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Educating the whole child: mind, body & spirit

pg. 12

Long before Sheryl Sandberg was advocating for Lean In Circles, the Hathaway Brown community understood the importance and value of networks. In fact, our school was founded by a network.

The original HB network was made of five girls who were strengthened by principles and fortitude, and who pooled their resources to champion the cause of high quality education for women in Cleveland. Since 1876, our school proudly has been providing just that. And along the way, that inspirational sphere of influence has increased exponentially. Where once there were five, now there are thousands.

In recent months, I’ve witnessed firsthand the power of the HB network. I’ve had the opportunity to travel the country with my colleagues from the Advancement and Alumnae Relations offices, swapping stories and breaking bread with alumnae in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Vero Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, and Princeton, New Jersey. We met with alumnae of many generations, all with unique backgrounds and personal histories and occupations. No matter their ages, where they live, or how they have made their marks on the world, these women all share the HB bond.

It has been especially gratifying and uplifting to me to see our youngest alumnae – now college students – making connections with each other on their respective campuses and with their HB sisters from other decades. Each HB regional gathering I’ve been privileged to attend has hummed with feelings of camaraderie and shared purpose. These meetings have reinforced for me what I’ve long known: the HB sisterhood is a force of nature. Our alumnae recognize the transformational power of their own education, and they’re eager to give back.

I have loved watching women with established careers interacting and bonding with women who only just left high school, offering their advice and guidance on numerous topics. Whether they graduated five years ago or 40 years ago, all of our alumnae are committed to helping and learning from one another. That’s a tremendously powerful resource for young women who are finding their way. Samantha Stahler of the HB Class of 2009 sums it up: “As a graduate student, the idea of networking can

be an unsettling concept, but meeting with my fellow HB alumnae, the sense of sisterhood was not lost in the sincere advice and encouragement I received.”

HB women can be found in every corner of the United States and in countries around the world. As the school grew in the 1990s and beyond, we added numbers to our legion. Prestigious universities that formerly were home to only one or two HB alumnae in any given year now are home to eight or 10. And outside of regional in-person gatherings, our graduates are able easily to be in contact with one another through the school’s social media channels on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and by downloading the dynamic Hathaway Brown Alumnae Mobile App. (See HB Alumnae Network, page 53.)

This multiplier effect of having more alumnae in more places with more points of view and more professional expertise certainly influences the world at large. But more importantly, it affects each and every HB girl. Everyone enrolled at HB also is automatically enrolled in this tremendously

empowering network. While our alumnae pitch in to assist their sisters who are just beginning or working to advance their careers, many also lend their talents and insights to numerous programs and initiatives that impact our current students as well. (See Cultivating Healthy Leadership, page 12.)

At the close of every Commencement, more daughters of Hathaway Brown bid farewell to these hallowed halls and head off to embrace the amazing possibilities that exist for them beyond our campus. No matter how far away they may be, though, HB will always be their home. And everywhere they look, they can find their sisters.

Where once there were five, now there

are thousands.

strength in numbers

ON THE COVER:

Illustration by Len Peralta, a Cleveland-area artist best known for his geek-themed artwork. You can see more of his portfolio at lenperalta.com and in the HB cover story, Cultivating Healthy Leadership, which begins on page 12.

FSC

Kathleen Osborne Editor, Director of Communication & Outreach

Vanessa Butler Creative Director, Director of Marketing

Scott Danielson Digital Media Specialist

administrative team:

William Christ Head of School

Sue Sadler Assoc. Head of School & Director of Upper School

Sarah Johnston Assoc. Head for Enrollment Management

Jane Brown Director of Early Childhood

Nancy Gladstone Director of Middle School

Mary Rainsberger Director of Advancement

Katherine Zopatti Director of Primary School

alumnae relations team:

Dana Lovelace Capers ’86 Director of Alumnae Relations

Erin Reid Advancement Coordinator

19600 North Park Boulevard Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122216.320.8785

If you’d like to cancel delivery of HB magazine, please email publications@hb.edu.

Photo by Keith Berr

If you’d like to become a contributor to HB magazine, please email kosborne@hb.edu or call 216.320.8785.

Cheryl Morrow-White ’73… For Life, page 24

Cheryl Morrow-White, M.D., FAAP, is a board-certified pediatrician with a strong background in medical practice and administration. She is an experienced medical expert witness. For 21 years, Dr. Morrow-White provided primary

pediatric care in a variety of settings. She serves as a deacon in her church and is an active community volunteer. She has served on the national board of directors of the American Heart Association, the board of directors of the Center for Community Solutions, and the board of trustees of Hathaway Brown, where she was one of school’s first two African-American graduates in 1973.

Deborah Dressell SouthardWe Are the Music Makers, page 28

As HB’s Middle School Performing Arts Department Chair, Deb Southard’s goal is to find a song for every occasion – and she knows a whole lot of songs. Since 1982, together with her trusty guitar, Morgan, she teaches music classes, conducts

guitar and recorder ensembles, directs the fabulous Middle School chorus, leads hootenannies, and directs the annual eighth-grade musical.

contributors

Corrections The 2012-2013 Hathaway Brown Report on Philanthropy was included as a special insert in the Summer/Fall 2013 issue of HB. We apologize for the following omissions and misstatements: Helen M. Ginn 2007, Mrs. Henry E. Haller, Jr., Mary Bolton Hooper 1967, Gretchen Zeiter Sliker 1956, and the class of 2025 raised a total of $13,190.

index

alumnae featured in this issue

Trish Mastrobuono Arnold ’91 – Digital Discourse, pg. 11

Susan Chamberlin Brachna ’71 – Every Life Has a Story, pg. 4

Margery Stouffer Biggar ’47 – Cultivating Healthy Leadership, pg. 16

Frances Seiberling Buchholzer ’52 – Beyond Baroque, pg. 6

Dana Lovelace Capers ’86 – Blazer Bond, pg. 9; Cultivating Healthy Leadership, pg. 16; Dining by the Dozen, pg. 37

Marie Dempsey Carter ’72 – Other Voices, pg. 22

Cynthia Sterling Cleminshaw ’53 – Blazer Bond, pg. 9

Katherine Jenne Chapman ’04 – Back to the Beach, pg. 27; We Are the Music Makers, pg. 32

Faith Emeny Conger ’50 – Two Women, Singular Support, pg. 69

Gaynell Farmer ’73 – … For Life, pg. 25

Amy Gaskins ’00 – HB Alumnae Network, pg. 53

Preeti Gill ’05 – A Decade of Dazzling Dance, pg. 5

Cindy Wachter Happ ’72 – Other Voices, pg. 22

Diantha Smith Harris ’64 – Other Voices, pg. 20

Lesley Sargent LaBenne ’83 – Helping the Helpers, pg. 21

Sally Lansdale ’70 – Digital Discourse, pg. 11

Shannon Liber ’88 – Back to the Beach, pg. 27

Kate LaMantia ’00 – Back to the Beach, pg. 27; HB Alumnae Network, pg. 53

Erin Mann ’12 – Digital Discourse, pg. 11

Merry McDaniel McCreary ’70 – Blazer Bond, pg. 9

Achinta Sawhny McDaniel ’94 – A Decade of Dazzling Dance, pg. 5

Torrey McMillan ’90 – Bright Future, pg. 10

Cheryl Morrow-White ’73 – Contributors, pg. 2; … For Life, pg. 24

Kim Ponsky ’98 – Look Book, pg. 10

Clara Taplin Rankin ’34 – Two Women, Singular Support, pg. 69

Lily Roberts ’08 – Cultivating Healthy Leadership, pg. 16

Joti Sawhny ’92 – A Decade of Dazzling Dance, pg. 5

Camille Lipford Seals ’02 – HB Today, pg. 25

Samantha Stahler ’09 – Strength in Numbers, inside cover

Edna Dawley Strnad ’42 – A Decade of Dazzling Dance, pg. 5; We Are the Music Makers, pg. 30

Felicia Swoope ’87 – Other Voices, pg. 18

Renee King Van De Motter ’88 – Back to the Beach, pg. 27

Merle Schumann Vertes ’54 – Blazer Bond, pg. 9

Laura Main Webster ’91 – We Are the Music Makers, pg. 31

Danielle Horvitz Weiner ’00 – Blazer Bond, pg. 9

Erin Wolf ’75 – HB Alumnae Network, pg. 53

Nancy Wolf ’73 – ... For Life, pg. 25

Ginny Thomas Wydler ’82 – Broadening Horizons, pg. 41

Jennifer Miller Young ’92 – HB Alumnae Network, pg. 53

contents Cover Story 12 Cultivating Healthy Leadership You do your best when you’re at your best—it’s a pretty simple concept. The hard part is putting it into action.

15 Program Guide Look inside HB’s Center for Leadership & Well-Being

18 Other Voices HB Alumnae share their advice for being well and leading well in the world today. with Marie Dempsey Carter ’72, Diantha Smith Harris ’64, and Felicia Swoope ’87

News from North Park 5 HB Highlights

9 Athletics Roundup

Features 24 … For Life Cheryl Morrow-White ’73 reflects on being one of the first African-American graduates of Hathaway Brown School

28 We Are the Music Makers From the Infant & Toddler Center all the way to the Senior Room, music permeates every corner of Hathaway Brown, filling the curriculum with song.

69 Two Women, Singular Support Faith Emeny Conger ’50 and Clara Taplin Rankin ’34 support HB’s Center for Global Citizenship

Class Notes 33 Alumnae News

37 A Note from the Alumnae Office

53 HB Alumnae Network

63 Regional Alumnae Gatherings

66 Brides, Babies, Memorials

The contents of this publication – with the exception of Class News for privacy reasons – are posted online. To maximize your experience, we’ve made a wide array of additional content related to the featured stories available as well, including videos, photo galleries, and Internet resources.

HB.edu/magazine

Photo by Keith Berr

This issue of HB magazine marks the fifth since it was redesigned and I have been fortunate enough to serve as its editor. In that time, we’ve made it a point to try to expand the editorial focus and to add more voices to the mix. It’s been a privilege to have an array of professional associates, faculty colleagues, current students, and Hathaway Brown alumnae contribute to this magazine, offering their points of view in interviews, and their artistry in writing, photography, drawing, and design.

So it was with great pleasure that I connected last summer with Susan Chamberlin Brachna ’71, who got in touch to offer her assistance with the magazine. For 18 years, she owned her own consulting company, Chamberlin & Associates, and she was a freelance writer for such publications as Crain’s Cleveland Business, Cleveland Clinic Magazine, and various parenting journals. She also co-authored the cover story “Now What?” for the Summer 2007 issue of HB. In it, she and then-editor Terry Dubow traced the careers and family lives of HB alumnae of various decades, asking “what comes next after ’having it all?’”

Susan reached out because she had come to a crossroads in her own life. After she wrote the piece for her alma mater, she took a hiatus from journalism and changed course, accepting positions at the Center for Families & Children and Community Assessment & Treatment Services as a counselor. Specializing in anger management treatment, she led therapy groups for adults with drug and alcohol addictions. She loved talking with people and learning what made them tick. She was devoted to helping them navigate their own life paths. In December 2012, she completed a master’s degree in mental health counseling at John Carroll University and launched her own private practice. But, her love for writing was pulling her back.

“Most of my classmates at John Carroll were recent college graduates and had a very different perspective on family and work issues from my generation,” Susan wrote in an email. “I am interested to find out what recent HB graduates, 2000 to 2013, are thinking on the same issues. How do they feel about combining family with work? Are they all pursuing graduate studies? If they are married and have children, are their husbands willing to help more with household chores? Is combining career and family easier?”

Enthusiastically, I agreed that Susan would be the perfect person to tackle this topic as a sort of follow-up article to the one she had produced for HB before. And it was especially well timed with the focus of the current Winter/Spring 2014 issue on cultivating healthy leadership for women.

But as she was identifying some of her fellow alumnae and working to line up interviews that would allow them to tell their stories, I received another email from Susan. This time, she let me know that she was ill and she would no longer be able to work. She had begun a career that was focused on caring for others, but the time had come to devote all of her reserves to caring for herself.

Sadly, Susan passed away in late November. She didn’t like to talk about the fact that she had cancer. Instead, she preferred to fight it in her own quiet, dignified way, and to find wellness in staying positive and optimistic and pursuing her passions. A lovely tribute to her with remembrances from her HB classmates appears on page 44 of Alumnae News. The idea for a follow-up story to “What Next?” had been Susan’s. It didn’t seem right for anyone else to write it.

We are honored that Susan spent part of her life with HB as a student and as an alumna and as a contributor to this magazine. She fully embraced the HB ideal of sharing her voice with the world. We are sorry that we won’t have the chance to hear more of it, but we are inspired by the example she set as a leader in her own life.

We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts with HB magazine. Letters to the editor may be sent to

publications@hb.edu or to the school’s mailing address. We welcome feedback through our social media channels

as well. Find us on Facebook under Hathaway Brown School or send us a tweet at @HathawayBrown.

from the editor ...Every Life Has a Story

Susan Chamberlin Brachna ’71 with her husband, Gabor.

A Decade of Dazzling DanceIn 2013, HB hosted a very special 10th anniversary celebration of TAAL. Unique to HB, the festive event pays tribute to the Indian culture through music and dance.

TAAL takes its name from the Hindu word used to describe the rhythmic patterns used in Indian classical music. It was conceived and produced in 2003 by Preeti Gill, a 2005 graduate of HB, as part of her Edna Dawley Strnad ’42 Fellowship in Creativity. Since that time it has been lovingly nurtured and curated by our Upper School Dance Department. In fact, longtime dance teacher Marlene Leber came out of retirement to direct the performance and oversee all of the details for the anniversary show. The program was launched to highlight the culture of India and to honor the memory of Joti Sawhny, class of ’92. All proceeds benefit The Joti Sawhny Memorial Fund at HB, which not only sustains TAAL, but also provides additional resources for international travel for students.

To make the occasion even more special, there was a catered reception before the program to allow family and friends to connect and enjoy each other’s company. After sampling a delicious array of Indian food, the guests made their way to The Ahuja Auditorium in a procession led by an enthusiastic dhol drummer.

Fittingly, Joti’s sister Achinta Sawhny McDaniel ’94, along with her Los Angeles-based dance company, Blue13, were TAAL’s headline performers. Their Bollywood-style choreography was a feast for the senses. TAAL also featured appearances by local professionals from the Greater Cleveland Indian community. Preeti Gill returned to her alma mater and made a special presentation as a guest speaker, reflecting on her original vision and marveling at how far TAAL has come. It is a testament to her foresight that TAAL continues to honor Preeti’s vision and

Joti’s memory as it celebrates legacy, family, and culture.

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Photo by Kevin Reeves

BEYOND BAROQUEFor several months the Middle School’s signature Recorder Consort, directed by Deb Southard, has been collaborating with Cleveland-based Baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire. Students in the ensemble attended an Apollo’s Fire concert in October, and recorder soloist Francis Colpron offered a master class for HB’s recorder players in November.

This spring, the collaboration culminates in a special performance at the Apollo’s Fire benefit gala, which will be held at Hathaway Brown on April 5. “Beyond Baroque: Fire. Passion. Period.” will feature music by the HB Recorder Consort, with one song played on their own, and then a joint performance of a portion of the Telemann Recorder Suite in A minor with the Apollo’s Fire musicians. Additionally, Becca Lambright ’15 will play a movement from a Vivaldi violin concerto during the program. HB women have other ties to this special evening as well. Several alumnae are members of the event-planning committee, and Frances Seiberling Buchholzer ’52 will be honored for her support of this unique orchestra.

Named for the classical god of music and the sun, Apollo’s Fire was founded in 1992 by the award-winning young harpsichordist and conductor Jeannette Sorrell. To learn more about the orchestra and the benefit gala, visit www.apollosfire.org.

CURRICULUM COMPANION

Midnight, a seeing-eye dog raised here at HB, came back this fall to visit with the students who helped to socialize him as a puppy. He and his handler, Karen Eisenstadt, now live in New York City where Midnight guides Eisenstadt through subways, traffic, and all of the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple.

Primary School art teacher Carol Sphar is a volunteer puppy raiser for Guiding Eyes for the Blind, an organization that pairs service dogs with the visually impaired. As a pup, Midnight accompanied Sphar to school each day. The girls discovered why service dogs are important as they learned how to properly interact with this special working animal. Sphar has since trained two other service dogs. She integrates her work with them into the classroom curriculum, as the girls create art projects related to the dogs’ growth and development.

Karen Eisenstadt, pictured here with HB’s first graders during a classroom visit, has been blind since birth. She spent time at HB discussing her everyday activities and demonstrating how Midnight helps her.

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ACTRiya Jagetia ’14 (pictured above) and Rebecca Weinberger ’15 (below) both recently earned the highest possible composite score on the ACT exam (36). The ACT features tests dedicated to English, mathematics, reading and science, with each test scored on a scale from 1-36. A student’s composite score is an average of these four test scores. Less than one-tenth of one percent of all test takers typically achieve this impressive milestone.

National Merit Eighteen members of the class of 2014 are winners in the National Merit competition. Congratulations to our National Merit Commended students Sarah Adler, Nicole Chesnokov, Caroline Jones, Yingchun Li, Margaret Lowenthal (also a National Achievement Finalist), Susie Min, Alison Nordell, Jessica Sher, and Yunlu Sun. Kudos also go to our National Merit Finalists Dhikshitha Balaji, Megan Callanan, Yasemin Cobanoglu, Joey Gwinnell, Riya Jagetia, Amanda Keresztesy, Aparna Narendrula, Grace Phillips, and Michele Zhou.

Advanced PlacementRecently recognized as Advanced Placement Scholars were 81 class of 2013 graduates and current students. The distinction is given to high school students who have consistently demonstrated college-level achievement through AP exams. To qualify as an AP scholar, the student must receive a score of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams. Special distinctions are also given to students with high average scores over four or more exams. The HB students honored included 29 AP Scholars (3 or higher on three or more exams), 23 AP Scholars with Honor (average score of 3.25 over four or more exams), 29 AP Scholars with Distinction (3.5 average score over five or more exams), and five National AP Scholars (average score of 4 with 4s on eight or more exams). The group averaged a 4.19 score per test.

Creative CompositionWhile they were in Middle School, Hathaway Brown juniors Brady Furlich and Bridget Babcox enjoyed participating in writing competitions that took place across Northeast Ohio. But when they reached high school, they couldn’t find any similar contests. So they invented their own.

Inked is an interscholastic high school program designed to bring together local high school students to share their love of writing, improve their writing skills, and engage in friendly competition. The event offers three writing categories: poetry, creative stories, and persuasive essays. Students’ work is judged by experts including HB English teachers and professionals affiliated with the nonprofit Ohio City Writers.

Brady and Bridget hosted two Inked competitions in 2013, one in April and one in October. The first featured a keynote presentation by Debra Adams Simmons, editor of The Plain Dealer. The paper’s book editor, Joanna Connors, spoke at the fall program. Both events were amazingly well received, and attendance jumped from 75 participants in the first program to 120 in the second. The girls plan to design another iteration of Inked for 2014 as well. More information will be available at www.hb.edu/inked.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS

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Photos by Bridgette Nadzam-Kasubick

Ideas Worth SharingHathaway Brown was honored to host one of more than 220 TEDx events in 58 countries around the world taking part in TEDWomen on December 5. We shared the live stream and presented our own speakers around the theme "Invented Here." TEDWomen fostered a truly global conversation—from San Francisco to São Paulo to Seoul—celebrating inventors and designers; thinkers and makers; local problem-solvers and global leaders.

TEDxHBSWomen featured three in-person presentations, followed by a networking intermission. The speakers at the inaugural event were Maryrose T. Sylvester, President and CEO of GE Lighting; Amy G. Brady, Chief Information Officer for Key Technology & Operations; and Rebecca O. Bagley, President and CEO of NorTech. Additionally, the program featured music by the HB singers, four Upper Schoolers offering original spoken-word poetry, and a special piece by HB dancers.

This independently organized TED event allowed the school to connect with a powerful group that convened to consider how to bring necessary solutions to some of the world's current challenges. Focused on invention, TEDWomen offered us an opportunity to learn about some innovative thinking of women with wide-ranging expertise. Part of the “Be Well, Lead Well” initiative at HB, TEDxHBSWomen was incredibly helpful as we collaborated to invent new ways to bring wellness, health, leadership and power together.

For more information and to view the speeches that were offered at HB, please visit www.tedxhbswomen.com.

FULL FALLHathaway Brown offered many innovative

programs in the last several months, many of which were open to the public.

August

Hathaway Brown Theatre Institute presents “Jekyll & Hyde”

New Families Reception/ State of the School Presentation

September

Caspar Babypants Concert

Homecoming & Fall Festival

Legacy Day

October

Learning for Life Speakers’ Series: Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair

Susan Reed Guest Music Residency

Inked High School Writing Competition

Middle & Upper School Open House

November

TAAL 10th Anniversary

Lucky Plush Dance Residency

Infant & Toddler, Early Childhood, and Kindergarten Open House

Young Writers & Artists Festival

Upper School Theatre presents “The Burial at Thebes”

December

Alumnae/Primary School Celebrate Sisterhood

Middle School Writers’ Festival

TEDxHBSWomen

FIRST LEGO League Regional Tournament

Fair Trade Sale

MasterWorks Concert

IDEO

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FIELD REPORTCROSS COUNTRY – Placed fifth in the OHSAA Division II District * Abbey Langenderfer '15 qualified for the Regional meet * Several runners posted personal best times throughout the season

FIELD HOCKEY – Varsity ranked OHSAA District Runner-Up with an overall record of 13-7; Seeded fifth in the District Tournament * JV finished the season with a record of 11-3-2; Runner-Up in the Magnificat JV Field Hockey Invitational Tournament

GOLF - Competitive season capped with fourth place in the OHSAA Division II Sectional Tournament, and fifth in the Northeast Ohio Independent School Girls Golf League * Came in fifth at the District Tournament

SOCCER - Varsity earned a record of 15-4-3; Advanced to the OHSAA Division II State Semifinal * JV finished the regular season at 2-13

TENNIS - Varsity "A" finished the season with a 13-4 record; OTCA Division II District Champions * Two Singles players – Ariana Iranpour '14 and Lauren Gillinov '17 – and one Doubles team – Catherine Areklett '17 and Ally Persky '17 – qualified for the OHSAA Division II State Tournament * Ariana ended the season as the Singles State Champion, the second Blazer Tennis player to be so ranked * Varsity "B" had an 8-9 record * JV tennis team finished the season at 14-2

VOLLEYBALL – With a 12-13 record, Varsity became only the third team in HB history to advance to the OHSAA Division II District Semifinals * JV team completed the regular season at 2-15

Blazer BondEver wonder how HB has changed over the years? On December 5, four Hathaway Brown alumnae found out during the school’s inaugural Celebrate Sisterhood event. Danielle Horvitz Weiner ’00, Merry McDaniel McCreary ’70, Cynthia Sterling Cleminshaw ’53, and Merle

Schumann Vertes ’54 all answered an invitation to Northeast Ohio alumnae to spend a day in the Primary School. The festivities included classroom visits, guided tours from students, and a meal in the Margery Stouffer Biggar ’47 and Family Dining Hall.

Students and alumnae alike were delighted to hear and see how the HB experience has evolved. Fourth-grade students were amazed as McCreary told them about the rigorous dress code she had to follow - complete with saddle shoes - and her role in an “Alice in Wonderland” puppet show. Likewise, Vertes was pleased to see how the curriculum has become more interactive as she watched third-grade students make crows as part of the Prime’s Storyline project in art class.

Director of Early Childhood and Primary School Admission Kristin Kuhn designed the Celebrate Sisterhood program in collaboration with Director of Alumnae Relations Dana Lovelace Capers ’86 not only to highlight the Prime to HB’s dedicated alumnae, but also to celebrate the school’s legacy. “It’s amazing to see how many of our alumnae have children or grandchildren enrolled,” said Kuhn. “I’m always impressed by the lasting connection our students have to HB.”

Photo by Ripcho Studios

WORK HARD, PLAY HARDLogan Paul, a member of the Hathaway Brown class of 2014, has committed to play NCAA Division I college softball at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

Logan is a pitcher for the Blazer Varsity Softball team, and she is the school's all-time leader in victories as well as second in school history in strikeouts. She only needs 15 more to become the school's career leader in that category as well. Additionally, she is a member of the Blazer Varsity Basketball team.

On November 13, she signed a letter of commitment to become a student-athlete at Bryant. She was joined by her family, friends, coaches, and classmates. Athletic Director Paul Maes and Associate Athletic Director Paul Barlow congratulated her for being an excellent role model for her peers, and recognized her for the countless hours she has spent coaching and mentoring student-athletes in the Middle and Upper schools during her high school years.

Also committing to play Division I athletics next year are Beth Brzozowski '14 and Alison Nordell '14. Beth will continue her basketball career at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been a four-year player and three-year starter for the Blazer basketball team that has won the last five straight Division II State Championships. She is currently second in career assists and holds the all-time record in three-point field goals made for the Blazers.

Alison will attend Yale University next fall, and she will row on the Crew team there. While at HB, she has begun and developed a strong school interest in the sport, and she now rows for the Cleveland Scholastic Rowing Association.

Lasting LegacyDuring the school’s fall Legacy Day on October 11, Hathaway Brown joined people around the world in celebrating International Day of the Girl. The General Assembly of the United Nations set aside this important occasion two years ago to acknowledge girls' rights and challenges.

We considered the value of girls' education, here at HB and everywhere else in the world. HB seniors were tasked with leading students of all other grade levels in activities and discussion based on the film Girl Rising, portions of which Middle and Upper School girls viewed that morning. The 12th graders also read picture books with related themes to their younger schoolmates, so all ages could also be part of the conversation.

Working in small groups, HB girls created 15-second videos to synthesize their conversations. A number of these short student-generated films appear in a video that may be accessed online at hb.edu/magazine. People across the school connected with each other on important themes throughout the day, and the closing celebration included folk dancing and linking arms together in the gym, with nearly 1,000 participants in all.

At HB, we stand in solidarity with educators everywhere who empower girls and young women to learn for life.

BRIGHT FUTUREAt the start of the school year, Sharon Seaton from Dominion Resources presented students in Hathaway Brown's Campus and Community Sustainability class

with a check for $3,800 to support the design and construction of a solar-

powered charging station for laptops and cell phones. The goal of the grant, secured by HB's Director of the Center for Sustainability Torrey McMillan ’90, is to provide the HB community with an accessible way to

learn about energy systems and to enliven a campus-wide

conversation about the impacts of our energy use and energy sources.

Students in the Campus and Community Sustainability class are now undertaking a design process to understand how a solar-charging station would be used by the HB community and propose a design for the system. They will also determine the best location and size of a solar array to feed the charging station and will get their hands on the actual construction process. The charging station will include a real-time feedback display, showing actual energy production from the solar panels and energy use from the charging ports. In addition, it will be tied into the weather station that is currently housed on top of the school’s link building.

Look BookNew for 2013-14, HB unveils Lighting the Way: The People of Hathaway Brown School. This book was designed to introduce parents to the warm, intelligent, diverse, and amazingly vibrant people who work on campus. Inside, you'll find distinctive pictures taken by Kim Ponsky ’98 of the members of every single department in every corner of campus who light the lamp of learning for all HB students. The publication also features interesting brief biographical sketches that help you get to know everyone a little better on a personal level. You can find a digital version at www.hb.edu/lighting_the_way.

BAKING a Difference

When they learned that their international French-speaking pen pals in Central Africa didn't have the same educational access that they themselves enjoy at Hathaway Brown, students in Rebecca Graham's French class decided to do something about it.

The girls were so motivated to help in any way they could that they organized a special "Crêpes for Cameroon" bake sale last spring, while they were in seventh grade. The student initiative included advertising, promotion, sales, accounting, and funds disbursement. When all was said and done, they raised $205 USD for their cause. The monies were sent to the Village of Messamena in Cameroon.

Then something amazing happened.

The Parent/Teacher Association in the village was so touched by the HB girls' efforts that they matched the funds. The money was then used to buy all the school supplies necessary for the first 100 students who enrolled in this school year, and who have demonstrated elevated attendance.

These students now will have school supplies for the entire school year, a great privilege in Cameroon. This act of kindness really motivated the community in Messamena to put more effort into their children’s education in hopes for a brighter future as well.

The HB girls came into contact with students in Cameroon through a unique partnership facilitated by Mme. Graham and her brother, Edward Rosenbaum, a Community Health Peace Corps Volunteer stationed there. On September 9, Rosenbaum, Peace Corps Director Jacquelyn Geier Sesonga, and all of the parents and students of the school attended a ceremony to distribute the school supplies. It was a very exciting day for the village.

Many thanks to the members of the HB Class of 2018 who made all of this possible: Colby Cohen, Ellie Felderman, Elise Fuente, Molly Gleydura, Sarah Grube, Kimiya Kian, Joyce Li, Amaya Razmi, and Olivia Watterson.

digitaldiscoursePeople all over the world stay in touch with HB through our social media channels. What they’re saying:

Sally Lansdale @wislanscraft I swear every time I even *think* about #IDEO I tear up. Thank you. #nonscholaesedvitaediscimus

Wendy Soucie @wendysoucie “Power corrupts. Knowledge is power. Study hard. Be evil.” Eleanor Roosevelt #TEDxHB #TEDxWomen -- My new motto.

Cleveland Foodbank @CleveFoodbank Congrats @HathawayBrown on a successful food drive - 4,055 lbs collected! Interested in hosting a drive? Visit http://goo.gl/Cb1CGE

Erin Mann @erin_cathleenn It amazes me every day at DePauw how well all my teachers at @HathawayBrown prepared me for college. I’ll never be able to thank them enough.

National Association of Independent Schools @NAISnetwork .@HathawayBrown “Crêpes for Cameroon” makes a difference across the globe via #inspirationlab http://ow.ly/qu3EK

Blue13 Dance Company @blue13dance Thrilled to perform @HathawayBrown #cleveland #dancefestival #taal #homecoming

Linda Byramjee The absolute best education money can buy. When girls graduate from HB they believe they can do anything.

Fred Sternfeld It has been an honor to work with so many of the area’s outstanding young people and caring instructors in the inaugural summer of Hathaway Brown Theatre Institute - HBTI. The most important work of my career has been helping young people on their journey into the arts. Thank you to the students and staffs of HBTI and Hathaway Brown School for enabling this new program to get off the ground in such a grand manner!

Trish Arnold ¡Genial! “Thank you” to all the wonderful language teachers I had at HB; you have impacted my life in such a positive way.

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Meet Sasha. A junior at Hathaway Brown with bouncy red curls, she’s the only girl in her family. Her two older brothers are away at college, and they’re doing very well in school. Sasha earns good grades too, which makes her grandparents proud. They gave up everything to come to this country. Education —particularly for girls—is extremely important to their family. They often remind their granddaughter that she can be anything she wants to be if she just puts her mind to it and her nose to the grindstone.

Every day, Sasha wakes up early and makes the trek from Solon to the Carol and John Butler Aquatic Center at HB for swim team practice that begins at 6 a.m., followed by a full day of school. During classroom discussions, she’s pretty outspoken, especially when she really knows the subject matter. When it comes to newer topics, she prefers to sit back and listen as she types bullet points in a note-taking program on her laptop. A lot of her friends take the same courses she does.

They love catching up in the halls during class changes, and they study together in the Atrium during free periods. Sasha’s enrolled in the Science Research & Engineering Program and she’s a Global Scholar. Once a week, she makes her way to the Cleveland Clinic after school, where she works in a lab studying the neurological implications of certain cancer treatments. Next year, she’s planning to travel to Spain with the Center for Global Citizenship. Since she was a freshman she’s been taking Spanish and she’s looking forward to putting her speaking skills to good use.

Back at home in the evening, Sasha grabs a snack and heads to her bedroom to crack open the books. She keeps track of her assignments using a color-coded planner and she generally spends two or three hours a night on homework. Occasionally she FaceTimes with her friends on her iPhone while she’s working. Even if they don’t talk a lot, it’s kind of nice to have someone in the room in case she has any questions. Sasha really likes studying with her friend Katie because Katie’s really smart and really funny and she’s on the swim team too. They laugh a lot when they’re together. Other times, Sasha leaves her phone in the kitchen. This way, she can concentrate without the urge to check Instagram. She used to have a Facebook account, but she shut it down after her grandmother started commenting on all her posts. Her friends are on Twitter, but she hasn’t signed up yet because she’s not sure if she wants to add another distraction. She tries to get to sleep around 10 each night because 5 a.m. rolls around pretty quick. Then it’s time to do it all again.

STORY BY KATHLEEN OSBORNE

You do your best when you’re at your best— it’s a pretty simple concept.

The hard part is putting it into action.

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HBILLUSTRATIONS BY LEN PERALTA

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The HB faculty met Sasha at the start of the 2013-14 school year, when she was introduced by Koyen Parikh Shah, director of the school’s Center for Leadership & Well-Being. Sasha is a friendly, bubbly, fresh-faced young girl with whom most people can relate. But Sasha isn’t real.

To be clear, Sasha isn’t an actual HB student —she’s an amalgam of girls created to illustrate a point. Still, the idea of Sasha is real enough that she could be any girl on campus. In fact, Shah dreamed her up as sort of an HB Everygirl, a poster child for the school’s “Be Well, Lead Well” initiative. Announced as the year’s theme by Head of School Bill Christ, “Be Well, Lead Well” was designed to help girls and women reimagine leadership, broadening their personal definitions beyond title and rank.

Our understanding of leadership is expanding to reflect a world that is hyper-connected and rapidly changing, and girls today want to become intentional leaders of their own lives while they work to make the world a better place. Spearheaded by the burgeoning Center for Leadership & Well-Being, the initiative has made its way into every classroom on campus, as teachers explore ways to bring wellness, health, leadership, and power together. In addition to curricular lessons, a number of school-wide events and activities have united students and faculty members in discovering how they can be well and lead well at the same time.

Back to Sasha. As Shah brought her to life, she pointed out that there’s more than one way to look at the manner in which young women are structuring their routines in this day and age. One is to see Sasha spinning away on a “success treadmill” —running in place. In fact, a lot of multitasking women think of themselves in this way. They’re constantly busy, and feeling that they’re not really advancing in the way that they’d like on any horizon. For people on this treadmill, fulfillment always lies in the distance. Maybe they’ll find it in the next set of accomplishments, maybe they won’t. But they have to try.

There’s another side to the achievement spectrum, one that’s currently being debated and discussed at great length and in great depth by psychologists, authors, career counselors, and CEOs. Rather than seeing themselves in a never-ending rat race that starts when they are very young, women are shifting the paradigm. They’re looking at success as a present construct. It’s not something to be achieved eventually; it’s something to appreciate and cultivate in the now. At HB, Shah calls this notion the “success garden.”

Sasha and the HB girls she represents are inspired to go above and beyond because they are in charge of their own work. They enact changes in their lives not because they’re unfulfilled, but because they want to discover the next best version of themselves. These girls are excited about breaking uncharted ground.

“Our students tell us they don’t want a watered-down version of HB,” Shah says. “They are aware that the kind of education they are receiving is of such a high caliber that they sometimes feel guilty because they know that there are so many girls all over the world who do not have the same opportunities. At the same time, they don’t want a typical American education. They want to be exactly where they are: at HB, where they’re encouraged to expand their horizons, try new things, and nurture their passions. The key is that they’re not in this alone. They’re in charge of their own lives, but a whole lot of people are here to help them.”

Connecting an inner life with outer purpose is tough today. Given all the external forces at play, adopting a more personally fulfilling outlook is a serious challenge in our culture. Yet it’s extremely important. HB faculty members play a crucial role in shaping girls’ perspectives, and they take that responsibility seriously. With the establishment of “Be Well, Lead Well,” people all across campus have been redoubling their efforts to help girls develop their inner reserves and identify support systems so they don’t become unnecessarily stressed out. And in the times when girls do find themselves feeling overwhelmed, they don’t have to be derailed. Instead, they can find the help they need to dig in, turn the soil, and plant something new.

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Understanding the Environment

Nothing exists in a vacuum. Regardless of education, profession, or family structure, people are compelled to put their lives into context. This is especially true for women. Working hard and feeling themselves pulled in many different directions, they want to be assured that it’s all worth it, that they’re bringing something important and valuable to the world. This can set up a vicious cycle, though. If you spend too much time looking outward, you may forget to look inward.

In June 2013, Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, held a women’s conference in New York to discuss extending the notion of success in the new economy. “The Third Metric: Redefining Success Beyond Money & Power” focused on redefining success to include well-being, wisdom, wonder, compassion, and giving. With a cadre of well-known successful women including Mika Brzezinski, Katie Couric, Candice Bergen, Lesley Stahl and Senator Claire McCaskill, Huffington tackled such topics as “Managing a Frenetic Life,” “The Mind/Body Connection,” and “Wellness and the Bottom Line.” The idea came after a nationwide survey found eight in 10 Americans have stress caused by overwork, only 30 percent say they feel pleasure in carrying out their work, half feel uninspired, and more than a quarter of those questioned are deeply dissatisfied with what they do. The conference launched a digital movement that now includes social media platforms and a website presence that garners millions of hits each month.

Huffington explained the reason she and so many other highly motivated and accomplished women are feeling compelled to step back and assess their leadership styles and lifestyle choices in light of other, less quantitatively measurable factors. “Defining success just in terms of the first two metrics,” she said, “is a little bit like sitting on a two-legged stool. You’re going to fall off.”

If you’re going to be a leader—an effective leader, anyway—you’re going to have to make your own personal well-being more than just an afterthought. Anyone who’s ever been on an airplane understands this. Before each takeoff, in the event of an emergency you’re reminded to secure your own oxygen mask before attempting to assist anyone else. You can’t be much of a savior if you’re struggling for air.

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Program Guide

A new and growing entity at HB, The Center for Leadership & Well-Being was created to explore ideas at the forefront of women’s leadership. The center encourages girls in each division to consider the complexities of leadership work from a variety of perspectives so they can better navigate the numerous forces at play in any leadership challenge. Focused on what’s required to equip women in the 21st century, the center aims to guide young women to become leaders of their own lives—individuals who take steps to know, reflect, connect, and act as they make decisions.

Girls today want to become intentional leaders of their own lives while working to make the world a better place. Addressing HB students’ needs as emerging leaders requires immersing them in a culture that help girls imagine and approach leadership work with new possibilities in mind.

Center programming empowers girls to assume leadership roles with courage and encourages them to create change where needed. Curricular offerings include targeted leadership-development and wellness workshops open to all Upper School students. Ninth through 12th graders also are invited to enroll in Leadership Seminar, which meets twice a cycle and provides a comprehensive look at essential leadership skills and a great deal of support as they’re practiced. The center also is closely involved with Student Government, and Director Koyen Parikh Shah meets regularly with elected leaders to focus on the skills needed to move their organizations ahead. Students in grades 4 and 8 take a close look at leadership with similar programming tailored for their needs, and Upper Schoolers help design and implement some activities for the younger students.

The Center for Leadership & Well-Being fosters a shared language about leadership, presenting the concept throughout the campus in a girl-friendly, age-appropriate, consistent way. Shah partners with teachers in the Prime, Middle, and Upper schools to match leadership lessons with the challenges girls are currently facing, as she simultaneously works to establish networks, forming connections with leadership organizations locally and globally.

Tapping Resources The Head’s Council at HB is a small think tank of alumnae appointed to three-year terms. Made up of HB women whose graduation years span several decades and who have experience in a broad range of disciplines, the council serves as a sounding board and advisory panel for Head of School Bill Christ. The group comes back to campus each fall for a weekend conference. Throughout the year, they exchange ideas remotely through email, videoconferencing, and telephone meetings as well. In 2013, the program celebrated its fifth anniversary and all the women who have served were invited to Shaker Heights in October to mark the occasion and share their perspectives about being well, leading well, and encouraging others to do the same.

Nearly 75 Head’s Council members convened in HB’s Worldwide Communications Center, where they listened to presentations from Bill Christ, Director of Alumnae Relations Dana Lovelace Capers ’86, Associate Head of School and Upper School Director Sue Sadler, Associate Head for Finance and Administration Valerie Hughes, Associate Head for Enrollment Management Sarah Johnston, and Dean of Students Hallie Godshall on the meeting’s first day. The group was brought up to speed about how the school’s curriculum is structured and how specifically the “Be Well, Lead Well” theme was being envisioned and incorporated into the daily lives of the students. They also watched a few relevant TED talks about women and success, and were asked to offer their ideas about making wellness an intentional component of leadership development. Clinical psychologist and retired HB Director of Counseling Dr. Sheila Santoro moderated a discussion about health, lifestyle choices, and innovative and engaging teaching approaches to this nuanced subject matter.

That evening’s dinner program featured a presentation by Lily Roberts ’08, a Morehead-Cain Scholar and recent graduate of the University of North Carolina who is now living and working in Washington, D.C. Her remarks summarized many of the points that had surfaced throughout the day. “If you think people are either depressed or not, or they feel good in their bodies or not, or they’re anxious or not, you have not gone through your teens and 20s,” she said. “Being well is about acknowledging the moments when you feel like your job is less than you could be doing, or that you don’t know how to make grown-up friends after a lifetime at a close-knit all-girls’ school and four years of college bonding, or when you struggle with your family, culture, or religion of origin. Being well is about finding a community that supports your attempts to navigate the world. And being well is about knowing that your voice has value.”

Planting Seeds The next morning, the Head’s Council met on campus once again. This time, they sat around tables in the Margery Stouffer Biggar ’47 and Family Dining Hall, and they were joined by HB Middle and Upper School students. With spa music playing in the background, Center for Leadership & Well-Being Director Koyen Shah led 100 people through a session that was marked by thoughtful and honest discussion, allowing these HB sisters to learn significant things about and from each other in a short period of time. In their respective groups, participants took turns talking about the moments during which they discovered their own leadership styles and found ways to care for themselves and focus on wellness. There were tales of running for class office; taking a break from sports; coming home from jobs halfway across the country that didn’t work out the way they were planned; discovering new pastimes in retirement; coping with illness, death, and loss; finishing big school projects; launching businesses; sparking friendships; and speaking up when it was the right thing (and the last thing you wanted) to do.

Before they went their separate ways, all of the participants were asked to leave some thoughts behind on paper. A prompt written by Shah was placed on every table: Think about your wellness story – a time when you felt a sense of well-being, and the factors that contributed to this feeling, as well as the accompanying benefit. Perhaps you found a way to manage something new or unexpected; you have a helpful belief or daily practice; you responded to a change or challenge effectively; you made a choice or decision that has improved your sense of well-being. What is the main idea, quote, or simple takeaway from your story?

The responses, which have since been shared with HB students and faculty, were insightful, instructive, and inspirational. A sampling:

“You cannot lead well from a position of stress.”

“Adversity can help you grow.”

“Step back, take a breath, evaluate, and proceed. Find time to do this. Or get a massage.”

Homegrown Support Last summer, as students enjoyed well-earned downtime with their family and friends, a group of HB faculty and administrators met regularly to discuss the ways in which the “Be Well, Lead Well” theme could be meaningfully incorporated into girls’ lives at school. They read and deliberated the assertions in a number of books related to female adolescent development, parenting in the 21st century, and expanding leadership. They watched the PBS documentary MAKERS: Women Who Make America, they planned student and professional mentor initiatives, subscribed to pertinent blogs, read countless magazine features, followed prominent thinkers on Twitter, and made notes about their own parenting, teaching, and leadership styles. They brainstormed about classroom topics, school-wide events, web videos, service initiatives, and enhancing HB’s Center for Family Support. They shared personal stories, observations, and hopes for the future. They planned to make being well and leading well top of mind.

Those conversations and revelations were extremely cathartic because they helped the “Be Well, Lead Well” architects discover that the concepts they were discussing were not only important in their students’ lives, but in their own lives as well. And it opened their eyes to the wealth of resources available to the HB community not only on campus, but in the world at large through collegial networks, the school’s alumnae and parent bodies, and visionary scholars, businesspeople, and wellness practitioners.

All of this laid the groundwork for a fall presentation to HB parents by Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair, whose new book, The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age encourages parents to help their children find balance by demonstrating that balance in their own lives. Turn off your smartphone and make a concerted effort to be present with your family, Dr. Steiner-Adair advised. Not only will this help you to appreciate your blessings, but it will make you more successful in the long run because you will feel less distracted and more fulfilled.

At the start of the school year during HB’s fall Legacy Day, the community shared ideas from the film Girl Rising and considered the value of a girl’s education, at HB and everywhere else in the world. Girls across the school connected with each other on important themes throughout the day, and the closing celebration included folk dancing and students and teachers of all ages linking arms together.

Continued on page 19

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“Being well is about finding a community

that supports your attempts to navigate the world.

And being well is about knowing that your voice

has value.”

In order to “Be Well and Lead Well,” a leader should perceive her role as an act of service. Having a leadership position is a gift and often a sacrifice. A leader who governs from a place of humility and generosity coupled with self-confidence will always succeed. She sets the tone for her team. Team members who are confident that their leader is concerned not only about their well-being, but also their growth, will be highly motivated to excel in their roles while being supportive of each other. Her vision must be clearly presented, firm, and always inclusive.

My experience at Hathaway Brown prepared and encouraged me to seek a life of leadership. We were presented with so many opportunities to develop our leadership skills. I remember entering my freshman year of college eager to take on new challenges. I had absolutely no boundaries or fear.

Felicia A. Swoope ’87 New York, New York

In Her Words: How to Be Well & Lead Well

Who She Is / What She Does Felicia A. Swoope received her B.A. in English from Dartmouth College and her M.F.A. in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She was the Founding Curator of E-Moves, the emerging choreographers’ showcase at Aaron Davis Hall (now Harlemstage). She has performed with Nathan Trice/Rituals, Siwela Sonke South African Dance Theatre, Souloworks/Andrea E. Woods & Dancers, Jubilation!/Deeply Rooted, The Dancer’s Co-Op/Gabri Christa and recording artist Shannon. She was a teaching artist for Battery Dance Company for three years and Alvin Ailey’s Arts-In-Education Program (AileyKids) for seven years. She also served as the first Camp Director for AileyCamp Newark, one of 10 Alvin Ailey summer camps across the country for at-risk youth. As the founder of GENDARC DANCE NYC, she produces showcases for choreographers, hosts workshops for pre-professional and professional dancers, and has her own Arts-In-Education program in the New York City public schools.

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And just before Winter Break, the Center for Leadership & Well-Being sponsored the school’s inaugural TEDxHBSWomen conference, one of more than 220 TEDx events in 58 countries around the world that simultaneously took part in TEDWomen. HB’s program featured three in-person speakers, followed by a networking reception and a live-stream of the national TEDWomen conference in California. More than 100 women and men came to campus to connect and share ideas.

Two of the TEDxHBSWomen speakers are mothers of HB students: Maryrose T. Sylvester, President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Lighting ( Jules ’20 and Ella ’22); and Amy G. Brady, Chief Information Officer for Key Technology & Operations (Amanda ’15 and Madi ’16). They offered perspectives about how their leadership styles were shaped by their personal lives and vice-versa, as the two are not mutually exclusive, but instead part of the larger whole. Good leaders do not isolate and fragment themselves, they bolster themselves with the support of their families and colleagues.

In her talk titled “Transformational Journey,” Sylvester described the moments and lessons in life that brought her to the place she is today. She explained that she makes it a point to share some of that wisdom with her young daughters. In a world that is marked by competition, she said it’s important not to fall into the trap of constantly comparing yourself to others. It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing as long as you know you are working to your own potential. “Be your best —effort counts,” she said. “But remember to run your own race, like a thoroughbred. Move forward, but run your race. You’re competing with yourself. Write your own story.”

Brady echoed similar sentiments. She encouraged attendees to become the CIOs of their own lives. In addition to offering real-world guidance for bolstering technological acumen, she gave some insight into why young women should seriously consider pursuing technology careers, which traditionally have been pursued instead by men. “The leaders of tomorrow will understand and embrace technology in new and important ways,” she said. “We need women in the whole ecosystem of technology , from invention to development to implementation. And we need that because women have an innate ability to problem-solve, to learn, to think creatively. At the same time, women are incredible at adapting to disruption. And let’s face it, technology can be very disruptive.”

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What it most likely boils down to is that there are as

many different definitions of success as there are women

to own them. Because the individual is a vitally

important part of the equation.

Always listen to your intuition. If you are tuned into it, it will never lead you astray.

All the answers you are seeking lie within your own heart.

If you can’t access those answers, get professional assistance in learning how to go within. There is so much help out there in the holistic world from books to seminars to practitioners.

If you go against your own code of ethics, you will never be a success in the true sense of the word.

Give back in any way you can: donations, volunteering, free seminars for your community, or create your own charity!

Never lose your sense of fun, creativity, joy, or lose track of your vision. These things will help you keep a good perspective and keep you on track.

Start every day with the intention to be the best you can be. Then be it.

Make your goal personal realization rather than success. You will be much more successful in the long run – especially in areas that really count.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

“When the best leader’s work is done, the people say, ’We did it ourselves.’” – Lao Tzu

“Things don’t have to change the world to be important.” – Steve Jobs

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein

Diantha Smith Harris ’64 Vero Beach, Florida

Who She Is / What She Does As a graduate of Hathaway Brown, Diantha Smith Harris has always been interested in making this world a better place, but in 1964 she didn’t know how that would manifest. Through her later experience with interior design, she became interested in Feng Shui and Color as tools for healing and consciousness, and she learned how to read the Akashic Records. In her quest to continue learning and improving, she ended up with enough initials after her name to fill a notebook (ASID, FSIA, FFSF, FA, CPIA, MPIWOC, and Rev., to name a few). She is the founder of Life Potentials, a practice in which she employs her knowledge and holistic treatment tools to enhance, support and transform the lives of her clients. She also is the author of the book Simply Color, which is now in its third edition.

Tips for Being Well & Leading Well Favorite Quotes

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It should be noted that while Brady’s remarks focused on technology specifically, they can be applied to an array of disciplines or lifestyle choices. Women are really good at adaptation. And they’re amazingly resilient in the face of obstacles. As the CEO of an electric company, Sylvester also spoke at length about power, light, and energy—in both their literal and metaphorical senses. “With power, you have a platform to have your voice heard,” she said.

A large contingent of Upper Schoolers attended TEDxHBSWomen, including those who participated by showcasing their artistic talents in singing, dance, and spoken-word poetry. It was an energizing event. Footage from the presentations has been viewed and discussed by students in Koyen Shah’s leadership center on campus and the faculty and administrators who designed “Be Well, Lead Well” have enhanced the reserves of fruitful material from which they and their students will continue to draw.

Reaping the Harvest The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that “of the 3.2 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2012, about 2.1 million (66.2 percent) were enrolled in college in October. For 2012 graduates, the college enrollment rate was 71.3 percent for young women and 61.3 percent for young men.” Those are some pretty important figures. In higher education and in the professional workforce, women are starting to outnumber men by a growing margin.

So what does this mean?

Despite the fact that women now earn more bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees, they still are not well represented in senior management positions in United States corporations. This is a real problem that is being analyzed and hotly debated by many. Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operations Officer for Facebook, addresses it in her book Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Succeed. She writes, “We’ve ceased making progress at the top in any industry anywhere in the world. In the United States, women have had 14 percent of the top corporate jobs and 17 percent of the board seats for 10 years. Ten years of no progress.”

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Helping the Helpers

Students at Hathaway Brown aren’t the only ones who are inspired to Be Well and Lead Well. If they’re going to be the kinds of leaders in their own lives that they’re urging the girls to be, faculty and staff members know they have to model healthy behaviors in leadership and life as well.

HB views itself as a “cosmopolitan, innovative, dynamic city of learning, but a city with a heart dedicated to educating the whole person, mind, body, and spirit.” To that end, an array of leadership development opportunities are available to employees, including Osborne Catalyst grants, which allow teachers to pursue their own passions outside of the classroom and bring their findings back to campus to be shared with others. Entrepreneurial thinking is encouraged and supported, and new programs are continually being launched. In addition to mentoring students, faculty members also mentor each other. And people throughout campus belong to a wide range of professional networking and advocacy organizations that offer leadership seminars and other training initiatives.

On the wellness front, the school’s new dining-services provider, AVI Foodsystems, focuses on fresh ingredients and faculty and staff are provided a healthy well-balanced lunch every day featuring seasonal fruits and vegetables and numerous low-fat offerings. Before and after school, yoga, fitness, and Pilates classes are available, including several taught by HB’s own faculty members Beth Burtch and Denise Keary. Employees are welcome to work out in the training room and to swim in the pool. Every Wednesday, Director of Human Resources Gerri Jeffrey floods her colleagues’ inboxes with a “Healthy Tip of the Week,” with advice for everything from keeping track of finances to maintaining your weight during the holidays. And each month, Lesley Sargent LaBenne ’83 returns to her alma mater to offer chair massages to help faculty members unwind and de-stress.

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One of my favorite quotes, which I included in Daily Bread, is from James Truslow Adams (1878-1949), the author and historian who coined the term “American Dream”:

“Perhaps it would be a good idea, fantastic as it sounds, to muffle every telephone, stop every motor, and halt all activity for an hour some day to give people a chance to ponder for a few minutes on what it is all about, why they are living, and what they really want.”

Imagine what Adams would think of our crazy lives today! With all the competing demands on our time, my advice is

to practice mindfulness. It will make you think more clearly, help you identify and stay focused on both personal and professional goals, significantly reduce stress, and generally make you a happier person. Many schools, including the other HBS —Harvard Business School—are now incorporating mindfulness practices into their curriculum. Some describe it as the mental equivalent for your brain of weightlifting reps. There are even mindfulness apps available to help you integrate the practice into your schedule, no matter how busy you are.

Marie Dempsey Carter ’72 Richmond, Virginia

Who She Is / What She Does After she left HB, Marie Dempsey Carter went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Smith College, and a law degree from the University of Texas in Austin. She recently retired from Dominion Resources, Inc., where she was Assistant General Counsel for Ethics and Compliance. She and her husband, Hugh, have three daughters and one son, who now all are graduated from college and starting their own careers. In November 2013, she published a cookbook that she had been working on for more than 15 years. Daily Bread from my kitchen to yours is somewhat unique in that it is in a daybook format, with a recipe and inspirational quotation for each day of the year. She wrote the book in memory of her mother, who died of cancer in 1997. Daily Bread is available on Amazon, B&N, and all major book distribution websites. She is donating 25 percent

of the sales proceeds to fund cancer research at NCI-designated cancer centers, such as Cleveland’s Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, where her mother was treated.

Four of her favorite sweets in Daily Bread were inspired by HB: Black Bottom Pie, Apple Crisp (of course), Frosted Butterscotch Cookies (recipe by Cindy Wachter Happ ’72), and an awesome, thick fudgy chocolate sauce that used to be served with peppermint ice cream. The quote she featured on the Apple Crisp recipe day is Non Scholae Sed Vitae Discimus. And on the chocolate sauce day, she included the first line of Helen Taylor’s song Bless this House.

In Her Words: How to Be Well & Lead Well

Ideas in ActionIn 2014, HB’s “Be Well, Lead Well” theme is being put into practice in each division in a variety of ways, with a different emphasis each month of the school year.

January: Exploring Mindfulness

February: Caring for Sisters and Self

March: Noticing the Natural World

April: Leading Your Own Life

May: Celebrating Being Well and Leading Well

Sandberg asserts that women are being held back by the culture and by themselves. In defense of her somewhat controversial advice for women to “lean in” at work, loosen the reins at home, and recognize why they don’t stand up for themselves, she has said, “My message is not one of blaming women. There’s an awful lot we don’t control, but there is an awful lot we can control and we can do for ourselves, to sit at more tables, raise more hands.”

There are a multitude of hot-button topics related to women in leadership, and countless schools of thought about the right approach. For decades, we’ve been talking about “having balance” and “having it all.” While Sheryl Sandberg advocates leaning in, Debora L. Spar, president of the all-women’s Barnard College, says it’s OK to pull back. In promoting her new book, Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection, Spar wrote, “We have opportunities today—to choose our educations, careers, spouses—that would’ve stunned our grandmothers. But now we’re dazed and confused by all the choices. Feminism was meant to remove a fixed set of expectations; instead, we now interpret it as a route to personal perfection. Because we can do anything, we feel as if we have to do everything.”

A Google search of “women’s leadership and well-being” yields 78.2 million results, ranging from scholarly articles to proprietary business sites. While it is daunting to try to synthesize all of the different points of view, tips, tricks, and definitions of female success, it’s incredibly heartening to know that so many people are talking—and talking loudly—about it. At the same time, people are paying more attention than ever to the women themselves. What it most likely boils down to is that there are as many different definitions of success as there are women to own them. Because the individual is a vitally important part of the equation.

At HB, we’re using all of this material to inform the way we teach girls about being leaders in their own lives. We provide them with an array of resources, support systems, and opportunities to develop and enrich their minds, bodies, and spirits. We also encourage them to try new things, expand their leadership vocabularies, and exercise their voices. Because we know that what a woman thinks and knows and feels mean just as much to any organization to which she lends her talents as they mean to her personal well-being.

When one girl learns to look inward and nurture her own aspirations, everyone benefits. The best kinds of leaders do just that. And the best kinds of leaders change the world.

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he wonderful surprise of our life journey is that we can be right in the center of a new development,

a rising trend, a mighty tide and often we are so busy adapting and negotiating that we miss the significance of the moment. That summarizes my response to inquiry regarding the process of integrating the Hathaway Brown student body 40 years ago. At that time it was my privilege and challenge to attend Hathaway Brown. The focus of this high school experience was preparation for life. The ability to function in a diverse society is essential for effective interactions in life and so my presence was part of the education for all involved.

In retrospect I see that I was preparing for life as an African-American female student at Harvard University at a time of national and international racial turmoil. I was preparing to attend medical school with a distinct commitment to the social sciences rather than the expected natural science. At HB I extended my abilities to think critically, write persuasively, and tackle high volumes of information to be systematically addressed. The social setting required that I swim upstream, earn the respect of my peers but never lose my sense of self … my African-American self.

Although I was gaining an exceptional academic background, this was not to be a unidirectional learning experience. My

mother always reminded me and those responsible for my education that I brought value to any situation I entered. I did not come to HB merely to gain an education but I came as an active participant, contributing to the education of others. From the outstanding gifted program in the Cleveland Public Schools I had acquired study skills, organizational skills, a love of learning and actually was advanced beyond the HB standards for math and science.

My preparation, both academically and socially, had roots in my HB experience, but adaptation, goal-setting and joyful living required additional building blocks. Multiplicities of experiences, all interwoven, all valuable - tinted my racial identity and have contributed to the woman I have become.

Let’s remember that entering HB in the ninth grade in 1969 I came with an established foundation. And I rejoice in the fact that I was exceptionally prepared for the Hathaway Brown experience.

First, my upbringing was solidly middle-class, but with elements of the best experiences childhood can offer. My father, a dentist, and my mother, an elementary school educator, were committed to the development of character, compassion, and intellectual prowess in their only child. Those pursuits were major components of my childhood world. No week was complete

without worship service attendance, time to share with others and a full bag of library books.

My life before HB was filled with all of the great experiences of childhood. Travel, music lessons, family discussion of current events, and best of all —unconditional love and acceptance.

My entire life had been spent in multicultural environments that included church, school, and home. I never thought about diversity because it was a way of life.

The diversity of my childhood was not just racial but economic. I experienced the life of African-American privilege on frequent visits to see extended family in Washington, D.C., where my uncle was a well-known pastor and city leader. I was accustomed to greeting dignitaries, frolicking at the cottage on Chesapeake Bay and attending the very best cultural events.

Lastly, I had been steeped in the Pentecostal tradition and I brought that heritage with me to HB. After all is said and done, HB and Harvard have contributed immensely to my academic and personal growth, but my faith remains my foundation.

By the time I entered HB, my varied experiences and sense of self allowed me to

… For Life on being one of the first African-American graduates of Hathaway Brown School

by Cheryl Morrow-White ’73

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HB TodayWith 840 students enrolled in Early Childhood through Grade 12, Hathaway Brown fosters an inclusive learning environment. It is home to boys and girls from 78 different communities throughout Northeast Ohio, 29 percent of whom are students of color. HB has established policies, curricula, and practices that develop understanding and respect for multiple perspectives. Under the direction of Camille Lipford Seals ’02, our Center for Multicultural Affairs participates in various national and local diversity initiatives and sponsors classes and programs to promote tolerance, understanding, and the development of a truly multicultural community. We are committed to developing a common language and forum for discussion around diversity learning. Inclusion, social justice, multiple perspectives, and appreciation of and respect for differences all are core values in our curriculum.

stand in confidence and truly evaluate each student as a unique individual. Of course I expected the same. I was not an African-American student, I was - and am - Cheryl Morrow, a fascinating woman who is African-American.

As I entered middle school years, my mother sought a learning environment for me with even more intellectual challenge. The quest resulted in a discussion with one of her graduate school professors who happened to know that William Harris, HB headmaster, was actively seeking to integrate the student body at Hathaway Brown. I remember Mr. Harris as welcoming and personable. I was tested, and soon after admitted to HB.

It must be noted that when I came to HB in 1969 the Farmer sisters were already thriving as African-Americans at HB. Gaynell and I were in the same class and together we were the first African-American graduates in 1973, the 97th Commencement of the school.

Imagine a 14-year-old African-American girl walking into the center hall of HB, glasses perched on her nose, carrying a tennis racquet and all the supplies listed as required for the first day of ninth grade. Now picture the hall buzzing with excitement as the familiar friends (many having known one another since first grade at Malvern) greet one another as only teen girls can … ebulliently. I don’t recall having any distinctly racial awareness at that moment. I just was 14 years old, in unfamiliar territory and alone.

Now into that picture imagine the introduction of that girl to her student “hostess,” a peer who was to facilitate the new student’s adjustment. Let me tell you that this seemingly random match had the ingredients of a lifetime friendship. My freshman hostess and lifelong friend is Nancy Wolf. I marvel at the strength of a bond reinforced with high school experiences. Nancy was truly my lifeline in ninth grade and my greatest cheerleader as I sought to actively participate in student life at HB. As I see other HB friendships that had

lasted many years, I realize that the environment encouraged the formation of such bonds.

My experience at HB was filled with joy, laughter, and a sense of accomplishment. But if you know me, I carry my joy with me, everywhere I go. I acknowledge that there were difficult days. Most were just “those days” but some required an extra dose of perseverance and understanding. I came to understand that not everyone at HB had experienced diversity in their earlier years. They required a little more time to understand that part of the richness of an experience is basking in the diversity of the environment.

The faculty did an excellent job of easing my transition into HB. Some intentionally added small daily recognition of my progress, seasoned with reassurance. The opportunities for additional responsibilities and educational growth were evidence of my acceptance into the school couture.

What happened during those years at HB? Too much to relate here. But after navigating uncharted territory, stretching my intellect in new directions, traveling to Switzerland for an AFS experience, witnessing the hiring of the first male teacher, and completing my high school career as the president of the student faculty senate, I sensed that I was prepared for my future.

Adolescence is always a time of change and emotional vicissitudes. My high school years had an added “mission” of becoming the diversity factor for a community. There were tears and joys associated with that aspect of my youth, but the experience lived up to the expressed promise of Hathaway Brown and made an indelible impression on my life story.

The promise: “Not for school, but for life.”

As you enter HB’s Primary School, you will be greeted by our friendly office staff, a sampling of student artwork, and photographs of girls at work and at play. But this winter, visitors couldn’t help but notice a large classroom replica that appeared

to grow each day. While large art projects are nothing new to the Prime, the mockup held special significance not to one particular classroom or student, but to the entire school.

The model classroom, designed and organized by visual arts teacher Carol Sphar, was made to resemble the setting of Taro Yashima’s Caldecott Award-winning children’s book Crow

Boy, complete with cut-out figures, paintings, and three-dimensional animals. The book tells the story of Chibi, a Japanese farm boy who is teased by his classmates and ignored by his teacher. Despite his fascination with nature over classroom activities, Chibi eventually earns everyone’s respect at the school talent show with a series of crow calls. Chibi’s search for acceptance is the basis of the division-wide Storyline project that spanned the end of the first semester. Using the central material as a springboard, Storyline endeavors to cover the entire curriculum and focus on creative and experiential learning activities.

While each grade has participated in its own Storyline programming, this marks the first time that the entire school has covered the same material. Fourth-grade teacher Mary Boutton says the experience was energizing for the girls and their teachers alike. “Collaboratively planning and executing a five-week project brought us together

in new ways,” she explains. “Faculty and students enthusiastically embraced the challenge of meshing schedules and curriculums, and joyfully explored the themes of community and acceptance of each other’s differences.”

This integrated approach ensured all of the Prime’s lessons came back to Crow Boy. Science classes learned about the wildlife, agriculture, and weather of Japan. Music and dance teachers taught the girls Japanese games and songs. Art projects ranged from homemade crows to basic calligraphy. And the colorful evidence of the girls’ efforts covered the hallways throughout the Primary School.

Accompanying the emphasis on Japanese culture and experiences was a strong sense of community-building. Students at every grade level were encouraged to share their own hidden abilities as well as those of their classmates. Each grade also held classroom talent shows to showcase the girls’ gifts. Students then wrote positive comment cards for one another following the performance. Their combined energies culminated in an all-Prime talent show before Winter Break. Boutton says the activities helped everyone “appreciate each other’s special talents and abilities.”

Though the Crow Boy experience has now come to a close for the Prime student body, the story doesn’t end for the faculty. Three teachers will share their perspectives about the project at the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools conference in February.

ACTIVE READING

This year marked the 27th time that Hathaway Brown seventh graders ventured east to spend a week in Cape Cod, Mass., for their class trip. Regional Director of Advancement for the Northeast Kate LaMantia ’00 and Director of Middle School Admission Katherine Jenne Chapman ’04 each had the opportunity to take the trip as seventh graders many years ago, and they returned to the Cape this year as chaperones.

“Remembering all of the fun times I had in Cape Cod with my classmates while making new memories with the class of 2019 really brought the experience full circle,” Chapman says. LaMantia agrees: “I loved watching the girls discover the beauty of the Cape and dip their toes in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.”

Fellow alumnae Physical Education and Adventure Learning teacher Shannon Liber ’88 and Seventh-Grade Mathematics teacher Renee King Van De Motter ’88 also made the trek to the New England shore. It was an amazing experience for everyone involved.

LaMantia (far right) and her classmates in 1994.

Chapman (left) and LaMantia in front of the NEED Building on Coast Guard Beach — the place they stayed when they visited Cape Cod as HB seventh graders.

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BACK TO THE BEACH

We Are The MUSIC MAKERS

HB’s talented Performing Arts Department helps students bring out

the music they have inside. The members of the department recently gathered around one of the school’s three new

Steinway pianos (gifts from the Hathaway Brown Parent Association and special supporters of HB) to sing, smile, and

celebrate music together.

Pictured clockwise from left are Performing Arts Department Chair Jenny Burnett, Middle School music teacher Deb Southard, Middle School accompanist Carole Neff, technical director Rob Peck, Primary School music teacher Chelsea McCallum, theatre director Molly Cornwell, Upper School choral director Laura Main Webster ‘91, Upper School accompanist Matt Skitzki, Upper School dance teacher Falon Baltzell, and Early Childhood music teacher Allison Schumaker.

Photo by Kim Ponsky ’98

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Most of them don’t know the name of his most powerful composition, the dramatic cantata of Carmina Burana, but students in all divisions at Hathaway Brown nonetheless understand Carl Orff ’s work on a deeply personal level.

The true legacy of this 20th century German composer (1895-1982) lies in the music education framework he developed for children with the assistance of his colleague Gunild Keetman, along with other dancers and musicians in the 1920s. Orff ’s Schulwerk (schoolwork) is based on the belief that every child is capable of creating expressive and aesthetic work through music, movement, drama, and speech.

OSTINATOOrff Schulwerk is “elemental music” that begins with the voice and the body, and grows developmentally to incorporate an instrumentarium of xylophones, drums, recorders, body percussion, folk dance, creative movement, and world music to unleash the inner artist in students. HB’s Primary School Informances allow girls to showcase the skills they’ve acquired, clearly revealing the sequential skills they are building toward becoming independent musicians. Orff Tales are a springboard for Middle School girls to develop their music and movement abilities into a story for the stage.

The Schulwerk embodies an old Zimbabwean proverb: “If you can speak, you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance.” Not only does Orff Schulwerk develop fundamental musical skills and confidence in improvisation, but it also develops problem-solving skills, cooperative collaboration, creative social interactions, and most importantly, a creative spirit that learns to embrace the world and its diverse cultures. These skills foster creative curiosity, and manifest themselves in satellites of musical interest.

Girls at HB pursue guitar class and play at hootenannies, accompanying the student body at these singalongs at the heart of the Middle School. Throughout the span of the music program across all divisions, girls develop competence on the recorder, and some continue to play in the Recorder Consorts

From the Infant & Toddler Center all the way to the Senior Room, music permeates every corner of Hathaway Brown, filling the curriculum with song.BY DEBORAH DRESSELL SOUTHARD

in Middle School, mastering music - both historic and contemporary - for assemblies in school, touring performances throughout Cleveland, and collaborating internationally in Germany (2008), India (2009), and Austria (2013). Many students choose an orchestral instrument through their Choice Classes in the Prime, and they build proficiency to play in one of the HB Orchestras. Then they take their music-making around the school and out in the world. HB orchestral students regularly perform at the Rainey Institute and other regional sites, and they’ll even be performing with students in Hong Kong this spring.

PROGRESSIONBea Alexander was a music teacher in the HB Primary School for much of the 1970s and ’80s, and she was an early adopter of the Orff Schulwerk approach. The Schulwerk was gaining national attention, and Cleveland was home to the first chapter in the American Orff Schulwerk Association (AOSA), chartered in 1970. Alexander first encountered the Schulwerk in action by observing her colleague Ruth Hamm, who taught in the Shaker school district. “I was immediately hooked as I watched Ruth Hamm teach. When I came to teach music at HB in 1975, I decided that the Orff method with its philosophy of a multifaceted approach to awakening a child to music - and to an awareness of the arts in general - was the way I wanted to go,” Alexander says. “HB was enthusiastic and funded my training.”

So she attended summer workshops and completed her AOSA levels training with some of the most revered names in the Orff Schulwerk community. She spent a summer studying at the Orff Institut in Salzburg, a school established by Carl Orff more than 50 years ago that has become an artistic beacon throughout the world. As Alexander continued to embrace more of the Schulwerk’s process at HB, she received a generous grant from Edna Dawley Strnad ’42 to purchase the first four xylophones in the Orff Instrumentarium. From there, the instruments have expanded to include an abundance of barred instruments and drums that we have today.

When Alexander considered retirement, she was committed to finding a teacher who would continue the groundwork she had begun. She found that steward in Roger Sams, who very ably taught at HB from 1988 through 2013. He joined the Performing Arts Department to teach Early Childhood music, and was required by Alexander and then-Primary School Director Bitty Dorr to study the Schulwerk and acquire his

levels training. This initiative put Sams in relationship with some of the best minds in Orff Schulwerk and propelled him throughout his career as a national clinician for AOSA.

“Being an Orff Schulwerk teacher nurtured my own creativity as I nurtured the creativity of others,” Sams says. “Crafting lessons for my students in the Orff process empowered my students to grow in their personal musicianship and capacity to express themselves skillfully through the making of music and dance.”

HB’s Orff program grew, expanding from Early Childhood through eighth grade. As a Middle School Music teacher, I had the privilege of joining Sams and HB Dance teacher Marlene Leber (1993-2013), along with several groups of Primary and Middle School students who performed at AOSA National Conferences in Memphis, Tenn., in 1996, and Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2001. These experiences not only raised the bar for what children were capable of in our music classrooms, but they also put our school on the map as a place where great things happen in music and dance.

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CANONLaura Main Webster ’91 came back to her alma mater in 1998 and began teaching music in the Primary School under the tutelage of Roger Sams. Since that time, she has further developed a rich program that encompasses aesthetic movement and beautiful choral singing. “Children are capable of high aesthetics and Orff Schulwerk gives them the vocabulary and skill to create and move aesthetically, at an appropriate developmental level,” Webster says. “The Orff classroom is child-centered. As an Orff teacher, you are the facilitator of the process, not the holder of all knowledge.”

The people whose lives she touches with her work are grateful for this approach as well. “Mrs. Webster kicked it out of the park with music for Primary. We were incredibly impressed with how much the girls learned,” says Emily Felderman, mother of Julia ’16 and Ellie ’18. “The singing and instrument playing was amazing and led beautifully into what they learned in Middle School. My daughters love music and recorder class and these experiences really built their self-confidence.”

In partnership with Performing Arts Department Chair Jenny Burnett, who has been a dance educator at HB since 1999, Webster developed an extracurricular performance group called the Crooked River Ensemble. Solidly based in the Orff process, this group of elementary students from many different schools and communities amassed a breadth of experiences and talents that was unique in the Cleveland community for musicians so young. Crooked River has performed at AOSA National Conferences and throughout the Cleveland area, demonstrating through their music that children are creative artists.

“I first observed Orff Schulwerk here at HB while watching my colleagues teach. It was an intriguing mystery to me, and  I recognized right away that it was a defined process that allowed for a tremendous amount of flexibility for each

student,” Burnett says. “What resonated most with me was that even the youngest students were able to understand music theory through the Orff Schulwerk process. To observe young children improvising and creating quality music was most impressive. What also surprised and excited me was the amount of movement the teachers utilized to encourage musical understanding. The Schulwerk promotes individuality and accountability, all beginning with the body.”

At HB, we believe that no child is too young to learn music. In the Infant & Toddler Center and the Early Childhood program, music plays an important role in developing coordination, social connections, vocabulary, and community. Allison Schumaker, an ITC/EC music teacher who is new to HB this year, is committed to using the Orff process with our youngest musicians. “Young children spend their days learning through play. This method flows seamlessly into the Orff process, where children learn music through movement, storytelling, and games,” Schumaker says. “Music helps prepare students for deeper musical enjoyment and understanding as they grow older.”

This writer can attest to that. I began my HB tenure in 1982, and I have consistently endeavored to connect music with everything in the Middle School, where I teach. The Orff process has been the perfect vehicle, giving each girl a chance to grow and thrive at her own unique pace. Every voice, every dancer, every musician, is important and validated through the process of creating music and movement together. Orff Tales is now an annual performance that reflects the process alive in the music classroom, integrating music, dance, and verse.

Using recorders in music education has helped my students to expand their confidence in improvisation and solidify their note-reading facility. As I saw those skills improve, I decided to establish an Early Music Ensemble in 1996. This group has continued to perform music in a full recorder consort that features six different sizes of recorders, as we collaborate with other schools in developing a real passion for the music of

“The Orff classroom is child-centered. As an Orff teacher, you are the facilitator of the process, not the holder of all knowledge.”

the Renaissance. Just last year, I accompanied the ensemble to perform at the Orff Institut in Salzburg, Austria, the epicenter of the Orff Schulwerk movement. It was a joy to bring our HB program full circle from the days of Bea Alexander, who once studied there. Walking into the sunny bright yellow building was quite a thrill. And as an Orff teacher viewing display cases that held baskets of wooden recorders once played by Carl Orff himself, I was powerfully reminded that we were about to perform at the source of the Schulwerk that brought us there.

Spanning the bridge from Primary to Middle School, Chelsea McCallum came on board in 2012 as a devotee to the teaching of Laura Webster. Bringing fresh energy and enthusiasm for the Schulwerk, McCallum embraces the legacy of music-making that is such a presence at HB. She directs students beginning woodwind instruments in Choice Classes in the Prime, and has established a completely new approach to playing current tunes in the Middle School by incorporating the Orff process in a club called Pop Rocks. Her students love it. “I really like the idea of making popular songs into fun and easy performances using simple instruments,” says Chloe Voinovich ’18. “Only a few instruments can really make the whole song. I feel independent playing my own part, yet I feel connected to the group at the same time.”

In 2004, Linda Simon-Mietus joined the department as director of the Middle and Upper School orchestras. She has brought instrumental music to a rich new level at HB. Within a year, our little instrumental ensemble grew into a full-fledged orchestra. HB girls tackle sophisticated repertoire, winning accolades at music festivals and contests all around the country. Every year, the Middle School orchestra shares its expertise with the Rainey Institute in Cleveland, helping underprivileged children learn orchestral instruments through a special concert series called Kids for Kids. The Upper School orchestra collaborates as well with the Ohio State School for the Blind Marching Band, the only group of its kind. The annual HB MasterWorks concert features both orchestras along with all the choirs and recorder ensembles, and always provides phenomenal entertainment and artistry. Simon-Mietus firmly believes that our orchestras are so successful because of the remarkable foundation HB students receive in every division through the Orff Schulwerk process.

“By the time HB girls join the orchestra, they have an incredibly strong knowledge of rhythm, pitch, and note-reading,” Simon-Mietus says. “They have no fear in trying new things and they understand that making mistakes is just another way of learning.”

Along the way, these unique HB musical programs have fostered many fond memories and meaningful experiences for the girls who have been involved. “When I was asked to be a part of the first-ever Recorder Ensemble, I was honored,” says Katherine Jenne Chapman ’04, who now serves as HB’s Director of Middle School Admission. “I found the confidence given to me in this Ensemble translated to other parts of my life. I remember our small group practicing in the music room, switching from small to large recorders and from the triangle or tambourine to the djembe. The camaraderie we developed from traveling and playing made the group not only a musical experience, but a lifelong lesson about practice, confidence, appreciating new cultures, and cooperation.”

CRESCENDOThis year is a banner year for the HB Performing Arts Department. Our Upper School orchestra will travel to Hong Kong to collaborate with a Chinese school, sharing music, culture, and friendship in March. Our Recorder Consort will collaborate with Apollo’s Fire, a Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, performing a beautiful Telemann Suite in a gala performance in April.

So moved by the power of the Schulwerk, Laura Webster has applied this process in our Upper School vocal ensembles, resulting in an explosion of vocal talents being spotlighted from The Ahuja Auditorium to the jazzy ambience of Nighttown in Cleveland Heights. And before school is dismissed for the summer, to celebrate the gifts of three new Steinway pianos donated by the Hathaway Brown Parent Association and special donors, we will have a nonstop piano-playing marathon called Piano-Palooza!

Around every corner at HB, there is music-making. It hooks you. It empowers you. It inspires you. It intrigues you. It builds self-confidence. It exposes you to new cultures. It creates an exuberant creative community. It makes you want to join in the fun. And it all starts with Orff Schulwerk.

Deborah Dressell Southard is Hathaway Brown’s Middle School Performing Arts Department Chair.

Middle and Upper School Orchestra director Linda Simon-Mietus believes much of her students’ musical success is owed to the excellent Orff Schulwerk foundation they receive at HB.

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he reasons for giving back to Hathaway Brown can be deeply personal. So it was for Faith Emeny Conger ’50 and Clara

Taplin Rankin ’34. The two share a commitment to enriching the lives of others, and their generosity has provided a permanent and stable source of funding for HB’s Center for Global Citizenship.

For Faith Emeny Conger, a love of travel and the memory of her father inspired her to create a named fund to support international study, cultural exchange, and foreign travel through the Center for Global Citizenship. Her father, Dr. Brooks Emeny, was the President of the Cleveland Council on World Affairs until 1947, and then led the Foreign Policy Association in New York City. In the early 1950s, Faith and her father traveled together to Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East.

Marrying Richard S. Conger and having four children strengthened her love for travel. She home-schooled her children while taking them on a one-year adventure to 30 countries. Today, Faith continues to be a skilled educator who aims to “bring light into the darkness” by teaching yoga in her home studio.

Clara Taplin Rankin also embodies the spirit of philanthropy. She has been a generous, enthusiastic, and loyal supporter of HB for many years and was named a Distinguished Alumna in 1999. Her recent gift of an endowment to support the position of Director for the Global Citizenship Program honors her own commitment to education and excellence in teaching.

Clara has devoted her life to music and the arts and to serving institutions that enrich and ennoble the human spirit through the arts. She is the founder of Hopewell Farm, Ohio’s only therapeutic farm community for adults with severe mental illness. Married to Alfred M. Rankin, Clara is the mother of five sons who began their education at HB, attending Pre-K and Kindergarten. Several of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren are now attending and have attended HB as well.

The Center for Global Citizenship was established to promote global understanding and citizenship, foster a deep appreciation for the cultures of the world, challenge students to think critically about the world’s most pressing global issues, and help students understand how the United States fits into a global context. Through their generosity, both Faith and Clara will forever be linked to HB’s Center for Global Citizenship and the boundary-stretching experiences that inspire girls to explore the world and their role in it.

Clara Taplin Rankin ’34 (left) and Faith Emeny Conger ’50 (right) support global education for HB students who travel and study in India (above) and other countries around the world.

Faith Emeny Conger ’50 and Clara Taplin Rankin ’34 secure the future of HB’s Center for Global Citizenship and open doors to the world for HB girls

Two Women, Singular Support

19600 North Park Boulevard Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122

Carnival / 5KApril 13, HB Grounds, 8 a.m.–1 p.m.Proceeds benefit New Hope for Cambodian Children

Moms & MuffinsApril 16 (EC & Prime) & April 17 (MS & US) Margery Stouffer Biggar ’47 & Family Dining Hall, 7:15–8:30 a.m.

iMagine Film FestivalApril 26, The Ahuja Auditorium, 1–4 p.m.

Eighth Grade MusicalMay 2, 7:30 p.m. & May 4, 2:30 p.m., The Ahuja AuditoriumPeter Pan Jr.

Prime Grandparents’ DayMay 8, HB Primary School Discover a school day through the eyes of your granddaughter.

Alumnae WeekendMay 16–17Celebrate Sisterhood! All class years welcome.

Spring PlayMay 23 & 24, The Ahuja Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.A Midsummer’s Night Dream

Eighth Grade Closing ExercisesJune 2, The Ahuja Auditorium, 5 p.m.

Fourth Grade Closing ExercisesJune 3, The Ahuja Auditorium, 5 p.m.

138th Commencement ExercisesJune 6, HB Courtyard, 11 a.m.

Aspire Alumnae HomecomingJuly 12, Margery Stouffer Biggar ’47 & Family Dining Hall 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

mark your calendarHB.edu/upcomingevents

Photo by Keith Berr

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