Made with FlowPaper - Flipbook Maker
The Magazine of Cary Academy SUMMER 2019 Inspiring innovation page 10 Do you DICE? (They do.) page 14 Finding the right college fit page 16 Oh, the places they’ve gone page 18 On-field success takes leadership page 32 ALUM LOOKS TO THE PAST TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE page 4 OUT OF THE CLASSROOM AND INTO THE WORKPLACE page 12Not much of a slogan, eh? So, imagine my surprise when some parents and students recently told me that this was the “word on the street” regarding Cary Academy’s reputation. The context of those conversations—and context matters—was that these folks were telling me how happy they were with their Cary Academy experience and how it ran counter to what they feel is a false narrative about the school. Phew! It did get me thinking, though, about the origin of this conventional wisdom. At its core, I think, is the belief that you work hard at Cary Academy. That is fair—and I’d also list it as a point of pride stretching back to the school’s founding. Where I think the narrative misses the mark is that it assumes— falsely—that working hard and liking school must be the opposite of fun. That might be the case elsewhere, but it does not reflect our reality. In this issue of ?, The Magazine of Cary Academy, we share many stories that highlight the power of our unique learning community: from the Mission Awards in the Upper School to the support from our community that has brought transformative change to our campus. Of special note are the alumni stories, which showcase the many ways the people and programs of this school have had an impact on the lives of young people. Said one alum in our recent biannual alumni engagement survey: “Cary Academy prepared me to think critically and empathetically. The school created an atmosphere that constantly challenged students to grow as learners and individuals, buoyed by unending resources and support.” Said another: “[CA] gave me the best seven years of my life and set me up to have many, many more beyond.” Recent research conducted by Denise Pope at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education uncovered the most essential elements of an impactful college experience. They include taking class with teachers who made learning exciting; working with teachers who cared about their students; finding a mentor; working on a long-term project; participating in internships that applied classroom learning; and being active in extracurricular activities. As we are embroiled in a national conversation about the future of work and the importance of higher education, the Cary Academy formula strikes just the right balance in all these areas. We are preparing our students to take full advantage of their college experience. It is the beginning—not the end—of their learning path. And the best part: it can be really fun—if you find the right people to share the journey. Cary Academy: Where fun goes to die FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL Mike Ehrhardt, Head of SchoolThe Magazine of Cary Academy SUMMER 2019 In this issue Snap- shots 12 Campus News 2 Alumni News 35 The Big Question 36 Dinosaurs, Shakespeare, family, and… homework? Students and faculty set their time travel itineraries. page 37 COMMUNICATIONS TEAM Mandy Dailey Dean Sauls Dan Smith PHOTOGRAPHY Dean Sauls Dan Smith The CA community HEAD OF SCHOOL Michael Ehrhardt DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS Heather Clarkson DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Mandy Dailey HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL Robin Follet DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES Jess Garcia DEAN OF FACULTY Martina Greene HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL Marti Jenkins DIRECTOR OF EQUITY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Danielle Johnson-Webb DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION Karen McKenzie DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Ali Page CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Deborah Reichel is published three times a year by Cary Academy. CARY ACADEMY 1500 N. Harrison Avenue Cary, North Carolina 27513 (919) 677-3873 www.caryacademy.org Partners in innovation Sometimes, innovation needs a kickstart from an angel investor. PTAA Grants help faculty and students dream big, reach for the stars, and push the pedagogical envelope. 10 Looking back to look forward Brandon Byrd’s experience at CA helped shape his passion for history. Now, he inspires students at Vanderbilt University to think critically about the past, present, and future. 4 College chronicles Getting into college isn’t the finish line; it’s the next step of a lifelong learning journey. Twelve CA alumni share stories of finding their right-fit schools. 18 Top of his game It took Ray Pope some time to warm up to the idea of coaching high school baseball. At CA, he’s found his dream job—in a role he’d never dreamed of. 32 Dream team The college search is a critical, yet complex process. Thankfully, CA’s college counselors are here to help. 16 Walking the walk What exactly do CA’s core commitments to discovery, innovation, collaboration, excellence, and community look like in practice? These students will show you. 14The classrooms may be empty, but campus is certainly abuzz with activity this summer as major renovations are underway. A significant remodel of the library will begin this summer and continue throughout T1. Changes will include a new layout for the circulation desk, improved study and meeting spaces, and a new technology Campus News Summer spruce-up collaboratory. The reconfiguration will also create the Charger Café, which will serve as a social space and provide the opportunity for entrepreneurially-minded students to dip their toes in business ventures. The weight room is undergoing a much- needed expansion—nearly doubling in size— with new offices for CA's Athletic Trainers We also wish to express our appreciation and well wishes for those who are moving on: Nicky Allen—MS math teacher, Paul Brunell—Facilities Technician, Napoleon Lherisson—US social sciences teacher, Kathleen Mason ('08)—Alumni Programs and Giving Coordinator, Yenisel Solis—US Spanish teacher, and Troy K. Weaver—US science teacher. HATS OFF TO OUR ESTEEMED FACULTY Associate Director of College Counseling Brandon Carter received the 2019 Curran Family Foundation Leadership in Teaching Award. US history teacher Dr. Robert Coven has been selected to be a team leader and presenter at Kent State University's prestigious international symposium: Re- Designing Education to Shape a Better World, this summer, in Florence, Italy. US English teacher Allyson Buie earned an M.A. in English from Southern New Hampshire University. Library Director Brian Pugsley earned an M.S. in Library Science from UNC- ? The Magazine of Cary Academy and a full-time Strength and Conditioning Coach. CA's Track and Field Stadium is being upgraded to an Olympic-quality Mondo Super X Performance track, making CA the first school in North Carolina with a Mondo surface. A new pressbox, with improved restroom facilities, is under construction at the baseball field. Two Chapel Hill. MS world cultures teacher Katie Levinthal and MS German teacher Gabriele Verhoeven were accepted into this summer’s 2019 Atlantik-Brücke Transatlantic Teachers’ Study Trip. MS TRACK AND FIELD REIGN AS CONFERENCE CHAMPS Congratulations to both the boys’ and girls’ Middle School track and field teams for 3-peating as Capital Area Middle School Conference champions! The Chargers set eight new conference championship records and achieved 22 personal bests while racing to the championship. MS BAND RANKS SUPERIOR The Middle School band was awarded the top honor of Superior from the judges at the NC Central District Bandmasters Association Music Performance Adjudication in March, where they competed against dozens of schools from across the state. The award marks the first Superior honor for CA's band since 2007. CAMPAIGN FOR CA Thanks to an outpouring of support, the Campaign for Cary Academy charged ahead this year. In addition to completing the original campus master plan with the opening of the Center for Math and Science, we expanded financial aid support for CA families, began enhancement projects on facilities and classrooms across campus, and started construction on new spaces. To date, the CA community has contributed $11.8M towards our $12M goal. With one year left to go, there’s still time to be a part of this community-wide effort to take CA to the next level. To all of you who have already contributed: we thank you! THANK YOU, AND FAREWELL This spring, the CA community came together to express our gratitude and share our memories of our retiring faculty and staff members: Ellen Doyle—school nurse, Ellen Gooding—US counselor, Darshana Wani— College Counseling Administrative Assistant, Jimmy Welch—Landscape Manager, and Kay Parks—US fine arts teacher.Congratulations Class of 2019 At commencement, CA's 20th graduating class was welcomed to the alumni community by Holly May ('05), who offered her insight as a Silicon Valley innovator and scholar. The Class of 2019 is headed to 36 different colleges and universities in 18 states, plus the District of Columbia, Canada, and England. Ten Charger athletes will play at the collegiate level. Colleges with more than two CA students attending are: Appalachian State University, Davidson College, Duke University, North Carolina State University, Tufts University, University of North Carolina— Chapel Hill, Wake Forest University, and Washington University in St. Louis. Brandon Byrd’s (’05) love of history has deeply personal roots. Alumni Spotlight ? The Magazine of Cary Academy “I came to an initial interest in history the way a lot of folks do—by just generally taking an interest in my own personal history,” muses Byrd. “I was enamored by the stories that my family would share and pass down, stories of my grandparents’ and great grandparents’ experiences, all of whom passed before I was born or shortly thereafter.” For Byrd—Assistant Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, accomplished researcher, and published author—these stories were always relevant beyond mere familial anecdotes. They represented much larger stories, and more complex histories, including some of the most defining moments in African American history. LOOKING BACK TO LOOK FORWARD Four ? The Magazine of Cary Academy Six “My mom talked a lot about the Great Migration—the movement of tens of thousands of African Americans out of the Jim Crow South to the North, Midwest, and later to the West—that her family was a part of,” Byrd offers as an example. “It was those larger historical narratives—those that I had a personal connection to—that attracted me, intrigued me.” He credits Cary Academy—and the engaged, collegiate-quality faculty that took an interest in him, both in and out of the classroom—for nurturing that initial interest, fanning it into a passion that would ultimately become the bedrock of a meaningful humanities career. “Being a historian now, I can clearly trace the influence that CA faculty— Conrad Hall, Joe Staggers, Bill Velto, and others—had on my thinking. They taught me to approach history in a more systematic manner, taught me how to go from merely consuming stories to thinking historically, to thinking about change over time, to thinking about causality.” He fondly recalls one of his literature teachers in the Upper School, Chuck Burdick, to whom he had expressed a growing interest in slave narratives and abolitionist literature. “He took me on a book talk and signing by a historian that had just published the first biography of Harriet Jacobs, the author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl ,” reflects Byrd. “For someone to take that interest, to take time out of their personal life to help an (at that time) Byrd delivering a presentation at the 2016 Global Garveyism Symposium Photo Credit: Chioke A. Ianson ? The Magazine of Cary Academy Seven moment when the general American public was being asked to think pretty uncritically about terrorism. They were having terrorism defined for them and they were being told ‘this is what it is to combat terror.’ In Velto’s class, we were being asked to think more critically, to consider the global roots and terms of terrorism. In hindsight, it was remarkable.” It is an approach that stuck with him. He notes that his Black Lives Matter class, while dissimilar in content, shares its pedagogical roots in those early liberal arts classes at CA that initially stretched his thinking. “The Black Lives Matter movement is also something defined largely in sweeping, generalized, and reactionary terms,” explains Byrd. “In my class, I try to take that and say ‘Well, let’s try to think about this. What is this movement? How does it fit into a broader global history of activism? What are the problems related to it? What can we learn if we stop assuming that we already know the answers?’” That emphasis on the global, on the broader context, is indicative of Byrd’s larger research interests. For Byrd, examining historic African American intellectuals within their full global context—understanding how they and their ideas moved across and transcended national boundaries and how that, in turn, shaped their politics and intellectual practice—is crucial. pretty brash, cocky high school student pursue his interest—it was impactful.” It is perhaps little surprise that Byrd—embarking on his college career at Davidson College on an academic scholarship—confidently declared his major in history within his first weeks on campus. Later, he gained admittance into the honors history program, which allowed him to spend a year developing an independent research project to explore the life of Charles Clinton Spaulding, a prominent black businessman and intellectual leader in Durham, North Carolina. That project would prove to be a springboard, offering a deeper introduction to the black intellectualism that would ultimately become the focus of his career. This early work would go on to inform his later research as he earned a Master’s degree from the University of William and Mary, and PhD from the University of North Carolina. Byrd identifies first and foremost as an intellectual historian. Fascinated by the history of ideas, his specific research centers on the international dimensions of black intellectual history. As a professor, first at Mississippi State University and, currently, at Vanderbilt University, he teaches a full course load—including classes like “Black Lives Matter,” “Black Thinkers from Equiano to Obama,” and “Readings in African American History”— to undergraduate and graduate students. He also pursues his research agenda and contributes to the administration of his department and the university. Byrd sees reflections of Cary Academy in his approach to teaching. No more so than when he’s pushing the pedagogical envelope, asking students to think critically or in ways that might question a predominant narrative. “I remember taking Bill Velto’s class on terrorism in the years immediately following 9/11,” reflects Byrd. “It was a “BEING A HISTORIAN NOW, I CAN CLEARLY TRACE THE INFLUENCE THAT CA FACULTY—CONRAD HALL, JOE STAGGERS, BILL VELTO, AND OTHERS—HAD ON MY THINKING.”Next >