CAMPAIGN NEWS

Harmonious notes await! Register today to attend Milton at Tanglewood Music Festival on July 30. Join us for lunch hosted by former trustee Dottie Weber ’60 P ’04 as you mix and mingle with the Milton community. Enjoy a performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the talented Anna Rakitina and accompanied by Joshua Bell on violin. Discounted tickets are available to 1798 Circle members. Register for the whole day, or if you already have tickets, make sure to register to join us for lunch at https://events.milton.edu/e/milton-at-tanglewood.

When the Sicilian-born Joseph DeLuca took over ownership of the Charles Street fruit and grocery store, in the 1930s, a gallon of milk cost about 32 cents and a loaf of bread 6 cents. Almost 100 years later, his great-nieces, Caroline Aiello ’98 and Victoria Aiello ’08, the market’s new owners, stand poised both to continue the grocery’s legacy as a mainstay in the neighborhood and to usher in a new era in a vastly changed world. Read more.

Alumni and parent volunteers serve as a vital resource for our students, build community for those who are no longer on campus, and support our annual fundraising activity. If you would like to explore ways to stay connected and give back to the Milton community in the upcoming year, please take a moment to complete this brief form to indicate your interests, and a member of our team will be in touch to discuss volunteer opportunities: https://forms.gle/yz9UhMwTXxrMNBDr6

One-hundred-ninety-two seniors received their Milton Academy diplomas during the school’s commencement exercises on June 9, 2023. Graduation at Milton is a ceremony that carries years of traditions and favorite rituals—formal and informal. One longstanding tradition of the ceremony is students electing their student speakers, which assures seniors that they will, at their last Milton gathering as students, hear from classmates they have chosen. This year’s student body elected Gracie Sagar and Arhan Singh. Delivering the commencement address was alumnus John Avlon, Milton Academy Class of 1991 (pictured). John is an author, journalist, and senior political analyst at CNN. Sharing quotes from artists, leaders, and authors across history, John encouraged the Class of 2023 to live with purpose and passion. Their legacy, he told them, has already begun. Read speeches, watch a video of the ceremony, and view photos from the day here.

Milton’s academic and fiscal years are ending, and we are taking this moment to recognize Head of School Todd Bland’s 14 years of institution-wide improvement. Before Todd moves off Centre Street, you can show your appreciation for his leadership by participating in the Shout-Out to Todd Challenge with a gift to the Milton Fund by June 30. Just over two weeks remain to reach our 600-donor goal and earn a $100,000 challenge for the Milton Fund, so please participate today!

Get ready to immerse yourself in the excitement that awaits as we embark on a series of summer adventures for our Milton community. Events include Milton Night Out: Red Sox Game, Milton at Tanglewood, Milton Family Gathering: Red Sox Game, and Milton on Cape Cod. Visit https://www.milton.edu/graduates/events-calendar to learn more about each event.

One of the first tributes came during a night filled with laughter. When “Dare to be Todd” flashed onstage before the final sketch of Wicked Sketchy, Milton’s irreverent annual comedy show, the packed audience might have expected some pointed jokes from the student performers at the expense of Head of School Todd B. Bland. Read More.

Olivia Greenaway ’22 fell in love with the game of squash in middle school after following her older sister into the sport. By the time she reached Milton’s Upper School, she was the only freshman to make it to the varsity team—and the only Black girl in the program—struggling both off and on the court. Read More.

Time is running out to include your news in the fall issue of Milton Magazine. Share your accomplishments and life updates with your Milton family. Submit your class note by Tuesday, June 20, at https://forms.gle/4NHrztmPtjPpGq6n6.
Pictured: Lily Choi ’10, Nana Amoh ’09, Kevin Collins ’10, Stephanie Harris ’10, Melissa Santos ’10, Christopher Howard, Nia Patton ’10, Arya Kashyap ’10, Grace McDonough ’10, Sabrina Katz ’10 celebrating the marriage of Melissa Santos ’10 to Christopher Howard on July 1, 2022, at a lovely ceremony in Kenilworth, New Jersey.

Head of School Todd Bland P ’13 ’14 ’14 and Trustee Emeritus Brad Bloom P ’06 ’08 embarked on their journey together as Milton’s leaders in 2009. Brad was elected as president of the Board as Todd began his first year as head of school. The two shared aspirations of great progress for Milton Academy, and on Friday, May 5, the Board of Trustees awarded both Brad and Todd the Milton Medal, Milton’s highest honor, in recognition of their transformational service to the school. Read more.

This summer, Head of School Todd Bland’s 14-year career at Milton Academy will come to a close. All of us at Milton will forever be grateful for Todd’s incredible impact on our school. We invite you to reflect on Todd’s tenure and to share well-wishes and messages of gratitude with him. Check out what other alumni have shared, and if you haven’t done so already, post your own shout-out—a note, memory, photo, or short video message—for Todd here: https://padlet.com/MiltonAcademy/todd

“Let’s go football! Go field hockey! Go soccer! Go cross country!” The pep rally leaders were a cyclone of energy, hyping up their peers to support the athletes about to compete that weekend. Then, without skipping a beat: “Let’s hear it for the robotics team! Give it up for speech and debate!” If the shift from athletics to stem and performance teams registered with anyone in the audience, they didn’t show it. Each group received raucous applause. For Milton students, recognizing athletic prowess in the same breath as other skills was seamless and natural. For me, it was one moment—out of thousands of similar moments—to witness something our students do with astonishing regularity and enthusiasm: celebrate each other. Read More.

Engaging with Muslim communities around the world, foreign-policy strategist Farah Pandith ’86 pioneered a new approach to fighting extremists and changed the narrative around how radicalization occurs and how to stop it. Read more.

We love to hear what’s going on in the lives of Milton Grads! Madeleine M. Winrow ’06 recently shared the wonderful news of the birth of her son, James Winrow, who arrived on Valentine’s Day 2023. James joins his big sister, Hailey, and the Winrows are enjoying living in Hingham, Mass., as a family of four. Join Maddie and share your exciting news with us. Whether it’s a career update, a birth or marriage announcement, or a recent move, we want to know! Share your news and submit a class note here.

Sherry Downes arrived at Milton in 1955 and immediately felt at home. With the last polio epidemic raging in Boston, she and her fellow boarders were required to stay on campus. It was that time at Hathaway House where she made long-lasting relationships. “We were all remarkably alike,” she says. “We hit it off immediately, sharing inside jokes and common interests.” Although the Girls’ School was completely separate from the Boys’ School, Sherry remembers crossing Centre Street for special events. It was at a theater production in March of 1958 that she met a boy, going home that night to write in her diary that he gave her a “nice, warm feeling.” That boy was James Bland, who would become her husband and the father of our current headmaster. Read more.

In 1966, a New Yorker article described R. Buckminster (“Bucky”) Fuller 1913—one of Milton’s most famous graduates—as “an engineer, inventor, mathematician, architect, cartographer, philosopher, cosmogonist, and comprehensive designer.” An internationally renowned figure who wrote 28 books, held 28 patents, and earned 47 honorary doctoral degrees, Fuller offered a more succinct autobiographical description, calling himself “the world’s most successful failure.” Read more.

Join us Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, as we celebrate class years ending in 3 and 8. This Reunion is especially memorable as Head of School Todd Bland will deliver his final State of the School Address with reunion-year alumna and incoming Head of School Alixe Callen ’88. This is one Milton weekend you won’t want to miss! Visit our Reunion website, www.milton.edu/reunion, to register or learn more!

Have you recently published a book? We want to know! Julia Shirvan ’00 recently shared with us that she published her first children’s book, “Baby, MD: Neurology in the Park,” in February 2023. Dr. Shirvan hopes caregivers will use the book to create fun teaching moments for their children and inspire a love for reading and learning. Join Julia and share your news with us here!

It’s National Volunteer Week! Raise your hand and make an impact today. Volunteers are the heart of your alumni network. Recently, we had the pleasure of hearing from Beverly Leon ’10, Dennis Clifford ’11, and the late Eli Wolff ’95, in conversation with Director of Athletics Lamar Reddicks, about their experiences as professional athletes. Click here to watch the event recording and here to read more about the life of advocate Eli Wolff ’95. If you would like to explore ways to stay connected and give back to the Milton community, please take a moment to complete this brief form to indicate your volunteer interests.

Next winter, on Friday, December 1, Milton Academy will host our next TEDxMiltonAcademy in King Theater on Milton’s Campus. The event is student-run, featuring a variety of talks from Milton students, faculty, staff, and alumni. If you have an idea that you would like to spread and wish to be a speaker, kindly fill out this application before May 14. Click here to watch last year’s event!

This year’s Graduation speaker is John Avlon, Milton Academy Class of 1991. John is an award-winning journalist and author of six books, including Lincoln & the Fight for Peace and Washington’s Farewell. He is a CNN senior political analyst and anchor, known for his “Reality Check” segments across the network. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast and chief speechwriter for the mayor of New York City during the attacks of September 11, 2001. He lives in New York with his wife, Margaret Hoover, and their two children, Jack and Toula Lou.

In the aftermath of WWII, Milton Academy needed a revolutionary educational thinker to lead the preparatory school (later the Lower School) into a more hopeful and vibrant future. In the tumultuous post-war period, principal Elizabeth Greenleaf (later known as “Betty Buck”) revolutionized the teaching practices and priorities of the Lower School while reigniting the passion of teachers and students alike. Breaking with more traditional teaching philosophy, Buck believed in nurturing students at the level and pace that fit each learner best. Her commitment to expanding access to education led her to form the Saturday Course, a program that continues to provide a challenging supplementary curriculum to promising students from nearby public schools. She also was responsible for much of the Milton A.P.P.L.E. (A Personally Planned Learning Experience) program, which brought together children from private and public schools across Milton for an educational summer program. Buck’s unique perspective on the role of education in students’ lives and of Milton Academy in its surrounding community were aspirational, shaping a vision of public service that continues to inspire the Milton community today.

Join us Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, as we celebrate class years ending in 3 and 8. Reunion will feature panels with current students and fellow alumni, classroom experiences with Milton faculty, a Family Festival on the Quad, class gatherings, and more. This Reunion is especially memorable as Head of School Todd Bland will deliver his final State of the School Address with reunion-year alumna and incoming Head of School Alixe Callen ’88. This is one Milton weekend you won’t want to miss! Visit our Reunion website, www.milton.edu/reunion, to register or learn more!

Over the last few weeks, we hosted the Milton Academy 2023 Department of Equity, Inclusion, and Justice speaker series. The series featured talks from Dr. Howard Stevenson, Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer ’87, and Grace Chan McKibben ’86. Dr. Howard Stevenson discussed how to promote racial literacy in education, health, and community institutions. Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer ’87, executive director at the Interfaith Center of New York, discussed how to overcome prejudice, violence, and misunderstanding by activating the power of grassroots religious and civic leaders of today. Grace Chan McKibben ’86 discussed how to bring communities together and amplify the voices and influence of marginalized communities. To watch the recordings of any of these events, please visit https://vimeo.com/miltonalumni. If you participated in any or all of these events and would like to provide feedback, please take a moment to fill out this survey.

March 9 is Giving Day 2023! From arts to sports to hands-on learning experiences and enrichment, a Milton Fund gift makes a positive impact by helping our students learn, grow, and become the leaders we know they can be. The best part? You don’t have to just imagine 1,000 generous Giving Day donors earning $100K to the Milton Fund. You can help make it a reality. Ready to get started? Add Giving Day to your calendar |  Watch the 2023 video | Support us as a Giving Day advocate

As we prepare for the Spring 2023 edition of Milton Magazine to drop in the mail soon, we are already looking forward to reading the class notes and receiving submissions for the fall issue. Do you have a Milton love story or a new addition to the family to share? How about a career update or relocation to tell your classmates about? Submit a class note today at http://forms.gle/4NHrztmPtjPpGq6n6!

Pictured are Heather McGhee ’97 and Cassim Shepard ’97 on their wedding day in October of 2016. The couple have been best friends since their sophomore year at Milton, when they shared their first kiss in the basement of Wigg Hall.

Dr. Howard Stevenson, the first of Milton’s 2023 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) speakers, recently spoke to the alumni community, as well as Upper and Middle School students. You can access the recording of his talk to the alumni community here. Upcoming speakers include Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer ’87, who will speak on February 28, and Grace Chan McKibbon ’86, who will speak on March 7. You can register for the upcoming speaker events at https://www.milton.edu/graduates/events-calendar.

While the past two years have brought myriad heartbreaks and headaches into the public school classroom, alumni working in public school education say they have also profited from important lessons and opportunities. Read more.

Classes ending in 3 and 8, get excited because Reunion is just five months away! Mark your calendars for Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, and keep an eye out for registration information in February. In the meantime, please visit www.milton.edu/reunion to view a preliminary schedule, check out your class page to connect with fellow alumni, join your class committee, and make a gift in honor of your reunion year.

Sitting in the bright, airy headquarters at College for Social Innovation in downtown Boston, Eric Schwarz ’79 describes what has driven him over the past several decades to envision and create two experiential learning programs that give students from underserved communities some of the same opportunities that their more privileged peers have. Read More.

Milton recently hosted a virtual event that explored the collaborative and engaging student clubs that uplift Asian culture at Milton. “Life at Milton: Clubs, Community, and Connection” featured faculty panelists, as well as students who expressed that these clubs offer a “home away from home” and give them a feeling of acceptance and belonging. Access the event recording here: https://vimeo.com/788435340.

Gifts to the Milton Fund provide vital resources for Milton to fulfill its mission by supporting financial aid, faculty development, innovation, and flexible funding for Milton’s greatest needs. Please make your donation before the calendar year ends at www.milton.edu/donate.

Alumni and parent volunteers serve as a vital resource for our students and the greater Milton community. Board of Trustee member Yeng Felipe Butler ’92, P ’35, ’33 recently spoke with Milton’s Invest in Girls club about her life and career in finance. Invest in Girls is a national organization serving more than 2,000 girls a year and was founded by former Trustee Dune Thorne ’94 and Chelsea Mehra ’11. If you would like to explore ways to stay connected and give back to the Milton community like this, please take a moment to complete this brief form to indicate your interests. In particular, we are currently seeking volunteers with expertise in sustainability, digital media, or social justice for upcoming events. A member of our team will be in touch to discuss volunteer opportunities once this form has been completed: https://forms.gle/yz9UhMwTXxrMNBDr6.

Emma Pengelly ’98 is working with communities in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta to create greater opportunities for their citizens. “Our job is really to help people with ideas and people with passions realize their vision,” she says. Read more

This spring will feature several virtual and in-person events, including Milton Basketball at TD Garden; receptions in Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, and San Francisco; virtual conversations with new Milton faculty and staff members; a DEIJ speaker series; Reunion; and much more. Visit our Upcoming Events calendar at www.milton.edu/graduates/events-calendar for more information.

What makes Milton Academy so special for today’s students, faculty, and staff? On #GivingTuesday, November 29, we will hear from Milton’s newest community members about what drew them here. Your Milton Fund support helps our school grow and thrive through recruiting and retaining the highest quality faculty and staff, and by making a Milton education accessible to bright students through financial aid.Tune in on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter,  and make your gift to the Milton Fund at https://www.milton.edu/givingtuesday.

Thank you to the hundreds of Milton Academy graduates who have completed the alumni survey sent earlier this week as part of the school’s self-study process. Your voices are vital as the school prepares for reaccreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Your insights will help us to see Milton’s areas of distinctive strength more clearly and to discern future growth opportunities. If you haven’t yet had a chance to share your thoughts, please take a few minutes to complete this brief survey by Friday, December 2. We appreciate your participation!

As a professor and the director of Africana Studies at Northeastern University, Régine Michelle Jean-Charles ’96 strives to create a community where students and ideas flourish. “In my view, the job of the formative educator is to make justice irresistible.” So writes Jean-Charles in her 2021 book, Martin Luther King & The Trumpet of Conscience Today. In the same passage, she describes helping a group of students process an act of police brutality they witnessed in Paris at the tail end of a course she taught there. Read More.

Have you written a book? Gotten hitched? Added to your family? Your classmates want to know! Share your news in the spring issue of Milton Magazine by submitting your class note by December 2 at forms.gle/4NHrztmPtjPpGq6n6.

Rosamond van der Linde ’54 shares that she has finished her third book titled “Our Dear Deer Island,” which includes stories from 40 summers of adventures in New Brunswick, Canada. She wrote the book to help the island celebrate its 250th year.

Milton-Nobles Day was held on Saturday, November 12, at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Mass. Many students, alumni, family members, and friends cheered the Mustangs on to victory in varsity volleyball (3-0), JV field hockey (2-1 OT), varsity football (38-26), and the under-35 men’s alumni soccer game (4-1). Kevin MacDonald, Varsity Football Head Coach finished his coaching career on a high note with his 237th career win. It was a wonderful day filled with celebration and Milton pride! View photos from the day.

Every ten years, Milton Academy undertakes a self-study in preparation for reaccreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. This period of thoughtful, thorough reflection relies on the participation of the full Milton community. We need to hear your voices! Your insights as graduates will help us to identify Milton’s distinctive strengths and discern opportunities for our future growth. In the next few weeks, you will receive an email with more details about the self-study process and a link to a brief online survey. Please take just a few minutes to share your thoughts. We appreciate your participation.

The inaugural TEDxMiltonAcademy event filled King Theatre with ideas about belonging, health, climate, identity, and psychology, as six speakers from the Milton community shared carefully crafted and passionate talks on subjects of their choosing. The event featured talks from three alumni: Cecilia Guan ’18, who discussed the psychology of a “beginner’s mind”; Michael Kennedy ’01, who shared ideas for involving low-income stakeholders in clean-energy solutions; and Katherine Walker ’02, who spoke about finding humanity as a physician in a pandemic-stricken intensive care unit. Two students, Nika Farokhzad ’23 and Scarlett Eldaief ’24, spoke about the need for comprehensive, national sex eduation and about the complexities of Middle Eastern/North African identity issues, respectively. English Department faculty member Kristine Palmero shared her story of donating bone marrow and the connection she forged with the recipient. Read more.

We are pleased to offer a host of affinity spaces and cultural groups across a wide range of identities, including gender, ability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, and race. Trained facilitators are working with school leadership to create and maintain spaces that are affirming for identity development and supportive of cross-cultural interactions. To learn more, visit https://www.milton.edu/graduates/engage/affinity-groups, or to join an affinity group, please fill out this form.

You’re not alone! Many alumni say that the Class Notes section of Milton Magazine is one of their favorite things to flip through. That’s because people want to know what you’re up to! Share your news and life updates with your Milton family by submitting your class note by December 2 at forms.gle/4NHrztmPtjPpGq6n6.

Pictured is Sarah (McGinty) London ’98 who was named to Fortune‘s 2022 Most Powerful Women in Business. Centene Corporation, where Sarah serves as CEO, noted that “this recognition is a testament to Sarah’s leadership and ability to inspire our team members to deliver on our purpose of transforming the health of the community, one person at a time.”

Last week, Austin Vyas ’17 delivered a beautifully restored Harkness table to Milton just in time for the start of school. This restoration was part of a large, four-table project that Vyas took on as an homage to his career at Milton. Vyas shares, “As a 2017 graduate, I certainly benefited from the Harkness style of learning. I thought it very important to get back to that style of learning after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic had passed.” Vyas also had the help of his brother, Ryan Vyas ’19, in repairing the tables, and Evan Scales ’17 in documenting the project. You can see more photos of Vyas’ restoration work on his company Instagram page, @avyascarpentry.

Have news to share? The fall issue of Milton Magazine will be delivered to mailboxes in the coming weeks, but there’s still time to share your news for the spring issue. Share your accomplishments and life updates with your Milton family by submitting your class note by December 2 at https://forms.gle/VFu3UpDzobUZ9bLB6.

Pictured is Annie Jean-Baptiste ’06 who shared that she launched a LinkedIn learning course on equitable design practices, which focuses on helping organizations build inclusive and equitable products across various industries.

Milton will celebrate alumni in class years ending in 3 and 8 on Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, 2023, and there are many opportunities to get involved as a volunteer. If this is your reunion year, and you would like to explore ways to stay connected and support Milton during this milestone year, please take a moment to complete this brief form, and a member of our team will be in touch to discuss volunteer opportunities: https://forms.gle/yz9UhMwTXxrMNBDr6