to the Smithsonian Dr. Nicholas Pyenson, ’98, was one of Emory University’s 2017 40 Under 40. Nick is currently a research scientist and curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. His research, which has taken him to every continent, is frequently covered by the New York Times, BBC, and Washington Post. Along with the highest research awards from the Smithsonian, Nick received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the Obama White House. A vertebrate paleontologist, Nick has conducted research on major land-tosea ecological transitions in the past 245 million years – research that has led to the discovery of new fossil species and a new sensory organ in rorqual whales. In his Emory interview, Nick shared, “Every day is different. My job involves doing basic science, taking care of the nation’s fossil collections, and communicating our discoveries to broad audiences. Natural history museums are dynamic places, and they give you the opportunity to participate in an institution that plays the long game. If I do my job right, the results of my work will hopefully outlive me.” Nick's first book, Spying on Whales will be published by Viking Books in June.
Nick shared photos from recent research adventures: top, prospecting for fossils in Qatar in 2018, and right, Cuverville Island in Antarctica in 2016.
P.O. Box 380 • Cade, LA 70519
www.ESAcadiana.com
ESA’s 2018 Spring Musical
Congratulations to the cast of Spamalot, and thanks to our ten senior leaders: Cameron Baker, Ryan Boudreaux, Ashlyn Driskell, Ben Gomez, Ann Marie Lahasky, Dylan Nails, Pablo Pellerin, Arib Qureshi, Alec Sabatier, and Leigh Stokes!