Alumni

When a Tree Falls: Giving Founder’s Oak a Second Life

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The response to the fall of our mighty oak was swift and resounding: first, grief, then grit. How could we find a way to honor this tree by giving it another life? Alongside an outpouring of memories came a slew of ideas. Could its wood be crafted into something usable? Could those who loved the tree take pieces for themselves? 

A team was assembled to discuss exactly that. Chief Operating Officer Keith Powell, Middle School Head Lauren Railey, Carter Innovation Studio Director Cassie Kise, and Middle School English Teacher Charlie Raymond spent several weeks exploring how best to honor our beloved tree. Beyond this introduction to our first careful steps in repurposing the tree, a blog series will keep you informed around the status of Founder’s Oak.

The Science of Reclaimed Wood

An essential early step in the reclaiming process is curing. Wood tends to twist and check as it dries. A robust curing process allows wood to wick moisture and settle into its final shape and hardness, all while protecting against rot. Proper curing will yield bone-dry wood that won’t continue to change–wood that is ready for cutting.

“We think of wood as dry on the inside, but it’s actually pretty wet,” said Charlie, who worked as a furniture maker prior to becoming a teacher. “When you go to a store and buy a milled piece of wood, you’re relying on that wood to be straight so you can build something out of it. The best pieces will stay straight only if they have gone through a careful drying process.” 

A tree as large and complex as Founder’s Oak will yield cuttings of different thickness. While the smallest pieces are expected to dry over the course of a single season, the trunk and large branches might need to be stored for five or more years. At the end of this process, the dimensions of the cuttings will have changed. Additionally, some of the pieces we set out to cure may have been lost to rot.

“Our particular kind of valley oak–quercus lobata–can be difficult to work with,” Charlie continued. “We can’t predict how much usable wood our tree will yield. Every piece of it is important to try to get as much as we can out of it.” That’s why it’s so important that we be strategic at this stage in where and how we cut the logs to cure. 

Enter Nick Harvey of Bay Area Redwood, the expert we’ve hired to oversee the harvesting of the tree. Nick has been on campus managing a process that could span two months. “At this point, most of the smaller limbs have been separated from the main trunk. The branches off the main trunk are called “secondaries”. The largest ones are as wide as tree trunks themselves and will take years to cure. The smallest pieces will be the first pieces ready for processing.” 

Once all of the smaller branches have been strategically cut and cleared away, Nick will partner with Kyle Dowd from Golden State Portable Milling on the milling of the main trunk. “Milling day will be a big day. Maybe a big two or three days,” Charlie commented. “The actual cutting of the main trunk will be noisy, but we won’t schedule it for a weekend. We’ll schedule it for during the week so that the community can see and be a part of what’s going on. It will be part of student learning.”

A photo of Founder's Oak Tree taken at The Athenian School in Danville, CA
A photo of Founder’s Oak taken circa 2020

Speaking of Student Learning…

Summer conversations also focused on how to involve students in all aspects of recycling the tree, from these early harvesting steps, to curing, to cutting smaller pieces, and–eventually–to crafting. Though the viability of many ideas still needs to be assessed, one suggestion is to enlist students to help create proper storage conditions on campus and to have them oversee the curing of parts of the tree. 

“Rain is not an enemy of this process, but sunshine is. It can twist and warp the exposed side and not the other. A better technique is to find a shaded area to stack the wood with space between each slab so that air can flow. Sometimes, slabs need to be treated against insects. We could involve students in discussing what chemicals might be used to treat the slabs against decay,” said Charlie.

Carter Innovation Studio director Cassie Kise shared similar thoughts about timing for next steps. “People don’t realize how time-intensive fabrication is. As Americans, so much of the supply chain process is taken out of our purview that we don’t understand how long things take to make. It’s important that we employ patience and instill those values in our students as well.” 

Small branches from early cuttings, staged in front of the Carter Innovation Studio at The Athenian School
Small branches from early cuttings, staged in front of the Carter Innovation Studio

Though fully recycling the tree will take a series of years, discussions of early craft projects are also underway, as are more general discussions about how to better integrate woodworking into the curriculum. “Ultimately, the tree will dictate what we do with it,” Cassie continued. “Once we gain an understanding of the materials we have to work with, it’s our job to expand the conversation to other members of our community, especially students. We also need to emulate our values as an institution. For example, wood that isn’t used to craft an item might integrate with our ecosystem in the form of mulch. Finally, we need to honor the spiritual legacy of the tree–the nostalgia and love encapsulated within it and how that should play into its second life.”

Though he acknowledged the tragedy of losing the tree, Charlie also underscored that Founder’s Oak deserves our respect. “Overall, this should be seen as a great opportunity to build our profile as an experiential school. We’re already doing that in the Carter Innovation Studio, in the art department, in our middle school Focus Days, and in our electives. Working with Founder’s Oak represents a huge opportunity to reinforce this.”

Dick Bradford Delivers Remarks about Founder’s Oak at 2022 Reunion

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On June 1, our iconic Founder’s Oak tree fell. This majestic landmark at the front of campus witnessed the comings and goings of many generations of Athenians. It provided welcome shade for those who relaxed on benches beneath; it was the site of faculty and alumni weddings; countless families gathered under the tree to commemorate milestone events like first days of school and graduation.

At Reunion on June 4, just three days after the tree fell, former teacher and Upper School Head, Dick Bradford, addressed a crowd of 120 community members with his recollections of Founder’s Oak. Here is a transcript of his remarks:

For those of you who don’t know me, I am Dick Bradford, former dorm head, coach, literature teacher, academic dean, head of Upper School, and alumni parent. I came out here from New England in the fall of 1981, thinking I would be here for a couple of years. I retired in June of 2018.

I wanted to say a few words about the Founder’s Oak – a tree with which I have some history. When I started here , I was the dorm parent of Boys’ 1 – now known as Reinhardt. For those of you of a certain age, before me, this was Lester Henderson’s dorm.  My bedroom is now the Founder’s Oak conference room – my living room and kitchen are now Eric and Debbie’s offices. So I would go past that tree every morning on the way to breakfast. It provided great shade against the afternoon sun for my apartment.

As my career moved on at Athenian, I became in charge of organizing Back to School afternoons – where the parents had an opportunity to follow their children’s schedule for the afternoon, meeting briefly with their teachers – discovering why we had ten minute passing periods. This was in the early part of September, so we used the Founder’s Oak  for shade – I remember marking out the exact spots of shade to design the seating arrangement.

The Middle School used the Founder’s Oak as the site for their graduation every June. This posed a logistical problem for the Upper School, which at that time had an all school meeting in the nearby Main Hall– and we were told in no uncertain terms that our meeting could not interrupt the Middle School graduation under the Founder’s Oak. Since I knew I could not control a hall full of adolescents for an hour while the Middle School graduated, I made up the tradition of a walk of reflective silence, single-filing from the doors to the east lawn, up to the driveway of House 1, and then down the drive to meet on the far corner of the soccer field, where I would do my best to inspire the students with a poem ( Musee de Beaux Arts) or a story (The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas). This worked reasonably well, although I always felt vaguely guilty about creating ritual over a scheduling conflict.

Then we were told that the tree was in danger of falling. This was years and years ago, and we did our best to mitigate any damage we might have inadvertently have been doing through watering. All events under the tree were then cancelled – we re-scheduled the graduation ceremonies to avoid the conflict, thus ending the reflective silence ritual – and built an interpretative walkway with quotation from Kurt Hahn and Dyke Brown at various points. Lovely idea – not sure how many people were aware of it. More visible were the hundred of daffodils planted by Eleanor Dase that came up each year around the tree. Thanks again for that Eleanor – and again for everything.

So now the tree has fallen. I used to present a slideshow at the beginning of the year to students, trying to acquaint with the history of the school – one of the slides was from a local paper saying “Mighty Oak has Fallen”. It was talking about a huge oak that was on the entrance to the School – on the left, just past the school sign. This was then just a practice field, not the parking lot it is today. I bring it up only because oak trees fall all the time. When I lived in House 1, I was working in my study one night in late August, with the side door open, when I heard a sound I could not identify. We had a trampoline outside that door, and the only thing that came to mind was that a deer had somehow gotten into the trampoline and was struggling with the webbing.  I got a flashlight  – and the trampoline was fine. The next day, I looked out and  a huge oak tree halfway up the hill behind our house had split in two and fallen.

So, oaks have their cycle, as do all of us. I used to read a poem to the Upper School every spring about the cycle of trees. I come from New England – the poem is Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay”.  I noticed that the oaks around my house on campus which lost their leaves in the fall would push forth leaf tips that were golden, and for a few short days, the leaves were gold, instead of green. Bruce Hamren complained every year that I was missing the purple phase of this transition – I’ll leave that to your judgment. This usually happened in March, so I would talk to the students about the transitory nature of beauty  – to remind them to make sure they treasured their moment with their friends , families and landscapes, because spring, like life, goes by like a torrent – and we need to reassure all that we have while we have it.  Here is the poem:

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

-Robert Frost

And I would say the same to all of you now – hold fast to these moments, make sure to appreciate love and beauty as they show themselves to you – this is, after all, what gives us appreciation for the past, an understanding of the present – and hope for the future.

Tané Remington  ’06 on Bold Career Moves and Aligning Career to Purpose

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If you’d asked the 9th grade version of Tané Remington where she would end up in life, a career in STEM might have seemed out of reach. She failed her first chemistry exam junior year and struggled with basic concepts, despite seeming to grasp some of the more difficult ones.

Then, teacher Eugene Mizusawa made her a deal that would change her life’s trajectory: he promised her a passing grade if she joined robotics. Fifteen years later, Tané still likes to come to campus and play with robots, this time as a volunteer advisor to the current robotics team. And she doesn’t just inspire students with her knowledge. Stories of her circuitous path, which was paved with stones she collected at Athenian, tell of how she landed some of the most fascinating—and socially important—professions in the world.

“My department tried to understand how we might deflect asteroids that were coming toward the earth,” Tané mentioned casually when asked about her former role at Lawrence Livermore Labs. She went there as a postdoc after earning a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from UC San Diego. “I got to run simulations relating to asteroids with a range of attributes—rock, metal, bollides, etc.” It was Tané’s first professional job.

Following a two-and-a-half year stint in planetary defense, she was offered a full-time position at Lawrence Livermore, this time working in a nuclear forensics unit with adjacency to the Stockpile Responsiveness Program, an effort that fully exercises the capabilities of the US nuclear security enterprise. But after more than three years with the lab, an opportunity that felt supremely meaningful drew her to a new path.

“It just so happens that I’m obsessed with water,” Tané explained as she talked about Maelstrom Water, a high-tech desalination company of which Tané is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer. “It comes from being Californian, and also being Turkish, as we had a lot of water shortages.”

Desalination refers to processes that remove the salt content from water. Reverse osmosis is the most well-known approach. But Maelstrom endeavors to use a different method: cavitation. By reaching the temperature of the sun in a matter of microseconds, it can change the properties of its targets. Though a working desalination solution is not yet ready, Maelstrom has confirmed other applications of its technology (e.g., waste water, medical waste, soil remediation, the worldwide oceanic and fresh water algae bloom) and has numerous patents pending.

Tané spent all of middle and upper school at Athenian, except for one year she spent abroad. She attributed her spirit of innovation and curiosity at least partially to her Athenian teachers. “When I was in middle school, Sven and Ted really taught me how to love learning.” Beyond traditional classroom fare, Focus Fridays and volunteer service provided opportunities for perspective.

“I think Athenian’s values had an enormous impact on the person I became. I gave up a tenured position for less money, no stability. It’s risky, but it keeps me up at night thinking about our future with water.” She also mentioned her daughter as a driving factor behind her decision to make a move. “When my daughter asks me when she’s older what I work on, I can tell her how proud I am to have taken on an issue like desalination and committed to it as part of my legacy.”

Veronica Benjamin ’06, Lead Activist on Danville Police Shootings, Returns to Speak at Equity & Inclusion Night

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Alumna Veronica Benjamin ’06 returned to Athenian Thursday evening, October 28 to serve as keynote speaker for our fall Equity and Inclusion night, a biannual event for Upper School students that spotlights social justice issues. Veronica spoke about her activism in seeking justice for the 2018 and 2020 killings of Laudemer Arboleda and Tyrell Wilson, respectively, at the hands of Danville Officer Andrew Hall.  Pictured with the family of Laudemer Arboleda on the day that a guilty verdict was returned for one of two felony charges, Veronica organized support for Arboleda’s case. In light of her monthslong leadership, we were eager to have her speak to students about local activism.

The Tyrell Wilson case hit home for Veronica–a permanent resident of India–who returned to her childhood home in Danville for the duration of the COVID pandemic. She encountered Mr. Wilson, an unhoused man living on the streets of Danville, on her regular route. “I started organizing in the wake of Tyrell’s murder because I saw him every day,” Veronica told students. “I commute to Berkeley on the bus and Tyrell was the man at the bus stop. He was so peaceful…Tyrell was part of my life.” 

Alumna Veronica Benjamin '06 holding up a sign that says "Justice for Tyrell" at a protest in Danville.

While some residents called on the city (primarily via the NextDoor app) to find ways to remove or house him, other neighbors mentioned his gentle, harmless manner. As Danville officials responded to posts, some pointed out that Wilson could not be arrested if he hadn’t committed a crime. On March 11, 2020, Wilson was shot and killed by on-duty Officer Andrew Hall at the intersection of Sycamore Valley Road and Camino Ramon after a twenty-three second confrontation. 

“When I found out Hall was the officer who killed Tyrell, I was livid,” Veronica recounted. It wasn’t the first incident for Hall. In November of 2018, while on duty, Hall shot and killed Filipino man, Laudemer Arboleda. The cases had similarities: both Wilson and Arboleda struggled with mental health, neither possessed a firearm, and both were men of color. And in these–the only two officer-involved shootings in Danville since 2001–Hall was the gunman in both. 

As Veronica co-organized justice efforts within the community, she focused on educating the public about key facts in both cases and driving turnout to key events. She became involved with Conscious Contra Costa, which she now co-leads. She spoke candidly with students about the challenges of teamwork and navigating bureaucracy. “What I’ve learned in the past six months of organizing is….how to work constructively with others and learn to compromise.”

Sanjev deSilva, Director of DEIS at Athenian, has been another significant figure in supporting the cause. He’s spoken at several vigils, marches and memorials. In the spring of 2021, helped efforts to educate the Athenian student community about the Tyrell Wilson case and prompted interested students to attend rallies. After meeting Veronica at a protest, Sanjev discovered their mutual connection to Athenian by happenstance.  Two of the students who attended one of the vigils, Izze K. ’21 and Khalil W. ’21, facilitated Thursday’s Equity and Inclusion conversation with Veronica.

When asked her thoughts on the role Athenian played in her current path, Veronica’s response hinted at several of our pillars: leadership, service to others and democratic participation and justice. “One thing that Athenian instilled in me is the idea that our learning ultimately has to come back in service of something greater than ourselves and in service of our society,” she said.

Veronica followed up from the conversation on E&I Night with a call to action for how the greater Athenian community could get involved by issuing the following statement: 

“I deeply appreciate everyone in the Athenian community who is dedicating their time, energy, and resources to making it truly equitable, inclusive, and committed to its highest ideals. I was honored to be invited to the E&I Night and have the opportunity to reconnect and converse with many of you. 


For any students, faculty, or family members who would like to get more involved in Conscious Contra Costa, please join our listserv (justicefortyrellwilson@gmail.com), and/or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.”

Alumni Parents Rally to Support Boarding Students

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Led by Molly Andrus, parent of Emma ’12 and Izzy ’20, the Athenian Parent Alumni Group launched this fall. Its mission? To continue supporting current Athenian students, even after their own children have left the nest.

Its focus this year was the boarding community. Molly and team worked closely with Director of Residential Life, Emily Shinkle, to learn how they could serve this group. Many, due to COVID, were unable to travel home.

Julia Borchers ‘20 and Lexi G. ’22 made cakes for students celebrating birthdays and the parent group delivered the cakes to campus and provided festive décor. Birthday boarders also got candy vases and small gifts. The group sponsored catered dinners that allowed students to choose meals that served up flavors from home. Individual dessert boxes were also delivered–a student favorite!

The parent group is also underway with seed transplants and plant beds for a boarding community garden. A final event will take place in May, one which will allow members of the parent group to interact more with boarding students given the easing of COVID restrictions.

“This parent group has been amazing,” said Emily in praise of the program. “Molly does an incredible job mobilizing parents. I’m so excited the boarders will get to see the program volunteers in real life this time. They’ve been wondering who these generous parents are!”

Plans are underway for a final event of the year at the home of Board President Beth Borchers, and the parent group is already looking forward to expanding the scope of thier activities to a broader set of students on a reinvigorated campus in the fall.

The group is always open to new members; please reach out to alumni@athenian.org for more information if you would like to get involved!

Alumni Spotlights: Celebrating Athenian Black Excellence

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In recent weeks and months, our school community and our nation have been deep in conversation about the importance of Black lives. In America, and at Athenian, conversations have focused primarily on social injustice, and on Black pain. One consequence of such conversations is that the joy of Black lives can be easily forgotten. It was the wish of the current BSU, led by Esther A. ’21, Hudson S. ’21, and Chad M. ’22, that we not allow February to pass without acknowledgment of the amazing, purpose-driven lives pursued by members of our own Black Athenian community.

For the past three weeks, we profiled more than a dozen members of our community, from current faculty and staff, to current students, to alumni. In this spotlight, we celebrate the lives, loves and contributions of several Black alumni. Please take the time to read these profiles, to enjoy this series, and to appreciate the members of our community who are doing amazing things in the world!

Jamahn Lee ’94

Alum Jamahn Lee attended Athenian throughout middle school and high school, went on to earn a B.A. in Spanish from Tulane and, later, a M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Passions for youth services and multiculturalism led him to the nonprofit world. He has worked with the Spanish Speaking Citizen’s Foundation on afterschool programs; with the Fred Finch Youth Center on in-home and therapeutic programs; with Policy Link,  a national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity, on programs for Black boys; and with the  Oakland Unified School District as its community school program manager. Jamahn is now nearing his fourth year as a Program Coordinator with  SFJAZZ, where he shares his passion for jazz music with middle schoolers in Oakland and San Francisco. In response to challenges presented by the COVID pandemic, he has adapted and developed virtual jazz education programming that is now accessible to students throughout the country.

Britney Davis ’04

Britney has played integral roles in some of the music industry’s biggest recent successes, and has emerged as a strong voice for industry change. She has led marketing and artist development for Lil Baby since he signed to Motown Records. Now at Capitol Records as the VP of Marketing, Artist Relations and Special Projects, she has worked with artists like Migos, City Girls, Queen Naija, and on the “Queen & Slim” soundtrack. She was recently named as one of Billboard’s Hip Hop Power Players, 40 under 40, and as a Variety Magazine Woman of Impact. Britney graduated Summa Cum Laude from Howard University’s John H. Johnson School of Communications.

Pen Harshaw ’05

Pendarvis Harshaw ‘05 is the host of KQED’s, Rightnowish, a radio show and podcast that highlights artists and activists on the frontlines. The show focuses on Black artists from across the East Bay. In 2020, he received a $50,000 grant from the Oakland-based Akonadi Foundation, which partially funds the show’s production. He is also the author of OG Told Me, a coming of age memoir about a kid from Oakland who listened to his elders. “Pen,” as he is known among friends, seeks to increase community understanding and awareness of Oakland’s Black cultural diaspora.

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Kelia Human ’15

With a goal of improving healthcare and its accessibility, especially for underserved and minority communities, Kelia currently attends Columbia University, where she is pursuing her Ph.D. “Healthcare is moving towards more personalized service and providing access outside of the hospital and clinic. I think this provides an excellent opportunity to explore ways to break down the barriers that have made healthcare difficult to access for underserved populations. Additionally, by focusing on patient-centered devices there is an opportunity to give control and better understanding about one’s own health, further empowering people to engage with their healthcare providers.” Kelia’s study of biomedical engineering has been applied to two projects this year: the first was a fast diagnostic test for COVID. The second is a bioactive patch to accelerate wound healing. She is a staunch believer in mentorship, which she says “can really help people see new possibilities; I was on the fence about pursuing grad school and being able to talk it out with older students was helpful.”

Eli Feierabend-Peters ’16

Eli “Feier” is a Black mixed-race, gender-questioning musician and Stanford alumnus who believes in the power of art to foster radical healing, change, and love in ourselves and our communities. They were a 2020 recipient of Stanford’s VPA Senior Grant. Their project–the production of their debut album–found them quarantined in California, turning closets into makeshift studios as they worked on music steeped in the traditions of hip-hop, R&B, gospel, and indie-pop and informed by their academic studies of sociology, poetry, fiction, climatology, and history. They guest-taught hip hop and social justice to Advanced Choir students this year and will return again to Athenian this month for a broader conversation on social justice.

Nia Warren ’16

Nia Renee Warren is an African-American filmmaker, photographer, and actress who recently graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. While studying at USC, she became an active force in the black community, serving as the Co-Director of the Black Student Assembly and member of the African American Cinema Society. After graduation, she completed a film titled “Son of Oakland: A Tribute to Victor McElhaney” where she served as the Co-Director and Producer. The film is a dedication to her friend and fellow Oakland native, who she lost due to gun violence near-campus in 2019. It has since been featured in, as well as won awards, in multiple festivals. She looks forward to the film officially premiering at the Pan African Film Festival this month. While enjoying the journey this film has allowed her to take, Nia has been focusing on furthering her acting career and has recently signed with Central Artists Agency for commercial/print work.

More Excellence to Come

Black History is not limited to the month of February, and our Black Excellence series will be ongoing. Look out for periodic profiles posted in various places online throughout the end of this year. We know there are more Black members of our Athenian community who could and should be highlighted! Please nominate or self-nominate by reaching out to us at alumni@athenian.org!

Trailblazing for Social Good: Mary Costantino ’90 on Career and Athenian

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Ask Athenian alumna Mary Costantino ’90 about the medical procedure she pioneered in her region, and she’ll tell you it’s “pretty easy”—just fifteen seconds to route a tube from her patient’s wrist to their groin. An Interventional Radiologist with a specialization in women’s health, Mary was the first physician in Oregon to treat uterine fibroids using this less invasive method involving the wrist as a surgical entry point.  

During the six years she spent at Athenian, however, Mary did not consider herself to be a trailblazer. When we asked her how she became a medical innovator, she said, “I didn’t plan my whole trajectory back then and I still don’t have a plan.” Working in Interventional Radiology was not even something she immediately settled on while in medical school at UCLA. She arrived in her current field after seeing an ability to contribute in an area where health care equity was at stake.

The two most common women’s health conditions that Interventional Radiologists treat are postpartum hemorrhage and uterine fibroids. “Interventional Radiology was a field that had real purpose,” Mary reflected. “Forty percent of women over forty have fibroids and the primary way that fibroids are treated is by hysterectomy. The procedure I perform offers a one-week recovery time versus a six-week recovery time, was less expensive at the time when I was in school, and seemed like it could have a big impact on low-income women. It’s a very powerful thing to be able to do something that makes those stressors go away.”

In the fifteen years since Mary began her practice, she has witnessed gradual shifts—a dawning awareness that applies to the treatment of many conditions. “We are now finally recognizing health care disparities, which have been long evident to those of us in healthcare. Uterine fibroids are more common in African-American women, and minimally invasive treatments are almost never offered to women with fibroids. It’s really wrong, and I suspect I’ll spend the next 10 years fighting for equality in informed consent, as I have the last 10 years. Now, however, COVID has unveiled this disparity and there is hope for change.”

Mary credits her regard for social good to strong foundations from home that were built upon during her time at Athenian. “The conversations were centered around the environment and the pillars and being a citizen of the world. It shaped me without me knowing I was actually being shaped.” Unforgettable grand-scale experiences like her Round Square exchange and AWE were pivotal, but so were humbler aspects of student life. “Kitchen duty—what a great lesson. It taught us that we’re all here to take care of each other. Those kinds of jobs and lessons just don’t exist for teenagers anymore.”

People were also a special part of Mary’s Athenian experience. As a whole, she described faculty and staff as “kind, goodhearted educators with an interest in kids. Judy Atai, the art teacher…I just remember sitting and throwing pottery and making jewelry. Sheryl Petersen…all of these maternal figures looking out for you. Ed Ellis…he was always walking around campus, completely invested in us.”

Mary now lives in Oregon with children of her own who are the same age as she was during her Athenian days. When asked what she would say to high schoolers now, her advice was to stay open. “It puts unfair pressure on younger people to find out what their passion is, because you never know what opportunity will come that might pique your interest. It may come when you’re sixteen, or when you’re twelve, or when you’re thirty-five. There’s no way to predict now what might make you happy when you’re fifty.”

Her second and final piece of advice goes back to the Service Pillar, which she still holds dear. “Always be volunteering. That’s a rule I have for myself. If I’m healthy and able bodied, I’m always volunteering. Humans were meant to be productive.”

Leaving the Nest: Seven Faculty Members and Staffers Retiring in 2020

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As three iconic faculty members and four trailblazing staffers leave the nest this year, their combined 172 years of service deserve a moment in the spotlight. They have taught and nurtured our students, helped build our community and culture, and their legacies will carry on.

Tina Nott, retiring Math teacher, was a founding member of the Middle School faculty, a co-founder of Middle School Focus Days, and the second woman to teach Math at Athenian. Joining Eleanor Dase, Munzer Afifi and Lester Henderson in a combined Middle School/Upper School Math department, she joined Athenian in 1982 and helped realize a vision to have more women teach STEM. 

Retiring French teacher Elisabeth Bertschi, who joined Athenian in 1986, brought with her “whole child” approaches to learning. Her rubrics for refreshing her curriculum were decades ahead of their time. Though she came to Athenian straight out of graduate school, she had a natural ability to connect with students. 

Retiring staffer Debbie Schafgans joined Athenian in 1987, initially in the Development (now Advancement) department. She was also a pioneer: the first staffer to use a personal computer for core elements of her role and one of the first to manage the digital integration of her department. 

As with Debbie Schafgans, retiring staffer Debra Ataman’s role evolved. She joined Athenian in 1997, working in Reception before becoming the Assistant to the Director of Special Programs in 2001. In the years following, Debra became heavily involved in community outreach and ultimately went on to be a key member of our Summer Programs, contributing to its significant growth over the years.

When asked about why Athenian staff and faculty are so well-equipped to play a variety of roles, former Head of School Eleanor Dase pointed to the many opportunities for faculty and staff to show leadership, such as chaperoning trips, organizing fundraisers, providing leadership in Round Square, Interim/March Term, and much more. If self-determination and grassroots organizing are part of Athenian’s DNA, it’s clear why retiring employees Lydia Guzman, Elise Jan and Barbara Carlino were so effective.

Lydia Guzman began her career at Athenian in 2000, serving for 20 years as the Attendance Officer. She also co-advised the Latino Club, raised more than $17,000 for the Monument Crisis Center over the years after co-founding the Tuesday Nacho Sale, organized the annual Athenian Pink Day to benefit breast cancer and served a run as Dean of Staff. Along with Debbie, she was an early regular attendee of the National Association of Independent Schools’ People of Color Conference (POCC) and an early champion of equity and inclusion at Athenian.

Barbara Carlino, who joined in 2007 as Upper School Counselor, founded longstanding programs as well. She co-created ASAP (the Athenian Sexual Assault Prevention Program), started the school’s peer counseling program, and shaped curriculum and culture by carrying out Athenian’s health education program for many years.

Mandarin teacher Elise Jan, who came to Athenian in 2009, is yet another lauded language teacher. She developed an innovative method of instruction that helped students achieve a level of fluency that wasn’t obtainable through classic approaches. Along the lines of holistic participation, she also chaperoned several trips abroad. 

Beyond what these outgoing women contributed as trailblazers from a curriculum and culture perspective, they contributed greatly to our enjoyment of the school. They gave hugs. They played pranks (we’re looking at you, Tina). They performed in countless Staff and Faculty Talent Shows. They were treasured friends. We will miss them all. 

Three Class of ’11 Alumni Talk About Returning to Athenian as Faculty/Staff

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The start of the 2020-21 school year will mark a happy event: three alumni from the same class, together as staff or faculty on campus. Lauren Dominguez ‘11, former Assistant Dorm Head and continuing Assistant Coach for the swimming and freshman/sophomore basketball teams, and Donald Sherwood ‘11, Swim Coach, will be joined by former classmate, Samantha Bishop ‘11, in the coming year. 

In sitting down to chat with them, the questions were obvious: why did they choose to come back to work at Athenian? And, what is behind the special relationship between the Class of 2011 and the School?

Samantha, who returned to Athenian as a Summer English Language Program (SELP) teacher in 2019, will teach Pre-Algebra in the Middle School in the coming year. “There are so many opportunities Athenian creates to build relationships with students,” she said. “I’ve taught in public schools, where the opportunities just aren’t the same. I’m really looking forward to Focus Days and field trips. This is why I teach. I love the relationships I form.”

A chance to make meaningful connections also tied to Lauren’s decision to come back. “Everything in my life, I can trace back to something I learned or something I did at Athenian. The idea of being part of that experience for a current student is so appealing…Living in the dorms is fun, because I get to know students outside of their academic environment. The multicultural aspect of the dorms was perfect for me.”

Love for Athenian culture also factored into what made Donald a great candidate. Associate Director of Athletics, Josie Chapman, talked about what impressed she and Athletics Director, Darek Cliff, during the hiring process. “Darek and I were immediately impressed by his approach to “being Athenian.” We knew that he would embody that as a coach.”

Though not an Athenian teacher, Aaron Wiener ‘11, also works in education and is a longtime moderator of the Class of 2011 Facebook Group and an organizer of numerous online events. Aaron shared sentiments about the cohesiveness of the class of ‘11 when we talked to him in late April. “Overall, people are excited to be in contact and are liking the events; internationally-based people want in on the action and we’re working around time zone logistics.” 

Other reflections centered on the exhilaration of bridging past and present. “I have loved watching the physical changes of Athenian,” Lauren said. “I also love that so many teachers from my time are still here,” Samantha remarked. “When I saw this during the application process, I figured it was a good sign.”

Four Athenian Alumni Donate 10,000 Masks to Our Local Community

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Pictured from left to right: Jim Lin ’07, father Ting-Fung Lin, Shannon Lin ’09

In an act of tremendous global philanthropy, four Athenian alumni joined forces to donate and coordinate the delivery of 10,000 surgical masks to our local community. The alumni, former boarding students from Taiwan, gave Athenian discretion around their distribution. Jim Lin ‘07 and Shannon Lin ‘09 were the original organizers. When friends Jamie Chang ‘08 and Wesley Yang ‘12 heard about the brothers’ idea, they quickly joined the effort.

“I checked in with Jim and Shannon when the pandemic hit,” said Michelle Park, Athenian’s International Student Coordinator, ESL teacher and longtime faculty member with the School. “I wanted to say hello and see if their family was well. They asked if we at Athenian needed anything in regards to supplies, as the U.S. was just entering the COVID-19 crisis. They wanted to make a donation and wanted Athenian to decide who should receive the masks.”

Pictured: Michelle Park and Eric Niles with Maeshah Shaw and Jelani Moses of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers

After a long and complicated shipping process, Athenian received its first delivery last week and has now received the remainder of the masks. Donations have already been made to the SEIU United Healthcare Worker’s Union, John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek, the Springhill Medical Group, and The Gubbio Project, a non-profit serving the homeless community in San Francisco.

On Video: Jelani Moses of Kaiser Permanente

SEIU United Healthcare Workers West members Jelani Moses of Kaiser Permanente and Maeshah Shaw of San Ramon Regional Medical Center visited campus today to receive their donation of 4,200 surgical masks. In the video below, Jelani expresses his thanks.

Apart from sending a huge thanks to Jim, Shannon, Jamie and Wesley for their extraordinary kindness, we also appreciate those who worked to coordinate efforts on the Athenian side: Michelle Park and Vivian Liao.