The Class of 2019 graced us with their artistic talents over the past four years. Every graduating student is required to take three art courses at Proctor, however, many choose to dive far deeper into their artistic pursuits. The graduates below will be studying art in college next year - be sure to keep an eye out for their work in the future!
Alumni Reunion is not only a time to reconnect with former classmates and teachers, but to recognize the remarkable work of our alumni. During 2019 Reunion, Proctor recognized four individuals and one team with an induction into the Proctor Athletic Hall of Fame. We also recognized two alumni for their outstanding contributions to the Proctor community with the 2019 Alumni Award. Congratulations to each of the award recipients below!
In Senator Angus King’s P’09 Commencement address last Saturday, he shared a list of ten pieces of advice he wish he knew when he was 18 years old. Number 10 was to spend time with your family and friends because when life gets hard, they are all you have. As we welcomed roughly 200 members of the Proctor Family back home for Alumni Reunion 2019, we were reminded why it is so important to prioritize our relationships with those we love.
In the midst of celebrating the end of the school year, student accomplishments, the performance of the spring musical, art show, and saying goodbye to retiring faculty and staff, we pause to honor the life's work of former faculty member and legendary coach, Spencer "Spence" Wright P'72, '75 who died at the age of 94 on May 14, 2019.
During the admissions process, we encourage each Proctor student to design his or her own path; to choose courses and experiences that will spark a lifelong love affair with learning. One of the most significant joys of working at Proctor is staying in touch with alumni across the country who are living our motto: Live to Learn, Learn to Live. Meredith (Donaldson) Amenkhienan '02 never thought she would own and operate her own boutique store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but the Vermont native is now a successful entrepreneur and owner of Forty Winks. Read about Meredith's journey below.
On a trip to Georgia and Alabama this week, Director of Development Keith Barrett '80 and I took a dogleg route from Atlanta to Birmingham, though the city of Montgomery, Alabama. We stopped to visit Danny Loehr ‘09, who currently works for the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) founded by Bryan Stevenson. EJI seeks to “end mass incarceration and excessive punishment, challenge inhumane and violent prison conditions, and confront the history of racial inequality and injustice in America.”
In our search for our own voice, we realize the power of giving a voice to others. As Indian author Arundhati Roy writes, “There is really no such thing as the ‘voiceless’. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.” For Rebecca (Barban) Leavitt ‘02, her journey through Proctor, college, and law school to her current role as an immigration attorney in Boston has consistently seen her draw on her ability to use her voice to help those around her be heard.
A San Francisco native, Roth Martin ‘91 first found himself on the east coast as a seventh grader at the Fessenden School (classmates there with fellow San Franciscan and Proctor alum Matt Nathanson '91, actually) before matriculating to Proctor for his sophomore year. From his first interview with Chuck Will in the Admissions Office until the moment he was greeted by Head of School David Fowler on graduation day, Roth describes his Proctor experience as remarkable. “My teachers, coaches, dorm parents, friends, everything at Proctor was so positive for me. I fell in love with ceramics and design aesthetics thanks to Patrice Martin, skied competitively, gained remarkable independence living 3,000 miles from my family, all while subconsciously absorbing Proctor’s ethos of environmental sustainability that would guide me throughout my life.”
