÷e Blue Doors
The
NightingaleBamford School
Volume 7
Issue 2
Spring 2013
S PR ING 2013 1
THE BLUE DOORS
Volume 7, Issue 2
Spring 2013
A biannual publication of
The Nightingale-Bamford School
20 East 92nd Street
New York, New York 10128
nightingale.org
We would like to hear from
you! Letters to the editor,
class notes, story suggestions,
corrections, and any questions
you have may be directed to
[email protected].
DESIGN
Pentagram
L AY O U T
Contents
2
4
6
8
CZ Design
PRINTING AND MAILING
Allied Printing Services
PHOTOGRAPHY
All photography courtesy of subject
unless otherwise noted:
Cover, Open Mic, and Lily Szajnberg
by Nicki Sebastian
Foreword
Both Sides Now
Art for a Change
Service
A note from Head of School
Paul A. Burke
Members of Nightingale’s
debate team develop skills
for competitions—and for
life.
Art teacher Maggie Tobin
discovers the power of
art in effecting social and
political change.
The blue doors open
for members of a group
separated since Hurricane
Sandy devastated their
neighborhood.
10 | Exchange
is Change
12 | Now and
Then
18 | Hallways
Australian exchange
students Michela Maw and
Shirley Ng share thoughts
on their experiences at
Nightingale.
Three alumnae moms,
three daughters, two
graduation years. A quick
look at Nightingale from
the past to the present.
14 | On the
Trail with
Mitt Romney
Maggie Tobin by Dave Sanders/
The New York Times/Redux
Golden Age Club by Victoria Jackson
Emily Friedman ‘03 by Michael Seamans
Cross country by Andreas Beroutsos P’17 P’15
Santa Lucia by Darrel Frost
Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai and Gadadhara Pandit Dasa
by Susan Tilson
Soccer team by Whitney Tilson P’14 P’17 P’20
Skating party by Ellen Warfield ‘95
Arsenic and Old Lace by Sandra Coudert
On the cover: Catherine Ketchum,
Ellie Diamond, and Morgan
McKibben—all members of the
Class of 2022—take a moment to
mug for the camera on a field trip
last fall.
ABC News producer
Emily Friedman ’03 takes
us behind the scenes of
the Romney campaign.
Stories and photographs
from around the
schoolhouse
27 | Class Notes
32 | Voices
Growing Every Girl
March 8, 2013
Join alumnae, parents, faculty, and friends for an incredible
evening of dinner, dancing, and auctions! All proceeds go
directly to support Nightingale-Bamford.
Tickets and information at nightingale.org
2 TH E B L UE DOORS
SP R I N G 2013 1
FOREWORD
Change is Afoot
A certain amount of newness is understandable—expected,
even—in a setting where every year we have an influx of new
girls and watch returning students grow ever upward. Our
faculty and staff, too, tirelessly examine the curriculum and
tailor their classroom presentations to fit each student—and
in many cases, to reflect events beyond the blue doors.
We are in the midst of a few more changes than usual,
though. Kitty Gordan—who, for 43 years now, has done as
much as anyone to shape the academic life of this school—
will be retiring at the end of this school year. In December,
we purchased a townhouse at 30 East 92nd Street, and we
will be expanding our schoolhouse over the coming years,
transforming the space in which we learn and live.
More abstract, but no less important, we are in the midst
of our decennial accreditation with the New York State
Association of Independent Schools. This two-year process
involves an intense study by our own faculty, staff, and parents,
looking at how well we live out our mission and detailing
areas we believe can improve. It will be our work in the
coming years to combine what we know with what we are
learning in this self-study in order to map out the future of
Nightingale-Bamford.
Change is indeed afoot.
As a teacher of history, I think we have much to learn from
the periods of development that we have gone through in
the last 92 years. You can see some of these in the gallery
of pictures hanging behind my desk: changes in uniforms,
athletic teams, books we read in our classrooms... Through
a stunning black-and-white photograph of a music class in
the old auditorium—in which the silhouette of a piano evokes
Arnold Newman’s famous portrait of Igor Stravinsky—you
can even see how our space has changed.
Yet when I peruse this gallery—a mix of old and new,
with words of former headmistresses mingling alongside
visions of contemporary life—the lesson I glean is this: we
have succeeded not only because we have changed, but
because in times of change we have not forgotten the
things that matter. The excitement over learning, the hands
held between friends, the confidence on the faces of our
graduating seniors. In essence, we have succeeded because
our work has changed but our mission has not.
With our purpose steady and our hopes flying ahead,
it is an exhilarating time to be at Nightingale. Let’s see what
comes next.
Paul A. Burke
Head of School
2 TH
THEE BBLLUE
UE DOORS
DOORS
4
SP R I N G 2013 3
Both Sides Now
Nightingale’s debate team finds great success—
and not just during competition.
by Dr. LE Hartmann-Ting
It’s a Tuesday afternoon and I am a few minutes late to our
debate team meeting in room 312. I open the door expecting
chaos, which is exactly what I find. Lime-flavored Tostitos
and banter about the fiscal cliff. Experienced debaters are
explaining concepts such as “tax brackets,” “marginal rates,”
and “capital gains” to the younger students, while a few
girls just back from competition relish in telling how a team
they debated “did not even know the difference between
entitlements and discretionary spending.” I call order—we
have a lot to do—but I am proud.
PUBLIC FORUM
We are practicing a fast-paced, policy-oriented exercise called
Public Forum, in which two-person teams debate monthly
resolutions on topics of national importance. Students
must research and write cases both affirming and negating
the resolution. These topics are not light. In December,
Nightingale students debated whether or not “the United
States should prioritize tax increases over spending cuts”
and they spent time over break researching the January topic:
“On balance, the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United
v. Federal Election Commission harms the election process.”
When a new resolution is released, students begin to prepare
by doing “topic analysis” during an afterschool brainstorming
session. Led by team captains Sophia Kiam ‘14 and Sarah
Hunt Allen ‘14, students dissect each word in the resolution,
list potential arguments on both the pro and con sides,
4 TH E B L UE DOORS
consider the possible frameworks (e.g. net benefits, morality,
social contract) that will serve as the justification for their
arguments, and then divvy up research duties. Evidence is
pooled and shared as older, more experienced debaters
teach novices (first-year debaters) how to process evidence
and write cases. After a few weeks of research and writing,
we begin weekly practices.
Nightingale’s debate team competes on the local, state,
and national circuits. Highlights of our schedule include Bronx
Science’s “Big Bronx” tournament each October and Harvard’s
tournament each President’s Day weekend. Both of these
tournaments are attended by over 1,000 students from all over
the country. Closer to home, Nightingale competes regularly
against Stuyvesant, Regis, Bronx Science, Hunter, Trinity, and
Fordham. Nightingale’s greatest challenge—finding time to
practice—is endemic in independent schools. Our girls have
many extracurricular choices and obligations, and their time
is largely spoken for. In a creative attempt to increase contact
with their teammates, students have begun to meet at 7:00
a.m. on Fridays the weeks we have competition.
BEYOND THE RESEARCH
Debate is a serious activity. It challenges our students in
ways that few of them expect, exposing them to the world
outside the blue doors and teaching them the skills they will
need to navigate it. As women, our students will need to find
ways to cultivate authority, challenge male assertiveness, and
overcome what biases still exist in our society. In the process
As women, our students
will need to find ways
to cultivate authority,
challenge male assertiveness,
and overcome what biases
still exist in our society.
In the process of learning
to do so, Nightingale
debaters gain an enviable
skill set.
of learning to do so, Nightingale debaters gain an
enviable skill set. Debate teaches you to think on your
feet, to clash when making arguments, to take a stand
and defend it. Defending oneself when challenged helps
our girls to develop deep confidence, the kind that is
rooted in overcoming adversity and sometimes fear.
“Debate has changed the way I react in difficult situations,”
explained one student. Now, when faced with the urge
to “flee the room,” she reminds herself of the importance
of seeming confident and is then able to use logic and
reasoning skills. Another student explained how debate
has changed her:
At Nightingale, people will always respect your
opinions even when they disagree with you. In
debate that is not the case. People are willing...
to completely disregard your arguments. Debate
has showed me that there will always be stronger
arguments and better evidence. In turn, that has
encouraged me to work harder and become better.
In the short-term, debate has almost immediate academic
benefits. When asked what they found most useful about
debate, virtually all team members said they were more
confident in class discussions, better able to organize and
express their thoughts in essays, and more understanding
of issues facing our country and our world. Most gratifying
from this coach’s perspective, perhaps, is the comment
from a student who wrote: “The best part of debate is
being told you are wrong. And then proving you are right.”
Dr. Hartmann-Ting is a longtime member of Nightingale’s
history faculty and the coach of Nightingale’s debate team.
[Top to bottom:] Students research in small groups after school; girls practice a
public forum debate; team members at a tournament on December 18, 2012;
Millicent Hennessey ’12 and Francesca Haass ’12 with their trophies from the
2012 Harvard National Invitational Forensics Tournament.
SP R I N G 2013 5
Art for Change
Nightingale art teacher Maggie Tobin has been
an artist and a political activist for most of her
life—but it’s only recently that she’s begun to
combine these two passions.
Art teacher Maggie Tobin, photographed near her house in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, March 2012.
Maggie Tobin is the kind of person who speaks her mind, the
kind of person who doesn’t hesitate to ask the first question or
take the first step, the kind of person who knows her neighbors
and local shopkeepers. You might call her a go-getter or an
activist; she is the kind of person who is known by her city
council representative.
Ms. Tobin is also an accomplished artist who has shown
in galleries from New York to Nebraska, yet up until a few
years ago, the only intersection for her art and politics was
occasionally painting signs for a rally. Politics was politics and
art was art.
“But I reached a point in my life,” she says, “where I
wanted more meaning in my work. Painting has always been
a meditative thing for me, and teaching painting has always
been a love of mine, but I started thinking art might represent
something more.”
Opportunity arose in her local community in Kensington,
a quiet and diverse neighborhood of Brooklyn at the southern
end of the G line. For some time, Ms. Tobin had been writing
letters and getting petitions signed to clean up an abandoned
lot near her house—abandoned save for the piles of trash that
the lot’s chain-link fence did little to hide. After months of being
ignored by local leaders, she went door-to-door and gathered
a group of about 30 neighbors.
The group of wayward activists painted a 35-foot-long
banner and hung it from the fence fronting the lot. On the
banner were painted images of what the group would like
to see on the lot—a community center, a garden, trees—and
6 TH E B L UE DOORS
I want the girls to feel like
they can make a difference
in their communities, to
know that they have all the
tools they need to make a
real positive change.
on the far end, a plea to the owners of the lot and the city:
clean this place up, please.
Three days later, there were bulldozers and crews cleaning
everything up.
Not all of Ms. Tobin’s civic efforts are art-based (she sits
on Community Board 12 and has, among other things, fought
for additional green space and stop signs at dangerous
intersections), but she has found that art can bring a special
focus to certain problems.
To wit: discussions with a local mosque to play their call
to worship at a lower volume were ineffective, and letters to
city officials had gone unheeded. A yeshiva across the street
had boarded up their windows years earlier in an effort to
dampen the sound, so when Ms. Tobin had exhausted her
traditional options, she decided—in consultation with the
yeshiva—to paint the boarded-up windows as bright and
open casements. The painting caught the eyes of many in the
neighborhood and, Ms. Tobin believes, led to more awareness
and discussion of the reasons for the windows’ closure. This in
turn led to renewed conversations between the community
and the mosque, and a short time later, the mosque adjusted
the volume of their call to worship.
As her art has become more intertwined with her civic
engagement, she has turned her attention to similarly inclined
artists: “I’ve found myself looking more and more at people
around the world who are using art for social change, artists
like the Yes Men or Ai Weiwei.” Inspired by their stories and
her own experience, Ms. Tobin had a revelation: anyone can
effect change, and art can be a powerful way to do it.
So she brought this idea back to Nightingale and, this year,
began teaching a semester-long course called “Art for Social
Change” to students in Class VIII. During the course, in addition
to studying some of the artist-activists who have inspired
Ms. Tobin, students break into small groups and identify a cause
they want to address through art. Later this spring, students
will present some of their projects to their peers at a Middle
School Morning Meeting. As to Ms. Tobin’s goal with the
course: “I want the girls to feel like they can make a difference
in their communities, to know that they have all the tools they
need to make a real positive change.”
She has been spreading this message to other youth,
as well. Last November, a few blocks from Nightingale, the
Hewitt School hosted a special TedxYouth conference and
invited Ms. Tobin to speak about the ability of youth to engage
the world through art—and how important that engagement
can be.
“I am in awe of the opportunities kids have to tap into the
resources of their city and enact change,” she says. “It gives
me hope.”
—Darrel Frost
SP R I N G 2013 7
SERVICE
Students
Welcome
Golden Age
Club to
Nightingale
Annika Gottfrid, Katharine
Tilson, Lauren White, and Libbie
Wiltshire—all members of
Nightingale’s Class of 2020—
pose with a member of the
Golden Age Club, with whom
they spent much of the
morning on January 26, 2013.
8 TH E B L UE DOORS
On Saturday, January 26, several hundred members of our
community gathered at Nightingale to participate in our
annual Family Service Day. Groups of students and parents
delivered Meals on Heels; donated blankets and toured the
facilities at the ASPCA; and spent time with students from
one of our partner schools, the Sisulu-Walker Charter School
of Harlem. A particular highlight of the day was Nightingale’s
hosting of a special reunion of the Golden Age Club from
storm-ravaged Breezy Point, NY.
The Golden Age Club is a group of seniors who had
been meeting at a local community center every Tuesday for
years until Hurricane Sandy destroyed their meeting place,
along with the homes of most of Breezy Point’s residents.
Since then, the members of the Golden Age Club have been
scattered around the region, still unable to return home and
see one another.
Students at Nightingale were thrilled to facilitate a special
reunion lunch for the Golden Age Club, and they welcomed
the group with great excitement. They spent several hours
together, allowing time not only for the members to reconnect
with one another, but also for the students to hear their
stories and see pictures of their families, pets, and destroyed
homes. Our Lower School students sang several songs to their
appreciative audience, and parents helped run a bake sale
that—together with other contributions—raised more than
$6,500 for the Breezy Point Youth League. Capping off the
day, NBC Nightly News covered the reunion and included
a story about the day during their national broadcast the
following evening.
It was a powerful morning for many at Nightingale.
We are thankful to the volunteers who made it possible and
to the Golden Age Club who visited the schoolhouse and
helped make Family Service Day such a meaningful time for
our community.
To view the NBC News video, or to learn more about
Nightingale’s community service program, please visit
nightingale.org/service.
SP R I N G 2013 9
Exchange is
Change
Shirley Ng and Michela Maw (pictured above at our
Homecoming game on September 29, 2012) spent the fall
semester at Nightingale as part of our annual exchange with
the Ascham School for Girls in Sydney. Here, they share some
of their reflections on being exchange students in New York.
10 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Michela Maw
My exchange to New York and my time at the NightingaleBamford School have been among the most amazing
experiences of my life and I am very grateful to everyone at
Nightingale and Ascham who made it possible. I have learned
so much about both New York and myself, and have gained
a new appreciation for Ascham. There are clear differences
between Ascham and Nightingale, and it has been really
exciting to experience learning in such a different way.
The most immediate differences between the two schools
are the physical ones—namely, the uniforms and the school
grounds. The Nightingale uniform is significantly less strict
than the one I wear in Sydney, and I have felt a sense of
freedom not being stuck in the same old khaki green every
day. However, on some days it feels like such an effort to
choose what to wear; I have missed not having to worry
about it. I guess it’s just down to personal preference. I know
Nightingale girls who have come to Australia and found
our school uniforms restricting—it’s all about what you are
accustomed to. The grounds, of course, are also very different,
since Nightingale is all in one building and Ascham has a
campus with multiple buildings. It was nice not having to
walk five minutes to the next class, but at the same time I
missed the fresh air. Still, I had imagined that a one-building
school would feel like an office, but Nightingale still feels like
a school: everyone is just closer together, which just gives it a
great sense of community. Although the physical differences
between Ascham and Nightingale were fun to discover, after
a week or two in class I began to realize that more separates
our two schools than skirt lengths.
The style of learning at Nightingale is very different from
Ascham and it has been an interesting experience to be
taught in a new way. At Nightingale, the learning is very
discussion-based. Students here are encouraged to have
opinions and to express them, while at the same time
considering the opinions of others. Ascham has a much
more rigid style of learning. You sit and are taught; there is
much less discussion. I don’t think either style is better or
worse; each is simply different from the other and is suited to
different people. Coming to Nightingale and experiencing
this new style was a challenge for me at first. I was much
more reserved than my fellow classmates and was hesitant
to voice my opinions, but as the weeks progressed I became
more comfortable, realizing that the Nightingale community
was one about sharing ideas.
I think one of the reasons why discussion-based learning
works so well at Nightingale is because of the teachers. The
teachers at Nightingale are so open and welcoming; they’ll
talk to students in the hallway, sit with them for lunch, and
joke about what they did on the weekend. It really breaks
down the barrier between students and teachers and makes
learning feel more comfortable and natural. The teachers at
Nightingale are more like really smart friends than teachers.
I don’t know whether this is the intention or not but I really
enjoyed getting to know my teachers on a more personal
level. It created a lot more trust and class began to feel less
rigid. At Ascham, you form relationships with your teachers,
naturally, but at Nightingale you form friendships with them
and it makes the learning experience so much more fun.
When my friends from home have asked me what I’m going
to miss, teachers are always at the top of my list. I’ve made a
lot of friends during my stint at Nightingale, and I’m proud
to say that not all of them have been students.
My experience at Nightingale has made my stay in
New York so enjoyable and I am going to miss everyone—
students and faculty—so much. Nightingale has exposed
me to so many different things I would have never otherwise
experienced and for that I am very grateful. The students,
the teachers, and the overwhelming sense of community you
feel while at the school have made Nightingale really feel like
a home away from home, and I am very sad to be leaving such
an amazing place. I send all my best and thanks to everyone
at the school and hope I will see you all soon, whether it be in
New York or Sydney.
Shirley Ng
They’re not kidding when they tell you that exchange goes
by in a flash. I almost can’t believe that I’m leaving in the
next few days. I still remember completely freaking out on
the plane, wondering what on earth it was that I had gotten
myself into.
Exchange is change. Rapid, brutal, colorful, amazing,
unexpected, overwhelming. Change in lifestyle, country,
friends, parents, houses, food—simply everything. These
are both the best and worst parts of exchange. Exchange
is thinking constantly. About everything. About the subtle
differences—Americans drive on a different side of the road
and they say “ketchup” instead of “tomato sauce.” About
why you’re here and not back home, and how your friends
are going to react when you see them again. About how
stupid this whole time-difference thing is. And about that
essay that’s due, even though your grades don’t count.
Exchange is people. Those incredible, different people,
who look at you like you’re an alien when you say “jumper”
instead of “sweater” and “beanie” instead of “hat.” Exchange
is also music. New music, weird music, cool music, music
I’ll remember all my life as the soundtrack of my exchange.
Exchange is feeling uncomfortable. It’s feeling out of place,
like a fifth wheel. It’s trying to be nice all the time. It’s the cold,
the freezing cold. It’s homesickness. It’s the awkward silence
and it’s feeling guilty for not talking to someone at home.
Or feeling guilty because you missed something because you
were talking on Skype.
Exchange is falling in love. With this amazing, wild,
beautiful city.
Exchange is unbelievable. It was nothing like I expected
it to be, and everything I wanted it to be. This exchange is
something I will never forget, something that will always be
a part of me. It is something no one back at home will ever
truly understand. Most importantly, exchange is growing up.
I feel as if I’ve learned so much in past three months—realizing
everybody is the same, no matter where they’re from. That
there are great people and not-so-great people everywhere.
Finally, it’s realizing that I can be on my own, that I’m an
independent person.
Exchange is everything. And exchange is something no
one will understand unless they’ve been through it. And I
think I speak for both Michela and me when I say we can’t
even begin to express our gratitude to all the families who
have hosted us and everyone at Nightingale for making
this experience possible and unforgettable.
SP R I N G 2013 1 1
Now and Then
MOMS AND DAUGHTERS
[L to R:] Hannah Glosser ’13,
Cathy Hoffman Glosser ’84,
Tati Esposito Von Mueffling ’13,
Dini Von Mueffling ’84,
Lala Manger Fleming ’84,
and Samantha Fleming ‘13
It’s pretty remarkable that three of our seniors this year have mothers who attended Nightingale, and
even more incredible that those mothers also graduated together! We asked them to compare their
senior year experiences, and the answers we received made clear that no matter what else may have
changed over the past 29 years, the core of Nightingale—our warm and supportive community—is as
strong as ever.
Neighborhood
Hangouts
Head of
School
Favorite Things
about Nightingale
1984: The Chinese takeout place next to Jackson Hole; Epstein’s
1984: Joan S. McMenamin
2013: Yura
2013: Paul A. Burke
Samantha ’13: The connections students have
with teachers that far exceed the classroom.
Hannah ’13: Tight-knit community.
Popular
Music
1984: Michael Jackson’s Thriller
album; “Tainted Love” by Soft
Cell; anything by Madonna
2013: Taylor Swift; “100 Years”
by Five for Fighting; “Thrift Shop”
by Macklemore
Tati ’13: The close bonds that form our school
community.
Popular TV Shows
Cathy ’84: All My Children; General Hospital; Dynasty
Dini ’84: Dallas; anything on MTV; Family Ties
Hannah ’13: Homeland
Tati ’13: New Girl
Associate
Head of
School
1984: Catherine M.S. Gordan
Lala ’84: Our friends were like family. My best friend
at Nightingale, Annie Whalen Petrocelli ’84, continues
to be my friend today, and is Samantha’s godmother.
Dini ’84: It was a supportive environment—a place
where students cared about the world—where a strong
social service program made for compassionate girls.
Cathy ’84: The lifelong friendships I made.
2013: Catherine M.S. Gordan
Changes in Nightingale
Best
Lunch
Offerings
Favorite Nightingale
Memories
Lala ’84: Nightingale has changed with the times, but the
overall feeling has not changed—a warm and comfortable
environment, where all girls are in one building, under one roof.
Samantha ’13:
Pasta Action Station
Lala ’84: Dessert
Tati ’13: My first Around the Tree, when I was the
very first Kindergarten girl to walk in and I got to
hold hands with Ms. Hutcheson.
Dini ’84: It’s a better school now—certainly more diverse.
Nightingale creates strong and compassionate women,
and that combination is so important.
Tati ’13: Quiche
Cathy ’84: Field Day; Around the Tree
Cathy ’84: The food is better! Nightingale was great when
I attended, but celebrates the whole child/young woman even
more today, which can only make for healthier, happier, more
well-adjusted human beings.
12 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Hannah ’13: The small, daily interactions with
teachers and advisors.
Senior Year
Highlights
Tati ’13: Elevator privileges.
Seriously—I can’t even describe
how wonderful it is not to have to
walk up to the seventh floor for PE
while holding sneakers, a backpack,
and trying to push through a pack
of Lower School girls.
Lala ’84: Being a senior felt so
grown up. I loved hanging out
in the senior lounge and being out
of uniform on Fridays.
Dini ’84: I went to boarding school
for sophomore and junior years, so
I was apprehensive about returning
for senior year. The warmth of my
class helped me ease back into
Nightingale without feeling weird—
they even gave me my own class
jacket in the first weeks back.
Dini ’84: Dessert
SP R I N G 2013 1 3
FIRST PERSON
On the Trail with Mitt Romney
by Emily Friedman ’03
From the first day I started working at ABC News, I knew that
it wasn’t going to be a typical 9-to-5 job. News jobs rarely are.
But what the job allowed me to do over the course of 16
months was nothing I ever could have imagined. Shortly after
being assigned in May of 2011 to cover former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney’s second bid for the White House, my
life was turned upside down in the most exciting way possible.
I was told by one of my bosses to become the network’s
Romney “expert.” This meant it was up to me to learn and
then remember all of the facts that someone was bound to
need 10 seconds before a show went on the air: “How many
grandkids does Romney have?” (18), or “Is it Ann with an ’e’
or without?” (without).
I now know that he ate fried chicken in Florida, pie in
Michigan, Cheetos on the plane, butter burgers in Wisconsin,
and ice cream in New Hampshire. I know more about Romney’s
tastes—in food and politics—than I do about anyone else.
When Romney was still one of many candidates vying for
the Republican nomination, I spent a lot of time running
across airports to make the last connecting flights to cities
like Sioux Falls, South Dakota. (In that instance, I had to get
there in time to watch Romney deliver a speech to a local
chamber of commerce, a speech that wouldn’t exactly be a
game changer but one for which someone from ABC News—
me—had to be there.) As he became the clear nominee and
the odds of a Romney White House increased, I began to
climb onto a private plane (inscribed with Romney’s campaign
slogan) several times a day. The private plane was the only
way for Romney to be in Iowa at 8:00 a.m., Ohio by lunchtime,
and Miami in the evening.
I rarely slept more than five hours a night, setting a
minimum of four alarms to make sure I’d wake up to conduct
my typical routine: television on, laptop open, headlines read,
e-mails returned and drafted, shower, repack, and board the
bus. All of this typically happened before 7:00 a.m., and in
the final days, even earlier.
I learned to live out of a suitcase that I was still—
miraculously—able to carry myself. In it were clothes that
could be worn in -10 degree weather (Des Moines, Iowa) and
in 85 degree weather (Tampa, Florida). Some days we traveled
to three different climates in one day, hopscotching among
states so quickly that it became difficult to remember what
state I was in each morning.
At last count the assignment took me to 45 states and
three foreign countries. I learned firsthand just how beautiful
Jackson Hole, Wyoming is and that Fargo, North Dakota is not
as deserted as one might think. I also learned some tougher
14 TH E B L UE DO O RS
lessons, like as cool as it is to stay in a different hotel in a
different city every night, it gets lonely.
But one of the most important lessons I learned over the
course of the campaign was how to overcome my nerves
when it came to asking Romney a question. Sure, my four
years at Nightingale had helped tremendously with my selfconfidence, but there was something about posing a question,
cameras rolling, to a man who could be the next president
that had my mouth dried out and my hands clammy in no time.
Nervous or not, I had to rise to the occasion—twice
actually—and interview Romney myself. The first time I also
had to film the interview in addition to asking the questions
and my hands were shaking so furiously as I tried to put a
microphone on his lapel that Romney offered to do it himself,
his spokesman holding back laughter on a couch nearby.
The second time I interviewed him we were about to
take off from Denver, Colorado, and like any other day, we
reporters had piled on the plane and were waiting for him to
join us before we took off. Before I knew it, I had been yanked
off the plane and onto the tarmac where Romney was doing
interviews with all of the networks about the latest news from
Benghazi. So there I was, with about five minutes of advance
notice, asking Romney about the state of affairs in Libya and
what he’d do differently if elected.
As time went on and I became more comfortable, I also
began to look forward to the opportunity to ask him questions.
Occasionally on some of the longer flights, Romney would
venture to the back of the plane where those of us in the press
sat and would agree to answer a few questions. Cameras rolling,
it was often up to me to ask a question on behalf of ABC
News. I recall asking him what it was, exactly, that he believed
President Obama was saying about him that was misleading.
The Romney I got in return was one that was more angry, more
heated, than we’d ever seen him. It made the evening
newscasts and the papers the next day—Romney finally being
specific about how Obama was portraying him inaccurately.
And just before 5:00 p.m. on Election Day, I asked what
ended up being my last question of candidate Romney.
“What does it feel like to be you today?” I shouted over a
gaggle of other reporters also hoping to get a last-minute
question in.
He told me that he thought he was going to win and that
he finally felt like he was connected both intellectually and
emotionally with voters.
Of course, Romney was proven wrong later that night. But
as his campaign plane circled the Boston skyline just as the
polls closed, I felt proud not only to have survived the grueling
experience, but to have come to enjoy it. Nerves and all.
Emily Friedman ’03 films
Governor Mitt Romney
during a door-knocking
event in New Hampshire.
SP R I N G 2013 1 5
After Nightingale’s varsity cross country team won the New
York State Association of Independent Schools championship
in November, seven members advanced to the New York State
Federation Cross Country Championships, the highest level
of state competition. Pictured above: Coach Chimé Wangdu,
Carolina Beroutsos ’17, Graciela Garcia ’15, Emma Chesley ’14,
Isabella Beroutsos ’15, Sasha Whittle ’13, Anna Jurew ’15,
Rebecca Lin ’15, and Coach Marilina Kim.
16 TH E B L UE DO O RS
SP R I N G 2013 1 7
Ha llways
Stories and photographs
from around the schoolhouse
Spoken word artist Kelly
Zen-Yie Tsai performed
before a captivated audience
at Upper School assembly
on January 18. Her deeply
personal poetry—both
moving and electrifying—
showcased her commitment
to social justice.
cafe hosts discussion on
race in dance
On November 8, CAFE hosted a discussion about
racism in dance, featuring Nightingale’s artist in
residence Ian Spencer Bell. Mr. Bell is the author
of “Caramel Variations,” an essay that examines
the presence (or lack) of African-Americans in
ballet. Also joining the discussion were two
women who have defied the stereotype of the
classic ballerina: Misty Copeland and Nightingale
alumna Francesca Harper ’87.
As a world-renowned ballerina (and the first
African-American female soloist at American Ballet
Theatre), Ms. Copeland talked about the hardships
she faces as an African-American in a whitedominated industry and explained that she has
often been overlooked for certain roles because
of the color of her skin, despite her perfect ballet
body and impeccable skill. Ms. Copeland inspired
tears in the audience as she recounted a moment
when she looked up at a banner in Lincoln Center
with her face on it and burst into tears—not
because it was a picture of her, but because it was
finally a picture of an African-American ballerina.
Ms. Harper talked about the immense support
she received from Nightingale regarding her
dance career and her experiences growing up as
a dancer in New York. Her commitment to dance
drove her to create her own dance company
where she is able to continue to do what she loves
while giving the opportunity to others as well. It
was a fantastic CAFE meeting, and we are so lucky
to have had the opportunity to be joined by such
special guests.
—Caroline Schoen ’13
Students share the traditions of
the Scandinavian Festival of Santa
Lucia at Lower School Assembly
on December 13.
18 TH E B L UE DO O RS
SP R I N G 2013 1 9
latin club reaches out
to the community
Since early October, members of the Latin Club
have been traveling to the South Bronx Classical
Charter School every Tuesday afternoon to tutor
fifth-grade students primarily in Latin, but also in
other subjects. The project is the brainchild of the
Latin Club co-heads, Solveig Gold ’13 and Olivia
Herrington ’14, who met the school’s founder and
director at a Latin conference and later proposed
to him the idea of this service project, which they
expanded to include interested students from
Collegiate. In addition to the tutoring they do,
our students bring snacks every week and are
working with the fifth-graders on a half-English/
half-Latin play based on a Greek myth and written
by Solveig and Olivia, which will be performed
later this year. Head of the Classics Department
and Latin Club advisor Dr. Panayotes Dakouras
recently traveled to the school to see the girls in
action: “Witnessing the relationship our girls have
developed with these young boys and girls was
truly inspiring. As I watched them, I couldn’t
help feeling that Nightingale is doing a great
job of educating the minds and the hearts of
our students.”
20 TH E B L UE DO O RS
fall nighthawk teams
finish strong
Our varsity athletes enjoyed tremendous success
this fall, whether they were spiking on the
volleyball court, running down the soccer field,
or racing cross country. The varsity volleyball
team made it to the semi-finals of the AAIS league
championship tournament, and varsity soccer
advanced to the AAIS league finals for the first
nightingale journals
garner awards
gadadhara pandit dasa
visits world religions class
On September 14, 2012, Upper School students in
Dr. Kasevich’s World Religions class were treated
to a visit from Hindu monk Gadadhara Pandit Dasa
(also known as Pandit), who is the first-ever Hindu
chaplain for both Columbia University and NYU.
The students were rapt as Pandit shared with them
his personal spiritual journey as well as the basic
tenets of Hinduism and its primary spiritual text,
the Bhagavad Gita.
World Religions is a history elective open to
Classes XI and XII; over the course of the semester,
students have the opportunity to investigate the
theological and metaphysical truths of the world’s
major religions and are encouraged to reflect
personally about life’s “big questions.”
In 2012, three of Nightingale’s student journals
were recognized for their excellence by the
Columbia Scholastic Press Association, a program
of the Columbia University Graduate School of
Journalism. Last spring, Philomel, the Upper
School literary magazine, added a Silver Crown (for
its 2011 edition) to its impressive award collection,
which now includes nine Gold Crowns and five
Silvers; its Middle School literary counterpart,
Out of Uniform, earned its third Crown award in
time since the 1990s! Not to be outdone, varsity
cross country had a season for the record books:
their undefeated season included winning the
AAIS championship and, for the first time ever, the
NYSAIS championship! Another first for the team
was the inclusion of three Nighthawks on the New
York All-State Cross Country list: Sasha Whittle ’13,
Anna Jurew ’15, and Carolina Beroutsos ’17 all
earned All-State Honorable Mentions in the Class
D school division.
four years with a Gold Crown for its 2011 edition.
Most recently, Time Regained, the Upper School
current events journal, scored well enough in the
Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s annual
critique to earn the Gold Medalist classification.
The journal won kudos from the judges for its
content, and was complimented for its “good use
of voice and tone” as well as its “personal and
thought-provoking” articles. This was only the fifth
edition of Time Regained and its third gold medal.
Congratulations to all of the student writers and
editors and their faculty advisors!
SP R I N G 2013 2 1
nobel prize-winner focus
of upper school assembly
reformist muslim irshad manji
addresses upper school
Renowned Muslim reformer Irshad Manji spoke
to the girls in Classes VIII–XII on November 9 with
a rousing mix of energy, conviction, and humor.
An observant Muslim who has faced death threats
as a result of her outspoken views on Islamic
extremism and what she sees as the misuse of her
faith to excuse violence and human rights abuses,
Irshad (as she likes to be called) encouraged the
girls to stand up for what they believe—even if
they risk opposition or insults—and to have the
courage to question and challenge those who
disagree with them.
Her personal story is a study of the courage
and individuality she advocates. Expelled with
her family from Uganda when she was four, Irshad
grew up in Canada and went to public school
during the week and Islamic religious school on
Saturdays. At age 14, she was kicked out of her
religious school for asking too many questions.
Rather than giving up on Islam at that point,
she decided to educate herself on religion by
spending hours each weekend reading in the
public library, where she discovered the Islamic
tradition of questioning and creative thinking
that became her passion.
Throughout the morning assembly at
Nightingale, Irshad modeled her confident,
forthright, inquisitive style, and she engaged her
student questioners thoughtfully. As she does with
her students at the Moral Courage Project (the
program she founded and still directs at New York
University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of
Public Service), she exhorted our girls to challenge
political correctness, intellectual conformity, and
self-censorship, and to find and use their voices to
start “desperately needed conversations.”
Although time ran out before all of the
students’ questions could be addressed, Irshad’s
message clearly captivated and resonated with
our students—their standing ovation said it
all—and will no doubt be the impetus for many
conversations to come.
22 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Dr. Roberta Seret, founder of International Cinema
Education, visited Nightingale’s Upper School on
December 7 to teach the girls about Nobel Peace
Prize–winner Aung San Suu Kyi and her struggles
in Myanmar/Burma. Dr. Seret’s organization uses
film as an entry point to educate about global
issues, and at Friday’s assembly, our students were
shown several clips from Luc Besson’s film The
Lady (which is based on Suu Kyi’s life) as part of
the assembly.
Suu Kyi spent 15 years under house arrest
and was imprisoned three times as she sought
to bring democracy to her country. As the leader
of the National League for Democracy, she
survived threats against her life and endured many
hardships, not the least of which was separation
from her family, who lived in England and whose
visits were severely restricted. One film clip
poignantly depicted Suu Kyi struggling with the
reality that she could not be at her husband’s side
as he was dying from cancer, and her profound
grief after his untimely death.
Suu Kyi’s great personal sacrifice has not been
in vain: she is currently a member of the Burmese
parliament and her political party is gaining
prominence. She will run for president of Burma in
2015, although Dr. Seret said that it is still unclear
whether she will be permitted to serve if she wins.
Our students were clearly inspired by Aung San
Suu Kyi’s story, and engaged Dr. Seret in a short
question-and-answer period after the lecture.
heroic nightingale alumna
in the news
Hannah Cope ’12 spent just one semester at
St. Andrews’ University in Scotland, but she will be
remembered long after that for her heroism. On
October 28, 2012, she and six of her classmates
rushed into the frigid North Sea to save a woman
who was struggling in the water. A varsity swimmer
for Nightingale and a member of St. Andrews’
swim team during her time there, Hannah was
the first to reach the woman and was able to get
her safely back to shore. The entire Nightingale
community salutes her bravery and selflessness!
Announcing the Catherine M.S. Gordan
Nightingale Mind Lecture Series
Over the years,
Nightingale has
enjoyed a number
of impressive lecture
series that highlight
the lively academic
atmosphere of the
schoolhouse and
our community:
a sampling includes the Bennett Classics
Lecture, the Werner Feig Memorial Lecture on
the Holocaust, and the Joan S. McMenamin
Lecture on American history. Now a new
lecture series celebrating the intellectual
life of our faculty has been added to this
esteemed list: the Catherine M.S. Gordan
Nightingale Mind Lecture.
Kitty Gordan has worked at Nightingale
for 43 years; since 1977, she has served as
associate head of school. During her time
here, she has developed a rich and rigorous
curriculum, an exceptionally talented faculty,
and an unrivaled professional development
program—all while continuing to teach and
serve as an advisor to students. Most recently,
of course, she served last year as acting head
of school. In recognition of this commitment
to the intellectual life of Nightingale, Head
of School Paul A. Burke announced on
January 22, 2013, that this new lecture series
would be named in Mrs. Gordan’s honor.
That evening was the inaugural Gordan
Lecture, and it featured Dr. Heidi Kasevich,
head of Nightingale’s history department,
presenting on the life of French explorer
Alexandra David-Néel. (Ms. David-Néel’s
fascinating story was not only the subject
of Dr. Kasevich’s PhD dissertation, but also
served as her inspiration for two of our
current history electives in the Upper School:
World Religions and Global Women’s History:
Fragile Goddesses.)
It was a fitting time to bestow this
honor upon Mrs. Gordan, as she will be
retiring at the end of this school year. There
is no way to fully acknowledge the influence
Mrs. Gordan has had on the academic
vitality of this community—as Mr. Burke said,
“Every girl who has attended Nightingale
in the last 40 years bears Mrs. Gordan’s
mark, and is the better for it”—but we look
forward to taking a few moments each year
to celebrate the vibrant academic atmosphere
that she helped build.
faculty member christine
schutt debuts new novel
Prosperous Friends, the fifth book and third
novel by English teacher (and Pulitzer Prize– and
National Book Award–finalist) Christine Schutt,
was published by Grove Press in November to
rave reviews. The New Yorker’s Sam Lipsyte
described the book as “another revelation this
year, a devastating story of young love, old love,
and no love, written with a razor, it would seem,
on living skin,” and The New York Observer placed
Ms. Schutt in a line of esteemed authors known
for “high-gravity minimalism,” including Emily
Dickinson, Virginia Woolf, Robert Lowell, and
Gordon Lish, calling Prosperous Friends a “small
but powerful work of craftsmanship.”
SP R I N G 2013 2 3
Sarah Palmer ’17 playing
Rhapsody in G Minor by
Brahms at the November 17
Class VIII Open Mic.
female vocal percussionist
visits nightingale
Bassless Accusations, Nightingale’s award-winning
a cappella group, sings, by definition, without
instrumental accompaniment—but the landscape
of their vocal arrangements changed on October 2
when professional beatboxer Lily Szajnberg visited.
Ms. Szajnberg is a trained vocal percussionist,
or “beatboxer,” which means that she has been
mastering the art of creating sound effects and
rhythms with her voice. After drawing a diagram
of a drum kit on Room 108’s Smartboard,
Ms. Szajnberg demonstrated how the girls’
own voices could be manipulated to mimic—
surprisingly accurately—the various snares,
cymbals, and drumheads, and then combined
to create the effect of a full-on trap set. After a
few tries (and a few laughs), Bassless was able
to perform an impressive rhythm sequence with
only their voices.
Ms. Szajnberg’s fascination with the
instrumental capabilities of the human voice
began at a very early age—she recalls singing
from the moment she could talk and has been
imitating sounds her entire life. After joining an
a cappella group in high school, she went on to
sing with the Brown University Chattertocks and
studied under several influential vocal percussion
mentors throughout her college years. Honing her
skills at Brown led Ms. Szajnberg to join New York
City’s longest-running contemporary a cappella
group, Treble, and she has been keeping the
beat with this all-female ensemble ever since.
The popularity of beatboxing has risen
significantly in the past decade as viral online
videos, international competitions, and hip-hop
songs have introduced the technique to
mainstream audiences. But Ms. Szajnberg notes
that it’s still a bit of an uphill battle for females
open mic comes to
the middle school
Middle School girls had the opportunity to share
their musical talents with one another at a series
of class-specific “Open Mic” sessions this fall.
From guitar solos and piano performances to
vocal acts and cello duets, our students chose
and prepared their own material, which they
performed for their appreciative classmates
during special recess periods. Organized by the
music department, these low-stakes performance
opportunities allowed the girls to take risks
and showcase their musicianship in a safe and
supportive environment.
hoping to break into the genre and gain esteem.
“Sure our voices may not be as low as a man’s,
but the argument is as silly as saying that females
aren’t as good at sports.” She is determined to
“overcome the stigmas attached to vocal
percussion” and prove that women can beatbox
just as exceptionally as any man. “You can look
silly doing it—[beatboxing] involves spitting and
flailing…but you have to own it and have
confidence.”
Following their 45-minute lesson, the members
of Bassless took heed to Ms. Szajnberg’s advice
and ended the afternoon with a knock-out
performance of Adele’s “Rumor Has It”—this time
with a strong beat to back it up.
skating in support
of nightingale
This delightful drawing was given to Ian Spencer
Bell, Nightingale’s Lower School dance teacher
and our artist in residence, by one of his students,
Ellie Thurston ’23.
24 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Over six hundred members of the Nightingale
community came out for a magical evening of
skating under the stars at the Family Skating
Party at Wollman Rink on December 4, 2012.
The weather was perfect and spirits were high as
skaters circled the rink, took endless photos with
their friends in the photo booth, and enjoyed
unlimited treats and hot chocolate. The senior
class even had their own special moment on the
ice, skating to their unofficial anthem: Five for
Fighting’s “100 Years.” Smiles abounded throughout
the night—including those, above, of Bailes New ’20,
Sarah Schuringa ’20, and Annika Hogan ’20—and
all proceeds from the evening were directed toward
the support of our students.
SP R I N G 2013 2 5
class notes
Class notes are published twice a year
in each issue of The Blue Doors. If you have any
updates you would like to share with your classmates,
please e-mail them to [email protected].
50s
Tonie Grisanti ’15,
Alexandra Stovicek ’13,
Marina Cisneros ’16, and
Allegra Levy ’15 star in
this fall’s Upper School
drama production of
Arsenic and Old Lace,
December 1, 2012.
26 TH E B L UE DO O RS
nightingale acquires
new space
Several years ago, Nightingale was able to
purchase the building at #28 East 92nd Street,
immediately adjacent to our current schoolhouse;
in the photo at right, it is the building with the
white facade. Now, we are excited to announce
the purchase of #30 East 92nd Street (to the left of
#28). With two contiguous buildings, we now have
the opportunity to expand our educational space
while still adhering to one of the principles that
has been essential to the Nightingale experience:
teaching our girls together in one schoolhouse.
Our goal from the start has been to integrate
these new additions into our current building;
once you are inside the blue doors, we want it to
feel like a cohesive space, with each floor of the
new buildings flowing seamlessly into the existing
footprint. We are focusing on building new spaces
for both students and adults, with an emphasis
on instructional space—though we are designing
rooms with as much flexibility as possible. We
are also committed to honoring the architectural
legacy of the townhouses and our neighborhood,
and during construction we will restore these
buildings and their facades to their original beauty.
We have been preparing for a schoolhouse
expansion for many years, and this diligence has
paid off: while we have only just closed on the
purchase, we believe we will be ready to start
construction this coming summer. Said Head of
School Paul A. Burke, “Not only do we gain
much-needed square footage, but also the chance
to reimagine our entire schoolhouse for coming
generations: to look unflinchingly at our current
building, address its shortcomings, and use our
expanded space to improve where, how, and
even what we teach. I couldn’t be more excited.”
Cornelia Wadsworth Robart ’57
writes: ”What a treat to attend
Reunion in May 2012—Jill Hyde
Scott and I represented our Class
of 1957. [I was] very happy to
talk with the new headmaster—
equal opportunity for worthy
men, yes?” Corny is living
in Somerville, MA where she
attends two book groups, one
of which focuses on diversity in
many forms, beginning with race
and expanding to territory and
travel, religion, economics, and
more. “I enjoy being prompted
to read books I never would have
opened otherwise! Am singing
(as a tenor) with a chorale and
am the benighted treasurer of my
local church group. Enjoying farflung family for visits—daughter
Abigail (and three-year-old
granddaughter Constance) came
for a surprise New Year’s visit
from Switzerland, and my sister
will come in from Denmark for
her 65th high school reunion.
Studying downsizing on principle,
not much progress in fact...Warm
wishes to my classmates and the
dear school.”
60s
Janet Hinshaw-Thomas ’60
reports: “I am preparing for my
sixth trip to Afghanistan since
2009, where I continue my legal
battles re: my property there.
I won the case in the Afghan
Supreme Court (without any
lawyer) and am now trying to
secure a fair deal on the sale
of my house in Jalalabad.
The country is in an interesting
transition, and I have gained
much insight into the legal system
as it actually affects the Afghan
people themselves (I have dual
citizenship).”
Joan Fleischhauer Smith ’61
has retired from her position as
Upper School head at Roland
Park Country School in Baltimore,
MD, but continues to do some
international recruiting for the
school. She writes that “Two trips
to China, one to Korea, and an
upcoming trip to Kazakhstan have
kept me busy.“
Regan O’Connell Burnham ’65
writes: “My life is filled with
joys: grandsons (8) and (3),
flute, a new home in Asheville,
meaningful volunteer work,
and new communities to fill the
spirit. Happily my husband is
cancer-free after a serious and
sudden episode. There is much
for which to be grateful!”
Diane M. Falk ’65 is working
with several human rights
organizations, including the
International Coalition for
Religious Freedom (with specific
focus and effort on issues in
Japan), Amnesty International,
PEN, and the Family Federation
for World Peace. She has also
been working on a new book
about her father, Lee Falk, which
is scheduled for publication this
year, and continues work with
her e-journal, “Youth Issues and
Media Influences.”
70s
Belle Fox-Martin ’70 reports
that she is very happily living in
the Berkshires and working as a
United Church of Christ licensed
minister.
Anne Cicero Weisberg ’75
writes: “In late 2012 I joined the
FutureWork Institute, a global
diversity and inclusion consulting
firm, as a managing director
and chief strategy officer. I am
most excited about helping our
clients make smart investments
in women’s leadership. My fellow
alumnae will be glad to know
that more and more clients are
realizing they need to develop
women leaders in order to grow
and prosper. If you want to find
out more, you can reach me at
linkedin.com/in/anneweisberg.”
Zoe Weil ’79 has written a
one-woman show, My Ongoing
Problems with Kindness:
Confessions of MOGO Girl,
which she has been performing
across the United States and
Canada (below). 2012 was a
big year for Zoe: her portrait
was painted for the Americans
Who Tell the Truth portrait series,
she received the Women in
Environmental Leadership award
from Unity College, and her first
TEDx talk, “The World Becomes
What You Teach,” became among
the 50 top-rated of over 12,000
TEDx talks.
Leslie Davis Kohl ’71 has moved
to South Carolina after 55 years in
the northeast and is enjoying the
warmer weather! She continues
to train and show dogs for the
same French Bulldog kennel for
which she has worked for the past
18 years. Leslie spent her Middle
School years at Nightingale
(her name at the time was Leslie
Brown) and she would love to
reconnect with classmates!
SP R I N G 2013 2 7
80s
Nina Train Choa ’81 is living in
London with her family, which
includes “two crazy Jack Russells.”
Nina is finishing her MSc in
digital anthropology at University
College London, and her
husband Christopher is at Aecom,
a global design firm. They have
two sons: Nick, who is a student
at the Georgetown School of
Foreign Service, and Henry, who
will begin at New York University
in the fall of 2013.
Lucy Kindred Galbraith ’81
reports that her daughter Katie
followed in her footsteps and
entered Yale this fall.
Stephanie Ardrey Hazard ’81
writes that her son Jack just
finished an internship at ABC/
Good Morning America and is
studying at Purdue University in
Indiana, and her stepdaughter,
Schuyler Hazard, is a sophomore
at Andover.
Alice Babcock Pearce ’81 is
living in Ocean Ridge, Florida
with her husband and two
children, Isabelle and William.
Angela Randall ’81 writes:
“I live in Paris with my 15-year-old
son Tristan and my boyfriend
Sylvain, who is a professional
guitarist. We have a band
which, for now, is called ‘Rough
Translation.’ Sylvain composes
and I write the lyrics and sing.
This is in addition to my work as
an art consultant, specializing in
nineteenth- and twentieth-century
pictures (I worked for Christie’s in
Paris for many years) and advising
clients—both private and dealers.
Although I am momentarily
without a horse to ride regularly,
the same things that interested
me while at Nightingale—singing
and art and writing and riding—
have remained key elements in
my life.”
28 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Tanya Traykovski ’82 writes:
“After working in the fashion
industry for over 20 years, I am
pursuing a new career in the art
world. We have been collecting
contemporary art for quite some
time, and I hold a BA from Duke
in art history, so I am excited to
professionally develop what has
always been a personal passion.
I look forward to art advisory and
curatorial projects and will keep
you posted.”
Tanya K. Hernández ’82 recently
published Racial Subordination
in Latin America: The Role of the
State, Customary Law, and the
New Civil Rights Response. Learn
more at sites.google.com/site/
racismlatam/.
Kimberly Green ’83 writes that
her debut novel, hallucination,
was named as an honorable
mention by Writers Digest
Magazine for their 2012 selfpublished book awards, and that
“Hallucination Nation,” an online
community of fans of hallucination
and its powerful message of selflove launched at the beginning
of January (you can join the
nation at hallucinationthenovel.
com). Kim was also named one of
two emerging voices by Written
Magazine, and she was honored
in Atlanta on January 10. She
is looking forward to seeing
everyone at reunion!
Jennifer Lonoff Schiff ’83 writes:
“This past summer, my teenage
daughter and I launched our new
business, Prepster Pineapple
Clothing (prepsterpineapple.com),
which features fun, comfortable
shirts and other apparel for
teens and tweens and prepsters
of all ages. My daughter Abby
designed the logo, came up
with the concept, and helps
with merchandising. I handle
the business side and marketing.
It’s been quite a learning
experience, even though I’ve
been writing about entrepreneurs,
ecommerce, and marketing for
years. Indeed, we are in the
process of re-designing the site
to appeal to a wider audience
and adding new items. I hope
my fellow Nightingale alums and
current students will check it out!”
Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss ’93
writes: “Sienna Gruss ’23 is a
big sister! We most joyfully
announce that our son, Joseph
Colby, and daughter, Angelica
Sara, were born on November 25,
2012 (below). The five of us are
enjoying each other so much!”
Kathryn Wellin Thier ’94 and
her husband, Michael, welcomed
their second daughter, India
Cassandra Thier, on October 27,
2012 in Charlotte, NC (above).
Jennifer Lonoff Schiff ’83 models her product line.
Tara L. Jones ’84 reports that she
recorded two CDs of songs that
she wrote for guitar and voice.
Give them a listen at her Web
site: musicsweetsweetmusic.com!
Alexandra M. Limpert ’85
is a teaching artist at the Rush
Philanthropic Arts Foundation
and recently created mechanical
animations for the holiday
windows at Lord & Taylor,
Macy’s, Saks, and Bloomingdales.
Her metal sculpture has been
shown recently at three galleries
in Williamsburg, Brooklyn:
Figureworks, Art101, and
Sideshow.
Heather L. McLaughlin ’86
writes: “We had a fun summer—
our little girl loved ‘riding a
dolphin’ in Tortola. This fall,
our two-year-old baby boy
started nursery school and our
daughter entered first grade
(we’re enjoying lots of activities!).
Wishing everyone a happy 2013!“
Liane Manshel Weintraub ’86
lives in Malibu, California with
her husband, Richard, and her
children, Ava (8) and Cole (7).
She is the co-founder and owner
of Tasty Brand, Inc. a “smallbut-growing brand of innovative
organic snack foods” sold across
the country and inspired by her
desire to create better nutritional
options for her children. Liane
adds: “Richard is a real estate
developer across Southern
California and the kids attend a
terrific school called Viewpoint,
which actually reminds me a lot
of Nightingale, except that it’s
co-ed. My daughter’s uniforms
are even spookily similar to the
ones I wore! All this is very nice
and comforting, since I live on the
other side of the country from the
city I still consider to be ’home.’”
Alejandra Pero ’87 is still living
in Rome, Italy with her husband,
Miguel, and two children,
Mateo and Emma. She recently
started a new job at the Food
and Agriculture Organization,
which is one of the United
Nations agencies based in Rome.
Alejandra reports that she saw
Regina George ’87 in Madrid
this past Christmas and had a
great time catching up!
Francesca Harper ’87 reports
that her dance company recently
performed at Jazz at Lincoln
Center and that she is performing
in her first opera under the
direction of Robert Wilson.
Francesca’s choreography was
recently on display at the Louis
Vuitton show at Fashion Week
and she was honored as “Living
History” at the “Living History:
A Tribute to Excellence”
celebration at Long Island
University on February 6. Turn
to page 19 for more information
about a recent visit Francesca
paid to Nightingale.
Alexandra Stanton ’87 writes:
“Sam and I gave Andre a little
brother named Roman in June of
last year. Work-wise, we started a
company together called Empire
Global Ventures LLC—we help
foreign companies set up here
and take Americans/American
exports into India and China.
It’s been a whirlwind of a time,
between the new baby and the
new business, but we’re having
a blast.”
From left to right: Sam Ganz Panzier ’89 (whose two daughters
were away at summer camp), Natasha Fekula ’89 and her daughter
Ella; Dana Thurston Evans ’89 and her twins Phoebe and Archer;
Allison Horovitz Dittmer ’89 with her sons Casey and Jesse; and
Laura Mann-Lepik ’89 with her daughters Avery and Logan
Abby Weintraub ’87 designed
the book cover for English teacher
Christine Schutt’s latest novel,
Prosperous Friends. See page 23
for more on Ms. Schutt’s book.
Blair Pillsbury Enders ’88
reports: “The class of 1988 is
looking forward to its upcoming
milestone Reunion, and to seeing
many friendly faces. Claire
Milonas ’88 recently brought her
daughter Zoe to see her niece
Alexandra Dingle ’19 (daughter
of Sofia Milonas ’85) in the sixth
grade play. Liz Victory ’88 is
generously hosting our Reunion
dinner—her daughter started
Kindergarten at Nightingale this
fall. And in other news from the
Class of ’88, the New York Times
recently highlighted the work
of Liz Klein ’88, art advisor, at
Art Basel Miami.”
Dana Thurston Evans ’89 wrote
in about a spontaneous small
reunion of some members of the
Class of 1989 and their children
(above, at top): “Such a great
day! A very nice MTA bus driver
took our photo!”
90s
Kate Hartwell Pickett ’93 writes:
“Pickett’s Press, my stationery
company, opened a showroom
on 73rd and Lexington, which is
exciting. Jack is going to Buckley
next year to join big brother
Barrett, and Whitney is looking
at Kindergartens. Mary Richter
’93, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss
’93, Irene Grassi Osborne ’93,
Juliet Rothschild Weissman ’93,
Celine Kingston Knox ’93, and
I have been strategizing on the
20th reunion so we hope to see
all of the Class of ’93 graduates
in May!”
Claudia Taboada ’93 recently
added twin boys to her family.
She writes “I’m thrilled to be a
mom again. This makes four boys,
but we are done.” Claudia and her
family live in Mechanicsburg, PA.
Alessandra Bresciani Okay ’92
writes: “I am overjoyed to
announce that on December 26,
2012, I gave birth to twins,
William Devin Okay and Juliette
Josephine Okay (above)! It was a
lot of baby to be carrying around,
but all are happy and healthy!”
Alexandra A. Socarides ’92
writes that her first book,
Dickinson Unbound: Paper,
Process, Poetics, was published
by Oxford University Press in
2012.
Melissa Elting Walker ’92 has
recently launched a line of men’s
flannel shirts under the brand T.
Walker. She reports that they are
super comfortable, feature classic
patterns and a modern fit, and
are made in America. You can
check them out at twalker.com!
Jenny Han McCambridge ’94
is practicing law and living in
Alexandria, VA with her husband
Patrick and two children, Morgan
and Ryan (above).
Amanda Potters Schumacher ’95
and her husband Steven
welcomed their first child,
Sydney Gray, on July 3, 2012.
Damaris W. Maclean ’97 reports
that Jenny Levin Straube ’97
hosted a mini-reunion at her
mother’s home in late December.
In attendance from the Class
of 1997 were Jennifer Turner
Clarke ’97 (with her husband
Tim), Miriam Paterson Alexandre
’97 (above, with Damaris and
their respective children), Jane
Simmons Bullock ’97, Alexis
Fields ’97, Erica Lebow
Necarsulmer ’97 (and her
husband), Adrienne Hadlock
Eisenstein ’97, Elissa Aguirre
’97, Shannon Carey ’97 (and her
fiancé), Athena Hill ’97, Aabye
Francis Favilla ’97 (and her
husband), and, of course, Damaris
and Jenny (and their respective
husbands). Damaris adds that
Alexis Fields runs regularly with
Amy Wortzman ’97 in Boston
and that Athena Hill just got
engaged!
Fenaba R. Addo ’98 writes:
“I completed my PhD in policy
analysis and management from
Cornell University in 2012. I am
currently an RWJF Health and
Society Scholar in the Department
of Population Health Sciences and
will be a professor of consumer
science starting in 2014. Both
positions are at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison.”
SP R I N G 2013 2 9
00s
Louise Lamphere Beryl ’00 and
her husband, Louis, welcomed
daughter Ella Field Beryl on
December 5 (below). Louise is
currently a PhD candidate in
anthropology and education at
Teachers College at Columbia
University.
Louisa K. Conrad ’00 and her
husband, Lucas Farrell, are
awaiting the arrival of the next
round of Big Picture Farm
goat kids in March, and are
experimenting with new recipes
for their award-winning caramels.
Clare M. Cosman ’00 moved
to Hong Kong for a year-long
assignment for Sotheby’s in
the fall of 2012 and is enjoying
experiencing the dynamic Asian
art market.
Margot L. Hill ’00 reports that
she is busy planning her summer
wedding to Colin Kirby.
Celene A. Menschel ’00 writes
that she is enjoying her second
year at Harvard Business School,
but eager to move back to NYC
this summer!
Zoe G. Settle ’00 continues
to write about interiors and
home design, and has put her
industry experience into an
online shopping site for designfocused gifts and registries:
MaxwellSilverNY.com.
30 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Becky Tanenbaum ’00 is loving
Charleston, SC, where she works
at the Reynolds Group doing PR
for chefs and restaurants.
in
memoriam
Cara C. Thomas ’00 has spent
the last five years in New York
City, as a lead inventor at ?WhatIf!
Innovation Partners, where she
develops new products and
brands for big companies. In
March, she will begin a threemonth sabbatical—her goal is to
adventure as much as possible
and re-explore her passions
around drawing and creative
writing. First stop: India!
Meg Kilzy ’02 reports that she is
living in Jersey City and working
as an Assistant Prosecutor (the
equivalent of an ADA in New
York). Her job entails writing
and arguing criminal appeals
at the trial and appellate level,
which she loves. She has also
been working on her French and
Hebrew, as well as taking classes
through the Jewish Enrichment
Center, a post-Birthright
organization. Meg writes that she
is also enjoying New York City
and loves keeping in touch with
her Nightingale friends. Meg
adds: “My father passed away
at the end of July of 2012, and I
wanted to formally extend a thank
you to all of my lovely Nightingale
sisters for their support during
these very difficult past months
both for my mother and for me.
Not that it gets any easier—but
whether it is through Facebook or
handwritten letters, I received so
much love, and it has truly moved
me. Even if I haven’t written
individually to all of you, please
know how much it has meant.
My father truly loved being a part
of the Nightingale community
when I was young, and I fondly
remember father’s day, the Fair,
and other wonderful events in
which my father shared from
Kindergarten through 12th grade
graduation.”
Nightingale’s oldest alumna,
Frances Knight Fogg ’27,
passed away in December at
the age of 104.
Carmen Duany ’30 died on
August 12, 2012 after a long
illness.
Emily T. Bailin ’03 is currently
in her second year of a doctoral
program at Teachers College at
Columbia University. She received
her master’s in 2010 from the
University of Pennsylvania’s
Graduate School of Education
and then spent a year as a
research fellow at Temple
University’s Media Education Lab.
She writes that she is applying her
background as a media literacy
educator to her current work in
teacher education and antiracist
education. Emily adds: “I have
also had the pleasure of serving
as a young alumnae mentor to
a Nightingale senior this year.
It’s been an amazing way to get
re-involved with the school.”
Emily C. Friedman ’03 is back
in New York City working as a
producer for ABC News after
nearly two years covering the
Romney campaign. See page
14 for a full article on Emily’s
campaign experience!
Stephanie Corona Leblond ’03
writes that she has been living
in Denver for the last three
years and working in the area of
education policy reform for TNTP,
a non-profit organization. She
married Marc Leblond, a strategy
consultant and fellow Columbia
alum, last May. Marc is currently
applying to business school and
the couple will be moving (with
their dog ChiChi) this fall. They
are excited to see where they
end up, and what the future has
in store for them!
Christine Henderson Brodnan
’04 married Matthew Brodnan
on September 15, 2012 at Fifth
Avenue Presbyterian Church in
New York, and was attended by
maids of honor Madeline Bertha
’04 and Jennifer Seley ’04
(above, with Ali Jones ’04). The
couple met in college at Emory
University and currently reside in
Atlanta. Chris reports that she is
working as education partnership
manager for the Annie E. Casey
Foundation’s Atlanta Civic Site, an
organization serving low-income
children and families. She sends
her love to the Nightingale
community!
Kate Berger ’05 writes: “In
2008, when finishing my last year
at The New School, I started a
professional organizing company
called Done & Done NYC. We
specialize in functional family
living by helping NYC families
with issues such as storage,
managing technology, moving,
and dealing with multiple homes.”
Melanie Kimmelman ’06 reports
that after two years working
in the public relations office at
the Corcoran Gallery of Art in
Washington, DC, she is now
pursuing a master’s degree in
art business at Sotheby’s Institute
of Art in New York.
Marguerite Sykes Nichols ’31
died at home in Manhattan
on May 30, 2012. Dr. Nichols
enjoyed a 40-year-long career
in chemotherapy at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering and James
Ewing Hospitals. During her
distinguished career, she
authored numerous papers on
her research into the effects
of radiation on normal cells.
faculty
and staff
notes
French teacher Susan CohenNicole chaired a panel on French
and Francophone women writers
at the regional Modern Language
Association meeting in Boulder,
Colorado, last October. The
panel’s themes were women and
violence, including the problem
of the eroticization of violence
in fiction by women, and gender
identity.
Camila Rae Sebastian was
born to Director of Digital
Communications Nicki Sebastian
and her husband, Roni, on
December 2, 2012, at 6:28 p.m.;
“Cami” weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz
(above).
Director of Visual Education April
Kim Tonin’s book of illustrations,
Start Naked: Saturday Morning
Drawing Class at the National
Academy with Lisa Dinhofer,
was published in October 2012.
Human Resources Manager Kate
Totino and her husband, Louis,
welcomed their second daughter,
Caitlin Anne Totino, on January 4,
2013 (below). Caitlin weighed in
at 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 inches
long. The family, including big
sister Noelle, is doing well.
Angelica Fales Bentley ’36
passed away last November.
Marie Drew Powers ’36 died on
April 13, 2012, at the age of 93.
Helen Ziegler Steinkraus ’49
passed away on April 11, 2012,
after a brief illness.
Edith Pullman Tschorn ’74 died
peacefully on September 20,
2012 in Bennington, Vermont,
after a nearly year-long battle
with glioblastoma brain cancer.
Class I homeroom teacher Hilary
Munson Lucas was married to
Keith Lucas on September 15,
2012, at Grace Memorial Chapel
in East Falmouth, MA (above).
Loss of Audrey Goode ’39 Brings
New Connection for Nightingale
Last winter, Peter Van Der Kieft read the obituary of his godmother,
Audrey Goode ’39, and decided to visit Nightingale’s Web site to
learn more about the school where she had spent the better part of
her life. Once there, he was surprised and delighted to find a name
that he recognized: Maya Bamford, whom he knew to be the previous
owner of his home in Rockport, Maine! Further research even revealed
that Miss Bamford had been a customer at his wife’s clothing store.
“To think that Audrey, my godmother, would be distantly
connected to this house [through Miss Bamford] is extraordinary,”
said Mr. Van Der Kieft. He spoke to a caretaker who had worked for
Miss Bamford and remembered her as a demanding employer who
nevertheless always maintained a sense of humor and could surprise
with her thoughtfulness and generosity. For example, Mr. Van Der
Kieft related, Miss Bamford once requested that the caretaker drive
her into town and reminded him to bring his Cadillac. When the
caretaker immediately advised her that he only had a pickup truck,
Miss Bamford responded: “That’s what I mean, the Cadillac!” She
was also fondly remembered for the time she purchased a bicycle
for the caretaker’s young daughter after he had casually mentioned
to her that he was in a financial pinch and unable to do so himself.
We don’t know if Miss Goode ever knew of this particular
connection to Miss Bamford, but we imagine she would have been
pleased to have yet another personal link to Nightingale.
SP R I N G 2013 3 1
Voices
Here we feature the
voice of someone
in the Nightingale
community. If you
would like to
share some of
your thoughts or
experiences with
others in the
community, please
contact us at
bluedoors@
nightingale.org.
32 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Alberto Bitar is the father of two Nightingale
girls—Graciela ’19 and Isabel ’21—and this year
served as chair of the Lower School’s annual
father/daughter breakfast. What follows are his
remarks to the assembled fathers and Lower
School students, presented on January 25, 2013.
When a baby girl squeezes her father’s finger for
the first time, she is taking possession of his soul
forever. Every father here today knows what I’m
talking about.
Thanks to you, girls, we will be loved for the
rest of our lives.
Just yesterday, we were giving you your first
bath, helping you to take your first step, going
crazy when we heard you say “daddy” for the
first time.
To your father, you will always be his beloved
little girl. To me, Isabel, my youngest, you
will always be the little girl with the big smile,
stomping around the apartment in her mother’s
high heels.
Having a daughter is the greatest gift life has
given us. Lucky me: I have two!
There are some things we as fathers wish we
could do. On the one hand, we want you to grow
up, and with each step, each accomplishment,
our hearts are filled with pride.
On the other hand, there is a part of us—
a big one!—that wishes we could make time stand
still. We want you to be our little girls forever.
But since you must grow up, we are so
grateful and fortunate that you will do so as a
Nightingale girl.
Our family is from Mexico. Although we love
our country very much, we knew the best schools
in the world were here in New York, and we
wanted that opportunity for our children.
Trust me—we did our due diligence.
Nightingale was always on top of everyone’s list,
and we were so glad when we got accepted.
So we decided to pack up and move nearly
3,000 miles north. Our children were very
nervous; they left all their friends in Mexico.
They didn’t know if they would be able to make
new ones. I told them not to worry, but inside
I was wondering: will it really be okay?
Here, all the girls are learning
not just to excel at academics,
but to become everything they
are capable of. No followers
are allowed here—only leaders.
Here, you can dream without
limits!
And here I am, three years later, happy to
say: it is more than okay. It has been amazing for
everyone!
Not only have my daughters formed
friendships that will last a lifetime, but my wife
Graciela and I have found fun and wonderful
friends we never knew would be part of the
Nightingale package.
Here, all the girls are learning not just to excel
at academics, but to be everything they are
capable of. No followers are allowed here—only
leaders. Here, you can dream without limits!
Girls, as we—your fathers—watch you sparkle
and shine, we know that our choice of Nightingale
was the right one.
And so I will take this opportunity, on behalf of
all fathers from the Lower School, to say thank you
to Nightingale-Bamford for helping us to build the
foundation for our girls’ castles.
That’s what we want for them, the complete
fairy tale. They deserve it—remember, they own
our souls.
To the extraordinary Paul Burke, thank you, sir.
You have all our trust in your hands.
To Mrs. Mansfield—who, by the way, is
someone that should be a part of every girl’s life—
we will remember you forever.
And to the wonderful teachers who are the
core of this 93-year-old institution: thank you.
Girls, you are awesome and we love you.
Head of School
ALUMNAE BOARD
Paul A. Burke
Brooke Brodsky Emmerich ‘91, President
Zoe Settle ‘00, Vice President
Elizabeth Riley Fraise ‘98, Secretary
Mary Richter ‘93, Chair, Alumnae Fund
Board of Trustees
Nina Joukowsky Köprülü ‘79, President
Lisa Grunwald Adler ‘77, Vice President
James D. Forbes, Treasurer
Martin Frederic Evans, Secretary
Clarissa Bronfman
Paul A. Burke, Ex-officio
James S. Chanos
Brenda Earl
Brooke Brodsky Emmerich ‘91, Ex-officio
Blair Pillsbury Enders ‘88
Douglas Feagin
Rebecca Grunwald, Ex-officio
Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss ‘93
John Hall
John J. Hannan
Patricia Gilchrist Howard ‘62
Elena Hahn Kiam ‘81
Steven B. Klinsky
Paul Lachman
Curtis Mewbourne
Gregory Palm
Renan Pierre
Debora Spar
Mary Margaret Trousdale
Honorary Board Members
Jerome P. Kenney
Susan Hecht Tofel ‘48
Grant F. Winthrop
HEAD OF SCHOOL EMERITA
Dorothy A. Hutcheson
PARENTS ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
Rebecca Grunwald, President
Valerie Margulies, Vice President
Julie White, Secretary/Treasurer
Paul A. Burke, Ex-officio
Elizabeth Victory Anderson ‘88
Elizabeth Boehmler ‘94
Sage Garner ‘04
Daphra Holder ‘03
Hillary Johnson ‘76
Siena Kissel ‘06, Ex-officio
Amie Rappoport McKenna ‘90
Elizabeth Friedland Meyer ‘89
Palmer Jones O’Sullivan ‘94
Melissa Providence ‘02
Gaby Santana ‘06, Ex-officio
Melissa Elting Walker ‘92
OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL
ADVANCEMENT
Sue Mathews
Director of Institutional Advancement
Kate Ahner
Advancement Services Director
Vinnie Bauer
Campaign Manager
Mary Allison Belshoff
Director of Annual Giving
Darrel Frost
Director of Communications
Amanda Goodwin
Director of Alumnae Relations
Kristin Morse
Director of Special Events
Jessie Page ‘03
Advancement Associate
Nicki Sebastian
Director of Digital Communications
Susan Tilson
Director of Publications
Katie Wainwright
Interim Director of Digital Communications
SP R I N G 2013 3 3
Nightingale
The Nightingale-Bamford School
20 East 92nd Street, New York, NY 10128
nightingale.org
34 TH E B L UE DO O RS