THE MAGAZINE OF BURR AND BURTON SUMMER 2022 This Must Be the Place: Ten Years at the Mountain Campus This Must Be the Place: Ten Years at the Mountain Campus
DEPARTMENTS 2/ From the Headmaster 4/ News From Campus 10/ Athletics Roundup 12/ Arts Roundup 35/ Class Notes FEATURES 14/ 10 Years at the Mountain Campus 22/ Alumni Interview: Sally Baldwin ’48 28/ Faculty Profile: Paul Molinelli, Design Space and Integration 32/ 189th Commencement: Highlights Inclusivity, Excellence, and New Beginnings Headmaster Mark H. Tashjian Associate Head of School Meg Kenny Director Advancementof Kate Leach Director Communicationsof Jill Perry-Balzano Photography James Chandler ’10 Sherry Steeves Alex Vincent Design CreativeDesRobertsGroup Board of Trustees Ed Campbell ’70, Chair Carol O’Connor ’67, Vice Chair Scott Swenor, Treasurer Sanfra Weiss, Secretary Kellie Baker-Waite ’79 Brian M. Barefoot Peggy Brophy Brockett ’88 D. William Cairns ’72 Charity Clark ’93 Rabbi Michael Cohen Michael Cooperman Pauline de Laszlo Thomas N. Kelly, Jr. Heidi WilliamLynnV.N. Philip Michael Powers ’60 Robert CharleyRedmondStevenson Trustees Emeriti Seth Bongartz ’72 Orland Campbell Robert E. Treat ’55 Tony Whaling Contact Us: burrburton.org802-362-1775
2022SUMMER
• A mindset of perseverance and reflection;
2 THE VIEW I SUMMER 2022
Dear Families, Alumni, andThisFriends,summer is flying by, and as always the flurry of preparation for a new school year also offers an important opportunity to reflect on what we do here and why.
Onward and forward,
• Respect for individual differences;
OFFICE OF THE HEADMASTER
• The highest standards of performance and behavior;
• Engaging, vigorous educational experiences;
Since 1829, Burr and Burton has worked to educate students intellectually and morally for a life of responsibility, integrity, and service. Unlike virtually all independent schools across the country, we provide this education not just for a fortunate few, but for every young person in our community who wants to attend. Together, we commit to a set of core values that support the quality, inclusivity, and transformative potential of the BBA experience:
• A caring, supportive community. These values are our credo, but as with any set of principles, what matters most is what happens when they are put into practice. It is what takes place in the classroom, on the field, in the studio, in small groups and large gatherings. It is how the spirit of Burr and Burton comes to be a reality for each and every student. And that, in essence, is what I invite you to enjoy in this summer issue of The VIEW—highlights of the effort, creativity, experience, and meaning-making that make BBA, in the words of beloved alumna Sally Utiger ’48, “a stepping stone into the future.” We have much to prepare for, and much to celebrate.
HeadmasterMarkSincerely,H.Tashjian
In tribute to Skip and to continue his work in perpetuity, his countless friends came together to create the Martin
NEWS FROM CAMPUS
4 THE VIEW I SUMMER 2022
Dykes was a Freshman Mentor, an actor in theater productions, a performer in small and large ensembles, and a member of multiple clubs, including the Model UN. Dykes also spearheaded the inclusive BBA Unified Music Program. He plans to study computer science at Clarkson University in the fall. Lacoste was active in both athletics and the music program, leading the Varsity Softball team and playing in after-school music ensembles all four IN MAY, BURR AND BURTON ANNOUNCED THAT TWO JUNIORS AND TWO SENIORS WOULD BE AWARDED SCHOLARSHIPS IN HONOR OF LATE BBA BOARD MEMBER SKIP MARTIN.
Skip Martin was an extraordinary friend, a deeply devoted husband and father, and an inspiring advocate for Burr and Burton Academy who served on the board of trustees from 2010 to his passing on November 18, 2019. Through his dedication to BBA, Skip became a legend in the community, known by all for his warmth, wisdom, humor, and passion for helping others.
Burr and Burton Announces the Martin Scholars Scholars Program at Burr and Burton, designed to recognize and inspire extraordinary character worthy of the Martin name and to support access to the BBA education Skip so loved.
The school’s mission to provide opportunity for all resonated deeply with Skip, and he in turn provided a walking embodiment of BBA’s most cherished ideals: respect for others, love for community, generosity of spirit, kindness, optimism, and perseverance.
Graduating seniors Jesse Dykes and Lexi Lacoste were both deeply involved in promoting a positive campus culture through leadership.
BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY 5
Athletes also teamed up with BBA ambassadors of the Yellow Tulip Project–a nationwide nonprofit devoted to smashing the stigma around mental illness–to organize the annual It’s Okay Not to Be Okay Student-Faculty Basketball game, which was held in March in the E.H. Henry Gym. In May, the BBA Health Center created an incredible program focused on mental health awareness, mindfulness, and self care that held events to promote mental health each day of the week. On Mindfulness Mondays, teachers Katie Bove and Scott Clausen led meditations open to all during Flex block. On Wellness Wednesdays, groups participated in yoga, dance, and hikes on trails near campus. For Treat Yourself Thursdays, the Health Center arranged to have healthy and delicious smoothies available in the courtyard. The message was clear: Mental health is a priority, and we are here to support you. years at BBA. In 2020, Lacoste was elected junior member of the Taconic and Green school board, an accomplishment she is particularly proud of. Lacoste also edited BBA’s literary magazine, Between Ranges, and helped found the BBA chapter of the Yellow Tulip Project, a club that works to destigmatize mental illness. The juniors, Abby Muñoz-Wells and Kyle Southworth, similarly exemplify leadership, perseverance, and outstanding Muñoz-Wellscharacter. has been active in the HOBY Youth Leadership program, an acclaimed national youth leadership program. She also participates in athletics and community service. She is interested in helping others through a career in the medical Southworthfield.is on the BBA mountain biking team and plays guitar; he is most proud of the leadership and skills he has learned over many years in Boy Scouts, where he is near to earning Eagle Scout rank. In addition to these activities and achievements, all of the Martin Scholars balance a rigorous academic course load with work experience in the community. Though it’s not a requirement, all four Martin Scholars are participants in BBA’s Student Success Program, a program that primarily serves first generation, collegebound students. The Martin Scholars will receive scholarships for both educational technology and towards their first two years of post-secondary education.
Mental Health Awareness
Three unique elements coalesced this year and especially during the spring semester to destigmatize mental illness and promote awareness and inclusivity around mental health issues.
The Martin Scholars will receive scholarships both for educational technology and towards their first two years of education.post-secondary
The Student Athletic Leadership Program (SALT) hosted fundraisers at the popular homecoming games and at spring lacrosse games played under the lights at Applejack Stadium.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS, MINDFULNESS, AND SELF CARE.
THIS SPRING, THE FRENCH EXCHANGE WAS BACK IN ACTION.
In February, students from Lycée St. Cricq in Pau, France came to Burr and Burton to experience life at a Vermont high school. French students toured BBA, participated in classes, and enjoyed winter sports, climbing, and local cultural sites like Mass MoCA. Then in April, BBA students traveled to France, visiting the Lycée St. Cricq and their French counterparts, and exploring some of France’s most beautiful sites. In Pau, students stayed with French host families and spent time at the French high school, noting both the beautiful architecture of Pau, and the extended school schedule at St. Cricq: school is from 8:00am to 6:00pm Monday through Friday–but they get a two-hour break for lunch!
6 THE VIEW I SUMMER 2022
BBA French teacher Madame Emery, who has organized 15 international trips for BBA students, said, “This group has been amazing; it’s been one of my favorite trips ever.”
From Pau, some students traveled to the nearby Pyrenees Mountains, while others went to Biarritz on the coast of After a full week, BBA students and chaperones packed up to leave Pau for Paris. One student wrote, “Saturday was a day filled with emotion as we had to say goodbye to our gracious host families, to whom we are all indebted. We couldn’t thank them enough for welcoming us into their homes and giving us the opportunity to experience this trip of a lifetime.”
In Paris, students enjoyed some of France’s most magnificent sites: the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Versailles, Montmartre and others–while having some adventures on the metro and avec le shopping.
Voila!
The French Exchange is Back
BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY 7
As part of Lerner’s CLEAN campaign for Recovery, he is the host of the weekly radio show CLEAN Jams on WEQX, sponsored by The YouCollaborative.canlearn more about him at BenjaminLerner.com.
A JOURNEY AS AN AUTISTIC PERSON AND THROUGH SUBSTANCE USE RECOVERY. Benjamin Lerner spoke with BBA faculty and students about his journey as an Autistic person and through substance use recovery. With disarming honesty and precision, Lerner, now 30 years old, discussed his experience as a child with Autism in the 1990s. Lerner pointed out how academic and social standards geared toward neurotypical children made him feel isolated; but recounted stories of several teachers and employers whose patience, respect, and care helped him to develop an array of personal and professional talents. Never mincing words, Lerner recounted how the desire to cure the aspects of Autism that made him feel isolated gradually led him to a difficult and dangerous substance use disorder, “I was using a flawed tool to try to cope with something I didn’t know how to solve.”
Musician Benjamin Lerner on Reframing Autism
Lerner, who has been sober since June of 2016, is passionate about using education and music to communicate about substance use recovery. His debut album, CLEAN, was released in 2020, and his weekly column in the Vermont News Guide and Seven Days shares stories from his personal journey. His parting message to educators: “Recognize the capabilities of students and bring them out in any way you can; channel these positive aspects to work toward a common goal.”
“My best experiences in education were when a teacher reframed something different about me and turned it into a Instrength.”earlyMay, musician, writer, and substance use recovery activist
EXCERPT OF REPRESENTATIVE SETH BONGARTZ’S ’72 REMARKS FROM THE TUTTLE LIBRARY REDEDICATION:
Burr and Burton Rededicates the Tuttle Library
As I was writing this it occurred to me that this place, this space, is actually a better fit for Lisa than the old library. No talking. ‘Keep your voice down’ wasn’t Lisa. This place completely reimagines the notion of the high school libraries we all grew up with. It is a place of joy; social interaction; sharing; learning with others. It is about life. Much more fitting. A place in which Lisa would shine. So Lisa – shine here. And for the Tuttle family, which has given so much love to this community and received so much love in return, think of this as a part of you as well. Because it is.
Sometimes things fall into place and it just feels right. It is obvious what should happen. This is one of those times. This is The Lisa B. Tuttle Memorial Library. I remember Lisa especially as a little kid when my sisters and I would come over to the back of the Chalet Motel, that Bubsy and Tut ran, to play with the Tuttle kids. There were hills and a gravel pit and carts and wagons and things you could ride, so it was entertaining. I remember all of us being in constant motion. Lisa was, of course, the littlest kid gamely trying to keep up with us. I remember her hair pulled up, rubber band, with the palm tree on top. I mentioned to my sisters, Jenny and Missy, that I was saying a few words at this rededication and asked about their memories of Lisa. Jenny smiled broadly and said, “She was adorable.” We talked about her outgoing personality, good heart; always a smile. We all remember Lisa at Bromley – all the time. As I have asked people about their memories of Lisa, all have said, “She loved life. She was kind. Always friendly. Always smiling.” Also, by the way, “Determined.”
BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY 9
ATHLETICS
10 THE VIEW I SUMMER 2022
The Dance team competed in Hip Hop and Jazz in the State Championship. They placed 4th in Hip Hop, which qualified them for the New England Championship on March 12th in Brookefield, CT.
Senior and four-year member of the Varsity Dance Team, Julia Lorenzoni said, “Seeing the other states’ teams perform was so insane and motivating.”
GO BULLDOGS! ROUNDUP
BBA athletes worked hard and achieved so much during the winter and spring seasons. Here are just a few of their accomplishments.
The Boys Snowboarding team won the State Championship at Jay Peak on March 8th. Connor Kelly was the Boys Overall Champion and Tucker Baribault came in 2nd. The Girls Snowboarding team did not have enough riders to place, however Addison McDermott had a 1st place finish and Megan Carson had a 3rd. The Wrestling team competed in the State Championship meet. Dominic Decker came in 6th place, JT Wright finished 2nd, and Liam Bradley finished in 3rd. Wright and Bradley both qualified for the New England Regional Championship. Unified Basketball made it to the State Championship and finished runners up after an incredible season.
The BBA Dance Team has not qualified for the New England Regional Championship in several years, so this season was an extra special one for them.
In Track and Field, Tristan Prescott set a Personal Record with a distance of 10.07 Meters in Triple Jump and finished 1st to claim an Individual State Championship.
Eric Mulroy set a Personal Record in Javelin with a distance of 46.38 Meters and finished 1st to claim an Individual State Championship.
AND BURTON ACADEMY 11
The Ultimate Frisbee team had an excellent season with eleven wins and one loss, making it to the state Quarterfinal.
BURR
Siobhan O’Keefe ’24 beat the girls school record in the one mile race with an outstanding time of 5:10.48. Congratulations to Siobhan!
Boys and Girls Lacrosse also had incredible seasons and made it to the wasandThenarrowlyChampionships,Statebothlosingthetitle.boysrecordwas17-2thegirlsrecord15-3.
Congratulations to Nick O’Donnell for winning the Vermont Singles Championship in Boys Tennis. The 2022 Singles Tournament was held at Leddy Park in Burlington. He played five matches and won every set. Nick is the first BBA athlete to win this tournament in 20 years.
The culminating theater and dance event, the Theater and Dance Showcase, was also the culminating event for BBA’s beloved dance teacher Claudia Shell-Raposa, who retired in June. Dancer Lily Hickey ’22 reflected on the training and dedication it takes to create these incredible artistic performances: “I love the calming intensity of dance–you work so hard at something, it exhausts you, and sometimes it even injures you, but every day you just want to work harder and harder at it. For some reason, going into class every day and working gives me peace; it calms my mind and makes me happy.”
in
The music department also spent a great deal of time this semester on the road, taking current music students on the Music Friends Tour to local middle schools to get word out about opportunities in the BBA music program. Special thanks to all the BBA musicians and local students who participated; it was such fun!
This year’s Gawlik Awards were also significant: the show was grand, the talent was off the charts, and the moment
12 THE VIEW I SUMMER 2022 ARTS ROUNDUP
In May, the One Act Festival presented original one-act plays written, directed, and performed by BBA students. The oneacts brought the audience from WWII Germany to Ancient Greece to present day Ohio, and provided the opportunity for students to receive feedback directly from the audience.
Back the Swing of Things
It was a vibrant semester for the arts at Burr and Burton. Performing Arts filled the Riley Center to capacity numerous times, starting with the hilarious spring musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which had audiences laughing out loud–all together! For many, it was the first laugh-out-loud experience as an audience in a long time, and it was special.
The Spring Concert, back at home in the Riley Center for the first time in years, was spectacular. Ensembles shared a range of musical talent, culminating with the performers and audience singing together. It was particularly moving for seniors, moving on after a musical experience significantly impacted by Covid.
Finally, Performing, Media, Visual, and Design Arts were all represented—and celebrated—at the BBA Gala on June 17th.
In Visual Arts, students and teachers collaborated to put up a large display at the Southern Vermont Art Center’s Art from the Schools exhibit. The display featured original paintings, sculptures, pottery, and mixed media projects from BBA students.
was right to say thank you and congratulations to BBA Cinematography teacher Bill Muench, who retired this June after nearly 30 years teaching at BBA. This year’s Gawlik Film Award winners were Shannon Hughes-Thompson ’22 and Andrew Reid ’22, and many others won awards in separate categories.
This Must Be the Place: 10 Years at the Mountain Campus
This year, the Mountain Campus, Burr and Burton’s academic semester program, celebrates 10 years of experiential, place-based education.
When you speak with former students, parents of students, and past and current faculty, there is one word that comes up nearly every time: transformative. It’s not difficult to notice that Before Mountain Campus, and After Mountain Campus begin to take on distinctive periods in many students’ lives.
For Mountain Campus Director Andy Dahlstrom, the alchemy is not that mysterious: “The foundation of a semester program–ours at BBA, and the many others that informed the design of our Mountain Campus–is that students step away from what has been familiar to them. In that simple but bold act, they communicate that they are ready for the growth that comes from new Theexperiences.”growththat comes from new, integrated, authentic learning experiences in a semester program, it turns out, is significant and, for many students, life changing. “ “ WE ARE INCREDIBLY LUCKY TO HAVE OUR OWN SEMESTER PROGRAM; THAT OPPORTUNITY IS SO RARE...IT’S SO SPECIAL AND SO UNIQUE ABOUT BBA TO HAVE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES. I’M SO MUCH BETTER FOR IT; I DON'T KNOW WHO I’D BE WITHOUT HAVING ENGAGED IN LEARNING IN THAT WAY AND FINDING THESE PASSIONS. COWLES ’18 By Jill Perry-Balzano
ACADEMY 15
Over 19 semesters–losing only one semester to Covid–the Mountain Campus has graduated more than 400 students who were taught by a number of outstanding faculty.
BURR AND BURTON
– SAM
Inside, you change into work boots and head back out to join the wood crew, who are just beginning to saw, split, and stack wood for the cordwood masonry heater. There’s an empty splitting stump, so you put on safety goggles, set an unsplit log on the stump, and then, lifting the splitting maul high, use all your might to bring the maul down on the log. The log splits, a little, and on the next swing, it splits in half.
It’s 8:45 a.m., and you’ve already done at least three things you couldn’t have done a few weeks ago.
Six******years before “The Wright Way” trail, named after former trustee Mark Wright, was completed, Burr and Burton released a statement sharing initial plans for a satellite campus, focused on “experiential and adventure education” located in the nearby mountain town of Peru, Vermont. It was 2006.
The Wright Way Imagine: You arrive at high school for the day. You get off the bus, sling your backpack over your shoulder, and head across the parking lot to a path. You make for a small opening in the woods, a trailhead signed, “The Wright Way.” Your peers are with you–in front of you, behind you–chatting, laughing, thinking as you make your way down the soft, windy trail alongside a stream. You notice yellow birch, eastern hemlock, viburnum, and the way the trail traces Jones Brook. Once you’re warm from walking, the building comes into sight. The morning sun is shining through enormous windows on the front of the building, lighting up the main rooms.
He continues, “That’s how we get to a building that is aligned with magnetic north and true north on its axes, and is open to the south, has overhangs that have been engineered so that on the summer solstice, the shadow falls right at the edge of the building, and at the winter solstice, the sun reaches to the back of the building.” The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certified building achieves net-zero energy status, the highest LEED certification level, which means that on balance, it uses only as much energy as it Butproduces.thebuilding is not the only thing that sets the Mountain Campus apart. A significant difference between the Mountain Campus and most if not all other semester programs is accessibility. Often, these kind of life-changing semester programs come with a hefty price tag: many cost more than $30,000 per semester. At Burr and Burton, the Mountain Campus is treated as any other semester, with no additional
Soon, you are very warm, and ready to go inside to prepare food for a day of learning about the history of the forested landscape in Vermont.
When Mark Tashjian succeeded Chuck Scranton as headmaster in 2008, he and others at BBA began looking more closely at the semester program model. Tashjian recalls, “The intent got sharpened to a more focused program, patterned around some of the semester programs we were familiar with. They tend to have 30 to 50 kids per semester. Then we designed the building for a scale that was appropriate to the program. We worked with the idea that the building itself should be a member of the teaching faculty. We wanted a building that could teach us how to live well in a place.”
Driven in part by an expanding student body and in part by the vision of former Headmaster Chuck Scranton and former board members Jack Phillips, Mark Wright, and Sharmy Altshuler ’82, along with current board secretary Sanfra Weiss and trustee emeritus Tony Whaling, BBA’s leadership began the process of envisioning a program that would engage students in learning in a different way.
In 2012, after significant visioning and revisioning, planning and fundraising, building construction and curriculum development, the Mountain Campus launched its first group of students, the Pioneers. The Kelly Cabin, used for orientations and events, was the first building built on the Mountain Campus.
Andy Dahlstrom, who has a wealth of experience working in both semester programs and traditional high school settings, explains precisely why an integrated curriculum is cost to families. Students are also provided essential supplies for the program: boots, daypacks, backpacking packs, rain gear, tents, and more.
But connecting the dots is exactly what the integrated curriculum at the Mountain Campus is designed to do. Organized around the central question, “How do we live well in this place?” the Mountain Campus curriculum examines our place–ecology, community, economy–through a multitude of Directorlenses.
Growing up in Vermont, Sam Cowles ’18 spent a lot of time outdoors: “I’ve been a skier my whole life, and I’ve been outside a lot. My family are landscapers, so the environment and being outside is really important to us, but before Mountain Campus I never was able to connect the dots between caring for the environment and being outside.”
BBA Social Studies Teacher Jillian Joyce was one of the founding faculty members. Now a teacher on the main campus, Joyce is in a unique position to reflect on what makes a Mountain Campus experience so impactful for students: “Mountain Campus is different from other high school experiences because you’re with the same set of students and faculty for all of your learning experiences. You’re arriving at campus together, you’re walking a trail and almost symbolically leaving behind what’s outside and moving forward together. We start the day with chores, so we have this common experience of caring for our place as a way of taking care of each other.”
How Do We Live Well in This Place?
Ayden Crispe ’22 vividly recalls her solo expedition in the Green Mountains. It was November of 2019, and the weather was unseasonably cold. As students boarded the little green bus for the trailhead, the forecast predicted the daytime high in the 20s, and at night it would dip below zero degrees.
Risk and Confidence
Only 15 when he attended the Mountain Campus in the fall of his sophomore year, Cowles makes clear that the connections he made at the Mountain Campus have sparked a life-long passion: “I was so young, I had no idea who I was going to be, what I wanted to do; I didn’t care about that much. I always liked academics and always tried hard, but I didn’t have a spark–something that truly pulled my interest.”
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Cowles, who just graduated from St. Lawrence University this spring, laughs when asked what he studied in college, “This will show you exactly how the Mountain Campus impacted me. I majored in Environmental Studies, and I minored in Education and Outdoor Studies.”
On the bus, Crispe was slightly panicked: “I will never forget–I remember driving to the trailhead, and I was thinking, ‘I’m not going to be indoors for five days!’ ”
The cold didn’t let up. Crispe and her classmates were warm during the days when they were hiking, but she dreaded stopping to make camp, because her body would cool down so quickly. She recalls, “Every morning, I had this internal battle: I’m not going to be able to do this; my shoes are freezing, my water bottle is frozen, I can’t get my socks on, I can’t get out of the sleeping bag. And every morning, after I overcame it, I was so stoked . . . overcoming that was a big deal, but [it was also surprising] to have so much fun while being that cold.”
In overcoming both her fear of the cold and the cold itself, Crispe gained something very valuable: confidence. She reflects, “I’ve always been motivated, but the confidence wasn’t there. I think that if I hadn’t done Mountain Campus, I would be a very different person in the sense that when I ultimately made the decision to try firefighting or be in the musical–any of these decisions–that Crispe during her Mountain Campus semester
Joyce, similarly, saw students react to this connectivity, “Kids would say things like, ‘I’ve realized I really love experiential learning.’ And I would say, ‘No, you just love learning. You love learning, period.’ But this experience is really impactful, because the intentionality is there, and the connections between the science, English and social studies curricula make it so the learning deepens.”
so meaningful: “What we do in our curriculum is to unite subjects that in traditional schooling have been divided and separated into subjects, or organized by departments. So, we go on a walk to observe scientific phenomena, but we pause to read poems or other literature about the things we are seeing firsthand, and we add a chapter of a regional history book that explains the boom of sheep farming in the 19th century in Vermont. A student experiences material that might normally be divided among three classes into a single, related, interwoven narrative.”
The thing about confidence–about agency–is that once you have it, you have it. It’s yours, and you can begin to apply it. After his Mountain Campus semester, Cowles went on to first assist with and then lead Burr and Burton’s student-led Earth Week and climate activism events–events that engaged the entire community around sustainability and caring for the environment. In college, Cowles led backpacking trips through the Adirondacks and even worked as an outdoor educator in the summers. And this August, he’s headed out to Colorado for a fellowship with Green Corps, a program that provides on-the-ground training in environmental and other social change campaigns.
Crispe also used her newfound agency for good, and she describes how her Mountain Campus semester inspired her to join the Pawlet Volunteer Fire Department, “I don’t think I ever would have thought that I can be that person that can help a community that’s in need. When I started firefighting, I had just turned sixteen; I may not be the ideal candidate for a firefighter, and I’ve never seen myself as an ideal candidate for any of these things, but I learned that I can be the person that really does those things if I want to.”
And it’s hard not to think of the Eudora Welty quotation that is etched in the beams of the Mountain Campus: One place understood helps us understand all places better. Knowing a place well does help us understand all places better–even and perhaps especially when that place is one’s self.
connections
“That mentality has made it a lot easier to accept new experiences, and not long to be somewhere else–because this is the place where I need to be.”
BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY 19
It’s a revelatory experience for an adolescent, and as Dahlstrom relates, he gets to witness students having this revelation: “That’s the most common, triumphant statement I hear: ‘I had no idea I could do this.’ When students and their families describe the Mountain Campus as ‘transformative’ . . . they are describing the discovery that a student can do so much more than their old routine asked of them. So, in the discovery of their new skills and confidence, they feel like new people: transformed.” This Must be the Place
“One of my favorite songs of all time is This Must Be the Place by the Talking Heads, and I really relate that song to Mountain Campus. After that semester was over, my mentality is that any new place I go to must be the place... when I get to college, I’ll kind of declare, this must be the Sheplace.”continues,
“Because I had so much fun planning those Earth Week events and getting students excited, taking initiative and making things happen, when I found out there was a field called environmental campaigning, I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I want to do.’”
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The Burr and Burton Gala, held on Friday, June 17, was dedicated to "Celebrating the Arts." The event featured student performances and a gallery of student artwork throughout Founders Hall. At Burr and Burton, the arts play a crucial role in helping students discover their passion and talent, ultimately unearthing their unique mark of educational excellence. The Gala hosted more than 330 attendees at the on-campus event, raising money to support the arts at Burr and Burton.
BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY THE G ala BURR & BURTON ACADEMY
ALUMNI INTERVIEW
BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY 23
By Meredith Morin
Sally’s son David and his family live there today, and Sally’s granddaughter Raili, graduated from BBA in 2016, 126 years after her great-great-grandfather, Albert. Sally remembers spending summers in Peru in the days before electricity and private phone service. “One of my jobs as a little girl was to clean the glass chimneys of our kerosene lamps every morning,” Sally said. “I also remember going to church in Peru with my Uncle Gene. I would help him ring the bell and pass the plate. I remember having a phone with five other families on a party line. We had ice boxes, and the ice came out of our pond, and we kept it in the barn in sawdust.”
Sally Baldwin Utiger ’48
“He and his four siblings crossed the mountain via horse and buggy on Sunday and remained in Manchester until Friday in order to attend classes and ultimately graduate and live productive lives,” Sally said. The Lyon family built that “over the mountain” house in Peru in 1803, a house that is still home to Lyon descendants.
Sally can’t quite remember the first time she came to Burr and Burton–it was just something that always was. Her grandfather on her mother’s side, Albert Lyon, graduated from Burr and Burton in 1890, completing the rigorous “classical” course of study.
Burr and Burton Academy continues to seep into the local DNA, sending generations of families through the Seminary hallways. One such family belongs to Sally Baldwin Utiger, Burr and Burton Seminary Class of 1948.
Once you are part of the Burr and Burton family, it is an association that can, and often does, permeate a lifetime and span generations. In the 193 years of its existence, Burr and Burton has been fortunate to count many dedicated and illustrious alumni and friends as part of its community. Names like Burr, Wickham, Burton, Henry, and Orvis pepper the archives, forming the basis and rhythm of the school’s history. These industrious pioneers built the school on the hill to elevate and educate the young men and women of southern Vermont.
24 THE VIEW I SUMMER 2022
“ “
I BECAME INVOLVED WITH AS MANY ACTIVITIES AS POSSIBLE, AND WHEN IT CAME TO CLASSWORK, I WAS ONE OF THOSE NERDY KIDS WHO LOVED SCHOOL WITH ALL THE READING, STUDYING, AND PROJECTS.
“Well, you know, I’m five feet tall and weigh 100 pounds, so I have to make my mark where I can,” Sally said. “I was just SO happy to be there, and I have an exuberant personality.”
Exuberant indeed. And also, just a bit indomitable.
Ironically, after graduating from Burr and Burton and heading to Middlebury College, Sally did score a spot on their ultracompetitive ski team. “Middlebury was the perfect fit for me because of course offerings and skiing opportunities. My grades had been good, and I was greatly encouraged by Mr. Henry, who had also attended Middlebury,” Sally said.
Sally’s road to Burr and Burton was paved with her own tenacity and persuasiveness. “I had wanted to spend a year up there [and attend Burr and Burton] when I was younger, and I couldn’t persuade them,” she said. “I finally convinced my parents to let me follow in my grandfather’s footsteps and complete my high school education at BBS.”
In her Senior Poll, her classmates voted her “Best Looking Girl,” and also crowned her “Noisiest Girl.”
“It was such a dramatic change,” she said. “It was my first time away from home. I was like a sponge - I soaked it all up!” Sally lived in the girls’ dorm, which occupied the third floor of the Seminary. She fondly remembers her roommate, Jean Wallace Grout’ 48, and her friends Priscilla Storrs Grummer ’48, Louise Hart Lucas ’48, and Bubsy Vaughan Tuttle ’49. She also remembers babysitting for Headmaster Henry’s children, Peter ’60 and James Henry ’67.
When Sally didn’t make the cut for the ultra-competitive Burr and Burton ski team, she found a way around it and devoted her time to serving on the Bromley Mountain Ski Patrol. Still a fledgling ski area at the time, and before the time of Sno-Cats, Bromley relied on a willing (and inexpensive) workforce of aspiring ski patrollers, like Sally. On Wednesday afternoons after being bussed up the mountain from school, Sally said, “We were assigned to break out various trails by sidestepping and smoothing down the surface. After an hour or so of labor, we skied free of charge anywhere we wished. Those were the days of snow from November to April!”
“The school, even back then, had a wonderful reputation. Mr. Henry was the most beloved man. He had a firm and friendly command of the school,” Sally recalls. “I became involved with as many activities as possible, and when it came to classwork, I was one of those nerdy kids who loved school with all the reading, studying, and projects.” She made the most of her one-and-only year at Burr and Burton, joining the cheerleading squad, playing on the basketball team, and working as the Assistant Editor of the Burtonian (yearbook).
During her childhood, Sally’s family were “summer people,” leaving Vermont in the fall to return to Worcester and Boston.
Sally Baldwin Utiger ’48, front row, center Bubsy Vaughn Tuttle, ’49, back row, left Sally's grandfather, Albert Lyon, in the class of 1890
After graduating from Middlebury, Sally met her future husband, Robert Utiger, while working. They married in 1953, just as Robert was heading to medical school in St. Louis. They raised three children and moved back to New England in the late 1980s when Robert became the Deputy Editor of The New England Journal of Medicine. “Bob’s academic medicine career took us to live near several large medical centers from St. Louis to Philadelphia, to Washington, DC, to Chapel Hill, and then back to Boston,” Sally said.
“I would have to say that after raising a family, the next greatest achievement in my life was being involved with the birth of the National Head Start Program,” she said. In 1963 in St. Louis, Sally Joined the Women’s Community League and turned her focus to working with children living in poverty. “After several years of hard work, the Junior Kindergarten began with the blessing of The Office
Throughout this time, Sally devoted herself to raising her family, while putting her substantial talents and characteristic exuberance to work volunteering. “In my family, volunteerism was strongly encouraged and supported. As a Girl Scout in the 40s, I made afghan (blanket) squares for the National Red Cross, and that started me on a path of community service,” she said.
When asked what advice she would give to the graduating Class of 2022, Sally lands on something that was clearly a guiding principle during her whirlwind year as Burr and Burton’s resident mover and shaker. “Do everything you can. If you fail, just get up and start again. Pick your path and do the best that you can with it, and don’t be afraid to make changes along the way.” She reminds me that even though 74 years separates her from her own graduation day, “It’s that feeling of belonging that has stayed the same,” she said. “What these students get at Burr and Burton is a foundation, a stepping stone into the future. How lucky they are!” it,” Sally said.
In 2005, Sally was inducted into the New England Tennis Hall of Fame for her work as a United States Tennis official.
“I began playing tennis in the 1960s in St. Louis while my children were involved in swimming,” she said. “I needed to keep busy and stay active while they swam at practices and meets.” During that time, she became a swimming judge and transferred her new love of sports officiating over to tennis. In 1978, she became a certified tennis official and began officiating at local tennis events and college matches, eventually moving up to the professional circuit. Sally received the Nick Powel Award in 2003, which is a national umpire award presented annually.
When asked about all of the significant changes to Burr and Burton over the course of the 74 years since she graduated, Sally can’t help but steer the conversation back to what “Burrremains.and Burton has adapted so well to what goes on in the world. They’ve been able to adapt, pick up the ball, and go with it,” Sally said. “It’s not cookie-cutter. It’s change, change, change, and they put the right change with the right people, teachers, and leaders.”
26 THE VIEW I SUMMER 2022
As with so many of the things that Sally pours her heart into, tennis began as something she loved, so she naturally explored ways to bring that love to others.
“Tennis has been a huge part of my adult life. Anyone who has moved around a lot can appreciate the need for stability, consistency, and enjoyment,” she said. In her 2005 Tennis Hall of Fame acceptance speech, she quipped, “I got a late start in the tennis arena. However, it is said that once you are over the hill, you begin to pick up speed, and I guess that’s been true in my Overcase.”the years, Sally has given back to Burr and Burton in large and small ways—prioritizing philanthropic support for the school, while also serving as her class liaison. She graciously shares her enthusiasm with her fellow alumni and sings the praises of Burr and Burton as often as she can. In 2018, Sally received the Burr and Burton Alumni Service at 91, it’s important to me to have those memories. Sometimes my son looks at me and says, ‘You learned all of that at Burr and Burton?!’ And, I say, ‘Yup, I did!’ [Burr and Burton] has stuck with me like glue!”
Start,” she said. “Today, the value of preschool education for all children has certainly passed the test of time, and being a part of its beginning is a great source of personal pride.”
4:00 CAMPUSp.m.TOUR and STATE OF THE SCHOOL Meet at the Senior Steps and finish in Founders Hall with a State of the School address by Headmaster Mark Tashjian. 5:00 BACKp.m.TO SCHOOL NIGHT
Join us in Smith Courtyard to catch up and socialize. Peruse the Archives on display in the Seminary building.
11:00 CAMPUSa.m.TOUR Meet at the Senior Steps. 12:00 p.m. HALL OF FAME CEREMONY
Saturday, September 24, 2022 9:00 50THa.m.AND 25TH BREAKFAST
Join us at the Headmaster’s House at Birchbrook for a special breakfast for our Burr and Burton Class of 1972 and Class of 1997.
Registration in Bresko-Magarian House, 211 Seminary Ave.
Friday, September 23, 2022 All REGISTRATIONDay
1:00 FOOTBALLp.m. GAME Cheer on the Burr and Burton Bulldogs on the turf at Judy McCormick Taylor ’57 Field.
4:00 CAMPUSp.m.TOUR Meet at the Senior Steps. 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. REUNION PARTY Mix and mingle with Burr and Burton alumni from all graduation years at our Reunion Party, held in the newly constructed Founders Hall. FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO BURRBURTON.ORG/ALUMNI/REUNION-WEEKEND or call or email us at alumni@burrburton.org802-549-8103, REUNION 2022 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Join us at the Riley Center to induct our newest Burr and Burton Hall of Fame members.
BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY 27 ALUMNI REUNIONWEEKENDSAVETHEDATE SEPTEMBER 23 & 24 · 2022 SCAN FOR INFORMATIONMORE
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WHAT I FOUND IS THAT THE TEACHING KIND OF BECAME MY ART. I HAVEN’T MADE A LOT OF MY OWN ARTWORK IN THE LAST TEN YEARS, ASIDE FROM DESIGNING SETS, BECAUSE THE TEACHING BECAME WHAT WAS MOST IMPORTANT TO ME.
Paul IntegrationDesignMolinelli,Spaceand
This spring, Paul Molinelli celebrated ten years of teaching at Burr and Burton. Molinelli, who came to teaching later in life, heads up the Design Space, located in Founders Hall, where he teaches Foundations of Design and Advanced Projects in Design and collaborates with BBA teachers to integrate art and design throughout the curriculum. Notoriously camera shy, Molinelli’s thoughtful curriculum and dry humor resonate with students. In May, he was selected by the Class of 2022 to be their commencement speaker. You’ve worked in a number of different fields; what experiences most impact your teaching? I have a pretty checkered past and [each experience] has influenced me. My formal training as an undergraduate was as a scenic designer, so that’s where I got my By Jill Perry-Balzano basic design training. I do set design for the [Burr and Burton Performing Arts] shows, and that brings me in contact with a ton of kids that I might not otherwise work with. It’s one area where I really feel at home, because it’s my formal training. I also really value the collaborative nature of the work. After college, I worked as a set designer for a bit, but then I switched to scenic painting, because it was easier to make a living. I knocked around for a long time; I worked on dairy farms when I first came to Vermont. That was influential because I learned how to improvise, how to make-do, how to fix stuff–all those trade skills. There were a bunch of old timers; I know it’s a cliché, but they were really down to earth. Maybe politically we were worlds apart, but we could come together around fixing things and our love for farming, and so I learned how to improvise and fix things with whatever we had available. That was huge. I learned to do a job,
BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY 29
You know, I didn’t come to teaching through a traditional path, and I’ve had many varied experiences, but the reason I stopped making furniture–which for many people would be a dream job–was I found that it had no meaning for me. We made really nice furniture for a handful of people, and something didn’t feel right about that for me. Through my path and graduate school, teaching was initially a way to make a living, but what I found is that the teaching kind of became my art. I haven’t made a lot of my own artwork in the last ten years, aside from designing sets, because the teaching became what was most important to me. How does Foundations of Design give students the tools they need? [As a society] we don’t generally teach foundational visual skills the way we teach foundational literacy skills. When I first came to BBA, I taught an architecture course, but the kids didn’t have training in composing an image or thinking about structure; it’s really hard if you don’t have the fundamentals to design something meaningful. So, that’s why we created this design curriculum in which Foundations of Design is a critical part. Foundations is influenced heavily by the Bauhaus School, the German school of design in the 1920s, which is still the basis of a lot of contemporary design training. It was an important part of my development as a teacher to focus on formal aspects of composition, color, and shape, and how you use those elements to create meaning. The Advanced Projects class builds on the skills but asks students to become more invested in their own learning by designing and executing their own course of study that combines research, making, and reflection. The objective of the courses is to teach the visual language and how to communicate meaning through it–and to teach the design process.
In Foundations, we’ll often take our assignment and create two or three different options. I’m trying to introduce the iterative process rather than something being one and done.
30 THE VIEW I SUMMER 2022 get it done, get it done on time, be honest in my dealings with people–and a lot of practical problem solving. These lessons definitely translate into how I approach teaching; I don’t think it’s good or possible to lay everything out and spoon feed students; it’s a process to learn problem solving. I spent a lot of years after that designing and building furniture with my friend Steve Holman, who was my boss and collaborator. I sometimes designed but mostly built custom furniture for a long time. There I learned from him craftsmanship and the respect for craftsmanship. I’m a big-picture person who doesn’t like to fuss, but in that business I learned to fuss over the details–over a 64th of an inch or less. Steve would laugh at the notion that I somehow became a detail-oriented person, but all things are Afterrelative!allofthat,
It’s not to say things don’t happen spontaneously–they do–but you still have to perfect your craft. I think it was Sonny Rollins, the jazz saxophonist,
It gave my work a more overt political element and the sense that the artist was not outside of society–that art could be agency.
I went back to grad school–pretty late, when I was nearly 50–and I went to this great MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I had been making art all along, but wasn’t really happy with it, and the program changed my worldview in terms of critical thinking, specifically looking at critical theory. It really did change my direction, looking at the whole world differently; it made me much more analytical and aware of what people accept without thinking.
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE COURSES IS TO TEACH THE VISUAL LANGUAGE AND HOW TO COMMUNICATE MEANING THROUGH IT–AND TO TEACH THE DESIGN PROCESS.
Tell me about the arts integration work you do.
BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY 31 who said essentially, “Yeah, inspiration happens, but I practice my scales everyday, because when it comes, I want to be ready.”
In the integration work, through the idea of teaching visual language and visual literacy, we’re working on making the connections between art and design and other disciplines, like math, science, and humanities. For example, in collaboration with [math teacher] Joe Mundt’s coding class, we took traditional Chinese window lattice designs and the students wrote the code to create a small version which we cut out using our laser cutter. This spring, I was working with the Conceptual Geometry class making notans, which are black and white cut out designs–it’s a Japanese art form. That’s a way of learning about positive and negative space and dealing with geometric and organic shape and reflection on an axis. We also worked with CP Geometry on the work of Sol Lewitt, an American conceptual artist who, rather than execute the work himself, created instructions with mathematical principles and measurements that others could follow to create the designs. There are tons of these connections still to be made. In humanities, we collaborated with Tom Klein’s Military History class; students essentially made dioramas of different battles that they researched. Students had to pick a significant battle, and contextualize what was happening in the scene–the history of how it developed, and what the key factors were including strategy, tactics, terrain and weather. Students learned model making, how to work in scale, conveying concepts accurately or abstractly, and working with real Wematerials.didanother project with Bethany Hobbs’ social studies class–a project she had done before, but we adapted it here. The class was studying the Jim Crow era, Civil Rights, and other movements of people seeking justice and equity. The project was based on the work of Kara Walker, an African American artist who worked in silhouettes using imagery from the Antebellum South. We looked at visual images, and the kids had to find an image and translate it to black and white to depict the concepts and meaning behind the image; some of them came out very well, and the kids were really engaged. What are you looking forward to in Design Space? I think there’s room to go deeper and further with all of this. Many schools will have a maker space or a STEAM lab, and they design a specific curriculum that works there. We didn’t want to create a separate curriculum to be the STEAM curriculum; rather, we wanted to integrate it into the regular curriculum. In some ways, that’s harder, because if we had a STEAM curriculum with a STEAM teacher, we could show all of the cool projects that we do and it may be easier for people to understand; here it’s more incremental change to make a real integrated learning experience. And that was a conscious choice. We wanted to create something that was more fundamental to the work of the school.
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189TH COMMENCEMENT
Valedictorian Amos Smithwick, who will attend The Cooper Union Albert Nerken School of Engineering in the fall, wove a humorous and moving narrative that touched on both Shrek II and Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese” to arrive at this message: “Remember that we can find a happily ever after without forcing ourselves to fit into a cookie-cutter idea of perfection . . . remember that, like an onion, we all have beautiful layers that other people appreciate. We all are worthy of love and affection. We all have a place in the family of Salutatorianthings.”
Framed by the Green Mountains and the iconic Burr and Burton belltower, Headmaster Mark Tashjian welcomed the large crowd and captured the feeling of the moment: “Vermont is a very special place on earth, and we gather today to celebrate everything great about this school, this community, and the incredible, memorable Class of With2022.”that, the Jazz Combo, featuring BBA seniors William Addington, Amos Smithwick, and August Stauffer plus Stauffer’s younger brother, Edward Stauffer, broke into a melodic version of “America the Beautiful.” that was inspired by Ray Charles, setting the tone for the contemplative speakers to Boardcome.
Highlights NewExcellence,Inclusivity,andBeginnings
Samantha Stevenson shared the hope that stemmed from studying history and government at Burr and Burton, “What I hope for us all is that we don’t keep ourselves in a bubble. That we become friends with people who we don’t agree with politically or spiritually or who have different experiences than us, because we will learn so much from them.”
Stevenson plans to attend Bowdoin College in the fall. Burr and Burton design teacher and arts integrationist Paul Molinelli, the commencement speaker selected by students [see interview with Molinelli on page 28] shared a pithy four-part narrative that reflected on change, the acquisition of wisdom, and the opportunities of the present moment:
On June 3rd, under a blue sky dotted with white clouds, 190 members of the Burr and Burton Class of 2022 graduated in a stunning and reflective ceremony with an audience of nearly 2,000 family members, friends, and teachers.
Chair and alumnus Ed Campbell ’70 spoke of the lifelong pursuit of excellence, “Vince Lombardi . . . stated that ‘perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence’ . . . as you pursue your dreams, hopefully you will always do so with excellence in mind, and we’ll continue to take pride in you, as you keep Burr and Burton’s ‘honor bright.’”
BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY
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We know the challenges, and if we are honest, we also know that they will not be successfully met with a little tinkering around the edges. Business as usual will not suffice. But while the present moment is filled with difficulties, it is also the time when great possibilities emerge. “
Make their future your legacy FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO BURRBURTON.ORG/LEGACY-GIVING or call Burr and Burton Academy Advancement Office at 802-549-8201 Include Burr and Burton Academy in your estate plans and provide a world of opportunities for generations to come. Planned giving opportunities: • bequest • gift by will or trust • life income gift • charitable lead trust • retained life estate JosephSocietyBurr The Burr Society celebrates those who have included Burr and Burton in their estate planning. The Society is named in honor of Manchester businessman Joseph Burr, whose bequest was matched by the community to found the school in 1829.
Anne1995Kilburn Simonds shared that she is the Early Care and Education Director at Sunrise Family Resource Center in Bennington VT, a 5 STAR, NAEYC accredited program that serves children from birth to three years old.
“Tim and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this October.” Anne bought a Harley Davidson motorcycle in January that she enjoys riding in her free time. Anne also shared news about her two children Connor ’18 and Ethan ’20 - see below.
BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY 35
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES: alumni@burrburton.org. MAIL YOUR CLASS NOTES: Burr and Burton, Alumni Office P.O. Box 498, Manchester, VT 05254
Alexa2011(Platts)
Roy married Bradley Roy in August of 2019. They are expecting their first child in October 2022. Ebba Pero lives in Brooklyn and is a photo editor at Healthline Media. She previously was a photo editor at Travel + Leisure Magazine
CLASS NOTES Life Beyond Graduation which looked to help children integrate into Western society. And I enjoyed Greece so much that I decided to go back and get my master’s in 2020. During this time I worked for the Research institution for European American studies; where I focused on military and intelligence cooperation between the US and Russia, and I also had a summer internship with American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association focusing on Greek-Turkish disputes in the eastern Mediterranean. My undergrad was in sociology with a minor in English, and my master’s was in international relations in public security. I sit now at a B-2 fluency level in Greek and hope to continue learning the language. At the moment, I am applying for jobs in both the public and private sectors mainly for research analyst positions and public security. I would eventually love to work as a political analyst in a foreign country out of an Embassy with DHS.” Maddie Zeif is living in New York City (with her sister Molly ’12). Maddie works for Alvéole, the urban beekeeping company. In her work, she maintains hives across NYC to not only produce honey for their clients but also to educate the tenants on the importance of urban agriculture and pollination.
Art1973Kilburn is now working with grandson Connor Simonds ’18, a licensed electrician Connor is working toward his Master Electrician license.
Gabriel Myerson married Elizabeth Burns in Manchester on June 25, 2022, his prom date from 2012! Gabe and Elizabeth call Portland, ME home. Gabe’s brother Jesse ’08 was Best Man. Other Burr and Burton guests included: Adam Zeif ’08, Reed Bongartz ’08, Connor Allen ’12, Kendra Beavin ’12, Sara Wilson ’12, Molly Zeif ’12, Henry Buckley ’12, Kieran Halligan ’12, Jillian Flanagan ’13, Alex Bilka 13, Maddie Zeif ’16, Chris Kornaros ’16, and Henry Kornaros ’18 Will2016Tucker graduated from Washington & Jefferson College in 2020 and from Webster University in Athens, Greece with a master’s degree in International Relations and Affairs in May 2022. When he spent a semester in Greece during his undergrad, Will said, “I volunteered at a refugee Center working as a teacher of English and math to children and young adults. The organization’s name was Hestia Hellas
Griff Stalcup has accepted a position at Brown Brothers Harriman Capital Partners as a Private Equity Analyst. He recently graduated from Bowdoin College with a BA in Mathematics and Economics and was captain of Bowdoin Football in 2021.
Camille2017
Tyler2018Jager
Olivier Cazaudumec received his BA from Plymouth State in Business Administration, with a minor in Sales. He was the chapter president of Sigma Tau Gamma. He scored in the top 15% of the RNMKRS Sales competition, a business skills training organization.
36 THE VIEW I SUMMER 2022
Connor Simonds, son of Anne Kilburn Simonds ’95, recently graduated from four-year electrical school and applied to the state licensing board to take his journeyman exam. He was accepted, passed, and is now a licensed electrician. He is working for his grandfather, Art Kilburn ’73, and now owns part of the business as well. He plans on becoming a Master Electrician, while Art looks forward to retirement.
803-549-8103
Remi Kirby graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts with a Bachelor’s Degree in Film and Television Production.
Sam Cochran was until recently with Crowley Cottrell, a landscape architecture firm in the Boston area. Sam’s position provided promotional support to company projects and lead social media campaigns. This summer he’s attending a design discovery program at Harvard where he wants to explore more urban design and planning, which will overlap with creating urban green space and designing resilient cities.
Hannah Pinkus was named Patriot League Midfielder of the Year her senior year at Colgate University and graduated in May with a degree in Sociology. Due to Covid, the NCAA granted a 5th year of college eligibility and Hannah will play one year at Providence College in the Big East and start her MBA degree.
CLASS LIASONS WANTED HELP YOUR CLASS STAY CONNECTED. If interested, please
“When I left BBA, I was set on going to school for dance, but quickly realized that wasn’t my calling. After dropping out of my first college in NYC and discovering movies as being the greatest coping mechanism for me, I applied to USC on a whim (with its 3% acceptance rate). Upon getting in, I was totally unprepared for going to such a Hollywood-centric school, especially because my filmmaking style is far more experimental and unconventional. Although USC was beyond frustrating at times, I’m proud of coming out of it with a game plan for making independent films and finding a group of peers interested in the same anti-Hollywood future of film. I would tell BBA students contemplating film school that although my experience wasn’t all that film school is made out to be, I was able to forge my own unconventional path within it.”
Rabbi Michael Cohen’s Bennington College “Conflict Resolution: Theory & Practice” class at BBA including a section on the ArabIsraeli Conflict. Now a student at Yale, Tyler is taking part in a joint program with West Point, which is a Peace and Dialogue Leadership Initiative that focuses on that conflict and a visit to the region. Rabbi Michael is in Israel for another year at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies on Kibbutz Ketura, where a number of BBA alumni have studied over the years. They met for breakfast in Jerusalem.
took
Stephen2020
Mathyas ’20 is a junior at UVM majoring in Health Sciences with a minor in Emergency Medicine. He volunteers his time with the UVM Rescue Squad and has a part-time position in the Emergency Department at UVM Medical Center. He is passionate about the field of medicine and excited to see where his next college years will lead him! He is very grateful for the many fond memories and wonderful mentorship from the BBA community!
Ethan Simonds, son of Anne Kilburn Simonds ’95, finished his certificate program at Vermont Technical College and is a Heavy Diesel Mechanic. He is the new Road Technician at Salem Farm Supply fixing all of the large agricultural equipment around the area. Tim, Ethan’s dad, sells heavy equipment and Ethan fixes it! Ethan also recently purchased a pulling tractor and is competing in tractor pulls around the area. contact Meredith Morin at mmorin@burrburton.org or
Burr and Burton Academy is GRATEFUL to its business PARTNERS who invest in a brighter future for our COMMUNITY. Annual Fund Business Partners Founders Bromley Mountain Resort r.k. Miles, Inc. Headmaster’s List H.N. Williams Store Manchester Country Club Mountain Goat North, Inc. Northshire Bookstore Soul Degree High Honors Finn & Stone Insurance/ Hub International Limited Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home The Orvis Company RE/MAX Four Seasons Rugg Valley Landscaping W.H. Shaw Insurance Agency, Inc. Honors The Bank of Bennington Earth & Sea Fish Market, Inc. The Equinox Golf Resort and Spa Kitchens of Vermont, LLC Lily of the Valley Florist Salem Farm Supply, Inc. Samuelson Law Offices Whalen, Hand & Gilmour, P.L.C. Wood and Signs Company Academic Letter Baerlein Landscaping, Inc. Ben & Jerry’s The Inn at ManchesterManchesterCapitalManagement, LLC People’s United Bank The Pharmacy - Northshire Spivey Lemonik Swenor PC The Works Bakery Cafe Zen Revolution Academic Pin The Body Lab Business Basics, Inc. Community Bank The Image Loft iShip MotherExpressMyrick’s Confectionery Promotional Incentives, Inc. The Richards Group Walnut Hill Farm
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